AAAP Today

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Dr. Isabelle Rapin, noted clinician, scientist, scholar, and teacher has passed away. She was gentle, warm and empathetic.She was my son’s first neurologist, referred to us through Dr. Oliver Sacks. Both are now gone. It was 1982, she told me my son Mikey had pervasive developmental disorder and treated him effectively for his seizure disorder. Discouraged me from trying out untested autism "cures", despite my insistences. She encouraged me (Lirio Covey) to prepare him for a life no longer fully in our family household when he would reach adulthood. I thank her for that advice and for her personal touch. Some years into our interactions as clinician and patient’ s mother, she ended telephone conversations calling me- my friend. May she rest in peace. .

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Below is the New York Times obituary for Dr. Rapin.​

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http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=185620903

Why oxytocin could be a treatment for autism.

by Lirio Sobrevinas-Covey, Ph.D.

Prior research has suggested that administration of oxytocin, a natural hormone produced in the brain, could enhance socialization behaviors in persons with autism (see Young & Barrett, Science, Feb 20, 2015).
The article referenced below describes research findings of vast, positive effects of oxytocin, sometimes referred to as “the love hormone”, in general populations, which could underlie the beneficial effect of oxytocin in persons who experience difficulties in social interactions and relationships, such as individuals with autism.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317556.php
The oxytocin-autism relationship is of interest for a number of reasons – genetic associations between autism and oxytocin have been identified; oxytocin deficiency could be involved in autism; oxytocin receptor activity could identify those at risk of autism, and conversely, oxytocin treatment could confer improvements in socializing abilities. Although several other candidate medications have been examined (sertraline, naltrexone, etc), no conclusive evidence indicating effectiveness of those medications in treating the fundamental symptoms of autism have been observed. Oxytocin treatment could be a possible approach for alleviating difficulties in social interactions, one of the two core symptom that define autism spectrum disorder (the other is repetitive, stereotypical behaviors). Clinical trials testing this possibility are ongoing.

​    Oral health is one of the most significant aspects of health living. It is also one of the greatest challenges experienced by persons with autism and their caregivers. The strange smells, loud noises, formidable-looking equipment, and especially the uncommon sensations during a dental visit (much less a dental treatment), make dental visits an especially fearsome experience for persons with autism. Dental visits are often put off for as long as possible, causing significant dental problems that require special expertise of the treating dentist. By the time some persons with autism first see the dentist, they have already developed serious dental problems that may even require surgery and hospitalization.

Dental care and treatment of persons with autism and other special conditions are areas of specialization that have been nurtured in her practice by Dr. Susan S. Reyes, D.M.D.  Dr. Reyes has accepted an agreement with AAAP to establish and maintain a Special Dentistry Clinic for A Special Place, the upcoming residential and work community to be located in Alfonso, Cavite, spearheaded by AAAP. Dr. Reyes’ background makes her uniquely positioned for this role. She is a passionate advocate of persons with special needs and that personal quality is buttressed by her training as a Doctor of Dental Medicine (Centro Escolar University, Manila, 1995), completion of a Master of Arts in Special Education (2011), and several years as a Dentist III and Training Officer with the Department of Hospital Dentistry at the Philippine Government’s Eastwood Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. She is one of a very few dentists in the Philippines who practices Special Care Dentistry. Recently, she traveled to North Carolina where she presented a workshop on the topic of “Dental Rehabilitation of Autistic Persons with Anemia and Tuberculosis “ at the 29th Annual Meeting on Special Care Dentistry. Welcome to the AAAP Family, Dr. Reyes!