Written by Dr. Carosso Yes, it’s that time It’s that ‘back to school’ time. Yes, it’s sad to see the summer coming to a close but definitely time to get back to the school routine. Summer vs School Routine Need I mention the difference between summer and school-year routines? If you start about 2-3 weeks […]

Is Your favorite Show Harmful? Do you watch re-runs of your favorite show, or do your kids enjoy the Disney Channel. Seems pretty harmless, right? Well, maybe not so much. The TV Blues Does watching TV cause depression? Well, the poor quality of television programming may, in fact, be quite depressing, but a team of […]

I’ll keep this one short and simple; yes, they work. However, as usual, there’s a bit more to it than that. Short and long-term A social group program out of UCLA found that a social group for teenagers with autism proved to be successful not only for the short-term, but the gains were ongoing and […]

To lie or not to lie Okay, I’ll set the stage. Harvard researchers used an MRI to assess people’s brain wave functioning comparing those who lied vs. those who did not lie when asked a particular question. What’d they find? Those who lied tended to have significantly elevated brain wave activity in the prefrontal cortex […]

The SportZone fundraiser for the Autism Center of Pittsburgh (ACP) has been changed to Friday, June 15, from 6-9:00 PM. There will still be tons of activities for your kids including Deck Hockey, crafts, cookout, obstacle course, volley ball, water balloon contest, and much more. Only $10.00 per child (all ages and exceptionalities, or nonexceptionalities, […]

Check-out Dr. C's Morning Minute at AutismCenterofPittsburgh.com where you'll find information-packed minute-long video-posts covering topics such as: -Autism and ADHD -Autism and OCD -Autism and Antidepressants -Deciphering Research Findings -Autism and Applied Behavioral Analysis -Autism and Discrete Trial Therapy and more to follow. Feel free to request a topic of your choice at DoctorC@AutismCenterofPittsburgh.com or […]

Written by Dr. John Carosso It’s only been a week: It’s been barely a week since my last post about the difficulty deciphering research findings given the bias in the reporting. In that respect, you may already have heard the findings of a recent meta-analysis, regarding the effect of anti-depressants on self-stimulatory behavior, suggesting that […]

Written by Dr. John Carosso To Believe or not to Believe? We are deluged daily with research findings concerning everything from A-Z. The findings often come from prestigious journals and universities and from people with lots of letters after their names. However, can we trust the findings? The Short Answer No, we can’t. The Long […]

Written by Dr. John Carosso Water in the face, Tabasco sauce… There have been some recent stories about parents and teachers using ‘aversive’ techniques to ‘punish’ autistic children for misbehavior. One boy was stuffed in a bag and another was squirted in the face with water. I’ve also heard stories of parents using Tabasco hot […]

Written by Dr. John Carosso Tragedy happens: what can we say? Whether it’s a school shooting, car crash, natural disaster, or a natural death of a loved one, we must regularly face the pain of tragedy and loss. I am often asked by parents how they can relieve the pain and fear experienced by their […]