American Chinese Medical Exchange: Autism

Conference Proceedings

Biomedical Advances of Autism 2012

American Chinese Medical Exchange Society

On August 26, 2012 the American Chinese Medical Exchange Society www.acmes.net in collaboration with McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School hosted a one-day forum entitled Biomedical Advances of Autism 2012.  This event introduced a rich agenda of speakers, comprised mainly of researchers and medical doctors who practice traditional western and traditional Chinese medicine with individuals who have autism. 

I found this conference to be both thought provoking and inspiring.  I attended the conference with friend Dr. Jane Richardson, ART-BC, who is an art therapist and colleague at Lesley University.  Jane and I traveled to Beijing, China with in 2009, where we were invited to both present our work at the International Creative Arts Therapy Conference.  In result of our experience in China, we have a co-written book chapter, which will appear in an edited book to arrive later this year.

The current conference, Biomedical Advances of Autism 2012, allowed the opportunity for the audience and its speakers to consider scientific and real basis for working with children with autism, through the very ancient and very holistic lense of traditional Chinese medicine.  The book Chapter that mentioned that Jane and I have collaborated on exemplifies this view in its relation to the expressive / creative arts therapies – a multi-sensory whole body engagement for the child with autism. 

The keynote speaker at the current conference was Dr. Martha Herbert who shared her new book, “Autism Revolution.”  In her keynote talk Herbert spoke of the timeliness of the conference and the importance of listening / working with / examining the whole child – a view that Traditional Chinese Medicine has long employed.  With respect to traditional Chinese medicine – considering the meridians and the five element theory in relation to the many aspects of life – and how the child with autism operates may seem foreign to many, however, it is an ancient practice that has been used for centuries.  Herbert’s talk seemed to consider the treatemetn of autism with a  holistic view – Herbert considered neurology while also looking at the impact of stress, biology, and the environment upon the child.

What stood out the most to me was when Herbert began to note the sharp rise in the autism diagnosis. She suggested that individuals with autism may be trying to tell the work something – like “the canary in the cole mine,” she said…. “should autism be the world telling us about the human race?”

I think that regardless of what happens with individuals with autism, that it is important to listen with heart, hands, voice, and ears – engage the whole body and listen with the whole body – as we may not all speak or understand the same language, we might as well be open to exploring other options if we want to learn form one another… 

There is something to be said for exploring traditional Chinese medicine for children whit autism.  There is published literature on the use of acupuncture,  traditional Chinese herbs, and traditional Chinese movement practices (tai chi, qi gong) in helping children with autism manage some difficulties - yet more needs to be explored.  As a music therapist and expressive arts therapist - I see that there is a correlation between Chinese medicine and the arts - and can quickly identify helping properties for the child with autism.  I look forward to reading new literature on this topic and writing and exploring such applications in my own work.

Thank you for the American Chinese Medical Exchange Society for hosting such a wonderful event!

Conference Preceedings: Perspectives from the Jouney / The Autism Forum at the Boston Higashi School

On April 26^th, 2012 the Higashi School of Boston held a one day Autism Forum at the Hilton Boston / Dedham entitled “Perspectives from the Journey.”  The forum hosted four presenters who each shared an hour-long talk on their perspective of either being a person with autism, of researching autism, and / or researching “hot” topics on or related to autism.  Each talk at this conference, presented itself a master class of thought provoking information from leading experts.

 The presenters included: Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Margaret Bauman, Dr. Stephen Shore, and Mr. Seth Mnookin.

After the morning registration, a welcoming breakfast buffet, and opening remarks from the principle of the Higashi School, the first speaker Dr. Temple Grandin was graciously introduced. 

Dr. Grandin’s talk was entitled, “Autism in My Sensory Based World.”  According to the introduction by the principle of the Higashi School, Temple Grandin, PhD, is known as “the most famous person with autism.”  Grandin has published several books, been a strong advocate for autism, has been portrayed in film, and has been called upon to consult on many occasions.  In her talk Grandin shared several stories of her life as a person with autism, the schools she attended (Beaver Country Day School), her sensory processes (the famed Squeeze Machine), her ability to shift attention, and tune into specific stimuli.  She referenced current literature in the field, shared images of her young life, shared images of her current MRI, and research images on the brains of others with autism.

In the talk Grandin focused on information processing –that information is often “coming in to fast” for the person with autism to process, causing sensory abnormalities and difficulty with processing information.   Grandin also spoke to the many uniquie talents for individuals wit autism, and that it is important to allow these talents to be contributed to society.  She spoke primarily of individuals with Aspergers syndrome, mainily the verbal folks.  She spoke of the importance of getting “these folks / kids” involved in social activities - music groups, drama groups – to encourage socialization with others while doing a pleasurable activity.   She noted the heterogeneity of autism, which reminded me that TAKING A SENSORY PROFILE IS SOOOO IMPORTANT!

For readers interested in Grandin’s perspective, I highly recommend Grandin’s Ted Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html

The second speaker to be introduced was pediatric neurologist Dr. Margaret Bauman.  Dr. Bauman is a leading researcher in the investigation of the neurobiology of autism.  In her talk Dr. Bauman spoke to the forthcoming DSM-V diagnostic criteria for autism changes (slated for May 2013).  These proposed changes will include Asperger’s as part of ASD and narrow the three criteria to two criteria (1. Communication and social limitations and 2. Restrictive and repetitive behaviors).  There has been a lot of two-sided discussion on these proposed changes on how it might impact the autistic community.  Bauman spoke to genetic phenotypes and subtypes  - the role of assessing subtypes, and the need to develop an assessment tool for such criteria to occur.  Because of the heterogeneity of the disorder, Bauman explained, “subtypes are important to consider.”

After a lovely lunch and a performance by the Boston Higashi School Jazz Band, the third speaker was announced.

The third speaker was Mr. Seth Mnookin, who presented a talk entitled “Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science and Fear.”  Mr. Mnookin is an author who has written a book on vaccines and autism called, The Panic Virus: The True Story Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy.   Mr. Mnookin, was very well spoken and well researched in his topic.  He had attended conferences, spoken to parents, and reviewed literature on the topic of autism and vaccines.   Mnooken noted in his talk that “biggest impact of the autism – vaccine debate has been how it has divided the autism community.”

The fourth and final speaker was Dr. Stephen Shore, who gave a talk entitled “Life on and Slightly to the Right of the Autism Spectrum.”  Like Grandin, Shore is also an adult person with ASD, and also considered high functioning.  Shore told stories of his experiences with perceptual processing, managing relationships, the role of his parents in his early treatment, and his current life.  He referenced such work as the Miller Method, Lovaas ABA therapy, Floortime (Greenspan), Daily Life Therapy (Higashi), and curriculum for Universal Design.   Shore in particular spoke about his experience with music.  Please see my previous post on Shore’s book http://musicalecholalia.blogspot.com/2012/07/beyond-wall-by-stephen-shore.html

Shore noted that “music is good for every body” and that “what is good for people with autism is good for everyone.”

All in all, the Higashi School hosted an incredible one-day event that surely stirred interest in students, educators, therapists, administrators, parents, and researchers alike.  It was a true gathering of pioneers in the field in a real master class like forum.