Items 1 through 3 have been deleted, since they are primarily for families
living in Virginia and Maryland, and I did not want to send useless
information to the folks in the rest of the country. However, please let me
know if you live in Virginia, Maryland or DC; so that I can add you to my
private email distribution list for events in those states.


4. Autism Speaks supports families and professionals through its TalkAutism
HelpWanted message board, which it shares with other leading autism
organizations. Requests come in on a daily basis. A sincere thank you to
those of you who have responded and helped others in the autism community.
If you feel you can respond directly or 'email a friend' to some of our
community's most recent requests,
<http://www.autismwalk.org/site/R?i=dpr_GmpIuw2Rrs7QvKp3Dg..> click here.

5. "Offender characteristics in lethal violence with special reference to
antisocial and autistic personality traits" by K. Wahlund and M.
Kristiansson from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden published by Stanford
University at <http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;16829668>
http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;16829668.

"Abstract. The objective of the study is to assess the relationships
between personality traits, lifetime psychosocial functioning, and crime
scene behavior. Thirty-five male offenders referred for forensic psychiatric
assessment in Sweden (1996-2001) and assigned a main diagnosis of either
antisocial personality disorder (APD) or autism spectrum disorder (AUT) were
retrospectively studied. APD were subcategorized into impulsive (APDi) and
controlled (APDc). Those in the AUT group were less intoxicated at the time
of the crime and did not often use knives or guns compared to the APD group.
Males in the APDi group were older and had a higher proportion of abuse of
alcohol and drugs in biological parents, physical abuse during childhood,
psychiatric contacts, and suicide attempts compared to the APDc group. In
the APDi group, knives were used in the homicide compared to the use of guns
in the APDc group. The results suggest differences in psychosocial
functioning and crime scene characteristics related to personality traits."


6. "Will states require cancer vaccine?" dated 30 June 2006 by Daniel C.
Vock from Stateline.org at
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136
<http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&c
ontentId=124016> &languageId=1&contentId=124016.

"A federal panel of scientists recommended Thursday (June 29) that all 11-
and 12-year-old girls get a vaccine that could prevent 70 percent of
cervical cancer cases. Now discussion moves to state capitols, where
legislators will decide whether to make the three-shot treatment mandatory
before girls enter certain grades. The recommendation by the
<http://www.cdc.gov/nip/acip/> Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
means that the federal government will likely pick up the tab for
vaccinating poor women. The suggestions can also influence insurance
coverage. The issue for states will be whether to add the vaccine for the
most dangerous strains of <http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm>
Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancers in women, to the
list of shots such as measles, mumps, polio and whooping cough required for
admittance at school. An estimated 9,700 American women are diagnosed with
cervical cancer every year; 3,700 die of the disease. Worldwide, cervical
cancer is the second most common cancer among women, afflicting 470,000
women and leading to 233,000 deaths a year, according to the
<http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01385.html> Food and Drug
Administration.

But unlike other contagious childhood diseases, HPV is a sexually
transmitted disease. The distinction already is spurring some conservative
groups to say states shouldn't mandate that girls get the vaccine, because
the only way to catch the cancer-causing disease is through sexual contact.
..."

7. "State education board considers restraints for special ed students"
dated 12 July 2006 by Gena Terlizzi from The Lawrence Journal-World at
<http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jul/12/state_education_board_considers_re
straints_special/?education>
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jul/12/state_education_board_considers_res
traints_special/?education.

"Right now in Kansas, there are no statewide guidelines for how teachers and
their helpers should handle unruly special education students. On Tuesday,
members of the Disability Rights Center attended the Kansas State Board of
Education meeting to hear proposed guidelines for schools to follow when
special education students get out of control. Advocates for the disabled
said the mandates are necessary to prevent mistreatment of the students.
Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center, said
during the 2005 legislative session he heard many parents speak about the
mistreatment of their children. "Hundreds and hundreds of parents from
around the state came forward, testified and talked about how their kids
were secluded and restrained inappropriately," Nichols said. "We have kids
who have been sat on by gym teachers. Their arms have been duct-taped
together as a form of restraint. They've been rolled up in gym mats. They've
been placed in little boxes." Those are the extreme cases, but members of
the Disability Rights Center said they hoped a few guidelines would spell
out what is appropriate when it comes to handling special education students
with behavior problems. ..."

8. "Summary of proposed rules on physical restraint, seclusion rooms" dated
13 July 2006 from the Associated Press at
<http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/15032444.htm>
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/15032444.htm.

"A summary of proposed rules being considered by the State Board of
Education for restraining disabled students or putting them in "seclusion"
rooms in public schools:

_ Each disabled child has the right to be free of "unreasonable, unsafe or
unwarranted use" of seclusion rooms. The definition of a disabled child
includes those who are autistic or emotionally disturbed.

_ Children can be placed in seclusion rooms only if their individual
education plan specifies it or if their behavior represents "an imminent
risk of harm to self or others."

_ Unless a child's behavior risks harming himself or others, that child
shall not be put in a seclusion room unless other, less-restrictive options
have been tried.

_ A disabled child shall not be placed in a seclusion room if a doctor has
advised in writing against it because of a medical problem.

_ Only employees trained to place children in seclusion rooms can do so.

_ A school employee who supervises a child in a seclusion room must be able
to see and hear the student at all times.

_ Only one disabled child can be placed in a seclusion room at a time.

_ After July 1, 2008, all seclusion rooms must be at least 36 square feet.

_ Seclusion rooms must be equipped with heating, cooling, ventilation and
lighting systems comparable to those in the rest of the school, and they
must be free of items that pose a danger to the child.

_ Each disabled child has the right to be free of "unreasonable, unsafe or
unwarranted" restraint.

_ Restraint shall not be used for discipline, punishment or "staff
convenience."

_ A school employee can use physical restraint only when a child's behavior
represents an imminent risk to self or others, and then only appropriate for
the child's size, age and behavior.

_ Employees who are permitted to use physical restraint must receive proper
training.

_ A school employee who uses physical restraint or puts a child in a
seclusion room, or an employee who witnesses it, must complete a report by
the following school day, so that it can be provided to the child's parent."


9. "UofL Neuroscientist So Close To Autism Breakthrough He's Helping Fund
Research" dated 14 July 2006 from WAVE3 News at
<http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5146301&nav=menu31_3>
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5146301&nav=menu31_3.

"New findings could mean an incredible treatment for people with autism --
so incredible that a researcher at the University of Louisville is digging
into his own pockets to make it happen as quickly as possible. WAVE 3
Medical Reporter <mailto:llyle@...> Lori Lyle has more in this
exclusive report. Dr. Manuel Casanova, a neuroscientist at the University
of Louisville, is passionate about his research. His most recent published
study finds drastic differences in the brains of autistic individuals. And
now, with this knowledge, he's eager to move to the next step: treatment.
The breakthrough discovery is the result of a 3-year study involving top
scientists around the world. Dr. Casanova's team at the University of
Louisville was responsible for conducting the study that analyzed tissue
from 12 brains -- six of them taken from people with autism. He says the
results are unquestionable, and explain symptoms exhibited from autistic
patients, such as trouble speaking. "It means that we have uncovered
something very important, because it has explanatory powers," Casanova says.
The brain strands or minicolumns of autism patients have more cells, but
they are narrower and more densely packed -- which can limit the brain's
ability to send messages. Dr. Casanova says that's because "there's not
enough juice to actually power very long connections in the brain."
Examining tissues from a normal brain and the brain of an autistic person,
Dr. Casanova explains the differences. "The more bluish staining actually
means more cells present," he says. More cells and smaller cells, making up
tiny brain strands, or minicolumns. These minicolums take in information,
process it and respond to it. But the increased amount of cells works to
increase other abilities -- like mathematics. Armed with this knowledge,
Dr. Casanova is ready to begin working on wiping out autism entirely.
"Knowing the pathology, what is wrong with the brains of autistic
individuals, opens the door to potential strategies that may actually even
lead to a cure." Dr. Casanova's first step: developing a brain stimulator
to bulk-up the brain strands. And he feels so strongly about the potential
that he's ready to pay for it with his own money. "I approached the
university, told them I needed equipment for preliminary studies and I would
match the money with my own money." The cost for the equipment that could
forever change the diagnosis of autism: $40,000. Dr. Casanova is confident
he's on the verge of a major breakthrough. "Something good is about to
happen," he said. Prevention is of course the main goal for a cure, and Dr.
Casanova is working on that, too. He says research findings so far point to
both genetics and the environment."

10. "The Age of Autism: Anna's last days -- 2" dated 14 July 2006 by Dan
Olmsted from United Press International at
<http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060712-054457-812
7r>
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060712-054457-8127
r.

"The death of a 17-month-old Scottish girl named Anna Duncan has come at an
inopportune moment for Britain's health authorities. Late last month 30 top
scientists warned in an open letter: "The time has come to draw a line under
the question of any association between the MMR vaccine and autism. The UK's
children are in danger of serious illness or death if they are left
unimmunised." But Anna's death raises another question: whether these same
health authorities are digging deeply enough into reports of serious
illness, death -- and yes, autism -- following MMR vaccination. The facts
are still being determined in Anna's case, but John Duncan said his daughter
had been exposed to chickenpox at a party just before she got the combined
measles-mumps-rubella shot. She broke out with classic chickenpox just days
after the shot and died a week later -- on Sunday, May 14 -- from an
apparent seizure. Duncan said that Anna had a runny nose when she got the
MMR shot on April 26 and that his wife, Veronica, told the healthcare worker
that Anna had been exposed to chickenpox. The response: No problem. John
Duncan couldn't disagree more, and neither could we. Our reporting suggests
too many viruses -- from simultaneous live-virus vaccines, viral infections
or some combination thereof -- may be a very big problem in very young
children. The Age of Autism series Pox, which by happenstance ran at the
same time as Anna's chickenpox exposure and illness, identified a cluster of
autism cases in Olympia, Wash. The common thread: The children came from
families with problematic chickenpox histories and got closely timed MMR and
chickenpox vaccines at a young age, in most cases their 12-month checkups.
(Chickenpox vaccine is recommended in the United States starting at 12
months; it is not administered in Britain.) If the observation were borne
out in broader studies, it could mean combined live viruses in vaccines
interact in a way that triggers autism in susceptible children. That's not
happening, according to public health authorities; they say a link between
vaccines and autism has been ruled out. Yet as far as we can tell, there's
no research -- zilch, nada -- on whether inherited susceptibility to certain
viruses could affect a child's capacity to handle the weakened, or
attenuated, versions of those viruses in vaccines. ..."

11. "Group urges closure of center after girl's death- Advocates cite
'pervasive failure' at treatment facility; multiple inquiries under way"
dated 15 July 2006 by KEVIN HARTER from the Twin Cities Pioneer Press at
<http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/15043652.htm>
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/15043652.htm.

"A Wisconsin advocacy group has called for the closure of a Rice Lake
treatment center where a 7-year-old girl was fatally injured after being
restrained in May. Disability Rights Wisconsin, citing information from
their investigators and an initial report by the state Health and Family
Services Department, called for the center to be shut down to ensure the
safety of other children being treated there. The department said it is
considering several options, including revoking the center's certification.
But state officials are waiting for Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic
to submit a plan on how it would correct deficiencies identified in the
department's initial report. A third investigation by Rice Lake police and
the Polk County attorney - with assistance from the state Justice Department
- also is under way. Angellika Arndt, who had attended the clinic's day
treatment center five days a week for a month for behavioral problems, had
been restrained on nine separate occasions, according to the state report
released June 22. She died May 26, the day after she was injured while
being restrained at the center. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled
her death a homicide caused by "complications of chest compression
asphyxiation" leading to "cardiopulmonary arrest while restrained by another
person." "Although our investigation is still ongoing, we felt that we
could not wait until its conclusion to express our deep concern at the
department's decision to allow this facility to remain open in the light of
its findings of such numerous and significant violations," said Disability
Rights Wisconsin attorney Kristin M. Kerschensteiner in a letter this week
to the Health and Family Services Department. The letter also expressed
concerns about competency of the center's staff and procedures at Rice Lake
and other treatment centers, including Eau Claire. "... Unfortunately, it
took a young girl's death to bring to light the pervasive failure of
Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic to properly train or supervise
their treatment staff in their Rice Lake facility," Kerschensteiner wrote.
Disability Rights Wisconsin is a nonprofit watchdog group that receives
government funding. It has the authority to conduct its own investigations
and take legal action, including, on occasion, suing the state. The Health
and Family Services Department report cited multiple violations of state law
at Northwest Counseling, including the law governing physical restraint of
clients. State officials said the treatment center has until today to
submit a plan in response to the shortcomings outlined in the earlier
investigation. "If the facility fails to demonstrate what actions it will
take to protect children, we have the option to reject the plan, suspend
their certification or revoke their certification," said Stephanie Marquis,
Health and Family Services Department communications director. Norwest
Counseling President Denison Tucker has denied any wrongdoing by his staff
in Angellika's death. Citing a request from state officials, he declined to
comment Friday on Disability Rights Wisconsin's letter. "We are fully
cooperating, and we will be submitting a comprehensive response next week,"
Tucker said."

12. "MMR row doctor who defied Government 'in the clear'" dated 15 July
2006 by SUE CORRIGAN and SALLY BECK from The Daily Mail (UK) at
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id
=395903&in_page_id=1770>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=
395903&in_page_id=1770 and <http://tinyurl.com/d3lkb>
http://tinyurl.com/d3lkb.

"The doctor at the heart of the MMR vaccine controversy may not face charges
of misconduct despite a 20-month investigation which has devastated his
professional reputation. The General Medical Council has indicated that it
will not proceed with charges against Dr Andrew Wakefield, who first
suggested a link between the triple jab and autism. Dr Wakefield has been
strongly backed by the parents of autistic children allegedly damaged by the
vaccine, who refused to condemn his actions when interviewed as part of the
inquiry. Last night the families claimed the investigation had been used to
discredit his work and prevent further study into the risks of the vaccine.
Dr Wakefield first suggested a link between the triple vaccine for measles,
mumps and rubella and autism and bowel disease in 1998, after carrying out
tests on 12 children admitted to the Royal Free Hospital in London with
serious bowel disorders. He proposed that parents be offered three single
injections. The Government denied there was a problem with the vaccine and
it became a politically sensitive issue after senior Labour figures,
including Tony Blair, refused to disclose if their children had received the
jab. Dr Wakefield was ostracised by the medical establishment and has since
moved to America. In late 2004 the GMC announced it was launching an
inquiry into allegations of serious professional misconduct against Dr
Wakefield and two former colleagues. It centred on claims that autistic
children admitted to the hospital with serious bowel problems were subjected
to "unnecessary and invasive", tests. ..."

13. "Checklist for Camp: Bug Spray. Sunscreen. Pills" dated 15 July 2006 by
Jane Gross from The New York Times at
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/us/16camps.html?_r=2&ei=5094&en=1c75eee2d
20bc034&hp=&ex=1153022400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=s
login>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/us/16camps.html?_r=2&ei=5094&en=1c75eee2d2
0bc034&hp=&ex=1153022400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=sl
ogin.

"The breakfast buffet at Camp Echo starts at a picnic table covered in
gingham-patterned oil cloth. Here, children jostle for their morning
medications: Zoloft for
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics
/depression/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> depression, Abilify for
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics
/bipolardisorder/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> bipolar disorder,
Guanfacine for twitchy eyes and a host of medications for attention deficit
disorder. A quick gulp of water, a greeting from the nurse, and the
youngsters move on to the next table for orange juice, Special K and
chocolate chip pancakes. The dispensing of pills and pancakes is over in
minutes, all part of a typical day at a typical sleep-away camp in the
Catskills. The medication lines like the one at Camp Echo were unheard of a
generation ago but have become fixtures at residential camps across the
country. Between a quarter and half of the youngsters at any given summer
camp take daily prescription medications, experts say. Allergy and
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics
/asthma/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> asthma drugs top the list, but
behavior management and psychiatric medications are now so common that
nurses who dispense them no longer try to avoid stigma by pretending they
are
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics
/vitamins/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> vitamins. "All my best friends
take something," said David Ehrenreich, 12, who has Tourette's syndrome yet
feels at home here because boys with hyperactivity, mood disorders and
facial tics line up just as he does for their daily "meds." With campers
far from home, family and pediatricians, the job of safely and efficiently
dispensing medications falls to infirmaries and nurses whose stock in trade
used to be calamine lotion and cough syrup. Three times a day, at mealtimes,
is the norm, with some campers also requiring a sleep aid at bedtime to
counteract the effect of their daytime medications. "This is the American
standard now," said Rodger Popkin, an owner of Blue Stars Camps in
Hendersonville, N.C. "It's not limited by education level, race,
socioeconomics, geography, gender or any of those filters." Peg L. Smith,
the chief executive officer of the American Camp Association, a trade group
with 2,600 member camps and three million campers, says about a quarter of
the children at its camps are medicated for attention deficit disorder,
psychiatric problems or mood disorders. Many parents welcome the anonymity
that comes when a lot of children take this, that or the other drug, so none
stand out from the crowd. It's nobody's business who's taking what," said
one parent of an Echo camper whose child is medicated for A.D.D. and who
asked not to be named for privacy reasons. "It could be an allergy pill. The
way they do it now, he feels comfortable. He just goes up with everybody
else, gets it and then carries on with his day." Increasingly popular is a
service offered by a private company called CampMeds, which provides a
summer's worth of prepackaged pills to 6,000 children at 100 camps. Its
founder, Dana Godel, said 40 percent of the children regularly took one or
more prescription medications, compared with 30 percent four years ago.
Eight percent used attention deficit medications last year; 5 percent took
psychiatric drugs. Borrowing technology developed for nursing homes,
CampMeds distributes pills in shrink-wrapped packets marked with a name,
date and time. Camp nurses simply tear each packet along the dotted line,
sparing them the labor-intensive task of counting pills and reducing the
risk of error and thus liability. ..."

14. "More parents resisting vaccines for kids" dated 16 July 2006 by Carol
Ostrom from the Seattle Times at
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2003130272_resisters16m.html>
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2003130272_resisters16m.html.

"They're the "conscientious objectors" of the public-health world: parents
who resist giving their children vaccines. Their numbers are increasing,
public-health officials say, although nobody knows exactly how many there
are. Some are parents like Pam Beck, a Vashon Island mom who says she once
trusted doctors and public-health officials to know best. But years ago,
when two of her children had what she calls extreme reactions to pertussis
vaccine, that all changed. "There's a lot of people here who don't
vaccinate," Beck notes. "My daughter-in-law decided not to do it, just to be
safe," she said, speaking of her 2 ½-year-old grandchild. Saturday,
pediatricians, public-health officials and researchers wrestled with how to
best reach parents like Beck, how to counter irrational fears, whether
doctors should "fire" vaccine-resister parents, and whether mandatory
vaccination for school attendance should be scrapped. The conference,
"Ethical Issues Related to Vaccination of Children," began Friday and was
sponsored by the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Children's
Hospital & Regional Medical Center. Now, such resister parents -
statistically better educated and better off financially than average -
"coast" on the immunity of others, health officials said. Because most
children are vaccinated, "herd immunity" mutes or prevents outbreaks of
contagious childhood diseases, for the most part. But, dangerously, an
increasing number of families at the other end of the socio-economic
spectrum aren't able to vaccinate their children because of cost, being
unable to take time away from work, or other barriers, said Dr. Maxine
Hayes, state health officer. "We have a direction where we could lose the
herd immunity," she warned. Many speakers blamed themselves - public health
in general or doctors in particular - for not working harder to understand
just why these parents are fearful of vaccines and to work with them. And,
they said, it's harder to balance parents' fears of the vaccine with fears
of the disease, because many have never seen a child with polio or tetanus,
for example, and underestimate their effects. ..."

15. "Hope for MMR doctor- Autism whistleblower might avoid all charges
despite 20-month 'witch-hunt'' dated 16 July 2006 by FIONA MACRAE from The
Daily Mail (UK) at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=
395998
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id
=395998&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5>
&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=&ct=5.

"The doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccine controversy might not face
misconduct charges after all, despite a long-running investigation by the
medical watchdog. Dr Andrew Wakefield, the first doctor to suggest a link
between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella jab, has been the subject
of a 20-month inquiry into alleged serious professional misconduct. But the
General Medical Council admitted last night that it might not proceed with
the charges - and there is 'no guarantee' there will ever be a hearing. The
admission was welcomed by Dr Wakefield's supporters. Jackie Fletcher, of the
pressure group Jabs, said: "It is appalling that they can have the power to
hold this over someone's head for close on two years. It has been an
absolute witch-hunt. "All he was guilty of was listening to what parents
said, clinically investigating the children and then reporting his findings.
All he did was hold up a red flag and say, 'There's something going on that
needs to be investigated further'." Research at the Royal Free Hospital in
North London by Dr Wakefield and 12 other doctors, published in the Lancet
in 1998, caused an international scare over the safety of the triple jab.
Thousands of parents boycotted the vaccine, and with immunisation rates
slumping, cases soared of measles, mumps and rubella - or German measles.
Tony Blair was accused of adding to the confusion by refusing to say whether
his son Leo had received the jab. Dr Wakefield's small-scale study was
called into question when various larger surveys failed to find any evidence
of a link between autism and the vaccine. Last year, an analysis of 31 MMR
studies by the respected Cochrane Library found no association between the
jab and the condition, and the Government has repeatedly assured parents
that it is safe to vaccinate their children. However, the idea has refused
to go away. Last month a study by doctors in North Carolina reported finding
measles in the intestines of children with a form of autism. And last week,
it was revealed that autism is at a record high with more than one in 100
children affected. ..."

16. "Growing number of children diagnosed with autism disorders" dated 16
July 2006 from the Associated Press at
<http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/07/16/growing_numbe
r_of_children_diagnosed_with_autism_disorders/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News>
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/07/16/growing_number
_of_children_diagnosed_with_autism_disorders/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News.

"A growing number of children in New Hampshire and nation-wide are being
diagnosed with autism and related disorders. The New Hampshire Department
of Education reports that nearly two-thousand children with autism or a
related disorder got special education services in 2004. Children with
autism, Asperger's syndrome and other autism-related disorders usually are
unable to make eye contact, have poor social skills and may have trouble
talking or communicating. Brian Balke, director of special services in the
Londonderry schools, says schools are seeing rapid growth in the number of
children needing special help with language and other skills. School
districts are responsible for providing special education services from the
time children are three years old until they earn their high school diploma
or turn 21. Some school districts keep autistic children in classes with
other pupils, while giving them the extra help they need. Other districts
send them to private schools."

17. "A journey begins with a job- A worker with autism leaves a sheltered
shop for the regular work force" dated 17 July 2006 by Bryan Denson from The
Oregonian at
<http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1152924920209300.xml?
oregonian?lcwpdis&coll=7>
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1152924920209300.xml?o
regonian?lcwpdis&coll=7.

"On a warm, dry Wednesday night two months before his 21st birthday, Donald
Lee Stevens crossed an auditorium stage to collect his high school diploma
and graduated to the world of commerce. But like hundreds of thousands of
Americans with severe disabilities before and since, this 1983 graduate of
Camas High School discovered that businesses threw open few doors to workers
like him. Long before doctors diagnosed him with autism, before a single
classmate called him "retard," before his obsession for order compelled him
to collect hundreds of phone books, he wore the label they always stuck on
citizens like him. They called him special, a euphemism for a litany of
serious disabilities. Donald could not deny his special status. He had gone
all the way through special education, won a slew of medals at the Special
Olympics. Yet Donald's hopes were ordinary. He wanted a job and the freedom
of living alone. He wanted to fit in. The odds were terrible. Across the
nation, most adults with serious disabilities were unemployed. Legions were
institutionalized. Those with jobs typically worked in special workshops out
of the public's sight. By chance, Donald lived in Clark County, Wash.,
where a cadre of social reformers -- scholars, disability advocates and
public officials -- were planning ways to move people like him out of the
workshops into regular jobs in the community. But Donald's passage would
prove slow and painful, an object lesson in how theory and reality often
collide. Finding jobs was hard, holding them even harder. Three months
after graduation, he went to work in one of the very workshops that
reformers hoped to close. He earned less than $1 an hour. Federal law
permitted the charity to pay Donald and co-workers with disabilities a
fraction of the minimum wage because they were less productive. And the
government had a polite name for the low pay: special minimum wage. ..."

18. "Reasons for sharp increase in autism" dated 17 July 2006 by Bill
Welsh, Chairman, Autism Treatment Trust in an oped article in The Herald
(UK) at <http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/66037-print.shtml>
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/66037-print.shtml.

"It will come as no surprise to parents throughout Scotland that there has
been a "sharp increase in autism" (July 14). The diagnosis of this
devastating childhood developmental condition has increased to such an
extent since 1990 that many, many families are now affected. It is very
worrying that it has taken well over 10 years for the authorities at last to
recognise that an autism epidemic has been sweeping the UK. Psychiatrists
and psychologists and those within the traditional autism support and
services organisations must bear some responsibility for this sad state of
affairs, as it is they who have continually denied that what we have been
witnessing with our own eyes was actually happening. An estimated 12-fold
increase in autism was apparently a mirage! By sustaining this irrational
stance these interest groups have hampered clinical examination, and likely
condemned seriously ill children to years of unnecessary pain and distress.
The psychobabble "experts" must now be informed that we have not been
experiencing the world's first genetic epidemic! Importantly, there is much
to learn from this latest Lancet paper. What it tells us is that (1) autism
is not solely genetic in origin, (2) environmental factors play a far
greater role than was previously understood, and as a result, (3) autism may
be a treatable condition for some. Supported by parents, Autism Treatment
Trust opened an autism consultation and treatment centre in Edinburgh in
April this year and to date we have comprehensively tested more than 60
autistic children. It is early days, but the results so far are very
revealing. For example, heavy-metal toxicity is a common feature, with
significantly high levels of lead, aluminium, tin and antimony present in
autistic kids, in comparison to typical children. Inflammation, particularly
of the bowel, is often identified. Immune dysfunction is a recurring theme.
If these problems were addressed how would it affect the child's autistic
behaviours? Watch this space! If the medical establishment continues to
abandon these children, without addressing their underlying problems, this
will rightly be interpreted, by every decent person with an ounce of
compassion, as scandalous."

18. "Officials examine special ed methods" dated 17 July 2006 by Ashley
McKnight-Taylor from the Suffolk News-Herald at
http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles/2006/07/17/news/news4.txt
<http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles/2006/07/17/news/news4.txt> .

"Officials from the Virginia Department of Education are working on new
methods for determining racial ratios in special education. Based on
information from the 2004-05 school year, VDOE found nearly 100 of the
state's 132 school districts have disproportionately higher numbers than
expected of minorities in individual special education categories, and
Suffolk was one of them. But VDOE officials have realized the current
methods of assessment might not be the most accurate. Currently, VDOE
determines racial disproportionality for each district every year by
comparing:

-the percentage of black students in the special education population
compared to those in the general student population.
-the percentage of black students in the disability categories of mental
retardation, speech/language impairments, emotional disturbance, other
health impairments, specific learning disabilities, and autism with the
percentage of those in the general population.
-the percentage of time black students spend in special education in each of
the above categories compared to their white counterparts.

The revised methodology, which officials hope to have finalized to analyze
the 2005-06 school year data, could look at the same school district special
education populations as mentioned above, but instead compare them with the
statewide population, said Vivian Stith-Williams, a parent specialist for
VDOE who focuses on disproportionality. Stith-Williams said they still are
working to find the best methods of assessment, ones that are statistically
valid and credible n not that the current method isn't, but ideally there
should be more than one way to analyze the information. "It's a work in
progress." She currently is doing preliminary runs with the data to see
which methods work best, she said. "We just want to make sure we're very
clear on the method" so that the data are compiled and presented in a way
that makes sense and is usable to school districts, Stith-Williams added.
Paul Raskopf, director of financial and data services for the VDOE's Office
of Special Education and Student Services, said there is no
federally-recognized methodology for disproportionality guidelines. ..."

19. "The Legal Defense of Adults and Adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome"
by Sharon Patrick of the Wisconsin Public Defender's Madison Appellate
Office from the Winter/Spring 2006 edition of The Wisconsin Defender at
<http://www.sarnet.org/lib/ASdefense.pdf>
http://www.sarnet.org/lib/ASdefense.pdf.

"Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a neurologically based disorder classified in
the DSM as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder.1 Individuals with AS are
characterized by their obsessive routines and preoccupation with a
particular subject, sometimes to the point of being pedantic. They usually
are extremely literal in interpreting language and may express their
thoughts quite openly, without regard to social customs. Frequently they are
unable to accurately interpret and respond to social cues such as body
language or facial expressions.2 Diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome. Experts
disagree whether Asperger's Syndrome is a higher functioning form of autism
or is completely distinguishable from autism. This controversy may cause
experts to disagree on diagnosing an individual. An expert who believes AS
is a higher functioning form of autism may be reluctant to diagnose an
individual as having AS if the individual does not have the usual
characteristics of autism, even if they meet the Asperger's criteria in the
DSM.3 An advantage of classifying AS within the autism spectrum is to access
funding for treatment and research which is more readily available for
autism disorders. Autism and Asperger's are closely related but, unlike
autism, AS is not characterized by cognitive or language delays, although
people with AS often have difficulty using appropriate language in a social
context.4 Like autistic individuals, people with AS have significant and
sustained social and behavior impairments and frequently need financial and
emotional support to reach their potential."

20. "INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEBATES VACCINATION HESITANCY AND PARENTAL
REFUSAL- Experts in the Field Discuss the Successes and Challenges of
Childhood Vaccinations
" dated 16 July 2006 in a press release from th eTreuman Katz Center for
Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital at
<http://www.itnews.it/risorse/EuroNews,Zj0xNDA4NTMz>
http://www.itnews.it/risorse/EuroNews,Zj0xNDA4NTMz.

"The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's
Hospital, the nation's first center dedicated solely to the study of
research and health care for children, concluded its second annual
conference on Saturday, July 15, 2006 in Seattle. Highlights: -- Stephen L.
Cochi, MD, MPH, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control,
discussed the opportunities and challenges facing childhood vaccinations.
Vaccines are one of the most important tools we have to protect the health
of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, our children, said Cochi. In 1985
the number of vaccines in the routine childhood immunization schedule was 7;
in 2006 that number reached 16. Vaccines are protecting more children
against more diseases than ever before in history, said Cochi. In spite of
the success, physicians face several substantial challenges in providing
vaccinations, including maintaining a steady supply of vaccines and
addressing unfounded fears about vaccine safety. If we hope to prevent
disease and reduce morbidity from vaccine preventable diseases, we must
achieve and maintain public confidence in vaccines, said Cochi. In order to
maintain vaccine supplies, stockpiles of vaccines need to be expanded,
support for regulatory agencies must be increased and streamlined, and
national campaigns should be implemented to emphasize the value of vaccines.
-- Edgar K. Marcuse, MD, MPH, associate medical director at Children's
Hospital and Regional Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at the
University of Washington, spoke to the conference attendees about the
origins of immunization hesitancy. "The majority of parents understand the
benefits of immunizations and support existing policies, but many parents
have important misconceptions that could erode their confidence in
immunizations." Concern for safety is, by far, the most significant reason
parents give for refusing vaccines for their children. Compared to parents
who vaccinate their children, those who refuse tend to be older, better
educated and of similar income and race. Dr. Marcuse pointed to the dilemma
pediatricians face from parents concerned about an association between
thimerosal and autism. While the evidence has overwhelmingly concluded that
there is no association between thimerosal and autism, "most parents have no
clear idea how to evaluate the credibility of the source of immunization
information.The media value news over scientific 'truth,' controversy over
education, regard balance as evidence of journalistic integrity, and equate
one expert with another." ..."


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