Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Items 1 through 9 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.


10. From Exceptional Parent: By request on behalf of one of its partners,
would like to better understand the day-to-day challenges and financial
issues families with children with special needs face. Your responses will
provide valuable insight to assist in developing resources to help families
plan and prepare for their child with special needs future. The survey will
take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Your responses will be
confidential and anonymous. As a thank-you to Exceptional Parent
subscribers, a summary of the survey results will be sent via an email blast
in May. Please click the link below to begin.
http://www.marketprobe.com/svy/p7sdn. Thank you for your participation.
Sincerely, Joe Valenzano, President and CEO, Exceptional Parent

11. UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation to Offer Medical Assistance
Grants To apply visit: http://www.uhccf.org/ The UnitedHealthcare
Children's Foundation is offering support to meet the needs of children
across the United States with assistance grants for medical services not
fully covered by health insurance. Parents and caretakers across the country
will be eligible to apply for grants of up to $5,000 for healthcare services
that will help improve their children's health and quality of life. Examples
of the types of medical services covered by UHCCF grants include speech
therapy, physical therapy, and psychotherapy sessions; medical equipment
such as wheelchairs, braces, hearing aids, and eyeglasses; and orthodontia
and dental treatments. Any child 16 years old or younger living in any
UnitedHealthcare region of the United States (all 50 states) and in need of
financial assistance for healthcare services will be considered eligible for
a grant. Families must meet economic guidelines, reside in the United
States, and be covered by a commercial health insurance plan. We have
attempted to highlight the Criteria for applying. The income max is based
on "per individual" in the household, family Adjusted Gross can't exceed
$80,000. We encourage you to visit their website at http://www.uhccf.org/
and learn more about it.

12. Ivymount Autism Outreach and Consultation Services is pleased to
announce they are now developing home based programs for families. All
programs are supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Ivymount
Autism Outreach and Consultation Services provides services to individuals
with autism, their families, and the organizations, schools and agencies
that educate and treat these individuals. Based on empirically-validated
approaches within the field of autism and applied behavior analysis, these
services seek to provide assessment, education, and treatment for
individuals with autism. For more information regarding services and to
request a referral packet please contact Dr. Tamara Marder by phone
(240-441-8282) or by email (tmarder@...).

13. "Donated dog for autistic child meets opposition" dated 29 March 2007
from WFAA TV News at
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070328_mo_
austisticdog.e5eef91.html.

"A mother's fight to make life easier for her four-year-old autistic son got
a helping hand while also meeting up with a barrier. Lori Ruscitti's
friends and neighbors came together and raised enough money to buy the
family a service dog. But there's one big problem, his school district won't
allow dogs to attend class. Every day is a constant struggle for Colton
Ruscitti, who is autistic. Last year, the boy wandered away from his home
and fell out of a two-story window. "We can't watch him 24-hours-a-day,"
Mrs. Ruscitti said. "It's impossible. We need help." Help came in the form
of a dog named "Charlie," who is a specially trained service dog the family
hopes will keep Colton safe and secure. The Wylie and Murphy communities
helped raise $14,000 to give the family the dog, which will happen in May.
"That dog provides security for them," Ruscitti said of the easing effect
dogs have on autistic children. "It helps calm them down. It reduces
meltdowns." Mrs. Ruscitti met with Wylie Independent School District
officials who listened, but announced that Charlie will not be allowed into
the classrooms. "[I feel] disappointment because autism is so rampant,"
Mrs. Ruscitti said. "It's not going anywhere. This is just another tool to
help these children." WISD Superintendent John Fuller gave a statement
Wednesday that said the district doesn't allow pets in classrooms, including
dogs. The only exception is the use of service dogs that are trained to
provide assistance to students with special needs such as blindness,
physical disability or lack of mobility. There was no mention about autism.
"Wylie just needs to step out of their box," Mrs. Ruscitti said. "There's
not really a downside to allowing this dog in school." A final decision on
Charlie could be made by a special needs committee before the start of the
next school year."

14. "Nick News Explores the Private Worlds of Autism- Nick News with Linda
Ellerbee PRIVATE WORLDS: KIDS AND AUTISM Airs Sunday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m.
ET/PT on Nickelodeon" dated 29 March 2007 in a press release from
Nickelodeon at
http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index_mail.shtml?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03
-29-2007/0004556253&EDATE=.

"Today, an estimated one in 150 kids is diagnosed with autism. Imagine being
disconnected from the world around you; not being able to make sense of some
things you see, hear, smell and touch; needing something and not being able
to express yourself. The award-winning Nick News with Linda Ellerbee takes a
look at the lives of kids struggling with different levels of autism in
Private Worlds: Kids and Autism premiering Sunday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m.
ET/PT on Nickelodeon. "Autism is not a mental illness. It's not contagious,
and it's not a choice; and while kids with autism have been described as
living in their own private worlds," Ellerbee said, "they are also living in
our world. Therein lies the challenge for all of us: How do we live
differently together?" Private Worlds: Kids and Autism begins with the story
of Andrew, a severely autistic fifth grader. It's difficult to understand
what life is like for Andrew because he can't communicate his feelings. His
family can't go places or do things with out considering his needs, or
without worrying he might do something inappropriate in public. Though
Andrew will never get entirely better, the family is doing what it can to
make his life as full as possible. The special also introduces viewers to
Bond, a 15-year-old with Aspergers Syndrome, generally considered a more
high functioning form of autism. He's smart and articulate, but still has
problems socializing. Temple Grandin tells her amazing story through her
groundbreaking books about being autistic, and implores kids not to tease
their autistic classmates. Matt is fourteen and has "Savant Syndrome," which
means he possesses an extraordinary gift, in his case, the ability to play
the piano. "Savant syndrome" is rare, but it happens. A final segment
highlights how other kids can be a part of the lives and worlds of kids with
autism. We meet kids who are part of a special hockey program where kids
with autism play with typical kids. Their story shows us that kids with
autism have a lot to offer as friends. Private Worlds also features
commentary from kids who are not autistic, but speak about what it's like to
be around kids who are. ..."

15. "Bipolar youth hopped facilities before his death" dated 7 April 2007
by TERRI LANGFORD from the Houston Chronicle at
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4694586.html.

"By the time Ruben Gonzales was 9 years old, his own mother was calling the
Texas child abuse hotline from her Fort Bend County home and filing a
complaint against herself in a desperate plea for help with her troubled,
bipolar son. There was no question Gonzales, a sometimes violent youth, was
seriously mentally ill in 2001, according to information obtained by the
Houston Chronicle from the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services. "Ruben wants to scratch and bite others," his mother told DFPS in
2001, according to an agency spokesman. "He wants to kill himself and other
people. Ruben bangs his head on the floor and wall." Gonzales was whisked
into foster care and placed in Austin State Hospital. It was the first of
what would be 19 stays, ranging from five days to a few years, at 13
psychiatric facilities over the next five years. Then last June, on his
15th birthday, Gonzales entered his 14th facility, a place unlike all the
others: the Mexia State School for the mentally retarded, where a handful of
residents were foster children like him and 58 percent were both mentally
ill and mentally retarded. It was the place where Gonzales would die six
months later, on Jan. 15, as three staffers tried to restrain him. News of
his death was delivered recently at a Senate committee hearing regarding
conditions at another facility, the Lubbock State School. Authorities in
charge of placing Gonzales would not say specifically whether he was
mentally retarded, citing confidentiality issues. Most restrictive
facility. But they did say that Mexia was the most restrictive 24-hour
placement that could be found for the disturbed teenager. They also said
residents only could be placed there if they had mental retardation. Few
details about Gonzales' death have been released since the agency in charge
of the 13-school system went public with it a week ago while briefing state
senators on a federal report citing deficiencies at the Lubbock school.
"This death in particular was a serious concern to me." Adelaide "Addie"
Horn, commissioner of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. Horn, who did not
name the boy, said that the three Mexia staffers involved were dismissed as
a result of his death. On Tuesday, an agency spokeswoman said the use of a
"Transboard," the restraint board used on Gonzales, was banned at state
schools after his death. Exactly how Gonzales died at Mexia is under
criminal investigation, forcing both DADS and DFPS to be careful about what
is said regarding Gonzales. The silence is disturbing to advocates for the
disabled. ..."

16. "Sub Loses Job Over Pinchy Punishment" dated 7 April 2007 from The
Associated Press at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/07/AR2007040700
963.html.

"A substitute teacher's tool for silencing chatty kindergartners _
clothespins _ doesn't wash with school officials. Four boys said
spring-type clothespins were placed over their upper or lower lips for
talking too much in class, Amanda-Clearcreek Primary School principal Mike
Johnsen wrote in a letter to parents this week. Ruth Ann Stoneburner, a
retired school nurse who had worked as a substitute for several years,
confirmed to Johnsen that she had used the clothespin discipline March 26,
he said. Stoneburner will not work again in the Amanda-Clearcreek district
and was being reported to the state education department, Superintendent
J.B. Dick said Wednesday. Officials found out about the discipline after a
parent complained. The students weren't hurt, but the punishment isn't
condoned by the district, Dick said. Stoneburner could not be reached for
comment at phone listings under her last name in Amanda, which is about 25
miles southeast of Columbus."

17. "HPV stories generate different reporting approach" dated 8 April 2007
by Cindy Bevington from KPC News at
http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2007/04/08/features/columnists/cindy_bevingt
on/doc4618dbc6377b6809770751.txt.

"I found the colorful pamphlets on my desk with a hand-printed note
attached: "This hospital has no ties to drug companies - thought you would
find this interesting and helpful." It wasn't signed. I was sorry for that
because, of all the letters I've received in nearly a year of continuously
writing about government waste in social services and government's intrusion
into parents' rights over their children, this was the only unsigned comment
that came my way. I was especially distressed that I wouldn't be able to
talk to this person in person, to tell him or her that, unfortunately, this
hospital DOES have ties to drug companies. BIG ties. Yes, this vaccine
information brochure from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
does boldly proclaim "the Center does not receive support from
pharmaceutical companies." But what it doesn't say is that some of the
doctors working for this hospital not only receive support from
pharmaceutical companies, but are the very inventors of the vaccines the
brochures promote. For example, one doctor cited in the brochure, Paul
Offit, is the chief of the division of infectious diseases at CHOP and
director of the Vaccine Education Center there. However, he also shares the
patent on Rota Teq, the rotavirus vaccine (for infant diarrhea) developed by
drug giant Merck Inc. It is the same vaccine that the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration issued a warning on in February, after reports of adverse
side effects of a serious bowel condition began trickling into the
government's Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS). Also,
according to a statement by Indiana U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-5th, at a
meeting of the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform on June 15, 2000,
Offit reportedly had revealed to the committee that he received grant money
from Merck to develop the vaccine. More ties to drug companies. "(Offit)
also disclosed that he is paid by the pharmaceutical industry to travel
around the country and teach doctors that vaccines are safe," Burton added
in that June 15 meeting. At that time, Burton said, Offit was a member of
the Centers for Disease Control's advisory committee who had voted on three
rotavirus issues, "including making the recommendation of adding rotavirus
vaccine to the Vaccines for Children's program." (Interestingly, in an
article Offit wrote in 2005, "Why Are Pharmaceutical Companies Gradually
Abandoning Vaccines?" Offit noted that "today the largest single U.S.
purchaser of vaccines is the federal government through the Vaccines For
Children (VFC program.") When you consider that, also in 2005, the Merck
Company Foundation announced the creation of the Maurice R. Hilleman Chair
in Vaccinology at CHOP through the University of Pennsylvania, you could
hardly say that Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has "no ties to drug
companies." Add to that: According to a press release issued when Merck
endowed the chair, Hilleman was a senior vice president at Merck who retired
in 1984. "CHOP and Dr. Hilleman have long been partners in the development
of vaccines for children," Steven M. Altschuler, M.D., president and CEO of
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in the release. "We are
honored to continue this tradition by supporting an endowed Chair in Dr.
Hilleman's name." The amount of the endowment was $1.5 million, to be held
jointly by the University of Pennsylvania and CHOP, the press release added,
with CHOP contributing $500,000 in matching funds. ..."

18. "Autism everywhere- One out of every 150 children now is autistic.
Three committees of the Legislature will hold hearings to explore the
reasons behind the increase" dated 9 April 2007 by David Peterson
<mailto:dapeterson@...> from the Star Tribune at
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1110460.html.

"Knowing what she knows today, Mary Kieffer said, it "breaks our hearts" to
watch home videos taken years ago. What's obvious now was invisible then:
her infant son Joe's autism. "Looking back, there were so many signs," said
the Woodbury mother of three. "We just were not aware of them. He'd be
distant. He'd cover his eyes all the time -- too much stimulation. He was
always well-behaved, but he'd scream when his routine changed." Thanks to
an alert pediatrician and an "incredible" elementary school, things are much
better today. But Kieffer advises young parents to pay careful attention to
a federal study that shows that autism is far more common than experts used
to think. The number of kids classed as autistic is exploding. A recent
study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported
that autism is found in one in 150 children -- and researchers involved in
the study say that may be an understatement. In Minnesota schools, the
state's Department of Education reports, the number of students identified
as autistic jumped from fewer than 1,000 students a decade ago to nearly
10,000 today. In months, three committees of the Minnesota Legislature will
hold hearings to explore the reasons why. "Special ed costs are exploding,"
said Roseville DFL Rep. Mindy Greiling, who chairs the K-12 division of the
Minnesota House Finance Committee. "People who know a lot about it tell us
that it's not just that we're getting better at identifying autism, there is
actually more and more autism," she said. "Herbicides, pesticides, various
pollutants can cause brain disorders in fetuses and babies, and we want to
look at that, not only to save costs but save the human costs of these
tragedies," Greiling said. Autism, usually evident before age 3, is a
treatable but incurable brain disorder described by the Mayo Clinic as
"associated with a range of developmental problems, mainly in communication
and social interaction." Nationally, advocacy groups are expressing alarm,
using the words crisis, epidemic, even national emergency to describe the
increase. In Minnesota, however, advocates are more restrained. Mary Powell,
executive director of the Autism Society of Minnesota, speaks of "dramatic"
increases in caseloads but hastens to note that that's partly because the
definition is widening. A debate simmers over what's behind the increase.
Some people blame vaccinations though extensive medical studies haven't
found a link, according to MayoClinic.com. Others, like Greiling, point to
environmental influences. Whatever the cause, families and schools have to
cope with the costs. ..."

19. "MIT model helps researchers 'see' brain development- Work could
facilitate early detection of autism" dated 9 April 2007 in a press release
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
<http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice> at
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/miot-mmh040907.php.

"Large mammals--humans, monkeys, and even cats--have brains with a somewhat
mysterious feature: The outermost layer has a folded surface. Understanding
the functional significance of these folds is one of the big open questions
in neuroscience. Now a team led by MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital and
Harvard Medical School researchers has developed a tool that could aid such
studies by helping researchers "see" how those folds develop and decay in
the cerebral cortex. By applying computer graphics techniques to brain
images collected using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, they have created a
set of tools for tracking and measuring these folds over time. Their
resulting model of cortical development may serve as a biomarker, or
biological indicator, for early diagnosis of neurological disorders such as
autism. The researchers describe their model and analysis in the April
issue of IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. Peng Yu, a graduate student
in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST), is
first author on the paper. The work was led by co-author Bruce Fischl,
associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, research
affiliate with the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory (CSAIL) and HST, and director of the computational core at the
HST Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital
(MGH). The team started with a collection of MR images from 11 developing
brains, provided by Ellen Grant, chief of pediatric radiology at MGH and the
Martinos Center. Of the subjects scanned, eight were newborn, mostly
premature babies ranging from about 30 to 40 weeks of gestational age, and
three were from children aged two, three and seven years. Grant scanned
these infants and children to assess possible brain injury and found no
neural defects. Later, she also consulted with Fischl's team to ensure that
their analyses made sense clinically. "We can't open the brain and see by
eye, but the cool thing we can do now is see through the MR machine," a
technology that is much safer than earlier techniques such as X-ray imaging,
said Yu. The first step in analyzing these images is to align their common
anatomical structures, such as the "central sulcus," a fold that separates
the motor cortex from the somatosensory cortex. Yu applied a technique
developed by Fischl to perform this alignment. The second step involves
modeling the folds of the brain mathematically in a way that allows the
researchers to analyze their changes over time and space. The original
brain scan is then represented computationally with points. Charting each
baby's brain requires about 130,000 points per hemisphere. Yu decomposed
these points into a representation using just 42 points that shows only the
coarsest folds. By adding more points, she created increasingly
finer-grained domains of smaller, higher-resolution folds. Finally, Yu
modeled biological growth using a technique recommended by Grant that
allowed her to identify the age at which each type of fold, coarse or fine,
developed, and how quickly. She found that the coarse folds, equivalent to
the largest folds in a crumpled piece of paper, develop earlier and more
slowly than fine-grained folds. In addition to providing insights into
cortical development, the team is now comparing the images to those being
collected from patients with autism. "We now have some idea of what normal
development looks like. The next step is to see if we can detect abnormal
development in diseases like autism by looking at folding differences," said
Fischl. This tool may also be used to shed light on other neurological
diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease."

20. "Hormone heightens social skills" dated 9 April 2007 from the Los
Angeles Times at
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-briefly9apr09,1,377360.story?co
ll=la-headlines-health&ctrack=3&cset=true.

"Scientists call it the love hormone, the chemical that binds people to one
another. Now researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland have
found that the hormone, released in high amounts in mothers after
childbirth, can improve a person's ability to interpret what is going on in
another person - by reading information gleaned from their eyes. Gregor
Domes, Markus Heinrichs and their colleagues asked 30 male volunteers to
guess the mental states of others after receiving a nasal dose of the
hormone oxytocin. The men were much better at these social interpretations
after using oxytocin than when a placebo dose was used, according to a study
in the March 15 issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry. Oxytocin is a
brain chemical that supports social behavior. In 2005, the Zurich
researchers showed that oxytocin increases trust among people, in addition
to playing a role in maternal bonding. In some of the latest work, it seems
that oxytocin's role isn't just in regulating social interactions. Andreas
Meyer-Lindenberg of the National Institute of Mental Health and his
colleagues found that oxytocin dampens the fear response. Scientists are
studying the hormone's role as a treatment for social anxiety, but nasal
doses are short-acting."

21. "Epilepsy drug with new method of action is safe, effective" dated 9
April 2007 in a press release from the American Academy of Neurology
<http://www.aan.com/press> at
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/aaon-edw040307.php.

"A drug for epilepsy with a new mechanism of action is safe and effective,
according to a study published in the April 10, 2007, issue of Neurology(r),
the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "This is good
news for the many people with epilepsy who do not respond well to the
current available medications," said study author Roger J. Porter, MD, of
the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and Fellow of the American
Academy of Neurology, who was an employee of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals at the
time the study was performed. The drug retigabine acts by opening potassium
channels. The drug is used in people with partial-onset seizures whose
seizures are not fully controlled by other drugs. For the study, researchers
divided 399 people into four groups. One group received a placebo and the
other three groups received different doses of retigabine for 16 weeks. All
of the participants were having an average of eight to 10 seizures a month
and were also taking one to two other drugs for epilepsy. Those taking the
highest dose of the drug had an average of 35 percent fewer seizures during
the study, compared to 13 percent fewer for those taking the placebo. And 33
percent of those taking the highest dosage of the drug had a 50-percent or
greater reduction in their seizure frequency. Side effects included
drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, tremor, amnesia, and speech disorders. A
total of 79 people withdrew from the study, including 12 people who were
receiving the placebo. Porter said the dropout rate when compared with
placebo is similar to that seen with other anti-epileptic drugs and is
generally due to study design where people are often asked to take high
doses in order to maximize benefit. "Doctors had to increase the patients'
dosages on a set schedule for the study," he said. "In regular practice,
doctors can decrease the dose, at least temporarily, when a patient has side
effects, but that was not possible in this study. Some of the participants
might have better tolerated a more flexible dosing schedule."

22. "Autism, law enforcement a dicey combo" dated 9 April 2007 from The
Colorado Springs Gazette at
http://www.gazette.com/onset?id=21032&template=article.html.

"Experts say a person with autism is seven times more likely than the
average person to come in contact with a police officer - and far less adept
at handling the encounter. That statistic sparked a trio of seminars this
month by the Autism Society of the Pikes Peak Region, open to law
enforcement, first responders, families, educators and caregivers. "It's
education on all fronts," said Kim Hetherington, an Autism Society board
member. "People with autism need to learn how to cope, family members need
to learn how to prepare them, and first responders need to know what to
expect and what to look for. They need to know how to deal with someone with
autism." Dennis Debbaudt, who has worked with law enforcement, families,
teachers and caregivers across the country and in Canada and the United
Kingdom, will lead local training sessions Thursday. He has geared training
to three groups: law enforcement; firefighters and first responders; and
families, educators and care providers. The first two sessions will focus
on helping officials recognize autistic behaviors and characteristics;
respond to autistic individuals; evaluate options for restraint, arrest and
interviews; and work with families, organizations and schools. The final
session will teach families, educators and caregivers to assess and manage
risk, prepare for emergencies, create safe environments at home and away
from home, and create support networks. "It's so easy for both sides to
misinterpret actions during an encounter," Hetherington said. "And the
results can be tragic." Many autistic people, for example, dislike being
touched and are sensitive to shouting and stern, authoritative voices. A
police officer's demand to stop or to answer questions could trigger an
autistic person's "fight or flight" response, Hetherington said. "All
reasoning shuts down. A person with autism might try to run from the
officer, which could escalate the officer's reaction." U.S. health
officials recently said about one in 150 American children has some level of
autism. "That means there are a few thousand people in this area with
autism," Hetherington said. "There should be a lot of interest in this
topic." ..."

23. "Autism Cure: Good Things In, Bad Things Out "Maisie Glock now acts
like any normal child" dated 11 April 2007 by Josephine Cheng from the
Evening Magazine at http://tinyurl.com/2y4jag.

"Autism is on the rise in America. The federal government says autism
strikes one in every 166 children, but a movement that started in the
Northwest says contrary to popular belief, autism can be cured, not just
treated. At three-and-a-half, Maisie Glock of Woodinville acts like a
normal child. Maisie Glock now acts like any normal child. To her parents,
that's a miracle. You'll understand why when you learn about their
heart-wrenching journey and the controversial new treatment they believe
saved their daughter. Until age one, Maisie hit every developmental
milestone, but after one, her parents noticed a regression. She lost the
dozen words she knew, she lost interest in her big sister, the family cat -
nearly everything. She liked to go to her room, turn off the lights and
just sit there in the dark. "I was really worried. I thought there
something horribly wrong," said Melanie Glock, her mother. A stack of
medical records is evidence of a mother's search for answers. Some doctors
said nothing was wrong, but Melanie didn't believe it. A test at Children's
Hospital confirmed that Maisie didn't play or pretend like most 2-year-olds.
Finally, her parents got the diagnosis they suspected and feared: autism.
"We were told at the time. her only hope and best outcome would be living in
a group and having a menial labor job bagging groceries," said Melanie.
Melanie could have been content with Maisie's educational therapy, but she
is the proactive type, so she researched everything she could about autism
and discovered a little-known movement that started in the Northwest called
DAN! - "Defeat Autism Now" - which believes autism can be permanently cured.
The key is what goes into Maisie's body and what should come out. What goes
in are foods without wheat or dairy, and mega doses of vitamin B6 and
supplements. "Wheat-free, gluten-free dairy, egg, nut, soy-free chicken
nuggets," said Melanie. What comes out are heavy metals through
detoxification or chelation therapy. "The first week that we had her on the
diet, she started talking. It was amazing," said Melanie. "And all of a
sudden, she started playing with her sister. and she started chasing the cat
around the house, like she had when she was a baby." Six months later, the
test results astonished Maisie's parents. She no longer was autistic. But
is it a miracle cure for autism? The University of Washington's Autism
Research Center declined comment. Dr. Charles Cowan, a developmental
pediatrician at Children's Hospital, says there haven't been good studies on
the "Defeat Autism Now" treatments. He says heavy metal detoxification is
risky and he worries that families who do the DAN! treatments won't do the
more difficult or expensive conventional educational treatments. He doesn't
believe it's a magic bullet. "People like to find easy, relatively simple
solutions to difficult problems. I believe it's human nature," he said. But
when we gathered other families whose kids are on the DAN! treatments, some
said they have seen huge improvements. "Within two weeks, I was just sure
that the diet was making a pretty big difference," said Amy Ohta.
"Dramatically significant for us," said Signe Beck. Others saw little or no
change. So, was Maisie's recovery the result of only the DAN! diet and
detoxification or was she barely on the autism spectrum to begin with? Her
parents have no doubt, but whatever you believe, one thing is certain: What
many parents want, more than anything, is hope. Only a few doctors in the
Seattle area acknowledge the DAN! movement. Mainstream autism experts are
at best skeptical. They often point to the "placebo effect," meaning if you
believe something works, then it'll seem to work, but that is no proof."

24. "Parents of the Autistic Weigh Lifelong Care Options" dated 11 April
2007 by Jon Hamilton </templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100615> from NPR
at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9496250.

"Autism begins in childhood, and it doesn't go away. Children with autism
generally become adults with autism. Many will never live on their own. For
their parents, that can mean responsibilities that last a lifetime - and
beyond. In Maryland, one family is struggling to create a future for their
son, Joey. The Mazzafros. The scene could be straight out of an old TV
show: A doting mom named Maryjean Mazzafro is making an after-school snack
for her son, Joey. Today, it's pepperoni pizza. Joey's school bus pulls up
at the curb. He heads into the kitchen, and gulps down his snack. Here's
the part that's not made for TV: Joey is 19 years old. He is 5'10" and
weighs about 200 pounds. He doesn't make eye contact much, and he didn't
start using a toilet regularly until he was 8. Pretty soon, the pizza is
gone and Joey heads down to the basement, to relax and watch Peter Pan. For
Joey, that means singing along with the same clip of the video over and
over. 'We're Getting Older'. It's an odd life, but Maryjean says it is a
good one for her son: He is safe, and he is loved. But she fears that it
will not last. In a couple of years, Joey will be too old to attend public
school. Then, it will be up to his parents to arrange just about everything
in his life. Maryjean says they are worried about how long they can do that.
"He's getting bigger and stronger," Maryjean says. "We're getting older,
weaker, [and] things are going south rapidly. And I think my husband thinks,
'Oh my God, you know, my mother died of a heart attack at 57, and I'm 52.'"
There are institutions, of course. Some of the private ones can be quite
fancy, but they are not like home. There are also relatives; Joey has a
sister, Bobbie, who is 21 and still in college. "I certainly want him to be
close to me," Bobbie says. But she also hopes to someday get married and
have kids. "[Joey's] not a fan of babies," she says, "so it would be very,
very difficult for him to be in a house with me if I have kids." Maryjean
agrees with her daughter. "Autistic children move what doesn't belong
there," she says, "so if it happens to be a baby..." The challenges are
daunting, but there are some people trained to help. The Mazzafros have been
working with an estate planner named James Allotey. He's with Metlife and
specializes in helping families with children like Joey. The Mazzafros met
Allotey through some workshops he gave near their home outside Baltimore. He
says that for many parents, these talks offer the first glimpse of a way to
take control of their child's future. "The typical response when people
attend our workshop is, 'Where have you been all my life?'" says Allotey.
Families often find their way to Allotey when their child is 17 or 18 years
old. "It becomes imperative that the parents do more for their adult
children, because the government will be doing less once they're out of high
school," he says. ..."

25. "Calhoun becomes national voice for autism" dated 11 April 2007 from
The Associated Press at
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-11165327.apds.m0483.bc-c
t--autiapr11,0,625416.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire.

"Four-year-old Reese Calhoun jumped into her grandfather's arms Wednesday
and gave him a big hug, an accomplishment that means more to UConn
basketball coach Jim Calhoun than his two national titles, 750 wins or
induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Calhoun has six grandchildren,
and Reese is one of two who have been diagnosed with autism, a disorder
characterized by a difficulty in expressing needs and inability to
socialize. The cause is not known. Two years ago, Reese did not
acknowledge her grandfather when he was in the same room, Calhoun said.
"When she used to give me silence when I went to the house, it was very,
very difficult, I have to be very honest with you, It was very difficult to
handle," Calhoun said. About one in 150 American children has autism,
according to a recent study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. In an effort to raise public awareness of the problem, Calhoun
has taken his family's story public, and wears an autism pin on his lapel
every day. "Everybody asks me what the pin is for, and they get half an
hour," Calhoun said. "If they don't like it, they get an hour." Calhoun was
at the state Capitol Wednesday with members of his family, including Reese,
pushing for legislation that would create a new state agency to coordinate
services for people with autism in Connecticut, and seek federal funding to
help pay for those programs. The state is one of three in the nation
without such an agency. Calhoun said he has been able to help get his
grandchildren the therapy they need. Both Reese and her cousin, 3-year-old
Sam, have made great progress both verbally and socially, are moving off the
autism spectrum and are expected to have normal childhoods, Calhoun said.
But private therapy is not covered by insurance companies and services in
Connecticut for the autistic vary from town to town. Families have to piece
together information from several sources such as the state Education and
Mental Retardation departments. About 3,000 school-age children receive
special autism services from the state, but that ends at age 21 for anyone
who is not mentally retarded. "Everyone should be entitled to having their
child's needs met," said Amy Calhoun, Reese's mother and Calhoun's
daughter-in-law. "It's not fair for people who can't afford private
therapists coming in their homes and working with their children." The
Calhouns were joined at a news conference by lawmakers, and families who
talked about having to choose between keeping homes or providing services
for their children. Others have been forced to move from school districts
that could not meet their needs. Matthew Parenti, 42, said he lives in
Watertown, where school officials balked at following the treatment plan his
son's doctor's had recommended. "We need an agency to ensure that kids get
the services that are best for them, not what is best for the parents, not
what is best for the school," he said. Calhoun said he believes more
services will come as more people become aware of the problem, and see
children like Reese, who have been helped. "I have great pride in Reesie,"
Calhoun said. "Now, to watch this happen, my responsibility as a human being
is to do everything I humanly can to make the awareness and to help other
people."

26. "New Option for Epilepsy" dated 11 April 2007 in a press release from
NEUROLOGY magazine at
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=15936.

"Epilepsy patients who aren't getting what they need from their current
medications may soon have a new option. A new study led by investigators
from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia shows the drug
retigabine can effectively reduce the number of seizures in people who
haven't been able to control their epilepsy with standard drugs. The new
drug works by opening up potassium channels, which is a different way of
tackling epilepsy than other medications, and is indicated for people with
partial-onset seizures. The study compared three different doses of
retigabine with a placebo in nearly 400 people who were randomly assigned to
one of the groups. All the patients were having between eight and 10
seizures a month. The retigabine doses ranged from a low of 600 milligrams
per day to a high of 1,200 milligrams per day. People taking the highest
dose of the drug had the best outcomes. Overall, they experienced 35-percent
fewer seizures over the 16-week study, and 33 percent ended up having half
their usual number of seizures or less. People taking the lower doses had
23-percent and 29-percent fewer seizures, respectively. The researchers did
note a high dropout rate in the study -- 67 people taking the active drug
called it quits before the study was over due to unwanted side effects that
ranged from drowsiness and dizziness to tremor and amnesia. However, the
authors believe this may have been due to the need to give the highest dose
for comparison purposes, explaining most of the people who dropped out were
taking the 1,200 milligrams per day dose. In a real life setting, more
people would likely continue on the medication because doctors could back
off on the dosage should side effects become intolerable. Overall,
researchers report the findings of this study suggest retigabine holds much
promise for people with epilepsy who are still having seizures despite
treatment with standard drugs."

27. "8,000 butterflies- Decatur students' project gives wings to autism
awareness" dated 12 April 2007 by Bayne Hughes from The Decatur Daily at
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/070412/butterflies.shtml.

"Wendy Ellis wants to do more than raise money. She wants those who attend
the Decatur Storm Autism Awareness Tournament to understand the disability
and know the extent to which it reaches across Alabama. Taking from a song
her son, Brett, and Seth Roddy wrote about her autistic daughter, she
thought butterflies - 8,000 to be exact - would be the perfect way to
represent each of the state's autistic children. She decided to hang them
throughout Wilson-Morgan Park at the third annual travel baseball tournament
April 20-22. "The song is about giving them wings and that, if you give
them the resources and supply their needs, an autistic child can do what any
other child can do. They just need to be taught another way," said Ellis,
whose husband, John, is a Decatur Storm baseball coach. She knew, however,
that 8,000 butterflies were too many for one woman to make, so she turned to
Somerville Road Elementary, where she knew they understand autism. Her
daughter, Brayden, is autistic and is in the school's developmental program.
Ellis said 8-year-old Brayden has trouble speaking, usually only speaking
when prompted. She didn't eat solid food until she was 5. She's sensitive to
loud noises. Fortunately for the Ellis family, Brayden doesn't mind human
touch. "She loves getting hugs and kisses," Ellis said. Brayden is in an
inclusion class, learning with other students who aren't disabled, but her
mom said the teachers and students have always been understanding and
patient with her daughter. She said her classmates are constantly helping
her do things like stand in line at lunch or in the restroom. Ellis asked
the perfect pair, elementary art teachers Tammie Jacob and Linda Miller, to
help her accomplish her goal. Always looking for class projects, the two
agreed. Jacob teaches at Somerville, West Decatur and Walter Jackson, and
Miller teaches at Benjamin Davis and Leon Sheffield. They figured that
between their five schools they could easily conquer the project, but they
admit now that that 8,000 butterflies are more than they expected. They
began in February and are still making butterflies. They turned to the
other elementary art teachers, who enlisted their classes. Church groups and
home-school children even got into the burgeoning project. Middle school and
high school students are cutting out and laminating the butterflies and will
help hang them before the tourney. "This really became a citywide project,"
Jacob said. Ellis said she couldn't believe the response she got from her
request for help. "Everyone just gladly pitched in," she said. Art
teachers had their students make the butterflies in a variety of art styles
such as texture rubbings, stain glass designs using tissue paper, drawing
and tiling. The youngest students learned to trace, glue, cut and follow the
lines. Jacob said the project included a lesson on symmetry and how the
shapes and colors of a butterfly are the same on both wings. "They study
butterflies in second grade, so this went well with that lesson and the
third and fourth grades could really identify with them," Jacob said. The
project provided the opportunity to teach the students about autism and
dealing with children with disabilities. They learned that there are
different levels or spectrums of autism, including touching. Some autistic
children do not like to be touched. ..."

28. "Police raid Mercer County doctor's office" dated 12 April 2007 by
Brian C. Rittmeyer <mailto:brittmeyer@...> from the Pittsburgh
TRIBUNE-REVIEW at
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_502280.html.

"State police this week searched the offices of a Mercer County doctor and
seized a drug linked to the 2005 death of a 5-year-old autistic boy.
According to the search warrant application, state police also collected
paperwork as part of an involuntary manslaughter investigation involving Dr.
Roy E. Kerry. Investigators said Wednesday they are trying to determine the
manner of Abubakar Tariq Nadama's death in Kerry's Butler County office.
Nadama received a controversial autism treatment known as chelation at
Kerry's Advanced Integrative Medicine Center in Portersville on Aug. 23,
2005. He suffered a heart attack after receiving an intravenous dose of
disodium EDTA, short for ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid. Police searched
Kerry's offices Monday and Tuesday, seizing a bottle of EDTA, a copy of
Kerry's medical license and forms detailing policies, procedures and
medication lists, court records show. Police declined to comment on the
searches. Kerry has not been charged with any crime. He still has his
medical license and is awaiting a trial on disciplinary charges related to
the case, brought in October by the Department of State. "The bottom line
is, at this juncture, it seems there's potential for some type of litigation
one way or the other," said Kerry's attorney, Richard Kabbert said. "So I
think it's premature for us to comment at this time." Kerry's Butler County
office was closed yesterday. A receptionist who answered the phone at
Kerry's Greenville office said the doctor would not comment. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration has approved EDTA only for acute heavy-metal
poisoning. Some believe autism, a developmental disability, is linked to
heavy metal exposure and that chelation therapy can rid the body of those
metals. In a report published last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention warned against using disodium EDTA -- the type used
on Nadama -- because it also can rid the body of calcium. An autopsy showed
low calcium levels in Nadama's blood caused fatal damage to his heart
muscle. Calcium disodium EDTA is the mainstay for chelation treatment in
children, according to the CDC. A group of doctors who reviewed the case,
including forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, agree that the procedure
performed on Nadama "rose to the level of acting in a reckless and grossly
negligent manner," according to a police affidavit filed with the search
warrant. A medical assistant who told investigators she administered the
treatment at Kerry's direction said she used an intravenous "push" -- in
which the drug is injected quickly into the bloodstream -- instead of a
"drip," which takes several hours, the affidavit states. Illinois Dr. Anju
I. Usman, who investigators said recommended the treatment to Kerry, said
the disodium EDTA should never be "pushed," the affidavit states. The CDC
found two other deaths connected to chelation: A 2-year-old Texas girl died
in 2005 after she was mistakenly given disodium EDTA for lead poisoning, and
a 53-year-old Oregon woman died in 2003 after she received EDTA. "It's our
feeling there were a lot of things that were done wrong," said Nadama family
attorney John Gismondi. "He was giving a treatment that's not an approved
treatment for autism. He gave the wrong drug in the wrong dose and he gave
it the wrong way."

29. "SCC won't hear appeal for autism treatment funding" dated 12 April
2007 by Lloyd Robertson from CTV News (Canada) at
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070411/autism_070412/2
0070412?hub=CTVNewsAt11.

"Canada's highest court will not hear an appeal from a group of Ontario
families fighting to have the government pay for specialized treatment for
their autistic children. The 28 families argue that costly Intensive
Behavioural Therapy should be covered by the provincial government and
included in schools across the province. "This is very, very frustrating
for us," Tammy Starr, one of the parents involved in the case, told CTV
News. Victoria Tremblett, whose five-year-old son Jacob is autistic, did
not hold back in her anger at the decision. "They sit behind a desk and
they make laws and make rules, and they don't know what it's like," she
said. As is typical in leave-to-appeal rulings, the Supreme Court gave no
explanation for its Thursday ruling. According to the Autism Society of
Canada, autistic people can find difficulty in social interactions,
communicating with others, and learning in a normal educational setting.
However, symptoms of the disorder can vary wildly from person to person.
Some patients display repetitive behaviour and can even suffer from
self-inflicted injuries. Treatment costs tens of thousands of dollars --
sometimes an entire year's salary. Parents often have to keep their
autistic children at home -- away from school -- to receive treatment.
Lawyer Mary Eberts, who represents the 28 families who took their case to
the Supreme Court, said that amounts to discrimination. "The public school
system does not have its act together. These autistic children are denied a
free public education that's available to all the other children in
Ontario," Eberts told CP. "So far, in spite of every effort by the parents,
there remains a very strong policy barrier against ... adequate services to
children with autism in the public school system." Taline Sagharian, who
has a 10-year-old autistic child, said intensive behaviour initiative (IBI)
is far too costly for most families. "Parents who can't afford to pay for
it, they can't provide it for their children, and their children are not
progressing the way they could be, and they should be." She said some
families are paying as much as $74,000 for IBI. Ontario currently offers
the Autism Intervention Program to help pay for IBI. However, there is a
waiting list of about 1,000 children, and some have been on the list for
years. The program also doesn't cover the entire cost if families get
funding for a private service provider. "But the other issue -- a very,
very big issue -- is that the families cannot get this intervention in the
schools," Sagharian told CTV.ca on Wednesday. Education Minister Kathleen
Wynne said Ontario is hoping to offer another form of therapy in the
classroom, called Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). Wynne could not say how
long parents would have to wait for the ABA initiative to begin. "ABA is
the approach that allows kids on the autism spectrum disorders to be part of
the mainstream classroom, to be part of the mainstream school," she told The
Canadian Press. "Will we have it implemented by Labour Day in September?
No, but the expectation is that there will be more service available and
more ABA in place across the province." Sagharian said Ontario is far
behind Alberta, where therapy for autistic children is both readily
available and paid for by the government."

30. "Group Seeks Medical Mercury Ban" dated 12 April 2007 by Brian DeRoy
from NBC 17 News at
http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/health___fitness.apx.-content-articles-
NCN-2007-04-12-0010.html.

"A parents group wants the state to ban mercury from all vaccines in North
Carolina, saying mercury is a substance harmful to some children, and
increases rates of autism. On the other side, state health officials say
autism has no connection to mercury. Twelve-year-old Will Medlin's mother
believes exposure to mercury in vaccines received as an infant contributed
to developmental issues. "Essentially every vaccine he received and every
time he was vaccinated, he was overdosed on a powerful neurotoxin,"said
Angela Medlin. Medlin is part of a parents group that wants to ban
thimerosal. It's a mercury-based preservative from all vaccines in North
Carolina. Some states, like California and New York, already have banned it.
The Medlins moved from Cary to Guilford County about four months ago and
they say one of major reason is the schools. Guilford County has a program
for kids especially like Will and it's not available in Wake County. "My
son now has the diagnosis of mercury toxicity, I believe injecting mercury
into kids will cause mercury toxicity," Medlin said. Dr. Kevin Ryan, the
Chief of the State Health Department's Women's and Children's section, says
"Thimerosal containing vaccines are not associated with autism or other
behavioral disorders, and are safe to use." Ryan says replacing thimerosal
with a substitute in vaccines is costly and unnecessary. "It's going to cost
the state over a million dollars to come into compliance with this law,
because the thimerosal vaccines are more expensive than the ones we
currently use," Ryan said. Others in the medical profession disagree. Dr.
John Pittman treats kids who have been exposed to mercury. He says before
the Federal Government banned thimerosal vaccines for infants in 1999, the
problems were obvious. "They determined that children were getting by the
time they were just 6 months old, they were getting 87 times the amount of
mercury than is considered safe for the consumption of fish during that same
time period," Pittman said. Ryan says the mercury in Thimerosal is
different than what's found in contaminated fish. State officials say
banning thimerosal from flu vaccines will create the perception that the
injections are unsafe. The state says that isn't true. Critics say its
better to play it safe. As for Will Medlin, his challenges are still ahead
of him. His mother hopes more talk about this issue can only help parents
and kids."

31. "States Seek Tightening of Standards for Mercury" dated 12 April 2007
by ANTHONY DePALMA from The New York Times at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/nyregion/12mercury.html?_r=2&ref=health&or
ef=slogin&oref=slogin.

"New York and six other Northeastern states announced yesterday that they
have joined in a regional pact to try to force the federal government to
enact tougher standards on mercury emissions. Claiming that they have done
about as much as they can to reduce mercury pollution within their own
borders, the states plan to focus on airborne mercury that drifts into the
region from the Midwest, particularly from those states where coal-fired
power plants are the prime source of electricity. The Northeastern states
acknowledge that they have little power to force other states to reduce
smokestack emissions. But by banding together, they hope to pressure the
federal government to enact national standards. "The states can do a great
deal on their own, but they cannot solve the problem," said Pete Grannis,
the new commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental
Conservation. "But New York and its sister states can gang up on Washington
to force the administration's hand to move ahead on this. Northeastern
states have already tried a similar approach to compel Washington to act on
environmental issues. In December 2005, New York and six other states formed
a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to curtail smokestack emissions that
contribute to global climate change
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html?
inline=nyt-classifier> . Several other states subsequently expressed their
intention to join the group or form their own, increasing pressure on the
federal government. Under the draft mercury plan announced yesterday, the
states would use provisions of the federal Clean Water Act to establish
maximum levels of mercury that local lakes and rivers could absorb.
Calculations of those maximum levels would recognize that the majority of
mercury pollution in the region comes from other states. Thus, for the
Northeastern states to meet federal clean water standards, the other states
would have to reduce the amount of mercury they put into the air. "We have
to remind the administration that this is a serious and ongoing problem,"
Mr. Grannis said. "The federal government needs to come in and set national
standards." Besides New York, the states cooperating in the mercury
agreement are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
and Vermont. The states worked with the New England Interstate Water
Pollution Control Commission to put together the draft plan. Throughout the
Northeast, mercury contamination has become a growing health concern.
Mercury is a metal that occurs naturally. It is released in a gaseous form
when coal is burned in electrical generating plants. Smokestack emissions
drift across state borders, and the mercury lands far from where it was
released. As the mercury falls on lakes and streams, it becomes
methylmercury, a neurotoxin that accumulates in fish, with concentrations
increasing in larger fish that eat smaller ones. The presence of harmful
levels of mercury has led to health advisories limiting the consumption of
sport fish taken from thousands of lakes, rivers and streams in the
Northeast. In New York State, most of the lakes and streams in the
Adirondack and Catskill Mountains are posted with consumption advisories
because of excessive mercury levels. In recent years, New York has taken
several actions to reduce or eliminate mercury contamination. The state has
adopted tough air control standards to reduce mercury emissions from
coal-burning power plants within its borders by 90 percent by 2015, far
exceeding existing federal regulations. The state has also tried to reduce
the amount of elemental mercury in the environment by requiring dentists to
collect and recycle mercury in dental fillings so that it is not flushed
down drains or thrown into the trash. According to the draft plan, reducing
the amount of mercury contamination in the region by 86 percent to 98
percent would cause the amount of mercury in fish to decline to levels at
which consumption advisories could be lifted. Public hearings on the draft
plan will be held in New York State on May 2 to 4. Locations for the
hearings, and a copy of the draft plan, are available on the Department of
Environmental Conservation Web site, www.dec.state.ny.us.'

32. "Jenny Mccarthy Opens Up About Son's Autism" dated 13 April 2007 from
Female First at
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/Jenny+Mccarthy+Opens+Up+About+Son+s+A
utism.-14925.html.

"Actress/model JENNY McCARTHY <> has opened up about her four-year old son
Evan's autism after revealing she's planning to release a new book all about
dealing with the developmental disability. The former Playboy pin-up has
revealed her son is "hypersensitive to air and water" on her website
IndigoMoms.com and she's determined to help educate parents and teachers
about autism. She says, "I want our children to start each day in silent
meditation. I want organic cafeterias, outdoor class sessions... I want it
all." McCarthy, 34, will reveal all about her own struggles with her son's
autism in new book Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey In Healing Autism.
She tells In Touch magazine, "It's a heartbreaking story about a serious
health issue."

33. "Family applies for autism assistance dog" dated 13 April 2007 by T.L.
Hamilton from The Galveston County Daily News at
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=39fc558d21139572&-sessio
n=TheDailyNews:42F942220a15b00851qYuL7F878A.

"When Kelly Barbin didn't know where her autistic son was for a full 30
minutes, her world came crashing down on her. "Seth, my son, found the
correct key and unlocked the front door of our new house," Barbin said with
a shaky voice. He found his way to their old house in a neighborhood
nearby. The people living there called the police, and Seth was soon
reunited with his family. Seth's younger brother, Noah, is also autistic.
At times, he will run out to the street - into oncoming traffic. "I have to
physically grab them or block their path to keep them from danger," Barbin
said. "They don't understand when I call them." Locking the doors to her
home doesn't help, as Seth has an uncanny ability to unlock them. Autistic
children often don't have a normal reaction to danger, and they don't react
to their parent's warnings the way most children do. That's a lot of stress
for one mother's shoulders. That's why the Barbins applied for an autism
assistance dog from 4 Paws for Ability. The dog will be trained to keep Seth
and Noah from hyper-focusing, get them to interact with others and keep them
safe from danger. Autism On The Rise Federal statistics show a seven-fold
increase in reported cases of autism in the past decade. However, part of
the increase can be attributed to a broadening of the diagnostic definition
of autism, an increase in public awareness and the creation of more
incentives to treat autism. Data released this year by the Department of
Health and Human Services shows that about one in every 150 8-year-old
children in the United States has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum
disorder. An estimated 560,000 individuals 21 years old and younger in the
United States have some form of autism. The word "autism" comes from the
Greek word for self, "autos." Autistic children may seem to be in their own
world, tuning out everyone else. Autism can be genetic, and its prevalence
is higher among boys - there are from three to more than six boys for every
girl with an autism spectrum disorder. Seth and Noah's 13 year-old sister,
Chelsea, for example, does not have autism. The disorders impair social
interaction. Unusual behaviors and interests are common. This means
autistic children could have trouble relating to others, not show an
interest in other people, not know how to talk, play with or relate to
others, repeat actions over and over again and have unusual reactions to the
way things smell, taste, look, feel or sound. Some, like Seth, constantly
cover their ears to block out all of the interfering stimulation. "He hears
everything at once," Barbin said. "He hears the fan moving, the clock
ticking, the light bulb buzzing. It's too much for him." Some stimulation
leads to an obsessive reaction. Seth carries a plush snowman toy with him
everywhere he goes. He seemed to relish the feel of the fabric. His mother
said he fixates on the visual stimulation the snowman's long arms and legs
create when they move. Child's Best Friend. One of the hardest issues to
overcome for an autistic child is a lack of companionship. Karen Shirk,
founder of 4 Paws for Ability, mentioned one child who took this especially
hard. Tyler, a 10-year-old, was so depressed he tried to kill himself.
"Higher functioning autistic children know they are different, but they
can't make themselves act like the other kids do," Shirk said. Things
changed when Tyler met Scooby, the autism assistance dog. His confidence
improved and his social skills sharpened. "Now, everyone at school wants to
meet Tyler and Scooby," Shirk said. "People know his name wherever he goes,
and sometimes that little bit of inclusion is all these kids need." ..."

34. "Lost Boys: Autism and My Son- They used to be thought of as loners,
misfits, even geniuses. Now they're being labeled "autistic." But here's the
scary part: The diagnosis may boil down to an excess of maleness" by Lou
Schuler from MSN.com at
http://health.msn.com/pregnancykids/kidshealth/articlepage.aspx?cp-documenti
d=100160052&page=1.

"Kimberly and I stared at the child psychiatrist, not sure how to react.
His question to us-"Have you ever considered that what you have here is a
perfectly normal boy?"-had been at once ridiculous, and one we wished we
could have answered in the affirmative. This shrink was only the latest in a
long line of evaluators, and for the few minutes the doctor saw him,
Harrison could have passed for a normal, if hyperenergetic, kid. But we
knew better. Our son, at 8 years old, is a beautiful child, with hair as
red as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, blue eyes that make you wonder why
people made such a fuss over that Sinatra guy, and a mischievous smile that
turns his freckled cheeks into matching whoopee cushions. All this sits on a
frame so gangly that, when he does his gliding walk up on the balls of his
feet, you sometimes get the impression that his magnificent head is
self-propelled, rather than a part of the natural apparatus. And, yes, my
wife and I would love to consider him normal. That would mean we could
occasionally hire a babysitter for him and his sisters and go out to see a
movie. That would mean we could sign him up for sports teams and summer
camps and swimming lessons without making sure that a parent or aide would
be with him every minute, or that the instructor had a background in special
education for kids like Harrison. That would mean every day wouldn't start
with "Harrison, have you taken your medicine?" And almost every weekday
afternoon wouldn't include a therapist in our home, trying to teach him how
to approach people or start a conversation. And every night wouldn't end
with an epic battle between his spiking energy level and our plummeting
ones. But most of all, it would mean the psychiatrist was right, that
Harrison isn't autistic. That he's just a boy being a boy. Though the line
between that and autism isn't always perfectly clear, it's one we know
Harrison may have crossed the moment he was conceived. We didn't have that
"aha!" moment when we realized our boy was different, just a series of signs
that he wasn't developing normally. Harrison didn't exhibit the speech
delays that often signal autism-he's fantastically articulate-but his
behavior was always behind that of other children. Kimberly, my wife, once
returned home from a playdate in tears after she'd had to drag a kicking and
screaming Harrison out of someone's house. Other times, she was just
exhausted by his behavior, his difference, his oddness. If he wasn't making
strange noises, he was flapping his arms or rolling around on the ground.
Even when he did things that seemed normal, he did them apart from the other
kids in the room. Still, the first time someone dropped the A-bomb on us,
we felt as if we'd been slapped. "I think he's autistic," my younger sister
blurted out during a family Christmas gathering, when Harrison was 7 weeks
shy of his third birthday. ..."

35. "Treating Autistic Spectrum Disorders In Children: Utility Of The
Cholinesterase Inhibitor Rivastigmine Tartrate" by CHEZ Michael G. ;
AIMONOVITCH Mary ; BUCHANAN Thomas ; MRAZEK Susan and TREMB Ryan J. in the
Journal of Child Neurology at
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15703494.

"Rivastigmine tartrate is a dual-action cholinesterase inhibitor shown to
improve language, cognition, and global functioning in patients with
Alzheimer's disease, likely via increased availability of cerebral
acetylcholine. Because cholinergic receptor abnormalities can contribute to
the neuropathology of autistic spectrum disorders, rivastigmine tartrate
could prove to be an effective therapy for affected children. Observations
of improved behavior and language output from prior open-label and
double-blind treatment of autistic children with donepezil, another
cholinesterase inhibitor, prompted this 12-week open-label study with
rivastigmine tartrate of 32 autistic patients. Therapeutic indices were the
Childhood Autistic Rating Scale, Gardner's Expressive and Receptive One-Word
Picture Vocabulary tests, and the Conners' Parent Rating Scale. Testing
administered at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks showed gains in both
expressive speech and overall autistic behavior over baseline. These
improvements were statistically significant and supported the hypothesis
that treatment with cholinergic enhancing drugs in autistic spectrum
disorders yields positive therapeutic effects."
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE