World #Autism Awareness Month by MSSA angle

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Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism took a part in Autism Europe’s campaign. To mark World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD), April 2, Autism-Europe has launched a Europe-wide awareness raising campaign “A New Dynamic for Autism” to call for policies that support the urgent needs of people on the autism spectrum across the European Union, in the context of the upcoming European Parliament elections. We translated all the documents into Macedonian and share them into mass and social media as well.

MSSA is realized the third phase of the project “Art for All” together with National Gallery of Macedonia, and we conducted the exhibition entitled “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring again”. Namely, there were 60 works on canvas made by children and youth with autism, included from several cities in the country.

The second public forum on “Cultural Inclusion of People with Disabilities” was held in the National Gallery as part of the activities from the project “Art for All”. The forum dedicated to culture as an important factor of change in the process of social inclusion of people with ASD and other disabilities. Ivana Vasilevska Petrovska, M.A., stressed that a society that strives to be inclusive has the obligation to take appropriate measures to provide people with autism opportunities for development and use of their creative, artistic and intellectual potential for their benefit, as well as a benefit for society.

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Trajkovski gave interviews about state of art for ASD in Macedonia and Autism PCP project into three national TV stations.

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Public forum on “Cultural inclusion of people with disabilities”

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Dear colleagues,

On April 5, 2019, the second public forum on “Cultural Inclusion of Disabled People” was held in the National Gallery as part of the activities from the project “Art for All”. The forum dedicated to culture as an important factor of change in the process of social inclusion of people with special needs is concluding the third, penultimate phase of this project supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Republic of Macedonia, coordinated by Ms. Maja Dimitrova.

Participating at the event were Ms. Mila Tsarovska, Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Mr. Enver Huseini, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science, Dr. Dita Starova Qerimi, Director of the National Gallery, Ms. Dragi Celevski, State Counselor at the Ombudsman, Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Bedi, Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Prof. Vladimir Martinovski, Ph.D., Department of General and Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Philology and Ms. Ivana Vasilevska Petrovska, MA, Special Educator and Rehabilitator, Vice-President of the Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism.

Ms. Ivana Vasilevska Petrovska stressed that a society that strives to be inclusive has the obligation to take appropriate measures to provide people with autism opportunities for development and use of their creative, artistic and intellectual potential for their benefit, as well as a benefit for society. “Through artistic creation, ways are created for these artists to be seen as capable, and their strengths are visible, valued, desired and appreciated. These events and all activities from the project are a contribution to transforming the perceptions regarding the competence of people with autism to create art and be part of our society. “

Also, she took this opportunity to promote the activities of MSSA in the next period within the project Autism PCP – A holistic Approach of person-centred planning for people with Autism. “In the next three years, within the framework of this project, we will empower people with autism at risk of social exclusion, strengthen general efforts to include autistic people in regular education and society, and strengthen the competencies of professionals working with and for these persons, and support the families of people with autism. “

The forum was held in the surroundings of the exhibition “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring Again” made by students with autism, followed by a projection of the short documentary recorded during the art- workshops, by Kiril Shentevski.

Vice President of MSSA

Exhibition: “Spring, summer, autumn, winter…and spring again”

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Dear friends,

MSSA is very pleased to inform you that on 04 April 2019, in the premises of the National Gallery of Macedonia, located in Cifte Amam, the third phase of the project “Art for All” was realized, i.e. an exhibition entitled “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring again”. Namely, there were 60 works on canvas made by children and youth with autism, included from several cities in the country. The exhibition was hosted by the project coordinator Maja Dimitrova, and opened by the sponsor of the project “Art for All” – the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Republic of Macedonia, Wouter Plomp.  The exhibition was enriched with the music point of the remarkable young violinist Philip Volkan.  All the participants from this project, including MSSA members, received an acknowledgment of their participation, investment and active work with the children during the workshops.

We are happy to be part of this project that we managed through art to look at the world from a different angle – through the eyes of these children.

Look at autism with your heart, your eyes may miss something…

Secretary of MSSA

Workshop Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring again

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Respected colleagues and friends,

From the first to the fifth of March 2019 in the premises of the National Gallery of Macedonia, more precisely in the building “Chifte Amam” located in the Old Skopje Bazaar, this year as part of the “Art for All” project, a series of workshops were held this time under the motto “Spring, summer, autumn, winter … And again spring “intended for children with an autistic spectrum of disorders. The workshops were attended by members of MSSA who are part of this two-year project.

The purpose of the workshops is to create art by children and people with ASD who can have a therapeutic aspect, and also contributes to positive changes in their social behavior and focusing attention. Through the use of different materials (paper, stones, leaves, collages, etc.) colors and techniques, children emphasized their creativity, took pictures and presented the seasons experienced at their own pace. Apart from the art and the “magic” created in “Chifte Amam”, these days were filled with friendship, fun and smiles of the people with ASD, their families, special educators and the employees of this institution. these activities will finish in April, where the pictures of the canvases will be displayed in the National Gallery of Macedonia, as well as the photographs made during these friendships.

Secretary of MSSA

Stress that parents of autistic children and parents of children with cerebral palsy face with

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Natasha Mateska1, Vladimir Trajkovski2

1unemployed special educator

2University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

Introduction: Autism is a diagnose that affects every member of the family in different ways. Parents should focus a bigger part of their attention toward the autistic child, which can cause a stressful effect in the family as well as outside the family.

Aim of the study: To determine the stress that parents of autistic children face with compared to parents of children with cerebral palsy.

Methodology: The entire sample includes 90 respondents, of which 45 parents of autistic children and the rest 45 parents of children with cerebral palsy. The survey was conveyed using a questionnaire and methods of descriptive and comparative analysis were used. The comparison of the groups of surveyed was analyzed by using χ2 test and Fisher Exact test. The differences that were taken into consideration were on the level of significance p<0.05.

Results: Parents of autistic children compared with parents of children with cerebral palsy, statistically show significant difference for following variables: support from close community (χ2=7.57, df=1, p=0.006), stigmatization by family and community (χ2=5.4, df=1, p=0.02), isolation by the community (χ2=10.3, df=1, p=0.001), change in the relationship between spouses (χ2=7.53, df=1, p=0.006).

Conclusion: The parents of autistic children are faced with bigger stress in managing the everyday activities and control of life, compared with parents of children with cerebral palsy.

Key words: stress, parents, autism, cerebral palsy

Citation: Mateska N, Trajkovski V. Stress that parents of autistic children and parents of children with cerebral palsy face. Book of abstracts ‡ 9th International Scintific Conference – „Special Education and Rehabilitation Today“. Belgrade, September 25-27, 2015; 31.

Plasma concentration of immunoglobulin classes and subclasses in children with autism in the Republic of Macedonia: retrospective study.

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#AUTISM PCP – A hollistic approach of person-centred planning for people with Autism

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AUTISM PCP‘ is an innovative cross-sectoral partnership project with strong European

added value; as such, ‘AUTISM PCP’ addresses important horizontal as well as sectoral priorities

for the European Union, such as ‘social inclusion, adult learning policies and Early School

Leaving (ESL).

The main objectives of  ‘AUTISM_PCP’ are:

Empowerment of individuals at risk of social exclusion and more specifically empowerment of ASC

individuals

Strengthening of the overall effort for social inclusion and integration of ASC individuals at

mainstream education & society at large

Enhancing competences of professionals and all those individuals, such as family members & relatives, etc., involved in the life of ASC individuals

Raise awareness  to the general public with regards to social inclusion of pupils with Autism

Source: http://www.autismholistic.eu/

WHAT CAN REATTACH DO FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM?

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Let’s take a few minutes to explain the impact of the multimodal approach of ReAttach:

  • ReAttach trains Multiple Sensory Integration Processing
  • ReAttach trains coherent concepts
  • ReAttach trains complex social cognitive skills and we start at a very low entry level
  • Our therapists use cognitive bias modification to practise new neuropsychological patterns and new thinking strategies that might be very useful in situations that are quite complicated

 

This results in:

  • The ability to learn from new experiences (problems with transfer disappear)
  • The ability to understand social concepts and read the non-verbal cues and social rules and behaviours that are not explicitly explained
  • Self-awareness and behaviour control
  • Improvement of executive functioning
  • Sensory overload decreases or disappears because sensory information can be processed quicker and better in a coherent way (by multiple sensory integration processing)
  • The development of new skills such as: imagination, expressing emotions, showing empathy, theory of mind, mentalization, reading your own body signals

 

With pre-verbal children or adults with autism ReAttach can achieve this:

  • Multiple Sensory Integration Processing
  • Coherent concepts of the self and others
  • Differentiation between the self and others
  • Echolalia changes into communication addressing to the self and the other
  • Exploration and play.

In the Netherlands we already provide the ReAttach for Autism intervention in institutions for Mental Health, private practises and institutions for people with cognitive disabilities. In WTA March 2015 a case study was published in Dutch.

The method has been presented at the World Autism Organisation Conference in 2014 and 2016 and at the Autism Challenges and Solutions Conference in Moscow, April 2016.

The practical research has been published in Clinical Neuropsychiatry, a peer-reviewed journal for treatment evaluation. It has been rewarded with a nomination of the Clinical Neuropsychiatry Award.http://clinicalneuropsychiatry.org

Prof Dr Vladimir Trajkovski has presented this autism research paper in Belgrade last year and represents us in the Balkan region.

In Prof Dr Michael Fitzgerald’s book Autism Recent Advances there is a chapter on ReAttach about a case study with a patient with Asperger syndrome. http://www.intechopen.com/books/autism-spectrum-disorder-recent-advances/reattach-the-exciting-development-of-a-promising-intervention-for-autism-spectrum-disorders

Availability

International training courses are scheduled to deliver the ReAttach for Autism in the upcoming year to: Belgium (Gent, Leuven, Antwerpen), Singapore, United Kingdom (London), Germany (Keulen, Mannheim, Muenster), Italy (Rome), Vancouver BC, Australia (Sydney, Melbourne,) and New York.

For more information you may contact ReAttach Therapy Institute
info@reattach-therapy-institute.com

Source: AutsimEye

FAMILY ANALYSIS OF IMMUNOGLOBULIN CLASSES AND SUBCLASSES IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC DISORDER

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. 2009 Nov; 9(4): 283–289.

Abstract

Autistic disorder is a severe neurodevelopment disorder characterized by a triad of impairments in reciprocal social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and a pattern of repetitive stereotyped activities, behaviours and interests. There are strong lines of evidence to suggest that the immune system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autistic disorder. The aim of this study was to analyze quantitative plasma concentration of immunoglobulin classes, and subclasses in autistic patients and their families. The investigation was performed retrospectively in 50 persons with autistic disorder in the Republic of Macedonia. Infantile autistic disorder was diagnosed by DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria. Plasma immunoglobulin classes (IgM, IgA, and IgG) and subclasses (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4) were determined using Nephelometer Analyzer BN-100. Multiple comparisons for the IgA variable have shown statistically significant differences between three pairs: male autistic from the fathers (p = 0,001), female autistic from the mothers (p = 0,008), as well as healthy sisters from the fathers (p = 0,011). Statistically significant differences found between three groups regarding autistic disorder (person with autistic disorder, father/mother of a person with autistic disorder, and brother/sister) independent of sex belongs to IgA, IgG2, and IgG3 variables. Multiple comparisons for the IgA variable have shown statistically significant differences between children with autistic disorder from the fathers and mothers (p < 0,001), and healthy brothers and sisters from the fathers and mothers (p < 0,001). Comparison between healthy children and children with autistic disorder from the same family should be tested for immunoglobulin classes and subclasses in order to avoid differences between generations.

Keywords: autistic disorder, immunoglobulin classes, immunoglobulin subclasses, family analysis
Source: PMC

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CEREBRAL PALSY AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

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VLADIMIR TRAJKOVSKI, MD, PhD, Full Professor

Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism, Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Philosophy, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”

Address: Blvd. “Goce Delchev 9A, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

E-mail: vladotra@fzf.ukim.edu.mk

Abstract

Relevance: Clinical heterogeneity among children with neurodevelopmental disorders reflects diversity in strengths and needs that can have important implications for therapeutic management. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is sometimes a co-occurring associated condition of cerebral palsy. Whereas cerebral palsy affects motor functioning, autism affects certain areas of brain development. Cerebral palsy (CP) is primarily a motor disorder, caused by a cerebral lesion occurring in the developing brain.

Purpose: To explore autism spectrum symptoms in children with cerebral palsy (CP), and the association between autism spectrum symptoms and medical and psychiatric co-morbidity.

Results: Over the past two decades there has been greater recognition that risk of mental health and neurobehavioral disorders is shared across the broad continuum of developmental medicine, including cerebral palsy. The current best practice for diagnosing ASD in a child with CP is completing a thorough clinical assessment and combining this with the clinician’s

judgement. The assessment of ASD in the face of CP should entail a detailed history, examination and structured observation of the child’s social and communication skills, complemented with standardized diagnostic instruments which are validated for children with motor difficulties. Both conditions are discovered at roughly the same age, usually. Cerebral palsy is usually discovered a little earlier, at perhaps 6 months to 2 years of age. Autism is discovered a little later, usually by 5 years of age.  They are highly variable, with some symptoms present in some children but not others. Both conditions can be very severe or hardly noticeable.

Conclusions: A holistic approach is required when evaluating a child who demonstrates impairments in social communication skills in the presence of motor impairment More attention should be given to autism spectrum symptoms in the regular follow-up of children with CP in an attempt to enhance social functioning.

Key words: cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders.