Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be helpful for people with autism who suffer from severe mental health issues that do not respond to other treatments.
Many people with autism also have other mental health issues such as bipolarity and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This case study describes the use of ECT to treat a 38 year old man with autism who suffered from prolonged and severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms as well as hypochondria. The man did not respond to drug therapy or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The patient’s health was restored after ECT.









Please comment on this autism topic.
Music dance
Mar 8, 2010 by john-smithI have good news for you, Richie and others, inquiring about the use of dance/movement therapy with autistic individuals. I am a dance therapist in Austin TX and there is plenty of valuable use of dance, movement and rhythm for individuals with autism. The concepts are that a person is not merely his/her brain; obviously we are connected through mind, body, and spirit. Therefore if a person can connect with another through movement, then behavioral and cognitive change can result if the neurological patterns are stimulated through dance and movement. Of course, dance is a form of self-expression and release, as well. Engaging in dance and movement can help in that manner, whether it is dancing with the therapist or creating a form of self-expression and having the therapist guide the movement patterns into another shape, rhythm, or form to encourage a different behavior or thought process. Btw It's really nice to discuss with you. I am happy but now I am collecting the php for my friends and other persons. Because I my aim to provide best and knowledgeable material. And I hope you will also like and help me to continue this
Responding to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Jan 21, 2010 by AnonymousSince very little information is provided here on CBT (though you can certainly find alot from searching the web) I thought I would add some. I am not very knowledgeable about autism so I am not sure how effective a treatment CBT would be. It would require the client to be able to process ideas and have some basic self-awareness of his/her thinking - i.e., they need to be able to think about their thinking.
The reason for this is that in CBT, one examines, with the help of a skilled teacher (CBT is largely a learning experience), one's habits of thinking going down to one's fundamental attitudes and beliefs. I think that all of us have some thought patterns and attitudes that are not helpful (some schools of CBT call them irrational). With the help of the teacher, the client learns which of his/her thoughts, beliefs and attitudes are helpful and which are harmful. They then work on practicing changing the harmful ones to more helpful ones. Since behavior is largely a function of our thinking, one would expect the behavior to change as a result, and that is the idea but we must remember that we have been practicing our thinking and behavior pattens for a long time and they don't usually just change suddenly. It's easier to change the thoughts first and then practice with the feelings and behaviors until they begin to feel as natural as the old less functional ones did.
If the autism is not so bad that the client cannot do this kind of mental processing I imagine CBT could be very helpful, especially in combination with other therapies. The hardest thing I have found is locating a good CBT therapist. My experience comes from the Albert Ellis - Maxie Maultsby school of CBT that whent by many similar names. Ellis began calling his method RET for Rational Emotive Therapy. Maultsby modified RET to make it easier to use by lay groups and for self-counseling and called his RBT for Rational Behavioral Therapy. While I and many people I know found RBT extremely beneficial and also teachable to others, it never caught on. Currently Dr. Aldo Pucci is carrying on the RBT tradition with his Rational Living Therapy and CBT itself has become a respected form of therapy, though there is no clear definition and you will find many different types of therapists who call themselves CBT therapists. In my opinion, good CBT is systematic, makes sure it goes to the heart of the clients thought and attitude patterns, successfully helps the client challenge and change unhelpful or irrational thinking patterns and attitudes and prescribes practice that will make those changes stick. Again my opinion, the CBT therapist has to know his/her method very well and have applied it successfully to themselves. This is not a do as I say, not as I do approach! So if you use a CBT therapist and after a few sessions it doesn't seem to be working, don't assume CBT won't work. It may be the therapist so see if you can find a better one.
Good luck with CBT
Robin Alexander, www.transthought.org
Free Sound Therapy Home Programme
Jan 21, 2010 by AnonymousDr. Alfred Tomatis, a French otolaryngologist, is recognised as the modern day originator of sound or music therapy. In the early 1950's he developed an effective therapy method using altered music to treat conditions such as auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and autism. Another French doctor, Dr. Guy Bérard, developed a similar method, Auditory Integration Training (AIT), which has found many followers in the USA. From personal experience I know that many clients report improvements in understanding, speech, balance, behaviour and emotional well-being after just two or three weeks of daily sound therapy.
Sensory Activation Solutions (SAS) is an organisation with Centres in the U.K. and Turkey that provides a unique service for children and adults that face learning or developmental difficulties. When the established educational, psychological or medical services fail to provide adequate support, the SAS methodology often can provide practical solutions that result in noticeable improvements in daily life.
You may be interested to check out their Free Sound Therapy Home Programme. Their Auditory Activation Method builds on the pioneering work of Dr. Tomatis and Dr. Bérard and has been specifically developed with the aim to improve sensory processing, interhemispheric integration and cognitive functioning. It has helped many children and adults with a wide range of difficulties, ranging from dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder to sensory processing disorders and autism. It is not a cure or medical intervention, but a structured training programme that can help alleviate some of the debilitating effects that these conditions can have on speech and physical ability, daily behaviour, emotional well-being and educational or work performance.
There is no catch, it's absolutely free and most importantly often effective. Check it out at: http://www.sascentre.com/uk/uk_free.html.
Jobs
Nov 26, 2007 by dankohnAvatars Help Asperger Syndrome Patients Learn to Play the Game of Life At the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth, Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Practice Their Social Skills in Virtual Worlds Richardson, Texas (Nov. 16, 2007) — A technology associated with fantasy worlds is helping young adults with autism in the hard reality of life. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for BrainHealth are working with patients diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome using virtual reality training. People with the disorder have normal intelligence, but they suffer from a variety of social cognitive defects, including an inability to read nonverbal clues and adapt well to change. These young adults -- considered to have a form of autism -- face many obstacles in life. Interviewing for a job or asking somebody for a date can be monumentally difficult. To help them succeed, researchers from the center have created a virtual world for them to practice their social skills. Each person creates an avatar/character in his or her likeness, who then navigates through a virtual world, interacting with real people represented by their own avatars. The virtual world includes settings commonly encountered in everyday life such as restaurants, shops, offices, apartment living and parks, where they can meet “new” people in a safe, controlled environment. For example, if the goal is applying for a job, their avatars substitute for them as they practice their interviewing skills with real people on-line until the fear and anxiety of a real encounter with a potential supervisor diminishes. This method is distinct from role-playing, which is a widely used method, in that they feel the same emotions as they would in direct encounters. Virtual reality provides a therapy tool to rewire the brain through practical experiences that can be manipulated in ways the real world cannot, says Dr. Sandra Chapman, director of the Center for BrainHealth. “The clinicians can change the virtual world to increase the complexity of the exercise, control for sensory overload, provide motivation, and record feedback,” said Chapman. “Unlike other models of intervention, virtual world experiences provide a powerful way to learn new and more appropriate ways to respond to people in scenarios similar to those faced everyday,” she said. “Our research in brain discoveries tells us that the brain can rewire its pathways with intensive practice grounded in experience – not by learning rules of how to interact – which has been the most common therapy practice heretofore,” said Chapman. “These young adults have the advantage of an intensive, interactive therapy to deal with problems they encounter everyday but in a safe setting to practice their social skills.” Before entering the program, the participants undergo a series of brain imaging measures and neurocognitive tests. At first, they practice with their avatars with a clinician by their sides. Quickly, new persons/avatars are introduced to the client and they begin to interact with family members and trusted friends. In addition to the virtual-world therapy, the young adults receive plenty of one-on-one coaching as they are trained to develop the insight to assess their own responses. At first, they watch recordings of their interactions, and gradually they are expected to modify their behaviors to fit the context in real time. The idea is to train their brains in new ways of thinking in contexts that closely mimic real life. That goal is to stop unhelpful responses before they can start. “There are almost no treatment programs for older children or young adults with autism-related disorders,” said Chapman. “And yet this is a very good time to intervene because it is during adolescence that rapid brain development takes place – particularly in the areas supporting social-skill development.” Although still in the early stages, the BrainHealth researchers say they can detect dramatic improvements with many of the participants in terms of simple awareness of their social problems, which they say is the first step to improvement. Virtual-reality therapy has become a new tool in brain rehabilitation. Therapists are using the gaming technology for people who suffer from autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, addictions, strokes and brain injuries. About UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The University offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the University’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu.