Question: Is there a difference between tics and stereotypical behaviors? We are not sure what my son has, possibly Asperger`s, sensory issues, ADD, anxiety, etc. Could be some Tourettes in the mix. Anyway, he is taking ADD meds, despite the warnings about tics and doing much better in school, but the movemen . . .

Answer: Tics and stereotypical behaviors are different. Tics are involuntary movements, while stereotypical behaviors are more ritualistic or habit-like. They can be hard to tell apart sometimes. Tourettes is a variation of a tic disorder that includes vocal tics or utterances, so again, this can be hard to . . .

Ask an Expert: Daniel Coury MD, Autism View full article

Neurological Disorders Linked to Bendictin

Question: My wife took Bendictin during her pregnacy for our first 2 children. All three children have issues with neurological disorders progressing from mild-migranes (oldest - 30), Tourette Syndrome - twitches (middle -28) and Gran-maul epilepsy & pervasive development disorder (youngest -26). None of . . .

Answer: Bendectin was commonly used to treat nausea during pregnancy, and there were anecdotal reports that suggested it might cause birth defects.  However, several scientific studies failed to confirm any relationship between Bendectin and congenital abnormalities or neurologic disorders.
< . . .

Ask an Expert: Daniel Coury MD, Autism View full article

Autism

Question: why my 13 year old continues to put things in her mouth, and chews on everything?

Answer: Mouthing things is typical for infants as a way of exploring and learning about the environment. With maturity, the exploration is done more with the hands and in other ways and mouthing is confined to things identified as food. However, several things can cause the less mature mouthing to persist o . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism View full article

Aspergers, Schizophrenia or Both?

Question: I`m a 19 year old male and as far back as i can remember [during childhood as well] i have always had obsessions and social problems.

I have always been obsessed with numbers and dates etc, remembering phone numbers, car plates and peoples birthdays.

Limited interests such as biology, vide . . .

Answer: Hello, I encourage you to see a licensed mental health professional (i.e., a psychiatrist or psychologist) if you feel distraught and want a better understand of what you are experiencing.

A psychiatric evaluation is meant to lead to treatment planning and a diagnosis is only part of the . . .

Ask an Expert: Luc Lecavalier PhD, Autism View full article

Vitamin D

Question: My grandson is 7 and has been diagnosed with autism. I read an article that said low levels of vitamin d have been associated with autism. If we gave our grandson some supplemental vitamin d, would it help? Thanks.

Answer: We can’t be sure vitamin D will help, but it is not likely to harm if supplemented in moderation. Each individual’s nutritional status should be evaluated.

In recent research we have found that although on average children with autism consume an adequate diet as a group, most have deficiencies . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism View full article