An Innovative New Tool to Help Parents Recognize the Early Signs of Autism
Spectrum Disorders
NEW YORK, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Autism Speaks, a non-profit
organization dedicated to increasing awareness of autism and raising money
to fund autism research, together with First Signs, the leader in early
identification and intervention of children with developmental delays and
disorders, and Florida State University, today announced the launch of a
first-of-its-kind web-based video glossary to help parents and
professionals learn more about the early warning signs of autism spectrum
disorders (ASD). The glossary, available to the public free of charge at
http://www.autismspeaks.org, http://www.firstsigns.org, and http://firstwords.fsu.edu,
contains more than a hundred video clips that illustrate both typical and
atypical development.
The goal of the project is to help parents of children suspected of or
recently diagnosed with autism better understand some of the words and
terms they might hear used in association with ASD. Video clips are used to
show examples of such terms as social reciprocity, joint attention, sensory
defensiveness, hand flapping, and echolalia. In many cases, side-by-side
video clips show behaviors that are typical in contrast with those that are
red flags for ASD. Video clips that give parents short windows into the
different types of therapies will be added to the site next year. The
glossary will also be a useful resource to healthcare providers and other
professionals who may not have experience in diagnosing young children with
ASD. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will feature the ASD video
glossary in its soon-to-be released Autism Toolkit. The glossary offers two
entry points - the first is organized around the diagnostic features of ASD
and the second is an alphabetical list of terms associated with ASD. Both
entry points lead to video clips that illustrate the terms.
"If pictures are worth a thousand words, then these videos are worth a
million," said Suzanne Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. "Our hope is
that this new tool will help parents better understand behaviors they see
in their children and learn more about terms that have been used by doctors
or educators so that parents can be the best possible advocates for their
children."
"The goal of this initiative is to facilitate earlier diagnosis and
intervention for children with autism," said Nancy D. Wiseman, founder and
president of First Signs. "Right now, early intervention is the best weapon
we have against autism. We want parents to be able to recognize those early
warning signs and communicate their concerns more effectively with their
pediatrician."
Respected autism researcher, professor, and Director of the Florida
State University FIRST WORDS Project, Amy M. Wetherby, PhD, oversaw the
selection of appropriate and descriptive video clips. "We have carefully
chosen clips that can help parents see for themselves what typical behavior
looks like, as well as behavior that might raise a red flag," said
Wetherby. "These clips also help demystify terms that can sound complex but
represent important behavioral clues. These clues or early red flags of
autism may indicate that there should be concern about a child's
development."
WhiteBlox is Autism Speaks' technology partner on the autism video
glossary project, providing a custom tailored interactive media software
system to power the glossary and enable its most robust features, including
the side-by-side video players.
"WhiteBlox is honored to be involved in this important initiative,
which we believe will prove to be an indispensible tool for thousands of
families in the United States and beyond," said WhiteBlox Chairman and CEO,
Greg Demetriades.
The autism video glossary was architected and designed by Managing
Director Ross Cooper, Executive Producer Debbie Kiederer, Executive
Creative Director Angela Vecchio and Associate Creative Director Dawn White
of the Gold n Fish Marketing Group of Armonk, NY.
About Autism
Autism is an umbrella term for a wide spectrum of disorders referred to
as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) or Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD). They are a group of neurobiological disorders that affect a child's
ability to interact, communicate, relate, play, imagine, and learn, and are
often accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges. Autism Spectrum
Disorders are diagnosed in one in 150 children in the United States,
affecting four times as many boys as girls. The diagnosis of autism has
increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause
and cure remain unknown.
About Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum
disorders, to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and
cure for autism, and to advocating for the needs of affected families. It
was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of
a child with autism. Bob Wright is Vice Chairman, General Electric, and
served as chief executive officer of NBC for more than twenty years. Autism
Speaks has merged with both the National Alliance for Autism Research
(NAAR) and Cure Autism Now (CAN), bringing together the nation's three
leading autism advocacy organizations. To learn more about Autism Speaks,
please visit http://www.autismspeaks.org.
About First Signs(R)
First Signs, Inc. is a national non-profit organization dedicated to
educating parents and professionals about the early warning signs of autism
and other developmental disorders. It was founded in 1999 by Nancy D.
Wiseman, former marketing executive, parent of a child with autism, and
author of Could It Be Autism? A Parent's Guide to the First Signs and Next
Steps. First Signs provides professionals with tools and training and
parents with education and support to help young children stay on a healthy
developmental path. To learn more about First Signs, please visit
http://www.firstsigns.org.
About Florida State University's FIRST WORDS(R) Project
The FIRST WORDS Project is a prospective, longitudinal research
investigation at Florida State University designed to identify early red
flags of autism spectrum disorders from videotapes of children screened
under 24 months of age who are later diagnosed with autism. As Principal
Investigator, Dr. Wetherby has received funding from the US Department of
Education, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The research findings will have important implications for
improving early screening and evaluation tools. To learn more about the
FIRST WORDS Project, please visit http://firstwords.fsu.edu.
About WhiteBlox
WhiteBlox, a leading broadband video solutions company, delivers robust
technology and application services in a comprehensive production and
delivery suite that allows companies to become their own Internet
television broadcasters. WhiteBlox gives customers the flexibility, control
and tools to leverage video assets and content into dynamic, engaging and
profitable networks through use of its integrated broadband solutions.
WhiteBlox is a company of Continental Vista Broadcasting Group, Inc., based
in The Woodlands, TX, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Latin America
and Europe. For more information, please call 281.210.5000 or visit
http://www.whiteblox.com.
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