6-Year-Old Singer Makes National Debut on NBC's 'Today' Show - Six-year-old Gina Incandela from Kissimmee, Fla. made her national debut on the 'Today' show this morning. "It's all good and so cool," said Incandela while in the NBC green room as she waited to go to the famed Studio 1-A in Rockefeller Plaza for an interview with Al Roker, Natalie Morales and Amy Robach.  Gina appeared on the top-rated morning show to perform the National Anthem and for an interview. Gina's accomplishments are nothing short of amazing for any girl her age, says her publicist Glenn Selig, of Tampa-based The Publicity Agency.  "The fact that she has autism makes this an even more incredible story," says Selig. Gina was diagnosed with autism at two years old.  She didn't talk until well after three. Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication.  It also causes restricted and repetitive behavior.  Signs and symptoms usually begin to manifest before a child is three years old. Gina has been singing the National Anthem for major league sports teams for the past year. She will perform at the U.S. Open in New York on Sunday.  And Gina also is recording a CD.

Asperger’s Added to British Hacker’s Defense - The case of the British conspiracy buff who hacked his way onto the wrong side of American law at a particularly sensitive time would seem to have reached a crucial point. After several legal twists and turns, Gary McKinnon seems to have run out of ways to avoid extradition to the United States, where a prosecutor accused him of “the biggest hack of military computers ever detected,” but his defense is beginning to emphasize the suspect’s recent diagnosis to influence the proceedings. The European Court of Human Rights was asked to step in on the grounds that Mr. McKinnon faced the possibility of “inhuman or degrading treatment” if he ended up in an American prison. The request was denied today, ending his attempt to stop the extradition in court. “The appeal is lost,” Karen Todner, a lawyer for Mr. McKinnon, said, according to Reuters. “He is completely distraught, all of them are, his family, his girlfriend.” Ms. Todner said that he could be put on a flight to the United States within three weeks unless a British official decides to reverse his earlier refusal to intervene in the case. Since the first decision, Asperger’s syndrome, which is considered a form of autism, was diagnosed in Mr. McKinnon.

Asperger's Syndrome: Cannabis Convict Needs Help, not Prison - Judge tells defendant to "Put up with your condition like thousands of others do". - A Scottish man who grew cannabis to treat a mental disability, has been sent to jail for 7 months having been found guilty of growing 26 cannabis plants at his cottage in Broxburn. 42 year old Peter Tinlin suffers with Asperger's syndrome, which is a form of autism. The condition, which was first recognized by Hans Asperger in 1944 is a lifelong mental disability. It affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. Autism is often described as a 'spectrum disorder' because the condition affects people in many different ways and to varying degrees. People with Asperger’s Syndrome are often described as having social skills deficits, reluctance to listen, difficulty understanding social give and take, and other core characteristics. The condition is typically quite misunderstood and/or misdiagnosed in our country today.

'Autistic' mice give genetic clues - A STRAIN of loud laboratory mice that show all the signs of having autism could help us understand the complicated genetics of this mysterious condition. Previous studies of the BTBR strain of mice have found that they have two of the three symptoms normally used to diagnose autism in people: repetitive behaviours and decreased social interaction. Now Maria Luisa Scattoni of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues have found that they also display a third trait associated with autism. The researchers separated baby mice of different strains from their mothers. The pups made noises ...

Autism Research Institute Announces Autism TV - Our sponsor Autism Research Institute announces, "Autism TV: Stories of Intervention and Recovery" and invites you to submit your story HERE. At ARI, we are very careful about giving false hope to parents; but it is a far greater error to offer no hope, when recovery or near-recovery is possible. ARI strives to give realistic hope, by stating: "Autism Is Treatable, and Recovery is Possible." Dr. Bernard Rimland, ARI's Founder, worked exhaustively to identify effective biomedical and behavioral treatments for autism. Decades ago, when most believed children would progress only as far as their innate potential permitted, Dr. Rimland spoke of recovery. And, in Dr. Rimland's lifetime, we went from "no hope" to "hope for many." With hard work and luck, we will meet our ultimate goal: "prevention and recovery for all." In the final months of his life, Dr. Rimland often talked about the recovered children whose overjoyed parents shared their stories with ARI. His face clearly showed how proud he was to know that increasing numbers of children are improving dramatically from a disorder that, only a few decades ago, was considered hopeless. Please send your link - your video, news clip or story can make a difference for families living with autism today.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Bill Becomes Law - Governor David A. Paterson signed legislation last week sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Alfano, Deputy Speaker Harvey Weisenberg and Senator Kemp Hannon that will require the Department of Health (DOH) to update the guidelines used by pediatricians to identify children with autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and refer them for appropriate services. Alfano called the bill signing a tremendous step forward for children with autism. Joining Alfano and Weisenberg in sponsoring the legislation were Assemblymen Rob Walker and Tom McKevitt and Senator Chuck Fuschillo. "This legislation will help pediatricians across the state quickly and comprehensively identify kids with ASDs, so that they can receive the support they need at an early age," said Governor Paterson. "Coupled with other efforts recently announced by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, this bill will not only ensure our children have access to appropriate services, but will help educate the public on these often overlooked disorders." "This new law will establish procedures for doctors and give parents the information they need to address and incorporate strategies for children with autism. For too long, professionals have waited to address the needs of children with autism and this new law takes a proactive approach for children," said Alfano adding, "services for children with autism will now be targeted at an early age which is the way it should be."

Baseball Teams For ASD Children Announced - Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) and the Miracle League of Westchester announce a new partnership -- the development of baseball teams for children ages 5-12 who are on the autism spectrum. This innovative collaboration is made possible through the Sports for Youth Initiative of UJA Federation of New York. “Since the Miracle League aims to provide people of all ages with disabilities the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime, this partnership is truly a home run,” says Patricia Grossman, LCSW, WJCS Program Director. “WJCS brings to the Miracle League our expertise in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and running social skills groups for children and teens on the spectrum.”

Budget cuts affect Autism task force - Governor Jim Gibbons is hearing pleas to keep Nevada's Autism Task Force together, including one person he knows very well. The task force was recently disbanded. Its funding ran out after a series of recommendations were issued on ways to help families with Autism in Nevada. The governor is open to letting the task force informally make its case during the next legislative session. But supporters, including First Lady Dawn Gibbons, is calling for an executive order to keep the task force together. "They are very committed individuals, but they need the power of the administration behind them to get the attention of the legislators," says Dawn Gibbons.

Child Immunization: Safe or risky? - "To vaccinate or not to vaccinate your children," that is the question. As the month of August — National Immunization Awareness Month — comes to a close and a new school year quickly approaches, parents are turning this over in their minds. At first glance, the answer may seem like a no-brainer, but for most parents, it can be one of the toughest and most risky decisions of their life, not to mention their child’s life. On one hand, there are the parents who believe vaccinations are beneficial because they can prevent their children from contracting once-deadly diseases such as meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.

Coverage for Autism Therapy Prompts State Mandates and Lawsuits ... - An explosion in the number of children diagnosed with autism has led to lawsuits against Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans and other carriers over health insurance coverage for controversial therapies. Concerns over autism therapy also have prompted several states, such as Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania, to enact new autism benefit mandates, forcing Blues plans to revise coverage policies. On July 1, the father of a 7-year-old with autism filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to force the insurer to reimburse about $8,000 paid for therapy, according to one of the family's attorneys, John J. Conway of Detroit. Another suit over autism therapy coverage was filed in April against WellPoint, Inc. subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente in California.

Hacker Gary McKinnon loses appeal, US extradition looms - Gary McKinnon, the alleged NASA hacker, has failed in his last ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to have his extradition to the United States quashed. Barring a last-minute intervention, he will be extradited within two weeks. According to the BBC, McKinnon is reported to be “distraught” at the news and his lawyer Karen Todner said this had been her client's "last chance" and appealed to the British Home Secretary to intervene. Todner told the BBC that, "Gary is absolutely devastated by the decision. He and his family are distraught. They are completely beside themselves. He is terrified by the prospect of going to America." She also said she would ask for the case to be tried in Britain. U.S. authorities have accused McKinnon of hacking into and damaging a number of U.S. military and NASA computers between February 2001 and March 2002. McKinnon has always maintained that his motive was only to find evidence of extraterrestrial activity that was held on the U.S. computers. In a related point, McKinnon is said to have been recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, an autism-like disorder.

Just happy to find place for her son - A Balbriggan mother who has struggled to find a place in school for her autistic son has finally found a place but she has had to go as far as Donnycarney for it. Natalie Afolabi was eager to move from home schooling to a specialist autistic unit in a school to help her son’s social and educational development. Natalie’s son, fiveyear- old Sean, finished his home schooling on July 25th and is looking forward to going to his new school in Donnycarney in September. It is an ordinary national school but has a specialist autism unity where Natalie hopes Sean will get the quality education and care he deserves. Natalie Afolabi had applied to almost every Balbriggan school in an effort to find a place for her son and according to the child’s tutor, Sean would be more than capable of learning at a main stream school with an assistant. Her long and difficult search took her across north Dublin, all the way to Donnycarney and while she laments the fact that she could not find a suitable facility closer to home, she is happy with the school she found.

Kids not a ‘get out of jail free card’ - Having two young children didn’t spare a Bay St. Lawrence-area couple from going to jail Wednesday for a violent home invasion 16 months ago. Judge David Ryan rejected any notion of a conditional sentence for Delilah Delores Dixon, 25, or her husband, Peter Sheldon MacKinnon, 40, and sentenced them instead to 18 and 26 months behind bars, respectively. "I don’t know any community that wouldn’t look upon your actions as totally abhorrent," Judge Ryan told the couple standing side by side and without emotion in the prisoner’s box. "You caused severe injuries, left scars on the (victims’) psyche and that takes a long time to get over." Defence lawyer Joe Rizzetto requested a sentence of house arrest for Ms. Dixon so she could stay home in Sugarloaf with her children, one of whom was recently diagnosed with autism. He pointed out that she has complied with a 24-hour curfew since Ingonish Beach RCMP arrested her in March of last year. "She’s a good mother," Mr. Rizzetto said. "She has two children that need her at home . . . and her husband being in a federal institution, I think it’s fair to assume she will abide by any conditions imposed by the court." But Crown attorney Kathy Pentz argued that "having a family is not your get-out-of-jail-free card" when it comes to violent crimes.

Lack of autism funding is a shame - The idea of denying children the therapy that helps improve their lives and diagnosed conditions is unthinkable. But that's what is happening in Dalton McGuinty's Ontario with regards to children with autism. The lack of funding for autism services is a provincial shame. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the most common developmental disabilities, usually appearing during the first three years of life. It is a serious neurological disorder affecting children and their brain development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills, often resulting in severe and pervasive impairment. The prevalence rates in recent years have been increasing, now with 1 in every 150 children diagnosed with ASD in Ontario alone. The good news is that early diagnosis and intervention programs have dramatically insured positive outcomes for children immediately and into adulthood.

Local teenager writes children's books - A local teenager is making it her life's goal to become a best selling author, and not even her struggles with a social disorder will stop her. Pender County's Alea Bushardt is not your average teenager. At the age of 17, she is already an accomplished equestrian and the author of two children's books. "I started drawing picture books when I was really young, and I kind of grew up with that. The horses just kind of came with age. I had the horse phase as a teenage girl, and it pretty much stayed with me a lot," said Bushardt. It was her love for horses that inspired her writing and was the key to unlocking her struggle with autism. As a child, Alea had a difficult time dealing with her disorder when it came to communicating with others. She then decided to turn her thoughts into words. Alea began writing her first book, "Cloud Filly," at the age of 13. She finished it in less than a year. Later, she went on to write the sequel, "Sky Stallion."

NASA hacker makes final appeal to British government - Gary McKinnon, the British hacker who successfully breached top U.S. government security, has reportedly made a final appeal to home secretary Jacqui Smith to prevent his extradition to the U.S. The appeal comes one day after the European Court of Human Rights yesterday turned town McKinnon's bid to prevent the extradition. McKinnon had argued he should not be moved to the U.S., because he fears he could be treated as a terrorist, tried in a military tribunal and ultimately imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He is due to be moved to the U.S. within the next fortnight, and could face up to 80 years in prison for hacking into Pentagon, NASA, U.S. army and navy computers, in what has been termed as the world's largest hack. He faces eight charges of computer fraud. In 2001, McKinnon, 42, broke into the Pentagon's system from his north London flat and left a message saying "your security is crap". It was in 2002 that a U.S. court first indicted McKinnon for the offenses, although he was not arrested by British police until 2005. The U.K. government first approved his extradition in 2006. He has maintained he was only looking for information on UFOs and aliens. The U.S. government has said he caused nearly $1 million (£550,000) of damage and made key military systems unusable after the 9/11 attacks.

Ontario parents continue battle for accessible autism therapies - It was four years in the making, a stolen glance in which, for the very first time, Anna Martini's eyes locked with her son Joshua's. Never in Ms. Martini's life had eye contact seemed so precious. Joshua Martini, now 11, was diagnosed with autism shortly before his third birthday. His mother credits therapies such as applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) with bringing his wide brown gaze to connect with her own. A class-action lawsuit brought by the Martinis and four other families against seven Ontario school boards and the provincial government has over the past three years fought and fumbled its way through levels of court, ending up at the Supreme Court of Canada. Elements of the lawsuit have been tossed out by judges and reborn in turn, and, in documents submitted yesterday to the Supreme Court of Canada, lawyers for the families hope to resurrect several more elements of the lawsuit they argue are essential to making ABA and IBI available to Ontario children affected by autism.

Pasco man fights the odds to earn his GED -  School was always a struggle for Michael DaConceicao. Still, he managed all right until his freshman year of high school, when he moved to the Midwest to live with his dad. That year his dad, a district manager for Wal-Mart, got transferred four times to three states. "High school's definitely the roughest time — at least for me it was," said DaConceicao, 23. "It was getting hard and the kids — well I just didn't relate to them. I didn't like school. I started skipping. Stayed at home. Watched videos. Played the music real loud. Had my own little party." And dropped out. Fast forward six years to tonight, when DaConceicao will collect his GED at the adult education commencement at River Ridge. He will be one of about 200 students earning their GEDs, high school diplomas or certificates of completion at ceremonies tonight in New Port Richey and Wesley Chapel.

Police searching for man missing from Butler County home - Authorities in Butler County are searching for a 23-year-old man with mental retardation who went missing from his home this morning. Mark Richard Ryan, of Summit, was last seen in his home on Kaiser Road at 5:30 a.m. He is 5-foot-3, 176 pounds, and is white with brown eyes and brown hair. Police say he has a medium build and is unshaven. Mr. Ryan was last known to be wearing a black No. 7 Ben Roethlisberger Steelers T-shirt, blue jeans and brown sandals. Police say Mr. Ryan has been diagnosed with moderate mental retardation, autism and exotropia -- meaning one or both eyes turn outward. Mr. Ryan also walks with a severe limp due to muscular tissue distortion in his feet. Police say Mr. Ryan has "limited communication skills and is considered a danger to himself outside of immediate care due to his intellectual disabilities."

Prolific Author to Share Experience with Autism - Professor and prolific author Temple Grandin, said to be one of the most accomplished and well-known adults with autism in the world, will be the keynote speaker for the President’s Convocation at Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 11 a.m. in the Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 Park St., Bloomington). Titled “Decoding the World Through the Unique Perspective of Autism,” Grandin’s address will offer personal insights to further understanding of the autistic community. Grandin will also be available for a faculty-moderated public session at 4 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher St., Bloomington). The session will focus on “Facilitating Employment for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” a central topic for the autism community both locally and nationally. Illinois Wesleyan first-year students encountered issues related to autism through the 2008 Summer Reading Program selection The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Written by Mark Haddon, the novel’s protagonist is Christopher Boone, a young boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Each fall, Illinois Wesleyan’s Summer Reading Program gives incoming students, faculty and staff an opportunity to participate in a shared intellectual experience.

Recognising autism in your child - Medical researchers are exploring different explanations for the various forms of autism but no single cause has yet been ascertained. Autism is a neurological disorder defined as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal, non-verbal communication, and social interaction usually evident by age three that significantly affects a child’s educational  performance. According to the National Institute of Mental Health between 2 and 6 per 1,000 people have some form of autism. It occurs four times more commonly in boys than girls.

Ross mom whose son has Asperger's writes book of poems - Like the autistic character Dustin

 Hoffman plays in the movie "Rain Man," Rebecca Foust's son is, in her words, "very different."He has extraordinary ability in math, for example, scoring a perfect 800 on his SAT. He has superhuman eyesight, vastly better than 20/20. "He can look at a bird in a tree a mile away and tell you what color its eyes are," Foust said, insisting she isn't exaggerating. "If you drop a contact lens on the floor, he can walk into the room and pick it up." He also has hyper-sensitive powers of smell and taste, although he may forget to eat. And he has an extremely high IQ, but has been known to put his shoes on the wrong feet. Foust's son, now 20, has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism sometimes known as "idiot savant disorder" or "little professor syndrome." He was one of the now 46,000 California school children diagnosed with autism - the fastest-rising learning disability in the state, according to a report by the California Department of Education Autism Advisory Committee. Foust's painful and challenging experiences raising a boy with Asperger's is the thread running through her debut book of poetry, "Dark Card." Published by Texas Review Press, it won the prestigious Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize in 2007 and was a finalist for the Emily Dickinson First Book Award.

 Scientific panel formed to check fever that killed over 120 ... - A panel of scientists, including experts from National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has been formed to contain a mysterious fever that has claimed over 120 lives in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur division in the last three weeks, an official said Wednesday. "The scientific panel will be headed by M.M. Gore of NIV. At present, Gore is associated with NIV's field station in Gorakhpur district (of Uttar Pradesh)," an NIV scientist told IANS on phone from Pune. Gore's field of specialisation is anti-viral immunology, she said. Besides NIV experts, scientists and doctors from Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science, Lucknow, B.R.D. Medical College Gorakhpur and other hospitals are also the members of the panel, sources said. I.S. Srivastava, director general (medical and health), confirmed that the scientific

Station picks local advocate for families with autistic children ... - Tina Rear, of Hodge Road, was told by a friend to listen to the radio Friday morning because there was something she needed to hear.    Although she was unsure of what she was supposed to be listening for, or if she would even be able to listen to the radio at the specific time, she made backup plans to have her daughter listen at home and call if it was something she needed to hear.    Still not knowing what to expect as she sat in her car with the radio on, Ms. Rear was later reduced to tears when she heard her name announced as a winner of Central New Jersey’s WMGQ Magic 98.3’s “Women Who Make Magic” program.    ”Hearing my name on the radio was surreal,” she said. “It was one of those moments where you say, ‘Did they just say my name, what are they talking about, I can’t believe this.’”    For the fifth year in a row, Magic 98.3 is sponsoring its “Women Who Make Magic” program, which honors women who have made a difference in their communities.    ”Central New Jersey is made up of countless extraordinary women who have made significant contributions to their families, careers and communities,” Cindy Loniewski, regional events coordinator for Greater Media New Jersey, said. “This exciting event is a wonderful way to recognize outstanding women in our community.”

Super mum is living her dream - GAYLE Wagstaff's house is always full, extremely busy and at times very noisy. At the age of 23, she thought things would be very different because she feared she would never have a baby. So, she became a foster mum and filled her house with foster children. "Almost overnight I had the family of my dreams," said Gayle, of Mickleover. "It was wonderful." What happened three years ago made the 31-year-old's life complete. After being diagnosed with fertility problems and spending £9,000 on treatment, she was pregnant. Gayle's fifth and final course of IVF delivered what she had always wanted – a double bundle of adorable twins. "It was brilliant," said Gayle. "I'd loved being a foster mum, but having children of my own was something I really wanted to do. It was the best news ever." Gayle's children, Martin and Millie, who is autistic, are the centre of her world – but she still has more love to share. As well as her own children, who celebrated their third birthday on August 8, she is providing an adult placement for Hayley Fell, 20, who has learning difficulties.

Teen convicted over autistic man's death - A SCHOOLBOY has been convicted of manslaughter over the stabbing of an autistic man in a Sydney public toilet block. The 17-year-old was standing trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court for the murder of Gerard Fleming, 35, at Narrabeen, on Sydney's northern beaches, last June. Mr Fleming suffered from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and was stabbed by the youth after approaching him at at the toilet block, which is a known gay beat. A jury of 12 today convicted the youth of the lesser charge of manslaughter after deliberating for half a day. The youth, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, closed his eyes in relief as the foreman returned the verdict. He will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

The authorities have lied, and I am not glad / Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, author of 1987’s The Truth About the AIDS Panic, says it is a shame that AIDS insiders did not expose the myths and opportunism of the AIDS industry earlier. But still, better late than never. by Dr Michael Fitzpatrick - There is a widely accepted view that Britain was saved from an explosive epidemic of heterosexual AIDS in the late 1980s by a bold campaign initiated by gay activists and radical doctors and subsequently endorsed by the government and the mass media. Cover illustration by Jan Bowman According to advocates of this view, we owe our low rates of HIV infection today largely to the success of initiatives such as the ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ leaflet distributed to 23million households and the scary ‘Tombstones and Icebergs’ television and cinema adverts (though they are always quick to add that we must maintain vigilance and guard against complacency). Now former AIDS industry insiders are challenging the imminent heterosexual plague story and many of the other scare stories of the international AIDS panic. James Chin, author of The AIDS Pandemic: The Collision of Epidemiology with Political Correctness, is a veteran public health epidemiologist who worked in the World Health Organisation’s Global Programme on AIDS in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Elizabeth Pisani, a journalist turned epidemiologist and author of The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS, spent most of the past decade working under the auspices of UNAIDS, which took over the global crusade against HIV in 1996. Once prominent advocates of the familiar doomsday scenarios, both have now turned whistleblowers on their former colleagues in the AIDS bureaucracy, a ‘byzantine’ world, according to Pisani, in which ‘money eclipses truth’.

The Relationship Between Sensory Processing Patterns and ...

Vaccines Seek to Offer Cradle-to-Grave Protection - Immunization shots used to be the realm of the young. Babies would go through series after series of vaccinations. And toddlers would take their shots before entering preschool. And they still do. But vaccines are now expanding to include all age ranges, in an attempt to ward off disease from the cradle to the grave. What's more, immunization rates continue to gradually improve in the United States, although not as quickly as public health officials would like. About 77 percent of children 19 months to 35 months had received all their recommended vaccinations in 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It falls short of the federal goal of 80 percent but is a small improvement over the 76 percent.

A family fights Autism - Like many 10-year-old boys, Garrett Spadoni likes to wrestle with his brothers and swim, and he has a passion for painting. Like a growing number of other children, he also has been diagnosed with autism. “At first it is a daunting illness,” said Leonard Spadoni, Garrett’s father. One in 150 children are diagnosed with autism, according to Autism Speaks. The group’s Web site says autism is the fastest-growing form of developmental disability in the United States. While Garrett has special needs, his family is set on giving him support. They also work hard to spread awareness about the disability.

A Shot Felt Around The Country - Two-and-a-half years after undergoing a successful bone marrow transplant to treat Hodgkin’s disease, R., a 40-something Jerusalemite, was feeling pretty good. He was back at work, having fun with his family, when he suddenly developed a horrible cough that just wouldn’t quit. “It was January 2008 and I was doing my best to take care of myself when I developed a classic whooping-cough cough,” R., who requested anonymity, recalled this week from his home in Jerusalem. “A blood test came back positive for whooping cough.” R’s cough was so bad that he couldn’t sleep lying down, “so I slept on the sofa for a month.” Once, he said, he actually passed out because he couldn’t stop coughing. “If you cough long enough, the heart slows down, your blood pressure drops and you faint. I lost a month of work because of this,” R. said. Although R. was at high risk of developing pneumonia and other complications from whooping cough, “fortunately, they didn’t develop,” he said gratefully. “But it still took time for me to recover.” While no one can say exactly how R. was infected with the potentially deadly disease, he is fairly sure of the reason why. “Someone who wasn’t vaccinated infected me or other people who infected me,” R. said. Though the overall rate of vaccination in Israel is about 95 percent — on par with the U.S. and most Western countries — the fact that some Israeli parents either refuse to have their children vaccinated or are overwhelmed by the logistics associated with vaccinating a large family, is creating a health risk not only for Israelis but those who come into contact with them.

Autistic child removed from daycare - Controversy surrounds an Old Saybrook day care. A mother says she was told her three-year-old can not attend because he is autistic. According to Autism Speaks, one out of 150 kids today has autism. But, one family in Connecticut says their son's being discriminated against because of his disability. "At six months, I noticed that when he was playing with a bottle cap, he kept taking it on and off and had to make sure it was on," Ali Linkov, of Guilford, said of her son. "He'd get very frustrated if he couldn't do it." Two-year-old Aidan Linkov has since been diagnosed with autism.

Autism's cause remains mystery - Pediatricians do not know what causes autism or autism spectrum disorders, but we do understand the frustration of families who want to know the answers. Children with autism are not all alike but they have many of the same features. They may have social problems such as not keeping or making eye contact, not reacting to a smile, or not looking at objects that we point to. They may have communication problems such as no words by age 2 or not responding to their name. They may have behavioral problems such as rocking, spinning, or flapping hands. There are many ongoing studies looking for the cause of autism. Some cases have already been linked to genetic conditions, but most are still unknown. While we are searching for the cause of autism, we want to continue to protect children from other diseases that we do know the cause of, specifically, vaccine preventable infections. There are many bacterial and viral organisms in the environment just waiting to make children sick. Pediatricians want to make sure that parents do not rely on incorrect or incomplete information about the safety of vaccines when deciding to get vaccines.

Back to School Cook Book - Susan Delaine considers Balancing the Bowl, the most important book she will write in her career. Healing autism is possible through the use of proper diet, detoxification, nutrition supplementation and an array of other natural processes." Self-published author, lecturer and passionate advocate for autism awareness and action, Susan Delaine considers Balancing the Bowl, the most important book she will write in her career. In her mission to organically heal autism, one child at a time, Susan authored two cookbooks, entitled "Balancing the Bowl" which takes a close look at the connection between autism, diet, digestion and immunity. The first edition is designed for those who have multiple food allergies, while the second contains allergen-free recipes that are completely gluten-free and casein-free.

Dog Helps Child Cope With Autism - Starting junior high can be a stressful time for any child, but especially if that child suffers from autism. But for 12-year old Colton Ruder of Olathe, his new canine friend, Coop, helps him cope with the challenges of a new school year. "At school he was very tense very nervous and he would get sometimes very aggressive," said Colton's mother, Shelley Ruder. "We tried different medications and nothing really worked." Service dogs have been around for decades. but recently the interest in training dogs to help autistic children has grown. The Ruders got Coop from Canine Specialty Training in Independence, a company that trains dogs for people with disabilities and veterans.

Family needs volunteers to help give autistic son intensive therapy - parents Rob and Leanne Dole have renewed calls for volunteers to help with the intensive therapy that is helping to bring the world back to their autistic son Blake. When Blake was first diagnosed as severely autistic, his parents were told that he would never communicate or learn. With the help of the Son-Rise program over the past six years, Blake is now speaking and showing curiosity, and even teasing his little brother Bayley. His autism was recently re-diagnosed as “severe to moderate” by the same doctor who diagnosed him six years ago. Mrs Dole hopes that Blake will continue to progress to the point where he will be able to integrate into a local high school. But this will depend on finding enough volunteers to help give Blake the intensive one-on-one therapy he needs. The alternative is for the family to relocate to Sydney so that Blake can attend a specialised school.

Film on autistic pro surfer screens on Maui - A young professional surfer with exceptional gifts and challenges is the subject of a new surfing documentary from Quiksilver. "Just Add Water" features Clay Marzo, a 19-year-old Maui resident with an aptitude for tube riding and aerial maneuvers. Clay Marzo Marzo, however, also has Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism that makes certain social or controlled situations difficult for him. Sometimes those occasions include important surf contests. "Just Add Water" will screen at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului at 8 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 7 p.m. It's the only screening in Hawaii, but the film begins playing in theaters nationwide this month, and DVDs go on sale in surf shops beginning Oct. 1.

Hillary Clinton's Speech at the Democratic National Convention - "...I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn't have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care..."

I'm in it to Win It!! - My name is Lori Collins have been married to my husband Jason for 16 years. We have 5 children. Our three sons happen to have Autism but that never stops us from living our life to the fullest!!! We are huge fans of the show and watch it as a family all the time. I love to gamble, take chances, try new things and live life and I would just love a chance to be on Deal, what an opportunity for our family right!!!!! I am a teachers aide for severly handicapped students which is hard work but I love every minute of it. My life is crazytown and I like it that way I am full of energy and have a bit of a loudmouth but I balance it with a heart of gold!!!

Job Hunting With A Disability - If you think finding a job is hard in this troubled economy, try looking for one while battling a disability. One Triad woman contacted us to get answers about where developmentally disabled job seekers can go for help. One popular place we found is a local wholesale bakery. After months of looking for a job, Celebration Elegant Desserts is where 20-year-old Jasmine Perez found hers. "I bake and help decorate cakes," she says. Perez got her bakery start with help from LifeSpan. It's a non-profit agency that puts disabled people to work in everyday businesses. "Folks with developmental disabilities tend to be great employees," says Buzz Vanderwerff, a spokesman for LifeSpan. "If it's the right job, right position, you'll have no more dedicated employee with someone with a developmental disability who wants to work there."

Ontario parents continue battle for accessible autism therapies - It was four years in the making, a stolen glance in which, for the very first time, Anna Martini's eyes locked with her son Joshua's. Never in Ms. Martini's life had eye contact seemed so precious. Joshua Martini, now 11, was diagnosed with autism shortly before his third birthday. His mother credits therapies such as applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) with bringing his wide brown gaze to connect with her own. A class-action lawsuit brought by the Martinis and four other families against seven Ontario school boards and the provincial government has over the past three years fought and fumbled its way through levels of court, ending up at the Supreme Court of Canada. Elements of the lawsuit have been tossed out by judges and reborn in turn, and, in documents submitted Wednesday to the Supreme Court of Canada, lawyers for the families hope to resurrect several more elements of the lawsuit they argue are essential to making ABA and IBI available to Ontario children affected by autism.

Oregon's low vaccination rate causes health concerns - Vaccine skeptics have plenty of company in Ashland. There, doubts about the necessity and safety of immunizations are as much a part of the community as its embrace of naturopathic medicine, environmental ethos and counterculture roots. The university town, and smaller enclaves of Jackson and Josephine counties, are among pockets in Oregon where parents increasingly seek waivers from some or all of the vaccinations required for schoolchildren. Twenty-five percent of Ashland kindergartners were exempted from at least one vaccine last year. That dwarfs the average statewide exemption rate of 3.8 percent, a rate that's also inching up. Like-minded people tend to cluster, with the political and social implications of that the subject of intense debate. But health officials say our sorting might have another consequence -- for public health. Oregon allows medical and religious exemptions, defining religion as "any set of beliefs, practices or ethical values." That puts the state more in line with the 18 states that allow a philosophical exemption. Considering that 30 percent of Oregonians self-identify with a religious denomination, it's likely that most parents who seek the exemption are doing so for reasons that aren't religious, says Courtney Campbell, professor of medical ethics at Oregon State University.

Measles Cases Increase Due to Parents’ Reluctance? - Parents are to blame for the fact that the number of measles cases in the U.S. has reached its highest point since 1996 according to researchers’ recent announcement. Some parents oppose their children’s vaccination due to philosophical and religious reasons or fear that the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is dangerous. Others also pay attention to absurd rumors that say that the vaccines cause autism despite the fact that the theory has been denied by scientists and by authoritative medical organizations more than once. The paradox is actually that measles was declared nearly eradicated in 2000, when 63 cases occurred throughout the whole year. 131 measles cases have already occurred this year in the U.S.A. from 15 states and the District of Columbia. Fifteen people, including four infants, were hospitalized. There were no deaths. In Illinois, 30 people were sickened in the same period of time. There were only 42 cases last year. So the situation is rapidly getting worse. "We're seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us," said Dr. Jane Seward, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Minnesota Investigates Autism in Somali Children - Minnesota health officials are examining a "possible surge" in autism cases among Somali immigrant children in the state, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. In Minneapolis, 3.6% of Somali immigrant students were in autism-related programs as of July, about twice the district average. In 2007, Somali children made up 6% of the city's school population and 14 of the 81 children, or 17%, in early childhood education autism programs in Minneapolis. The "numbers have been creeping up for several years, especially among young children," the Star Tribune reports. Click HERE for more.

Missing Blackburn kids found safe - POLICE launched searches yesterday after two young children went missing from their Blackburn homes in separate incidents. An 11-year-old boy, who has severe autism, was reported missing from the Manxman Road area at 2.50pm yesterday, police said. The force helicopter was deployed to help with the search. A member of the public reported seeing a boy on the railway line, near to Blackburn station, police said. The helicopter confirmed the sighting and officers picked up the boy at around 4pm. Around the same time, police received a report that a six-year-old boy had gone missing from his home, but he was found a short time later, officers said.

Mom Fights CCSD Over Son's Placement - A second-grader is starting off the school year with controversy. His mother is keeping him home because of an ongoing battle with the Clark County School District. The boy's mother said she wants him to enjoy school like all the other children. But the school district is trying to accommodate to his special learning needs. Nolan Davis, 7, never met his new teacher or classmates. “I'm very stressful, very upset, very concerned. I think it will do great harm to him,” said his mother, Jeanine Davis. Davis kept her second-grader out of school because he was placed into a class for students who are seriously emotionally challenged. Nolan was diagnosed with autism, a brain development disorder, when he was 2 years old. But Davis said Nolan has been in general education since kindergarten. Last year, he was a first-grader at Kesterson Elementary School at 231 Bailey Island Dr. in Henderson. “I have some information to give you that he's an honor student, so he's very high-functioning,” Davis said. This year, the school district is moving him to Whitney Elementary School at 5005 Keenan Ave. in Las Vegas and into an SEC classroom. “The children in that Socially Emotional Class -- I don't know how to say it politically correct -- are very emotionally disturbed children, and he can engage and learn detrimental behaviors,” Davis said. The Clark County School District won't comment specifically on Davis' case but said in order for a student to be eligible for SEC, a student must exhibit emotional behaviors that interfere with his or her learning or the educational experience of other students.

More people are choosing to eat gluten-free diets - At the Whole Foods Market in El Segundo, Calif., two women stand scanning a refrigerator case filled with packages of gluten-free food -- carrot cake, rice flour bread, scones, ginger cookies, pecan pie and chocolate chip muffins. Judy Beckett, a retired educator, was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago: Her gut cannot tolerate gluten, and switching to these foods has improved her digestion and quality of life. Claudia Lopez, a housekeeper and mother of four, is looking for gluten-free food for herself and her family. She recently switched to it at the urging of a health expert she heard on the radio. Beckett and Lopez have plenty of company as more and more consumers embrace the gluten-free trend. Users run the gamut: There are such people as Beckett with celiac disease who must be on the diet; others who believe that the diet can alleviate chronic intestinal complaints and boost energy; still others who believe that the gluten-free diet might help in the treatment of autism and a host of other disorders, including schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder, migraine and even fertility problems. And some people are trying the diet simply because they've heard it is healthy. "A lot of people are going gluten-free ... but they really don't know why," said Suzy Badaracco, the president of Culinary Tides, a company that forecasts food trends. "It's just like, ‘Quick, it's gluten-free, it must be good!'"

Mothers help artists find their voices - Coming from him, it was a lot of hard work and had tons of meaning behind it. Growing up with autism wasn't easy, but the 22-year-old artist from East Lansing has a strong support system, including his mother, Stefeni. The homemaker, who has five children (including Anthony), eschews any credit for helping her son's art career. Even though she was a main influence in the creation of his business, Art of Autism, she gives him all the praise.

New "Magical Apparel" Line Inspires Children To Expand Their Minds ... - Just in time for back to school and Halloween, Fun and Function LLC is introducing a new line of costumes for children 3 to 8 years old. Modeled after rescue (fireman, policeman, EMT) and fantasy (princess, ballerina) figures, the costumes teach dressing skills and promote imaginative role play in the home and classroom. They also feature interior pockets into which special weights can be inserted as a therapeutic measure for children with sensory processing difficulties, autism and other challenges. As the pockets and weights are externally undetectable, the costumes promote inclusion without the "special needs" stigma. - Just in time for Halloween and the start of a new school year, Fun and Function LLC has introduced "Magical ApparelSM," an affordable new line of realistic and fantasy dress-up products suitable for children age 3 to 8, with enhanced features tailored to those with special needs. Magical Apparel promotes inclusion by allowing all children, including those challenged by sensory processing disorders (SPD) and autism, to explore their passions for imaginative role play together, sharing costumes without the stigma or hindrance of looking different. Retailing for $19.99 to $39.99, the Magical Apparel line includes realistic rescue outfits to let children portray firefighters, police officers and EMTs, as well as fantasy outfits to capture the spotlight as fairy princesses and ballerinas. The versatile outfits are constructed of a heavy-duty cotton/poly blend with elastic panels for one-size-fits-all convenience. Incorporated laces, snaps, buttons, zippers and hook-and-loop closures help children develop their fine motor skills. For children who need extra sensory input, interior pockets allow optional weights to be safely inserted.

Parenting Advice: Who Do You Trust? / New Site Cuts through Thicket of Unchallenged Advice Online, Lets Parents See Leading Experts Challenge Each Other on Facts and Ideas  - Fighting the flood of unchallenged parental advice and unsubstantiated assertions on the Internet, a new site called OpposingViews.com offers a media platform where experts state their case and defend their views. The result? Parents have a place to go on the web to help them understand the complex questions they face each day. Covering subjects such as education, health and nutrition, discipline, child safety and special needs, Opposing Views asks experts specific questions on topics like spanking, concealed weapons in schools, vaccines and autism, food safety and sex education – and the experts then make their argument, allowing parents to see all sides of “the truth” and make better decisions. Authorities like the National Autism Association, Teen Aid, the American Public Health Association, PETA and the National Rifle Association (NRA) have participated in debates.

Pediatrician goes green with an eco-friendly office - Pediatricians are used to considering the health effects of the environment on children. Every day they test kids for lead poisoning, treat young patients with asthma and allergies, and question how frequently they diagnose autism and neurological disorders. Now an Oradell, N.J., pediatrician is considering what impact his own medical practice has on the environment. Dr. Lawrence Rosen, medical adviser to the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, has opened what could be the first “green” pediatric office in northern New Jersey. The office is built and furnished with non-toxic materials, from examination tables to ceiling tiles and paint. Examination rooms are suffused with natural light. Medical records are electronic. Paper, plastic and glass are recycled, and a disposal program for patients’ unused medications is in the works.

Presumed guilty: The loving stepfather devoted to helping autistic ... - Every second Thursday, John Pinnington follows the same, rather bleak routine. After breakfast, he heads to his local JobCentre, where he collects his dole money for the week ahead. It is a paltry sum, a mere fraction of what he used to earn when he was the respected deputy headmaster of an Oxfordshire college for young adults with learning difficulties. He and his wife Rosie no longer enjoy the comforts of the lifestyle they once led.  They have to rely on the goodwill of friends with holiday homes in the UK when they need a break, and can barely afford to keep their neat three-bedroom terrace house in the tranquil Oxfordshire village of Benson. Without his £35,0000-a-year income, they have been forced to resort to selling off various family possessions in order to pay their mortgage. For John's once-excellent career prospects have been destroyed because of a series of unfounded and spurious indecent assault claims made by three young adults in his care. Despite police investigations into each of the claims, none of the allegations has resulted in criminal charges or conviction but, despite this, they remain on his teaching record - preventing him from securing another job. Earlier this month, John, 59, lost a High Court battle to clear his name, despite the judge admitting the 'serious weaknesses' in the allegations. In a judgment which will affect thousands of carers in charge of children and young adults in Britain, the judge ruled that future employers should always be made aware of such allegations, however 'weak and unreliable' they were. The case is a test of tough new vetting laws introduced after the infamous murders of two Soham schoolgirls in 2002.

RAW DATA: Transcript of Bill Clinton’s Speech at Democratic Convention - I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other serious conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn’t afford health care ...

Sleight of hand and sense of self - An illusion that tricks people into believing a rubber hand belongs to them isn’t all in the mind, Oxford University researchers have found. They have observed a physical response as well, a finding that offers insight into conditions which affect a patient’s sense of self and body ownership, such as stroke, schizophrenia, autism, or eating disorders.

The Depression Files - When I look back at old photos from over the years, I come to the immediate conclusion that I have never been able to hide my inner states from the camera.  There is a story there in the old black and white images, the grade school portraits, and the more contemporary digital renderings.  Depression has been the ghostly presence to many of my visual images and memories of self.  I don't ever wish to romanticize melancholy yet it does seem a part of my selfhood.  Where did it begin and why?  I really don't know.    I could point fingers to my environment and childhood trauma.  Raised solely by a mother who had a mental illness herself, paranoid schizophrenia, I certainly had the fodder for creating feelings of entrapment and despair.  Genetics?  Sure.  I have the genes to produce depression in spades.  My father was a depressive and died at an early age.  He lost his life to alcoholism when I was but four years old.  What else?  Stressors?  Certainly life is full of them.  I have had to deal with my youngest son's diagnosis of autism and now my recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.  Nobody is immune to life's offerings of both the good and the bad. 

The first steps toward body detoxification - Autoimmune diseases, cancer, allergies and numerous other modern ailments can be traced back to the toxic effects of the pollution we have either ingested, inhaled, or consumed, passively or deliberately. As Americans we store carcinogens in our body fat as a method of protecting the rest of the body from its destructive effects. The body has several detox pathway, but due to overburden, they become overwhelmed. Our body naturally detoxifies via our exhaled breath first, through our skin second, urine third and our bowels last. When our lungs become compromised, then the other organs take over to share the extra burden. If they are also compromised, then disease takes over. We know this, because breathing disorders, when suppressed, will shift the burden to its sister organ, the skin, as with eczema. That’s why asthma and eczema are typically related disorders.

The Psychiatrically Malfunctioning Democrats - Treacly, treacly...that's Hillary But what about the self-serving but ultimately self-demeaning story Hillary told about the single mom, sick from cancer, with (what else?) the name "Hillary" painted on her head made bald by chemotherapy? I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn't have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care. Frankly, there is something psychiatrically malfunctioning in the Democratic habit of reveling in human tragedy amidst the cheering and the rock music, the idol worship and the loss of simple common sense.  And the truth is that, even if Hillary were president (and Obama, too) the single mom would have had a bald head and two autistic children and maybe, even if with health care and Hillary's name emblazoned on her skull, her life would not be good. The president is no deus ex machina against the relentless ticking of fortune.

The unprotected among us - The development of increasingly effective vaccines is one of medicine's great triumphs. Thanks to large-scaled vaccination programs, the World Health Organization has wiped out smallpox and is close to doing the same to polio. But here at home we have a problem. As Scripps Howard News Service reporter Lee Bowman found, "Hundreds of thousands for children are going to school this fall without protection from deadly diseases." It is a worrisome development and one whose resolution is neither simple nor cheap. Bowman reviewed filings with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and found that more than 135,000 children started school last fall exempt from vaccine requirements. And anecdotal evidence suggests their number is growing. Further, more than one in four toddlers under age 2 are not being vaccinated on schedule. Infectious disease specialists say that for some diseases the level of vaccine coverage had dropped below the level of "herd immunity," where isolated cases of the disease won't spread into the general population. This could threaten to undo years of progress in public health.

Unusual Ultrasonic Vocalization Patterns In Mice May Be Useful For ... - Scientists have found novel patterns of ultrasonic vocalizations in a genetic mouse model of autism, adding a unique element to the available mouse behaviors that capture components of the human disease, and representing a new step towards identifying causes and better treatments. See also: Health & Medicine Infant's Health Birth Defects Children's Health Mind & Brain Autism Child Development Child Psychology Reference Autistic spectrum House mouse Ultrasound Rett syndrome "Particularly intriguing are the unusual categories of vocalizations and the more frequent, loud harmonics evident in the BTBR T+ tf/J (BTBR) mouse model of autism, that may resemble the atypical vocalizations seen in some autistic infants," say study authors Jacqueline Crawley, PhD, of the National Institute of Mental Health and Maria Luisa Scattoni, PhD, of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome, Italy. 

Why some parents question vaccines - Measles cases in the U.S. are rising, and parents who reject vaccination are shouldering much of the blame. Nearly half of the 131 cases so far this year involved unvaccinated children, including 25 home-schooled kids in Illinois. Health officials worry that as vaccination rates decline, herd immunity is lost, increasing the chance of a mass disease outbreak. Some pediatricians, meanwhile, are frustrated that they have to spend so much time convincing parents that vaccines such as the measles, mumps and rubella shot are safe. Questioning in itself is not a bad thing, especially since the Internet has ignited an information explosion, some of it inaccurate. It does, however, reflect a larger crisis of confidence in public health officials and policy, which has developed partly because so many new, seemingly unnecessary vaccines have been added to the schedule and because no one can explain what causes, how to prevent or how to treat the new childhood disorders: asthma, allergies, attention deficit disorder and autism.

Connecting with An Adult Child with Autism - Your Advice Requested - A reader writes of her adult son with autism: I need help. I love my adult son deeply and want to be there for him, but any mention of him being anything but perfect or expression of my feelings puts him immediately on the defence. He's independent, holds a good job etc. It seems to me that I either let him dictate the terms of our relationship or don't have one with him at all. Is there a middle ground that stops me feeling stone walled? If you're the parent of an adult with autism - or an adult with autism yourself - can you help this mother? Should she simply accept the terms presented by her son - or is there a good way for her to comm