Raphe Bernier discusses his research and why he’s excited about SPARK!

The goal of the SPARK project (www.SPARKforAutism.org/UW) is to collect genetic information on 50,000 individuals across the country with ASD and their families. Anyone with a diagnosis of autism can participate! Participation includes online registration, consenting to be contacted about future research studies, and the delivery of a saliva sample. These samples will be analyzed for ASD-related genetic differences. Families may choose to have their genetic testing results sent to a medical provider of their choice, should a genetic difference related to ASD be found.  If you are interested, please contact Theo Ho, the study coordinator, by email (theodore.ho@seattlechildrens.org) or by phone (207-987-7917).

Seattle Children’s Autism Center is enrolling children ages 16 to 30 months in a new clinical trial that  may lead to the development of new methods of diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in toddlers.

Marcus Autism Center, part of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Seattle Children’s Autism Center are working together to find better ways to diagnose and treat autism at an earlier age. The investigational device measures how a child attends to social interactions and these measures are used to detect autism. For a child, it’s just like watching television, but for healthcare professionals, it’s an opportunity to diagnose autism in a 30 minute session.

Whether or not a family has concerns about autism, they can play a role in advancing autism research and helping other kids.

Contact SCACstudies@seattlechildrens.org or call 206-987-7503 to enroll.

MCS_971863_DeviceClinicalTrialTDPoster_Seattle_2018 MCS_971864_DeviceClinicalTrialASD Poster_Seattle_2018

Members for our team at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center and the University of Washington’s Bernier Lab showed up to support the 2018 Autism Speaks Walk at the Seattle Center and share information about the SFARI SPARK study!  It was a great event, with a little sun and rain and lots of great contact with families.  Thank you everyone for helping out and coming to say hi, even baby Chloe showed up to help!

The Bellevue College’s Autism Pre-Conference

By Curtis Eayrs Jr.

I attended Bellevue College’s Autistics Present pre-conference session at South Seattle College’s Georgetown campus on Saturday, August 25^th. This pre-conference was created entirely by local autistic self-advocates. The first speaker, Sara M. Acevedo, PhD, is a recently-appointed faculty member at Bellevue College. Her opening remarks as Master of Ceremonies reflected on the social consciousness of solidarity, by reimagining solidarity through mutual aid and political companionship across marginalized groups. She believes that solidarity should be a verb of action instead of a state of being. Solidarity also encompasses unity of the intersections, across race, age, disability, gender identity, and religious affiliation. This is an uplifting message that needs to be shared, especially during these politically–divisive times.

The second speaker, CrisTiana ObeySumner, spoke about intersectionality when an individual holds several disabilities. Intersectionality was defined as holding two or more socially-constructed identities. The social complexity of how people with autism react to nonverbal cues leads to implicit bias, which causes able individuals to hyperfocus on specific identities. They believe America is engaged in a civility war, where norms of politeness and respect take a back seat to politics and ideology. People need to be accomplices, not allies to ensure that all people are given an equal opportunity to survive and thrive in society.

The third speaker, Jack Duroc-Danner, spoke about mythbusting nine commonly-held beliefs about autism. These myths include:  “High functioning” vs. “low functioning”; autism as a linear spectrum disorder (its actually more like a color wheel); people with autism have zero empathy; no touching; autism afflicts boys and men only; 100% asexual; autism is new; autism is trendy; and autism is a cultural phenomenon. They provided data and research findings that support how many of these beliefs have no scientific basis.

This pre–conference provided participants an opportunity to network with successful individuals diagnosed with autism, and I learned several new terms (intersectionality, civility war, and neurodiversity). I also learned about Edward T. Hall’s “cultural iceberg” (https://rachelmarsdenwords.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/11807619_10153426923151291_1691980310425285378_o.png), where deep culture impacts the many social interactions that may lead to institutional bias if able people misinterpret autistics’ stimming behavior. I highly recommend that mental health providers and people with autism attend the 3^rd Annual Autistics Present Symposium on October 20^th at Bellevue College. For more information, go to: https://www.bellevuecollege.edu/autismspectrumnavigators/autism-conference/. The symposium’s theme is “Intersectionality: Claiming All Our Identities.” This pre–conference opened my eyes to the wide variety of strategies people with autism self-advocate for independence and respect today.

Spectrum News discussed a new study from King’s College in London which found that mice lacking CHD8 have higher brain connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions. CHD8 controls the structure of chromatin and the expression of several genes that have been linked to autism in humans with CHD8 mutations. The increased synchrony of brain activity in mice with inactive CHD8 is unusual compared to mice with mutations in other autism genes such as 16p11.2, CNTNAP2 and SHANK3b, which show decreased connectivity. Albert Basson, lead investigator of this study, proposes that certain autism subtypes are “characterized by increased long-range functional connectivity rather than reduced.” Indeed, people with the CHD8 mutation have unique features—a large head, motor delays, and wide-set eyes—that suggest a distinct sub-type of autism. However, it is difficult to conclude from mice models if overconnectivity is a consistent characteristic of this mutation. The mice model also did not show any social behavioral issues, which is typical for people with CHD8 mutations. Amongst other researchers, the Bernier lab’s Dr. Raphe Bernier, is currently investigating hyperconnectivity in children with CHD8 mutations, to further explore this relationship.

Check out the full article from Spectrum News here!