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. Some articles from New Horizons that are relevant for adults with ASD at
<http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/autism/front_autism.htm>
http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/autism/front_autism.htm. There are some
very, very good articles on this web site.

5. The Department of Education announced the final Part B regulations to
implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
2004 (IDEA). An official copy of the final Part B regulations of the IDEA
will be published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006. So that
members of the public will have the opportunity to immediately review the
new Part B regulations of IDEA, the Department has temporarily posted an
UNOFFICIAL copy at
<http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html>
www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html. It is also available from
Wrightslaw at http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/06/al.0803.idea.regs.htm
<http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/06/al.0803.idea.regs.htm> .

6. " <http://www.carbonbased.com/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=9>
Clinical Disorders : LEAP - MRT(r) as a tool in the treatment of a child
with epilepsy" dated 13 September 2005 in a press release from Carbon Based
Corporation at
http://www.carbonbased.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=90
<http://www.carbonbased.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=90> .

"Children with epilepsy, especially those with difficult to control cases
like MAE (myoclonic astatic epilepsy) also known as Doose Syndrome, need to
reduce proinflammatory stressors as much as possible. The LEAP(r) Test
(Lifestyle Eating And Performance) from Signet Diagnostics, available
through Carbon Based Corporation can be an important tool to help reduce the
effects of foods and food additives on many health issues and in particular
seizure disorders. The LEAP(r) report which is referenced in this article
can be downloaded here:
<http://www.carbonbased.com/downloads/pdf/SampleReports/AnastasyaSchaussLEAP
resultsFull.pdf> Anastasia Schauss LEAP(r) Report. The
<http://www.carbonbased.com/downloads/pdf/SampleReports/AnastasyaSchaussLEAP
resultsFull.pdf> sample LEAP(r) report included with this article is that
that of my daughter Anastasya Schauss who suffers from an idiopathic form of
epilepsy, with no definitive diagnosis but exhibiting all the features of
MAE. These symptoms include absence, atonic and myoclonic seizures. Other
behavioral problems including temper tantrums, attention deficit, and
learning delays are also seen with many epileptic children as well. With
Tasya, as we like to call her, she goes through periods of remission, with
little or no seizure or behavioral problems then suddenly she begins having
temper tantrums as well as atonic and absence seizures for no apparent
reason. For years we suspected foods and used an elimination diet with no
success. An IgG/IgE test revealed only a minor allergy to egg, a food Tasya
has refused to eat for years. When I found out about the LEAP(r) Test I was
impressed by the breadth of research done on the efficacy of the test with
both Migraine and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Immediately I began to look into
the value for epilepsy. The results of the test were both surprising and
illuminating. They explained a lot about the triggers that preceded her
increased seizure activity and may help to explain some of her behavioral
problems. As you can see on the report, the foods are ranked for their test
reaction levels with green being non-reactive, yellow being moderately
reactive and red being reactive. The list of foods being tested includes 127
foods and 24 food additives (chemicals). Some of the reactive foods were
expected, some not. Many of the foods that showed high reactivity matched
with Tasya's cravings, a classic sign of food sensitivity and allergy. ..."

7. "Autism is a Whole Body Condition- Leading Pediatric Neurologist Martha
Herbert, M.D., Ph.D., Argues for Paradigm Shift in Autism Research at ASA's
37th Annual Conference" dated 14 July 2006 in a press release from the
Autism Society of America at
http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle
<http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8775&news_iv_c
trl=-1> &id=8775&news_iv_ctrl=-1.

"Addressing hundreds of parents, individuals and professionals in the autism
community at the ASA National Conference today, ASA's keynote speaker Martha
Herbert, M.D., Ph.D., discussed the new paradigm in autism research that
could ultimately open up options for treatment and improve the quality of
life for individuals with autism. This new paradigm recommends that
researchers shift from the current thinking of autism research as a
genetically determined brain disorder to a genetically influenced,
environmentally triggered disorder that affects the brain. The question to
consider, remarked Herbert, is whether autism is dictated by genes or tipped
off by the environment into a genetic systems change in an individual. The
increased incidence of chemicals in newborn cord blood, the evidence of
postnatal regression in children with autism, along with groundbreaking
studies into the development of the brains of individuals with autism
indicate more research should look into the affects of environmental factors
on autism. Herbert recommended that researchers look in detail at the
mechanisms that occur from the gene to the brain to come up with treatment
targets. "We are not 100 percent sure of any of this, but enough arrows are
pointing in the same direction that we should consider a role for
environmental factors," said Herbert. "We should thus research not just on
cause, but also the effects of autism on the body and resulting treatment."
"Dr. Herbert presents revolutionary ideas that could advance both the
understanding of, and treatment for, individuals on the spectrum," commented
Cathy Pratt, Ph.D., chair of the ASA Board of Directors. "ASA is excited to
be working with Dr. Herbert to further develop our understanding of the new
medical paradigm of autism research and to derive more effective treatments
and services to improve the lives of all those working with autism," said
ASA President and CEO Lee Grossman. Herbert is an assistant professor of
neurology at Harvard Medical School, a pediatric neurologist at the
Massachusetts General Hospital and at Cambridge Hospital and a member of the
Harvard-MIT-MGH Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging."

8. "CVS/Pharmacy Charitable Trust Lends Support to Students with Autism-
Trust Announces Five-Year CVS All Kids Can Scholars Program at Autism
Society of America's National Conference" dated 20 July 2006 in a press
release from the Autism Society of America at
http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle
<http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8785&news_iv_c
trl=-1> &id=8785&news_iv_ctrl=-1.

"CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust and CVS/pharmacy today announced their
five-year sponsorship of the CVS All Kids Can Scholars Program. Announced
today at the opening session of the Autism Society of America National
Conference, the Program will award $1000 scholarships to five students with
autism each year to enable them to attend the college or trade school of
their choosing. The Program will be part of CVS' signature program, CVS All
Kids Can(tm), a five-year $25 million commitment by the CVS/pharmacy
Charitable Trust and CVS/pharmacy to support children with disabilities.
Beginning in 2007, the CVS All Kids Can Scholars Program will be open to any
student with autism who has been accepted into an accredited, post-secondary
educational or vocational program of study. The Program will be administered
by the Autism Society of America (ASA) and judged based on the student's
transcript, letters of recommendation and personal statement outlining the
student's qualifications and proposed plan of study. The first scholarships
will be awarded in Spring 2007. In creating the CVS All Kids Can Scholars
Program, CVS looks to support the mission of the CVS All Kids Can program:
to help children with disabilities learn, play and succeed in life. By
encouraging students with autism to attain a post-secondary education, CVS
hopes to increase their opportunities for success and allow them to achieve
their greatest potential. "CVS/pharmacy has a long history of giving back to
the communities in which we serve by supporting people of all abilities,"
said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President of Corporate Communications and
Community Relations at CVS/pharmacy. "With CVS All Kids Can, we will help
children with disabilities to reach their greatest potential because we
believe that all kids can." ..."

9. "Rearing autistic kids a test for the whole community" dated 30 July
2006 by Kirsten Stewart from The Salt Lake Tribune at
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4113696?source=rss
<http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4113696?source=rss> .

"Mary Paulsen says her "heart breaks" for the autistic Nephi teen maligned
this month by a neighbor's sign that read: "Caution, Retard's in Area." She
identifies with the boy's mother, who does her best to monitor his every
move and manage his behavior. She also empathizes with the next-door sign
makers, who say the boy enters their home, eats their food and once threw
rocks at their daughter. "I know their story. It's my story," said Paulsen,
whose son Philip, now 42, was tagged the neighborhood terror growing up in
the Canyon Rim area. "I remember one of our dear neighbors telling us they
were going to sign a petition to have us moved out. It's easy to be angry.
But you have to step back and understand these people are afraid."
Paulsen's sentiment may seem uncharacteristically understanding. But it's
shared by a number of parents of children with developmental disabilities.
It's also the general consensus of a coalition of advocates for the disabled
and civil rights leaders planning an intervention in Nephi. Before taking
any action, staff from the Utah Developmental Disabilities Council,
Disability Law Center (DLC), ARC of Utah and Human Rights Education Center
of Utah will first seek input from Nephi's political, educational and church
leaders. ..."

10. "School vaccine season grows more complex" dated 31 July 2006 from CNN
News at <http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/07/31/school.vaccinations.ap/>
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/07/31/school.vaccinations.ap/.

"The growing list of childhood vaccinations reads like an alphabet soup:
Hib, HepA, HepB, IPV, PCV, MCV4, DTaP, Tdap, varicella and influenza.
Parents dragging their kids to the doctor's office for those required school
shots can expect to hear about more vaccines and, if they're uninsured, new
expenses. Twenty years ago, it cost $75 to $100 to immunize a child with
the four available vaccines. Today, 12 are generally recommended for kids
and adolescents, at a private-sector cost of about $1,250. And the
government is expected to recommend a 13th vaccine for girls -- a shot that
protects against cervical cancer. It costs about $360 for the three-dose
series, potentially raising the per-child vaccination bill to more than
$1,600. "The good news is we can now prevent so many diseases. The bad news
is it's gotten more complicated," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads
immunization programs for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. For some, it's more than complicated; the intricacies of
vaccination guidelines are simply unknown. "I'm not sure. I was just told I
need a shot," said Holland White, a 16-year-old from Stone Mountain,
Georgia, who this month went to his doctor for a meningitis shot -- a new
vaccine federal officials began recommending last year. Although
vaccinations are routinely covered by health insurance, some worry that
government funding for shots for the poor and uninsured will not keep up
with demand. Another challenge: Outbreaks of mumps, whooping cough and
other vaccine-preventable infections have shown that sometimes immunized
people can still catch the disease. So more booster shots are needed. Of
the nearly 4,900 people who caught the mumps in a Midwestern outbreak this
year, hundreds had received both recommended doses of mumps vaccine, CDC
officials said. Doctors have been giving childhood pertussis -- or whooping
cough -- vaccinations for decades. So some were surprised by reports of
vaccinated children coming down with the illness in middle school and high
school. "We've learned the whooping cough vaccine we thought was going to
last forever wears off by the time they reach adolescence," said Dr. Carol
Baker, a Houston, Texas-based pediatrician who serves on the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that helps set national
vaccination guidelines. ..."

11. "Parents, Mind Your Own Business" dated 1 August 2006 by Bernard
Gassaway from Education News.org at
<http://www.educationnews.org/Commentaries/Parents_Mind_Your_Own_Business.ht
m>
http://www.educationnews.org/Commentaries/Parents_Mind_Your_Own_Business.htm
.

"School business is for educators, not parents. Parents need to focus more
on raising their children than getting too involved in what goes on in
schools." As harsh as this may sound, this is an expressed sentiment among
many educators across this country in both public and private school
systems. I have heard this from colleagues, and I have experienced it as a
parent. Disconnected, Disrespect and Dismissed. Parents, in overwhelming
numbers, you have expressed feeling disconnected, disrespected and dismissed
by New York City Department of Education (DOE) officials. This happens for
numerous reasons. DOE officials rely on your lack of unity. Time and time
again they see how easy it is to manipulate you. They spread rumors to
weaken any bonds that may exist among you. They infiltrate your
organizations. They make under the table deals with individuals and
community-based organizations to influence your decisions and actions. Since
they do not respect you, they will use anyone, even your children, to get
their way --- A way that is often not in the best interest of your children.
DOE officials rely on your lack of stamina. They are practically immune to
the occasional protests held at City Hall or DOE headquarters. Once the
protest is over, they expect you to disperse and go away. An effective
protest should last as long as necessary to achieve its goal. If officials
are not inconvenienced in any measurable way, they do not care if you
protest. DOE officials rely on your blind faith. You turn your child over
to them for approximately two hundred days a year, six hours a day. Yet, you
spend less than two hours in the school all year. You believe in their
evaluation of your child, in most cases without question. You know very
little about the counselors, teachers and administrators, who are
responsible for your child's physical and mental well-being. DOE officials
rely on your fear. You fear their dominance and deprecation. You fear their
retribution and retaliation. You fear their arrogance and authority. They
serve as judge, jury and executioner. You and your child are at their mercy.
DOE officials rely on your lack of options. They readily dismiss you because
you have limited options. Private school is not an option for many. They
realize the majority of families whose children attend public school fall
below the poverty line and can barely afford to pay for living expenses, let
alone pay for an education. ..."

12. "Secretary Spellings Announces New Special Education Regulations- New
regulations will help children with disabilities receive the services they
need" dated 3 August 2006 in a press release from the US Department of
Education at http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/08/08032006b.html
<http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/08/08032006b.html> .

"U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the new
regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The final regulations further the president's goal that no child-including
each and every one of America's many students with disabilities-is left
behind. By aligning the regulations with the No Child Left Behind Act, there
is a new focus on ensuring that students with disabilities are held to high
expectations. "Thirty years ago, America's students with disabilities were
for the first time assured access to a free and appropriate public education
thanks to a new law passed by Congress, now called IDEA," said Spellings.
"Yet in those 30 years, too many students with disabilities have faced what
President Bush calls 'the soft bigotry of low expectations." Students with
disabilities can meet high standards, as long as we adults have high
expectations and hold them to these standards. Thanks to the No Child Left
Behind Act, we are holding ourselves accountable for making sure students
receive the education they deserve. And with these final regulations for
IDEA aligned with No Child Left Behind, we are ensuring that students with
disabilities are challenged and prepared for successful lives." The final
regulations conclude a process that began in January 2005 with a series of
public meetings to receive input on the development of these new rules. The
Department held seven meetings around the country to invite comments on the
proposed regulations, which were published as a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on June 21, 2005. More than 5,500 students, parents, educators
and stakeholders responded. The Department has prepared a user-friendly
package to help guide the public through these changes. In addition to the
actual text of the regulations, the package includes an analysis of the
public's comments, a summary of the major changes since publication of the
proposed regulations, and several appendices, including an index and
additional guidance for implementing the regulations. Once the final
regulations are published in the Federal Register, the Department will also
publish and widely disseminate through its Web site a set of model forms for
individualized education programs (IEPs), notices of procedural safeguards
and prior written notices as required under IDEA. "I am pleased that the
final regulations were completed before the new school year begins." said
Spellings. "This gives parents, teachers and administrators time to become
familiar with the changes prior to the start of the instructional year." To
give the American people as much time as possible to review the regulations
before they take effect, the Department will post an unofficial copy on its
Web site at <http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html>
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html. The official copy
of these regulations will be published in the Federal Register in about two
weeks. The final regulations will become effective 60 days after publication
in the Federal Register. A fact sheet on the new regulations can be found
at <http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/ideafactsheet.html>
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/ideafactsheet.html."

13. "Genetic Findings Shed Light on OCD" dated 3 August 2006 from Health
Day News at
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060803/hl_hsn/geneticfindingsshedlightonocd>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060803/hl_hsn/geneticfindingsshedlightonocd.

"A newly identified genetic factor may explain how and why
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) runs in families, two new studies
conclude. Close relatives of people with OCD are up to nine times more
likely than other people to develop OCD. The two studies, published in the
current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, found an association
between OCD and a glutamate transporter gene called SLC1A1. The gene encodes
a protein called EAAC1 that regulates the flow of glutamate in and out of
brain cells. Variations in the SLC1A1 gene may cause changes in the flow of
glutamate, which may put a person at increased risk of developing OCD, the
researchers suggested. One study was conducted by researchers from the
University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the
University of Chicago. That study included 71 OCD patients (children and
adults) and their parents. The other study, by University of Toronto
researchers, included 157 OCD patients and 319 of their first-degree
relatives. "Taken together, these findings suggest that SLC1A1 is a strong
candidate gene for OCD, which if confirmed could lead to improvements in
understanding and treating this condition, and screening those with an
elevated risk," Dr. Gregory Hanna, senior author on one of the studies and
an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical
School, said in a prepared statement. "It's possible that altered glutamate
activity in some brain regions may contribute to the obsessions and
compulsions that are the hallmark of OCD," Hanna said."

14. "Amazing Gracie: Girl defies long odds- Mother credits hyperbaric
oxygen therapy for daughter's progress" dated 3 August 2006 by SUSAN JENKS
from FLORIDA TODAY at
<http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060803/NEWS01/6080
30326/1006>
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060803/NEWS01/60803
0326/1006.

"Shannon Kenitz missed her daughter's first steps, which took place at
school earlier this year -- two days shy of her seventh birthday. Ever
since then, Gracie -- who suffers from an extremely rare genetic disease
that starves her brain and muscles of oxygen -- not only walks, she tears
around nonstop, her flowered sandals clacking behind her. "At age 3, she
was blind, she was on a feeding tube, and she was taking 42 medications,"
her mother said. "The doctors told us: 'Let her die.' " Today, Gracie
attends a mainstream public school, has close to 20/20 vision, speaks about
50 words and no longer takes any anti-seizure drugs, according to her
mother, who credits hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the dramatic turnaround in
her medical condition. Shannon Kenitz was in Melbourne on Wednesday with
her daughter to tell "Gracie's story," already featured on several national
television shows, and to raise funds for the nonprofit International
Hyperbarics Association, located outside Los Angeles. She is the
foundation's executive director. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves
the use of 100 percent oxygen in a pressurized chamber, is widely used to
treat radiation-associated injuries; deep non-healing wounds; bone
infections; and deep-sea divers' decompression sickness, known as the bends.
But the use of this therapy for neuromuscular disorders, such as the one
Gracie had, still is viewed by many doctors as alternative therapy, even
though a number of independent centers, including Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet's
International Child Development Resource Center in Melbourne, do use it
"off-label," or outside its government-approved use. In Gracie's case,
Bradstreet said, "we are not able to undo her genetic defect," called
Mitochondrial Cytochrome C-Reductase, an enzyme deficiency leading to oxygen
deprivation in the mitochondria, the energy producers of all the body's
cells. But Gracie has "shown way more improvement than we thought
possible," he said, because of her daily, one-hour hyperbaric oxygen
treatments, which are delivered at an atmospheric pressure roughly
equivalent to being 23 feet below sea level. "And she's alive," he said,
considered quite a feat, given the rarity of the condition and the fact it
is viewed as a terminal disease. Bradstreet said he knows of five children
diagnosed with this particular genetic defect in the United States -- and
the other four children have died. Dr. Paul Buza, a Melbourne neurologist
who runs Wuesthoff Health System's Wound Care and Hypberbaric Center, said
hyperbaric oxygen therapies have begun moving into neurologic applications
nationwide, including in Bradstreet's area of expertise, autism, a spectrum
of illnesses associated with developmental delays. "There is a growing body
of evidence suggesting there may be a benefit," Buza said. ..."

15. "A Can-Do Approach to Autistic Children and Athletics" dated 3 August
2006 by ANAHAD O'CONNOR from The New York Times at
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/fashion/03Fitness.html?_r=2&ref=health&or
ef=slogin&oref=slogin>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/fashion/03Fitness.html?_r=2&ref=health&ore
f=slogin&oref=slogin.

"Themembers of the swim team at Bloomington High School South in central
Indiana cheer wildly every time Nathan Buffie races. In his two years on the
team, Nathan has never won first place at a meet. Often, he finishes far
behind. But it is the fact that Nathan even goes into the water and manages
to compete at all that his teammates find so remarkable. Nathan, a trim
16-year-old with a boyish smile, has autism, the devastating developmental
disorder that makes his participation in any sport or social activity a
struggle. "He is probably the worst swimmer on the team, but he keeps
getting better and he wants to win," said his mother, Penny Githens. "He
tells his teammates this, and they just get so excited for him." For
years, children with autism were left on the sidelines, a consequence of a
widespread belief that they were incapable of participation in athletics.
But while it is true that autistic children can be difficult to motivate and
resistant to exercise, they are now being pushed to take part in physical
education programs, encouraged by experts who say that certain sports can
ease repetitive behaviors like pacing and head-banging as well as provide a
social outlet. Autistic children, even those who are considered low
functioning, can excel at activities like swimming, martial arts, running
and surfing - sports that don't entail having to read social cues or figure
out when to pass the ball. "A lot of autistic children are never going to
play on a team, but they can do really well in individual sports," said
Donna Asher, the camp director at the North East Westchester Special
Recreation Program in Hawthorne, N.Y. "It's not their physical skills that
keep them from participating, it's their social skills - not being able to
interact with others or having a breakdown on the field in the middle of a
game." Athletic programs for autistic children, often called adapted sports
programs, are designed to sidestep social and behavioral problems. Many
autistic children - up to half, according to some studies - are prescribed
antipsychotics and other drugs that can produce fatigue and swift weight
gain. Studies show that about 17 percent of autistic children are overweight
and another 35 percent are at risk, figures that mirror the rate among
American children in general. Experts hope that teaching autistic children
how to be active will stave off problems later in life. "What we're trying
to do is to make sure that they won't be at high risk for obesity and
coronary artery disease," said Dawn D. Sandt, an assistant professor of
adapted physical education at the
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers
ity_of_new_mexico/index.html?inline=nyt-org> University of New Mexico who
has studied the activity levels and the body mass of autistic children.
Still, for parents of autistic children, locating an adapted sports program
can be a low priority. More often than not, they are consumed with struggles
to find speech therapists, behavioral intervention services, special
education classes and a health insurance policy that will pay for it all.
..."

16. "Too much breast-feeding makes babies more prone to allergies" dated 3
August 2006 by Jeremy Laurance from The Independent (UK) at
<http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1211284.ece>
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1211284.ece.

"Breast-feeding babies gives them the best start in life, but too much of a
good thing may make them more prone to allergy, a study has found. Babies
fed exclusively on mother's milk for up to six months are known to be at
reduced risk of allergies such as eczema and asthma. But a study shows
extending exclusive breast-feeding beyond six months may increase the risks.
The research was started 20 years ago when scientists at the Helsinki Skin
and Allergy Hospital in Finland asked 200 mothers to breast-feed their
newborn children for as long as possible. The children were assessed for
allergies at the ages of five, 11 and 20. Feeding children exclusively on
breast milk for nine months or more seemed to increase their risk of
allergic conditions such as eczema and food hypersensitivity, according to
New Scientist magazine. At age five, more than half of children with a
family history of allergy who had been breast-fed for at least nine months
were showing allergic symptoms compared with one fifth of those who had been
breast-fed for between two and six months. The researchers noted that
children who developed allergies after prolonged exclusive breast-feeding
were most likely to do so during the first years. This suggested that
environmental factors such as pollen exposure, diet and disease played a
more important role in the onset of allergies in later childhood and
adulthood. Over-exposure to breast milk may provide too much early
protection against these triggers. "A beautiful hypothesis is that there is
a time window when the immune system needs to be exposed to external
antigens [foreign proteins] for it to develop properly," one researcher
said. Rosie Dobbs, a policy researcher at the National Childbirth Trust,
said few babies were at risk because figures showed fewer than 2 per cent in
Britain were exclusively breast-fed at six months. "Most babies help
themselves from their parents' plates by six or seven months," she said.
Breast-feeding babies gives them the best start in life, but too much of a
good thing may make them more prone to allergy, a study has found. Babies
fed exclusively on mother's milk for up to six months are known to be at
reduced risk of allergies such as eczema and asthma. But a study shows
extending exclusive breast-feeding beyond six months may increase the risks.
..."

17. "U.S. Issues New Rules on Schools and Disability" dated 3 August 2006
by
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/diana_jean_sch
emo/index.html?inline=nyt-per> DIANA JEAN SCHEMO from The New York Times at
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/education/04education.html>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/education/04education.html.

"For more than 25 years, federal law had required that schools nationwide
identify children as learning disabled by comparing their scores on
intelligence tests with their academic achievement. This meant that many
students had to wait until third or fourth grade to get the special
education help they needed. In regulations issued today after changes to
the law, the federal Education Department said states could not require
school districts to rely on that method, allowing districts to find other
ways to determine which children are eligible for extra help. It was the
final step in the federal government's repudiation of the old approach,
which had come under severe criticism from advocates for children with
disabilities, testing experts and eventually federal officials themselves.
Advocates for those children applauded the change. "If you talk to
principals and special ed directors, there is pent-up demand for better ways
to serve struggling kids than waiting until they crash and burn in third and
fourth grade,'' said James H. Wendorf, executive director of the National
Center for Learning Disabilities. The new rules also require schools to
alert parents as they begin exploring whether children may need special
education, another change that won praise from advocates for children with
disabilities. The regulations come after Congress updated laws covering
special education for some six million schoolchildren nationwide in late
2004. Comparing intelligence tests with academic achievement, known as the
discrepancy model, came under intense criticism in the debates over the law
and over special education. Federal officials and advocates for children
with disabilities contended that the practice of waiting for children to
fall behind on tests in third or fourth grade before getting them extra help
consigned them to failure, and opened the way for the disproportionate
numbers of poor and minority children to be labeled as needing special
education. The 2004 law abandoned reliance on that approach. And the new
regulations favor alternative methods of identifying children who need
services, like evaluating the response of struggling children to extra help
before the third grade. The 2004 law also streamlined procedures and
reduced the paperwork involved in providing children special education
services, and relaxed burdens on schools when children with disabilities had
behavioral problems. ..."

18. "Ohio Man Claims Right To Have Sex With Boys- Admitted Pedophile Says
Children Can Consent" dated 3 August 2006 from WJACTV6 News at
<http://www.wjactv.com/mostpopular/9621055/detail.html>
http://www.wjactv.com/mostpopular/9621055/detail.html.

"It was probably not a defense the court had heard before. A suburban
Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge
Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking
marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil
rights laws. The admitted pedophile offered a surprising defense Wednesday
to 74 charges of rape, drugs and pandering obscenity to minors. Appearing
in an Ohio court for a pretrial hearing, Phillip Distasio, 34, of Rocky
River, Ohio, said he was a pedophile. He told the judge, "I'm a pedophile.
I've been a pedophile for 20 years. The only reason I'm charged with rape is
that no one believes a child can consent to sex. The role of my ministry is
to get these cases out of the courtrooms." Distasio, a self-professed pagan
friar, is representing himself on 74 charges. He said he's the leader of a
church called Arcadian Fields Ministries, and that some of his congregants
are among the victims in his case. The judge told Distasio to confine his
arguments to secular laws at his trial, scheduled to begin Sept. 11. "If
you want to challenge the law, that's your right to do so," Judge Kathleen
Sutula said. "But we're going to follow the laws of Ohio in this courtroom."
Cuyahoga County Bill Mason said Distasio was arrested after he wanted to
write a blog for the Lakewood Library. Officials noticed something was wrong
and notified Rocky River police. Distasio was arrested on charges he
molested two disabled boys he was tutoring at his home. He's also accused of
raping seven other autistic children at a Cleveland school for special-needs
students, The Plain Dealer reported. All but one of the boys was under 13,
which carries a mandatory life-in-prison sentence if he is convicted, the
paper reported. Police said they found journals at Distasio's apartment in
which he described his illegal activities, along with child pornography and
videotapes of him engaged in sex with boys, The Plain Dealer reported "Not
all pedophilia is bad, and sex [with boys] can be healthy," Distasio told
the court. According to the journals, two of Distasio's victims were so
helpless they could never tell anyone what happened. "The defendant
describes acts in which he had autistic children and he did what I would
call sadistic sexual acts with these children," said Mason. ..."

19. "Autism Speaks Applauds Unanimous Approval of Combating Autism Act by
United States Senate- Landmark Legislation Authorizing Nearly $1 Billion in
Autism Funding Now Moves to the House of Representatives" dated 4 August
2006 in a press release from Autism Speaks at
http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/senate_passes_caa.php
<http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/senate_passes_caa.php> .

"Leadership of Autism Speaks, a non-profit organization dedicated to
increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research,
today applauded last night's passage in the United States Senate of the
Combating Autism Act (S. 843) by unanimous consent. The bill authorizes $900
million over the next five years to combat autism through research,
screening, intervention and education efforts, almost doubling current
federal spending on autism. The bill was sponsored by Senators Rick
Santorum (R-PA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who last night on the Senate
floor publicly thanked Autism Speaks Co-founders Bob and Suzanne Wright for
their tireless efforts on behalf of the legislation. It was unanimously
approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
(HELP) on July 19, and has the support of all major autism groups. "By
passing this landmark single-disease legislation, the Senate has recognized
the plight of the thousands of families struggling every day with autism,
and has acknowledged autism as a national health care crisis," said Mr.
Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.
"We now must look to the House to pass the bill and get it to the
President's desk as soon as possible." ..."

20. "Muslim spokesman quits- Says liberal views drew hate mail, death
threats. Warnings grew more intense in past three months" dated 4 August
2006 by SURYA BHATTACHARYA from The Toronto Star at
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Arti
cle_Type1&c=Article&cid=1154641811943&call_pageid=970599119419>
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic
le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1154641811943&call_pageid=970599119419.

"Tarek Fatah has quit as communications director for the Canadian Muslim
Congress, saying he's worried that the threatening calls, hate mail and
death threats may adversely affect his autistic child. "Even if the glasses
are rearranged, it upsets her," said Fatah, who resigned his post more than
three weeks ago. "If something were to happen to me, she would be
devastated." Fatah is controversial in Toronto's Muslim community because
of his criticism of Muslim conservatives. He has also been accused of
enjoying the media spotlight. The Muslim Canadian Congress supports
same-sex marriage, female-led prayers and women's rights and is opposed to
the introduction of sharia family law in Ontario. ..."

21. "British Researchers: No Male Children For Families With History of
Autism" dated 4 August 2006 by Hilary White from Life SIte (UK) at
<http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06080407.html>
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06080407.html.

"Researchers at the University College Hospital London have applied for
permission to begin using pre-implantation diagnosis (PGD) to screen IVF
embryos for possible autism, even though there is no reliable test for the
condition. Opting for what one commentator called a "close enough
solution," the reasoning goes that since 90% of autism sufferers are males,
the answer is to allow only embryonic girls to be implanted in families with
a medical history of autism. This, they say, will allow families with
autistic children "to have a daughter free from the condition." Simone
Aspis of the British Council of Disabled People pointed to the inherent
eugenic principles behind the application. "Screening for autism would
create a society where only perfection is valued." In the brave new world of
the researchers, it is reasonable to fear "that anyone who is different in
any way will not be accepted," Aspis said. Bioethicist Ben Mitchell said,
"If unborn children are being eliminated for a genetic disposition to
autism, no one is safe . . . Today autism, tomorrow intelligence below 70
I.Q., the next day male pattern baldness. When will this madness stop?" US
columnist Chuck Colson, writing in Townhall about the British Researchers'
application for the PGD screening, quotes Business Week saying, "the social
cost of accommodating [their] birth is increasingly being seen as exceeding
[their] worth." This rhetoric from Business Week of the "social costs" of
allowing the unfit to live and reproduce is identical to that of the early
20th century eugenics movement, led by abortion and contraception zealots
such as Planned Parenthood foundress Margaret Sanger. Colson makes the
point, "Oh my! This utilitarian view of life inevitably leads us exactly
where the Nazis were creating a master race. Can't we see it?"

22. "Marianne Gray talks to Sigourney Weaver ahead of her visit to the
Edinburgh Film Festival" dated 6 August 2006 from the Sunday Herald (UK) at
<http://www.sundayherald.com/57057> http://www.sundayherald.com/57057.

"For years in Hollywood, autism has only meant one thing: Dustin Hoffman in
Rain Man. That Oscar-winning performance in 1988 brought the condition to a
mass audience but, though undoubtedly well-intentioned, Hoffman's obsessive
toothpick-counting character has become cultural shorthand for a very
complicated condition. In her new film Snow Cake, Sigourney Weaver plays a
very different kind of autistic. Her character, Linda, keeps a very clean
house but also has an unorthodox approach to Scrabble, bounces around on a
backyard trampoline and - in the quirk that gives the film its title -
enjoys eating snow in her Ontario back garden. Her relatively carefree
existence is disturbed by the arrival of an English ex-convict (Alan
Rickman), bearing news that her daughter has been killed in a car accident,
which marks the start of a very unusual relationship. For 57-year-old
Weaver, it's just the latest in a long line of intriguing roles, from the
statuesque Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters series to haunted Alice Hunt in
The Village. She's repeatedly demonstrated her mastery of both comedy
(Working Girl, Galaxy Quest) and drama (The Year Of Living Dangerously,
Death And The Maiden), and has cemented her place in Hollywood history with
her defiant, iconic portrayal of Lt Ellen Ripley in the Alien series. As
well as travelling with Snow Cake at the Edinburgh International Film
Festival, Weaver will be in conversation with EIFF director Shane Danielsen
as part of the Sunday Herald-sponsored Reel Life strand, a unique chance to
hear the actress herself reflect on her past, present and future. But before
that, she reveals how she approached one of her most challenging roles yet.
How did you prepare to play a high-functioning autistic? It took me a long
time even to understand how to prepare for this part because every person
with autism is unique and to find someone like Linda took me a long time. It
was one of the most fascinating years I have ever spent researching a role.
I learned so much and met so many wonderful people, and it was very
satisfying to get to use that research in the part. I had a lot of help, and
I am grateful to everyone who tried to help me do this accurately. ..."

23. "Founder of BitTorrent unlocks the secrets of online file sharing- He
figured out how to break up video into small pieces that can quickly be sent
over the Net" dated 6 August 2006 by Ellen Lee from the San Franscisco
Chronicle at
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/06/BUG6OKAUQ71.
DTL&type=tech>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/06/BUG6OKAUQ71.D
TL&type=tech.

" If life were as straightforward as a Rubik's Cube, Bram Cohen could
unravel it in about 90 seconds. He can solve two Sudoko brainteasers during
his 30-minute commute on the ferry between Marin and San Francisco. And he
has earned a high score of 320 on Tringo, a combination of Tetris and Bingo.
Other puzzles aren't so easy to crack. Relating to people can be difficult
for Cohen, who has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that affects social
skills. Unlike Sudoko or a Rubik's Cube, people don't always follow the same
patterns. But Cohen has learned to read subtle body language and facial
expressions. He practices making eye contact, detecting sarcasm and not
taking it literally, and understanding other cues that are natural and
automatic to most people. The 30-year-old software prodigy is also trying
to get to the bottom of a business puzzle: how to turn BitTorrent -- a tool
he created four years ago that is available free online and can be used to
distribute large files quickly through the Internet -- into a successful
business. BitTorrent has become the most popular peer-to-peer tool on the
Web, more so than the music file-sharing site Napster in its heyday,
according to BigChampagne, a research firm. It has nearly 70 million users
and takes up 30 to 40 percent of the world's Internet traffic, according to
CacheLogic, a technology company that measures bandwidth use. It has even
made Cohen such a household name (at least among geeks) that his mother
compares the experience to being Elvis' mom. ..."

24. "ASA Applauds Senate's Passage of the Combating Autism Act" dated 7
August 2006 by Marguerite Colston in a press release from the Autism Society
of America at http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle
<http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8853&news_iv_c
trl=-1> &id=8853&news_iv_ctrl=-1.

"The Autism Society of America (ASA) praises the United States Senate today
for passing S. 843, the Combating Autism Act. This critical legislation,
which was passed by unanimous consent shortly before the Senate recessed,
authorizes almost $1 billion in federal funding for autism-related research,
early detection and intervention. "Autism is a significant public health
issue. Passage of this legislation reflects Senate's support for additional
funding to advance research into the cause, diagnosis and treatment of this
disorder," said ASA President and CEO Lee Grossman. "ASA's supporters
flooded the Senate with tens of thousands of emails, phone calls and
letters, urging Senators to get this bill over the finish line in the hours
before the Senate recessed for August break. We applaud our Senate
champions, especially Senators Enzi, Kennedy, Santorum and Dodd, whose
leadership made this vital bill a reality." This comprehensive legislation
contains many important provisions to strengthen autism research, including
a renewed investment into basic and clinical research, expanded research
into the link between environmental factors and autism, and continued
investigations into causation, diagnosis, early detection and treatment for
autism spectrum disorders. "The Combating Autism Act is the first
disease-specific legislation passed through the Senate HELP Committee in
more than six years," continued Grossman. "It will ensure that the National
Institutes of Health has the resources it needs." Autism is a complex
developmental disability that affects an individual in the areas of social
interaction and communication. Autism is a spectrum disorder that affects
each individual differently and to varying degrees of severity. As many as
1.5 million Americans - children and adults - are thought to have autism
today. ASA is the oldest and largest grassroots organization within the
autism community. Today, more than 120,000 members and supporters are
connected through a working network of nearly 200 chapters nationwide. ASA
is dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the day-to-day
issues faced by individuals with autism, their families and the
professionals with whom they interact."

25. "Using a Parent Provided Sensory Integration Program to Lesson the
Stereotypical Behaviors of Children with Asperger's Syndrome" dated 7 August
2006 by Analisa L. Smith from Education News. org at
<http://www.educationnews.org/PR/Parent_Provided_Sensory_Integration_Program
.htm>
http://www.educationnews.org/PR/Parent_Provided_Sensory_Integration_Program.
htm.

"The study examined the impact of sensory treatment options and was designed
to determine if participants with Asperger's Syndrome would display fewer
stereotypical behaviors after implementation of a Sensory Integration
Program and exhibit increased academic function and social development.
Children with Asperger's participated in home-based Sensory Integration
activities for ten weeks. Pre and post-test Sensory Profiles were completed
by parents and teachers to measure decreases of sensory deficits. Parent
completed Sensory Profiles showed a statistically significant decrease in
sensory deficits. Results provided needed groundwork information re a
promising method of treatment for sensory deficits in children with
Asperger's Syndrome. Problem and Significance. Asperger (1944) identified
Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Children with Asperger's have sensory deficits
that lead to sensory integration dysfunctions (Ayers, 2004). The sensory
deficits of Asperger's children limit their academic and social development
and could be eased by a Sensory Integration Program ( S I P) . This study
measured the effects of a S I P on the sensory deficits of children with AS.
Dysfunction of sensory integration limits the Asperger's child response to
the environment (Mailloux, 2001). Research does suggests that children with
AS have Sensory Integration. Dysfunction (SID). Research was needed to
delineate correlations between S I Ps with children with AS and the
reduction of sensory deficits. Literature Review. Characteristics.
Asperger's (1991) studied the social and learning development of children
which the symptoms of AS. Mailloux (2001) noted that Asperger focused on the
AS child's inability to read facial expressions and understand social
concepts. Asperger (1991) acknowledged the AS child had sensory processing
deficits that limited access to learning opportunities and delayed social
development (Falk-Ross, Iverson, Gilbert, 2004). Diagnostic Criteria . For
awhile, the medical community did not recognize the disorder as a separate
disorder from autism(Myles & Simpson, 2002). There were attempts made to
develop diagnostic scales for diagnosis based on symptoms (Szatmari, 1991;
Gillberg & Gillberg, 1989). ..."


26. "School With No Tolerance Of Bullies Appropriate For Teen With Anxiety"
from Special Ed e-news provided by LRP Publications at
<http://www.specialedconnection.com> http://www.specialedconnection.com.

"A federal District Court awarded reimbursement to parents of a high school
senior for their unilateral placement at a private school that did not
tolerate harassment or bullying. Gagliardo v. Arlington Cent. Sch. Dist., 45
IDELR 119 (S.D.N.Y. 2006). The district's offered placement did not provide
the structured classroom setting that the student needed. The court declined
to return the case to the hearing level so that the parents could "present
evidence that they would have introduced if only they had known they
shouldered the burden of proof" under Schaffer v. Weast, 44 IDELR 150 (U.S.
2005)."


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