BBC News, UK. People involved in the administration of criminal justice must raise their awareness of autism and Asperger’s syndrome, a leading charity says.

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The multi-site trial, developed in collaboration with the National Autistic Society, will involve 144 children on three sites in Manchester, Newcastle and London.

Professor Jonathan Green said:

“This is the first large-scale intervention study of its kind in autism. We hope that it will provide a new evidence base for autism service planning and help to change the face of service provision both in the UK and overseas. Because the treatment helps communication, it improves a parent’s sense of competence and involvement with their child, as well as the child’s development. Parents from our focus groups have indicated that this is central to what they need from an intervention”.

The second study, led by Professor Dermot Bowler at City University London, aims to understand why adults with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) have good memory for facts but less effective recall for how they fit into remembered events. By improving the knowledge base of the way people with AS experience the world around them, research will help relatives, educators and carers to plan better treatment and educational programmes.

These awards, together with four made in July 2004, are funded by a £2.75 million Department of Health and Scottish Executive funding allocation to take forward the recommendations of the 2001 MRC Review on Autism. This last tranche of projects to strengthen research into autism has required approximately £0.4 million of additional MRC funding.

Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of MRC said:

“There has been very little systematic research into effective treatments for autism. In funding these two projects, the MRC hopes that solid research foundations can be established.

“MRC’s 2001 Review of Autism Research identified some of the successes in autism research but also highlighted current gaps in knowledge. These studies and their predecessors in 2004 address those gaps. Furthermore, we hope that this significant investment across a diverse set of projects will provide long-term benefit by supporting an increase in the UK research capacity in this area.”

The MRC has always funded research into autism through its own grant schemes, and it is currently spending around £1.3 million a year on autism research. It will continue to do so outside of the Department of Health and Scottish Executive funding allocation.

In September 2004 a MRC funded study, published in The Lancet, provided a comprehensive assessment of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. It concluded that there is no evidence to support a link between MMR and the subsequent development of autism.

The MRC co-funded awards announced in July 2004 comprised: a new study to find out more about the role of environmental risks in the development of autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD); a collaborative brain imaging study at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, aimed at unravelling the differences in brain function that give rise to ASD; and studies at the University of Oxford, and the Institute of Child Health, London, to understand more about how cognition – the ability to take on board and process information – relates to behaviour in people with ASD.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a national organisation funded by the UK tax-payer. Its business is medical research aimed at improving human health; everyone stands to benefit from the outputs. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world. MRC has funded work which has led to some of the most significant discoveries and achievements in medicine in the UK. About half of the MRC’s expenditure of £450 million is invested in its 40 Institutes, Units and Centres. The remaining half goes in the form of grant support and training awards to individuals and teams in universities and medical schools.
Web site at: http://www.mrc.ac.uk.
Original article here.

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Jenny Rees, Western Mail

IT IS thought that there are around 18,000 children and adults in Wales with an autistic spectrum disorder or ASD. Yet surprisingly little is known about what causes the condition, which includes Asperger syndrome.

Autism is often a misunderstood condition. Those with the disorder can be thought of as “odd” or “clumsy” yet they are simply having problems communicating in the conventional way.
It is this lack of skill or inability to understand and use non-verbal and verbal communication and interpret social behaviour, which affects their ability to interact with others.

Imagine then being a parent who’s just discovered that your child has autism. Your world is understandably turned upside down and your hopes for the future suddenly become a nightmare.

But having recovered from the initial shock and come to terms with the fact that your life and your child’s is never likely to be the same again, your next step is likely to be to want to learn about the condition, including finding as many useful sources of support as possible.

It is for this reason that Autism Cymru, Wales’ national charity for autism, set up Awares.org – the All Wales Autism Resource – in December 2002, when it was launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services.

Awares is a free online service which provides access and information for people with autism.

It seeks to include every single source of information and help the length and breadth of Wales, as well as linking with sources of information outside Wales.

However, Awares is not intended solely for parents. Indeed, it aims to help anyone connected with autism, directly or indirectly.

These include social services practitioners, healthcare practitioners, teachers, doctors, nurses and those with autism themselves.

Data is set out by local authority area, so if you’re a nurse in Carmarthenshire and you’d like to speak to a social worker with experience of working with adults with autism you simply log on to Awares and follow the links to find out contact details of the relevant professional in your area.

As well as providing “historical” information Awares is also used as a platform for online conferences and discussion groups, including the Wales National Fora for schools.

A number of successful online conferences have also taken place, including one with Plaid Cymru AM Dr Dai Lloyd, pictured, who also practises as a GP.

A major international online conference is planned for October this year, which will be the world’s largest online autism conference.

The five-day event is free of charge and will include discussions with Professor Uta Frith, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and Donna Williams among others.

Since its launch Awares has gone from strength to strength, recording an average of around 16,000 genuine visitors every month.

In short, Awares.org is the single most comprehensive and detailed source of information available about autism in Wales.

For further information about Awares or Autism Cymru please log on to www.awares.org
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[ClickPress, Mon Feb 28 2005] The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid is causing a great deal of excitement, the bid has gathered momentum after the visit of officials from the International Olympic Committee. Support for the Paralympics has come from disability organisations in the United Kingdom.
‘We are firm backers of the London 2012 bid, we urge Britain’s 520,000 autistic community and over a million parents and carers to support the bid,’ said Ivan Corea of the Autism Awareness Campaign UK.

‘We feel this is an ideal opportunity for Britain’s disability community to be in the forefront of the Paralympics.The games would be good for all people with disabilities including adults and children with autism,’ said Ivan Corea. He added, ‘We have a son with autism and we would love to take him to the Olympic and Paralympics games in London.’

A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently visited London to assess the sites and view London 2012′s plans.

The Autism Awareness Campaign UK have been actively involved in promoting the London 2012 bid.

For information on the London 2012 bid please see:

london2012.org
ukautism.com

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