MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'autism blog'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:32:14 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2129416&cid=t_180873_136_f&fid=36032&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fbreast-cancer%2Flife-with-breast-cancer%2Faccording-to-geneticists-sister-and-i-are-better-off-dead%2F It all sounds so great. The medical community has deemed that we can prevent women from getting cancer. No, it’s not a vaccine, its selective birth. They are suggesting to women that they can have their embryo tested, while in the womb, and destroyed if he or she tests positive for the breast cancer gene defect BRCA I and BRCA II. I guess what comes next is women who have the gene will be mandated to be tested so as not to allow a baby to be born with the predisposition to breast cancer. It won’t stop there. What about people with MS, or people with autism? This is the road to selective birth; perhaps leading to the creation of better humans. Does this mean that Sister and I are now undesirable humans? Basically, those of us who carry the breast cancer gene defect should never have bee... Life with Breast Cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2129416 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:44:27 +0100 2129416 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074308&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3k-pX4_KwHk%2F Starting January 5, 2009, voting for the 2008 Weblog Awards begins—–and this blog, which I’ve been writing since April of 2006, is among the finalists for best Medical/Health Issues Blog. I’m included in some good company, including Respectful Insolence—-The Differetial—-Junk Food Science—-Stirrup Queen. Thanks to everyone for reading Autism Vox, writing in, sounding off—-it’s been a great year and onward into a new one (very very soon!). Tags: asd, autism, autism blog, awards, blog, blogger, disability, Health, Medicine, pdd-nos, Science, weblogShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074308 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:32:52 +0100 2074308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2052840&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3ewwARh2ST4%2F The Florida legislature has declared the first half of October as Disability History and Awareness Weeks, today’s West Volusia Beacon notes. Indeed, the legislature is said to be “trying to change the negative image, perception and treatment of people with disabilities.” The article highlights programs for disabled students throughout the county, such as Deltona High School’s Multi-VE program. VE stands for varying exceptionalities. Multi-VE students’ disabilities and challenges include hearing or language impairments, mental handicaps, emotional and behavioral disorders, multiple physical handicaps and disorders all across the autism spectrum. Located in Building Z on the 92-acre campus, Deltona High School’s Multi-VE program serves more than 50 students, ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2052840 Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:51:37 +0100 2052840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040116&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FAFWB42Dnwvo%2F Arne Duncan, the superintendent of the Chicago school system, has been chosen as the new Secretary of Education by President-Elect Barack Obama, as noted yesterday in EdWeek and on the New York Times’ The Caucus blog. From EdWeek: As Chicago schools CEO, Duncan tapped a panel to craft curriculum-based assessments to guide teaching, bolstered spending on anti-violence prevention measures, and tested out a program allowing teachers to evaluate one another. Duncan supports the basic framework of the No Child Left Behind Act. In testimony before a congressional committee in 2006, he called on lawmakers to “maintain the law’s high expectations and accountability” but to amend the law “to give schools, districts, and states the maximum amount of flexibility possible... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040116 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:29:37 +0100 2040116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040117&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FwDPuBSUJEMI%2F Yes, it’s today, Tuesday, Dec 16th  – 9AM, 12:30 PM and 8 PM (Pacific Standard Time). Autism Twitter Day is open to Twitter members, specifically those who are members of the autism community, whether you’re a parent, sibling or relative, and too those on the spectrum. Prizes will be given out, most geared to children and young adults with autism or Asperger syndrome; lots more information about the day is here. The hashtag to be used for autism twitter day is #ASD. So, if you post a tweet today on the topic of autism / positive autism awareness, please use the hashtag, either in front or at end of the tweet. You can open up a window at www.summize.com and input #ASD to follow along with the conversation at the specified times; conversations may well run longer than one hour... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040117 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:48:13 +0100 2040117 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040118&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F7QBg4H8cu4U%2F While I’m contemplating where to locate twinkling bike lights and as it’s the holiday season, I thought I’d make a confession: Charlie’s never sat on Santa Claus’s lap. We have tried, when he was much younger and we found ourselves in a mall in New Jersey, the land of malls and mallrats. Or maybe we had gone to the mall that day for that sole purpose. Something about “mall air” and the deliberately smiling velvet-clad elves/Santa’s helpers, and the line of overly excited, bored, or wandering about children, led Jim to say, quite wisely: “Let’s get out of here.” We never really brought up the matter after that. Charlie was around 4 or 5 then and he wasn’t too inclined to sit on anyone’s lap for too long, and we wo... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040118 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:48:34 +0100 2040118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040119&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FIY_IiAIUdGM%2F There’s been studies about older parents, both fathers and mothers, being more “at risk” of having an autistic child, and especially if it’s their first-born child—-now, a study published in Oxford University’s Schizophrenia Journal is suggesting that being a younger dad means you’ll have healthier children. From today’s Science Daily: “There is a growing body of data showing that an advanced age of parents puts their kids at risk for various illnesses,” says Dr. [Mark Weiser from Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine]. “Some illnesses, such as schizophrenia, appear to be more common the older parents get. Doctors and psychologists are fascinated by this, but don’t really understand it. We want to know how it works.” To... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040119 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:33:13 +0100 2040119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040120&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FqyPMQQEcbQQ%2F ‘Tis the holiday season and I have pretty much finished shopping for everyone on our list, from relatives to my sister to multiple cousins, office staff, the letter carrier, Charlie’s teacher and aides, Jim—-and I’m down to one last person. Charlie. What do you get for the boy who doesn’t seem to want anything? Today’s Chicago Tribune captures this dilemma: Parents struggle with whether to oblige the child who desires nothing more than church directories, word puzzles, spinning toys or even cleaning supplies—all real examples from youngsters’ wish lists. Friends might see the child’s exotic interests as humorous or cute. But the youngster’s family recognizes that the obsession represents their child’s special need for a coping t... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040120 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:31:48 +0100 2040120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2040121&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3ESPTdPo7yg%2F 16 months ago, Olivia Agbonlahor and her 7-year-old twins, Great and Melissa, were deported from Clonakilty, County Cork, in Ireland, to Nigeria. Great is autistic and, as reported in the Irish Indepedent, he is considered “wicked” and “possessed by voodoo” in Africa. Great’s autism is simply not recognised due to the common stigma in Africa against autism. “I have to do my best, but it is not easy,” said Olivia. “His behaviour is getting worse every day — that is the problem. He cannot play with other children. People ask ‘what is wrong with this boy’ all the time,” she said from her home in Ghana. While the teachers that helped the family when they lived in Clonakilty and Killarney have sent over computer learning ai... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2040121 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:22:15 +0100 2040121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035853&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FK2fLwbKGN0w%2F My son Charlie is, as I’ve noted here, 11 1/2 years old. He’s been attending middle school since September and it hasn’t been easy, and we’ve started to get the feeling that it’s not going to get easier. Charlie is in a self-contained classroom, located in a large middle school in our school district. There are three other boys—all older than him by a year or two, and all shorter than him—a teacher, and four aides in the room. He starts the day with Adapted Physical Education (APE) around 8.30am) and has speech therapy briefly with a speech therapist most days of the week. An occupational therapist sets up programs on specific skills, like writing and washing his face, that he works on throughout the day. He has a really good teacher and behavior c... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035853 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:03:48 +0100 2035853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035854&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F6a5FhWI7D8M%2F So says 15-year-old Roderick Robertson, who takes care of his younger brother, Tim, every day. Tim has autism and his older brother is his regular caretaker, today’s Courier-Mail reports: Roderick, who also lives with his stepfather, two stepsisters and stepbrother, describes home life as “hectic” but says it with a smile. There are times when he misses out on social outings with friends because he looks after Tim and school holidays aren’t always as fun and carefree as they are for many of his peers. “I have a roster of when I need to be at home to look after Tim over the school holidays,” he says. “I take him to the park, muck around with him - that sort of thing.” Sounds like how I spend many any afternoon with Charlie, and many moments th... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035854 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:05:45 +0100 2035854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035855&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F7CpE78ha8Ms%2F Sports “tap into an autistic person’s basic needs for social and physical interaction and participation in purpose-driven tasks,” according to Chantal Sicile-Kira, whose autistic son is an adult and who’s written three books on autism. Sicile-Kira is quoted in an article in today’s Orange County Register about the first school-district sponsored sports league for autistic children. The league was started by Kathy Murphy, a speech language pathologist at Harbor View Elementary in Newport Beach; soccer, T-ball, and track are offered. No one keeps score and, during a soccer game, “……everybody, no matter what team they were aligned with, cheered when a player found the back of the net.” My son Charlie’s been in Challenger league t-bal... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035855 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:04:29 +0100 2035855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035856&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fnq3q-zLkyuk%2F The terrible two’s are really just another name for “regressive autism spectrum disorder”?????—-so suggests a professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Temple University. From yesterday’s UPI.com: Gerry A. Stefanatos of Temple University in Philadelphia said regressive autistic spectrum disorder describes children who have been diagnosed with autism who demonstrate a history of a regression. The regression refers to a marked loss of previously acquired developmental skills such as language or social ability. “Often children with regression aren’t being seen by professionals at the time of the loss of skills,” Stefanatos said in a statement. “The parents are aware of a problem, but not sure what it is so they don’t seek ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035856 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:00:36 +0100 2035856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035857&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FJ9vZGdd_fzg%2F As in, school closures and budget cuts to programs for autistic children. In Brooklyn, a nationally recognized program for speech and language delayed children, The Little Room, will either be moved from its location in the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School or closed, according to the December 13th New York Times. The Little Room, which has been in operation since 1970, is “one of the most popular and best regarded [preschools for special education students], not just for those enrolled but for dozens of other families who receive evaluations and support services at the school.” Among the factors being cited as reasons for moving or closing The Little Room are the costs incurred from maintaining a small class size (The Little Room’s classes are capped at nine students) a... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035857 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:45:18 +0100 2035857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035858&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fv3UB4FiJwVA%2F In the midst of talk of diagnosis and disability rights, of treatments and of what’s an appropriate education for an autistic student, we took a hands-free cold walk last weekend to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza, and passed a wall of snowflakes too. Age of Diagnosis and the Apparent Increase in Autism A study in the December Archives of Pediatrics and General Medicine examines autism prevalence trends over time in Denmark and states that “the apparent increase in autism in recent years is in part attributable to a decrease over time in the age at diagnosis. Recovery Distracts How the notion of “recovery from autism” colors—not for the better— parents’ decisions about “treatments” and “therapies” for autism, and also on the popular percept... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035858 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:36:32 +0100 2035858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035859&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F-WtfDf89Z3U%2F A potentially double-good plan involves (1) preserving one of the last strips of undeveloped land within Dubuque’s city limits and (2) creating a residential facility with an on-site farm for autistic adults: Today’s THOnline tells more about an effort to preserve green space and provide a place to live, and to work, for autistic adults. $985,000 has to be raised to purchase the property and the whole project could cost some $2million, so there’s a lot more to do. Says Craig Beytien, whose autistic son is 15 years old, “‘We’ve got the passion and some ability, but does the economic model support it?’”Goes without saying—hoping that it can, and will.  Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, dubuque, Educ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035859 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:30 +0100 2035859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035860&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FftHoVlF9GxE%2F Children with autism and other disabilities, and more of them, are “actually getting arrested for having tantrums at school,” Minnesota’s WCCO reports. 13-year-old Dakota Jacobson was charged with a felony after he was found carrying a pocket knife in his coat: [Dakota] didn’t threaten anyone, but bringing any kind of weapon to school is a felony in Minnesota. While most kids understand why you wouldn’t want to do that, Dakota did not. “He’s 13 and he’s autistic,” explained his mother [Kathryn Jacobson]. Children with autism can have trouble understanding rules. His mom says he was just trying to be like his dad, Brian. “Brian is on the volunteer fire department, carries a knife hooked up to his belt, so he kind of likes to emulat... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035860 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:36:19 +0100 2035860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033258&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F43dWxgLWU5o%2F Earlier this week, mega-autism-organization Autism Speaks announced the appointment of three new board members, Artie Kempner, lead director for the NFL and NASCAR on FOX; Billy Mann, President of International A & R - Labels and President of Global Artist Management, EMI Music; and Jack Schneider, managing director of Allen & Co.. Kempner and Mann are both fathers of autistic children. It’s been noted (by Lisa Jo Rudy at About.com) that the new board members include no one who’s autistic. With the rise of self-advocacy organizations like ASAN, and also GRASP and many others, the absence of an autistic member on Autism Speaks’ board seems more and more puzzling. The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee lists Stephen Shore, a self-advocate, on its roster, and ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033258 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:51:20 +0100 2033258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033259&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F73blwjze_fA%2F Autism a factor in swallowing magnets, is the headline for a story in UPI today. The actual reference to autism in the news story does not make such a clear link about autistic individuals and magnets: U.S. researchers said a child’s medical or psychological status — such as autism — was a factor linked to swallowed magnets. “Not all children will be inclined to swallow magnets, but if a particular child displays tendencies to eat or swallow inappropriate objects, flags should be raised and special attention should be paid to ensuring that toys do not contain any type of magnetic components,” study author Dr. Alan Oestreich of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center say in a statement. A study in Pediatric Radiology is cited and it’s note... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033259 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:39:12 +0100 2033259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033260&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FZsTTvmqgD64%2F In her Domestic Disturbances column today, Judith Warner writes about “emotional enmeshment,” which she defines as “the boundary collapsing” that, she thinks, is the “signature characteristic of motherhood (and parenthood) in our time.” Warner scrutinizes her relationship with her two daughters, aged 11 and 8. While she notes that she’s sought to establish boundaries between herself and them: I despised the cliché “you can only be as happy as your least happy child.” What drivel this was, I thought. What self-indulgence. Wasn’t it a parent’s responsibility to remain whole in the face of a child’s unhappiness, the better to buoy him or her through difficult times? As the years passed, I refused to be a good Suzuki mother and sit in on my ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033260 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:00:15 +0100 2033260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033261&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F-l3FWYBuQ98%2F Back in August of 2007, University of Georgia mathematics professor Shuzhou Wang was charged with making terroristic threats at Cedar Shoals High School during a parent-teacher conference for one of his children; Wang is the father of two autistic children. As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, a grand jury did not indict Wang, noting that he did not intend to terrorize anyone: At least one school official felt threatened by his remarks, according to the indictment prosecutors presented. Wang “did threaten to commit a crime of violence with the purpose of terrorizing (the official) by threatening to kill people in the county,” the court document states. The professor and his wife struggle to raise two children with autism, and he was frustrated during the meeting and said th... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033261 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:00:59 +0100 2033261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033262&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fmrd9ldllxJQ%2F The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is meeting today from 9am to 4pm, at the National Institutes of Health Neuroscience Center, Conference Room A (6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20892). You can listen in virtually via a webinar: Use this link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/446892042 Or, you can attend via conference call at these numbers: USA/Canada Phone Number: 888-455-2920 International Phone Number: 212-287-1838 Access code: 3857872 The agenda for today’s meeting is to complete the review of the IACC Strategic Plan for ASD Research Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan addressed six questions: 1) When should I be concerned? • What are the early warnings signs? • Are there typical characteristics that are part of an ASD diagnosis? • How much v... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033262 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:36:47 +0100 2033262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033263&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FRj1cEpmQOdo%2F A review of special needs education in the UK has found that “parents feel the system is not on their side,” today’s BBC reports: [Inquiry chairman] Brian Lamb wrote: “A major concern for parents is the lack of transparency and lack of information about school and local authority SEN policies”. And he said no-one discussed with parents what their hopes and aspirations were for their children. I suspect the situation is not so different for parents in the US…… Tags: arizona, asd, asperger, autism blog, bbc, disabilities blog, disability, education autism, Health, parenthood, special education, special needsShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033263 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:00:14 +0100 2033263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033264&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FarDyYzTlSrY%2F Life 101: That’s how the University of Arizona’s Chapel Haven West program is referred to in a story on yesterday’s ABC News. The program helps young adults with autism learn “to live independent and productive lives.” “Just friendships, job interviews, actually filling out resumes and bringing them to a job, having a roommate,” said Betsey Parlato, president of Chapel Haven. “These are all things that you and I take for granted, but for someone with autism it’s a monumental challenge.” In a social skills class, University of Arizona teaching assistants show the students the “hidden rules” that help them navigate their surroundings and interpret changing social cues. “Not to stare inappropriately and that kind of... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033264 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:06:47 +0100 2033264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033265&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FfbXMZNloCH8%2F An editorial in today’s Palm Beach Post reports that Alex Barton’s mother is hopeful that a request for private schooling will be settled soon. A “bigger problem” is also noted: The bigger problem, as public schools have to deal with more problems with less money, will be seeing that all children get the testing and help that they need - without wasting a lot of time. If Alex had received help more quickly, the Survivor scandal might never have happened. If training about autism and special needs kids in the classroom had been provided……… if there’d been more and real understanding of what it’s really like to have Asperger’s Syndrome……. if…………… Tags: alex barton, asd, asperger, autism, aut... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033265 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:11:18 +0100 2033265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027193&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FJZqMcLgGO5I%2F Thanks to all who sent the kind birthday regards. My birthday coincided with the last day of classes at my college and the morning was packed with review sessions prior to exams and a couple of phone calls about matters that needed to be figured out by today (meaning Wednesday, i.e., yesterday) and some missing files of a rather important nature. (Two found, one still missing.) At 11am a student came in to talk about her graduate school applications; she had a bag lined in red tissue paper (a little soggy from the rain) and gave it to me. Inside was a hardcover version of my Latin textbook. Since I first taught my student Elementary Latin four years ago, I’ve been through three or four paperback versions of the book. The cover inevitably gets ripped off and the book’s spine spl... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027193 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:46:08 +0100 2027193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027194&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FKYZXtFhvO64%2F All That Noise Is Damaging Children’s Hearing, said an article in yesterday’s New York Times—noise from headphones, video games, computers, TVs, “power mowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers, car and house alarms, sirens, motorcycles, Jet Skis, loudspeakers, even movie previews,” not to mention music from weddings, parties, rock concerts…………………. All of which falls rather ironically on my ears since the only reason Charlie is wearing headphones is because he’s become so sound-sensitive and needs to block out noise…………………. Tags: alarms, arizona, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, cars, disabilities blog, disability, Education, headpones, Health, hearing, hearing loss, lawnmowers, ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027194 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:19:02 +0100 2027194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027195&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FpQubl1wZPHo%2F 12-year-old Joshua Wilson has made it all the way to the base camp of Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, today’s Bournemouth Echo reports. Wilson, who’s autistic, is believed to be the youngest ever to trek that far. Talk about climbing every mountain………. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, base camp, bournemouth, climbing, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, mt everest, nepal, parenthood, special needsShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027195 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:15:52 +0100 2027195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027196&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1tKB_p7qnzI%2F Washington’s first private school specifically for autistic children, Wintros Academy, closed its doors last Friday, according to yesterday’s Whidbey News Time Reporter: Founders of the academy say local school districts are partly to blame after months of failed talks with special education departments. It’s a problem a spokesperson with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) called “common.” In order for Wintros to receive state funding, it first needed sponsorship by a school district to be certified as a non-public agency, instead of a private school. But no Whidbey school district would sign on. “A district would need to extend their liability to the school, which is where problems can start,” Doug Gill of OSPI said. Wintros Academy h... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027196 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:00:20 +0100 2027196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027197&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fn1WgatgCdvs%2F I grow old … I grow old … I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. I write fairly frequently here about Charlie growing up. Of course, he’s not the only one around here getting older: It’s my birthday today, and I’m 40. Fout-ohmygod, as one my mom-blog-friend puts it. Like the narrator in T.S. Eliot’s poem, I grow old, I do grow old, and I actually do roll the bottoms of my trousers (ok, pants), because I’m too lazy to get out a needle and thread and hem them. My mother did teach me to hem, years ago, and it really is years ago, due to this birthday thing. She taught us the basics; I think my first “creation” was a pocket made of fabric from the scraps of the Halloween costumes and jumpers and curtains and pillows she used to mak... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027197 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:08:38 +0100 2027197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027198&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmNvwhs2L-t8%2F On October 12, while presiding as the honorary chair for an Autism Speaks walk on the campus of Ohio State University, President Gordon Gee made remarks including the statement that “‘It [autism] should not exist.’” Melanie Yergeau, a 2nd-year Ph.D. student in English, wrote this letter, which is posted on the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network blog. As Yergeau, who notes that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, writes: Until very recently, I have felt incredibly welcome at Ohio State—due to the interdisciplinary work of the Disability Studies Program and the Department of English, the Office of Disability Services, and the programs for high-functioning/Asperger’s adults at the Nisonger Center. I would urge you, as you continue in your autism advocacy, to consider wh... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027198 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:30:50 +0100 2027198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027199&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FMPYmCT5kYLs%2F Charlie’s bus ride home from school seems to take some 15 minutes, hence my daily rush from work to get to home. The December 8th Newsday reports that more than 1000 special needs children are”sent off Long Island for education and sometimes housing, costing schools and the state millions of dollars.” Two New York state lawmakers and parents are calling on education officials to change regulations that currently limit how many children can be educated at “special sites” on Long Island. How far does your child—or do you—travel to school? (Not, it’s hoped, two hours.) Tags: arizona, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, long island, new york, parenthood, Schoolbus, special needsShare This (Source:... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027199 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:54:13 +0100 2027199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027200&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FiL1ipKgmG44%2F Experimental drugs that are said to “correct” symptoms of Fragile X, Rett Syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex are now in early-stage human trials, the MIT Technology Review reports. The drugs reduce the activity of a receptor called metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, or mGluR5, and have previously been tested on mice, as reported in the June 25-29 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. From the MIT Technology Review: People with fragile X, the most common form of heritable mental retardation and a leading cause of autism, have a mutation in the FMRP gene, which normally inhibits protein synthesis stimulated by a receptor called metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, or mGluR5. Last year, [lead researcher and MIT neuroscientist Mark Bear] and Gul Dolen, al... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027200 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:59:01 +0100 2027200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027201&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FKfyGG7tbK7Q%2F One of my students is writing her senior thesis on environmental psychology and classrooms for special needs students. This is the fourth year I’ve known her; she’s an education major and has a special needs sibling, and I’ve long shared stories with her about Charlie and found her a sympathetic and supportive presence. Early yesterday afternoon, she stopped by my office and she asked me a series of questions, as research for her thesis, and I’ve been reflecting on her questions and my answers to them. What do you worry most about for Charlie? I’m afraid this one was too easy to answer: A job and a place to live, I said. And paused. I said: What happens to Charlie when we’re gone……. The other questions evoked less overtly existential sorts of... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027201 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:05:26 +0100 2027201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021577&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FhAHohdak74s%2F A 5-year-old Arizona boy was bound at his hands and feet with duct tape by his father, as reported in today’s AZFamily.com. Jasper Smalley has been diagnosed with “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bi-polar Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.” Here’s what allegedly occurred: [Jasper’s mother, April Smalley] says one day her ex-husband found out Jasper was caught hitting other children at daycare. “He called me after he had taped him up and told me he had duct-taped our son. I asked him to remove the tape immediately, and he said he wouldn’t. He said he was being punished.” It was a punishment that made its mark in Jasper who was bound at his wrists and ankles. April explains, “There were red abrasions on his wrists. It looked almost like where the tap... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021577 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:04:35 +0100 2021577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021578&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fq7WzIwVwu68%2F Those with savant syndrome have “quite remarkable, and sometimes spectacular, talents”—such as being able to recite prime number after prime number or to draw the city of Rome with photographic precision—while also having “serious mental or physical disability” (according to one website). Garrett Heaney in Wishtank describes an exchange two individuals who have been diagnosed with savant syndrome, Kim Peek (the model for Raymond in the movie Rain Man, though Raymond is referred to as “autistic” and as an “autistic savant”) and Daniel Tammet, the author of Born on a Blue Day). In particular, Heaney considers this exchange of words between Peek and Tammet: Towards the end of their first encounter, Kim hugs Daniel and says to him “... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021578 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:35:49 +0100 2021578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021579&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FDWbLLJ5vfJc%2F Four years ago, Larry and Judy Vardon’s house was extensively remodeled thanks to ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, in part to accommodate their blind, autistic now-16-year-old son, Lance. Now the family faces the loss of the house: The family’s mortgage payment has almost doubled since the makeover and their medical insurance does not cover medical, dental, and other therapies for Lance. Both Larry and Judy Vardon are deaf and the renovations included the installation of cameras and flat-screen monitors for them to monitor their son. As reported in today’s Associated Press via MLive: Adding to their insecurity, Larry Vardon, 50, works at Chrysler LLC’s Sterling Heights stamping plant. The company is on the brink of bankruptcy as it and the other Detroi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021579 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:35:46 +0100 2021579 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021580&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FcOAoIKZVBG0%2F In the December 8th Bangalore Times, the need to research ayurvedic treatment for autism is noted: For children identified with autism spectrum disorders, ayurveda has a range of internal medications and external treatments that are done for an average of 21 days and repeated periodically. These contribute significantly to improved social interaction, improved eye-to-eye contact, reduced hyperactivity, improved communication and also improvement in metabolism and other associated complaints….. Many ayurvedic medicines can contain dangerous quantities of heavy metals, including lead, mercury, thallium and arsenic, a recent study in the International Journal of Environment and Health reported. Be careful what you “treat” autism with. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021580 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:49:00 +0100 2021580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021581&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FTop1OO0F-ks%2F A couple of years ago, I stopped holding Charlie’s hand on our regular walks around the neighborhood. He was starting to let go more and more, to pull away when he wanted to walk on the grass or stop to examine a crack in the pavement. At first, this seemed like not the best turn of events. How was I to stop Charlie when we came to an intersection? What if he started running away? At first, I made a point of walking reallyclose and our walks were a bit nerve-wracking, for me at least. And I realized that, for me, the first thing I had to work on was my nerves: I had to stay calm and carry on. Charlie doesn’t talk a lot (in words, that is) but he certainly understands a great, great deal of what he hears, and picks up a lot of non-verbal communication; it’s long been evide... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021581 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:17:55 +0100 2021581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021582&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FGibKCKi-MJE%2F Eureka! A possible stocking stuffer that combines sensory input with one of Charlie’s preferred foods—edamame—and can be attached to the D-ring on his bookbag and readily squeezed when the noise on the schoolbus gets, well, noisy: Asovision Edamame If that seems a little weird (and the price is kinda steep—equivalent to buying a couple of bags of frozen edamame), there’s always virtual bubble wrap. Tags: asd, asperger, audit, autism, autism blog, bubble wrap, disability, edamame disabilities blog, Education, gadgets, gizmos, Health, parenthood, special needs, ToysShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021582 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:12:23 +0100 2021582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021583&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FhbCmjK5tZqQ%2F This is the last week of classes at the college where I teach; after finals, spring semester does not start till mid-January. It’ll be good not to have to rush around so much and to work more around home, and, certainly, not to have to hurry home on the highway to meet Charlie’s schoolbus. It does occur to me that, if I didn’t work, I could spare us a certain amount of anxiety: What to do when Charlie is sick? What to do if there’s an early morning meeting to attend or one in the later afternoon? What I do at work—-teaching Latin and ancient Greek and some administrative and advising duties—has little (obvious) relevance to what Charlie is learning and to what he needs. Some years ago, I thought seriously about becoming an autism teacher, so I’d be... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021583 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:57:26 +0100 2021583 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021584&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FfTz9KniIb6s%2F , also known as the Kennedy-Brownback bill, authorizes the use of federal funds to train doctors to inform parents about Down syndrome or other prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions with up-to-date information on child development and life expectancy. If funded at the recommended $25 million over five years, the bill would provide for referral networks, to connect parents who’ve recently received a diagnosis with parents of older children, as reported in today’s Eagle Tribune (North Andover). Dr. Brian Skotko of Children’s Hospital Boston—who has a nephew with Down syndrome—published a study of the results from a survey of more than 1,000 mothers (2005): The central question was about how medical support could be improved for mothers who received a D... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021584 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:08:47 +0100 2021584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017834&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F4SCUw62fj9k%2F MMR and autism have become indelibly linked in the public consciousness. What about MMR and asthma? A study in the December 1st American Journal of Epidemiology asks if there is an association between receiving the MMR vaccine and asthma in early childhood. 871,234 children were examined; researchers Anders Hviid and Mads Melbye looked at rates of hospitalization in those with asthma diagnoses and (for a subset of the cohort) the use of anti-asthma medications. Significantly larger numbers of children who had received the MMR vaccine were less often hospitalized with an asthma diagnosis and also used anti-asthma medication less than unvaccinated children. Researchers concluded that these results are compatible not with an increased risk of asthma following MMR vaccination but rather with t... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017834 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 07:27:54 +0100 2017834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017835&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FlKiExNLGdI4%2F Emmett Doyle and Michael Wesely are students—a senior and a junior, respectively— at Apollo High School in Minnesota and are both acting in a school production of A Christmas Carol. Doyle is playing Scrooge and Wesely is playing Marley, who visit Scrooge in ghostly form. As noted in the December 6th St. Cloud Times, both have Asperger’s Syndrome and have found acting a way to work on their social and communication skills. Elements of theater such as following a script (which enforces turn-taking in conversation), interpreting body language, developing empathy for their characters and working as a team all help with their everyday lives. Through acting, they are memorizing social cues, which can in turn become more instinctive to them offstage. “One of the cool things ab... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017835 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:58:43 +0100 2017835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017836&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F0katBrwYtBM%2F 23-year-old Alex Kwan is autistic and the team manager for the West Albany High School football team. Yesterday’s Oregonian describes how, for Kwan, football has become a “safe haven, a place where he is embraced for his differences instead of mocked because of them.” That’s real teamwork, yes? Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, football, Health, high school, hormone, oregonShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017836 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:14:57 +0100 2017836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017837&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FHriUT9wx-v4%2F 8-year-old Mari Klages—-whose was asked not to return to a Girl Scout Brownie troop for girls with special needs in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, after attending one meeting—-is now again a Brownie again, thanks to her former troop leader, Dina Johnston, and the Girl Scouts organization. Writes Laurel Walker in today’s Journal Sentinel: Anita Rodriguez, vice president for organizational strategy at the southeast Girl Scouts chapter, said, “The bottom line for us is we do not discriminate and the Girl Scouts did not kick her out” but worked to find a solution. Unfortunately, she said, the special needs troop that was tailored to the sedentary needs of the other three girls, including one with brittle bone disease, has disbanded after three meetings because parents and... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017837 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:25:58 +0100 2017837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017838&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FWl4OGrSUFt4%2F Lately hormones have been on my mind a lot. “It’s those hormones,” someone seems to say at least once a day in reference to Charlie. Not only has he grown some six inches this year (that’s what Jim and I have been estimating). Physically, he is really growing up: For the past few weeks, it’s become very apparent that his voice is changing (though I still hear, mixed in with new, lower tone, the familiar light voice that is Charlie’s). At times his moods seem to change in a split second or less. I’ve been remembering back to my own adolescence and to how waves of feelings seemed to arise in me with no warning, and how these weren’t always expressed in the best of ways, as I didn’t know how to express what I was experiencing—–... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017838 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:25:59 +0100 2017838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017839&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FbvEx_R7Iqp8%2F An article in the November Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute calls for Fragile X testing throughout the lifespan. The genetic mutation that is linked to Fragile X, fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1), also gives rise to a “family of disorders occurring throughout the entire life span, including the most common heritable form of intellectual disability, fragile X syndrome, and premature menopause (primary ovarian insufficiency).” Further mutations of the gene also are the cause of fragile X–associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), which is “one of the most common single-gene, late-onset neurodegenerative disorders.” Researchers note that, while it might be thought that these disorders are rare, such an... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017839 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:06:44 +0100 2017839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017840&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FdzVJLzWW9gU%2F Family and Office Roles Mix, yesterday’s New York Times noted: But workplace roles and the dynamics among colleagues can go much deeper than those somewhat superficial stereotypes, especially in a nation where many people spend as much time with colleagues as they do with their families, where the office so often mirrors the family. A nanosecond to guess which role I fall into…….. (Hint: Yesterday afternoon, upon entering the building—it’s an old house—where my office is, I confront a huge puddle of coffee and my instant reaction is…………….. I start unfurling paper towels and mopping it up, while a student waiting to talk to a colleague looks startled and then says “I can help!”) Tags: abuse, asd, asperger, autism,... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017840 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:40:47 +0100 2017840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017841&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FltH-dwmThgc%2F Next Wednesday, on December 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, there will be a meeting of the Services Subcommittee of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), to review public comments received in response to a completed Request for Information. When I attended the November 21st IACC meeting, a good part of the agenda was devoted to discussing services and the many needs of adults. You can view the meeting agenda and also see who is on the committee. The meeting is being held here: National Institutes of Health 9000 Rockville Pike Building 31 Conference Room 7 Bethesda, MD 20852 You can attend the meeting virtually via a webinar; to register and access it, go here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/563207085 Or, to attend via a conference call, here’s the numbers: ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017841 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:59:00 +0100 2017841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013667&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FD5jeIaqdAdc%2F While it’s often frustrating trying to find some time at our YMCA pool for Charlie to swim in—-because, in the late afternoon and evening, the pools are primarily for the use of the numerous swim teams—-on Wednesday night, Charlie and I found ourselves by the “family pool,” with its water slides and 3 1/2 foot pool. He had asked to swim and then gotten his swimsuit on. At the pool, his eyes drifted towards the big pool. It was filled with lines of teenagers swimming up and down and up and down and (as I had done in the car en route to the YMCA), I carefully explained why we would not be able to swim in that pool. Charlie sat on a bench for a few minutes with his head down, before taking off shoes, socks, blue coat, and blue sweatshirt. At the far end of the po... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013667 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:36:01 +0100 2013667 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013668&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FbEksIa4t7nk%2F Okay, there’s probably a few other things, and generally we’ve been pleased with—-and Charlie seems comfortable, for the most part, to like—his current school placement. Nothing’s entirely perfect and things this week have been more frazzled than they have been, with Charlie irked by a sore in his mouth (’tis the season for such things). Plus, he seems more sensitive to sound than ever, especially to certain types of people’s voices, and especially when these are at higher pitches and loud. A low-ceilinged classroom in a really big middle school — and fluorescent lights and linoleum — probably aren’t the ideal set-up and his teacher and I have been emailing a lot. Fortunately a package from my parents with some noise-cancelling he... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013668 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:24:23 +0100 2013668 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013669&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FnBJ5rrnzdsg%2F Majority of Local Authorities [in the UK] Failing Adults with Autism, as noted in Medical News Today. The National Autistic Society’s Think Differently campaign has found that 148 out of 149 local authorities do not know how many adults with autism are in their area; 27% are planning to “address this issue,” that’s 73% who still need to. A long long way to go………… Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, Legislation, local authority, think diferentlyShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013669 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:35:06 +0100 2013669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013670&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FlLXCo8sgJjs%2F Gluten-free diets are now being used to address conditions ranging from autism to ADHD. As noted in this week’s Newsweek, those with allergies and pregnant women are also saying they feel better on what’s come to be known in autism circles as “the special diet” or “the diet.” (Go here, here, and here to read some of our experiences with “the diet”; Charlie now eats wheat, though not dairy.) Is gluten-free the new hope, or is it more dietary hype, with Americans spending $2 billion a year on gluten-free products? Tags: adhd, allergies, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, casein-free, celiac disease, diet, disabilities blog, disability, Education, food, gluten-free, Health, pregnancy, wheat freeShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013670 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:36:46 +0100 2013670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2011190&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FrBrxfgCpiVA%2F This study did not find significantly elevated rates of abuse among children diagnosed with autism, but it did find the highest abuse rates among children with behaviour disorders. In fact, most large scale, well controlled studies have failed to demonstrate that there is a clear link between autism and abuse. [my emphasis]It is important to recognize that the failure to find something does not mean that it doesn’t exist and there are a number of technical reasons that could obscure the link between autism and child abuse. However, for now, it is correct to say that the link between disability and abuse has been more clearly demonstrated for other disabilities. All things considered, as a researcher, I think that there is probably about the same link that exists between a number of other... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011190 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:14:12 +0100 2011190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2011191&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FV_iqsZNpn8M%2F In South Korea, a now-16-year old girl with “mental and developmental diabilities” was sexually abused by her grandfather and three uncles for 7 years. The abuse occurred from August 2001 to May of this year—that means she was 9 years old when it started. According to the December 4th Joong Ang Daily, the girl’s relatives were convicted by the Cheongju District Court on November 20. Judge Oh Jun-keun recently gave a three-year suspended sentence to the 87-year-old grandfather and to two of the uncles, 57 and 42; another uncle, 39, was given an 18-month suspended sentence. According to authorities, the girl’s father is also suspected of incest, but the case was dropped against him because the statute of limitations had expired. In his ruling, the judge said tha... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011191 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:58:44 +0100 2011191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2011192&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FYUR4HtQYKtc%2F Via Cynthia Samuels On Special Education blog at EdWeek, I found this Autism Legislation Database on the National Conference of States Legislatures website. You can also access a state-by-state database on autism legislation here. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, database, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, Insurance, Legislation, policy, statesShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011192 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:01:14 +0100 2011192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2011194&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F7N4v9CZX5V4%2F An audit of the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs has reported numerous oversights including failures to follow up on up on safety violations and insufficient efforts to keep abusers off facility payrolls, yesterday’s Associated Press (via the Courier Post) reports. The audit recommends Disabilities and Special Needs require fingerprinting and FBI national background checks for caregivers, not just a check through the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. The agency said it would consider the feasibility of fingerprint checks. Meanwhile, the agency isn’t doing enough to check references. It “does not have an adequate system to ensure that direct caregivers who are dismissed for consumer safety-related disciplinary infractions are not reh... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011194 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:00:29 +0100 2011194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005912&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F7O5AhJ55fMY%2F There’s a new study by Molly Helt et al. out about recovery from autism in the December Neuropsychology Review. Kev at Left Brain/Right Brain has an overview; here’s the abstract: Although Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are generally assumed to be lifelong, we review evidence that between 3% and 25% of children reportedly lose their ASD diagnosis and enter the normal range of cognitive, adaptive and social skills. Predictors of recovery include relatively high intelligence, receptive language, verbal and motor imitation, and motor development, but not overall symptom severity. Earlier age of diagnosis and treatment, and a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified are also favorable signs. The presence of seizures, mental retardation and genetic synd... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005912 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:32:15 +0100 2005912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005914&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1MnuGrUsq-o%2F Some “treatments for autism” that have recently made the news: Magnets, in a method called transcranial magnetic stimulation; a study is be published this month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders by neuroscientist Manuel Casanova. Horseback therapy that is to “restart the development of the left side of the brain,” at Spirit Horse Therapy in Corinth, Texas. At the risk of sounding like an über-cynic—and not to deny that results can be seen from the above—have to say I’m wondering what remains to be tried. Tags: asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, education blog, horses, magnets Health, parenthood, spirit horse, transcranial magnetic stimulationShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005914 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:44:10 +0100 2005914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005915&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fl7XFt9rzP8w%2F Autism’s terrible toll: Parents risk hitting “a breaking point” is the headline in today’s Denver Post for a story about 13year-old Jacob Grabe, who was shot by his father, Alex Grabe, early in September. The article notes, and lists “similar chilling stories of sudden parental breakdowns have played out in the U.S. in the past several years,” and mentions Katie McCarron, Ulysses Stable, Kyle Dutter—shot this month by his father—and too many others. Too many others. Tags: asperger, autism, autism blog, Crime, disabilities blog, disability, education blog, Health, jacob grabe, katie mccarron, kyle dutter, parenthood, shooting, wisconsinShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005915 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:22:31 +0100 2005915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005916&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FbpYDN-p0c5k%2F Conclusions Shifts in age at diagnosis inflated the observed prevalence of autism in young children in the more recent cohorts compared with the oldest cohort. This study supports the argument that the apparent increase in autism in recent years is at least in part attributable to decreases in the age at diagnosis over time. When Charlie was just diagnosed and shortly after (in 1999-2000), we were often told that he—he was 2-3 years old then—was “very young” to be diagnosed. Now, it seems standard for children to be diagnosed by the time they’re the age Charlie was when he was diagnosed with autism back in 1999. It seems more than obvious to me that we would have been told that they were seeing “red flags” about, who knows, 6-month-old Charlie&#821... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005916 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:48:22 +0100 2005916 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005917&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fi9vsZdA3f80%2F The UC Davis-M.I.N.D. Institute’s MARBLES study ( Markers of Autism Risk in Babies’ Learning Early Signs) is following some 100 women who have a biological autistic child and who are pregnant, or who are planning on becoming pregnant, to investigate possible biological and environmental agents that children are exposed to prenatally and post-partum. It seems that maternal health during pregnancy—what expecting mothers do or do not do—will remain an area of scrutiny in the search for autism’s causes: A study published in the December Neurology shows that children whose mothers took Epilim, an anti-epileptic drug, during pregnancy were seven times more likely to develop autism, as compared with children whose mothers did not take such a drug, as reported in Reut... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005917 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:48:19 +0100 2005917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005918&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F5IkGF7jirRU%2F Corduroy, velvet, denim. Leather, silk, a rock. Bubble wrap, fake fur, burlap. Not a list of supplies for a craft project, but a list of things with different textures—but if you felt each, with your fingers or on the soles of your feet, would they just be so many sensory sensation? Or might one say “security” to you, or one make you agitated, even angry? Does touching certain textures evoke certain emotions in you? If so, you may have “tactile-emotion synesthesia.” Synesthesia is an “involuntary joining in which the real information of one sense is accompanied by a perception in another sense”; it’s thought to be much more common in the general population than previously thought. Someone with synesthesia might attach certain textures or soun... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005918 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:24:09 +0100 2005918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005919&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FIlrs31XXXc4%2F Housing for disabled adults in New Jersey. The current economic crisis, and its effect on the housing market. This post is about both of those topics. Don’t stop reading—this is an upbeat post, despite the subject matter. Certainly one wishes that the question of housing for disabled adults weren’t the sort of topic that is accompanied by words like “worries” and “depressing.” But it very much is, right now. In New Jersey, where we live, the waiting list of developmentally disabled adults wishing to move into government-supported community housing has over 8000 people on it. Last week’s report that 28-year-old Tara O’Leary died of starvation after being removed from a group home run by New Jersey’s Department of Developmental Dis... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005919 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:30:36 +0100 2005919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999136&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FomE9MKGDkYA%2F An article in the December Pediatrics examines the health care experiences of families with autistic children in the US. Researchers looked at a nationally representative 2005-06 survey of nearly 40,000 children with special health care needs; the children’s needs were “physical and mental,” and required medical care that was more than usual, yesterday’s Associated Press (via AZ Central) reports. 2,088 children of those children had autism. The article is entitled A National Profile of the Health Care Experiences and Family Impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children in the United States, 2005–2006, by Michael D. Kogan, Bonnie B. Strickland, Stephen J. Blumberg, Gopal K. Singh, James M. Perrin, Peter C. van Dyck. The Associated Press notes that Compared ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999136 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:36:54 +0100 1999136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999137&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FTkI3-YarwUE%2F Made it through Thanksgiving; did some holiday shopping from the comfort of home (and here’s some gift suggestions); time to get back on the school bus! Autism and Schizophrenia: The Same “Disease”? According to the latest theory, “an evolutionary tug of war between genes from the father’s sperm and the mother’s egg can, in effect, tip brain development in one of two ways.” Girls and Getting a Diagnosis Are girls and women sometimes not diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum because they do not have the same symptoms as boys and men do? Denis Leary Tries (Tries) to Defend Himself Contrary to what he said a few weeks ago, Denis Leary doesn’t seem to be so sorry after all about what he said Nicotine Addiction and Autism While studying drug abuse and addiction, re... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999137 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:00:26 +0100 1999137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999138&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fz4h8rbFHQXM%2F Autistic children responded to sounds one-fiftieth of a second slower than a group of non-autistic children in research conducted at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 64 autistic children aged 6 to 15 listened to a series of rapid beeps through headphones while wearing a helmet-like device. The device recorded their brain’s response to the sounds and their brain waves were then compared with responses in a group of non-autistic children. From the Associated Press via First Coast News: “We tend to speak at four syllables per second,” said Timothy Roberts, the study’s lead author and the hospital’s vice chairman of research. If an autistic brain “is slow in processing a change in a syllable … it could easily get to the point of being overloa... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999138 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:07:08 +0100 1999138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999139&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FPFKbscC6jug%2F A new national strategy for screening for Down syndrome in Denmark has halved the number of Down Syndrome births and led to a 30% increase in infants diagnosed with the condition. The Danish National Board of Health issued guidelines for prenatal screening and diagnosis for Down Syndrome in 2004; these guidelines (from Science Daily) included the offer of a combined test for Down Syndrome (based on combination of maternal age, plus serum and nuchal screening) in the first trimester. This test gave women a risk assessment for Down Syndrome at an early stage in the pregnancy. Women whose risk was higher than a defined cut off were referred for invasive diagnostic tests (chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis). The study is published in the November 27th British Medical Journal.It was rec... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999139 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:32:37 +0100 1999139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999140&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FXiM59l6LYbM%2F Actually, that title should read, “It’s just like I thought it would be,” as said by Jim. It was Saturday night and we were having dinner at a restaurant on Mott Street, in Chinatown in New York. We’d avoided the whole Black Friday business/madness and decided also to avoid the crowds going to see the Christmas tree on Rockefeller Plaza near Radio City Music Hall. We’d spent the day around home, with a late breakfast and midday nap for Charlie, and then a bike ride. And then, we drove to Jersey City and took the PATH train into the World Trade Center site—there’s construction going on all the time and you can see some of it—-and then walked past City Hall and into Chinatown. Charlie had said no to any snacks, even after an hour-long bike ride... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999140 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:38:57 +0100 1999140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999141&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FKbYAZBv0GTQ%2F 35-year-old Kate Southern lost her mother, Dorothy, to brain cancer last week, and it’s unclear where she’ll live and who’ll take care of her. Today’s Illawarra Mercury describes Southern’s situation: Her two sisters, Jane Southern and Jenny Wilson, have been caring for her along with an in-home respite worker. But the worker will not be provided after December 22nd and there’s no residential placeent for Southern in Illawarra, where she currently attends a day care group. A placement in Queanbeyan, far from her family and her familiarity, has been offered and the Illawarra Mercury notes, Southern has been “pulling her hair out in clumps, terrified at the prospect of being separated from her family.” An article in today’s New York Times... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999141 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:33:22 +0100 1999141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1999142&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FOfUEu2TFEsI%2F “Faceblindness” has been associated with autism, as written about by Donna Williams and Joe at This Way of Life. About two percent of the population has faceblindess or congenital prosopagnosia, according to today’s Science Daily. A team of scientists has been able to devise a biological explanation for faceblindness. In those who have it, “there was a reduction in the integrity of the white matter tracts in the brains of individuals with congenital prosopagnosic. Moreover, the extent of the reduced white matter circuitry was related to the severity of the behavioral impairment. White matter is one of the three main solid components of the central nervous system. The white matter is the tissue through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter withi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1999142 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:46:43 +0100 1999142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996397&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F_DHjvzBCogs%2F Earlier this year, reports that the US Federal Court of Claims had conceded that vaccines had contributed to the onset of autistic symptoms in the case of Hannah Poling led to much speculation and debate about (1) if mitochondrial disorders could be linked to autism and (2) how common mitochondrial disorders might be among autistic children. A number of experts on mitonchondrial disorders met in June to discuss the “controversial case” of Hannah Poling. An article in the November 26th PLoS One entitled Mitochondrial Disease in Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients: A Cohort Analysis investigates the medical records of 25 patients with a primary diagnosis of ASD by DSM-IV-TR criteria. These children were later determined to have “enzyme- or mutation-defined mitochondrial electron tran... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996397 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:32:19 +0100 1996397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996398&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FOzZt3QVrsCU%2F I mentioned Alex Bain and Tyler McNeil and Jonathan Brunot, who’ve all run marathons, while encouraging Charlie to try the treadmill on Tuesday: Today’s Ventura County Star reports on 15-year-old Joshua Otani, who’s a member of the Pacifica cross country team. He competed in the Pacific View League Championships and is thinking of joining the track team, too. Guess we’ll have to keep at that treadmill to catch up! Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, cross country, disabilities blog, disability, Education, marathon, new york marathon, runner, running, trackShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996398 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:36:08 +0100 1996398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996399&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmdGhSk5C9rs%2F Did Thanksgiving and now full speed ahead into December with all of its festivities, plus a few extras. Today is “Black Friday” here in the US, formerly known as “the day after Thanksgiving when people line up at 5am to charge the stores to get super-special-deal-discounts on holiday purchases”—as you probably guessed, we didn’t hit any malls with Charlie in tow. He has a general aversion to shopping for clothes, electronics, and anything in the closed confines of the modern mall. Once upon a time, we went to malls with pretty much the sole intent of walking around for exercise on a cold winter day, with the promise of escalator and elevator rides. Charlie’s interest—desire—to ride the likes of those has waned (and, too, some rather pai... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996399 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:38:12 +0100 1996399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996400&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FdKUtaOBqYn8%2F 1049 cases of measles have been reported in England and Wales so far this year, the highest number in 13 years and exceeding the number on 2007, when there were 990 case. Today’s Guardian reports that health officials are seriously concerned about a possible epidemic of measles of between 30,000 - 100,000 cases. Measles has been spreading more easily because of the “relatively low uptake” of the MMR vaccine in the past decade: The fall in uptake of MMR was triggered by now-discredited research claiming there was a link between the jab and autism. Health officials in the UK are planning a mass vaccination program in some areas. The Daily Mail quotes Guy Hayhurst, consultant in public health at a local Primary Care Trust, as saying that they have identified 10,534 children ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996400 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:31:22 +0100 1996400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996401&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FZIwO-tSz2KY%2F Patternicity. It’s a term that refers to “the tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise,” as noted by Michael Shermer in the November Scientific American: Traditionally, scientists have treated patternicity as an error in cognition. A type I error, or a false positive, is believing something is real when it is not (finding a nonexistent pattern). A type II error, or a false negative, is not believing something is real when it is (not recognizing a real pattern—call it “apatternicity”). However, as Shermer notes, we don’t have a “Baloney Detection Network in the brain to distinguish between true and false patterns”—-patternicity does seem to be at work when it comes to theories of autism causation. There’s no doubt that s... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996401 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:02:57 +0100 1996401 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996402&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FpPpbuhzayNs%2F 34-year-old Charlene Sawyer has a “rich and dark mezzo soprano voice,” today’s Charlotte Observer notes. Sawyer was not diagnosed with autism until she was 17 years old. She started piano lessons and performing with school choirs at the age of 12, and has been taking voice lessons since she was 14. And Around this time, she says, her peers made fun of her because they knew she took special education classes. Instead of the socializing she might have enjoyed as a young teen-ager, she immersed herself in her budding gift, learning pieces in Italian, Latin, German and French. Sawyer has written an outline of her autobiography and now lives in a group home run by the Enola Group, whose director, Fredda Monroe, “says she wants to market Charlene to perform at weddings an... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996402 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:32:02 +0100 1996402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996403&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FsWxXyd387vE%2F 15-year-old Christophr Transue has been missing since yesterday, KOLD news reports. He was last seen around noon at Catalina High School in Tucson, AZ, and has autism and diabetes. Another teenager, 11-year-old Jack Engalade, who has autism, went missing from Sunday till Wednesday night, WWLtv in New Orleans reported. Hope good news about Christopher Transue can be heard soon, too. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, missing children, new orleans, Safety, tucsonShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996403 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:56:10 +0100 1996403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996404&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fl8nvkqF-1Bs%2F Among the books about autism at the public library in our town are this, this, and this—I’ve put in requests for a few other things. To be very honest, we rarely visit our library. While there’s no lack for books of every sort at our house, Charlie’s not a reader. I was interested to read about a program called Project Inclusion, which is described in the November 26th Wausau Daily Herald (Wisconsin): Project Inclusion’s overall goal is for the participating libraries to “take a proactive stance to address the literacy needs of children with disabilities and to make libraries meaningful and welcoming places for these children and their families.” Special emphasis was placed on adding materials especially for and about children on the autism spectru... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996404 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:17:48 +0100 1996404 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990890&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fq24DYqSafHc%2F Back in May, 5-year-old Alex Barton was voted out of his kindergarten class by his classmates. His teacher, Wendy Portillo, had asked the students to vote on whether they wanted Alex to remain. Alex’s mother, Melissa Barton, removed Alex from the school following this incident, which received a great deal of attention in the national media. Portillo has been suspended for a year without pay and is asking that her her case be reviewed by the state Division of Administrative Hearings. Alex is now being taught at home and Melissa Barton is requesting that the St. Lucie County School District pay for private school, psychological testing and counseling for him, as reported in today’s Palm Beach Post: Barton filed a complaint with the district in late August seeking an administrativ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990890 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:01:17 +0100 1990890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990891&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FuVlMHfSgK80%2F I have been thinking more than ever about where Charlie will live as an adult since hearing about the services offered in different states at last Friday’s IACC meeting. The pressing, pressing, pressing need for staff with appropriate training, for facilities, and for much much more was more than made apparent—the November 10th death of 28-year-old Tara O’Leary highlights just how pressing these needs are. Tara O’Leary had severe developmental disabilities and was a client in a community care residence in Hunterdon County in central New Jersey. Her death is being investigated by both the state Department of Human Services and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office. According to yesterday’s FOX News, O’Leary had brain deformities, scoliosis, and o... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990891 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:02:12 +0100 1990891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990893&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FrIWsFTm30h0%2F The poet John Donne talks about “trepidation of the spheres” and, I was thinking last night after settling Charlie in bed, that there’s been some trepidation in our little corner of the cosmos. This whole business of adolescence combined with an ongoing growth spurt has made our daily routine well, “interesting-er“: A neologism, but maybe that’s the best way to describe the latest chapter of life with Charlie. Throw in the fact that the holiday season is upon us, with Thanksgiving tomorrow and a half-day of school for Charlie and no school on Friday, a recipe for potential not-so-peaceful-easy-feeling-ness. A distinct air of deep tiredness seemed to haunt my college classes; I watched a couple of students, wearing floppy gray sweats, yanking their suitca... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990893 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:50:24 +0100 1990893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990894&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FvY0m3AXwqIM%2F In many states (such as Virginia), families of autistic children have been seeking legislation to provide for insurance coverage for treatment (usually ABA therapy) for their children. A recent decision involving insurance coverage for eating disorders in New Jersey might be of interest: As reported in today’s Star-Ledger, Horison—the state’s largest health insurer—has agreed to cover claims stemming from eating disorders. Some 500 patients will receive $1.2 million when their previously denied claims are reprocessed; the decision settled a class action lawsuit brought by parents of children with anorexia. In a statement, Horizon spokesman Tom Rubino said the company “believes the settlement is in the best interest of all the parties involved and in line with ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990894 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:56:30 +0100 1990894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990895&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FD6lKH0gnDiw%2F McDonalds. Burger King. They’re the competition. Not against Guardians of Healthy (and Happy) Meals. They’re competition for staff—for workers—for disabled adults who need support in their living, work, and other arrangements. And, if you cook burgers and fill drinks at a fast-food restaurant, you don’t need the sort of training—which can be extensive—that can be called for in assisting some disabled adults. Emily Homer of VOCA of Maryland D.C. made this point at last week’s IACC meeting and it sobered the atmosphere in the room up. She noted that, if Americans won’t take these kinds of jobs for those wages, it’s likely that people will turn to immigrants to fill the positions—-and I thought about how at least half of the bu... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990895 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:07:06 +0100 1990895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990896&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fwuq4zEk56yc%2F For all the concern and criticism about the use of restraints in public schools on disabled students, sometimes it seems there’s no end to hearing about yet another school district that has improperly restrained a child. Yesterday’s McDowell News reports that a 14-year-old autistic student was restrained using a “belt-like device”—-a belt used to help students using wheelchairs in and our of their chairs. Jeremiah’s mother, Ann Watson, said that the school did not inform her about restraining her son and in this way. She further said the system has purged documents that reflect poorly on the school system’s handling of special needs students. Last month she began noticing that Jeremiah was nervous, unable to sleep at night, and unusually upset. He ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990896 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:39:45 +0100 1990896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984958&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FPUQEWVOuJHI%2F Is the “warrior mother” not—as proclaimed in the Warrior Mothers book put together by Jenny McCarthy—the opposite of the “refrigerator mother” of the previous generation, but rather her “distorted mirror image”? So argues Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick, author of another new book, Defeating Autism: A Damaging Delusion, argues in yesterday’s Spiked. As Fitzpatrick writes in his essay, The ghost of the ‘refrigerator mother’, The ‘warrior mom’ is yet another reflection of the culture of mother-blaming and a manifestation of the burden of guilt carried by parents as a result of the influence of pseudoscientific speculations about the causes of autism…… ……. A number of common themes link McCarthy’s ‘warri... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984958 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:38:57 +0100 1984958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984959&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F59DzpXVIoro%2F I mean, at least two hours each way, to school and then back home? That’s how long 5-year-old Brandon Montanez, who’s autistic, rides the bus to get from his home in Bensonhurst to Learning Springs School in Manhattan, according to yesterday’s WCBStv. Brandon’t bus ride used to be 90 minutes long each way—-already too long—-New York’s Office of Pupil Transportation changed his route (and his driver and bus matron) on short notice and, more than understandably, it hasn’t been easy for Brandon: “It’s been a nightmare,” says Michelle Montanez, Brandon’s mother. “He was jumping on his seat, he was throwing off his seat belt, he told them that he wanted to scream and he wanted to do it. He started banging his head aga... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984959 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:45 +0100 1984959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984960&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FrIzsMU6Hswg%2F More children with Down’s Syndrome are being born in the UK, according to today’s Times Online. Widespread screening was introduced in 1989, and led to a steady fall in new instances of Down’s syndrome. From 717 babies born with Down’s that year, the total decreased each year, to 594 in 2000. During the next six years the birth rate for children with Down’s rose by 15 per cent, reaching 749 in 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available from the National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register. It’s noted that, while most women who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome choose not to have the child, “many are now deciding to give birth.” Carol Boys, chief executive of the [Down’s Syndrome Association, had not expected the r... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984960 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:36:48 +0100 1984960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984961&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FIoNmg44k5ks%2F Rainbow is a parrot: Last week he was stolen from his owner, Mitchell Chareunsouk, of Sacramento. Mitchell and his family are asking for the safe of Rainbow. From KERO 23: “Every time (Mitchell) sees the picture, he cries, and he doesn’t want to eat,” Toune Chareunsouk said. Mitchell got Rainbow three years ago and would like to see his best friend again. “It’s not fair. What if someone stole your best friend?” Mitchell said. Bev at Asperger Square 8 is offering a reward for the return of Rainbow: If you live in the Sacramento area and know anything about this, please contact me. Asperger Square 8 is offering a reward for the safe return of Rainbow to the Chareunsouk family. To the person who took the parrot: Please reconsider. Parrots bond very strongly... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984961 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:39:19 +0100 1984961 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984962&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FjSoeNg73MGE%2F 20-year-old Alex Bain of Prince Edward Island has been named one of the most inspirational runners in Canada—-here’s the write-up in iRun and here’s more on the Runman blog (where you can leave a message if you’d like). And, here’s CBC News. Go Alex! Tags: alex bain, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, irun, prince edward island, running, SportsShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984962 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:52:33 +0100 1984962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984963&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FfrkLG4oBxc4%2F Six deep-sea divers have been enlisted by the city of New York to repair a valve at the bottom of a 700-foot shaft in Dutchess County, yesterday New York Times reports. The shaft is located in the Rondout-West Branch tunnel, which is 45 miles long, 13.5 feet wide, up to 1,200 feet below ground” and which brings half of the water supply to New York city from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains. For more than a month, the six divers have to live in a sealed 24-foot tubular pressurized tank complete with showers, a television and a Nerf basketball hoop, breathing air that is 97.5 percent helium and 2.5 percent oxygen, so their high-pitched squeals are all but unintelligible. They leave the tank only to transfer to a diving bell that is lowered 70 stories into the earth, where they work... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984963 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:48:20 +0100 1984963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984964&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FaS2BWKrGbMw%2F I think this is, potentially, the perfect t-shirt for Charlie. Yes, I’ve ordered him one. Tags: asd, asperger, australia, autism, autism blog, condiments, developmental disabilities, Diagnosis, disabilities blog, disability, food, ketchup, mustard, relish, shirt, t-shirtShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984964 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:11:21 +0100 1984964 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984965&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FzJHFMdRw6TM%2F Towards the end of a review of Dr. Paul Offit’s book Autism False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure in today’s Washington Times, Malcom A. Kline writes: This writer recently heard a social worker warn the parents of autistic children to avoid certain doctor’s offices “where 90 percent of the children come out with an autism diagnosis.” What is even less widely known, though, is the degree to which the autism spectrum has expanded on the other end — the more severe cases. Now what’s going on at those “certain doctor’s offices”? Is it that said doctor is particularly attentive to parents seeking an autism diagnosis for a child, as they know that such a diagnosis can come with more services? Is there some&#... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984965 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:50:14 +0100 1984965 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984966&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F5_OLxvYYeok%2F Connecticut’s Pilot Program For Autistic Adults which “adults of normal intelligence with diagnoses on what is called the autism spectrum” is in danger due to budget cuts. Today’s New Haven Register reports that Governor M. Jodi Rell has ordered all state government agencies to submit proposals that will cut up to 10 percent from their upcoming budgets. Prior to the program’s inception in 2006 (with $1 million from the state), no services were provided to autistic adults of normal intelligence (adults with diagnoses of both autism and mental retardation did receive services). The program received an additional $500,000 in July 2008 and is financed through June 2009. Currently, 52 people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome in in the greater New Haven and Hart... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984966 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:43:37 +0100 1984966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980894&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FpxrKw9GTpSk%2F MARBLES stands for Markers of Autism Risk in Babies—Learning Early Signs. The study investigates “biological and environmental triggers that children are exposed to prenatally and post-partum”: Some 100 women who have a biological autistic child and who are pregnant, or who are planning on becoming pregnant, are participating in MARBLES, which began in 2006. Researchers from the UC Davis-M.I.N.D. Institute are collecting blood, urine, hair, saliva, and breast milk (if the mother is breast feeding), as well as dust from participants’ houses, and mothers are interviewed and medical records examined. It’s noted that MARBLES is “unique” because follows mothers before, during, and after their pregnancies, allowing us to obtain information about the pre-... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980894 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:22:48 +0100 1980894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980895&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F91LPV_iRZhg%2F Away-facing strollers stress out babies, according to a study published on Friday by the British charity National Literacy Trust. CNN reports that “parents who choose a stroller that seats their baby facing away from them could risk long-term development problems in their children”—-and I say to myself, now what kind of stroller did we push Charlie around in, once upon a hot Missouri afternoon or down Summit Avenue on early fall days in St. Paul? We started him off in one of those bulky EvenFlo stroller-detachable baby seat combinations, referred to as “the buggy” by Jim (the baby seat alone, with the handle, was “the bucket”). As noted here, Charlie was in the 90th-plus percentile for height since he was born, so “the bucket” had soon ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980895 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:00:27 +0100 1980895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980896&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fo9p9d2TL4i0%2F After 14-year-old Casey Reilly, who has Asperger’s, was excluded from week-long scouting trip, which prevented him from advancing in rank, his parents filed a lawsuit against the Pacific Palisades Boy Scout Troop 223—-more recently, in Wisconsin, after one visit to Girl Scout Brownie troop for girls with special needs in Oconomowoc, the troop’s leaders told 8-year-old Magi Klages’ parents not to bring her back. Magi is autistic and, after graduating from a Daisy troop, she wanted to continue with Brownies. A local Brownie troop with 22 girls was too overwhelming so her parents, Michele and Kevin Klages, decided to try the troop for special needs children. Magi’s first meeting at the group was difficult, understandably, as she was faced with a completely new routin... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980896 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:00:27 +0100 1980896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980897&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Ft2YxqrfOdGU%2F If you weren’t able to listen in to yesterday’s meeting of the IACC meeting, this is a brief summary: In the morning, the committee members reviewed the draft of the Strategic Plan and “wordsmithed” various additions and revisions suggested by various members of the IACC. These revisions included: • the use of “may” or “can” in regard to describing the effects of Early Intervention • mention of “comorbid” and “co-occurring” (medical) conditions • a lengthy discussion about vaccines and about what science and evidence there is to refute or support a link (it was decided to include the statement “the weight of the available evidence does not support a link between autism and vaccines”—more details... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980897 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:01:30 +0100 1980897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980898&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FB2ffZZCHCNg%2F One of the main concerns that people raise in regard to giving medication to autistic children, and to children more generally, is that there’s a lack of information about the long-term effects of the medication on a child. According to a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center, two medications commonly prescribed for treating ADHD—methylphenidate and amphetamine—do not cause chromosomal damage in children. (My son briefly—very briefly—took Ritalin; while taking it, he became so focused that he became extremely anxious, lost his appetite and looked—this is the best word—skittish; we discontinued the medication after less than a week.) From Science Daily: The current study included 63 ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980898 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:00:04 +0100 1980898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980899&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FxO3hUrTUj40%2F In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to sign a bill requiring insurance companies to cover autism diagnosis and treatment up to $36,000 a year until a patient turns 21, today’s Chicago Tribune reports. Sen. Dale Righter (R-Charleston) is arguing that “the measure would cause the number of people diagnosed with autism to grow, therefore increasing premiums for other policy holders”—-an assumption that people are going to get children diagnosed with autism specifically so they can qualify for treatment? In Oklahoma, a bill to provide insurance coverage for autism diagnosis and treatment has also been introduced in the state Senate, KTEN notes. The bill is called “Nick’s Law“—Nick is 11 years old and has autism—last year, the meas... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980899 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:07:08 +0100 1980899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980900&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F_FoQ2GXr8XM%2F I’m on the train to Washington D.C., to attend a meeting of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, which coordinates efforts concerning autism within the US Department of Health and Human Research. There’s a list of the federal and non-federal members of the IACC here; the committee has been overseeing the writing of the Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Research. Over the past year, there have been numerous calls for input from “stakeholders”—from anyone concerned about autism—and other meetings of the IACC and of workgroups concerning various parts of the plan. I went to an IACC meeting just about a year ago and read this statement. While I wrote up and sent in a statement for today’s meeting, there apparently is not spac... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980900 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:37:24 +0100 1980900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975219&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FYGqCj05ztEM%2F Kev writes about 12-year-old Kyle Dutter, who was shot and killed by his father, Ryan Dutter, who then shot and killed himself, on Tuesday. Ryan Dutter had created a website about his son; he had filed for bankruptcy last fall. Kyle was in the the sixth grade at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. No words can say…… Tags: asperger, autism, autism blog, Crime, disabilities blog, disability, education blog, Health, kyle dutter, parenthood, shooting, wisconsinShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975219 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:34:42 +0100 1975219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975220&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FpjzhN605zYI%2F Just as there is the Amber Alert for abducted children, should there be an “Autism Alert” when an autistic child is missing? The parents of Kaitlyn Bacile—-who, in September, was found drowned in a canal near her home —-think so, as reported in today’s WSVN (Florida): While it’s too late for Kaitlyn, her parents hope some good can come from their tragedy. Jay Bacile: “We want Kaitlyn’s life not to go in vain, at the very minimum we want to raise awareness. We just want her memory to live on and do good because that’s what Kaitlyn was, was pure goodness. WSVN notes that current programs designed to report that autistic children are missing are “not being used consistently”: The “Take Me Home” program supplies poli... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975220 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:11:13 +0100 1975220 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975221&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fm7q1KScmOKQ%2F Jonathan Reyes is 7 and lives in Sylmar in Southern California—-his family lost their house in the recent wildfires in Los Angeles County. Joshua is autistic and his family has been, amid everything else, especially concerned about what the impact of losing all that was familiar to him will mean. Yesterday’s CNN described the family visiting the ashes of their house of ten years: On Tuesday, they brought Jonathan to the site of their home to see if any of his cherished Hot Wheels cars survived the fire. And maybe, they hoped, seeing the house would help their son understand. “One of the first things he asks is, ‘Are we coming home today?’ ” said Jan Reyes, Jonathan’s mother. “Now that he sees this, maybe it will bring closure for him.” ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975221 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:03:55 +0100 1975221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975223&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FdS5nKtPQNo8%2F So what is autism? Chances are, if you’re reading this, you know, and are quite prepared to explain at the drop of the hat “what autism is.” But what if you’re asked: Why is there this separate term, “PDD-NOS”? What is child disintegrative disorder and what does that have to do with autism, plain and simple? (as if there is such a “plain and simple autism”) If a child has Fragile X, that means they don’t have autism……right….no….which? Does “high-functioning autism” mean “Asperger’s Syndrome” only? What’s the connection between autism and ADHD? Can you have both? Can where you are and what culture a child is raised in influence diagnosis? Is autism necessarily a life-long diagno... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975223 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:21:24 +0100 1975223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975224&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1V4Q9AYBYc0%2F Charlie runs into the grocery store and grabs a shopping basket and hums happily on his way to the sushi section. “Sounds like an owl,” I hear a young man say to a woman who, by her apron, is also an employee. I pause and say, easily, “Yeah, he does the humming because he’s so excited. It calms him down.” The young man drifts away. The woman smiles, openly and relaxed, and says, “I stock that section and he really like sushi.” I smile back and shrug, “Oh yes, and he likes it here best.” And I’m thinking about how good—how great it is—that Charlie has a voice and uses it. So I know just where he is. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, groceries, humming, owl, shopping, sushiShare Thi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975224 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:32:37 +0100 1975224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975225&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FyxH7yuxGmhw%2F A Lynchburg, Virginia, father is upset that his 16-year-old autistic son was taken away from him and placed in a mental institution far from home for a day. Gordon Bowyer told WSET news that “‘they took him from me, and they took him by force.’” Bowyer and his son, Joshua, were waiting for an appointment at Central Virginia Community Services when Joshua became upset and “officers took him into custody at Lynchburg General Hospital.” Bowyer - “They went in like they were raiding a crack house. And my son screamed out ‘no!’ He was real scared, you could tell by the tone of his screams. And I could hear him hollering ‘daddy, daddy!’” Community Services couldn’t comment for this story. And to be fair, officers had an or... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975225 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:00:20 +0100 1975225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975226&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F17r3Rs2jV_k%2F Florida teacher Wendy Portillo—who allowed her kindergarten class to vote on whether or not their classmate Alex Barton could remain in class—-has been suspended without pay for a year, according to the Naples News. More commentary at Aspie Web. Tags: alex barton, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, florida, Health, survivor, wendy portilloShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975226 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:41:56 +0100 1975226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968950&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmYGKhOuS2lU%2F More than 389,000 children and teenagers were treated with Risperdal—an atypical antipsychotic—last year. And, 240,000 of them were 12 years old or younger, the November 18th New York Times reports. A panel of federal drug experts stated that medications like Risperdal are ” being used far too cavalierly in children” and that “federal drug regulators must do more to warn doctors of their substantial risks.” Risperdal has been approved for treating irritability in autistic children. The New York Times notes that “in many cases, the drug was prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders,” for which it has not been approved for: The meeting on Tuesday was scheduled to be a routine review of the pediatric safety of Risperdal and Zyprexa, popula... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968950 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:30:32 +0100 1968950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968951&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FRealShlFgl8%2F Sunday I wrote about singer Pip Brown aka Ladyhawke, who has Asperger’s Syndrome; a profile of her in the Independent noted how having Asperger’s is one reason that live shows aren’t the easiest for her. Another musician, singer Craig Nicholls of The Vines, was diagnosed with Asperger’s four years ago: It’s been reported in Reuters via the Calgary Herald that the band has had to cancel their upcoming shows “due to a deterioration in the mental condition” and the “erratic behavior” of Nicholls. Some news sources refer to him as having a “mental illness” though what he has is Asperger’s syndrome—-the singer was diagnosed with Asperger’s after “abusing fans and assaulting a Sydney photographer.” As... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968951 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:34:51 +0100 1968951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968952&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fh1-TOl5doUM%2F I wasn’t feeling well yesterday (better today). I put together a very perfunctory dinner for Charlie—-vegetables, shrimp, and some rice—and sat beside him while he ate. Once done, he put all the dishes into the sink and then stood with one elbow bent, looking towards me. I surmised (correctly, as it turned out) that he wanted more to eat. As I felt woozy, it seemed best to stay in my chair and, after finding out that Charlie did indeed want to eat more, I requested him to: get out some rice that was in the refrigerator, put it in the microwave, turn it on for a minute (he did 1.23 seconds), get a plate, get a spoon, get the rice out. .All of which he did, and fluidly, readily. And then he shut the door to the microwave and closed the cabinet doors and sat down at the tabl... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968952 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:00:15 +0100 1968952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968954&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F-ao-_JBVF5Q%2F Parents are making things happen educationally writes New Zealand journalist David Cohen today in the Guardian’s Mortarboard blog. Cohen’s son Eliot is autistic and he’s the author of A Perfect World. Cohen writes about how around the world—New Zealand, Britain, Israel, South Korea and the United States—parents have been hard at work trying to figure out how to provide the most appropriate education for their children possible. He speaks of parents as an “educational infantry” and I’d add that, truly, I’m just the support staff doing my best to help my son do the best he can every day. Onward, yes. Tags: a perfect world, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, book, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Health, israel, new zealand, sout... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968954 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:12:15 +0100 1968954 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968955&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FkpagzfIX_UY%2F I guess you could say, I have something of a love-hate-”just deal with it” relationship with data. Being a humanities sort of person with an inclination to poetry, I’m not overly drawn to calling on the “hard data” of statistics, numbers, and the like. Being my son’s mother, I’ve learned, there’s comfort, and a need, for columns of numbers and for graphs plotting all of it. Charlie’s language being minimal, all the records of how he’s done on learning this or that skill (and we have binders and boxes stashed away, with the current “Charlie box” behind my worktable overflowing with reports from the school, the neurologist, the eye doctor……) provide essential information about his learning, and about his stru... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968955 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:10:31 +0100 1968955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968956&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FwKqUzXTpRQg%2F 20-year-old Alvin Troub and his 8-year-old brother, Michael Runyon, have been missing since Sunday, when they went fishing along the Willamette River near Independence, Oregon, KTVB reports. The river is reported to be running “very high” and there are concerns about the boys’ safety—-hope they are all right and found soon. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, fishing, Health, Safety, willamette riverShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968956 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:16:02 +0100 1968956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968957&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FcS4aI67rjkI%2F While studying drug abuse and addiction, researchers at the Ohio State University College of Medicine have found a link between nicotine addiction and autism. Neurexins are proteins that, along with neurologins, are thought to play a key role in the formation and functioning of synapses, of connections between nerve cells. In the new study, a protein made by the neurexin-1 gene was found to have a very particular role, as noted in today’s Science Daily: The discovery identified a defining role for a protein made by the neurexin-1 gene, which is located in brain cells and assists in connecting neurons as part of the brain’s chemical communication system. The neurexin-1 beta protein’s job is to lure another protein, a specific type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, to the synaps... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968957 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:20:37 +0100 1968957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968959&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fkwz1kNK1OR0%2F The November 13th Newsweek has an article, More Than Just Quirky, about girls and women with Asperger’s Syndrome: Are girls and women sometimes not diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum because they do not have the same symptoms as boys and men do? Girls, it’s noted, have more “socially acceptable” obsessions—”horse and books,” perhaps, rather than “vacuum cleaners or oscillating fans”: “Girls tend to get obsessed with things that are a little less strange,” says Elizabeth Roberts, a neuropsychologist at the Asperger Institute at the New York University Child Study Center. “That makes it harder to distinguish normal from abnormal.” That observation is consistent with a 2007 study of 700 children on the spect... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968959 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:22:45 +0100 1968959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964128&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F5prJjYDapKg%2F 4 hours 49 minutes 20 seconds. That was Jonathan Brunot’s time in this year’s New York City Marathon. Today’s New York Times details how his race went: Jonathan aced [the NY Marathon] Nov. 2 on his first attempt in 4 hours 49 minutes 20 seconds, including timeouts for a slight tantrum at Mile 22 (he refused to drink his PowerGel beverage), a slight leg cramp at Mile 23 (payback for not hydrating) and a slight fumble near the finish line (he paused to wave and scream and applaud himself when he caught sight of his tearful mother, Olga, in the bleachers). Jonathan doesn’t know he didn’t quite nail Mr. Del-Cid’s goal of 4:30. He also doesn’t know Mr. Del-Cid’s goal for 2009 is for Jonathan to run the marathon in under four hours. Time and goals are irrelevant conce... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964128 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:30:17 +0100 1964128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964129&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fb-JG1JsBYEU%2F “Young, gifted, and autistic”: That’s how the November 16th Independent profile describes New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Pip Brown of Ladyhawke: recently, she revealed to a British newspaper that she has Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism) which suddenly shifted media interest from her music to her autism……… But it’s not the story that the singer wants to be defined by. “I really regret talking about it,” she says. “There’s a kid with Asperger’s who wrote to me on MySpace, saying I was a liar. It was really hurtful. I was like, you have no idea what I’ve been through. Yeah, I’m a bit weird. I do weird things. I’ve been really wary since then.” Not that it shows. Brown is chatty, war... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964129 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:36:42 +0100 1964129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964131&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fyb6yxO-6Qo0%2F According to the November 15th Slate, Barack Obama needs to choose a cabinet of really smart genius types—that is, with those who are “brilliant—albeit prickly, semi-autistic, and egomaniacal—thinkers”: The issue starts at the Treasury Department, where the best choice would be former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. Summers is the outstanding international economist of his generation, someone whose brilliance is immediately evident in any conversation. ……………. Summers can also be arrogant and politically incorrect. He sometimes does a poor job hiding his contempt for lesser intellects and loves to play the intellectual provocateur. Socially, he can be a bit autistic. But these are the defects of a superior mind, and they are a... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964131 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:08:22 +0100 1964131 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964133&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FdxMo7-zXLW8%2F The woman I spoke to at the birthday party yesterday told me that her brother had been institutionalized at the Cambridge State Hospital. Originally called the Minnesota Colony for Epilectics, it became a state hospital for the developmentally disabled and for those with “mental deficiencies” in 1949; it reached its peak population of 2008 in the 1960s. In 1972, a class action suit was filed against the state’s six State Hospitals by the parents of some of the residents ” who felt that the conditions, care, treatment and training did not meet constitutional standards” (this photo says why). This started a movement to move individuals with developmental disabilities into community settings such as group homes where they might live as independently as possible,... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964133 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:43:10 +0100 1964133 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964134&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FqKlxmISDYcw%2F 9-year-old Zachary Vitto—who’s autistic and wears leg braces for cerebral palsy—hikes with his fellow scouts on a rocky path from Borrego to Red Rock Canyon and more than perseveres, as told in the OC Register. Never ever give up, right? Tags: asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, education blog, Health, hiking boy scouts, orange county, parenthood, red rock canyonShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964134 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:00:27 +0100 1964134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964135&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FH2nOs6vw9sI%2F Neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote about animal scientist professor Temple Grandin as an “anthropologist on Mars” and she has referred to herself as an anthropologist from Mars“—-last night, we went to Mars. Ok, it was Mars 2112 on 51st and Broadway in Manhattan, a “space-themed restarant” that is (according to its website) a “spectacular mingling of fantasy and reality, a 35,000-square-foot, bi-level, multi-dimensional, immersive environment that catapults travelers to a completely new world.” That is: A below-ground restaurant in midtown Manhattan with the usual kidfood and a lot of glowing red lights emanating from the floor via grills and out from behind some clearly synthetic Mars-sort of rock formations on the walls, and a couple of Martian... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964135 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:03:46 +0100 1964135 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964136&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FhN6u6ILSPzI%2F Two recent stories in the New York Daily News highlight the struggles of families to provide for their autistic children. In Staten Island, a police detective got caught up in the subprime mortgage crisis when she bought a fixer-upper with the intention of renovating and quickly reselling it, to pay for therapy for her 3-year-old autistic son. The fixer-upper was to be auctioned off today and the detective, Regine DeBellis, is in danger of losing her own house, too. She says: “I didn’t get into this because I wanted to shop at Saks - we wanted to get Matthew in a program that treats kids with his kind of autism how not to hurt themselves,.” In Manhattan, federal prosecutors have accused the owners of an East Side building for discriminating against 11-year-old Aaron Schei... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964136 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:00:18 +0100 1964136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1964137&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3ktICl88hbY%2F Grace at Genetics and Health posts about research on regions of DNA that may increase the risk to hereditary autism (from Craegmoor Healthcare). The findings were reported on at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in Philadelphia: According to the Scientist, a large-effect allele that provides protection against autism was found on chromosome 5 near the semaphorin 5A (SEMA5A) gene, which is involved in guiding neural axons during development. The same group also found two genes not previously linked to autism, one at the tip of chromosome 20’s short arm, and one at the end of chromosome 6’s long arm. The findings were reported by Dan Arking, Assistant Professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1964137 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:09:09 +0100 1964137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955301&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F3yhgrsgYScQ%2F Yes, I overparent. It often seems to me that it’s harder than not to do this when you’ve a child with a disability. In yesterday’s Arizona Daily Star Johanna Eubanks writes about the ongoing difficulties that she, and other mothers of autistic children, have to take time for themselves; to take care of themselves. Of course, there are marked differences in the overparenting I’m talking about, and the “helicopter”/”hothouse”/”death-grip” parenting parents who aim every effort from pregnancy on to making sure their child will be material for the Ivies as described by Joan Acocella in the November 17th New Yorker. Overparenting is kind of a way of life around here, whether in directing your every energy to taking care of a disabled s... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955301 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:36:55 +0100 1955301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955302&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FU0JXO9naSBA%2F As I note regularly here, finding the right school and teachers for Charlie, and making sure the education he’s receiving is appropriate, challenging, tailored to his needs, are our constant concern. ABC News visits the Community School in Decatur, Georgia; the school was the subject of a recent article in the New York Times magazine. The school doesn’t seem quite suited to what Charlie might need, but the focus on educating older—adolescent, teenaged—autistic students really interests me. Sometimes it seems the last time that most of us felt sort of confident that we had an idea about the right sort of educational setting and programming for Charlie was when he was preschool age—–elementary and now middle school remain territory for which there’s ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955302 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:57:14 +0100 1955302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955304&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FT-CElDbvRR4%2F Teachers need autism training, as Cam Ward writes in the November 11th Shelby County Reporter (Alabama). Ward suggests that one way to provide teacher training is by making use of ACCESS, a distance learning infrastructure. Yesterday’s Guardian also highlighted why there’s an immediate and seemingly ubiquitous need for training teachers about teaching autistic students. A report from the University of Birmingham’s Autism Centre for Education and Research “shows that too many teachers and support staff are unfamiliar with the needs of autistic children and struggle to teach them effectively”: …….instead of recognising the atypical development of children and young people on the autistic spectrum, teachers tend to view them through a “typical l... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955304 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:16:10 +0100 1955304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955305&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F4Ii0Nlq7dHY%2F Autism myths abound and Kev is collecting, and dissecting, them at this new site. One myth that especailly irks me is the notion that autistic kids are “in their own world” and “withdrawn into themselves” and, generally, “out of it.” My son Charlie is thoroughly engaged in and attuned to the goings-on of the world all around him. He may not look like he is, and he often does no respond in the usual ways that people are accustomed, to indicate social awareness. Due to his limited language, people tend to assume, or too quickly assume, that he does not understand what is said to him. But never underestimate how carefully someone, and someone who doesn’t have the “usual,” “expected” responses, might be tuning in. It’s app... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955305 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:21:28 +0100 1955305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951987&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FGJcL7nX_Gww%2F No question that the prevalence of autism has increased significantly in the past couple of years. Rod Welford, the education minister of Queensland (Australia) attributes the rise in his state—which is, according to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation, “much higher” than in other states—–to “over-” and “mis” diagnosis. Parents, says Winter, are seeking an autism diagnosis falsely, so their children may “receive more resources from the Education Department.” Talking about “over-” and “mis” diagnosis of autism seems quite opposed to the argument that rise in the prevalence rate is due to a better understanding and identification of autism, and to better diagnosis—-somehow I don’t think f... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951987 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 03:20:59 +0100 1951987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951988&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FAc8nDVcuK0I%2F On May 13th, two men from Worcester (Massachusetts) started walking across the US in memory of Elias Tembenis, who was autistic and passed away last year at the age of 7, and on behalf of the National Autism Association (NAA). The two men completed the walk last week on Election Day. Reading about this, I get this image in my mind of Jim and Charlie someday undertaking a similar walk, or maybe going for their longest bike ride ever……….. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, dad, Diagnosis, disabilities blog, disability, Education, election day, son, walk across america, walkingShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951988 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:19:03 +0100 1951988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951989&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FPFNDJmYLcX0%2F In just about one month, I turn 40. Charlie is 11 1/2—-so when I’m 50, he’ll be 21, and when I’m 65, he’ll be 36, almost as old as I am now. Where will he be living? (With us?) What will he be doing? (School will be long over.) What opportunities will there be for him, or not? Yesterday’s Bergen Record describes Debbie Legutko, whose two adults sons—24-year-old Derek and 21-year-old Frank—live with her and her husband. Derek is autistic and holds two part-time jobs. Frank requires intensive medical care and is on a ventilator and oxygen. The Bergen Record notes that some 8,000 individuals with developmental disabilities are on the waiting list for residential supports and services at New Jersey’s Department of Human Services’ Division... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951989 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:31:27 +0100 1951989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947284&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FxD3Dg2h1PYs%2F “[A] sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood”——a “new idea” that “provides psychiatry with perhaps its grandest working theory since Freud, and one that is grounded in work at the forefront of science”: Today’s New York Times uses such grand language to introduce a new theory of psychiatric disorders in which parents’ genes are “in competition.” The theory is the work of Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics. Here’s how the New York Times describes it: Dr. Crespi and Dr. Badcock propose that an evolutionary tug of war between gene... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947284 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:32:10 +0100 1947284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947285&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FY8QIMn2d1JQ%2F I don’t know of any family with an autistic child who hasn’t, at some time or other, had some kind of financial difficulty, whether in the form of paying for therapies and treatments, or scrambling to live on one income, if one spouse has to quit his or her job to take care of a child. Living in a time of economic crisis means that families may well have fewer resources but just as many hopes to provide for their children. In yesterday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Paul Nyhan focuses on the Otts, whose 6-year-old son, Aaron, is autistic: The Otts’s income fell from $120,000 to $38,000 last year as the credit freeze and the collapsing housing market took a severe toll on the income of Robert Ott, a “veteran real estate broker.” The family is no longer abl... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947285 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:07:50 +0100 1947285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947286&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FuWLVnBjjnPg%2F My son Charlie’s in a self-contained autism classroom located in the middle school in our suburban New Jersey town. His teacher has been wanting to set up opportunities for non-autistic students to spend time with Charlie’s class but all the middle school students at Charlie’s school are so tightly scheduled that it has not been easy. Just getting some time to talk about autism and disabilities to them is an operation in and of itself. In Massachusetts, “I Care” (which stands for Introducing Children to Acceptance through Reading and Education) is a program that (quoting from a description on The Jamie Fund website) seeks to “help explain why some classmates might be different than others.” The program was started by the mother an autistic daughter... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947286 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:17:41 +0100 1947286 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947287&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FkODHucwZ1G0%2F When Charlie was taking piano lessons once a week (from this teacher), he practiced almost every day. In the beginning, when he was just learning to identify the keys and read the notes, practices were 10 to 15 minutes and sometimes less. Charlie’s teacher emphasized that he hoped that Charlie would enjoy playing the piano, and not see it as some chore that he had to do, so we always (well, we always tried) to end on a good note. (I was not trying to pun.) After about 9 months, when Charlie was clearly learning to read the notes and starting to play with both hands, he often barely had to look at the sheet music to play “Spinning” and “Oh Susanna” and the other short little songs in his book—-it was quite apparent that he’d more or less memorized m... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947287 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:00:53 +0100 1947287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947288&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fovgra80paXM%2F Well, here’s a headline that hasn’t been heard so much of late, it seems: Immunization rate among children rising (from MSNBC via WTHR TV) According to a recent CDC survey, 77 percent of children have been fully vaccinated in the schedule of recommended vaccines, while less than 1 percent of children had received no vaccines by age 19 to 35 months. Vaccination rates among children are “at or near record levels, with at least 90 percent coverage for all but one of the individual vaccines in the recommended series for young children.” In Indiana, 94 percent of public schools and 68 percent of private schools have complete immunization data for the 2006-07 school year, an increase from last year. Sue Goebel, a nurse with the Delaware County Health Department, notes tha... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947288 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:15:34 +0100 1947288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947289&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Faq0RJv9onPk%2F Having posted about “unusual” play as a potential marker for autism in infants—-these ball rolling machines bring to mind the ball coaster that was one of Charlie’s favorites when he was a toddler, and the memory of sitting beside him and watching the balls slide and roll (though not nearly as fast as on this video). Charlie would be absorbed in the movement of the balls, and his fascination was contagious. “Unusual” play, perhaps, but it opens up a different way of looking at the world as does Turning a Sphere Inside Out is the name of a video from Scientific American via 3 Quarks Daily blog (see it here: is it 21 minutes and even a glimpse fascinates). Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, Baby, ball, ball coaster, colors, Diagnosis, disabilities b... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947289 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:29:39 +0100 1947289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947290&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1BAbqjBnDPI%2F Let’s End Adolescence writes Newt Gingrich in the October 30th Business Week. Adolecense, argues Gingrich, is a 19th century invention and, indeed, a “social experiment” that has largely failed. Why keep supporting a “system for delaying adulthood and trapping young people into wasting years of their lives”? Why not skip the whole notion of some kind of transition stage between childhood and young adulthood and stop (as Gingrich seems to suggest)  delaying the inevitability of adulthood, and have kids “shift to serious work, learning, and responsibility at age 13 instead of age 30″? Well, Newt, let me tell you something. At 11 1/2, my son Charlie’s definitely in the throes of adolescence. Almost all the clothes he wore last summer have eithe... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947290 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:00:27 +0100 1947290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947291&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FWAL5ScHP0AI%2F The Romans, as I tell my incredulous students, did not have a concept of a weekend. Each months had its Kalends, Nones, and Ides, and feriae (holidays) in which the usual negotia of lawsuits, labor, and other transactions concerning the res of daily life were suspended. While he does not talk about it, Charlie’s got an internalize sense of time. He had Thursday and Friday off from school as it was the annual convention of the NJEA (New Jersey Education Association). Its a small rupture in his schedule to have the one long weekend in early November. As Jim and I have to work, my parents visit from California. Saturday Jim had to be at a conference and I went to see a friend, and then planned to go into New York to meet Jim and have dinner with friends. It was pouring rain for most of ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947291 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:24:29 +0100 1947291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945328&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FtJzkSJDlhbw%2F “Only a Fool,” an online recording posted on MySpace by hacker Gary McKinnon, is in the top five of MySpace videos watched——McKinnon allegedly hacked his way into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the Department of Defense and several branches of the military, and is facing, and fighting against, extradition to the US. According to the Scotsman: Despite struggling from depression, McKinnon posted his self-penned track on MySpace and within 48 hours it had been viewed by more than 100,000 people – taking it to No.5 in the video charts. McKinnon’s melancholy ballad is a tale of survival in the face of great adversity. The chorus features the lyrics: “Don’t stop, don’t say it don’t matter/If it ain’t easy try harder/Only a fool would... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945328 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:16:38 +0100 1945328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945329&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmNf59e4IplM%2F A reader, Rev nancy, recently commented on a post about Religious Education for Autistic Children: Hi I came to the website out of an experience last summer with a man in a parish I was visiting who had two autistic children. When I was in the inner city I wrote simple gospel plays for children with one line apiece for each character because the kids could not read. I used my imagination for most of them. I gave the parishioner two and he took them home and read them with his children He said they liked it very much. I gather these children are high functioning but it would be possible to do these with simple masks or puppets. What else are people doing to teach? Suggestions, ideas, thoughts much appreciated! Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, bible, Diagnosis, disabilities blog, d... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945329 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:16:22 +0100 1945329 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945330&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1OFCp_naTJE%2F My son’s toy preferences have always been straightforward and basic. Things made out of wood, with strong colors, minimal “special features,” certain textures, have all along been favored. Gizmos aren’t Charlie. While he’s been very glad to be in possession of two Leapsters (one beat up and not really working, the other still kind of newish), carrying them around and keeping them with him seems as or more important than pushing the buttons and looking at the little screen and playing the games. So it makes sense to me that a stick was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Few playthings can be more basic and readily found in one’s own frontyard. Simplex munditis, yes. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, award, Baby, colors, Diagnosis, disabi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945330 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:09:44 +0100 1945330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945331&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FlA1F_IPA1X0%2F The new Terminator has been “professionally diagnosed with mild autism”? From Sci Fi Wire: Personality-wise, Cameron still has a ways to go, recently having been professionally diagnosed with mild autism. But like all Terminators to come before her, she’s a sponge for information. She’s been reading the Bible, watching TV and observing the kids around her to get a grasp on all the latest hipster lingo. It doesn’t always come out quite as it should, but she’s learning from her mistakes. Is there the suggestion here that something being autistic leaves one a bit lacking in the personality department? h/t to Jen! Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, Diagnosis, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Movies, scifi, summer glau, ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945331 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:00:31 +0100 1945331 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943411&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F8HLcADb0D9I%2F What a week—–I guess that is kind of an understatement. There was a new, and frustratingly improbable theory of autism causation: Rain. The Times Online reminds us that, as has often been said, a correlation does not mean you’ve got a cause and notes that there’s indeed doubt as to “whether the paper deserved to be published and reported.” The line of reasoning followed by the paper’s author, Michael Waldman of the Johnson School at Cornell University is that living in a wetter climate leads children to stay inside more, and to be exposed to less sunlight and so produce less Vitamin D, and to spend more time on indoor activities such as watching TV—and to become autisitic. Theorizing that TV might cause autism was the topic of an earlier pape... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943411 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 07:37:35 +0100 1943411 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943412&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FMtUQIPCiFdM%2F 11-year-old Jonathan Rios has been missing since around 11am Friday morning in Northeast Portland, Oregon Live reports: Police said Jonathan Rios and was last seen around 11:00 a.m. on the 7300 block of Northeast Siskiyou Street. Police said Jonathan was in the car with his foster father when they had an argument about a broken video game. Jonathan’s foster father left him in the car while picking up another child from school, and when he returned, Jonathan was gone, police said. Jonathan is autistic and is said to have a history of running away. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, foster child, missing child, Portland, video gameShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943412 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:37:33 +0100 1943412 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943413&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F-lyjpR51Ujg%2F Linking autism to rates of rainfall could be said to be a quite extensive attempt to find an environmental cause of autism, and one that is clearly external and not genetic. Since the study was reported earlier this week, it’s been getting a lot of press. Two genetic studies were also recently noted this week: Ars Technica looks closely at one study on language genes. Another study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine looks at parents’ concerns about their own risk and their children’s risks for genetic disease. With the development of genetic testing and, too, of direct-to-consumer genetic tests, parents can find out a lot more about their genetic profile and quite readily. Is there a tendency to shy away from genetic theories of autism because ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943413 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:23:36 +0100 1943413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943414&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FamX_XXAABOI%2F How to characterize services/”treatment” that’s educational in nature (like speech therapy; like ABA, in some ways): How to argue that it’s “medically” necessary? In a November 6th ABC local news report about how a Fremont (CA) mother took on the health care policy of the HMO Kaiser, Kristin Jacobsen of the Alliance of California Autism Organizations says: “I think one of the biggest tragedies is the health plans are for profit businesses. They make a lot of money, they collect premiums, these families pay premiums and they expect to get health insurance coverage,” said ….. Jacobsen ……….. She says Kaiser is not alone in passing off responsibilities for treatment to school districts and regional centers. “This is ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943414 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:03:59 +0100 1943414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939208&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Ff_yMa48gmMo%2F Unusual use of toys in infancy a clue to later autism, according to a stuy published in the October issue of Autism, the journal of the National Autistic Society. M.I.N.D. Institute researcher Sally Ozonoff is the lead author. “Strange play” is said to include spinning, rotating and visual exploring objects in “unusual” ways; 66 infants were involved in the study and nine were later diagnosed with autism; seven out of those nine were noted to spin, etc., toys. Ozonoff is quoted as saying that “‘About a third of parents notice signs before a child’s first birthday.’” Researchers hope to be able to identify autism earlier. Indeed, it’s the sort of study likely to lead parents of young children to scrutinize, and over-scrutinize, the... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939208 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:13:03 +0100 1939208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939209&cid=t_180873_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2Fw8m3l0PMss8%2F The Dangers of Autism: Autism in America: A Perilous Diagnosis is the title for today’s story about autism over at ABC News. Safety’s a more than top concern (if that’s possible) for us concerning my son Charlie; I’ve frequently noted how overly careful we are in choosing babysitters and in teaching him to walk beside us and to wait at the corner before crossing the street. “Stranger danger” is a concept he has yet to grasp. ABC News highlights these sorts of concerns and notes how difficulties understanding social cues can lead to misunderstandings: Autism lends itself to guileless and trusting behavior, which makes people with the disorder prime targets for abuse, thievery and scams. According to the Department of Justice, people with developmental dis... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939209 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:30:48 +0100 1939209