Autism Spectrum Disorders - Dr. Caleb Knight

I got a chance to squeeze myself into a talk by Dr. Caleb Knight about ASD. It wasn't a full house. I also met up with a couple of wonder people.

He spoke about DSM which is known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. It is currently changing from the fourth version to its fifth. For DSM IV, ASD has 3 common subtypes: Autistic, Asperger's and Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified PDDNOS. And with DSM V, the criteria for ASD changes must meet the following A, B, C, D:

A.

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across contexts, not accounted for by general developmental delays, and manifest by all 3 of the following: 

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity

2. Deficits in non-verbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction

3. Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships appropriate to developmental level

B.

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities as manifested by at least two of the following:

1. Stereotyped or repetitive speech - think echolalia

2. Excessive adherence to routines

3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus

4. Hyper or Hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment

C. Symptoms must be present in early childhood

D. Symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning 

So basically to fall under ASD, those mentioned have to be met, Asperger's would basically be written out of the book.

There will be 3 tiers ASD:

Level 3 - requiring very substantial support - severe deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication skills, preoccupations, fixated rituals and repetitive behaviors markedly interfere with functioning

Level 2 - requiring substantial support - marked deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication skills, similar to Level 3 in preoccupations of interests

Level 1 - requiring support - without supports in place, deficits in social communication cause noticeable impairments, could be redirected from preoccupations and fixation

And something that would cross over is Social Communication Disorder which is ruling out ASD. And also adding to SCD there is also ADHD and ADD.

Dr. Knight also stressed about IQ and how important it is to have IQ as part of the equation.

Gua Sha a way to get rid of toxin

Gua Sha ( 刮 痧 ) is a very old remedy to help facilitate the body to heal by getting rid of toxin. I have been using this method passed on by my mom. I remembered when I was younger she would use tiger balm and a coin and apply the tiger balm on my back and scratch or scrape my skin with the coin. The immediate reaction of the skin is to get red and tiny dark red dots appear after. Gua means scratch or scrape and Sha means fever.

The weather as been cold and hot lately that my children are getting sick often passing viral back and forth. I have tested this methods on both my children age 4 and 6. I do not think it should be use for younger children because they may not take the amount of pressure of the coin and sometimes it tickles or it hurts. It  really depends on their tolerance level.

I used tiger balm because it is accessible here. You can get those in Watsons or Manning. You can use any type of ointment that would help relieve muscle soreness. Usually when you are not feeling well your muscle gets sore in your neck and shoulder area and you may also have a pounding headache. Gua Sha will work on those too.

You may also come across Graston Technique used by professional athletes which essentially derives from Gua Sha in my opinion.

This is my 6 year old back.
He was having a 102 fever when I applied the gua sha.
After an hour or so the fever reduced.

This youtube video I found shows you how simple it is. You don't have to a special tool, a coin or even a spoon would work.