December 19, 2022
- The Institute on Disabilities at Temple University recently posted a TikTok video that features a step-by-step guide to conscientious wrapping for individuals with fine motor or motor planning issues. So far, it has received more than 1.8 million views and 216,000 likes. The video shows how to wrap presents using an “easily reachable” loop made from ribbon to provide an easy grip to assist in tearing wrapping paper.
- An international paper has reported significant improvements in core symptoms of autism for children that took the supplement sulforaphane compared to children given a placebo. Interestingly, parents did not recognize significant changes in the sulforaphane or placebo group. However, clinician-rated scales showed a significant improvement in the sulforaphane group, and one-third of the participants demonstrated at least a 30% decrease in score by 12 weeks of treatment.
- A recent study from Tel Aviv University has discovered that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) significantly improved social skills in autism animal models. The researchers discovered that HBOT caused brain changes, including a neuroinflammation decrease in animals. They also witnessed great improvement in the social functioning of the animal models treated in the pressure chamber.
- Kaiser Health News recently featured an article titled “Impending Intergenerational Crisis: Americans with Disabilities Lack Long-Term Care Plans.” The article reports that many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not have appropriate plans for when family members lose the ability to assist in accessing government services or care for them directly. The author believes that this lack of planning has set the stage for a crisis in which people with disabilities can no longer live independently in their communities and end up stuck in nursing homes or state-run institutions.