A Memory for Faces, Extreme Version - Jennifer Jarett never forgets a face. A few years ago, shortly after she moved to New York City, one of her friends pointed out a young man standing on the other side of the room at a party. Ms. Jarett took one look and said, “Oh, I know who he is — I went to Hebrew school with him in fourth grade.”  At the time, Ms. Jarett, who is now 38, had not seen the boy in nearly two decades, since they were both children.

Asperger's Diagnoses May Redefine What Is Normal  - Instead of looking for cures for those with autism spectrum disorders, some think society should value their special gifts.  Can We Learn Acceptance? Although more adults have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in recent years, some experts, as well as those who have the autism spectrum disorder, contend that a cure is not necessary. Rather, acceptance of different personality traits is in order, they claim.

ChARM demos first online app for autism treatment - Zoho is perhaps best known for its range of free online productivity and collaborative tools – Zoho Office – which competes with Google Docs, but most recently the company has donated its development platform and resources to the treatment of autism with the newly launched ChARMTracker.   What ChARMTracker does is provide an online tool – the first of its kind – for parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders (AUD), enabling them to gather and track information on treatments, and dietary and health conditions.

Conference discusses whether diet can 'heal' autism - For the parents of children with autism, social and communicative symptoms are complicated with physical problems like constipation, diarrhea, digestive pain and gas. Can putting a child on a special diet really reduce or even eliminate autism though?“We know that kids with autism have nutrient deficiencies,” said San Francisco-based Julie Matthews, a certified nutrition consultant and author of “Nourishing Hope for Autism,” at international nonprofit Autism One’s conference at the Westin O’Hare last weekend. “When we [develop] an autism diet, we want to focus on getting good nutrition in.”

Dolphin therapists replaced by robot doubles / Seriously. We're not making this up - Were the sardine bills too high? Or is it just another ploy by our soon-to-be mechanised overlords to enslave a whole new generation of human children?  Whatever the reason, the writing is on the swimming pool wall for the dolphins that work with special needs children in the interactive splash-fest known as Dolphin Human Therapy (DHT).

Healthy Difference on 'Today's THV at 5': Vaccinations - In Tuesday's Healthy Difference, a new study on vaccines, particularly the whooping cough vaccine. There has been concern that the risks outweigh the benefits, but according to a new study, the case for having your child vaccinated is a little stronger.  Jennifer Luria's two-year-old twins started their vaccinations but she became concerned when Benjamin started having seizures. Jennifer stopped his shots even though there's no evidence the vaccines caused the seizures.  Jennifer says, "My mother and pediatrician, people I trust say are you insane of course you vaccinate your kid. It's a public health risk not to vaccinate your kids."

In Rare Disease, a Familiar Protein Disrupts Gene Function - An international team of scientists studying a rare genetic disease discovered that a bundle of proteins with the long-established function of keeping chromosomes together also plays an important role in regulating genes in humans. The finding that cohesin, a protein complex, dysregulates gene expression may improve diagnosis of the multisystem genetic disease Cornelia de Lange syndrome.

Is lurpon just a chemical restraint? - Since it was first proposed by Mark and David Geier, Lupron therapy for autism has been criticized heavily. Do a google search—if your results are like mine, the first hit is a blog post by Kathleen Seidel “Playing with Fire“. Ms. Seidel has done much to expose the questionable methods used by the Geiers to promote Lupron as a therapy for autism. Her list of Lupron links is quite valuable for anyone considering this therapy. Top amongst those is a blog post by Prometheus at the Photon in the Darkness blog, exposing the questionable science behind the supposed testosterone/mercury connection.

Mothers' talk is key to kids' social skills, study says - Mothers often get blamed for the way their children turn out, and a new study gives additional weight to that accusation.  Mothers have opportunities to teach empathy every day, psychologists say. Research from the United Kingdom shows that the way mothers talk to their children at a young age influences their social skills later in childhood.  The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that children whose mothers often talked to them about people's feelings, beliefs, wants and intentions developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not.

Portrait of a modern-day kindergarten classroom - The bell rings… the teacher opens the door to up to 22 four and five year old children who look at her with eyes that expect the love and support they need to reach their full potential. Their parents look at her with high hopes for a quality education. The teacher wants all of this for each of the little ones placed in her care and she vows to do her best.  Then the year starts… (Please note that this description has been a typical class configuration in what would be classified as three separate “typically middle class” rather than “inner city designated” urban schools for at least the past 6 of my 15 year career. It is also a relatively moderate description – I have experienced more challenging configurations…):

Simplifying The Sibling Relationship - Recently we brought you Scoop Essentials: Inside The World Of Siblings, a conversation about what it means to be the sibling of a person with a developmental disability.  Now, Don Meyer, director of the Sibling Support Project answers your questions about how to promote positive sibling interactions and what to do when resentment creeps into the sibling dynamic.  My 16-year-old son (gifted/ADHD) is filled with anger and resentment toward his 11-year-old brother who has a co-morbid dx of bipolar, ADHD, GAD, SID, learning disabilities and most recently Asperger’s. While my special needs child may be 11, he is more like a 6 or 7-year-old. No matter how much progress he has made my 16-year-old has no tolerance for him. He is his biggest trigger! I tried last year to get him some therapy but the therapist was not a match and now he refuses to speak with anyone. I realize my 16-year-old has been through hell and back with me and his brother but feel there has to be something more I can do. Any suggestions? — Stacy, 48

The Artist Formerly Known as Severely Autistic: Sam Debold Wows the Crowd at Autism One - Managing Editor's Note: On Saturday night at the Autism One dinner, young Sam Debold turned on the charm (and every tear duct in the room) with his muscial performance. Here is Dr. Andrew Wakefield's introduction of Sam.  You can see Sam's complete performance, including the intro, on the other side of the post jump. Just click down.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just a very, very small role tonight and that is to introduce someone that I first met some years ago in Detroit. He’s a Red Wings fan.  And a when I met Sam Debold through my great friend Vicky Debold, his mother, Sam was profoundly autistic.  And back then when I knew very little about this disease, I wondered quite what the prospects for Sam were.  And I’ve been following his progress over the years and Sam has been doing extremely well.

Web site an aid to autistic children - After nine years creating video games, Ben Throop recently launched a Web site he says helps educate children with learning disabilities, specifically autism.  More than 2,700 users have created picture cards containing either photos, symbols or plain text from a site called Mrs. Riley (www.MrsRiley.com). Animals, vegetables, school supplies and other images are among about 3,000 symbols available that can be placed onto a variety of template sizes.

Why the anti-vaccine movement even exists? And how it got started? - An article that is likely to make the rounds of the science/medical blogosphere (and get the anti-vaccer trolls out of the woodwork):  Researchers long ago rejected the theory that vaccines cause autism, yet many parents don't believe them. Can scientists bridge the gap between evidence and doubt?Writes Liza Gross in the latest Feature article in PLoS Biology: A Broken Trust: Lessons from the Vaccine-Autism Wars:

You are neurodiverse…. - We don’t all think the same way. We just don’t. There is a “diversity” in our thought processes. Our neurology. So, I find it interesting when people talk about “those neurodiverse” or in some other way try to make it an “us vs. them” subject. As Jake and Elwood said,  Some things that make us all the same. You, me them, everybody, everybody.  In this case, it is our differences that make us the same. Everybody is neurodiverse. Everybody’s mind thinks just a little different from anyone else’s on this planet. And, that is what makes us all neurodiverse. The problem comes up when we move from “Neurodiverse” to the “Neurodiverisity movement”.

A controversial treatment for autism is giving desperate parents hope for their children. The testosterone-related treatment is condemned by some people and praised by others.

Autism, ADD and Risperdal: CBS news clip alert - If you missed this information, you may want to view this CBS news segment. There evidently are drug side effects to the commonly prescribed pharmaceutical, Risperdal....commonly prescribed for certain autism symptoms, ADD and bi-polar disorder.  If you know of anyone's child who is being prescribed this medication, or may be considering it, the following is information you may want to pass on.

Autism / OP ED ~ Ref:  Growing Old With Autism by Karl Taro Greenfeld - NY Times  - This article just breaks my heart. It is so true. My elder son is high-functioning autistic, now in his mid-forties. When he was a child there was very little awareness of, or advocacy for, autism. In fact, we could not even get the staff of Bradley Hospital (a psychiatric hospital for children) even to use the word "autism." "We do not put labels on things" they smugly told us. It was, and continues to be, an unending, frustrating, heartbreaking struggle against professional hubris and ignorance, and societal indifference.  When he turned eighteen he made the instant transition from being a troubled child, with some level of state funding, and thus an object of tsk-tsk pity, to being a troubled adult with an intractable long-term disability and no umbrella of protective legislation.

Autistic-like could mean SPD: Catch it in early childhood - Autistic, autism-like, hyper active, asperger's syndrome... what do all of these terms have in common? They carry an element of fear and uncertainty for parents of children who have behaviors that "just do not feel right" to them, and are attempting to field through the potential diagnoses for their children. Initially my thought was to begin this series with the study of A. Jean Ayers and the history of SI, sensory integration, but it has been brought to my attention that SI has actually evolved into an extended mode of thought called SP or sensory processing, ergo we will take this trajectory of topic in an attempt to provide the most current and meaningful information as quickly as possible.

Bernie Marcus Speaks Out on Autism and Autism Case - As interest in the Stefan Ferrari case gains national attention with website commentaries and hundreds of emails, one of the country's leading benefactors of bringing awareness and care to children with autism--Bernie Marcus is speaking out.  Mr. Marcus is the Founder of the Marcus Institute and Autism Center and the Co-Founder of Autism Speaks.  His Center has already treated more than 30,000 children with autism---one of the first of those was Stefan Ferrari.  His outrage about what happened to Stefan was intense.

Do we live in a blame the parent culture? Vaccines vs SBS. - In the USA at the end of last year premature twins were born, one of which was very weak and ill with many health problems. For days his little life hung in the balance as he fought off one infection after another, through problems in the womb he had very poor weight gain and continued with poor feeding problems. Despite these problems however, not only was he given a huge cocktail of drugs but also his 1st Hepatitis B shot. Due to anaemia he was given a blood transfusion and his condition remained critical. Within days despite bloody stools and still losing weight, the 2nd Hep B shot was given and a day later he was discharged. Within just 10 mins of being home he stopped breathing. He was rushed back to the hospital but because he was crying and seemed fine the doctor advised that in premature babies it was normal to have periodic breathing and again discharged this baby.

Early childhood SPD: New movie out! Autistic-like...preview it here - For those of you who are coming along with me on the SPD discovery experience, I have received an exciting video preview titled, Autistic-like. I was very excited to receive this compilation of anecdotal documentation and therapist/parent feedback in the form of a case study of a young man named Graham. Please be sure to visit the web site after viewing this clip where you can access information regarding screenings of the movie, who the filmmakers are, news releases about the movie and how you can actually buy the DVD. This movie by Erik Linthorst is a "must watch" by any parent struggling with sensory issues. The reviews are rave, and it is sure to touch your heart and potentially give you hope.

Embarrassed by autism? - How does it feel to the be the parent - or sibling - of the kid who takes the short bus? Who flicks his fingers in the air... flaps his hands... and seems oblivious of the odd looks his actions provoke? How does it feel to be the parent of a child who looks normal, is clearly bright, but who dissolves into tears at the slightest provocation? What's it like to watch your brother or sister delightedly tune in to baby shows, play with baby toys, and act like a toddler - in front of your friends? Bottom line, autism can be embarrassing.

Finding day care difficult for parents of autistic kids -  When Lori Geiger enrolled her autistic son in day care three years ago, she hoped that interacting with children his age, he would improve his social development. For a while, it helped. But Nicky, who is now 4, became increasingly curious as he grew in size, and keeping an eye on him became more of a challenge at the child-care center. “He was all over the place; he was exploring, going in the toilet area, climbing on the tables,” said the Mount Airy mother of three. “The teachers couldn’t keep up with him.” While the staff loved her son, they lacked the training to work with a special needs child, so last fall Geiger made the decision to pull Nicky out of day care.

Foster unveils legislation for miliary benefits - Flanked by a military family, Congressman Bill Foster said Monday he plans to pursue legislation that would allow them and all other such families with special needs children to collect a greater chunk of family survivor benefits.  The proposed bill would allow military personnel to designate pension contributions for trust funds for the benefit of family members with special needs. Nonmilitary government workers already are currently entitled to set up such "blind trusts" which would keep dependents from being barred from also collecting Social Security disability benefits, Foster said.

IRPW'S Yomin Postelnik Launches Autism Health and Wellness Magazine - In April, IRPW and company president Yomin Postelnik launched a new magazine, Autism Health and Wellness. The magazine is designed to explore health issues and promote advocacy for the special needs community. Postelnik has previously developed several programs for teens with autism and has worked closely with the South Florida non-profit community since 2004. The magazine is an extension of www.AutismHealthandWellness.com, which has been a lead online advocate for Autism issues, advocacy and information since last year and which has developed a significant presence on Twitter and other online networks.

Joanie Garro speaks to parents about writing IEP goals - Thursday, May 21, Joanie Garro, MA, BCBA, CT spent over two hours with parents, at the United Way offices in Clear Lake, as she worked with them on how to write appropriate goals for their special needs kids' Individual Education Programs. Garro has been a classroom teacher, special education teacher, professional advocate and  certified therapist as well as a speaker in the local area for over 20 years.

Micro-Lending for Autism Treatment Lend4Health.org Needs Your Vote! - The biomedical treatment micro-lending site Lend4Health has been selected by a panel of five judges to be one of 10 finalists in the "Designing for Better Health" competition sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and hosted by Ashoka's Changemakers website. Online, public voting is currently open through May 28, 2009. The top three entries with the most votes will each win $5,000. Winners will be announced on June 1.

Sensory room a hit with disabled students - In this room, unlike anywhere else in his life, Eric Kercado, who is profoundly deaf and has limited vision, is in control. Sitting in front of a small fan, 6-year-old Eric presses a big round button turning the air on and off, on and off. He smiles as the breeze hits his face. He sinks into a color-changing pool filled with clear plastic balls that vibrate to music, which makes him shake his arms and grunt with excitement. This is the new sensory room at Hollywood Park Elementary, part classroom, part indoor playground. Special-education teachers hope spots like this will help calm anxious kids and stimulate nonresponsive ones during the school day.

Starvation murder trial: girl was autistic - A COURT has heard how the parents of a seven-year-old girl, who allegedly died from starvation, cancelled or did not turn up for a number of specialist medical appointments and that the child was given unprescribed medication to help her sleep. The girl, whose parents are on trial in East Maitland Supreme Court, was found dead in a bedroom of the family's Hawks Nest home on November 3, 2007. The court has previously heard the girl died from starvation and neglect. The married couple, a 47-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder.

The Autism Community Needs to Learn a Lesson - As is accepted by most rational people, autism is a largely genetic difference, albeit with a likely environmental component. Over the last 10 years or so a seemingly increasingly irrational desire to blame vaccines for causing autism has been coupled with a similarly irrational ‘cure at all cost’ mentality. The subsequent parent driven engine has resulted in autistic kids being exposed to shysters, snake oil salesman and out and out quacks selling their own version on dangerous exploitation.

Thomas the Tank Engine a valuable autistic aid - THOMAS the Tank Engine is coming to the rescue again. After countless episodes averting disaster on the fictional island of Sodor, Thomas and his railway friends have a real-life mission to help autistic children. A survey of parents in the UK has found Thomas, James, Gordon, Percy and all the other engines on the Sodor railway have a particular appeal to children with autism. This may be because they have very clear facial expressions, Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) says. So it's joined forces with Thomas and Friends' owners, HiT Entertainment, to use them in games and promotions.

Top-five dairy-free Websites: no. 2 - No. 2 on my list is a site called Free from Market. Where else can you find allergen free, gluten free, low protein, low carbohydrate and vegan groceries, plus antibiotic-free grass-fed meats, pharmaceutical grade supplements, chemical free household cleaners, natural health and beauty products, high tolerance air purifiers, and dust-mite-repellant linens.

Autism Mothers! - Here are some of the autism mothers... Autism File style at the Autism One dinner and auction. 

Autism: tests to discuss with your doctor if you suspect your your child is autistic - I am not a medical expert. I am simply a parent who has been there, done that as far as dealing with autism and getting the right diagnosis and treatment for my kids. This is a great article about diagnosing autism, what a treatment team is, and how they work together. If you feel like your child might be autistic, I urge you to do your homework as a parent. This is a great on line assessment for children. Also, be sure to ask your child’s doctor about the following tests to make sure that there is not another medical issue going on with your child in addition to autism. In Georgia, Emory University has an excellent pediatric neurology department. Also, the Marcus Autism center at Emory is very good. However, the waiting list is quite long.

Autistic artist draws dinosaurs for book - Now 18, Thomas' illustrations are the core of the book, "Dinosaurs Through My Eyes." It's the sub-title that might raise an eyebrow: "Pre-historic illustrations from an austistic mind."  What Thomas lacks in verbal communication, he relates in his drawings -- especially dinosaurs. "It's amazing what he can draw," said Chris of Wisconsin Rapids. A divorced dad, Chris has been raising Thomas and his brother, Ben, 12, since the boys moved to Wisconsin Raids in 2007. He has two other children, Peter, 22, and Elizabeth, 20. Thomas isn't comfortable around many people, and social situations can be challenging. Those challenges were leading Thomas on a downward spiral -- until he came to live with his dad. Chris credits the staff at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids for Thomas' successes. "Lincoln saved his life," Chris said. "I can't tell you how grateful I am to the staff there."

ChARM (Children's Autism Recovery Map) Treatment Tracking Software from Silicon Valley-Based MedicalMine to Be Unveiled At Autism One Conference in Chicago May 24, 2009 - MedicalMine, Inc. announced today that ChARMTracker, a web-based application for autism treatment : management, will debut nationally on Sunday, May 24, at the Autism One Conference in Chicago. ChARM is the first internet-based system available in the market that enables parents to gather, track and visualize complete and comprehensive information they collect on their children as they work to treat conditions that are often present in kids with this diagnosis – for example, gastrointestinal and immunological issues or chronic infections. MedicalMine, a chronic illness management company, has more than 600 families worldwide using ChARMTracker with the number of users increasing daily.

David Kirby Live at Autism One - Here's David Kirby presenting Metals, Myelin & Mitochondria: Pathways to Autism? 

Dear President Obama, please help autistic adults - Dear President Obama, My name is Paul Morris and I am a 21 year old guy who is high-functioning autistic. I was non-verbal until the age of 5. Now that I am looking for work and living with roommates, I am worried about my life. It's going poorly for autistic adults because the funding is over. I want you to create programs for autism spectrum disorders. Today, you donate lots of money to autism.

Early childhood: Autism, PDD and sensory integration - As the friend of a young man diagnosed with Autism, it is interesting to observe the controversy in media coverage regarding blame and chastisement of “what or who” is responsible for the explosion of autistic like symptoms among our children. These theories I will leave to others more expert in divining the origin, but as a supportive friend and an educator, my personal question is, “Okay, for these children…what do I do now?”

Ernie Els: I want to find the causes of autism / Ernie Els: I want to find the causes of autism - To the outside world he seems to have it all. He is one of the world’s great golfers, has a multimillionaire’s lifestyle, lives with his young family in beautiful houses in England, South Africa and the United States, and travels the world in his private jet. But one day, two years ago, the world fell in on Ernie Els — or so he thought at the time. The South African was told by doctors that his son, Ben, who was 5 at the time, was autistic. And life for Els and his wife Liezl was about to change for ever.

Family faces uncertainty in dealing with autism - With all the questions swirling around about the causes and treatment of autism, Tim and Rose Ziegeweid of Eau Claire know this much for sure: Their only child didn't say her first words until three weeks after starting an alternative therapy to remove mercury from her body.  Sheryl Ziegeweid, diagnosed with autism at 18 months, was 7 years old at the time. The Ziegeweids also recall Sheryl's development taking a step backward after receiving infant immunizations at 6 and 12 months - regression they attribute to a form of mercury in those shots.

Families of autistic children bond - Chad Millner's autistic son, Gareth, can be a handful, making it difficult for the West Jordan dad to get out much with the kids, especially without the help of his wife.  But on Saturday, Millner strolled through Tanner Plaza at Westminster College as Gareth, 5, and his twin sister, who is not autistic, remained occupied by students coordinating an array of activities at a free event for families affected by autism.  "A lot of people don't realize how difficult it is to take an autistic child places," Millner said. "Something like this is so nice because both of them are having fun and I'm not all stressed out."  Science has yet to discover the cause of autism, which can lead to unusual or repetitive behavior, problems communicating and difficulty with social interactions.

Families praise passage of autism bill - It's cost years of heartache and literally millions of dollars for thousands of families affected by autism. Next week, everything will finally change.   Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is expected to sign Senate Bill 244 into law on Tuesday, June 2nd. The bill creates a law requires health insurance companies to cover assessment, diagnosis and treatment of autism.   That treatment includes Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). When begun at an early age, ABA can literally save families as much as $2 million over the course of the lifetime of someone with autism. On average, families touched by autism spend close to $3.5 million for treatment when they don't have access to ABA.

Graduating class of four overcame adversity together - Donnie was feeling pretty good about his two upcoming graduation ceremonies. Leaning back in a chair, he spun his black fedora on his finger and said, “Yeah, I’m going to walk with my sister at my other school and then I’ve got this one.” Across the table, Matt looked thrown. He turned to the teacher. “I don’t have anybody to walk with me,” Matt, 20, told the woman. Donnie, 19, stopped spinning the hat. “I’ll walk with you,” he said. “A friend shouldn’t walk alone. Not for graduation.” Tight, these two. They comprise exactly one half of the 2009 graduating class of the Rainbow Center for Communicative Disorders

Inexpensive home therapies for autism - There are quite a few inexpensive at home helps for your autistic child. A good place to start is turning off the TV. I was amazed at the difference when I took the TV out of the playroom and my sons didn’t get to perseverate. Though it was harder at first, they started understanding the value of being in our world more. This is the hardest home tip! Also, a weighted blanket is a great thing to have for TV time and during bedtime routines.

No More Meltdowns book review - I was sorting through a stack of things and came across several educational books someone sent me to review. The first is No More Meltdowns by Jed Baker, Ph.D. The book cover states that it offers positive strategies for managing and preventing out-of-control behavior.  The first thing I noticed was that the book is actually readable. This is essential, since most people reading it will be exhausted parents who are desperate to find a solution for their children's behavior. The chapters are divided into three sections: The Problem, The Solution and Plans for the Four Types of Meltdown Situations. Two forms, a general calming plan form and a prevention plan form, are included in the book and help parents tailor what they've learned to their children's situations.

Parent advocacy vs. school districts 0 For most parents the school year is nearing an end and fun summer activities are the only things on the list for the next three months. But, for many parents; the parents who have a child that needs extra support in school through an IEP (Individual Education Plan), they will spend their summer learning educational law, tearing their hair out trying to understand the IDEA, Procedural Safeguards, 504 Plans, LEA restrictions, Least Restrictive Environment, NOREPP, and Extended School Year requirements. Sounds like a foreign language, doesn’t it? Well, it is. You need a glossary of educational terms. Whether the child has a severe disability such as blindness, deafness, low-functionality of autism or mental retardation OR simply is ADHD, dyslexic, or Aspergers, it is a labyrinth of educational law driving the appropriateness and effectiveness of education that the child will receive. In fact, it is that latter, those with minimal support needed, that seem to have the bigger fight. Of course, you would think that the school district would be a tremendous source of information and help steer through the maze of state regulations when in actuality the school representatives stand to guard the district funds like knights protecting the queen’s treasures.

Platinum record producer on hunger strike for autism - In the landscape of autism-advocating celebrities so familiar to mainstream America, and mainstream media – Jenny McCarthy, Amanda Peet, Toni Braxton, etc. – trotting their children out into the spotlight like a never-ending circus show – there is another celeb who’s doing it all differently. And it should be no surprise it’s different, because he himself has Asperger’s, a form of autism, and sees the world differently. This man is Michael Buckholtz – the platinum record producer, behind such artists as MC Hammer. This self-taught multi-instrumentalist, song-writer, producer is currently nearing the end of a 30-day hunger strike to draw national media attention to his cause. And his cause is two-fold.

Senior with Asperger syndrome wows Berean Christian School grads - The valedictorian at Berean Christian School enjoys strategy games, catches the TV show MythBusters when he can, maintains a dry sense of humor and plans to study computer science in college. He has tested at a near-genius IQ level, according to his parents. And oh, by the way, Bradley Andrews has Asperger syndrome.

Social skills or academics - which matters most for kids on the the autism spectrum?- When Tom (my 12-year-old with high functioning autism) was in public school, I was appalled at how little he was taught. The level of expectation was so low that he could easily be passed from grade to grade without being challenged to read so much as a single novel or write more than a single paragraph.  In fourth grade, Tom's autism support class read only the material included in a Harcourt textbook. While other kids his age were reading full length novels, building dioramas, writing book reports and making oral presentations, he was filling out worksheets about the contents of a picture book. He had almost no science, geography, or social studies at all.  In short, he was ignorant.

Some Millionaires Still Giving When It Hurts - Norfolk, Virginia—Millionaire Marc Hrisko knows something about intense and stressful situations. Before the 33-year old author, real estate investor, and national speaker for Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” events hit it big, Hrisko served as a medic and firefighter making just $40,000 a year to run into blazing buildings. What he learned from that experience, says Hrisko, is that as danger increases, so, too, should a person’s willingness to serve others.

Testosterone-related treatment for autism stirs controversy / Some parents see benefits from Lupron, a drug used to chemically castrate sex offenders and for endometriosis and prostate cancer. But mainstream experts condemn the protocol, marketed by 2 doctors. - Desperate to help their autistic children, hundreds of parents nationwide are turning to an unproven and potentially damaging treatment: multiple high doses of a drug sometimes used to chemically castrate sex offenders.  The therapy is based on a theory, unsupported by mainstream medicine, that autism is caused by a harmful link between mercury and testosterone. Children with autism have too much of the hormone, according to the theory, and a drug called Lupron can fix that.

The Others: Siblings and Autism - Once a week, I try to watch one of my husband’s ‘must see’ television shows with him. I don’t like to watch “LOST” on my own since it’s got some freaky twists and turns in the plot and an eerie violin playing in the background for those cliff hanger scenes.  I’ve come to enjoy the storyline but still have an unsettling feeling toward the characters that play the Others.  They usually show up out of nowhere with an air about them that causes one either to distrust them or run like heck away from them.  I want to get to know them better, but the creators of the show keep them hidden in the background of the main characters’ lives more often than not.  Lately some days, I feel like my own neurotypical (NT) children are my own set of Others:  characters in my life who through no fault of their own remain in the background.

You are neurodiverse…. - We don’t all think the same way. We just don’t. There is a “diversity” in our thought processes. Our neurology.  So, I find it interesting when people talk about “those neurodiverse” or in some other way try to make it an “us vs. them” subject. As Jake and Elwood said.  Some things that make us all the same. You, me them, everybody, everybody.  In this case, it is our differences that make us the same. Everybody is neurodiverse. Everybody’s mind thinks just a little different from anyone else’s on this planet. And, that is what makes us all neurodiverse  The problem comes up when we move from “Neurodiverse” to the “Neurodiverisity movement”.

Vacationing with your Autistic child - Summer is here and it's time to start planning family vacations. This can be hard to do in most circumstances but planning a vacation around an Autistic child can be especially stressful. We braved a mini-vacation this weekend and found it to be very draining. There were three adults on this trip and it took all of us to care for Maddie and her little brother. The key to making it a successful vacation is pre-planning and we thought we had done a pretty good job. We made sure we packed things that were familiar to Maddie so that the transition would be as calm and comfortable for her as possible. Even with her favorite foods, blanket, pillow and her special toys, we still experienced a few tantrums and some tense moments. It was exhausting at times. We could have used a little more rest and relaxation.

Vaccine preventable diseases: tetanus - Vaccinations seem to cause some controversy in the United States whether it is the moral/ethical/political issues surrounding Gardasil or the supposed link between childhood vaccines and autism. However one thing is clear, vaccinations have made some of the most common and devastating diseases practically non-existent in this country. In my opinion, vaccinations are the most successful use of immunological principles to human health worldwide.  Vaccinations in simple terms are to introduce various antigenic materials, depending on the vaccine, to produce an immune response or antibodies in human or animals.

Controversial autism treatment may harm children, some experts say - Some parents of children with autism are using a controversial drug based on a unconfirmed theory that autism is tied to a connection between mercury and testosterone. Some call Lupron -- which is sometimes used on sex offenders -- a miracle drug, but critics say it is based on bad research and could affect puberty and physical development. Chicago Tribune (05/21)

Help for mental illness - BACKGROUND: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 57 million Americans suffer from a form of mental illness. About 6 percent of adults in the United States have a severely disabling mental disorder each year. Some of the more well-known mental health disorders include schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's, social phobia, panic disorder, anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  HOW ARE THEY DIAGNOSED? In the United States, mental disorders are diagnosed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Basically, doctors diagnose patients by symptom clusters. Daniel Amen, M.D., medical director of the Amen Clinics in Newport Beach, Calif., says it's an outdated method. "We basically diagnose people like we did in 1840 when Lincoln got depressed," he told Ivanhoe. Researchers are still looking for reliable, objective ways to diagnose mental illnesses.

Helping Autistic Teens Make Friends - During the first week of class, the teens' eyes were downcast, their responses were mumbled and eye contact was almost nonexistent.  By Week 12, though, these same kids were talkative, responsive and engaged.  That's the result of a special class designed at UCLA to help teens with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) learn to interact appropriately with their peers. ASD includes a range of pervasive developmental disorders characterized by problems with communication and socialization; it's estimated that one in 150 children born in the United States has some form of ASD. In a study appearing in the April edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders , UCLA clinical instructor of psychiatry Elizabeth Laugeson and colleagues report that in comparison with a control group, the treatment group taking the class significantly improved their overall social skills and interactions with their peers.

Missing Girl Case Draws Police Review - Police in Allentown are launching an internal review after Fox 29 uncovered what may have been a costly error in the early stages of an investigation.  At stake is the safety of a teenaged girl who is mentally impaired. When the girl went missing Sunday night, Allentown police did not immediately begin searching for her, reported Fox 29's Claudia Gomez. Two and a half days passed before they launched a ground search. The reason for the mistake is not clear. It may have been an error in judgment by the first responding police officer, a language barrier or both. Courtney Neve is a girl in trouble. She has no money, no resources, and the mental capacity of a child much younger than her 16 years. Courtney has been missing now for five long days.

Olmsted on Autism: Welcome to Illinois - Managing Editor's Note: When my Mia was 8 years old, we took her to a ped. endocrinologist with concerns about early puberty. She also had a severe seizure disorder. The endo, a Fellow from Dartmouth working at University Hospitals of Cleveland did the routine tests.  Blood, x-ray of the hand bones. Mia was just on the cusp of what would be called "precocious puberty."  He offered me Lupron straight away. I asked, "What will Lupron do to her seizure disorder?"  He had no idea. In fact, he kept saying, "The social stigma of a girl getting her period in third grade..." And I kept responding, "But she has autism and the social stigma is a non-starter. This is at best a convenience issue for Mom."  He wanted her on Lupron but couldn't give me any facts as to how it would affect her overall health, beside her breasts disappearing and her underarm hair falling out.  I declined the Lupron out of fear for what it would do to Mia's seizures. Mainstream docs prescribe this drug every day, to children.

Simon Baron-Cohen: Ali G's smarter cousin and Britain's leading expert on autism  - George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, once amused journalists at a Conservative fringe meeting by regaling them with tales of his ability to retain odd facts. Perhaps, one of them asked, he was "faintly autistic"? Referring in turn to a much-touted rumour that had been doing the Westminster rounds, Osborne replied: "We're not getting on to Gordon Brown yet." Osborne was blasted from all sides because he seized on the word "autistic" to deliver a cheap jibe. He tried to argue that he was merely caught on the hop because someone had just suggested that he showed autistic traits himself. But no dice. Nick Hornby, the writer whose first son was diagnosed with the brain development disorder, spoke for many when he declared: "George Osborne doesn't seem to have noticed that most people over the age of eight no longer use serious and distressing disabilities as a way of taunting people."

Stimulating growth of neurons in brain - UB researchers have identified a new mechanism that plays a central role in adult brain stem cell development and prompts brain stem cells to differentiate into neurons.  Their discovery, known as Integrative FGFR1 Signaling (INFS), has fundamentally challenged the prevailing ideas of how signals are processed in cells during neuronal development. The INFS mechanism is considered capable of repopulating degenerated brain areas, raising possibilities for new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, and may be a promising anti-cancer therapy.

Essayist: Vaccines under scrutiny - again The Center for Disease control reported 503, 282 measles cases in the United States in 1962. In 1998: 67 cases, most due to importation from unprotected countries with measles related death rate totaling between one and five percent. Vaccines, injections of less virulent or inactive viruses that promote the development of an immune response, have directly contributed to decline in mortality rates associated with infectious disease. Unlike previous generations, Americans of the twenty-first century are virtually free from infectious diseases such as polio, mumps, measles, rubella, human papilloma virus, hepatitis, and a host of other diseases. Sick days are no longer taken in response to a debilitating case of smallpox, but more likely due to the discomfort of a common cold.

Gluten free is going mainstream, Chicago style - You have been reading the articles about gluten, the signs, the symptoms, but may be in denial that you just may have Celiac or a gluten sensitivity.  Most people are scared to make the change because it means....no more goodies, right?   From dedicated grocery aisles to gluten free menus and bakeries, gluten free is becoming popular and it is here to stay.  Let's take a tour around Chicago looking at some of the popular restaurants, bakeries, chefs and meals to go. 

In her new book, Sue Palmer examines how contemporary living is harming boys' development and offers a solution - WHEN Sue Palmer's marriage broke up, it was her daughter who insisted she moved back to her beloved Edinburgh. "She said to me: 'You really ought to shift. You need to go back to Scotland'," Sue laughs. "I said, 'I would love to, but it's such a big hassle.' I was so busy at the time." Busy is something of an understatement – Sue's book Toxic Childhood was just about to hit the shelves and its warning about how modern life is failing today's children was hitting a nerve with educationalists and the general public up and down the cADVERTISEMENTountry.

Musings on the intersection of science, medicine, and culture - It would certainly seem so. Alternative autism "experts" have a long history of dehumanizing autistic kids. But the Geiers take it one step further. The father-son team is chemically castrating autistic children. And what do they have to say about this?  ...the Geiers focus on issues most likely to disturb parents, such as aggressive behavior and excessive masturbation.   "With masturbating there is a degree of normal, and then there is autism. Parents will say: 'He will hump pillows, he will hump your leg,' " David Geier told doctors at Eisenstein's office. He made similar statements on the same visit to about 60 parents of autistic children.  In an autistic teenager, high testosterone will lead to dangerous aggression, Mark Geier said, mentioning an autistic Ohio teen accused of killing his mother. "They are incredibly strong. They can hurt you," he said. "You have to respect that these kids are on massive testosterone."

Suspect won't talk to adults - A 20-year-old man who allegedly sexually assaulted two young girls in Newbury, one of them on videotape, is incompetent to stand trial because he talks only to children, not adults, and therefore can't consult with his lawyer, a judge ruled yesterday.  But Robert Derderian, who experts believe suffers from autism or selective mutism and possibly Asperger's syndrome, will be evaluated for involuntary commitment to the state hospital because he poses a danger to others, Judge Carol Ann Conboy said.

The law into their own hands - It takes a lengthy run of misfortune for a family to appropriate Murphy's Law for themselves.  But there have been many times the Fowlers of Conder have felt the adage that what can go wrong, will go wrong should be called Fowler's Law.  Six years ago mother Liz suffered renal failure, almost killing her and consigning her to daily dialysis as she waits for a donated kidney.  She worries that day won't come and that she'll be hooked up to machines each night until she dies.

The Paved Mind - I’ve been thinking about an observation Temple Grandin makes in her book “Animals in Translation.” She suggests that the purpose of the big human brain isn’t to gather sensory data about the world around it but to filter it out. Humans don’t have raw access to the input from our senses the way animals do, Ms. Grandin argues. We see in patterns, abstractly — just what we expect to see. This sounds like a critique of human perception. But it’s simply her observation of how humans work, from the perspective of her own autism.

UCLA study identifies genetic factor in autism - Findings from a recent UCLA study were consoling on at least one front for Torrance mother Laura Weiss: There's not much she could have done to prevent the autism that struck her two sons.  "You always kind of wonder as a mother, did I do something wrong? Could I have handled my pregnancy differently?" said Weiss, who participated in the study, one of the largest genetic projects of its kind.  "It's nice to have some proof that it's not your fault."  Research from the study, published this week in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, showed a common gene variant was present in a majority of the autistic children - a variant that is inherited from both parents.  Scientists say this variant is common in families where multiple siblings have autism, particularly male siblings. Autism affects boys four times more often than girls and, in the broader spectrum of developmental disorders, boys are nearly 10 times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.

Vaccines unrelated to Autism, so why the Controversy? - The Association for Science in Autism Treatment has just published a fine overview of the Autism/Vaccine controversy.   After a brief review of the many studies researching the vaccine/autism link (in short: no link can be found), the paper dives into a deeply interesting aspect of this issue:   Why does the controversy still rage, when the scientific evidence is overwhelming?  Understanding the controversy will help us shift the debate back to the important issues: how do we best provide services, and where should research dollars be spent?  Follow me below the fold...

What it's like inside the autistic mind - In my first article I talked about what it feels like to be autistic. I now would like for you to imagine for a moment what these kids are like inside their head.  Have you ever gotten upset when your child constantly doesn't listen to directions or doesn't come when called? Turns out, we speak a foreign language to them. And in return, they sometimes do not speak in a way we can understand them. I actually realized one day, during much fighting over lunchtime, that I had experienced what my sons little brain was going through.

Why my child with autism will never return to public school - redux - A few months ago, I wrote a blog entitled "Why my child with autism will NOT go back to public school."  In it, I described the frustration of a special needs parent meeting.  I wrote about the lowered expectations for our kids.  I laid out the ways in which the IEP process undermines parent/teacher trust.  And I explained why I felt that control over your own child's educational process is so valuable.

Autism in Britain costs about $43 billion - The annual costs of autism spectrum disorder in Britain is more than $42 billion a year, researchers estimate.  The study, published in the Journal Autism, said the cost of supporting children with autism spectrum disorder was estimated to be $4.2 billion per year. The cost of carrying for adults with the disorder was put at $39 billion annually.

Autism Risk Gene Identified - Scientists have discovered a new clue as to why Autism affects more boys than girls. The current estimate is that four times as many boys than girls are on the affected with "classic autism." Boys out number girls ten to one on the autism spectrum as a whole. The Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) has provided on one possible way to detect a child's risk of autism. Researchers from Univerity of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) reported this finding in the journal, Molecular Psychiatry,

Baby's First Shots - I will admit, getting immunization shots were not high on my list.  I am not excited about shots, how is a itty bitty little baby going to feel?  There has also been some controversy over the whole Immunization thing - are they necessary, can they cause autism?  I have gotten lots of advise pro and con from my local moms, and it is hard to decide what to do.  Wait for awhile, or follow the doctor's orders?  I did some research and this is what I found out.  During your baby’s first couple months, she will need to get some immunization shots. Most parents chose to start immunizations around 3 months of age and correlate getting the shots with a pediatrician’s visit.  You can read more at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/infants/parent-questions.htm.  Getting shots are no fun for anyone of any age, and it’s hard on new parents to see their baby in pain.

BBC News Features Autism Mom Protest - BBC News covered Allison Edward's protest in front of Parliament. You can see our own John Stone at the end of the 2 minute clip HERE.

Critics Say Lupron Is No Miracle Cure For Autism - No one can fault the parents of autistic children for seeking a cure for their kids. Unfortunately, as the Chicago Tribune reports, some are turning in desperation to a drug usually prescribed for men battling prostate cancer.   The medicine, called Lupron, inhibits production of the hormone testosterone. Supporters of its controversial and unproved use for autism base their approach on a purported link between mercury, testosterone and the developmental disorder.

Greenfield: computer games will make you fat - Baroness Susan Greenfield has stated that social-networking sites and computer games can alter the brain and increase the risk of autism, in an interview with Cherwell.  The director of the Royal Institution and a Professor of Pharmacology at Lincoln college attracted media attention in February after an address to the House of Lords in which she argued that "real-life conversations ... require a sensitivity to voice tone, body language and perhaps pheromones. None of these skills are required chatting on a social networking site."  Elaborating for Cherwell, she explained, "What I'm saying is that we know the environment alters the brain, and so if the environment changes and we spend more time in two dimensions, the brain will change too."

I am horrified and outraged! Inhumane teachers abuse special needs students  - My local news reported two separate stories within Tuesday night’s broadcast:  An eleven year-old boy named Stephan, who is autistic and non-verbal, was physically and verbally abused at school. He came home with bruises covering his legs from knee to hip.  A teacher and an aide were arrested for duct taping an autistic student to a chair and barricading a blind student under a desk.  Last week, I posted a diary, "Disgusting! Fight Club abuse of mentally ill by state school staff."  WTF is going on here? This diary has gotten too big, so I’m going to post it in two parts. Tonight’s will cover the these two cases. Tomorrow’s will speak to lack of federal or state agencies that collect this type of data; an alarming number of alleged incidents of student abuse across the country that have been uncovered in a new federal investigation; and what each of us can do to help.

Miracle at Sea - Walt Marino, ’84, doesn’t sweat the small stuff anymore – not after he and his son spent a terrifying night treading water in the open ocean.  By Judy Creel, ’05, Pegasus magazine.  Chilled, broken hearted and utterly exhausted, Walt Marino, ’84, knew his life might end at any moment. As he floated alone in the darkness, drifting in the shark-infested waters for hours on end, one thought kept him going: He couldn’t let his daughter lose her brother and her father on the same night.

No Jail Time For Man Who Beat Boy During Exorcism - A Paoli man convicted of battery and criminal confinement after trying to exorcise demons from a 14-year-old boy with autism was sentenced to house arrest on Thursday.  Monroe Circuit Judge Teresa Harper sentenced Edward Uyesugi to three years in jail, with all but six months suspended. He will serve those six months under house arrest at parents' home in Orange County.

Seroquel Lawsuit Uncovers Documents Suggesting Intention to ... - According to internal AstraZeneca documents obtained during the litigation over side effects of Seroquel, which has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes and other injuries, the drug maker discussed intentions to promote the medication for off-label uses.   Seroquel is an atypical-antipsychotic which was approved for treatment of schizophrenia in 1997. Although a new extended release version was approved last year for treatment of bipolar disorders, Seroquel has been widely prescribed off-label for a variety of conditions that AstraZeneca never established were safe and effective, such as treatment of anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders, dementia, insomnia and autism.

Social Deficits in Autism - Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have discovered an increased pattern of brain activity in the amygdalas of adults with autism that may be linked to the social deficits that typically are associated with the disorder. Previous research at the UW and elsewhere has shown that abnormal growth patterns in the amygdala are commonly found among young children diagnosed with autism [The American Journal of Psychiatry, 166: 467 - 475].

Are we facing a measles epidemic? - Hundreds of children have been hit  by the worst outbreak of measles in more than 10 years with 160 cases reported in Wales and four nursery school children needing hospital treatment.  Continued fears over the safety of the MMR jab has meant many parents are failing to vaccinate their kids against this childhood infection.  As a result, some experts predict that an epidemic of this highly contagious – and sometimes fatal – disease is only a matter of time.  - UK

Autism and Testosterone - I think it is important to voice a scientific view that differs markedly from that of Simon Baron-Cohen of the Cambridge Autism Research Unit who has, according to recent media reports, been calling for a debate on pre-natal screening for autism.  Several aspects need to be taken into account in this important matter: Is the issue of elevated testosterone in autism valid? Is elevated testosterone specific to autism? What are the consequences for individuals with autism and future families contemplating pregnancy, particularly in light of recent media coverage depicting autism as a serious debilitating condition? What other issues in autism are being overlooked with the endorsement of this speculative hypothesis?

BBC News Features Autism Mom Protest - BBC News covered Allison Edward's protest in front of Parliament. You can see our own John Stone at the end of the 2 minute clip HERE.

Bravo Age of Autism - Yep, you read that correctly.  In a recent blog post on the Age of Autism blog, Dr Lorene E.A. Amet wrote about “Testosterone and Autism”. While much of the piece seems to be fighting a straw man (the theme is that Simon Baron-Cohen wants to use testosterone to screen for autism prenatally—without a link to the story or a quote from SBC, I found this difficult to wade through). But, as part of her piece, Dr. Amet wrote: ...

Caring for Yourself When Your Child has Autism -  A child’s diagnosis with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is rarely a complete surprise. It is a parent’s unease, after all, which usually leads to appointments with experts and a formal diagnosis. You’d think that would lessen the impact of hearing someone official declare that your child has an ASD…but it rarely does. Something about that official declaration makes it all real, dashing faint hopes that your suspicions about your child were wrong. It is natural to feel grief, denial, anger, despair, and fear –all at once, and by turns. Relief may be mixed in, if you have been fighting to get someone to acknowledge that something is wrong, and have been unable to get needed services until they do.

Craigslist sues So. Carolina attorney general - This post has been updated. See below for details.   Craigslist said Wednesday it is suing South Carolina's attorney general over the threat of criminal charges against the Web site and its executives.  In the lawsuit filed in federal court, Craigslist says it is "seeking declaratory relief and a restraining order" connected to accusations by Henry McMaster, the state's attorney general, that the classified ad site has not adequately removed "advertisements for prostitution and graphic pornographic material."  In a blog post Wednesday morning, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said that the charges are egregious:  In addition to being unwarranted by the facts, legal experts agree that the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, and are clearly barred by federal law (sec 230 CDA).

Do we really need autism therapists? - With the explosion of autism diagnoses, there has been an explosion in the number of autism therapists and experts available.  There are autism therapists and experts for virtually every part of the body and every conceivable type of intervention.  To name just a few - ...

Documentary about Asperger's still touching, changing lives - When I first saw Marianne Kaplan's documentary The Boy Inside three years ago, I remember thinking, "What a brave, strong woman. What a hard life." Kaplan, a local filmmaker, took an unrelentingly honest look at what it's like to be the parent of a child with Asperger's syndrome.

Experimental Stem Cell Treatment for Autism - Alex Patterson was diagnosed with autism at age two and speaks just a few words. He’s now three, and he’s full of energy and life.  "No language…a lot of repetitive behavior," said his mother Elizabeth Patterson. She questions the diagnosis. "I'm still living in denial,” she said. “I believe there's more to him than that.” Patterson learned that doctors in Peru are using stem cells from umbilical cords of newborn infants to treat brain injuries, so she researched it.

Gene Gives Clues to Why Autism More Common in Boys - A new gene variant that may increase the risk of autism, particularly in boys, has been identified by U.S. researchers.  Analysis of the DNA of 1,046 members of families with at least two sons affected by autism revealed that a variant of the gene CACNA1G, located on chromosome 17, was consistently associated with autism, the researchers reported. This variant of the gene, which helps move calcium between cells, is present in about 40 percent of the population.

Genetically Modified Foods Pose Huge Health Risk - This week, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.” They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”

Jenny McCarthy's Son was Never Autistic? - A provocative piece in the National Post suggests that very thing.  It is not even certain that her child ever had autism; neurologists have pointed out that her description of the symptoms, and recovery, are more consistent with a rare disorder, Landau-Kleffner Syndrome. Ms. McCarthy may thus be trumpeting a “cure” for a disease of which she has no parental experience.  More than a little interested I tracked down this Letter to Neurology Today.  In After Vaccine-Autism Case Settlement, MDs Urged to Continue Recommending Vaccines (June 5), Dawn Fallik correctly cites Jenny McCarthy as a celebrity fanning the flames of the vaccine-autism link. McCarthy also makes parents think that autism can be cured with unproven treatments – as she claims is the case with her son – documented in her much publicized book, Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism (Dutton 2007).

Lawsuit says too many psychiatric drugs killed boy - Amid a wide-ranging debate over the proper use of mental health drugs on troubled children, the mother of a disabled boy who died in 2007 is claiming in a lawsuit the boy was overdosed by a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including two powerful anti-psychotics.  Martha Quesada, the mother of 12-year-old Denis Maltez, filed a wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit Monday in Miami-Dade circuit court, claiming Denis' psychiatrist, Dr. Steven L. Kaplan, and the now-shuttered Rainbow Ranch group home overmedicated Denis and failed to properly monitor his condition.

New Clue Into Autism Disparity / New findings provide possible insight into why autism affects more boys than girls. - A new clue may help unlock the mystery of why autism affects more boys than it does girls. As reported by TIME, researchers have identified a gene that may help lead to understanding why there is a disparity.

New Software Helps In Treatment Of Autism - A high-tech resource developed in the Bay Area is helping parents of autistic children to share information on treating autism, and it's already making an impact.  Elizabeth Horn and Zack Nelson's 15-year-old daughter Sophia is autistic. "You're just shattered," Horn said. "Incurable, untreatable. Life long condition. These things were utterly and completely horrifying to me." Autism also hit hard in the Vembu family, 10-year-old Siddharth was diagnosed when he was five. "He had language, but it wasn't developing at a normal rate," said Sridhar Venbu, the boy's father.  But in the two families, autism was not accepted as incurable. Maybe it was their high-tech, can-do attitudes. Both fathers are CEO's of software companies. One mother is an engineer while the other is a filmmaker whose documentary on autism has been seen around the world.

Outrage And Action Over Autistic Child's Alleged Abuse - There's outrage over the story of an 11-year-old boy with Autism. A judge said the boy was injured at school by an adult.  The reaction received after the story aired Monday night in Atlanta has been unprecedented. People are demanding answers from the system that educated 11-year-old Stefan Ferrari.  As of Tuesday afternoon, Metro North officials announced they had removed Stefan Ferrari's teacher from the classroom.

'People-person' brain area found / Scientists say they have located the brain areas that may determine how sociable a person is. - Warm, sentimental people tend to have more brain tissue in the outer strip of the brain just above the eyes and in a structure deep in the brain's centre.  These are the same zones that allow us to enjoy chocolate and sex, the Cambridge University experts report in the European Journal of Neuroscience.  The work suggests that some people may get a similar buzz from being sociable.  It could also lead to new insights into psychiatric disorders where difficulties in social interaction are prominent, such as autism or schizophrenia.

Scientists discover area of brain that makes a "people person" - Cambridge University researchers have discovered that whether someone is a "people-person" may depend on their brain structure: the greater the concentration of brain tissue in certain parts of the brain, the more likely they are to be a warm, sentimental person.  The research was published in the European Journal of Neuroscience on Tuesday.  Researchers from the Cambridge Department of Psychiatry, in collaboration with Oulu University, Finland, examined the relationship between personality and brain structure in 41 male volunteers.

A Neurodiversity FAQ - Following Ari Ne’eman’s interview in Newsweek being published yesterday, a storm of blog posts about him, autism and neurodiversity in general have appeared. There is a series of comments on the Newsweek forum featuring that bastion of idiocy and bigotry, John Best and sadly, even someone I respect a great deal, Jonathan Mitchell, has stooped to equating autism with sexual abusers. With that in mind, I want to re-post (with slight edits) an old post of mine about what I see neurodiversity as.

Advances In Autism Research Worry Self-Advocates - While identifying the genetic causes of autism is an exciting prospect for researchers and parents alike, some people with the disorder worry that too much knowledge could make them part of a dying breed.  The concern, self-advocates say, is that research could produce a genetic test for autism leading some parents to choose not to have babies likely to have the disorder. This scenario is currently playing out with parents who learn their babies are likely to have Down syndrome, for example. But autism represents a large spectrum and those like Ari Ne’e-man, founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, are on a mission to show the world that autism isn’t a bad thing that must be cured.

Art galleries and the autistic eye - There aren't too many 12-year-old patrons of the arts out there, but our son Tom is one of them. It's probably a symptom of the autism LOL!  We wandered into a local art gallery today, where an acquaintance of mine paints and sells landscapes and portraits. Tom admired all the paintings, but zeroed in on the one on the right.  Mind you, there was no label on the canvas.  "Oh,:" said Tom, "That's the cranberry bog at Wing Pond." "How did you know where it was?" asked the painter (there are many bogs around here). "There's a pump house at Wing Pond," Tom explained, "and it looks just like that." Honestly, who but a kid on the autism spectrum would have memorized the shape and size of the pump house on a cranberry bog - and then recognized it in an oil painting?

Autism doesn't stop teen - Sal Madrigal demonstrates how determination and drive can lead to success, despite the obstacles he has faced. Madrigal has suffered from autism since he was four years old, and yet has worked hard to make it through his senior year of high school with a 3.2 GPA.  "He attends regular classes like everyone else and goes to study skills for that extra time to finish his work and studies," Madrigal's mother Marissa said.  Along with his scholastic achievements, Madrigal is also a state wrestler and has played on the varsity football team. "I have taught Sal at Caldwell High School for the past four years," Madrigal's social studies teacher Eloise Slyke said.

Autism is not a death sentence - Patrick Speech and Language Centre is a school for autistic children. In this interview, the Proprietress, Mrs Dotun Akande, tells CHINYERE FRED-ADEGBULUGBE some of the challenges she faces as a parent of an autistic child Have you had any personal experience with autism?  Yes, my second son was diagnosed of autism at 18 months and we just didn‘t know what to do until he was about two when we met someone, a doctor who told us that he had autism. And that‘s was the first time I ever heard of the word, autism. 

Autistic twin boys find fit on dance floor - Carson and Connor McGee love being on stage. The 7-year-old twins' faces light up as they perform their dance routine in front of a crowd.  Carson particularly seems to enjoy the penguin move in his tap routine, flailing his arms and legs in unison to the music. Connor opens his mouth wide as he pretends to hold a microphone and lip syncs to the music. His eyes become little slits lost in a grin. Unknown to the people watching them, both Carson and Connor have autism. "Nobody (at the competition) besides (people from) their studio was aware of their disability," said Jennifer McGee, the boys' mother. "But we know how far they have come and how hard they have had to work to do what they did."

FDA Broadens Approval for Antipsychotic Drug Risperdal to Treat Bipolar Disorder - An injectible form of Risperdal Consta, a drug previously approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar mania, may now be used for patients with bipolar I disorder, the Food and Drug Administration said.  The FDA broadened its approvals for the drug made by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The pill form of Risperdal Consta was already approved as a standalone schizophrenia treatment and for use in conjunction with lithium or valproate. It also is used to treat autism.

Federal autism bill proposed; more sweeping than failed state bill - Proposed federal legislation designed to improve the quality of life for people with autism would raise the premium costs on insurance plans to cover the disorder, not just insurance companies like the bill that failed in the state Legislature this year, supporters said Monday.  “This is a fabulous bill,” said Diana Varady, president of the Arkansas Autistic Children’s Support Group and a member of the legislative task force created in 2007 to look at how the state deals with people with autism. “The federal proposal is a little more comprehensive,” Varady said, adding that if it does not appear to have widespread congressional support her group likely will ask the Legislature next year to reconsider the legislation that passed the Senate but failed in the House. The Autism Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009, filed last week by U.S. Reps Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Chris Smith, R-N.J., is a companion bill of the same name introduced in the Senate in April.

Monkey See, Monkey Really Do - The old adage "monkey see, monkey do" applies not only to mimicking movements, but also to following gaze — monkeys quickly look in a particular direction if they see other monkeys looking that way.  Now, scientists think they have found the area of the brain responsible for this mirroring behavior.  Neurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP), a part of the brain associated with attention, fired both when monkeys looked in a particular direction and when they saw pictures of other monkeys looking in that same direction, said researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. This finding suggests that controlling one's attention and interpreting someone else's attention may involve the same neurons. The finding likely applies to humans because our brains are so similar to those of monkeys, and "the same brain areas have reacted in people and in monkeys in gaze-following studies [using brain imaging]," said Michael Platt, a Duke professor and senior author of the study.

Next ArticleSeattle Eastside Parenting Examiners Mom sues W. Virginia and says that vaccinating her child is a sacrilege - Jennifer Workman is taking on the state of West Virginia in an attempt to have her 6-year-old daughter exempt from mandatory vaccinations before she starts public school. Workman is suing the state and says that vaccinating goes against her religious beliefs and that to vaccinate would be a sacrelige. West Virginia is one of two states left that does not allow religion to be used as an exemption from vaccinations. Oh, and Workman also has a 14-year-old daughter that has autism, which Workman believes is caused by vaccines. Workman describers her faith as Bapticostal, a blending of Baptist and Pentecostal religions. She has admitted she is concerned her 6-year-old will get autism from the vaccines and stated in her filing that she "sincerely believe that (it) is wrong to immunize and that it is a sacrilege.''

Mother Records Autistic Child's Alleged Abuse - Stefan is an 11-year-old boy with Autism. A judge ruled he was physically and verbally abused at school.  He is an Atlanta Public School student but because of his special needs, he goes to schools run by a state agency called Metro North. They line the outside of each leg -- bruises from knee to hip. A judge has ruled a school employee caused these injuries to 11-year-old Stefan Ferrari the day before pictures were taken.  Stefan cannot speak. He has Autism, and is non-verbal.

Organic Gourmet's Vegetable Seasoning Stock Concentrate (Gluten-Free Bouillon) - We tried out Organic Gourmet’s Vegetable Seasoning Stock Concentrate, which is a gluten-free and organic.  It dissolved easily in the hot water and the first thing we noticed was the array of colors from the organic herbs and vegetables.  The taste of the broth was delicious—it had a natural broth taste without too much sodium—not something that I would associate with a stock concentrate.  It had an excellent flavor with the right balance of herbs and was not overpowering.  The convenience of this product will open up many new doors in your kitchen—I can’t wait to get started using it!

Original "Rain Man" Visits Zanesville - He became a household name after actor Dustin Hoffman portrayed his life in the movie "Rain Man" His real name is Kim Peek but most people know him as "Rain Man" and today he was in Zanesville and New Concord. It was all part of a class assignment Muskingum College Graduate Student Trisha Holmes was conducting. She brought Kim Peek and his father Fran Peek to Zanesville to deliver the message they have given countless times to millions. "Learning to recognize and respect differences in others, treat them as much as they want them to treat you, so we can have a better world to live in. And you don't have to be handicapped to be different, everybody is different" Says Kim.

National Autism Association Provides Funds to Law Enforcement Agencies in Staunton, Virginia and Summit County, Utah for Project Lifesaver Equipment - The National Autism Association (NAA) announced today it has awarded grants to two more law enforcement agencies for Project Lifesaver Equipment through the organization's FOUND Program. Staunton, Virginia Police Department and Summit County Utah Sheriff's Department will both receive grants for $6800 for the equipment, which includes five wristbands for children with autism at high risk for wandering. FOUND was developed by NAA to counter the rise in wandering-related deaths among children with autism spectrum disorders.

New Device Aids Autistic Boy's Communication - Brady Stacy likes to be busy and loves the activity of school. During a recent school day he hopped up and down, showing obvious excitement about going outside for an art project, and was first to volunteer to find the green square on the board during circle time.  But school presents some challenges for Brady, 9, who is in third grade, because he is autistic and has limited speech capabilities.

Nowra to get autism service / The New South Wales Government has announced funding for an autism assessment service at Nowra on the mid-south coast. - The town is one of 15 around the state to share in more than $600,000 in funding for the program which is expected to assess about 300 children. Autism Spectrum Australia will use the money to operate a number of two-day clinics over three years. Minister for Disability Services, Paul Lynch, says the program is about diagnosing the illness as soon as possible.

Obama Administration to Spend Millions Cleaning up Lead Hazards - After touring the Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in South Central Los Angeles on Friday, Vice President Joe Biden announced the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will make nearly $100 million in Recovery Act funding available to clean up lead-based paint and other health and safety hazards from low-income homes. The monies will go to 53 programs in 20 states and the District of Columbia.  As part of his announcement Biden said,  "It is unacceptable that some 40 percent of homes in this country still contain lead-based paints, the majority of which are in low-income areas where homes have not been renovated in decades." Continuing, Biden said,  "These are our children, our next generation – and thanks to the Recovery Act, we are investing in their future by reducing lead paint in their homes, educating their families about its abundant hazards and improving the safety of the communities they grow up in."

Schools worry over autism support / Educational institutions in Wales are "not meeting the needs" of young people with autism, a study suggests. - A report by the Welsh assembly's cross-party autism group (CPAG) revealed 75% of schools feel there is a lack of adequate local help available.  Some 58% described further education provision in Wales as inadequate.
 The National Autistic Society Cymru said the absence of support for autistic young people and their families was "sometimes devastating".

Sheriff's Detectives Searching For Missing Disabled Katy Man - Sheriff’s deputies and detectives are looking for a developmentally disabled 22-year-old Katy man who has been missing since at least Monday morning. Maxwell “Maxey” Duncan’s family reported him missing after his mother woke at about 8 a.m. and couldn’t find him in their Creek Ranch home. “Maxwell’s safety and welfare is a concern particularly since he suffers from Asperger’s Disease,” a Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office statement said. “As a result of this disease, Maxwell has difficulty communicating with others. If he is located or confronted, he kindly responds well to the name ‘Maxey.’”

The Slippery Slope From Fear to Panic - Could a reason for the panicky reaction to the swine flu outbreak be that it diverted our attention, however briefly, from the devastating effects of the global financial crisis, not to mention the myriad chronic health issues that threaten millions of lives?  Or is it simply human nature to overreact to threats over which we have little control? “The fact is that we love to be scared,” argue two British statisticians, Simon Briscoe and Hugh Aldersey-Williams, in “Panicology,” published in the United States this year by Skyhorse Publishing. Witness the immense popularity of disaster movies and thrillers.  “But there are serious emotional, social and economic costs to panic,” Mr. Briscoe, a London-based economist for The Financial Times, said in an interview. “We’d be a lot happier if we insisted that people prove their case before making dire pronouncements. We shouldn’t be wasting time worrying about a lot of stupid things,” and should focus instead on hazards we can do something about.

Therapy dogs cut disabilities down to size - 'Ovelle, get your lunch." Ovelle walks to a refrigerator, pulls it open and gets her lunch bag. She gives it to Julia Gambassi, who puts it on a table. "Plates, Ovelle." Ovelle sets the table with paper plates and sits down to wait for her lunch of beans, apples and carrots. Nothing special -- except that Ovelle is a dog. She's helping Julia and her 7-year-old twin sister, Claire, learn to eat, walk and talk. And it's working. Born with a sensory motor disorder, the girls have come far since they joined the Jump Start program at St. Alphonsus Rehabilitation Services in Boise at age 3.

This teen cook's one rapid riser / He's folded a lot of achievement into his 17 years and plans to be a super chef one day - Matt Woodthorpe has already achieved more than most people his age. At 17, he has finished his Level 2 chef training while maintaining an apprenticeship at the Sheraton Wall Centre -- all before graduating from Surrey's Tamanawis Secondary. "I just want to get it done and over with," he said of the accomplishment. "I never really understood I was so far ahead of anyone else in cooking. When I did do my Level 2, there were guys in there who were 30-, 40-year-olds. I didn't know it was a big deal." While he may shrug it off, Woodthorpe has undertaken a lot for someone who has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. Working as a chef has helped him break out of his shell, gain the confidence needed to take control in the kitchen and has even boosted his academic work.

Trial starts for mother accused of leaving disabled son to die - A jury trial began Monday for a Bloomfield woman charged with failing to aid her mentally retarded adult son, who was found dead after allegedly rotting in his own waste for an extended period of time. dying on the bathroom floor of the family's Bloomfield home covered in human feces, dirt and garbage, the District Attorney's Office alleges.

U46 study: Filled to brink, still growing - To meet rising enrollment figures, an advisory group is urging School District U46 to develop a plan to address the influx -- whether that means buying more land for future school sites, changing program locations or adjusting boundaries.  However, U46 spokesman Tony Sanders said the district's plans are in limbo until its "long-term capital planning study," which is to address capacity issues and look at alternatives to temporary classrooms, is completed this summer. "They were horizontal," their father, Ron Gambassi, said. "That was the only position they could be in. They went from that to sitting and now walking with walkers and being close to walking independently. Ovelle has been a big part of that."

Asperger's theory does about-face / Rather than ignoring others, researchers think spectrum sufferers care too much - A groundbreaking study suggests people with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger's do not lack empathy – rather, they feel others' emotions too intensely to cope.  People with Asperger's syndrome, a high functioning form of autism, are often stereotyped as distant loners or robotic geeks. But what if what looks like coldness to the outside world is a response to being overwhelmed by emotion – an excess of empathy, not a lack of it?  This idea resonates with many people suffering from autism-spectrum disorders and their families. It also jibes with the "intense world" theory, a new way of thinking about the nature of autism.

Author: Adults with autism need help too - When children with low-functioning autism grow up, they continue to need intensive support, writes Karl Taro Greenfeld, whose 42-year-old brother was institutionalized because of the degree of his maladaptive behaviors. While funding has poured into research for earlier diagnoses and children with autism, too little attention has been paid to adults with the disorder, writes Greenfeld, author of a book about his experience. TIME (05/25)

Autistic children rehearse for life with drama therapy - At the first rehearsal, the little boy with thick curly hair looked lost — not so much frightened as off balance. He sat at the far edge of chattering children and covered his ears. • Nine kids had come to Ruth Eckerd Hall last September to learn to act. They'd signed up to work all year on a play. About half of them looked ready for anything. The other half, among them the curly-haired boy, looked numb. It was unclear if they had voices at all. One boy, as soon as his mom left the room, crawled under a table. • Ben had the big head of curly hair. He favored bright stripes on his T-shirts and liked to go around in his white socks. He stayed close to his nanny, who was always whispering something in his ear. He had a sweetly soulful, melodious look about him, as though he heard an inner song. • But he kept his ears covered and didn't say a word.

Autism's lonely questions / Without better research, Oregon families will keep exhausting themselves looking for answers - If any medical condition warrants more attention and research, it is autism. The uncertainty surrounding this common brain disorder takes a terrible toll on families -- especially in Oregon, where diagnosed autism rates are higher than the national average.  It is a condition characterized by questions rather than answers: Who will help us? Will I ever connect again with my child? How much hope should we have? Do any treatments work, and what if we can't afford any of them?  No family should have to face these questions alone.  About 1 in 150 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate in Oregon is considerably higher. Some estimates based on school data peg the number as high as 1 in 87.

Debunking myths about early intervention for children with autism - The idea that early diagnosis and intensive intervention are critical for children with autism only makes parents more anxious, writes Michael Fitzpatrick "Guilt-induced hyperactivity" is how one mother on an autism bulletin board describes her "obsessive research" and quest for treatments for her son. "Everything I was reading was saying that early intervention was crucial if he was to stand a chance of an independent life. "Similar themes recur in parental accounts. One mother writes of a "race against time", another of desperately trying to pull her child through a "window of opportunity".

Erasing Autism / Scientists are closing in on the genes linked to autism. So why is Ari Ne'eman so worried? By Claudia Kalb | NEWSWEEK - It's spring in Washington, and Ari Ne'e-man, with his navy suit and leather brief-caseon wheels, is in between his usual flurry of meetings. Ne'eman is a master networker, a guy you'd think was born in a campaign office and bred in the halls of the Capitol. He's fluent in policy-speak and interacts seamlessly with high-level officials (he's just had lunch with the acting vice chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and inquisitive reporters alike. He's formal but sociable and has a well-timed sense of humor. He also has a problem with velvet. I knew this about Ne'eman—he'd mentioned it when we first started talking more than a year ago—but now, in a D.C. coffee shop, he gets into the sensory details. His father used to drive a car that had fuzzy velvet-like cushioning, and it made Ne'eman crazy to sit in it. "I'd wince because I'd think about how it would feel to get that under your fingernails," he says. I think I see him shudder at the memory.

Gwyneth Paltrow says shampoo causes cancer. Is she right? - The claim: The actress believes that using shampoo could lead to cancer, after reading research about what she calls the 'environmental toxins' allegedly found in these products.  She said on her website: 'Foetuses, infants and toddlers are unable to metabolise toxins the way that adults are, and we are constantly filling our environments with chemicals that may or may not be safe. The research is troubling; the incidence of diseases in children such as asthma, cancer and autism have shot up exponentially.'

Jazmine Starkey speaks about her experience on the autism spectrum ... - Jazmine Starkey has more than the average teenage challenges as a Grade 9 student attending Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School in Nepean.   The 15-year-old spoke about her experiences with autism trying to make friends and fit in during elementary school to students at Our Lady of Peace Elementary School on May 5.  “Things have not come easy to me,” Jazmine says. “I had difficulty with math, organizing my bag or making friends, but I’m getting better.”

Key Pathway to Reactivate Myelin Repair Identified - Researchers have identified a key pathway that could lead to new therapies to repair nerve cells' protective coating stripped away as a result of autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis   (MS). An article reporting their findings will appear in the May 13 online edition of the Journal of Neuroscience

Lee County teen shares her passion for the stage - It was special day for a group of special needs children in Lee County who put on their dancing shoes and took to the stage. A year of hard work came to a close during the Stage of Dreams recital.  Six children with disabilities ranging from autism to down syndrome performed everything from tap and ballet to cheer leading. Stage of Dreams was started by a Lee County teenager who volunteered her own time, talent and resources to be able to share her passion with them.

Modern Love Somewhere Inside, a Path to Empathy - IT wasn’t working, any of it. Our third year of marriage threatened to be our last. I’d become cynical and withdrawn, obsessive and preoccupied, dismissive and unhelpful.  “I don’t know when things got bad,” Kristen said, wiping away tears. “I feel like I’ve lost you and I don’t know what will bring you back.”  In reality she hadn’t lost me. She’d found me. The facade of semi-normalcy I’d struggled to maintain was falling away, revealing the person I’d been since childhood. I didn’t even know what was wrong with me, though my wife, a speech pathologist who works with autistic children, had her suspicions. Even so, it would be another two years before she would put all the pieces together and attach a name to what was ruining our marriage: Asperger’s syndrome.

New Support Group in Portland, Oregon Focuses on Helping Partners and Spouses of Adults with Asperger Syndrome / Dr. Kathy Marshack, is launching a new support group, "Asperger Syndrome: Partners and Family of Adults with ASD," in Portland, OR. In addition to providing a safe, supportive place to share their experiences, Dr. Marshack sees this group as a forum to learn more, through books, films and guest speakers.  - Licensed psychologist, Dr. Kathy Marshack, is launching a new support group, "Asperger Syndrome: Partners and Family of Adults with ASD," in Portland, OR. This is not a therapy group, rather a place for people to learn from others and to share their story about the often frustrating and isolating life of loving an adult with Asperger Syndrome Disorder (ASD).  In addition to providing therapy to families dealing with ASD, Dr. Marshack is the author of "Life with a Partner or Spouse with Asperger Syndrome: Going over the Edge?" (Autism, Asperger Publishing Co. 2009).  Marshack explains what motivated her to start this group, "After I posted the first chapter of my new book on my website, I was completely overwhelmed by the huge response from people around the world looking for guidance and support on how to navigate a relationship with a partner with Asperger Syndrome."

What are the right goals for a child with autism? - I've been doing a fair amount of research, recently, on various different types of therapies for kids with autism. What I'm noticing is that each seems to have its own version of autistic "core deficits," and each seems to have its own idea of appropriate goals.  Looking at research into Applied Behavior Analysis, I notice that the standards of success have a lot to do with whether or not a child can be included "successfully" in a typical classroom. To me, this ideal raises some real philosophical questions:

Who Needs Jenny Craig? Just Think of Your Bacteria Laden Food. - The New York Times reports HERE that food companies can not guarantee that the food you buy is safe and not infected with pathogens. Next time you sit down to a calorie laden chicken pot-of-crap pie, think of this article.  My niece had salmonella poisoning as a toddler. It almost killed her.

A moral framework for genetic testing - Today’s meeting of the Human Genetics Commission consultative panel was both informative and reassuring. Informative because some of the leading professionals gave of their time to brief us on three issues – screening children for genetic disorders, pre-conception genetic screening and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. It was reasssuring because the Panel showed a good grasp of the issues and was very much aware of the ethical dilemmas that can arise and the need for guidelines. The HGC is keen to hear those concerns and see that they are included in representations to government agencies and law makers.

Another Nail in the Coffin for the Thimerosal-Autism thesis - On Friday Maryland's highest court, confirming its intermediate appellate court, made it more difficult for plaintiffs to qualify as expert witnesses in future vaccine cases -- this is yet another thimerosal suit against Wyeth.  Jamarr Blackwell is both autistic and mentally retarded. His parents sued, claiming that his disabilities were caused by thimerosal-containing vaccines administered when he was a baby. They had FIVE expert witnesses to support their theory of causation. 

Autism and The Associated Press / The social factors of satisfactory treatment are even more important than the financial. Autism patients are frequently social pariahs whether they want to be or not. - The Oregonian, May 10, 2009, had another AP article this one by Lindsey Tanner about a “cure” for Autism.  For those who don’t know, Autism is a very mean disease and the layman or new parent would consider the child crazy because they certainly do compulsively weird things and apparently cannot communicate by speaking or paying ANY attention to parents or even highly skilled Autism specialists which are usually specially trained psychologists. The article states that standard long-term behavioral therapy requires 30 to 40 hours of treatment per week for many years. I don’t know how much psychologists get paid for these 30 to 40 hours per week but I have a friend with two Autistic children and they racked up $75,000 in costs in one year. They went bankrupt.  I have written about this problem before, see Autism, Ritalin and Cannabis and Autism, ADD, ADHD and Marijuana Therapy here at Salem-News.com.

Autism, Gastrointestinal Dysfunction - A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, have identified a specific gene variant that links increased genetic risk for autism with gastrointestinal (GI) conditions [Pediatrics, 123(3): 1018-1024].  The findings suggest that disrupted signaling of the MET gene may contribute to a syndrome that includes autism and co-occurring gastrointestinal dysfunction, according to principal investigator Pat Levitt, PhD, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and chair-designate of the Department of Cell and Neurobiology.

Autism: Nature or Nurture? - In the life of a Larimer County mother, a typical morning begins in the same fashion as most mornings before: she wakes her two children, prepares breakfast for the family, and clears the dishes before dropping her oldest son off at preschool. Upon arriving home, she gathers some paperwork and swoops her 15-month-old son off to the pediatrician to receive his latest round of vaccinations. At 2 am the next morning however, his mother rushes him to the emergency room after she finds him in his crib wracked with a fit of seizures and suffering from a 104-degree fever. Within weeks of the incident, her happy, bubbly, normal child begins to recede into the confines of his own world. He now has difficulty communicating with and showing even simple affection to her and his father, and begins to exhibit unusual behaviors such as verbal and action repetition. This is the nightmare no parent should have to face, yet it is one documented by hundreds of parents of children with Autism across America.

Autism spectrum can be difficult for some to see - April is National Autism Awareness Month. According to the Autism Society of America, autism is a complex developmental disability affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others.1.5 million Americans are living with the effects of autism spectrum disorder and the prevalence of autism has risen to 1 in every 150 American children.  A Florida kindergarten teacher recently asked her pupils to vote on whether a 5-year-old boy should be removed from the classroom. The misbehaving child, who was in the process of being tested for autism, was ousted by a 14-2 count; he spent the day in the nurse's office.

Autistic Boy, 3, Left Alone On School Bus -  Parents are asking questions after a three-year-old boy with autism was left on a school bus by himself in a Woodland bus depot on Wednesday.  The young boy fell asleep on the bus taking him to a Davis preschool, and the bus driver, a substitute from the Woodland Unified School District, didn't check the bus before leaving it.  "The substitute driver was in a hurry and had to run into the office real quick," said John Huston of the Woodland Unified School District.

'Ben X' showing at library May 21 - Decorah Public Library is hosting a free public screening of the award-winning, unrated Belgian film "Ben X" Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m. in the second floor Mezzanine Gallery.  About the film: "Ben is a bit different. His life is full of strange rituals, and a mild form of autism prevents normal communication with others. As a result, he often seems to be living in another universe- while he is a courageous hero in the computer gaming world that consumes him, Ben is tormented by classmates and ignored by apathetic teachers in his daily life. As the bullies' relentless attacks push him over the edge and out of control, his online dreamgirl, Scarlite, steps in to help him devise a perfect plan to make them pay for their persecution. Director Nic Balthazar's dazzling debut blends fantasy and harsh social realism to create an unforgettable film."

Brain Scans Show How Humans 'Hear' Emotion - What's in a word? Emotion, especially if it's said with inflection.  Now, Swiss scientists report that they can detect a person's sense of the emotion behind a word by "reading" the brain as it processes sounds from the world around it.  The findings could lead to better understanding of mental illnesses that affect how people interpret the emotions of others, such as autism and schizophrenia, said study co-author Patrik Vuilleumier, a researcher at University Hospital of Geneva.

Can Children Recover from Autism? - Autism is a disease that affects many Americans but little is known about it. Today there is more and more research being done to find ways to cope with the illness and to bring more awareness into American homes. The most recent research has shown that approximately 10 percent of children that suffer from the autism could actually recover.  One of the people who proved this is possible is Leo Lytel. He was diagnosed with autism as a small child, but by the age of 9 he had overcome the disorder. Lytel’s progress is part of a growing study that suggests at least 10 percent of children with autism can “recover” from it; however, most of the recoveries occur after years of undergoing intensive behavioral therapy.

Can Humans 'Hear' Emotion? - Actors will tell you that vocal inflection is the key to bringing emotion and meaning to a scene. Scientists have been tapping into this concept. In a study that appears in the May 14 issue of Current Biology, Swiss scientists discovered that they can “read” whether a person is able to interpret emotions from spoken words.   For the experiment, they presented people with pseudowords spoken in anger, joy, relief, and sadness, as well as with no emotion.  Simultaneously, the subjects' brains were scanned with a fMRI. They were able to show that the subjects each registered the emotional information in a specific part of the brain. "Correct interpretation of emotion in the voice is highly important—especially in a modern environment where visual emotional signals are often not available," for instance, when people talk on the phone, said Thomas Ethofer, M.D., of the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

Charity to Benefit from Children's Murder Mystery - Sue Birch, the author of "Dead Puzzling" a newly published children's murder mystery, is donating half her royalties to the National Autistic Society. When her son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome Sue says the NAS in Leicester gave him incredible support and offered him the chance to lead an almost normal life. The charity enabled him to attend mainstream college courses and enjoy an active social life.  "At just sixteen Michael was not allowed to stay on at school because his academic qualifications weren't good enough," Sue recalls. "The only option offered to us at the time was a place in a special needs centre which meant he would have to live a long way from home. It seemed very cruel at the time to separate a boy with such complex needs from his family, so when the NAS gave him the chance to continue with his education and stay at home we jumped at the chance."  The Vaccine Safety Working Group (VSWG HERE) of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee released its draft report HERE on April 14 making 17 general and 15 specific research recommendations to improve vaccine safety research at CDC.  Although written in polite bureaucrat-eze, the report is a stunning denunciation of poorly performing and inadequate CDC five-year vaccine safety research agenda HERE conducted by CDC’s Immunization Safety Office (ISO).  CDC conceded on page 33 that “[u]sually simultaneous vaccination is incompletely studied at time of licensure.”  The draft agenda also admitted on page 17: “Little is known about the immune gene expression changes that occur after vaccination; even less is known about immune genes expressed during an [adverse event following immunization].”

Comments Due Today: Support Researching the Health of Unvaccinated Children! - Reminder: Comments in Support of Vax/Unvax Research Program and Other Gaps in Vaccine Safety Science are due by 5:00 EDT on Wednesday, and should be submitted electronically to vaccinesafetyRFI@hhs.gov.  Written responses should be addressed to National Vaccine Program Office, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 715-H, Washington, DC 20201, Attention: Vaccine Safety RFI. 

Conquering Autism, One Family at a Time: Part 1 - Many local parents are beginning to get some help from several new efforts to help them understand Autism and provide their child with the appropriate therapy.  Children are being diagnosed with Autism at an alarming rate.  And for parents raising a child with Autism, life can be frustrating and exhausting.  But many local parents are beginning to get some help from several new efforts to help them understand Autism and provide their child with the appropriate therapy.  "We had concerns from an early age.... she was, not acting like other kids," said Guy and Tracy Berg whose 3-year old daughter Riley is Autistic. Statistics vary - but the CDC or the Center of Disease Control most recent statistics show, 1 in every 150 kids is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Many families have no idea their child is Autistic, they're seeking diagnoses for other issues.

Conquering Autism, One Family at a Time: Part 2 - Being told your child is Autistic can be heart wrenching -- just imagine -- someone telling you that your son or daughter's life is going to be more challenging than your life was, and that there's not much you can do change the diagnosis.  According to the Center of Disease Control hundreds of thousand of young children are considered to be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.  And being told your child is Autistic can be heart wrenching -- just imagine -- someone telling you that your son or daughter's life is going to be a little bit more challenging than your life was, and that there's not much you can do change the diagnosis.  But it's what parents do after the diagnosis that's important.

David Kirby In Huffington Post: The Discover Magazine Chris Mooney Article - Read and comment on David Kirby's Huffington Post piece HERE.  The following letter was sent to the editors at Discover Magazine last week, regarding a recent article on vaccines and autism. The magazine claimed that the debate is over, but ignored the fact that federal and private support of research into a possible association continues.

Diagnosing autism too late? Do girls get shortchanged? - New research from a Wash U. professor in the school of social work suggests children — particularly girls — get diagnosed with autism several years too late.  “Timely identification and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can impact a child’s development and is the key to opening the door to the services and therapies available to children with autism,” says Paul Shattuck, Ph.D., assistant professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. “Unfortunately, our research shows that the average age of autism diagnosis is nearly six years old, which is three to four years after diagnosis is possible.”

Different look for autism awareness - May is Autism Awareness Month and Autism Queensland has launched a new look Dress Differently Day to raise funds and awareness of the condition that now affects one in 160 Australian children aged between 6 and 12 years.  This year, the annual Dress Differently Day will be held on Friday, May 29. People with Autism experience the world differently every day, often struggling to communicate or socialise with others, process information or adapt to their environment.  Dress Differently Day allows those of us who take such skills for granted to experience the world differently for a day. As the name suggests, participants are encouraged to dress in a different way to step out of their comfort zone for a day.

Earlier help needed for Asperger's, Norwich conference told - Cases of autism are on the increase, an expert on Asperger syndrome told a conference in Norwich today. Tony Attwood, an author and psychologist specialising in the condition, said that 71pc of children and teenagers with Asperger syndrome are teased and bullied. He said they need to be helped at an early stage, even if their diagnosis is not clear. He said the reason for the rise in cases of autism is because it is now recognised that a person with another disability, such as Down's syndrome, can also have autism.  Mr Attwood, who lives in Australia, was speaking at a conference in Norwich organised by Asperger East Anglia and City College Norwich.

Games Use May Infantilise Brain /  A study has indicated that extensive playing of games, use of the internet, and use of social networking sites could be "infantilising" the brain. - The quote comes via the Daily Mail from Baroness Susan Greenfield, the director of the Royal Institution, who also believes that the use of all three may be linked to obesity.  The gist is that when something goes wrong on a computer game you keep playing, while in real life, if you fall out of a tree (to use the example given) you learn not to repeat the mistake. Apparently, they also make other forms of risk-taking more appealing, such as eating too much, or eating the wrong foods, which is where the obesity link comes in.

Govt. sued over disability funding at faith-based schools - When she attended United Synagogue Day School from Grade 1 to Grade 5, her parents had to pay for services such as an itinerant teacher to help her, and for amenities such as carpeting in classrooms to absorb extraneous sounds like footsteps. Blustein, who has a cochlear implant, now attends a public school, where those costs are taken care of by the provincial government. Max Greenberg, 13, has a learning disability. The Associated Hebrew Schools Grade 7 student said he needs more time than his peers to write and to process information that he reads.

Helping adults with autism - Jessica Wang once held a steady job in JP Morgan's cafeteria. Butafter the September 11th terrorist attacks, she was out of work.  Living with Asperger's, a syndrome included in the range of autism spectrum disorder, she found it hard to find new employment for several years.   "I was miserable that I had that learning disability," she recalled. "I kept blaming myself that there must be something wrong with me mentally."  Wang says she was finally able to start turning things around with the help of Job Path, an organization with the mission of helping people with developmental disabilities find employment, educational opportunities, live independently if they can, and become involved in their communities.

Holocaust survivor inspires Lyndon School students with optimism - West Roxbury - A crowd of hushed students in the auditorium of the Patrick Lyndon Pilot School listened attentively as they learned lessons of tolerance and understanding from Gerda Weissmann Klein, a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust of the 1930s and ’40s.  Born in Bielsko, Poland, in 1924, Klein was 15 when the Nazis invaded her homeland, forcing her and her family into hiding in the ghettos. After three years of hiding, Klein and her family were captured and brought to concentration camps.

Is Whooping Cough Making a Comeback? - About a month ago I blogged on the current state of the MMR vaccine. Professionals are finding measles outbreaks among people already vaccinated. Sometimes even two MMR vaccines are not enough to provide immunity. Now one of my collegues has whooping cough. She has of course been vaccinated but rumors are that whooping cough is making a comeback and that one shot just isn't enough. Why are these diseases, which were once thought to be eradicated in this part of the world suddenly reappearing?

Man with autism, ADHD graduates from college - Clayton Tauscher, who has autism and ADHD, graduated with a history major from the University of Tennessee despite his disabilities; he plans to pursue a doctorate. "Seeing his hard work, his perseverance and how he stuck to everything, I'm just so proud of that," said Clayton's mother, Darla Tauscher, who has become a special educator. "God put wonderful teachers in his path and just put the right people there for him every year," she said. WBIR-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.) (05/08)

Math and autism - help on the way - Thanks so much to the readers who've mentioned the word "dyscalculia!" I plugged the term into Google (and made a few phone calls) and found a professional who specializes in math-related learning issues. He comes highly recommended - and we're scheduled for an evaluation this Friday.  Fingers crossed - because at this point, I'm thinking we're getting nowhere on math concepts. For example, we used cuisinaire rods like the ones on the right to help Tom discern "greater" and "lesser." Even this year, he literally needed to hold the "3" rod up next to the "4" rod to decide which is bigger.

Md. High Court Dismisses Expert Testimony in Autism Vaccine Suit - In the court of public opinion, the debate over whether vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, have caused "autistic-spectrum disorders" in some children remains unsettled. Scientific studies showing no discernible link between the vaccines and autism (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says "the weight of the evidence indicates that vaccines are not associated with autism") haven't stopped a vocal movement against vaccination. But when it comes to case law, drug manufacturers are clearly winning the fight. (Here's our story, for instance, on a trio of test-case rulings against plaintiffs claiming a link by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.) The latest blow to plantiffs' efforts came Friday, when Maryland's highest court delivered an opinion in a thimerosal suit against Wyeth that will likely make it more difficult for plaintiffs to qualify expert witnesses in future vaccine cases.

MomTV Announces First LIVE Streaming Show by Moms for Moms with the Penny Pinching Diva / MomTV is a member of the NewBaby.com Family Where Moms Can Create and Share Video along with Watching and Hosting LIVE Streaming Video Shows - May 13, 2009 Ft. Lauderdale, FL. MomTV.com, the first streaming video destination site for Moms to create, share, and learn via video and streaming video and part of the NewBaby.com family, has announced its first LIVE weekly show with host Shynea Hunter from the popular mom blog, “Penny Pinching Diva” on Thursday, May 14th at 9 PM EST.

'My disabled brother has twice been a victim but the police can't do anything’- A SISTER has claimed police officers said they couldn’t prosecute her vulnerable brother’s attackers, because his evidence wouldn’t stand up in court.  Ceri Storm, 16, who suffers from autism and has a mental age of eight, was beaten up by a group of young men on Saturday.  But despite being able to give clear descriptions of the attackers, Ceri’s family claim officers said the boy’s evidence wouldn’t be enough to convict his attackers.  Ceri’s sister, Vicci, of Barry, said her brother just wants to be like everyone else, but is being treated differently because of his disabilities. She said: “Just because he’s special needs doesn’t mean he can’t be treated like any normal person, if anything he should be helped more.

NAKMAS helps adults with Asperger's - The chair of a martial arts group has backed initiatives to raise awareness of sufferers of autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger's syndrome and help them enjoy activities such as karate.  Joe Ellis, the chair of National Association of Karate and Martial Art Schools (NAKMAS), who has Asperger's himself, recently spoke about the therapeutic effects of the sport at the launch of the National Autistic Society (NAS) Northern Ireland's I Exist campaign. He said: "Those with Asperger's syndrome have obsessions and some aspects of life can be difficult for those with the condition. Martial arts have helped me mentally and physically become more focused."

NAMI Magazine Cover Features President Obama - The 2009 spring issue of the NAMI Advocate Magazine features a cover story about two conversations Matt Kunz of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) had with President Barack Obama on the mental health needs of America's veterans.  The cover photo shows Obama sitting at a picnic table in a park in Billings, Montana talking with Matt, his wife Sandy and their infant daughter during the 2008 campaign. Inside the issue, Kuntz shares the conversation he had with the President aboard the Inaugural train, where he presented him with a religious medal to help him through hard times, and one to Mrs. Obama to protect their family.

NAMI offers info on childhood mental illnesses - A class for families of children with a mental illness has been announced. Sponsored by NAMI Missouri and the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the free course that will begin June 13, 2009 and continue for three consecutive Saturdays will cover the effects of ADHD, OCD, bipolar disorder, PTSD, depression, autism and other disorders on children and their families.

Orrick Wins Dismissal by Maryland's Highest Court of Expert Witness Testimony in Autism Vaccine Suit - In the court of public opinion, the debate over whether vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, have caused "autistic-spectrum disorders" in some children remains unsettled. Scientific studies showing no discernible link between the vaccines and autism (the CDC says "the weight of the evidence indicates that vaccines are not associated with autism") haven't stopped a vocal movement against vaccination.  But when it comes to case law, drug manufacturers are clearly winning the fight. (Here's our story, for instance, on a trio of test-case rulings against plaintiffs claiming a link by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.) The latest blow to plantiffs' efforts came Friday, when Maryland's highest court delivered an opinion in a thimerosal suit against Wyeth that will likely make it more difficult for plaintiffs to qualify expert witnesses in future vaccine cases.

Parents' fears for kids who 'see things differently' - ONE of the biggest worries for Charles and Ingrid du Toit, of Walmer in Port Elizabeth, is where their severely autistic 15-year-old son will spend his days after he completes his schooling.  Jamie needs to be continually stimulated and kept busy and as working parents they will not be able to do this. “Jamie needs a strict routine and he needs everything in his life to be planned. He needs to be constantly taught things and he needs someone who understands how to teach them to him,” said Ingrid, an occupational therapist. Jamie attends Quest School, the only school in the Eastern Cape for pupils with autism, where he stays in the hostel and returns home for weekends, holidays and each Wednesday.

Researchers Identify Pathway to Reactivate Myelin Repair - Researchers have identified a key pathway that could lead to new therapies to repair nerve cells’ protective coating stripped away as a result of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. An article appears in the May 13 online edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. The research may also lead to new therapies for autism, Alzheimer's disease, and perinatal brain injury.

Sending Your Child with Autism to College / Six essential tips for preparing young adults on the spectrum for college. - Claire LaZebnik: I cried every day during freshman orientation week when I went to college. Not for any specific reason, mind you -- I just felt overwhelmed. I was 15 minutes away from my hometown but a world away from being home. I didn't know very many people, and it felt like everyone else was making new friends more easily than I was. I couldn't find my way around this strange new place and I didn't think I'd ever feel comfortable there. In the end, of course, I had a perfectly happy college experience, but I remember those early feelings of terror and wonder how much harder the transition will be for my son, who has autism, and who's planning to go to college the year after next.

Should a genetic test be developed to identify autism in the womb? - In recent months, the possibility of a genetic test to identify autism in the womb has come up several times. No such test is likely to be available anytime soon - but the research that would allow such a test is in process.  The world of autism is filled with complex and controversial issues. In my opinion, though, this question is among the most difficult. For some, the idea of an in-utero test for autism is intriguing, offering as it does the possibility of therapeutic intervention from the moment of birth. For others, the idea is terrifying, as it raises the possibility that parents would choose to abort a fetus identified as autistic.

Teen tells cops he killed mom's boyfriend in defense of attack - A 14-year-old boy who police said stabbed his mother's boyfriend to death as the man attacked them early Wednesday has been released to his mother as the investigation continues, Detroit Police said.  Julius Wiseman, 31, was drunk when he returned to his girlfriend's home in the 15000 block of Manning at 1:45 a.m. and began hitting the 32-year-old woman and her son, police said.
The boy told investigators that he grabbed a knife and stabbed the man to protect them, Detroit Police spokesman Alan Quinn said.  The boy's name was not released because he is a minor and is not charged with a crime.

The most gratifying experience of our lives - A COUPLE who foster special needs children have spoken out about the challenges and rewards of caring for vulnerable youths.  Andrew and Nicola Wilkins, aged 42 and 34, have gone public with their story as Foster Care Fortnight launched on Monday aiming to address a 10,000 UK-wide shortage of carers.

Things you need to know about autism - ROUGHLY 67 million people worldwide are affected by autism.  Autism is the fastest- growing serious developmental disability in the world and has increased tenfold in the past decade.  More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer and Aids combined. It is now considered to affect 1 in 158 children under the age of six, making it by far the most prevalent of all childhood neurological disabilities.  Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.  40% of people with autism never speak or understand the verbal word. Even those who do have speech, often still have severe problems understanding the normal process of reciprocal communication.

W.Va. Mom Seeks Immunization Exemption - A West Virginia mother is asking a federal judge to force education officials to enroll her daughter in public school without the required immunizations.  Jennifer Workman says it's against her religious beliefs and she's concerned about her daughter developing autism.  West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources attorney Charlene A. Vaughan says the Mingo County mother's lawsuit essentially asks the court to order the agency to break the law. The state law requiring all school children to be immunized against diphtheria, polio, rubeola, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough does not allow for a religious exemption.

What's Going On? – The Question of Continuing High Levels of Toxic Metal Excretion - It’s been said that a parent is only as happy as their least happy child. That saying should probably be reworked for autism parents. We will be obsessed to the degree of impairment of our least recovered child.  I’m fortunate that my son Ben had a complete recovery with the quick implementation of the gluten/casein free diet after his 18 month vaccination, but after seven years of bio-medical treatments my daughter Jacqueline is still severely affected with autism and seizures. It is for her and the parents of other children like her that I write this article.

Worried About Autism? Have Your Child Evaluated ASAP - A Washington University researcher finds that autism diagnoses are typically made when children are about six years old - years after symptoms appear. According to the press release: ...

A fair chance at life - Kristi Reed loves her children more than anything in the world. But she wants to make sure that her youngest son gets a fair chance at life.  Last year, Griffin Reed was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism. The 10-year-old East Elementary student underwent a nine- hour test at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis that led doctors to their evaluation.

Autism, anger, and motherly pride - When I was Tom's age (nearly 13), I got angry a lot. Between my hormones and my dad's over-reactions, explosions were a regular event. The truth was, we were in the midst of a power play. Who would be in charge of... me?  Virtually every confrontation ended in the same way. I'd run up to my room, slam the door, and pull out a book. Dad would take a handful of Tums. And no one would bother to find out what had started the battle in the first place.

CBB Talks to Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe - Parents and actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker recently opened up in PEOPLE magazine about their 4-year-old daughter Sophie’s battle with spina bifida, and now the couple has talked with CBB as well! We spoke to the couple just before the R Baby Mother’s Day Run/Walk in Central Park.

Junk science has a new cover girl - Chastising a celebrity is an exercise in futility. You feel like a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck, scrabbling wildly in the air without drawing blood. Pointless as this may be, though, I will try to talk some sense into Oprah Winfrey, who has decided to go into business with vaccine skeptic Jenny McCarthy.  There is abundant evidence that vaccines don't cause autism. More than a dozen studies, as well as trend data from California and other states, show that neither the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal nor the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism. In March, a federal court dismissed both of these theories in a most definitive way after hearing weeks of testimony and gathering thousands of pages of evidence.

'One in 10 children overcomes autism', claims professor - One in 10 children with autism overcome the disorder by the time they are nine - often following years of intensive behavioural therapy, according to a study.  Professor Deborah Fein, of the University of Connecticut, looked at data on 58 children aged nine to 18, including 20 who were given a correct diagnosis initially but years later were no longer considered autistic.  The phenomenon has been questioned by sceptics, but Professor Fein is convinced it is real. Previous studies have suggested between 3% and 25% of autistic children recover, but Professor Fein said her studies have shown the range is actually 10%-20%.

Analytical approach to a challenge - Emily Bowman remembers thinking her life was over when her son, Will, was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. But after spending time in a special program for autistic children at Newmeadow Saratoga School, Will is in a regular first-grade classroom and Bowman has had the simple thrill of hearing her son say ''Hi, Mom.''

Autism at the theater - When Tom was tiny, he had a terrible time managing groups, crowds or even sitting still (except for his favorite videos). By the time he was six or seven, though, he was able to enjoy events like puppet shows and children's concerts. Maybe it was the Floortime (working on symbolic play) - or maybe it was just Tom - but he was well on his way to becoming a "patron of the arts." By the time he was attending puppet shows, Tom (like many kids with autism) was showing an interest in music. In particular, he seemed to enjoy classical and jazz. We tried group "KinderMusik" groups - which were a bust. But in addition to taking instrumental lessons, we found that our Tom was more than capable of sitting through and enjoying family concerts at the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Behind the Scenes at “The Doctors” with Jenny McCarthy - I’m grateful to the producers of The Doctors for running their show on Jenny McCarthy’s new book Healing and Preventing Autism and the debate over vaccines and autism(Details HERE). It takes courage in today’s media environment to put a show on national TV like that – hats off to them.  About two weeks before the show, I had an interview with one of the producers over the phone. This is a pretty normal part of preparation for any TV appearance where you discuss your plans for how to approach the show and the producers share some guidelines with you on their goals for the show, etc.  I did my best to explain to the producer that we would be bringing some serious energy and knowledge to the show. Specifically, I told her: “You need to tell your doctors that they better be prepared and know their stuff. If we show up and they start making sweeping statement like ‘the science has shown that vaccines don’t cause autism’ we will kneecap them on their own stage.”

Cervarix - An Injection of the Truth ... - Scenario - young teenage girl with a possible lowered immune system and a pre-existing genetic syndrome which includes a heart condition, has a vaccine, within hours she falls ill. Over the next few days she deteriorates, within a week she is lying in hospital seemingly paralysed. Tests are carried out but they all come back negative. The child has one infection after another and does not improve. The mother wants answers, she wants to know why this has happened, she wants to know how this could have happened and all the while the child's health is deteriorating. Every time vaccines are mentioned as a possible cause for the child's health problem the subject is quickly changed. The days go on and no answers are found for why the young girl is so ill and in so much pain. Suddenly, social services are called in and mother is accused of abuse, she is told that there is nothing wrong with her child The social services say that the abuse is keeping the teenager ill when there is nothing wrong and she is told she that her child does not need a wheelchair and should go home and be encouraged to walk. Mother is unable to take her child home as there are steps leading up to the front door and it is not suitable for a teenager who is not able to walk up the stairs to the bathroom.

Computer helps boy with autism learn to speak - Therapists work with Austin Hodges 40 hours a week to help him overcome his autism and begin speaking again.  Austin, 9, was diagnosed with autism more than five years ago.  "I couldn't hear anything else that (the physician) said. I was just devastated," Liz Hodges said, recalling the day she received the diagnosis about her son. Autism is a brain development disorder that usually manifests itself by age 3. It is characterized by verbal, social and emotional impairments that rob children of words and often render them incapable of interacting with others.

Driver Suspended After Leaving Autistic Boy on Bus - A Box Elder County school bus driver is on suspension after a five-year-old autistic boy fell asleep on her bus and was later found wandering the streets. The boy, Dylan Snow, has autism spectrum disorder and dozed off as he was going to the early learning center preschool in Corinne. The Box Elder County superintendent's office said when the kids were dropped off at the school, neither the bus driver or aide checked to see if everyone got off. "Each time they exit the bus or each time they conclude a run they should go to the back of the bus and just check every seat for this very purpose," said Ronald Frandsen of the Box Elder School District.

Local autism alliance expands as need rises - In the year since his autism was diagnosed, 24-year-old Cody Fuhrman has learned the art of the "social fake" — pretending to be interested, even when he's not. The program, which began last year, is one of several ways the four-year-old Tucson Alliance for Autism is expanding. As diagnoses of autism increase and awareness of the brain disorder continues to grow, the local non-profit alliance is stepping up with new classes and campaigns to both help those who are affected and to educate the public. "You look at the person and nod," explained Fuhrman, who said his high-functioning autism had for years been misdiagnosed as attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder.  Though Fuhrman lives on his own and drives, he's not currently working or going to school — both goals he's hoping to reach with the help of a local life skills program for young adults on the higher end of the "autism spectrum."

New Research Suggests Recovery From Autism Is Possible - A University of Connecticut researcher says intensive behavioral therapy can help a small percentage of kids with autism recover. - Deborah Fein, who presented a study at a conference over the weekend, said approximately 10 percent of children who have autism can be “cured” with intensive behavioral therapy. The majority of children with autism won't recover, said the University of Connecticut psychology professor, but families should know it's a possibility.

Optimism For Bipolar Disorder And Schizophrenia If Psychiatrists Abandon 19th Century Dogma, UK - Nineteenth century thinking about schizophrenia and bipolar disorder must be abandoned if psychiatry is to progress, said a leading UK psychiatrist. At a meeting of the Biochemical Society, Professor Nick Craddock from Cardiff University urged his profession to embrace the opportunities offered by new research methodologies.  Advanced technology and the large sample sizes in research have led to unprecedented advances in the identification of specific genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders as recently as the last two years. "For more than 100 years there has been a widespread assumption that bipolar disorder (manic depression) and schizophrenia are completely separate diseases. Recent evidence, particularly from molecular genetics, shows the situation is not so simple. Some of the susceptibility genes are shared," he said.

Quakes and Silicon Valley Team Up With Quakes Players' Wives and Girlfriends for Walk Now for Autism - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that they have partnered with the Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation to participate in the "Walk Now for Autism Bay Area" on Saturday, May 30 at History Park at Kelley Park in San Jose. Earthquakes players' wives, girlfriends and members of the team's front office, along with Earthquakes fans will walk in the event that raises funds and awareness for autism.  On May 30, the "Walk Now for Autism Bay Area" registration will begin at 9 a.m. PT, with the walk starting at 10:30 a.m. People interested in walking with the San Jose Earthquakes team, "Miles for Missy", can register on-line at www.walknowforautism.org/bayarea/milesformissy. All participants that sign up for the Earthquakes Team will receive a commemorative t-shirt. All funds raised through the "Walk Now for Autism Bay Area" will go toward autism research.

Robot to teach autistic kids interaction - European researchers have developed a robot with artificial skin which they believe will help autistic children learn to socially interact with others.  Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.  While the main cause of the condition remains unknown, many believe genetics and the environment both play a role in the development of the disease.  Researchers aim to use the tactile sensors in the child-sized humanoid robot, kasper, to detect different types of touch autistic children react to.

Single Gene May Cause Angelman's Syndrome - U.S. scientists say impaired brain plasticity caused by a single gene might be responsible for learning disabilities  associated with Angelman's syndrome.  The researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University said Angelman's syndrome -- often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism -- includes characteristics such as intellectual and developmental delay, severe mental retardation, lack of speech, seizures and motor and balance disorders.

Study: diagnosing autism early makes big difference - Studies in recent years have shown consistently that the age of diagnosis and the services provided early on can make all the difference when treating children with autism.  A newly-released study ranks Illinois 16th in the nation. The study's author, University of Pennsylvania researcher David Mandell, said diagnosing and treating a child with autism even a few months earlier can make a big difference later in life.  "At the most severe end of the spectrum, in Rhode Island, the median range of diagnosis is 55 months. In (Washington) D.C. it's 74 months," Mandell said.

The right white stuff - Richard Cornish investigates why we have lost the taste for real milk.  THE cream from the milk sat on the coffee in delicious yellow blobs. The person I made it for took a sip, paused and spat it on the ground. Retching, he said "That milk's off! It's disgusting!" "No," I replied, "it's unhomogenised." Like most people brought up on processed milk, he was only accustomed to the texture of milk that had been homogenised. To him, milk was pure white, smooth, slightly creamy and, somewhere in the hazy background, a cow was involved.  Like most people brought up on processed milk, he was only accustomed to the texture of milk that had been homogenised. To him, milk was pure white, smooth, slightly creamy and, somewhere in the hazy background, a cow was involved. Over the past 20 years milk has been marketed as both healthy, because it is calcium rich, and harmful, because it is fatty. The message for some is, if you know what's good for you, you'll choose the low-fat version. As a result, although we're still all drinking, on average, about 100 litres of milk a year, the percentage sales of regular milk in favour of low-fat milk have dropped 22 per cent since 1989.

Tool Shows Promise in Identifying Infants With Autism - Researchers have come up with a relatively simple tool that could be the answer to many clinicians' wish for a practical screen for autism in very young children. Called the Systematic Observation of Red Flags (SORF), the instrument distinguishes between 18- to 24-month-olds with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and those with either developmental delays or who are healthy, normal children. A study presented here at the 8th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research indicates that children who have at least eight of the 20 "red flags" in SORF have a high probability of having autism.

Under Threat Of Lawsuit, Insurer Says It Will Cover Autism ... - Under threat of a federal lawsuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced Monday that it will begin offering coverage for autism treatments July 1. Christopher Johns, whose son has autism, filed suit earlier this year after Blue Cross denied claims for applied behavioral analysis (ABA) because the insurer said the treatment is experimental. Now Blue Cross says it will offer autism coverage including up to 60 sessions of ABA therapy in group plans, pending regulatory approval. Michigan does not require insurers to cover autism.

Autism often can be diagnosed years earlier - A Washington University scientist has published a new study showing that in most cases the diagnosis of autism occurs when a child is 6 years old — about three to four years after a determination is possible. Timely identification and diagnosis of autism can impact the child's development and is key to opening the door to needed services and therapies, said Paul Shattuck, an assistant professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University.  Shattuck and study co-authors looked at health and education records of 8-year-olds with developmental problems from around the country. Their research appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Blue Cross to offer limited autism coverage - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has reversed its policy and now will offer treatment coverage for children, mostly preschool age, diagnosed with autism.  The catch is that Blue Cross is offering the coverage only for children ages 2 to 5 whose families are insured under their companies' group policies that offer mental health coverage. Blue Cross also said it will market the coverage to self-insured employers.

Brain abnormality found in children with autism - Young children with autism appear more likely to have enlarged amygdala - the part of the brain associated with registering faces and with expressing key emotions - according to a study. The study compared the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results of 50 autistic children and 33 control children. The children’s brain scans were taken at age two and again at age four. Compared to the children from a control group - who did not have autism - the autistic children were more likely to have enlarged amygdala.

Facts" about autism - debunked (part two) - I spoke with a writer the other day who's putting together a book for friends of people whose children have been diagnosed with autism. Her idea is to provide a sort of "Girlfriend's Guide" to helping your friend/sister/cousin cope with autism in the family. Problem is, at least in my mind, such a book is either very, very short (ask your friend/sister/cousin what they need or want, then provide it) or very, very long (here are the quadrillion different possible symptoms of autism/reactions to an autism diagnosis/individual needs, wants and preferences).

Family Matters: Explaining Asperger's syndrome - We are very concerned over a diagnosis a school team has suggested may be true for our son. He is in the fourth grade, and we have been told we should have him tested for Asperger's syndrome. He is a great student but a different kind of child. We have been reading things on the Internet and are scared to death. How do we get him tested? What can we look for in his life?  Calm down and stop with the fear. You and your son will be fine. Knowledge is power, so let's begin there. Asperger's syndrome is named after a German pediatrician, Hans Asperger. He observed social anomalies and a kind of rigidity in some of his patients. He felt they had some traits of autism, but in a mild form.

Graduating senior outguns autism - With thousands of high-school and college seniors preparing for graduation in the coming weeks, many students have had to face adversity.   One Peoria student, however, faced challenges that most believed he could not overcome.  Greggory Ohannessian, 17, is a senior at Centennial High School and just like others in his class, he's excited for graduation. He's even more excited for next year, when he will go to ASU West for college.He is friendly and offers a firm handshake to anyone he meets, and he's a whiz at math. He wants to study business so he can one day open his own restaurant.  However, he isn't much of a talker and doesn't hold a conversation for too long. He struggles with forming opinions and takes time to answer questions.  Autism diagnosis  When he was 6 years old, he was diagnosed with autism, a brain-development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication.  Despite his autism, he believes he can succeed.

Minimize excess stimuli for autistic students - A child with autism can easily become overwhelmed as a result of excess stimuli. When there is too much going on, either visually or audibly, the student may shut down and resort to calming techniques including rocking, repeating the same word or phrase and other behaviors. By reducing unnecessary stimuli, teachers will help keep the student engaged and on task while reducing unnecessary behavior problems at the same time.

Molière mores for our times - Is it depressing that The Would-be Gentleman, a play by the French satirist Molière, still retains relevancy today with its observations about human nature? Or was it merely canny enough to portray French society in 1670 in a way that retains so many truisms today?

One autistic child out of ten may recover - While many believe autism has no cure, a new study finds out of every ten autistic child one can lead a normal life after years of behavioral therapy.  According to a study recently presented at an autism conference in Chicago, 10 percent of the children diagnosed with autism test normal on neuropsychological, verbal and nonverbal exams after a few years of treatment.

One of a kind - Mother's Day means different things to different moms.  Elissa Sorrentino, 32, of Barre  Mom of twin boys, who turn 2 later this month  When Elissa Sorrentino found out she was pregnant with twins, she was a bit surprised.  "I figured something was up," she says of the news that came 17 weeks into the pregnancy. "I was really, really sick and I was getting really big, really fast. … I was completely in shock and awe, super excited, actually." Surprise soon turned into elation. As the pregnancy progressed, Sorrentino says, she was focused on what kind of double stroller would be needed and cute names. She and her husband settled on Logan and Lukas. "I was kind of on a cloud," she recalls. "It would have been nice if I'd met a mom of twins who could yank me out of (that)" and back to reality. Sorrentino worked for Washington County Mental Health as an autism interventionist before deciding to stay home to raise her boys.

Preclinical work shows how one gene causes severe mental retardation - Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina have discovered in mice how a single disrupted gene can cause a form of severe mental retardation known as Angelman syndrome.  In a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, they found that the gene, UBE3A, is needed so that neurons in the brain can form and adjust their connections to other neurons for storing sensory information. They also made a promising discovery: When the mice were deprived of sensory stimulation, the brain connections could be recovered, a finding that indicated a pharmaceutical or behavioral treatment might be possible in the future.

Search for missing autistic teenager - A TEENAGE autistic boy has gone missing from Chulmleigh This morning, moorland rescue groups and the police are searching the Eggesford area for Richard Eckton, aged 17 Richard's autism makes him very vulnerable and he has difficulty in communicating He normally carries a blue folder with pictures to help him and his condition often makes him attracted to water He was last seen at about 6.30pm yesterday in the Eggesford area.

"Stormy" mother fights for her autistic son - She was a difficult birth, so it's not surprising her mother named her Stormy.  "Stormy" also describes the Concordia woman's temperament -- periods of calm, followed by quiet rumblings that sometimes turn into thunderous outbursts.  Stormy McCall makes no apology for her disposition, particularly when it comes to the welfare of her children -- Matthew, 10, Bethany 6, and Madison, 2.  Stormy's "stormy" side mostly is unleashed when Matthew, who has a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome, is mistreated by those who don't understand his condition.  Asperger's is a developmental disorder caused by a neurological condition, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Symptoms include impairment in language and communication skills, repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behavior, obsessiveness, anxiety and socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior.

UK Autism: Twin Brothers Worlds Apart-The Kevin Healey Story - There are over 60 million people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome around the world. Many have written accounts of their lives - from the UK comes the story of Kevin Healey, a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, his idential twin, shaun has autism.  ‘Twin Brothers Worlds Apart’ is the moving account of Kevin and Shaun - living in a world of their own. Kevin Healey is now a leading advocate for autism and Asperger’s Syndrome in the United Kingdom. Recently a British autism charity, the UK Autism Foundation invited him to join their advisory board. He has been an Ambassador for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome giving talks and lectures around the UK. He has also led training sessions on autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Kevin Healey set up the Staffordshire Adults Autistic Society many years ago and he has been a powerful advocate for autism.  The Kevin Healey autobiography, ‘Twin Brothers Worlds Apart,’ is a fascinating read. It is a moving account of living with Asperger’s Syndrome. The book is priced at £12.99 plus a postage cost of £1.50 from the Staffordshire Adults Autistic Society, Po Box 2977, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire,ST55 9DN.

12 kids is just a start - Some stay-home moms relish the quiet that blankets a house when theyoungest children finally head off to school.  It made Christy Obie-Barrett itchy.  Seven of her 12 children still lived at home, so she had no shortage of laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and carpooling. But once twins Delaney and Lilly Barrett enrolled in kindergarten five years ago, Obie-Barrett, who was 40, remembers wondering, "What do I do with myself now?"
 Write a book about her enormous, eclectic family? Definitely.  Start a nonprofit? Absolutely.  Improve Oregon's foster-care system?  She'd met big challenges before. But reimagining that underfunded, overworked, steeped-in-bureaucracy operation into a sleek social machine that swiftly connects children in need with permanent, loving homes? That goal was outlandish for lots of reasons, not the least of which was that Obie-Barrett didn't know much about foster care.

A beautiful mind - INTERVIEW: Sanjida O'Connell combines novel writing with a busy career as a TV presenter. She achieved academic success as a zoologist, and her new book is as much about religion as it is about botany. Is there anything she can't do, asks LOUISE EAST .

Autistic Golfer Helping Kids - After everything he's been through it's hard to believe Jarrad Kogos is still playing golf, but he's not only playing, he's teaching kids too. Kogos has autism and then four years ago he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After all his treatments and operations golf helped him cope and get his strength back. Now he's starting his own golf clinic to share what helped him with other kids with autism. "I realized how hard it is for someone like me by themselves who doesn't know these golf connections to get out to the golf course and be able to play," says Kogos. Donations from The Players and a grant from local autism awareness group HEAL, made the clinics a reality.

Autism epidemic in Sri Lanka? / Well, that’s what you might read if/when some other blogs see this new study:Screening of 18-24-Month-Old Children for Autism in a Semi-Urban Community in Sri Lanka. Soon to come out in the Journal of Tropical Pediatrics. - All children aged 18-24 months in a defined geographical area were initially screened for autism, using ‘Red Flag’ criteria. All the children with one or more positive ‘Red Flag’ signs were further screened using Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) translated to Sinhala, followed by a comprehensive clinical assessment. Of a sample of 374 children, ‘Red Flag’ signs were positive in 28 (7.4%). Four children received a diagnosis of autism on clinical assessment giving a prevalence of 1.07% or 1 per 93 in the 18-24-month age group. Sensitivity of M-CHAT was only 25%, and specificity 70%. The high prevalence detected strongly justifies early community-based screening, but a culturally sensitive screening tool needs to be developed for Sri Lanka.

Autism is not socially exclusive - FRIENDS: Re letter from Jeffri Klamp ('Social networking no use for people with autism, The Sentinel, May 7).  Some people with autism may have narrow interests, but this does not apply to all the autistic community. We have over 130 autistic adult members who love socialising, such as attending our discos, going bowling, to the cinema, ice skating, paint balling, swimming, and to the theatre. We, as a charity, help people with autism attend outings and events at their own free will.

Eagle Mountain autistic boy found abandoned - Police found a six year old with autism wandering the streets of Eagle Mountain Saturday. He was wearing nothing but a soiled diaper. The child’s mother is going to spend her Mother’s Day without her five kids. They were taken away by child protective services. When police entered the home, they found 37 year old Jennifer Empey, who they say was unresponsive and appeared to be unconscious. Police say Empey and three of her children were lying on trash strewn around the apartment, like underwear, rotting food, and feces.

House calls: Don't let autism scare stop vaccines - If you are a parent of a young child and are concerned about the possibility that vaccinations could cause your child to develop autism, you are not alone. Last week I revisited the issue of whether vaccines might cause autism, a severe childhood disorder characterized by delayed verbal and socialization skills. I won't be able, in this short column, to allay all your fears or provide absolute answers. But I hope that by sharing some of my conclusions, you will have a better grasp of the issue.

IMFAR- Where Autism Science Stands Still - IMFAR may never promote or support any innovative work in autism research, but they do deserve credit for one remarkable discovery: a time machine! Yes, IMFAR organizers and scientists have trumped modern science by inventing a time machine that can take autism research far, far, far into the past. You thought it was 2009? Wrong, as far as autism research goes! IMFAR has turned the clocks back 10 years!

In Defense of the "Autism Diet" - The GFCFSF diet, known as the “Autism Diet” has been around for many years and has helped many people with ASD improve their lives, health and functioning. The following are my reasons to defend the diet.  The diet has proof to back it up - Research by Dr. Harumi Jyonouchi shows that 91% of people with ASD who were put on a strict GFCFSF diet improved. Jyonouchi’s papers say that ASD children have an aberrant immune response to the dietary proteins found in gluten, casein and soy. This peer-reviewed research merely backs up what parents have been saying for more than 10 years. Countless parents report that the diet is dramatically beneficial for their child. The most common comment we hear from parents is that their child “came out of the fog” when we started the diet. Many parents report that their children began to talk or increased their speech with the diet as well. Although this is anecdotal evidence, the preponderance of is it massive and consistent, and deserves a trial by families.

Judge Boots McDonald's Class Action on Ingredients of Fries - deceived the public about allergens in its potato products. U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo called the proposed class "too broad" and "unmanageable."  The putative class claimed that McDonald's failed to properly list allergen information for its french fries and hash browns until February 2006, when it adjusted the nutritional facts to reflect that the products were partially fried by the supplier in an oil containing small amounts of wheat bran and casein. McDonald's had previously stated that the products were gluten- and dairy-free Judge Bucklo wrote that the proposed class was "over-inclusive:" anyone who purchased the fried potatoes from McDonald's between Feb. 27, 2002 and Feb. 7, 2006, and who had been diagnosed with "celiac disease, galactosemia, autism and/or wheat, gluten or dairy allergies," regardless of whether they bought the products in the belief that they were allergen-free.

Lack of Food Variety Puts Kids with Autism at Risk for Poor Nutrition - Two Studies at PAS Suggest Food Variety and Cognition-Related Fatty Acid are Important to Well Being of Affected Children.  The strong preference kids with autism have for certain foods places them at risk for nutritional deficiencies because their diets lack sufficient variety, according to research from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center at this year’s Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Baltimore. Presenting their findings May 4, the researchers said screening children for the amount of variety of food in their diets may be a good clinical marker to predict which children might be at risk for nutrition problems. Kids with low food variety scores who are at risk could then be referred to dieticians or therapists to help them expand food choices and improve nutrition, said Michelle Zimmer, M.D., lead investigator and a pediatrician in the division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s.

Law officials to meet with parents of autistic children - The Hench autism studies program at Defiance College will hold a parents' meeting on May 21 from 7-8:30 p.m. in room 106 of Schauffler Hall.  The meeting will focus on risk management with a discussion about what families can do to help law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel (first responders). Guest speaker Carol Armitage of the Defiance County e-911 system will speak about what steps can be taken to be prepared for emergency situations.

Lawyer, wife push for gains on autism - Did you grow up in St. Louis? — No, I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. We moved here when I was 15 and, yes, it was traumatic.  How long did it take you to feel like you fit in? — About a year. We moved here in May, so that first summer I didn't know anyone and really couldn't meet anyone. But when school started, I started making friends and it got better. How did you meet Patricia? — I say I met Tricia when her brother and I got to be friends in 1986. She was dating another friend's brother, and I met her at a party. I told her brother that I thought she was a knockout and he sort of said, "Hey, that's my sister!"

Mother jailed after police remove kids from filthy home - A mother is in jail after officers removed five children, including a child with autism, from an Eagle Mountain home covered in rotting food, garbage and human and animal feces. Utah County officers got a call Thursday from a neighbor who noticed a small child, dirty and bruised, wandering around the street wearing only a soiled diaper, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

North Ogden mom organizes social group for children with autism - Jolaine Garner's 13-year-old son has trouble fitting in at school. Joseph's phone doesn't ring after school and the house isn't abuzz with the sounds of teenage boys laughing and joking around. Garner misses the noises. Joseph has Asperger's syndrome, a condition related to autism, so he has different needs, but still knows he doesn't have friends. He realizes kids his age don't understand the way he thinks and learns.

One in 10 children with autism overcome condition by age nine ... - Some of the children in the study, which is still ongoing, were diagnosed by an autism specialist before the age of five but no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for autism. The findings, presented by University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein, suggest the children recovered after undergoing years of intensive behavioural therapy.

Parents want to set autism record straight - As the parents who have been at the forefront in trying to obtain health care coverage for the 6500-plus children in our state with autism and who helped write Nick’s Law, we would like to set the record straight on this legislation.   Autism is a medical condition. It not only affects the child’s ability to speak, socialize and process information, but in many children, severe gastrointestinal issues, the central nervous system and the immune system are compromised.  Autism’s symptoms can be very mild to very severe.

Single mom in Pasco is honored by Working Mother magazine - When Seven Oaks Elementary School needed a playground for its special needs students, it brought in the tween idols Jonas Brothers for a benefit concert. They raised $15,000. A good start, but not enough. Meanwhile, a single mom worked quietly behind the scenes. One day, out of the blue, Theresa "Terri" Heaney came to principal B.J. Smith and said she had $9,000. "She was so incredible at keeping the secret," Smith recalled.

Somebody has to do it - My mother didn't learn to drive until she was 48. And when she did, it wasn't her choice. One day, there was a four-year-old 1961 Chevy Envoy parked in our driveway and someone had to back it out.  My father, who had polio, couldn't. My older sister, Renee, who'd just got her driver's licence and for whom the car was purchased, wouldn't. She learned on an automatic and the boxy little lemon my father bought for her without her consent or knowledge was a manual. She wasn't ungrateful, just unprepared. So my mother took lessons. She wasn't a good driver and knew it. During her road test, the instructor at the licence bureau scolded her for not being able to parallel park. "Fail me, pass me, do what you want," she said. "But don't shout at me. I'm doing the best I can." He passed her. She never learned to parallel park.

SSI for the Disabled: Hard to get. Harder to live on. - Danny Lawley is one of the lucky ones. At 49, the man with developmental disabilities lives semi-independently with a roommate at an apartment complex in Fort Myers. Through the week, Grace, his supported living aid, drops by to help with bills or coupon clipping. When the need arises, she helps him to doctor's appointments or other errands.  He also spends a lot of time just living his life the same as anyone else.  "I like it here," he said. "It's close to things. I can play tennis. I like to go bowling with my friend Robert. I like to go swimming." Lawley was born in Wachula and lived in group homes for most of his life. The experience, he said, is not something he would like to repeat. "They were too bossy," he said.

Strength of a mother's love - THESE women are mothers of autistic children who are celebrating Mother's Day by raising awareness of the condition.  They are confident, articulate and successful women determined not to let autism - which effects about one in 166 Australian children - define their families.  Autism is a complex condition. It covers a spectrum of developmental disorders that affect communication and social skills. Worldwide it is on the increase. Researchers recently warned that as many as one in 60 British children had some form of autism and that had serious implications for planning, diagnostic, social and health services.  In March, US President Barack Obama invested in a multi-million-dollar research program to investigate the causes and provide more assistance to families.

Study Indicates Some Autistic Children May Recover - A small research study published recently indicates that more than 10 percent of children born with autism are able to overcome the disorder by the age of 9, usually through of years of intensive behavioral therapy. A number of critics have voiced skepticism about the study, but Deborah Fein of the University of Connecticut is convinced that the phenomenon of recovery represents a real breakthrough in the field of autism research. At a conference on autism held in Chicago last week, Fein presented the results of her research in which she had examined 58 children of which 20 had been diagnosed as autistic at a young age but were no longer considered to have the disorder several years later.

US education secretary mum on Strickland's school plan - After U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and more than half a dozen other speakers whooped it up for Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to overhaul education and school funding, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan had his chance. Duncan didn’t say a word about it to the crowd gathered outside the Schottenstein Center at the Ohio State University on Friday, May 8. “It’s not really my job to endorse...,” Duncan told reporters after the rally after what Strickland aides had billed as a “rally for education reform.”

A Mother's Love: Coping With Mental Illness - Parenting a child with mental illness can be a daunting and lonely job. I met a Tri-State mom who works hard to advocate for her son, and who can teach us all a lesson in determination and love. As soon as 8-year-old Max gets off the school bus in Oakley, he's off and running. When you first meet Max he seems like a typical boy, but life with Max is not typical. Max's mom, Melissa Schlagheck, said he put holes in the wall that were 5 to 6 feet in diameter. She had to remove all of his furniture from his room. He broke the windows so she had to put Plexiglass in them.

Aging With Autism - The state of Utah has one of the highest rates of autism in the country. In fact, the numbers show, one out of every 133 children has the disorder. But often what we don’t report is the challenges that families with adult autistic children face.  For the past 44-years, Mary Paulsen has done, what any good mother would do, with great love. She has taken good care of her son Philip. He is a grown man who enjoys simple tasks and lives every day of his life, with autism.

Analyst charged with abuse of teen - A behavioral analyst at Our Lady of Peace psychiatric hospital is facing a felony criminal abuse charge a year after he allegedly allowed a 17-year-old girl to beat her head on a floor more than 120 times while trying to determine the cause of the teen's self-injury behavior. Jeffrey E. Dillen, 28, "wantonly abused" a "physically or mentally helpless" teen on May 13, 2008, by placing her in a situation that may have caused her serious physical injury, torture or cruel confinement, according to an indictment handed up yesterday by a Jefferson County grand jury.

Depression, Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Anxiety ... - EmpowHer, the home of women's health online, and NARSAD, the world's leading charity dedicated to mental health research, are working together in a formal collaboration to spread awareness of the importance of funding brain and behavior disorder research. Through an innovative online partnership, EmpowHer and NARSAD will work together to provide the public with essential information and resources on the many psychiatric brain disorders that impact much of our population, from patients to caregivers. Together, the two health organizations will provide state-of-the-art multimedia content that includes articles and videos of experts discussing the latest in brain research and treatments. The health conditions covered in this partnership include anxiety, mental health, obsessive compulsive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and social phobias.

Doing 'it' the right way - People with learning disabilities are very vulnerable to sexual abuse and lost in regards to sexuality. Still, many are denied empowerment through education. IT was only last month when an elderly man was caught raping his 14-year-old mentally disabled neighbour for four months in Pekan Nenas. In an earlier case a week earlier, it was the other way round when a Form Three boy was caught raping a rubber tapper's mentally-challenged wife. Would they have had a chance to escape if they knew how to refuse and speak up for themselves? An even bigger question is whether they knew what sex and ethics are about to recognise they have been abused - highly unlikely, thanks to societal fears of that three letter word, which represses the rights of the learning disabled.

Eden Autism Services - Eden Autism Services has launched the public phase of its $7 million "Nurturing Today, Embracing Tomorrow" fundraising effort.  The capital campaign will help pay for a new state-of-the art school for people with autism, which will be located in Princeton Forrestal Village, and establish an endowment fund to supplement money received from the state for autism care.  To date, more than $2.5 million has been raised, organizers said in a release this week.  The fundraiser launch was held at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village in Plainsboro, where nearly 150 supporters joined Eden's CEO Tom McCool and campaign co-chairs Marie and Jeff Gary, Bob Humes and Ed and Marge Schwallie.

Family Says Autistic Child Abused At School - The family of an autistic boy told WAPT that he was abused at school and they want someone held accountable.  “We noticed bruising by his left eye socket down on his cheekbone and scratches on his neck,” Bill Wilkinson said of his son Samuel.  Wilkinson said Samuel was held down and beaten by teachers after the boy had a tantrum.  “My son can't talk but he's smarter than everyone else in this room,” Wilkinson said.

Former social worker sentenced to jail for indecent liberties - A former social worker who counseled children with autism was ordered to spend five months in jail and given a two-year suspended sentence on Friday after pleading guilty to sex crimes involving a 15-year-old male client. Thomas A. Gill, 63, was charged last year with indecent liberties and communication with a minor for immoral purposes after he and an autistic teen client were found naked in Gill's Mercer Island home. The state Department of Health issued an emergency suspension of Gill's social-work license after the charges were filed. According to court records, Gill had been counseling the 15-year-old for three years and occasionally also provided "respite care" for the boy that involved having the boy spend the night at Gill's home.

Gene Variants Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders Variants in ... - Variants of neuronal cell-adhesion molecules are associated with autism spectrum disorders, according to two studies published online April 28 in Nature. In the first study, Kai Wang, Ph.D., from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues performed a genome-wide association study in two groups, one comprising 780 families with 3,101 children affected with autism spectrum disorders, and another comprising 1,204 affected individuals and 6,491 unaffected individuals. They found that single nucleotide polymorphisms of the CDH10 and CDH9 genes were significantly associated with the disorder and were replicated in two independent groups.

Health Matters: Diagnosing Autism Early is Critical - New research says kids with autism aren't be diagnosed early enough.  The Washington University in Saint Louis study also found female cases are identified later than males.  Researchers looked at data from thirteen cites collecting health records on kids with developmental problems.  They found the average age of an autism diagnosis is nearly six years old -- three to four years after a diagnosis is possible. Researchers say nailing down an autism diagnosis early on is key to helping the child with services and therapies. The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

If these walls could speak - Aradale has opened its doors to the public. Sandy Guy takes a tour of the former asylum built in 1863.   Local legend has it that an Ararat  businessman running late for a Christmas concert arrived at the formidable gates of the Aradale Mental Hospital to find them locked. A man on the other side, a patient, pulled some wire from his pocket, unlocked the gates with it, let the latecomer in and relocked them. The tale of the gates is just one of countless stories about the thousands of people confined at Aradale, originally called the Ararat Lunatic Asylum, since it was built in 1863.

Lawyer, wife push for gains on autism - Did you grow up in St. Louis? — No, I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. We moved here when I was 15 and, yes, it was traumatic.  How long did it take you to feel like you fit in? — About a year. We moved here in May, so that first summer I didn't know anyone and really couldn't meet anyone. But when school started, I started making friends and it got better. How did you meet Patricia? — I say I met Tricia when her brother and I got to be friends in 1986. She was dating another friend's brother, and I met her at a party. I told her brother that I thought she was a knockout and he sort of said, "Hey, that's my sister!"

Mass mugging gang locked up - BRITAIN’S most vicious gang of street muggers were jailed yesterday for 170 robberies, including one where they nearly killed a woman by stamping on her throat.  Babyfaced G-Block crew members — some as young as 13 — donned “Scream” masks while brandishing knives, hammers and baseball bats to terrorise commuters on their way home.  Most victims were professional women aged 20 to 40 targeted in so-called “sucking season” raids for their mobiles, iPods, cash, laptops and credit cards. ...Akheem Gray, 16, from Tulse Hill, who suffers from epilepsy and high functioning autism, similar to Asperger’s Syndrome, was given four years detention. His brother Ameel Gray, 15, from Streatham, got three and a half years.

Missing Vancouver teen found in Tacoma - Police say 16-year-old girl from Vancouver, Wash., was found safe Thursday in Tacoma afer the girl went missing Wednesday afternoon.  Authorities were concerned because the girl has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.  Authorities say Carisa E. Tuck was picked up by law enforcement and was in good condition. She will receive a medical evaluation due the fact she didn't have access to her medication. She will be on her way home soon.

Mother's Day Wishes for Autism Moms - Autism moms are among the hardest working people in the world. They advocate, teach, study, research, manage - and that's just for starters. Some autism moms are raising multiple kids with disabilities; others are taking on entire school districts, building non-profits, or leading social skills group.  Do you know an autism mom who deserves special Mother's Day wishes? Let everyone know - right here!

Mother Says Special Diet Helped Son With Autism - There is no cure for autism, but plenty of parents said they have found therapies and strategies that are helping their children live better lives. Susan Delaine is one of those parents. Delaine's 8-year-old son Justin suffers from autism. About six years ago, Delaine decided to try changing Justin's diet by eliminating gluten and all milk products. "His language skyrocketed, his digestion completely improved. He was able to focus a whole lot better in school and able to express himself," said Delaine. Experts said following a gluten-free diet is not easy.

Northwoods' woman says risperidone killed her father - That's the very simple, straightforward message one Northwoods' woman wants to spread to the world, and especially to Wisconsin residents: Risperdal kills, and Rhinelander resident Lisa MaKarrall says she knows because it killed her father. One of the world's best-selling drugs, Risperdal, a highly controversial antipsychotic medication manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceutica, and its generic formulation have for years been popular among the medical establishment, used not only for FDA-approved treatments of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and irritability associated with autism in children but for a broad array of "off-label" diagnoses such as deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, mood disorder, and aggression associated with late-onset dementia.

Officers remove children from feces-covered home - A mother is in jail after officers removed five children, including a child with autism, from an Eagle Mountain home covered in rotting food, garbage and human and animal feces. Utah County officers got a call Thursday from a neighbor who noticed a small child, dirty and bruised, wandering around the street wearing only a soiled diaper, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.

Police back autism card - THREE police forces have joined a scheme to help safeguard autistic people living in their counties. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire police launched an Autism Alert Card at an event attended by some of the country's leading autism charities and professionals. Carers of people with autism can now apply, free of charge, for a card which will be carried by the autistic family member. The card tells people that this person has an autism spectrum condition and explains that they have social communication difficulties.

Recipe for a successful life - For more than a decade, Memphis Beat The Odds (MBTO) founder, Dr. Theresa Okwumabua has been recognizing young people who triumph over disabilities and obstacles and the champions who help them to find their way.  Dr. Theresa Okwumabua is the founder of Memphis Beat the odds which focuses on “uplifting the quality of life in our community by telling the community, particularly the youth, that they can beat the odds, too.” (Photo by Greg Russell)  On Thursday, May 14, MBTO Foundation will host its 15th Annual Memphis Beat the Odds Banquet recognizing six special young people with the MBTO Student and Youth Award and two adults with its Cathryn Rivers Johnson Award.

Reigate boy, 4, on life-changing diet - Chuckling as he raced around the wisteria with his watering can, four-year-old Hugo Lewis beamed with life.  As his proud parents looked on, their chirpy little lad proudly posed as his two brothers wondered what all the fuss was about.
Just six months ago he couldn't read, could barely speak and was in a school for disabled children due to a condition causing brain tumours and epilepsy.  Suffering with Tuberous Sclerosis, little Hugo faced up to 40 fits a day, some serious enough to put him in hospital for a week.