# data[].attributes.headline
Video 1: What are the Signs of Autism and How does it Affect the Child?

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 1: What are the Signs of Autism and How does it Affect the Child?

# data[].attributes.body
There used to be multiple diagnoses all under the Autism umbrella, but now there is just one diagnosis and each case is looked at in terms of severity on a spectrum. A low-function person on the spectrum has behaviors that prevent being independent, little to no communication skills, the inability to interact with people and their environments without support. A higher functioning person on the spectrum have similar symptoms, but can communicate with others, and they can interact with others despite some challenges. A lack of eye contacts, inability to pursue imaginative play, repeated movements, higher sensitivity to motor and sensory things.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What are the signs of autism and how does it affect the child?

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 2: How Much Do You REALLY Know About Autism?

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 2: How Much Do You REALLY Know About Autism?

# data[].attributes.body
Primarily affects how people communicate and relate to others, and prevents them from understanding basic social conventions. These include holding a conversation, making eye contacts, and recognizing gestures. They also like to follow certain activities, and some have troubles with motor skills. While some children with ASD do have intellectual disabilities, but around half have average or above average IQ. It is also common for people with ASD to have excellent long term memory in specific areas, and many excel greatly in a certain field such as math or the arts. The younger someone is diagnosed, the sooner they can get treatment. It is much more common in boys, and scientists do not really know where it comes from.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Much Do You REALLY Know About Autism?

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 3: How Teachers can Support Children with Autism

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 3: How Teachers can Support Children with Autism

# data[].attributes.body
Small things that we take for granted as normal can cause a child with ASD stress and anxiety. The prevalence of Autism makes it important for all faculty in a school to understand it. It it important for autistic students to spend as much time as they can in a regular classroom with the necessary supports. Teachers must ensure that the student feels like the they belong with the rest of the class, as if the teacher has confidence that the student can learn, than the student will have confidence themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How teachers can support children with autism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students and teachers at Frederick Bremer school (Channel 4's Educating the East End) are supporting The National Autistic Society in asking all teachers to step into their world and sign up to receive free autism resources, straight into their inbox. www.autism.org.uk/myworld

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 4: Easy-to-Use Calming Strategies for Autism

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 4: Easy-to-Use Calming Strategies for Autism

# data[].attributes.body
Music can often be used to help calm a child with ASD. Something to chew on helps to satisfy the need for sensory input. Something like blowing bubbles off a wand allows them to take deep breaths. The big idea is to calm the overloaded sensory system. Something that is slow with a steady rhythm can help to regular sensory system.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Easy-to-Use Calming Strategies for Autism

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 5: Parents' Speak: My Journey with Autism

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 5: Parents' Speak: My Journey with Autism

# data[].attributes.body
As a parent, living with a child with ASD is an extreme challenge, but was able to find support in other mothers of children with ASD. It is important to understand that having an Autistic child is in no way worse than a regular child, but it just different, and there are things one can appreciate specifically about an Autistic child. Siblings of an child with ASD makes them more compassionate and respectful.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parents' Speak: My Journey with Autism | Rohini speaks |

# data[].attributes.body
The causes of Autism have changed throughout history, and in the 1940s bad parenting was the cause. In the 1960s, scientists proved that it was a biological illness. In the 1990s, an infamous study came out that linked Autism to measles and mumps vaccines, but was later disproved. No gene for autism has been found, and scientists think many genes work together to cause. In recent times, people have begun to approach ASd as a different way of being, rather than a disorder that must be treated.

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 7: Scientists Hone In On The Risk Factors That Can Cause Autism

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 7: Scientists Hone In On The Risk Factors That Can Cause Autism

# data[].attributes.body
Large increase in Autism in the past few decades, and scientists do not know for sure what is causing it, but they do know certain risk factors that increase the chance for the disorder to develop. Scientists think it is a combination of genetic and environmental factors, not a single gene or part of the brain. Exposure to pollution, pesticides, and other chemicals all pose a risk. Obese mothers and those with gestational diabetes are suspect. There is a correlation, but the exact risk factors are known.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scientists Hone In On The Risk Factors That Can Cause Autism | CNBC

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 8: Raising a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 8: Raising a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

# data[].attributes.body
It can feel very devastating to hear that your child has this disorder. Since the most critical years are between 2 and 4, it is important to get as many services as you can to help the child. If you have more children, it can be beneficial, as you understand what red flags to look out for and milestones that should be reached. A big lapse in development is language, as children with ASD have a hard time doing so, and can make it difficult for parents to know what to do.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 9: Exposure To Toxins And Nutrients During Pregnancy Correlated To Autism Risk

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 9: Exposure To Toxins And Nutrients During Pregnancy Correlated To Autism Risk

# data[].attributes.body
New studies have come out that not only confirm which chemicals are harmful but also when they are effective. Using baby teeth, which act like rings on a tree, scientists can recreate an entire history of exposure. They track when differences start and which chemicals were found in the teeth. Higher amounts of lead and deficiencies in Manganese and Zinc can lead to Autism. This new research can also find the critical windows when these environmental factors could send the child on a trajectory to develop Autism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Exposure To Toxins And Nutrients During Pregnancy Correlated To Autism Risk

# data[].attributes.headline
Video 10: Autism's Causes: How Close Are We to Solving the Puzzle? (15 minutes)

# data[].attributes.subject
Video 10: Autism's Causes: How Close Are We to Solving the Puzzle? (15 minutes)

# data[].attributes.body
The rise in ASD is considered a national health emergency. There will be no single cause when the causes of Autism are ultimately found. We are much closer than we were even five years ago, but Autism is such a multifaceted disorder it makes it difficult to establish the causes, and when we will know those causes. We understand what happens on the brain level, as there is a coordination problem, not being synchronized, but we do not yet know why. We know there are many genes that are associated with Autism, but the prominence of any one gene in an Autistic child is low. This adds further difficulty in predicting and treating ASD. To even further increase the variation in Autism, environmental factors have an impact, so it can be difficult for researchers to distinguish between genetic and environmental causes of ASD. Environmental factors may be overwhelming the immune system, and the brain depletes our natural protective systems. The window of vulnerability is also at play, and scientists believe the pre-natal window is important for the development of ASD. There is no valid scientific proof that vaccines cause Autism, despite public opinion. If anything, vaccinated children are at less risk of getting ASD. However, there is a small group of children who may be particularly vulnerable to vaccines with predisposed conditions where vaccines push them over the edge to getting Autism. Instead of trying to prove that vaccines cause Autism, it should be studied which conditions could lead to vaccines triggering Autism. The immune system is a large part of Autism, and when you dysregulate it, it affects other aspects of the body such as the brain.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Autism's Causes: How Close Are We to Solving the Puzzle?

# data[].attributes.headline
Autism Spectrum Disorder Personal Reflection:

# data[].attributes.subject
Autism Spectrum Disorder Personal Reflection:

# data[].attributes.body
I choose this topic because I have ASD in my family, with my brother having a  high functioning Aspergers and my cousin having more standard Autism. In both, ASD was much more prevalent when they were younger. My brother hated loud sounds and would flap his arms as a child. He also had trouble speaking as a younger child. Now, however, you would be none the wiser that he has Aspergers. My cousin is further down on the spectrum. I found it interesting that the same disorder could affect two people in such wildly different ways. I also thought it was interesting that no one really knows where ASD comes from. We know there is some kind of multifaceted generic component and that one's environment plays a role, but very little is known about specific causes.

# data[].attributes.headline
Photo 4: Child Autism Demographic Breakdown 

# data[].attributes.subject
Photo 4: Child Autism Demographic Breakdown 