The U.S. Department of Education recently held its first summit on bullying prevention in Washington, D.C., as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to coordinate the federal government’s strategies to end bullying. I like the idea of better coordination and collaboration, but do hope this will be more effective than the National Director of Intelligence—remember…
My Summer Camp Experience
This past Friday, August 13th, I had the privilege of attending the Talent Show at Camp Royall. I was there to welcome families and give them information about ASNC. As it turned out, I got much more from the experience than what I gave. I arrived early to the Camp’s gym and sat out…
Diagnosing Autism with an MRI Scan?
Sounds a little futuristic—diagnosing autism with a brain scan. In a small study of 60 adults, Dr. Christine Ecker of King’s College London was able to use an MRI to detect which adults had autism with 90% accuracy. The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, has several limitations. First and most importantly, the…
Rosa’s Law, People First Language and More…
The Senate has passed legislation—Rosa’s Law—to replace the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability”. This change in terminology would affect health, education and labor policy at the federal level, and bring it into line with the language already adopted by the CDC and other federal agencies. The House version, called the Elizabeth A. Connelly Act,…
Surfers Healing This Month
As I posted in March (http://autismsocietyofnc.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/think-spring-think-surfing/), Surfers Healing will be coming to Wrightsville Beach later this month (Aug. 19). I know that the sign up is quite intense—some families log on at 12:01 a.m. to try to reserve a spot! Good luck to those who succeeded; keep tabs on the Surfers Healing website for videos. …
Report on use of antidepressants and autism
According to an article in The Boston Globe, antidepressants may not be helpful for treating the symptoms of autism. However, parents and individuals on the spectrum have reported that they might still help with accompanying depression. As usual, study results need to be taken in context: this is based on a compilation of only 7…
School Resource Officers and your child: preventing problems
Did you know that School Resource Officers (SROs) may know nothing whatsoever about your child with autism or even about autism? Did you also know that your child with autism could be arrested at school and charged with assault? Being proactive and connecting with the SRO at your child’s school could be vitally important for…
Another request for input from policymakers
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration on Developmental Disabilities would like input from the public on how they can best meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. ADD is planning future Projects of National Significance (PNS). PNS will create opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to contribute to,…
Sensory seeking or avoidant? New study to examine characteristics
THE SENSORY EXPERIENCES PROJECT (SEP) is funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (#42168) to examine the development, functional impact, and cause of various sensory features in children with autism, developmental delay, and/or typical development, ages 2-12 years. The goals of the project are to determine the sensory changes a child…