B.R.A.S.S.

Bend Redmond Asperger Syndrome Support.  Home to the "new" planet syndrome.

 

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"The number of students identified with autism spectrum disorders continues to grow exponentially. "In Oregon, the only statewide measure of prevalence is the annually collected child count of students who are eligible for special education under the eligibility of autism. The most recent data (December 2007 Special Education Child Count) shows that there were 7,078 students with a primary eligibility of autism out of a total statewide school enrollment of 566,067 (October 1 2007 Average Daily Membership), or 1 in 80 students. However, the regulations defining the special education eligibility of autism are different from (and somewhat broader than) the medical definition of the ASDs set forth in the DSM IV-TR (2000 American Psychiatric Association), possibly affecting Oregon’s numbers compared to other states."

The increase in ASD's prevalence is systemic across the entire United States and should be a urgent public health concern. The majority of the increase is attributed to young children and does not take in to consideration  those placed in private, home, residential or other placements. Nor does it take in count or recognize the adult population.  The increasing prevalence time trend provides additional evidence that  frequency is, and has been, increasing in the United States. The frequency of autism spectrum disorders now surpasses that of all types of cancer combined." A must read is:  US Department of Education Data on "Autism" Are Not Reliable for Tracking Autism Prevalence  by James R. Laidler, MD.  From the Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.  Why are Oregon stats so high?  Are we better at diagnosing or is  mercury,  vaccinations, environmental factors or genetics a concern in Oregon?  Should Oregon families  be worried?

B.R.A.S.S.  is a support group for families with Asperger Syndrome in Central Oregon.  This site is dedicated to "all" families in all parts of the world and their loved one's "with" AS. 

"We might not always agree, ...but together we will make a difference."

 

"If there were no change, there would be no butterflies"
Author Unknown

Can rain + TV watching = autism?
- After his son's autism spectrum disorder was diagnosed, Michael Waldman began to wonder whether television viewing might play a triggering role. The question so obsessed the Cornell University economist that he enlisted several colleagues to pursue the answer by means of an unlikely strategy: studying rainfall records in Oregon, Washington and California. Kids cooped up indoors on rainy days, they figured, probably watch more television.  To the surprise of autism experts, the economists found that the disorder indeed appears significantly more often among children living in counties with more rain and snow. The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a respected scientific journal, published the findings Monday. How rain could have anything to do with autism remains a mystery. Darryn Sikora, director of the autism program at Oregon Health & Science University's Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, doubts that television habits can explain the difference.

Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRES) - Oregon
 Academic
AutisticSpectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE) project brings together the academic community and the autistic community to develop and perform research projects relevant to the needs of autistic adults. Our partnership will adhere to the principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), whereby researchers and community members serve as equal partners throughout the research process. Additionally, researchers may be drawn directly from the community. Partners are expected to learn from each other and respect each other's areas of expertise.

Raymaker, D.M., & McDonald, K. (2008, April). Working with students on the autistic spectrum at Portland State University. Workshop presented at Portland State University, Portland, OR.
HTML Abstract
PDF Slides (~280 KB)

From AASPIRES
The Autism Society of Oregon (ASO) has posted a survey which includes a box for comments at the end, and several other areas asking about general satisfaction with the organization.   The background is that ASO is an ASA branch which refuses to acknowledge the inclusion of autistic people in their policy or on their board. This organization tokenizes the people they are intended to serve by doing things like wanting autistic people to design their fund raiser T-Shirts, but at the same time refusing to even answer questions related to the idea of including an autistic person on their board of directors. ASO does things about us without us...

 

Win An Autism Puzzle Piece Quilt!
Managing Editor's Note: Check out this gorgeous quiltQuilt_2 that's a raffle prize at the DAN! Conference which begins today. You don't have to attend to win.  Send your check to ARI to buy tickets today (see below!)  Here are the details from Lynda Huggins:  Attached is a picture of a portion of a beautiful Puzzle Pieces Quilt that my dear friend (college roommate many years ago) has made to be raffled at the upcoming DAN Conference in San Diego . Puzzle fabric surrounds the larger puzzle pieces. It is a twin/throw size, valued at $300, one of a kind treasure!  Raffle tickets are available: $1/ea, 6 for $5, 12 for $10, 25 for $20, etc. All proceeds from the raffle go toward the Million Dollar Puzzle project which honors the memory of Dr. Bernard Rimland.

Edging away from life-saving vaccines
 - No single medical advance has had a greater positive impact on human health than vaccines. Largely
because of vaccines, deadly or disfiguring diseases such as diptheria, rubella, pertussis, polio and other diseases have been completely or virtually eliminated from the United States. Vaccines also stand as the best chance to prevent pandemic influenza and AIDS, and to prevent certain common cancers. So it disturbing to see growing clusters of children in Portland, and elsewhere, going without vaccines -- a risk to their health, and to others in the community. Much of the opposition to vaccinations stems from fears that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or a mercury-containing preservative (thimerosal) in vaccines or a combination of the two can cause autism. Autism is a heartbreaking disorder, and there is no good scientific explanation for what seems to be a large increase in diagnosed autism.  ~ Oregon Live

           YOU CAN WRITE A GRANT PROPOSAL                 
By Dan Coulter

Get a grant.  It's free money.  Okay.  Not totally free.  You do have to so some work for it by researching and applying.  And you'll be almost surely be competing with others applying for the same grant.  That being said, if you have good idea for a project to help others, there are literally millions of dollars out there waiting to be allocated to deserving projects...

Effectiveness of Treatments for ASD
In Children and Adolescents
 

Final Subcommittee DRAFT
Produced by:
The Health Resources Commission
Office for Oregon Health Policy & Research - June 2008 

Landmark Study Finds Mercury Poisoning Causes Autism
New study, “Biomarkers of Environmental Toxicity and Susceptibility in Autism” in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Neurological Sciences(1), confirms a causal link between subacute mercury poisoning in children and their autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. The autism community reported that this study presents, “…some compelling evidence…consistent with the author’s theory that mercury exposure plays a role in autism.”(2)

The power of empathy
The empath is a recurring character in Star Trek, usually a woman, who has the ability to read the emotions of others, sometimes at great distance. What is truly sci-fi is that almost all humans possess this apparently fantastical ability. Empathy is a true human superpower. Most of us are empaths. Most of us feel for strangers, can read other people's emotions and can feel other people's pain. Some of us can even take on the suffering of others in an effort to help them. Aremarkable proof of our empathic talents is in the movies. Almost anyone in the world can sit down to watch a film and, in a matter of minutes, begin feeling for and identifying with total strangers. Because we see it all the time, we rarely marvel at this incredible talent. We have the power to put ourselves in the shoes of people who don't even exist. These fictional creatures make us laugh, fear and cry.

Asperger diagnosis came late
A single university seminar made everything about Jen Birch’s at times difficult life make sense like "a bolt from heaven". Jen had struggled for more than 40 years with undiagnosed asperger syndrome and had spent months at Kingseat psychiatric hospital. But her lifechanged forever the day she heard the lecturer describe her condition. Jen was born into a dairy farming family in Karaka and was different from other children from day one. "Mum says she could tell I was different from the day I was born but she couldn’t see what was different. "Fifty years ago there wasn’t even a term which could’ve been put on it." The Greenlane resident says she was socially withdrawn and fearful of sudden movements and sudden noises. "When I was a small I was taken to see a train. I love trains now but as a child I was terrified by the huffing and puffing and especially when it let out the squeal of the whistle." Other children were thrilled to see the train but Jen says she hunched over in fear. Heightened senses are typical of people with asperger syndrome or other autism spectrum disorders.

How  to Love Without Emotions
By Robert W. Murray
It is widely said and accepted that the autistic person has serious trouble connecting with the world around them, particularly on an emotional level. This ranges from grief, to happiness, and from joy to despair. The emotional state of others is something that is completely beyond my capability in comprehending. When I see someone getting emotional over an event or situation, I find myself confused and bothered that I am unable to share in that moment with them, whether it be through tears or great enjoyment. Perhaps, though, the area which I most fundamentally misunderstand or have trouble deducing is what is referred to as ‘love’.

SAYING WHAT WE'D WANT TO SAY     
By Dan Coulter

My wife, Julie, and I lost a close friend recently.  Bella died quickly and unexpectedly of a heart attack.  It was a real shock.  The kind that makes you look at your life and how you're living it. Bella and her husband, Mike, were very close.  So much so that it's hard to imagine one without the other. Mike told us that he only regretted not being able to say goodbye. 

LISTENING TO YOURSELF
Who do you listen to? We generally listen to people we respect. Which makes it kind of ironic that we don't always listen to ourselves. A few days ago, my wife pointed out an article about listening written last year by teacher Andy Dousis, who noticed his fourth grade students excluding a classmate from their activities.  This classmate had trouble making conversation, so he sometimes pushed or grabbed others.  He had other challenges, too, and often sobbed in frustration.

Supreme Courts rules juries should hear AS DX.
A-36-07 State v. Franklin Burr, II
(Middlesex County and Statewide)
Argued 3/10/08
Under the circumstances presented, was evidence that defendant suffered from Asperger’s Disorder admissible in defending against charges of sexual molestation of a minor? While expert psychiatric testimony can sometimes take a trial on an irrelevant side trip, in this case it's a worthwhile excursion to help the jury -- which is engaged in a search for the truth -- better evaluate the case in front of it.

Mozart and the Whale
Starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, Man on Fire), Mozart and the Whale is a heartwarming romantic drama inspired by the true story of two people with Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism). ~ Sony Pictures Home Entertainment scheduled to be released on DVD.  The emotional dysfunctions of two people suffering from an autistic disorder known as Asperger's syndrome threaten to derail the pair's emerging romance in director Petter Næss' affectionate tale of love among the mentally afflicted. For friendly taxi-driver Donald (Josh Hartnett), patterns and routines are of the utmost importance. In addition to his love for birds and his uncanny ability to process numbers, Donald does his best to give back to fellow Asperger's sufferers by leading an autism support group. When the lovely but intensely complicated Isabelle (Radha Mitchell) shows up at one of Donald's meetings, the good-natured cabbie finds that love can be as painful as it is elating. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide.  ...to order.
 

A GREAT article for children, siblings, partner's and spouses connected to AS
Growing up in an Asperger Family
by Maxine Aston
View as HTML or download as a PDF

 

I Love Someone

  with Autism.   

  Doesn't Everyone?

 

  "Solving the Puzzle One Piece at a Time."

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting." - E.E. Cummings

 

 

 

 

 

"It takes one to lead, one to affect change and one to make a difference.  The power of "one!"

Make Every Month Autism Awareness Month!

   

  "I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical.  Even God had some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin." ~ Jerry Newport

Send mail to opu@bendbroadband.com  with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003-2008 Bend Redmond Asperger Syndrome Support

Updated 11/03/2008