Tech Tube

How Coby Bird's Role on 'Locke and Key' Helps Dispel Autism Stereotypes 



Has anyone watched Locke and Key? The show was recently renewed for a second season. After being featured on shows such as ABC’s “The Good Doctor” and “Speechless,” Coby Bird, a talented young man who is on the autism spectrum was cast as Rufus Whedon, the adopted son of Ellie Whedon and caretaker of Keyhouse Manor’s estate. Netflix’s description of “Locke and Key” is: “After their dad’s murder, three siblings move with their mom to his ancestral estate, where they discover magical keys that unlock powers — and secrets.” While the show never says directly that Rufus is on the autism spectrum, several people within the autism community have told me how they could relate to the character. I reached out to Coby to ask him and he said, “They never say that Rufus has any disability. It is assumed but never brought up.” There’s a great interview where Coby discusses his role on Autism Live with my dear friend Shannon Penrod, which you can watch below to learn more about his background. Related: Download The Mighty app to connect in real time with people who can relate to what you're going through. Related: Armani Williams is the First Openly Autistic NASCAR Driver Coby does a fine job in the role and I’m proud to see more and more people within our autism community pursuing acting. Growing up with autism, theater therapy was pivotal to my development when I had communication challenges and difficulties with understanding other people’s perspectives. I performed in over 20 plays, and now today as an adult, I have become an entertainment consultant, working behind the scenes to bring a realistic portrayal of autism and other disabilities to our entertainment industry. I do this job on the side while I continue my full-time job as a professional speaker, traveling the globe educating our communities on neurodiversity. Success from individuals like Coby makes me also want to encourage our educational system to look into including the arts in conversations around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). By adding the arts and called it STEAM, we help others realize that autism truly is a wide spectrum where if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. Related: Why I Relate to Harlan on ‘The Umbrella Academy’ as Someone on the Autism Spectrum Overall, I’d recommend this show without reservations, and hope we can continue to encourage our loved ones towards pursuing careers in the arts if that becomes one of their interests. Read more stories like this on The Mighty: Autistic Children ‘Acting Out’ May be a Sign of Digestive Problems Why Supporting Autistic Employees Goes Beyond Hiring Initiatives Why the Autistic Character in 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 2 Is Groundbreaking ‘Umbrella Academy’ Star Tom Hopper Shares the Importance of ‘Learning’ His Autistic Son’s Needs


Using marijuana in pregnancy may heighten baby's risk of autism 

The risk of autism may be greater in babies born to women who used marijuana during pregnancy, a new study suggests. In an analysis of data from more than 500,000 Canadian mothers and their children, researchers found a 50 percent increase in the risk of autism spectrum disorder in kids whose mothers had used cannabis while pregnant, according to the report, published Monday in Nature Medicine. “Cannabis is not a benign drug and any use during pregnancy should be discouraged,” the study’s lead author, Daniel Corsi, an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and a scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Ontario Research Institute, said. “We know that cannabinoids can cross placental tissue and enter the fetal bloodstream,” Corsi said. “There are cannabinoid receptors present in the developing fetus and exposure to cannabis may impact the wiring of the developing brain.” While it’s known that substance use in pregnant women can affect a fetus’s neurodevelopment, the question of whether cannabis use is a risk factor for autism has not been thoroughly investigated, Daniele Fallin, director of the Wendy King Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in an email. Fallin, who was not involved with the new research, said that the observational study cannot prove that cannabis use by pregnant women causes autism. “This is an interesting first step, but much more work is needed to implicate maternal cannabis use specifically in autism risk,” she added. To take a closer look at possible neurodevelopmental impacts of cannabis on developing fetuses, Corsi and his colleagues reviewed data from all Ontario births that occurred from 2007 to 2012, which was before the drug was legalized in Canada. Their final analysis included 503,065 children, 3,148 of whom had mothers who used cannabis while pregnant. The children were followed for an average of seven years, during which 7,125 were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The rate of autism diagnoses among children with in utero cannabis exposure was 2.2 percent, as compared to 1.4 percent in those whose mothers did not use the drug during pregnancy. Story continues When the researchers accounted for factors that might skew their results, they found that the risk of autism was increased by 50 percent when mothers used cannabis during pregnancy. "This finding gives some clues that exposure to cannabis in utero is associated with autism, but many questions remain,” Ziva Cooper, interim director at the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, said in an email. She noted that the women in the study were asked to self-report cannabis use, and only asked about it at one point early in their pregnancy. Still, “these are important findings given the increase of cannabis use in pregnant women,” Cooper, who was not involved with the new research, said. Last summer, research from Kaiser Permanente Northern California found that cannabis use is on the rise among pregnant women in the U.S. The percentage of women who used the drug while pregnant rose from 1.9 percent in 2009 to 3.4 percent in 2017. Canada legalized recreational marijuana use in 2018, a change that will likely lead to an increase in people using the drug, said Dr. Richard Miller, professor of pharmacology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and author of “Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs.” The new study raises an important question: Will it be safe for pregnant women to use? “The main finding — a very newsworthy one — is that the number who might get autism increased by a significant amount,” Miller said. “The take home message of this paper, which I think is fair enough, is that women should really think very carefully about this.” Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.


Transgender people 'more likely to be autistic', study reveals 

Transgender adults are up to six times more likely to be diagnosed as autistic than those whose gender identity corresponds with their birth sex, researchers claim.   University of Cambridge analysed data from 600,000 adults drawn from five different datasets, including over 500,000 individuals questioned as part of the Channel 4 documentary 'Are you autistic?' which aired in 2018.  They found that rates of autism among transgender adults far surpassed the numbers for the British population as a whole.  While just over 1 per cent of the UK population is estimated to be on the autistic spectrum, up to 6.5 per cent of gender-diverse adults are on the autistic spectrum.   Transgender and gender-diverse individuals were also more likely to indicate that they had received diagnoses of mental health conditions, particularly depression.  A better understanding of gender diversity in autistic individuals will help provide better access to health care and post-diagnostic support, the experts say.  Pictured, a person in the US holding the transgender flag. The new study at the University of Cambridge investigates the co-occurrence between gender identity and autism  'This finding, using large datasets, confirms that the co-occurrence between being autistic and being transgender and gender-diverse is robust,' said study lead author Dr Varun Warrier at the University of Cambridge. 'We now need to understand the significance of this co-occurrence, and identify and address the factors that contribute to well-being of this group of people.' Gender-diverse is the umbrella term used to describe those whose gender identity or gender role does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. For example, 'agender' describes someone who does not identify as having a gender identity, while 'two spirit' refers to someone who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit.   Cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds with their birth sex. While several studies have investigated rates of autism in cisgender individuals, there is limited information on rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals in the general population, the Cambridge team say.  A shot of the Channel 4 documentary 'Are you autistic?'. Georgia Harper (right), a trainee human rights lawyer and Sam Ahern (left), an artist, who present the programme are both autistic. They stand with University of Cambridge professor, Simon Baron-Cohen SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF AUTISM  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with autism have trouble with social, emotional and communication skills that usually develop before the age of three and last throughout a person’s life.  Specific signs of autism include:  Reactions to smell, taste, look, feel or sound are unusual Difficulty adapting to changes in routine Unable to repeat or echo what is said to them Difficulty expressing desires using words or motions Unable to discuss their own feelings or other people’s Difficulty with acts of affection like hugging Prefer to be alone and avoid eye contact Difficulty relating to other people Unable to point at objects or look at objects when others point to them Advertisement Individuals who took part in the Channel 4 documentary provided information about their gender identity and if they received a diagnosis of autism or other psychiatric conditions such as depression or schizophrenia.  Participants also completed a measure of autistic traits, which included difficulty with social interaction and resistance to changing routines.   Across all five datasets, transgender and gender-diverse adult individuals were between three and six times more likely to indicate that they were diagnosed as autistic.  This was compared to people whose gender identity corresponds to their sex at birth, commonly known as 'cisgender'.  While the study used data from adults who indicated that they had received an autism diagnosis, it is likely that many individuals on the autistic spectrum may be undiagnosed.  As around 1.1 per cent of the UK population is estimated to be on the autistic spectrum, this result would suggest that somewhere between 3.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent of transgender and gender-diverse adults are on the autistic spectrum.  'Understanding how autism manifests in transgender and gender-diverse people will enrich our knowledge about autism in relation to gender and sex,' said Dr Meng-Chuan Lai, a collaborator on the study at the University of Toronto. 'This enables clinicians to better recognise autism and provide personalised support and health care.'  On average, transgender and gender diverse people scored higher on measures of autistic traits, regardless of whether they had an autism diagnosis.  They were also more than twice as likely as to have experienced depression.  The study did not investigate whether gender identity causes autism or the other way round, however.  'Both autistic individuals and transgender and gender-diverse individuals are marginalized and experience multiple vulnerabilities,' said Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge. 'It is important that we safe-guard the rights of these individuals to be themselves, receive the requisite support, and enjoy equality and celebration of their differences, free of societal stigma or discrimination.' The study has been published in Nature Communications.   DO YOUR GENES DETERMINE IF YOU ARE TRANSGENDER? Scientists recently uncovered 20 genes linked to being transgender – supporting claims that the condition has a physical basis. Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, George Washington University and Boston Children’s Hospital believe the gene variations may contribute to people identifying with the opposite sex. Critics of transgender identity say the condition is ‘all in the mind’, and transgender people have a psychological problem rather than a medical one.  But by highlighting genetic mutations that affect brain development, the latest findings point towards transgender identity having a physical basis. US researchers tested 14 female-to-male and 16 male-to-female patients at gender reassignment clinics. Presenting their research at the Society for Reproductive Investigation conference, the researchers said: ‘We identified genetic variants in 20 genes that may play a role in transgender identity. ‘The most promising of these include variants of genes involved in neurologic development and sex hormones.’ Dr Ricki Lewis, a geneticist, said: ‘These are highly reputable folks going about this exactly the right way, searching the genomes of transgender people to highlight which genes they have variants in. It lends legitimacy, if that needs to be added, that transgender is not a choice but a way of being.' Advertisement