Gregory Brian Wood

In 2005 I was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, consistent with Asperger’s Syndrome, Non Verbal Disorder. After this diagnosis I felt I finally had an answer to many years of disappointments and frustration. My family was finally relieved that we finally had an answer. Follow my journey. [read more]

Dear Parents: Your Child With Autism Is Perfect

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Gregory Wood

By Madeleine Ryan

Children with autism express themselves truthfully regardless of the social consequences. I know, because I am autistic.

Dearest parent of a child with autism,

You are the chosen one. Yes, it is your job to guide and support the world’s most dynamic, creative, honest and disciplined creature. Congratulations.

Being the parent of an autistic child means being the parent of everybody’s unacknowledged needs and feelings. It’s no small task. Children with autism embody the sensitivities and passions of your friends, family and co-workers — only amplified. When they stim in a supermarket queue to release pent-up frustration, or they weep uncontrollably at the dinner table because they can’t find the words to express themselves, or they focus on doing what they love for hours on end, they are shamelessly displaying what others are too frightened to. Read more

Study links gene to inherited form of autism

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Gregory Wood

Inherited mutations in a gene called ACTL6B lead to autism, epilepsy and intellectual disability, according to a new study¹.

The mutations are recessive, which means that they lead to autism only if a person inherits them in both copies of the gene — one from each parent, who are silent carriers. Most other mutations implicated in autism are spontaneous, or ‘de novo,’ mutations, which are not inherited.

The study suggests that recessive mutations in ACTL6B could be a relatively common cause of autism, says co-lead researcher Joseph Gleeson, professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. read more