PLT Test Blog

Green choices and red choices.  You get to decide.   I was recently asked by a friend, who teaches social skills to young people with autism, how we have dealt with inappropriate behavior in our son Monty, now aged 17.   The short answer was “we have not had to”.   The longer answer is more complex. First of all, you have to figure out what kind of “Inappropriate Behavior” is in question.   I consider lots of natural behavior in autism to be inappropriate - stimming, flapping, scripting, the obsessive desire for sameness and repetition and an apparent aversion to following rules and instructions, for some people. Of course, I guessed what the immediate question was actually about - sexually inappropriate behavior, this time in a 12-year-old boy. These issues have been raised in the comments section of this blog on many occasions. The underlying problem is not something that developed at puberty, it is just a consequence of what has happened (or rather, not ...

  There are two closely related hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin, that have been extensively researched in autism.   With oxytocin you can modify social-bonding behavior. You can increase oxytocin in the brain either via a nasal spray containing oxytocin, or you can add a specific bacterium to your gut that triggers a signal to the brain to produce more of its own oxytocin.   The latter is my preferred method, because you can produce a mild long-lasting effect throughout the day. Oxytocin has a very short life and it does not cross the blood brain barrier. There is even a new study in the works that will compare these two methods of treating autism.   Probiotics and oxytocin nasal spray as neuro-social-behavioral interventions for patients with autism spectrum disorders: a pilot randomized controlled trial protocol Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication. Oxyt...

The new Chinese and old Colonial, side by side in central Shanghai     I do not speak Chinese, but fortunately Google does. I was sent some interesting links to some articles from China about Suramin, the potential autism therapy which many autism parents are eagerly awaiting.   Prepare for a long wait, but hopefully less long in China. My original post on Suramin for autism can be found  in the link below:- Suramin, the Purinome and Autism     I have never had a banner appear on my computer trying to sell me a Rolls Royce until today.   This is more proof, if I needed it, of how much China has changed since my first visit there as a teenager.   Back then there were a lot of bicycles; I still remember many were Flying Pigeon brand – not a name you forget. I just looked them up and since 1950, more than 500 million Flying Pigeon bicycles have been made - that is a lot bicycles. I even went to see a factory still producing steam locomotives ...