Please join us for our 3rd Annual Gala Auction and Banquet at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn.

April 6, 2013 • 6:30pm

Held at the Oregon Golf Club
25700 SW Pete’s Mt Rd
West Linn, OR 97068
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On the heels of the successful 2008 Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders think tank conference, The Autism Forum has organized and hosted a 2010 think tank conference – Autism Early Identification and Intervention: Achieving Best Outcomes – held October 22-24, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. Like the 2008 think tank, this year’s think tank brought together ASD treatment and research professionals who shared their knowledge and experience.

The central mission of the 2010 think tank is to determine the early identification, intervention, and treatment approaches and protocols that hold the greatest promise for children at-risk for ASD. The mechanism for this determination is the development of consensus statements that are supported and endorsed by conference attendees. Specifically, conference attendees are charged with developing consensus statements regarding:

1. the subtle signs of ASD that can be detected in high risk infants from birth or shortly thereafter before ASD develops and can be diagnosed; and
2. protocols for interventions that can be designed and implemented to mitigate the symptoms of ASD.

Esteemed participants in this conference include:

• Margaret L. Bauman, MD (co-chair), Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Pediatric Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Founding Director, Lurie Center LADDERS
• Timothy Buie, MD, Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Assistant Clinical Professor in Pediatrics, Tufts University; Associate Professor in Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital; Attending Gastroenterologist, Lurie Center LADDERS
• Roula Choueiri, MD, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, Tufts Medical Center
• Patricia Davis, MD, Developmental Pediatrician, Lurie Center LADDERS
• Connie Kasari, PhD, Professor of Psychological Studies in Education, UCLA
• Zoe Mailloux, MA, OTR, FAOTA, Sensory Integration Therapist, Pediatric Therapy Network
• Craig Newschaffer, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Professor of Public Health, Drexel University; Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Wendy Stone, PhD, professor of psychology
• Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Endowed Chair in Autism Research; Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberts

As important and exciting as this conference was, in many ways, it was be just the beginning. Consequently, in addition to organizing, sponsoring and coordinating the conference, The Autism Forum is committed to:

• publishing the results of the conference in a reputable, peer-reviewed journal,
• distributing the consensus report to professionals, and
• organizing, funding and conducting population studies that will evaluate the effectiveness of the consensus protocols.

The trials will allow researchers to identify infants at high risk of developing ASD and to involve these infants and their families to early diagnosis and treatment programs.

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1. “Recommendations for Evaluation and Treatment of Common Gastrointestinal Problems in Children With ASDs”, which summarizes the consensus statements of ASD experts who attended The Autism Forum’s 2008 think tank conference.
2. A second paper, “Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals With ASDs” in the supplement which summarizes the consensus recommendations of the participating experts for adapting current standards of care for abdominal pain, chronic constipation and gastroesophageal gastro esophageal reflux for individuals with ASD.

Both of these articles highlight the prevalence of GI disorders and their contribution to problem behaviors and stress the need for parents and professionals to be aware of how these problems present in children with ASD and the methods for appropriately diagnosing and treating them. Ongoing clinical and research evaluations of these guidelines are now contributing to evidence-based best practices for individuals with ASD.

For a copy of these articles, please contact the NWAF office.