It is World Autism Awareness Day today. And I use the title of a paper during our first ICMCC Event for this blog entry as a tribute to all those friends who have children with autism, and to my late mentor and friend Swamy Laxminarayan, for whom autism was one of his favorite subjects.

Have a look at yesterday’s story at CNN:

“An increasingly important use of existing computer technology for the future could be to provide automated tabulation functions on computers and hand-held personal computing devices (PDAs) to record a child’s specific activities. Such technology can save time and improve observation, data assimilation, and reporting, all of which can improve the child’s learning and school-family interactions. Data can be centralized, allowing for timely sharing of information and easing the stress on parents, who no longer have to go through several other people to keep up with their children’s progress, as well as assist teachers with record keeping and communication sharing.”
“The rising incidence of autism and growing public awareness about the disorder have prompted an ever more audible demand for appropriate services, support, and research. Many of the increased services and supports are available using technology. Technology is not a magic wand that will make autism go away, but it can make a significant difference in the lives of people with autism, their families, and their social and professional support system by quickly and efficiently marshaling medical consultation, behavioral interventions, and other services and supports. Research can be fostered and disseminated. Teachers and therapists can benefit from state-of-the-art training and collaboration. The applications described function as tools to lessen the stress on families and, simultaneously, as catalysts to research, prevention, and intervention.”

In 2005, the next paper was published:

Oberleitner, Ron, Rebecca Wurtz, Michael L Popovich, Reno Fiedler, Tim Moncher, Swamy Laxminarayan, and Uwe Reischl. “Health informatics: a roadmap for autism knowledge sharing.” Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 114 (2005): 321-6. Pubmed.

Read the full article.

“A strong partnership between parents, providers, and teachers will be necessary to address the challenges of early diagnosis, treatment, and care of the children with autism. New telehealth technologies and electronic medical records storage and retrieval systems offer new opportunities for parents, providers and researchers to communicate their observations and findings to each other. We recommend the development of a new Autism Information Management System (AIMS) that will create a complementing patient registry that is interoperable in relation to current database initiatives while providing a platform of sharable information to support the mission and goals of parents, health care providers, teachers, and researchers involved with the autism spectrum disorder.”

I don’t have the impression that much is happening in the field of IT-related R&D for autism. But let me know about any on-going projects or research, we will be more than happy to put it on this site.

Let me end with 2 things. First some recent news:

“Experts at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School’s Autism Center are developing new chip technology that will help diagnose autism; directing a New Jersey population-based autism monitoring system; and expanding professional and community outreach and educational activities These efforts may help us better understand the developmental disorder and revolutionize care for the estimated 67 million people around the world affected by autism.”
Newswise, 1 April 2009

Lodewijk Bos

2 April 2009 | Categories: Blog | Tags: Autism.
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