Monday night at 8pm, be sure to tune in for our newest episode of Hope Saves the Day on Autism Radio Tonight's Show is with your Host Paul Cimins talks about some new studies being done in the Autism Community.

A new study shows that playing classic music may help calm and reduce stress for children on the spectrum. The study was conducted at Curtin University by Jeremy Marriott for his doctoral research project. World renowned pianist David Helfgott was asked to help choose the classic music sample. He chose Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.8, also known as Pathetique.Talks about an Article published in Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease explores a possible correlation between gut flora and autism after a father reported improvements in his son’s symptoms after taking a round of antibiotics for strep throat. John Rodakis, a Harvard MBA venture capitalist with a background in molecular biology, said,

The child begain making eye contact, which he had previously avoided; his speech, which was severely delayed, began to improve markedly; he became less ‘rigid’ in his insistence for sameness and routine; and he also displayed an uncharacteristic level of energy, which he had historically lacked.”

These changes inspired Rodakis to do some research, uncovering a 1999 study from Chicago Rush Children’s Hospital sharing similar results.

He cautions parents not to rush out and start feeding their children antibiotics.

The link between the gut microbiome and autism is still being researched, and long-term antibiotic use can result in significant side effects. He also points to studies showing that certain individuals with autism displayed an increase in symptoms while taking antibiotics, and it is still unclear why this is the case. Rodakis and Dr. Frye are hopeful that future research will lead to answers, and possible treatments for some of the more debilitating symptoms of autism.