Unlock Autism

Not good news on the research front.

A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics indicates about 1% of children 3 to 17 have autism or related disorder

Results based on national telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents
CDC official: “This is a significant issue that needs immediate attention”
Researchers saying finding could reflect heightened awareness of disorder

Today, 1 in 91 have Autism.  Boys were four times as likely as girls to have ASD, and non-Hispanic black and multiracial children were less likely than non-Hispanic white children.

The question on everyone’s ,mind is where will these children go to school and what will become of their lives as they enter adulthood.

The Educational system and job market is already overburdened. We need to act quickly on all fronts, Quickly with intervention, quickly with therapy and services and in providing a better Education opportunity.

Now I must go and update my User Name to 1 in 91, down form 1 in 150 children have Autsim today.

PS – I am not liking what I am hearing about candles recently. Cheap candles are horrible to burn inside. The wick may contain lead and the wax is filled with nasty stuff… So many things correlate with the rise in ASD- computers and the web, cellphones, plastic bottles, Korean cars it could be anything and everything…

Share It

Hide Sites

With autism, parents have extreme concerns about future independence, finances and isolation, compared to more common worries of parents with typically developing children

(Washington, December 16, 2008) — Parents of children with autism are struggling with a host of worries that impact every aspect of their lives, and are particularly fearful that their family will lack the life-long supports needed to address the significant challenges of autism, according to a new study released today by Easter Seals and made possible by MassMutual Financial Group.

Easter Seals’ Living with Autism Study results reveal parents raising children with autism are very concerned about the future independence of their children. In fact, they’re far more concerned than parents of typically developing children — nearly 80 percent say they’re extremely or very concerned about their children’s independence as an adult, compared to only 32 percent of other parents. This is especially true when it comes to their financial independence, quality of life, social and inter-personal connections, and employment and housing opportunities — and with good reason.

Autism is a growing public health crisis, with millions of families desperate for solutions and resources. Easter Seals and others in the autism community are doing their best, but current systems, structures and resources to help people with autism and their families do not adequately meet the growing need, especially for adults with autism.

“The study quantifies what we’ve heard anecdotally over the years,” says Patricia Wright, Ph.D., MPH, Easter Seals national director, autism services. “The one consistent message Easter Seals hears from the families we serve — after the initial apprehension and anxiety of learning their child has autism — is an overwhelming concern about the life-long supports their child with autism may need to be independent.”

Study Shows Parents’ Hope for Independence . . . Financial and Otherwise
The nationwide study provides new insight into the ongoing challenges facing individuals and families living with autism, particularly their concerns about the future. It’s unique in that it closely considers and quantifies the very real concerns of parents of children with autism in relation to parents of typically developing children.

A sampling of the findings:

• Parents of children living with autism are very concerned about their children fitting into society, with very few feeling their children will be able to:
  • Make his or her own life decisions (14% compared to 65% of parents with typically developing children)
  • Have friends in the community (17% compared to 57% of typical parents)
  • Have a spouse or life partner (9% compared to 51% of typical parents)
  • Be valued by their community (18% compared to 50% of typical parents)
  • Participate in recreational activities (20% compared to 50% of typical parents)
• Children with autism also are less likely than their typically developing peers to have bank accounts (37% vs. 55%) and use electronic products like cell phones (9% vs. 41%) or MP3 players (23% vs. 49%) — all tools of mainstream society.
• Many parents of children with autism report they’re “financially drowning,” with concerns for their children’s financial independence seeming to far surpass the worries of typical parents. Seventy-four percent of parents of children with autism fear their children will not have enough financial support after they die, while only 18% of typical parents share this fear.

  They also express extreme financial strains and costs associated with caring for a child with autism, with more than half stating that the cost of caring for my child:

  • Drains my family’s current financial resources (52% compared to 13% of typical parents)
  • Will drain my family’s future finances (50% compared to 10% of typical parents)
  • Will cause me to fall short of cash during retirement (54% compared to 13% of typical parents)
• Key to adult independence is employment, yet only 24% of teenagers with autism have looked for a job, compared to 77% of their typically developing peers. And 76% of parents of children with autism are concerned about their child’s future employment, when only 35% of typical parents share this fear.

“Families living with autism face so many challenges on a daily basis,” says John Chandler, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of MassMutual’s U.S. Insurance Group. “But this study has really brought home for us how much stress they face when it comes to their current financial situation, the future of their child with autism, their other children and their own retirement. Our hundreds of Special Care Planners across the country are in a great position to help make at least this part of their struggle easier.”

As an Easter Seals corporate partner and the study sponsor, MassMutual is committed to serving people living with autism and other disabilities through its exclusive SpecialCareSM program, an innovative solution that gives families with individuals with special needs access to information, specialists, and financial strategies that can help improve their quality of life.

Easter Seals worked with Harris Interactive, and in cooperation with the Autism Society of America, to conduct the Living with Autism Study and survey 1,652 parents of children who have autism and 917 parents of typically developing children about daily life, relationships, independence, education, housing, employment, finances and healthcare.*

Study Findings to Drive Solutions
“Easter Seals strives to make data-based-decisions,” Wright says. “With this study, the disparities that parents of typically developing children and parents of children with autism experience can now be shared via solid numbers.”

Easter Seals will use the study results to raise awareness of and advocate for the life-long services millions of families living with autism desperately need — including school to work transitions, employment support, residential and community support, and financial planning.

“For parents of kids with autism, there are no simple answers,” adds Wright. “There is an urgent need for increased funding and services — especially for adults with autism. Easter Seals wants to help change all of this and make a difference for families living with autism today.”

*Methodology
This Easter Seals’ Living with Autism Study was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Easter Seals between June 16 and July 17, 2008 among 1,652 parents of children age 30 and under who have autism and 917 parents of typically developing children age 30 and under. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

About Easter Seals
Autism is a lifelong disability that affects the way a person’s brain functions, involving challenges in communication, social skills, and behaviors. While there is no known cause or cure, autism is treatable and people with autism can — and do — lead meaningful lives. Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs. For nearly 90 years, we have been offering help and hope to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play. Visit www.easterseals.com or http://www.actforautism.org/ to learn more about autism, find services at an Easter Seals near you, or help change the lives of people living with autism by becoming a donor or volunteer.

About Harris Interactive®
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

About MassMutual Financial Group
MassMutual is a leader in helping people with disabilities and other special needs and their families through its exclusive SpecialCareSM Program, an innovative outreach initiative that provides access to information, specialists, and financial solutions that can help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and other special needs and their families and caregivers. For more information and resources on autism, go to www.massmutual.com/autism.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. MassMutual and its subsidiaries had more than $500 billion in assets under management at year-end 2007. Assets under management include assets and certain external investment funds managed by MassMutual’s subsidiaries. Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a mutually owned financial protection, accumulation and income management company headquartered in Springfield, Mass. MassMutual’s major affiliates include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; The First Mercantile Trust Company; MML Investors Services, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC (http://www.finra.org/ and http://www.sipc.org/); MassMutual International LLC and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB. MassMutual is on the Internet at http://www.massmutual.com/.

About the Autism Society of America (ASA)
ASA, the nation’s leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.autism-society.org/.

Share It

Hide Sites

I found this on the Easter Seals site and suggest  visiting their site for more in depth information on Autism and Services needed for children on the spectrum.

Easter Seals — helping people with disabilities gain greater independence

Easter Seals provides exceptional services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work and play in our communities.
Understanding Speech and Hearing Therapy

Speech and hearing therapy (also known as speech-language pathology and audiology) are important health-related specialties concerned with normal development of human communication and treatment of its disorders. Speech therapy focuses on voice and speech-language skills, while hearing therapy deals with hearing and hearing impairment.

Speech or language disorders may be present at birth or acquired later in life by disease, illness, head injury, substance abuse or allergy.

Hearing loss may be acquired before or during birth if a pregnant woman takes certain drugs or contracts a viral disease such as rubella (German Measles). Children sometimes acquire hearing loss from infection and inflammation of the middle ear or from communicable diseases. Adult hearing may be affected by prolonged exposure to loud noise and the process of aging.

Who Needs Speech-Language Pathology and Audiological Services?

Speech-Language Pathology is used to help:

* Individuals with voice disorders to develop proper control of their vocal and respiratory systems
* Individuals who stutter to learn to cope with the disorder and increase fluency
* Individuals with aphasia (a condition in which an individual has difficulty expressing thoughts and understanding others) as a result    of a stroke or head injury. Speech-language pathology helps individuals relearn language and speech skills.
* Children and young adults with language disorders

Audiological services are used to:

* Determine existence and type of hearing impairments
* Provide rehabilitative services
* Assess amplification devices, such as hearing aids
* Teach individuals ways in which they can make the best use of their remaining hearing

Speech and hearing therapists, recognized as speech-language pathologists and audiologists, who provide treatment are professionally trained specialists holding master’s degrees or the equivalent from programs accredited by an Educational Standards Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Some speech-language pathologists and audiologists hold doctoral degrees and work as teachers, advisors, researchers and consultants. Some specialize in certain areas, such as aphasia or hearing disorders in children, or participate in prevention and early identification programs.

Speech-language pathologists who use the initials “CCC-SLP” after their name have passed a national examination administered by the Clinical Certification Board of ASHA. Audiologists who pass a different national test, administered by the board, receive a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology and qualify to use the initials “CCC-A” after their name. A person who meets requirements in both professional areas may be awarded both certificates.

Individualized Treatment Plans

A speech-language pathologist evaluates a person’s speech-language skills, determines the probable cause and extent of any existing disorder and develops appropriate treatment to correct or lessen the communication problem. Clinical methods used depend on the nature and severity of the problem, the age of the client and the client’s awareness of the problem.

An audiologist, after evaluating a person’s hearing and determining the type of hearing loss, establishes a treatment plan. This may involve therapy, prescription of special equipment such as hearing aids and electronic communication devices and referral for possible surgery or medication.

Visit the Easter Seals site for more information

Share It

Hide Sites

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger’s report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. You can take the test here.

Share It

Hide Sites

Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, and Unlock Autism today applauded Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Hank Johnson (D-GA) for their introduction of a House companion bill to the Senate’s Autism Treatment Acceleration Act (ATAA), which was introduced last month by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Robert Casey (D-PA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Like the Senate version, the House version of the ATAA (H.R. 2413) is comprehensive federal legislation that addresses several critical challenges facing the autism community, including increased funding for scientific research, treatment and services. The ATAA incorporates provisions from the Expanding the Promise of Individuals with Autism Act (EPIAA), originally proposed by Representatives Doyle, Smith, Engel, and former-Representative Chip Pickering.

A welcome sign of relief  to many who routinely spend $30-$50k on therapy’s – not even considered for reimbursement by insurance companies.

As in the Senate’s ATAA bill, a key section of the House bill requires all insurance companies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASDs), including coverage of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy – a medically-necessary, evidence-based autism treatment. While the number of states that have enacted comprehensive autism insurance reform legislation has grown to ten, most state insurers are still allowed to specifically exclude coverage for these critical services, which can cost upward of $50,000 a year – well beyond the means of most families.

The House version of the bill also addresses the unique needs of adults with ASDs, creating a demonstration project with one-year planning grants and multi-year implementation grants for the provision of service for adults with autism. In addition, it creates the Network for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services aimed at accelerating the dissemination and utilization of critical, new information, moving it from “bench to bedside” as quickly as possible.

Share It

Hide Sites

Although in it’s too early, this Autism Fever and the Brain research is very promising and holds a lot of hope for Autism sufferers.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2009) – Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a sweeping new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms of the disorder might be reversible.

The central tenet of the theory, published in the March issue of Brain Research Reviews, is that autism is a developmental disorder caused by impaired regulation of the locus coeruleus, a bundle of neurons in the brain stem that processes sensory signals from all areas of the body.

The new theory stems from decades of anecdotal observations that some autistic children seem to improve when they have a fever, only to regress when the fever ebbs. A 2007 study in the journal Pediatrics took a more rigorous look at fever and autism, observing autistic children during and after fever episodes and comparing their behavior with autistic children who didn’t have fevers. This study documented that autistic children experience behavior changes during fever.

“On a positive note, we are talking about a brain region that is not irrevocably altered. It gives us hope that, with novel therapies, we will eventually be able to help people with autism,” says theory co-author Mark F. Mehler, M.D., chairman of neurology and director of the Institute for Brain Disorders and Neural Regeneration at Einstein.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It usually appears during the first three years of life. Autism is called a “spectrum disorder” since it affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. It is estimated that one in every 150 American children has some degree of autism.

Einstein researchers contend that scientific evidence directly points to the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic (LC-NA) system as being involved in autism. “The LC-NA system is the only brain system involved both in producing fever and controlling behavior,” says co-author Dominick P. Purpura, M.D., dean emeritus and distinguished professor of neuroscience at Einstein.

The locus coeruleus has widespread connections to brain regions that process sensory information. It secretes most of the brain’s noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in arousal mechanisms, such as the “fight or flight” response. It is also involved in a variety of complex behaviors, such as attentional focusing (the ability to concentrate attention on environmental cues relevant to the task in hand, or to switch attention from one task to another). Poor attentional focusing is a defining characteristic of autism.

“What is unique about the locus coeruleus is that it activates almost all higher-order brain centers that are involved in complex cognitive tasks,” says Dr. Mehler.

Drs. Purpura and Mehler hypothesize that in autism, the LC-NA system is dysregulated by the interplay of environment, genetic, and epigenetic factors (chemical substances both within as well as outside the genome that regulate the expression of genes). They believe that stress plays a central role in dysregulation of the LC-NA system, especially in the latter stages of prenatal development when the fetal brain is particularly vulnerable.

As evidence, the researchers point to a 2008 study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, that found a higher incidence of autism among children whose mothers had been exposed to hurricanes and tropical storms during pregnancy. Maternal exposure to severe storms at mid-gestation resulted in the highest prevalence of autism.

Drs. Purpura and Mehler believe that, in autistic children, fever stimulates the LC-NA system, temporarily restoring its normal regulatory function. “This could not happen if autism was caused by a lesion or some structural abnormality of the brain,” says Dr. Purpura.

“This gives us hope that we will eventually be able to do something for people with autism,” he adds.

The researchers do not advocate fever therapy (fever induced by artificial means), which would be an overly broad, and perhaps even dangerous, remedy. Instead, they say, the future of autism treatment probably lies in drugs that selectively target certain types of noradrenergic brain receptors or, more likely, in epigenetic therapies targeting genes of the LC-NA system.

“If the locus coeruleus is impaired in autism, it is probably because tens or hundreds, maybe even thousands, of genes are dysregulated in subtle and complex ways,” says Dr. Mehler. “The only way you can reverse this process is with epigenetic therapies, which, we are beginning to learn, have the ability to coordinate very large integrated gene networks.”

“The message here is one of hope but also one of caution,” Dr. Mehler adds. “You can’t take a complex neuropsychiatric disease that has escaped our understanding for 50 years and in one fell swoop have a therapy that is going to reverse it – that’s folly. On the other hand, we now have clues to the neurobiology, the genetics, and the epigenetics of autism. To move forward, we need to invest more money in basic science to look at the genome and the epigenome in a more focused way.”

Science Daily is an excellent site for Autism related research, support them so they can support us..

Share It

Hide Sites

The development, maintenance, and repair of myelin is the single most important factor affecting cognition and behavior, according to a UCLA neurology professor who has collected extensive data on the nerve insulator. In an article to be published in an upcoming issue of Biological Psychiatry, George Bartzokis, MD, asserts that myelin may be the universal cause or contributor to a wide range of neuropsychological brain disorders, from autism to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bartzokis, who directs the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease Clinic in Los Angeles, suggests that using noninvasive imaging technology to view the miles of myelin in the brain as it grows and breaks down throughout a human life cycle may offer insights leading to the development of new treatments for brain disorders. Nicotine, which studies have suggested enhances the growth and maintenance of myelin, could be one such novel treatment.

In some of the first research to approach brain disorders from a myelin-centered point of view, Dr. Bartzokis studied the effects of cholinergic treatments, including acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) that are used to improve a neuron’s synaptic signaling in people with diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Some data suggest that such treatments may even modify or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s as well as other diseases.

Nicotine, Age, and Disease

Dr. Bartzokis hypothesizes that cholinergic stimulation at neuronal synapses affects the myelination process throughout brain development in the course of a human’s lifetime.He found in clinical trials that cholinergic treatment protects brain cells, while postmortem and imaging data have shown cholinergic receptor changes during brain development and degeneration. Trials have also revealed epidemiologic evidence that nicotine from tobacco may have a protective effect on degenerative diseases of old age and younger psychiatric populations. Cholinergic treatments have also shown efficacy in the aging process and age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, as well as some neurodegenerative diseases like autism and ADHD.

According to Dr. Bartzokis, myelination development resembles an inverted “U” over the course of a lifetime, with increasing myelin development peaking in middle age and breaking down and declining in later years. Following the analogy of the Internet, Dr. Bartzokis says the “connectivity” provided by myelination increases speed by 10-fold and decreases refractory time by 34-fold. Thus, myelination increases the “bandwidth,” or processing capacity, of our brain’s Internet by 340-fold and is “indispensable for developing our uniquely elaborate higher cognitive functions.”

Different cortical regions myelinate at different ages, with later-myelinating oligodendrocytes growing increasingly more complex as we age. Irregular development during the most complex stages of the myelination process contributes to several of the neuropsychiatric disorders that tend to manifest in the early years. These disorders—eg, autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, mood disorders, addictions—are defined by overlapping cognitive and behavioral symptom clusters.

According to Dr. Bartzokis, healthy individuals with normal myelin development typically lose 45% of their myelinated fiber length when they reach the degeneration phase in adulthood. This change in the brain may cause progressive losses of memory and cognitive functions, as well as mild to severe behavioral changes.

The loss of myelin and its components such as sulfatide, myelin basic protein, and cholesterol begins early in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, well before diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The myelin breakdown process is further modified by risk factors such as the presence of APOE ε4 or environmental factors such as a head trauma.

Nicotine’s Effect on Myelination and Repair

Recent research has unveiled some surprising findings on the influence of nicotine on myelination and the aging process. Direct nicotinic stimulation associated with smoking has been shown to increase nicotinic receptors in the late myelinating frontal and temporal intracortical regions. Unlike most agonists, nicotine causes an up-regulation of its receptors and has been shown to accelerate brain function recovery when white matter is damaged.

Nicotine dependence is common among people with psychiatric disorders. Some researchers have suggested the high prevalence of nicotine use among the psychiatric population represents an unconscious effort to “self-medicate.” Research on proteins has suggested that nicotine may marginally increase the expression of myelin proteins; other addictive drugs (eg, cocaine, alcohol) along with developmental diseases (eg, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression) show a decrease of these proteins.

Other research has found an association between nicotinic stimulation and protective effects in schizophrenia and autism, where cortical myelination deficits have been documented. While nicotine has well-known negative effects on overall health, smoking during later years is also associated with a reduced likelihood of the development of degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Using the myelin-centered model, the apparent beneficial aspects of smoking on brain disorders can be attributed to nicotine’s stimulation of oligodendrocyte precursors. Dr. Bartzokis believes that nicotine, delivered through a patch, not through smoking cigarettes, should be studied for its efficacy in promoting the growth and maintenance of myelin, and that AChEIs “deserve much closer scrutiny” as a therapy for the prevention of both developmental and degenerative brain disorders.

—Kathlyn Stone http://www.neuropsychiatryreviews.com/07jan/myelin.html

Share It

Hide Sites

=====================================================

Looks like we are making progress..

President-Elect Obama has drafted comprehensive autism legislation, including a section addressing a broad based federal autism insurance mandate.

In his Presidential campaign statement on Autism Spectrum Disorders, President-Elect Obama committed to bringing autism insurance reform to the entire nation. The statement stated that Obama and Biden “will mandate insurance coverage of autism treatment and will also continue to work with parents, physicians, providers, researchers, and schools to create opportunities and effective solutions for people with ASD.” For the complete campaign statement, and to read the draft legislation, go to http://www.autismvotes.org.

=====================================================

Please be true to your word and fund more in depth research regarding the causes and prevention of Autism

and other PDD’s   1 in 150 is an epidemic of the worst proportions as it affects defenseless children and can destroy families, wreak hvvac on local school board budgets and community taxes. We need solutions now.

Here are some suggestions, Investigate and report back within 12 months time any connection regarding

- Plastic PBA’s, Cell Phone Signals and Mercury laced shots

- Providing economic support for families who actively seek and complete therapy’s currently not covered under health insurance

- Providing economic support on a per child basis still in the school system for providing a more precise and personalized education platform and goals to work towards. I do well for my family but paying $10-$25,000 for treatments, or more per year is just a bit too much to afford.

- Increasing regulation and oversight over Autism related treatments, too much hope being sold with snake oil out there

- Creating a national database of what works for which conditions best, right now its trial and error over and over again

- Provide $10 billion in funding Autism research asap, at both the commercial and holistic levels.

12 months is aggressive, but we need to fast track this as it continues to grow in numbers both in terms of those afflicted, and those it affects.

Do it Barrack, help our children and make this your legacy while still in office, not in the last few weeks of office.  Do it now..

Share It

Hide Sites

You know, I had heard it was a disgruntled ex employee of a Pharmaceutical company that started this whole MMR connection, if that is true this person should be tarred an feathered and tied to a whipping post in the village square for wasting so many valuable years of research down a wrong street, years that could have been used to find a cause and cure. Instead, we have wasted big time dollars and time accusing and defending.. What a shame, Now this article appeared int he NY Times claiming that the researchers had a conflict of interest who published the findings.. all this for what, a Gov’t grant or a mention in some Journal?

“Meanwhile, the original paper’s publisher — The Lancet — complained in 2004 that the lead author had concealed a conflict of interest. Ten of his co-authors retracted the paper’s implication that the vaccine might be linked to autism. Three of the authors are now defending themselves before a fitness-to-practice panel in London on charges related to their autism research.

Sadly, even after all of this, many parents of autistic children still blame the vaccine. The big losers in this debate are the children who are not being vaccinated because of parental fears and are at risk of contracting serious — sometimes fatal — diseases.”

How about we shift towards researching things introduced into the environment that mirror the rise of Autism, Such as; Cell Phones, PC’s, Plastic Everything, Teflon, Hormone use in the food supply, even down to Hydro-Ponic Marijuana. Doesnt anyone else wonder about these things and their possible place in the cause of the Autism Epidemic? Anyone there?

Ten years ago, a clinical research paper triggered widespread and persistent fears that a combined vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella — the so-called MMR vaccine — causes autism in young children. That theory has been soundly refuted by a variety of other research over the years, and now a new study that tried to replicate the original study has provided further evidence that it was a false alarm. Read More from this New York Times article

Share It

Hide Sites

Came across this video series, http://www.modelmekids.com/autism-videos.html

Anyone ever use it? What were your results? Seems like a great idea and one I have often thought about given my sons love of the video tape, or dvd.

Thanks for sharing… is there anybody out there??

The Time for School video presents social skills in the context of school. It features elementary school-aged children demonstrating appropriate social skills in the classroom, library, on the playground, and in the hallway. Each scene lasts between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, depending on the chapter. At the end of each chapter is a storyboard summarizing the rules taught.

The video is hosted by a young boy, who narrates each scene.

With narration: In the first half of the video, the visual is combined with narration and graphics that help explain the particular rule.

Without narration: In the second half of the video, the same video is repeated without narration and graphics. This allows a parent, Autism teacher, or therapist to customize the lesson the individual child and/or to test what was learned in the first viewing of the video.

Each social skill is demonstrated in more than one situation and across environments. This is useful to children with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome because it helps with generalization of the skill taught.

Graphics and music are used to make the video appealing to children with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Nonverbal Learning Disorders. A high production value helps keep the child’s interest so that he or she will want to watch many times.

Check it out here

Share It

Hide Sites