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Professor Gina Rippon signs a copy of The Lost Girls of Autism for talk attendee Dr Georgie Agar Professor Gina Rippon’s new book, The Lost Girls of Autism, investigates why autism was thought to be a male condition for so long She gave a public talk at Aston University on 6 May 2025 exploring the central themes of the book Women and girls with autism have long been overlooked as they are better at masking and camouflaging so ‘fail’ standard tests. Autism in women and girls has been overlooked for decades, and Gina Rippon, professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), has given a talk about her new book on the topic at Aston University. The book, The Lost Girls of Autism, was released on 3 April 2025, coinciding with Autism Acceptance Month, with the subtitle ‘How Science Failed Autistic Women and the New Research that’s Changing the Story’. Autism is characterised by a number of now well-known traits, including social awkwardness, extreme obsessions, and unusual movements and coping mechanisms known as ‘stimming’. It was (allegedly) first described in the 1940s separately by Austrian psychiatrists Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger. Originally identified as a rare developmental condition, since the 1980s, there has been an 800% increase in diagnoses, leading to concerns about an ‘autism epidemic’. There is a strong and enduring belief that it is a condition much more prevalent in males. Professor Rippon described her research as “looking at how brains get to be different and what that means for the owners of those brains”. This includes looking at the functions of different areas of the brain using scanners. During research into a number of brain conditions and diseases with obvious differences between the sexes, including how the disease progresses, such as Alzheimer’s in women, or prevalence in one particular sex, such as Parkinson’s in men, Professor Rippon also became interested in autism, also assumed to be largely a condition in males. However, during a research review, she found that many autism studies made no reference to sex differences. Amalgamated data from autism studies found that 80% of participants were male, and 25% of testing centres only tested males with autism. By only looking at males, Professor Rippon explained, the notion that autism is a male disorder became self-fulfilling. This does not just refer to scientific research. Even now, boys are ten times more likely to be referred for assessment for autism and twice as likely to be diagnosed than girls, even when they have exactly the same traits. 80% of autistic females have received multiple wrong diagnoses, including borderline personality disorder, social anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). But why? The reason is the unchallenged belief that ‘autism is a “boy” thing’ causing a male spotlight problem in all aspects of the autism story. It could also be that females with autism express the condition differently. Professor Rippon said: “This took me back to [my previous book] The Gendered Brain when I was looking at the very clear view of what males should be like and what females should be like. If you look at the autistic population you have this clear idea that males are like this, but females, er, not so much? Females have poor social skills, but not as poor, or obsessive interests, but not as obsessive, so the trouble with females, is that they are not autistic enough.” The gold standard tests for autism are the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) tests. Professor Rippon believes these are heavily biased towards how the condition manifests itself in males, such as social awkwardness or extreme obsessions. For example, parents may well be asked if their son has an unusual interest in weather patterns or train timetables, but they are not asked if their daughter has an unusual interest in Barbie dolls, because dolls are seen as socially acceptable. Research has shown that females with autism are more likely to ‘camouflage’ their symptoms, watching how ‘normal people’ behave, even practising social interactions, so they appear more normal. They are also more likely to ‘mask’ symptoms behind a persona, such as the ‘class clown’ or ‘star athlete’, in an effort to fit in. Autistic females describe this behaviour as a ‘survival strategy’ to avoid being spotted as different. It is also the case that girls are more likely to have sensory processing problems, such as aversion to strong smells, which can be enough to affect their day-to-day lives. This has only recently been added to the diagnostic criteria for autism. If the camouflaging or masking collapses, rates of other conditions such as disordered eating or anorexia, self-harm and gender dysphoria are disproportionately high, and it is these which will become identified as the underlying difficulty, rather than autism itself. Professor Rippon said: “The next stage should be asking why this group of individuals persists in hiding their autism, especially when autism has been defined as a lack of interest in social connection. There’s what I call the ‘born to be mild’ effect, where little girls are trained to socialise more, to behave, not to make a fuss, if you feel uncomfortable, don’t tell anyone else about it. There’s a lovely comment from one late-diagnosed female who rues the fact that she was so well behaved and wishes that she had just burned more cars so that someone would have spotted her carefully camouflaged distress!” The final slide in the presentation covered what Professor Rippon called “an ironic footnote”. While Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger are described as the fathers of autism, writing in the 1940s, it was in fact a Soviet female psychiatrist, Grunya Sukhareva, writing in the 1920s, who first described autism, even clearly examining the differences in the condition between boys and girls. Why her research was ignored for so long is unclear, but the male spotlight problem may well have been avoided. For more information about The Lost Girls of Autism, visit https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/gina-rippon/the-lost-girls-of-autism/9781035011629.
Hormone Supplementation in Rhesus Monkeys Points to Potential Autism Treatment
For years, Florida Tech’s Catherine Talbot, assistant professor of psychology, has worked to understand the sociality of male rhesus monkeys and how low-social monkeys can serve as a model for humans with autism. Her most recent findings show that replenishing a deficient hormone, vasopressin, helped the monkeys become more social without increasing their aggression – a discovery that could change autism treatment. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that one in 36 children in the United States is affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That’s an increase from one in 44 children reported in 2018. Two FDA-approved treatments currently exist, Talbot said, but they only address associated symptoms, not the root of ASD. The boost in both prevalence and awareness of the disorder prompts the following question: What is the cause? Some rhesus monkeys are naturally low-social, meaning they demonstrate poor social cognitive skills, while others are highly social. Their individual variation in sociality is comparable to how human sociality varies, ranging from people we consider social butterflies to those who are not interested in social interactions, similar to some people diagnosed with ASD, Talbot said. Her goal has been to understand how variations in biology and behavior influence social cognition. In the recent research paper published in the journal PNAS, “Nebulized vasopressin penetrates CSF [cerebral spinal fluid] and improves social cognition without inducing aggression in a rhesus monkey model of autism,” Talbot and researchers with Stanford, the University of California, Davis and the California National Primate Research Center explored vasopressin, a hormone that is known to contribute to mammalian social behavior, as a potential therapeutic treatment that may ultimately help people with autism better function in society. Previous work from this research group found that vasopressin levels are lower in their low-social rhesus monkey model, as well as in a select group of people with ASD. Previous studies testing vasopressin in rodents found that increased hormone levels caused more aggression. As a result, researchers warned against administering vasopressin as treatment, Talbot said. However, she argued that in those studies, vasopressin induced aggression in contexts where aggression is the socially appropriate response, such as guarding mates in their home territory, so the hormone may promote species-typical behavior. She also noted that the previous studies tested vasopressin in “neurotypical” rodents, as opposed to animals with low-social tendencies. “It may be that individuals with the lowest levels of vasopressin may benefit the most from it – that is the step forward toward precision medicine that we now need to study,” Talbot said. In her latest paper, Talbot and her co-authors tested how low-social monkeys, with low vasopressin levels and high autistic-like trait burden, responded to vasopressin supplementation to make up for their natural deficiency. They administered the hormone through a nebulizer, which the monkeys could opt into. For a few minutes each week, the monkeys voluntarily held their face up to a nebulizer to receive their dose while sipping white grape juice – a favorite among the monkeys, Talbot said. After administering the hormone and verifying that it increased vasopressin levels in the central nervous system, the researchers wanted to see how the monkeys responded to both affiliative and aggressive stimuli by showing them videos depicting these behaviors. They also compared their ability to recognize and remember new objects and faces, which is another important social skill. They found that normally low-social monkeys do not respond to social communication and were better at recognizing and remembering objects compared to faces, similar to some humans diagnosed with ASD. When the monkeys were given vasopressin, they began reciprocating affiliative, pro-social behaviors, but not aggression. It also improved their facial recognition memory, making it equivalent to their recognition memory of objects. In other words, vasopressin “rescued” low-social monkeys’ ability to respond prosocially to others and to remember new faces. The treatment was successful – vasopressin selectively improved the social cognition of these low-social monkeys. “It was really exciting to see this come to fruition after pouring so much work into this project and overcoming so many challenges,” Talbot said of her findings. One of Talbot’s co-authors has already begun translating this work to cohorts of autism patients. She expects more clinical trials to follow. In the immediate future, Talbot is examining how other, more complex social cognitive abilities like theory of mind – the ability to take the perspective of another – may differ in low-social monkeys compared to more social monkeys and how this relates to their underlying biology. Beyond that, Talbot hopes that they can target young monkeys who are “at-risk” of developing social deficits related to autism for vasopressin treatment to see if early intervention might help change their developmental trajectory and eventually translate this therapy to targeted human trials. Catherine F. Talbot is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at Florida Tech and co-director of the Animal Cognitive Research Center at Brevard Zoo. Dr. Talbot joined Florida Tech from the Neuroscience and Behavior Unit at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis, where she worked as a postdoc on a collaborative bio-behavioral project examining naturally occurring low-sociability in rhesus monkeys as a model for the core social deficits seen in people with autism spectrum disorder, specifically targeting the underlying mechanisms of social functioning. If you're interested in connecting with Catherine Talbot - simply contact Adam Lowenstein, Director of Media Communications at Florida Institute of Technology at adam@fit.edu to arrange an interview today.
With Rise in US Autism Rates, Florida Tech Expert Clarifies What We Know About the Disorder
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that an estimated 1 in 31 U.S. children has autism; that's about a 15% increase from a 2020 report, which estimated 1 in 36. The latest numbers come from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which tracked diagnoses in 2022 among 8-year-old children. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that refers to a broad range of conditions affecting social interaction. People with autism may experience challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. The news has experts like Florida Tech's Kimberly Sloman, Ph.D, weighing in on the matter. She noted that the definition of autism was expanded to include mild cases, which could explain the increase. “Research shows that increased rates are largely due to increased awareness and changes to diagnostic criteria. Much of the increase reflects individuals who have fewer support needs, women and girls and others who may have been misdiagnosed previously," said Sloman. Her insight follows federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent declaration, vowing to conduct further studies to identify environmental factors that could cause the disorder. In his remarks, he also miscategorized autism as a "preventable disease," prompting scrutiny from experts and media attention. “Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.” Kennedy described autism as a “preventable disease,” although researchers and scientists have identified genetic factors that are associated with it. Autism is not considered a disease, but a complex disorder that affects the brain. Cases range widely in severity, with symptoms that can include delays in language, learning, and social or emotional skills. Some autistic traits can go unnoticed well into adulthood. Those who have spent decades researching autism have found no single cause. Besides genetics, scientists have identified various possible factors, including the age of a child’s father, the mother’s weight, and whether she had diabetes or was exposed to certain chemicals. Kennedy said his wide-ranging plan to determine the cause of autism will look at all of those environmental factors, and others. He had previously set a September deadline for determining what causes autism, but said Wednesday that by then, his department will determine at least “some” of the answers. The effort will involve issuing grants to universities and researchers, Kennedy said. He said the researchers will be encouraged to “follow the science, no matter what it says.” April 17 - Associated Press Sloman emphasized that experts are confident that autism has a strong genetic component, meaning there's an element of the disorder that may not be preventable. However, scientists are still working to understand the full scope of the disorder, and much is still unknown. “We know that there’s a strong genetic component for autism, but environmental factors may interact with genetic susceptibility," Sloman said. "This is still not well understood.” Kimberly Sloman’s research interests include best practices for treating individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She studies the assessment and treatment of problem behavior with methods such as stereotypy, individualized skill assessments and generalization of treatment effects. Are you covering this story or looking to know more about autism and the research behind the disorder? Let us help. Kimberly is available to speak with media about this subject. Simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
The Lost Girls of Autism is published on 3 April 2025, coinciding with Autism Awareness Month in April In the book, Professor Rippon explores the ‘male’ history of autism, and why autism in women has been misunderstood and ignored Professor Rippon will give a free public lecture on the book at Aston University on 6 May 2025. Gina Rippon, professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), has written a new book, entitled The Lost Girls of Autism. The book will be released on 3 April 2025, coinciding with Autism Acceptance Month in April. It has the subtitle ‘How Science Failed Autistic Women and the New Research that’s Changing the Story’. Historically, doctors believed that autism was a male condition, and simply did not look for it in girls and women. This has meant that autistic girls visiting a doctor have been misdiagnosed with anxiety, depression or personality disorders, or are missed altogether. Many women only discover they have the condition when they are much older, missing decades of support. In more recent years, it has become apparent that girls and women with autism have different traits and behaviours to boys and men, and are more likely to hide autistic traits to fit in – known as camouflaging. In The Lost Girls of Autism, Professor Rippon explores the emerging science of female autism, and examines why it has been systematically ignored and misunderstood for so long. Professor Rippon will give a free public lecture about her book on Tuesday 6 May 2025 at 18:00 BST at Aston Business School. Visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-lost-girls-of-autism-an-audience-with-author-gina-rippon-tickets-1304020734119 for more information and tickets. Copies of the book will be on sale at the event. Professor Rippon said: “This book reveals how a ‘male spotlight’ problem has biased many aspects of the autism story, from what autism is, to how we recognise it, and even how brain imagers like me search for answers. It shows how and why autistic women have been unrecognised, overlooked and unsupported. It shines a new light on how the story is changing and how we are now beginning to recognise the full spectrum of the autistic experience. It is for anyone with an interest in autism in all its presentations.”
University of Delaware experts share insights and strategies for navigating the upcoming school year
The College of Education and Human Development in the University of Delaware has a number of stories and experts for the upcoming school year. Stories Bridging the language gap: How AWE software fosters inclusivity for English Language Learners and Non-English Language Learners alike Creating a mindful classroom: Tips for teachers on how to have a peaceful transition into the 2024-2025 school year Empowering Black and Latinx Boys in Their Postsecondary Journeys: The Role of School Communities UD assistant professor Eric Layland shares new research on LGBTQ+ developmental milestones and supporting LGBTQ+ youth University of Delaware assistant professor explores the tensions between hopes and expectations in vocational planning for autistic young adults Experts Allison Karpyn – an associate professor who can speak to topics related to hunger, obesity, school food, supermarket access, and food insecurity. She has spoken extensively about food in schools and can offer context to those subjects. Roderick Carey – an assistant professor whose current interdisciplinary research serves to make sense of the school experiences of black and Latino adolescent boys and young men in urban contexts. He can also talk about teacher education as it relates to men in the field/the impact of male teachers. To contact Karpyn or Carey, click their profiles. More experts... If you would like to pursue any of these stories or speak to any of the following experts, they are all willing and excited to chat. Contact mediarelations@udel.edu to speak to them. Eric Layland – an assistant professor who can speak about LGBTQ+ student experiences from a research perspective. His work bridges LGBTQ+ developmental research to community impact through developmentally-informed, affirmative interventions. Sarah Mallory – an assistant professor who specializes in special education with a special focus on autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also works within the Center for Disabilities Studies. Sarah Curtiss – an assistant professor who specializes in special education with a special focus on autistic youth. Brittany Zakszeski – an assistant professor and nationally certified school psychologist, licensed psychologist and behavior analyst. She focuses on student and teacher mental health and can comment on what concealed weapons carried by teachers can do for the mental wellbeing of both students and teachers. Lauren Bailes – an associate professor who focuses on the ways in which organizational, social-cognitive, and leadership theory unite to promote the success of school leaders and K-12 students. Bryan VanGronigen – an assistant professor who specializes in organizational resilience and change management in K-12 schools with specific interest areas in efforts to improve schools, the preparation and professional development of educational leaders and educational policy analyses. Lynsey Gibbons – an associate professor specializing in mathematics education, in teacher professional learning and school partnerships across content areas. Contact mediarelations@udel.edu to speak to these experts or for more information on the stories above.
Research finds video games improve mobility for children with autism
University of Delaware professor Anjana Bhat has a long history of finding creative ways to keep autistic children engaged with the added benefit of improving their flexibility and gross motor skills. She’s used dance and play in the past but is now testing video games to see if they’re a viable intervention to promote movement in this population. Bhat and her team in the Move to 2 Learn Innovation Lab at UD's STAR Campus have been using Ring Fit on Nintendo Switch to help children with autism get their daily dose of exercise. “Children love video games, and they’re fun,” said Bhat, professor of physical therapy in UD's College of Health Sciences. “But there’s also a lot of evidence that video games with an exercise component have positive effects on cognition, social interactions and general physical activity levels.” She added that children with autism have a predilection for technology with a love of computers and robots, but exergaming hasn’t been studied in this population. “Technologies that have been tested and studied in children with autism mainly target sedentary functions that look at improvement in executive function and decision-making, but not necessarily exergaming,” Bhat said. “Exergaming has been studied in older populations and healthy children, but not so much in children with autism, so this study is unique.” After testing the intervention on a dozen children with autism over eight weeks, the consensus is that it works. “I’ve never seen anything grab their attention so much. Across the board, this tool is far more engaging than any other tool we’ve used before, including music and movement, yoga, general exercise, and outdoor play, which do not always work for every child,” Bhat said. “With exergaming and the variety of content that exists, most children remain engaged, and that’s what’s so unusual about this intervention compared to past interventions.” Games like tennis, volleyball, badminton, golf, sword fighting and bowling focus on the upper extremities, while soccer focuses on the lower extremities. Bhat receives accurate measures of improvement in a child’s ability through accelerometers in the video game controllers. “This is one place where children with autism shine,” Bhat said. “Their visual learning and sensory enhancements help them excel. This gives them a sense of self-efficacy and self-assurance that — they’re good at this,” she said. “It also gives them a sense of connection to the community because they can make friends and feel empowered. Video games are a great equalizer.” Bhat’s innovative pilot study was funded through a $50,000 award from the donor-created Maggie E. Neumann Health Sciences Research Fund, which targets research and innovation that aims to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Equipped with data from this study, Bhat hopes to expand access to the intervention and test it in the community. It’s already available at D-Fit Plus, an inclusive fitness center in New Castle that aims to help those with special needs explore fitness to build social skills and confidence, grow cognition, and manage stress. “It’s relatively low cost,” Bhat said. “Another advantage of this intervention is that you don’t need a highly skilled person present to work the intervention because the game leads the activity, making it accessible if embedded in the community.” This also provides a social outlet for the child’s parents. “Community settings bring a sense of connection for the child’s parents, who are always looking for community-based activities, and many environments aren’t suitable for children with autism,” Bhat said. “Many environments are too noisy or distracting. Exergaming removes those barriers and allows the child to engage with the game and maybe another partner.” Bhat’s previously published research has shown that 80% of people with autism face motor challenges. Her research is so compelling that she’s made a case to change the definition of autism to include motor impairments so those on the spectrum can get the proper physical therapy or gross motor interventions that could dramatically improve their quality of life.
Aston University AI project aims to make international health data sharing easier
Project to improve sharing data while complying with general data protection regulation (GDPR) guidelines Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies awarded almost £300k to work on European-wide project Will develop secure data sharing system to allow access to large sets of multi-source health data via tailor-made AI tools. Aston University is to explore the use of AI to improve sharing health data internationally. Dr Sergei Sokolovski of the University’s Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies has been awarded €317,500 to work on a European-wide project. Called BETTER (Better real-world health data distributed analytics research platform) the spans16 academic, medical and industrial partners. Although data-driven medicine is currently used to improve diagnosis, treatment and medical research ethical, legal and privacy issues can prevent sharing and centralising data for analysis. The research at Aston University’s involvement in the BETTER project aims to overcome these challenges so health data can be shared across national borders while fully complying with the general data protection regulation (GDPR) guidelines. Dr Sergei Sokolovski will lead the development of a secure data sharing system which will allow access to large sets of multi-source health data via tailor-made AI tools. Scientists and healthcare professionals will be able to compare, integrate and analyse data securely at a lower cost than current methods to improve people’s health. The BETTER project will focus on three health conditions; childhood learning disabilities, inherited degenerative retina diseases and autism, involving seven medical centres across the European Union and beyond. Dr Sergei Sokolovski said: “Data protection regulations prohibit data centralisation for analysis purposes because of privacy risks like the accidental disclosure of personal data to third parties. “Therefore, to enable health data sharing across national borders and to fully comply with GDPR guidelines this project proposes a robust decentralised infrastructure which will empower researchers, innovators and healthcare professionals to exploit the full potential of larger sets of multi-source health data. “As healthcare continues to evolve in an increasingly data-driven world projects like BETTER offer promising solutions to the challenges of health data sharing, research collaboration, and ultimately, improving the well-being of citizens worldwide. “The collaboration between multiple stakeholders, including medical centres, researchers, and innovators, highlights the importance of interdisciplinary efforts in addressing these complex issues.” The research will last 42 months. ENDS Better Real-World Health-Data Distributed Analytics Research Platform, Grant agreement 101136262 https://www.better-health-project.eu/ Research Universities taking part are: Aston University, Klinikum der Universitaet zu Koeln, Universiteit Maastricht, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Universitetet i Tromsoe, About Aston University Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston University is a long-established university led by its three main beneficiary groups – students, business and the professions, and the West Midlands region and wider society. Located in Birmingham at the heart of a vibrant city, the campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Aleks Subic is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive. In 2022 Aston University was ranked in the top 25 of the Guardian University Guide, based on measures including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects. The Aston Business School MBA programme was ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking. For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk
Researchers find an association between autistic traits and young children with ear, nose and throat problems The study used data from the Children of the 90s study which found 177 children were identified with a probable diagnosis of autism – 139 boys and 38 girls The study looked at data from over 10,000 children from birth to four years old. Ear, nose and throat (ENT) problems, relating to the ears, hearing and the upper respiratory system, are more common in young children with a subsequent diagnosis of autism, or who have demonstrated high levels of autism traits - finds new research published in BMJ Open. The study, which was led by researchers from the University of Bristol and Aston University, looked at data from over 10,000 young children from birth to four years old, who were part of the Bristol’s Children of the 90s study. The team investigated whether early ear and upper respiratory signs are associated with the development of autistic traits. Previous studies have found increased prevalence of ENT and related hearing conditions in children with autism compared with typically developing children, but much of this research has been carried out using health records, which can be biased. In the new study, researchers used data from Children of the 90s study, a general population cohort which recruited over 14,000 pregnant women from the Bristol area between 1991 and 1992 and has followed the lives of their offspring ever since. Within Children of the 90s, 177 children were identified with a probable diagnosis of autism – 139 boys and 38 girls. Those with autism traits were defined as the 10% of the sample with the highest trait scores. The team analysed responses to three questionnaires in which mothers recorded the frequency of nine different signs and symptoms relating to the ears, hearing problems and upper respiratory system when their child was aged 18 to 42 months. These included signs such as mouth breathing, snoring, pulling/poking of the ears, ears going red, worse hearing during a cold, ear discharge and rarely listening. The results found that the frequency of these symptoms was associated with high scores on each of the autism traits: social communication, coherent speech, sociability and repetitive behaviours, plus those with a clinical diagnosis of autism. Pus or sticky mucus discharge from the ears was especially associated with autism (an increased risk of 3.29) and for impaired hearing during a cold (an increased risk of 2.18). Dr Amanda Hall, senior lecturer in audiology, at Aston University, said: “Thanks to the data available from Children of the 90s, we were able to analyse results from a large number of children. We found that common ear and upper respiratory signs and symptoms appear to be more prevalent in those with a subsequent diagnosis of autism or demonstrated high levels of autism traits. “However it is also important to note that these ENT symptoms are very common in childhood and most children who experience these signs and symptoms do not go on to be diagnosed with autism. “For example, of the group of around 1,700 children who snored at age 30 months, most of those 1,660 children did not get a later diagnosis of autism. Our results suggest the need for increased awareness of possible ENT conditions.”
ChristianaCare Named one of Mogul’s Top 100 Companies with Inclusive Benefits
Recognition affirms ChristianaCare’s deep commitment to inclusion and diversity ChristianaCare has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Companies with Inclusive Benefits by Mogul, a diversity recruitment platform that partners with the world’s fastest-growing companies to attract and advance top diverse talent. ChristianaCare was recognized for both its “diverse hiring practices” and “progressive workplace resources.” “At ChristianaCare, we embrace diversity and show respect to everyone, and we reinforce these behaviors through purposeful actions that enable all our caregivers to serve our neighbors with love and excellence,” said Neil Jasani, M.D., MBA, FACEP, chief people officer at ChristianaCare. “By offering a wide array of inclusive benefits, we more fully support our caregivers in their commitment to being exceptional today and even better tomorrow.” The honor by Mogul is the latest recognition for ChristianaCare’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. ChristianaCare, Delaware’s largest private employer, has committed to being an anti-racism organization and works to ensure that this commitment is reflected through the organization’s policies, programs and practices. (Read more about ChristianaCare’s anti-racism commitment here.) ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, has signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge. This pledge outlines a specific set of actions the signatory CEOs will take to cultivate a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed and employees are empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion. More than 3,100 of ChristianaCare’s caregivers also have signed the pledge. ChristianaCare’s inclusion and diversity efforts feature 11 employee resource groups, which connect caregivers who have a common identity or bond with one another. Formed by employees across all demographics – including disability, race, military status, national origin and gender identity – these voluntary, grassroots groups work to improve inclusion and diversity at ChristianaCare. More than 1,350 caregivers participate. ChristianaCare has developed LeadershipDNA, a leadership development program that is specifically targeted to underrepresented caregivers early in their careers. ChristianaCare’s deep commitment to inclusion and diversity also includes: Providing $500,000 in scholarships to 10 high school students in Delaware who plan to pursue degrees in health care. Supporting Project Search, which is a nationally recognized program dedicated to providing education and training to young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participation in Project Hope, a partnership with external agencies that provides support to individuals who were involved with the criminal justice system. This program creates pathways to meaningful and sustainable employment within ChristianaCare. Participation in Project Veteran through career fairs that target veterans. Elimination of bias in hiring through biannual education for all hiring managers, along with leader demographic scorecards to support building a diverse workforce. Parental leave of 12 weeks for the bonding, care and wellbeing of a newborn, adopted children or foster care children. This policy applies to both birthing and non-birthing caregivers. Behavioral health services for employees that include access to professionals who specialize in mental health care and substance use disorder. A work life employee assistance program that provides free and confidential resources designed specifically for caregivers and their families. Coverage in employee health plans for gender affirmation surgery, which consists of medical and surgical treatments that change primary sex characteristics for individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Autism spectrum disorders benefits – such as diagnostic assessment and treatment – to the children of caregivers who are under 21 years of age. “Our commitment to inclusion and diversity touches all areas of our organization – including our benefits packages,” said Natalie Torres, director of Inclusion & Diversity at ChristianaCare. “We know that when we offer an inclusive benefits package that anticipates the needs of our caregivers, they can better support their families and provide better care to our community.”
Researchers reveal CBD can counter epileptic seizures in children
• Aston University epilepsy model used to illustrate the mechanisms of seizure activity • Results suggest how CBD can be useful in the treatment of childhood epilepsy • New insight into potential future interventions for hard-to-treat epilepsy. Researchers at Aston University have contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown way in which cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, can reduce seizures in many treatment-resistant forms of childhood epilepsy. A group of international collaborators, led by scientists at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, including a team from the Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment at Aston University, found that CBD blocked signals carried by a molecule called lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI). LPI is found in our brain’s neurons and is thought to amplify nerve signals as part of normal function but can be hijacked by some epilepsies to promote seizures. The study, published in the journal Neuron, expanded on previous findings showing that CBD blocks the ability of the molecule LPI to amplify nerve signals in a brain region called the hippocampus. The current study argues that, for the first time, the molecule also weakens signals that counter seizures, further explaining the value of CBD treatment and the generation of seizure activity in epileptic people. As part of the research group, the Aston University team used a leading model of epilepsy, developed by Professor Gavin Woodhall, to perform recordings of electrical signals in brain cells taken from epileptic rodents, some of which had been treated with CBD. By doing this, they were able to pinpoint the molecular mechanisms by which CBD acts to prevent seizure activity in epileptic brains. Professor Woodhall, co-director of Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment, said: “These new insights into epilepsy and the mechanism by which CBD works to stop seizures is the fruit of years of collaboration between neuroscientists in the UK and USA and our industry partner, GW Pharma. We are hopeful that it will lead to even better treatments in future”. Dr Stuart Greenhill, senior lecturer in neuroscience, Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment added: "We are delighted that our epilepsy model is being used to make such meaningful breakthroughs in the mechanisms of epilepsy and is paving the way for a wider range of future treatments". Corresponding author Richard W Tsien, chair of the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at NYU Langone Health, said: “Our results deepen the field’s understanding of a central seizure-inducing mechanism, with many implications for the pursuit of new treatment approaches. “The study also clarified, not just how CBD counters seizures, but more broadly how circuits are balanced in the brain. Related imbalances are present in autism and schizophrenia, so the paper may have a broader impact.” The results build on how each neuron “fires” to send an electrical pulse down an extension of itself until it reaches a synapse, the gap that connects it to the next cell in a neuronal pathway, and how this activity can change in a network which is likely to generate epileptic seizures. For more information about Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) please visit our website.
