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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."
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"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...
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Win An Autism Puzzle Piece Quilt!
Managing Editor's
Note: Check out this gorgeous quilt
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
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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
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"It takes one to
lead, one to affect change and one to make a difference. The
power of "one!"
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Make
Every Month Autism Awareness Month! |
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"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