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News
Archive
December,
2001
Always
golden. Two students who competed in the Special Olympics
make progress in Walker Middle School's autistic class, and
one moves up to Sickles High.
Sheriff’s
deputy Robert Kahn is doing his part to help keep kids from
being harmed.
Author Robert “Bob” Kahn holds two books he has written to help
children and adults understand the dangers of strangers and
bullies. Robert Kahn wants to keep his kids safe. He wants to
keep your kids safe too, but he can’t be everywhere at one time.
So he wrote the books “Too
Safe for Strangers,” and “Too Smart for Bullies.” He
has two more “Too Smart” books for release in January and has
seven more in the works. (Sherrif Kahn has an 11 year-old autistic
son.)
www.FutureHorizons-autism.com.
For more information, write to:
Future Horizons, Inc.,
721 W. Abram St.
Arlington, Texas 76013
call 800-489-0727
or e-mail info@FutureHorizons-autism.com
Faceblindness by Bill Choisser
Take
The Autism
Quotient Test for adults.
Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's
Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient,
or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults.
Room
for some calm in autistic pupils' lives.
Linda Hall has dedicated her life to helping children with autism
to lead fulfilling lives. She became fascinated by the condition
after hearing a talk on it almost 30 years ago and has risen
from being a teaching assistant to deputy head at a leading
school for children with autism.
Mrs Hall is keen to equip a “sensory” room, intended to calm
the children and to increase their concentration through sounds,
lights and textured surfaces.
The room, which will cost about £15,000, will include a sound-light
floor and a musical wall. If a child touches a certain zone
it will light up and make a sound. Equipment showing children
how to interact with the environment will include patterned
and textured areas and other stimuli including wind chimes,
glistening balls, light-reflecting beaded curtains, tactile
walls, wobble boards and water features.
An NAS spokeswoman said: “The children love these rooms. You
see them reaching out to touch the different things. People
with autism are prone to sensory overload. These rooms allow
them to control what their senses take in. They can dim the
lights or make different sounds. It’s a way of allowing their
senses to calm down.”
Looking
past limitations
The conviction in Evan Stosick's voice when he says he'll be
the next Albert Einstein makes everyone in hearing distance
believe his dream will come true. The fact that the 12 year
old is autistic doesn't detract from his aspirations, but is
evidence that he already knows how to overcome larger obstacles
than most of us will ever face. In spite some of his limitations,
the Dexter resident keeps excelling.
A
Debate is brewing over whether British P.M. Tony Blair's son
Leo has received his MMR vaccine, fueling continued speculation
over the safety of the vaccine.
Former
Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and his 13-year old son
Michael, who has autism, jogged the Olympic torch to its final
Florida destination as part of the symbolic journey that preceeds
the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Article:
Scholar offers poignant first-person account of overcoming autism.
Harvard
Clinic Scientist Finds Gut/Autism Link, Like Wakefield Findings
Dr. Timothy Buie, a pediatric gastroenterologist from Harvard/Mass
General Hospital has performed over 400 gastrointestinal endoscopies
with biopsies, as well as evaluation of digestive enzyme function
in children diagnosed with autism and finding a connection.
The results of his testing are similar to the observations made
by Dr. Andrew Wakefield regarding the presence of chronic inflammation
of the intestinal tract, although the incidence was noted to
be less frequent in his group.
New
Information:
Unlocking Autism's Open Your Eyes Project
Check
our CAN's (Cure AutismNow) online Newsletter
New!
Developmental Milestones
Article: Honors roll in for area autistic athlete; receives
skating award. Joni Talavera, 19, of Easton, was recognized
at Special Olympics’ Fall Festival at Villanova University.
A Note: Joni graduated June 19
with the Easton Area High School Class of 2001. Today she is
a student at Northampton Community College, taking four courses
in her first semester — calculus, astronomy, basic English and
critical reading.
Article:
The number of children with autism is skyrocketing in
Metro Detroit, straining public schools as they struggle to
find qualified teachers and more classrooms.
Article:
Robert Hendren, an expert in neurodevelopmental psychiatric
disorders in children, such as autism and impulse control disorders,
and in psychotropic medications used for these disorders, has
joined the University of California, Davis M.I.N.D. Institute
as executive director. He is also a professor and chief of child
and adolescent psychiatry at the UC Davis School of Medicine
and Medical Center.
Article:
6-year-old autistic boy was injured after he wandered onto a
runway at the Santa Maria Public Airport. Boy's airport injury
still a mystery
Autistic
runner ready for his first marathon (David Thordarson
pictured above)
Ireland:
Task force backs school rights for autistic children.
|
Book
on Tantrums and Anger; Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments:
Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns by Brenda
Smith Myles, Jack Southwick
Article:
Despair
of loving an Asperger's husband.
Article;
A brain pathway that regulates neurons in the brain may be disturbed
in people with autism, Maryland researchers report.
Article:
Sam Peters' story is an extraordinary story of a woman known as
the
Erin Brockovich of autism.
After years of struggle she discovered that her boys and
her father all have some kind of autism.
In the rare moments when she was not caring for them she stayed
up late training herself to become a lawyer to help her to fight
two separate legal battles for their care, one of which went to
the High Court.
See
CAN's (Cure Autism Now) gift
collection; all available to purchase on-line.
Article:
British
P.M. Tony Blair yesterday remained steadfast in the face of mounting
pressure to reveal whether he had allowed his 18-month-old son Leo
to be given the contentious measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
Article:
A
helping hand for parents of autistic children.
Article:
Autistic child is a joy to her family.
Here
is one mom's perspective
of Christmas with an autistic child: My son, Eric, is ten-years-old
and has high-functioning autism. He is the most unique and fascinating
person I have ever met. However, he lives a rather interesting life
because of his disability, and I would like to share part of his
Christmastime experience with you.
Article:
Mother and Autistic Boy See Eye To Eye. New program in England helps
families understand their children with autism.
New
on-line GFCF bakery
Computer
helps autistic girl learn to communicate.
At age 9, Heidi Bolanos is learning to talk with help from a computer
and software provided by the News-Press Christmas Fund.
Autism
no longer a rare condition
A massive and co-ordinated research effort to identify the causes
of autism is urgently needed, say the authors of a major UK Medical
Research Council review of autism research.
The review concludes that autism and related disorders are far more
common than previously thought - and that there is no firm evidence
to date linking any environmental trigger with the disease.
Autism and related disorders affect six in every 1000 children aged
under eight, the team found. The previous figure accepted by the
MRC was between one and two per 1000. The increase is down to altered
ideas about what constitutes an "autism spectrum disorder", as well
as increased awareness of the condition, the group says.
New!
Autism
Card That may be Displayed in a Public Place.
Autistic
Kids Don't See the Face's Emotional Clues. (Reuters Health)
- To the brains of young children with autism, smiles and frowns
may be indistinguishable, new research suggests. In a study of 3-
and 4-year-olds with the disorder, the children's brain activity
did not change when they were shown photographs of faces showing
different emotions. In contrast, the brain activity of normal children
and developmentally delayed children of the same age varied depending
on the emotion apparent on each face.
Autistic
man who communicates through art publishes book. Yomiuri
Shimbun A 29-year-old autistic man, who learned to express himself
through art, recently published a book of his works titled "25 Years
of Painting--It's Progress."
Thirteen-year-old
Tito Mukapadhyay struggles daily with the challenges of severe autism.
Though nearly non-verbal, Tito can communicate independently and
is a prolific, talented and published writer. Visit
his website here.
See
the just updated December
Conference schedule from FEAT News
Olympic
Torch-
2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics carried in honor of those with
autism!
New
York (Reuters Health) - Children
with autism appear to have a higher-than-average risk of epilepsy,
suggesting that the two share a common brain abnormality, researchers
report. The investigators say that epilepsy should be suspected
when an autistic child shows signs of a seizure disorder.
Dr.
Andrew Wakefield,
the specialist who first raised concerns about the safety of MMR
vaccinations has been forced out of his job,
The Telegraph can reveal. Andrew Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist
whose research has linked the vaccine to autism and bowel disease
in children, said last night that he had been asked to resign because
of his work. "I have been asked to go because my research results
are unpopular," said Dr Wakefield, an academic at the Royal Free
Hospital Medical
School in London whose research into the triple measles, mumps and
rubella vaccination has caused controversy.
The
Autism Society of America announced today that the ASA
board of directors has taken action to streamline the structure,
management and operations of its research arm, the Autism Society
of America Foundation (ASAF). In conjunction with streamlining
the management and operations of ASAF, the ASA also announced a
commitment to create a permanent research endowment to generate
a continuous flow of funds for autism research.
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2001
Autism Rally, Conference, Hearings, and Caucus
Book
of the Week:
Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Salon
Cover Story on Autism:
"Secrets and Lies" by Lesli Mitchell
New
Book!
From Emotions to Advocacy;
The Special Education Survival Guide; Pete Wright, J.D.
New
Book!
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations
: Hidden Dangers, Pros and Cons, and Safety Measures That Can Protect
Your Child by Stephanie, Md. Cave, Deborah Mitchell (Contributor)
New
Book! Soon
Will Come the Light : A View from Inside the Autism Puzzle By Thomas
McKean
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