Smoking causes Autism?

Not quite but interesting research is out that suggests that a link between nictotine addition and autism. It's an inverse relationship so read closely this link from Scientific Frontline.

Researchers Find Link Between Nicotine Addiction and Autism

Hold that thought, Swedish researchers find that children whose mother smoked were 40% more likely to be diagnosed with autism. Yikes. Weird I hadn't come across this...it's a 2002 study.

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Okay, I'm dying to check out a presetation by William Stillman, author and person living with autism...it's desrcibred as a 'Demonstration lets you get 'inside' autism and see what it's like' Check out the article HERE. (Originally published by Poconorecord.com)

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Also, a report out by Treehouse, the British autism org. about bullying and autism.











adam

Autism's False Prophets

Good little video about a good little book about a big controversy.

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Have you ever seen the rain?

Interesting study out of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, on a connection between rates of autism and prevalence of rainfall/precipitation. Results showed a 'positive association' between the amount of precipitation a birth cohort (number of children living near each other) and the autism prevalence rates (number of children born with autism in that area). They don't know the exact connection except to say it suggests an environmental trigger that may or may not be linked to a genetic predisposition.

This from a Palm Beach Post article by Phil Galewitz:

“Autism prevalence was higher for birth cohorts that experienced relatively heavy precipitation when they were younger than three years,” the authors write in the study. “This corresponds to the time at which autism symptoms usually appear and when any post-natal environmental factors would be present.”

Several possible explanations exist for the positive association, according to the researchers: Precipitation may be associated with more indoor activities, such as television and video viewing, that affect behavioral and cognitive development. The increased amount of time spent indoors also may expose children to more harmful chemicals, such as those in cleaning products, or decrease their exposure to sunshine, which helps the body produce vitamin D, the study said.

“Finally, there is also the possibility that precipitation itself is more directly involved,” the authors write. “For example, there may be a chemical or chemicals in the upper atmosphere that are transported to the surface by precipitation.”

The study notes the findings are still preliminary and more research is needed to clearly prove a link.

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A little clip of the 'real' Rain Man.

Link between nursing and chidlhood obesity...

In other words, breastfeeding can help reduce childhood obesity. According to researchers, children who are breastfed are better at determining when they are 'full'.

Wonderful Youtube video about 'How to describe Autism'



enjoy.

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Disruptive Behavior...

There have been a lot of articles recently (HERE's one)about the disruptive behavior of children diagnosed with autism. These articles point out how disruptive these kids can be at school, in church or at the mall. There was a fairly notrious case recently in which a mother was asked to de-plane because her child had a 'meltdown'.

I've worked with thousands of kids and one thing always turns out to be true. ALL BEHAVIOR IS LEARNED...and it they can learn it, they can un-learn it.

Parents don't like to hear this any more than teachers do but the child having an upset in front of you is responding to what is happening and their history of reinforcement. They are crying because it works. If that kid on the plane wanted off the plane you have no idea how reinforcing being taken off that plane was...they just increased that child's 'meltdowns' immeasurably. There are thousands of children diagnosed with autism who do not scream and yell or cause problems in public.

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The Boy with the Incredible Brain.

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What about adults with Autism?

That is the focus of much of Dr. Temple Grandin's current work. She says much of the hope for a productive future lands on the parents and the messages they send, the expectations they set and the support they provide.

Canada.com has a great article. Click HERE.

Great pic of me with Temple to the right. I was nervous about touching her...you know how those Aspies are:)

They really need role models. Persons with issues like theirs that
are successful and leading independent lives. Temple Grandin is a good one, so is Bill Gates (don't tell me he isn't an Aspie:)

"Parents just want an assurance that their child is going to be able to live with dignity across their life span," says the father of a 14-year-old son with autism.

"You wonder what his life is going to be like as he gets older," says the school board trustee. "He's a very kind, caring person and at times I worry, 'Is he lonely? What's going to happen when I'm not around?"'

"I still think that there is a lot of bigotry towards the disabled today. [There are] stereotypes that autistics can't empathize with other people, that they can't form emotional attachments, that they are selfish, that autism is a 'disease,' which they need to be 'cured.' I personally don't like the words 'disorder,' 'illness' or 'disability.'

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Very cool article HERE at Breitbart.com about a robot whose brain is made of living tissue! His brain is made from stiched together rat neurons. It even had swap out brains that behave differently! It's an amazing experiment in neuronal growth and memory. Mostly memory.

Thimerosal on Trial

Slate.com has a great article titled Thimerosal on Trial: The Theory That Vaccines Cause Autism Goes to Court.

Canary in a colemine...

Pre-dementia in on the rise among men, so says a study out the Mayo clinic in Chicago. I remember seeing the story when it came out but 'Age of Autism' a must-see site dedicated to all things autism framed it nicely.

From Age of Autism:

"Older American men are sliding into neurological impairment. Have our children been the canaries in the coal mine and now the miners themselves are becoming ill?

Autism tends to strike boys more frequently than girls, which is the same trend being seen in older Americans and this frightening new state called, "Pre-Dementia." The study was conducted in Minnesota, in the county surrounging the Mayo Clinic. This is the same area where Somalian children have been diagnosed with autism at an alarming rate.

From the article which ran earlier this week: "A prime goal is finding drugs to treat the mild impairment before Alzheimer's develops." How about finding out what environmental factors are denigrating human brain function to avoid the condition, rather than simply treat the symptoms?"

‘Your son will never be able to focus on anything.’

Well we know he's not physically typical but according to THIS wonderful piece in the Sunday NY Times, he was diagnosed as having ADHD and even took Ritalin for two years before asking to come off of it. Here's an excerpt:

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As he entered public school, he displayed what his teachers called “immature” behavior. “In kindergarten I was told by his teacher, ‘Michael can’t sit still, Michael can’t be quiet, Michael can’t focus,’ ” recalled Ms. Phelps, who was herself a teacher for 22 years. The family had recently moved, and she felt Michael might be frustrated because the kindergarten curriculum he was getting in the new district was similar to the pre-K curriculum in their old district.

“I said, maybe he’s bored,” Ms. Phelps recalled saying to his teacher. “Her comment to me — ‘Oh, he’s not gifted.’ I told her I didn’t say that, and she didn’t like that much. I was a teacher myself so I didn’t challenge her, I just said, ‘What are you going to do to help him?’ ”

In the elementary grades at their suburban Baltimore school, Ms. Phelps said, Michael excelled in things he loved — gym and hands-on lessons, like science experiments. “He read on time, but didn’t like to read,” she said. “So I gave him the Baltimore Sun sports pages, even if he just read the pictures and captions.”

She will never forget one teacher’s comment: “This woman says to me, ‘Your son will never be able to focus on anything.’ ”

His grades were B’s and C’s and a few D’s.

Autism in Iraq

According to the CBS report below there was one (1) doctor serving children with autism in Iraq. Then he fled. Does anyone have any ideas about this? How would one go about setting up a visit?

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To restrain or not to restrain?

Very well-written article on the issue of restraining children who are 'out of control' or a 'danger to themselves or others'. It's a pretty long piece for a blog post so I've posted about half of it. To read the full article from the Buffalo News click HERE.

Anybody who works with children with special needs, or even 'regular' children (whatever that means) has, at one time or many times restrained a child or seen a child restrained in a manner that disturbed them. We've all seen situations in which the 'adult' precipitates a crisis then says there is nothing that could be done. I've never, not once, seen a child 'lose it' for no reason. Children's behavior is dependent on their environment...they are always behaving in a manner that 'works' for them and that they have learned. (MY OPINION...happens to be backed by research but there you have it)

If a child is restrained then the 'adults' in that child's life have failed that child in that moment. Doesn't make them bad but don't blame the kids. When I find myself on the other side of a crisis moment I ask myself one question, "What did I do wrong?". In other words, "how did I fail that child in that moment?" I heard something once that has always stuck with me...educators blame the child at the point at which their skill-set ends. I think this is true.

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ALLEGANY — Tim Miller has a lot of “what ifs” running through his head.

What if he had never been held face down by teachers when he was in sixth grade?

What if he had had more friends? What if he had never had autism?

As the number of autistic kids in schools grows, there are signs that teachers and administrators are having difficulty controlling them and addressing their special needs.

That can lead to conflict, and in some cases, to federal court. That’s where Carole and John Miller turned after not getting satisfaction through the state’s special education hearing process.

Their son Tim, a student at Allegany- Limestone Central High School, remembers being restrained face down when he was 12. There is evidence he was restrained more than 10 times over a four-month period in 2005.

“I thought maybe they were taking his wrist. I didn’t like the idea, but I figured, they know better, they’re the instructors, the teachers,” Carole Miller said. “I asked him what happened when he got home from school, and he would always just say, ‘They’re trying to kill me.’ I thought he was overreacting.”

Dealing with troublesome children leaves some teachers with their own questions:

How much physical force can be used in restraining an unruly child?

How much time and attention should be given to the special-needs child without neglecting others?

Are there better ways to control a frustrated child who has special needs?

Lyme Induced Autism?

I had never heard of the possible connection between Lyme disease and autism until my step-mother forwarded me the following story which was published in Medical Hypotheses (misspelled below which made tracking down the study tougher).

You can download the study directly HERE.

It may be part of the answer to the vexing question of regressive autism and the explosion of autism related cases in certain geographic areas.

Read the full article below.

adam

Lyme disease may play a role in causing autism according to a recent study published in Medical Hypothesis, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

A team of five physicians led by Robert Bransfield, M.D., analyzed the two diseases and discovered a connection based on epidemiological findings, symptom similarities, case reports, and laboratory test results. The Lyme-Induced Autism (LIA) Foundation has paved the way for studies such as this one.

Led by Tami Duncan, herself the mother of an autistic child, the LIA Foundation was established in 2006 by a group of parents who suspected the connection but recognized the need for scientific research. Collaboration on the Medical Hypothesis study began during one of the LIA Foundation national conferences, which have attracted top physicians from around the country.

Charles Ray Jones, M.D., considered the nation's leading pediatric Lyme specialist, was one of nine presenters at a recent LIA Foundation conference held on April 12, 2008 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. "I've treated over 10,000 children with Lyme disease," Jones said during his presentation. "A good many of the children, we've found, have had autism-spectrum disorder."

Warren Levin, M.D., was also present at the New Jersey conference. He described the case of "a terribly ill autistic kid...who tested positive for Lyme disease." Subsequent to that case, Dr. Levin "started screening all autistic patients...and nine in a row tested positive for Lyme disease."

The LIA Foundation hosted their most recent conference on June 27-29, 2008 in Indian Wells, California. To educate the public about the Lyme-autism connection, LIA Foundation president and co-founder Tami Duncan recently co-authored a book on the topic with author Bryan Rosner. Rosner has written three books on Lyme disease. "Lyme disease is not the only causative factor in autism," Rosner says. "We know that many other environmental and genetic triggers are involved. However, Lyme disease is the fastest spreading infectious disease in the United States, with an estimated 200,000 new cases per year. Autism cases are also exploding. If Lyme disease can contribute to the onset of autism, then we are onto something big here."

In their book, Duncan and Rosner describe a correlation between the geographic incidences of the two diseases. "The ten states with the highest incidence of Lyme disease are the same states with the highest incidence of autism," Duncan says. "Research also suggests that Lyme disease can be congenitally transferred from mother to child during pregnancy, even if the mother is unaware that she is infected," Duncan continues. "This can account for the early onset of Lyme-induced autism in young children."

Duncan and Rosner do not believe that the Lyme-autism connection hypothesis is new. Their book states that parents, caretakers, and researchers have long suspected the link. But the recent conferences and peer-reviewed studies are important because they attract the attention of the medical community, which can lead to life-saving research. "New medical truths do not have significant impact until they are packaged and presented according to accepted guidelines," Rosner says. "The connection is not new, but it is finally receiving proper attention."

To learn more, visit the LIA Foundation website at _http://www.liafoundation.org_

Rosner and Duncan's book, "The Lyme-Autism Connection," can be ordered from _http://www.lymebook.com/lyme-autism-connection_(

Lyme-Induced Autism Foundation_ (http://www.liafoundation.org/)

Children Are Naturally Prone To Be Empathic And Moral

A wonderful piece of science news...children are naturally empathetic. I wonder if the kid who broke into my car knows this?

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ScienceDaily (July 12, 2008) — Children between the ages of seven and 12 appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain, according to researchers at the University of Chicago, who used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans to study responses in children.

The responses on the scans were similar to those found in studies of adults. Researchers found that children, like adults, show responses to pain in the same areas of their brains. The research also found additional aspects of the brain activated in children, when youngsters saw another person intentionally hurt by another individual.

"This study is the first to examine in young children both the neural response to pain in others and the impact of someone causing pain to someone else," said Jean Decety, Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.

The programming for empathy is something that is "hard-wired" into the brains of normal children, and not entirely the product of parental guidance or other nurturing, said Decety. Understanding the brain's role in responding to pain can help researchers understand how brain impairments influence anti-social behavior, such as bullying, he explained.

For their research, the team showed 17 typically developed children, ages seven to 12, animated photos of people experiencing pain, either received accidentally or inflicted intentionally. The group included nine girls and eight boys.

While undergoing fMRI scans, children where shown animations using three photographs of two people whose right hands or right feet only were visible.

The photographs showed people in pain accidently caused, such as when a heavy bowl was dropped on their hands, and situations in which the people were hurt, such as when a person stepped intentionally on someone's foot. They were also shown pictures without pain and animations in which people helped someone alleviate pain.

The scans showed that the parts of the brain activated when adults see pain were also triggered in children.

"Consistent with previous functional MRI studies of pain empathy with adults, the perception of other people in pain in children was associated with increased hemodymamic activity in the neural circuits involved in the processing of first-hand experience of pain, including the insula, somatosensory cortex, anterior midcigulate cortex, periaqueductal gray and supplementary motor area," Decety wrote.

However, when the children saw animations of someone intentionally hurt, the regions of the brain engaged in social interaction and moral reasoning (the temporo-parietal junction, the paracigulate, orital medial frontal cortices and amygdala) also were activated.

The study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, provides new insights for children between childrens' perceptions of right and wrong and how their brains process information, Decety said. "Although our study did not tap into explicit moral judgment, perceiving an individual intentionally harming another person is likely to elicit the awareness of moral wrongdoing in the observer," he wrote.

Subsequent interviews with the children showed they were aware of wrong-doing in the animations in which someone was hurt. "Thirteen of the children thought that the situations were unfair, and they asked about the reason that could explain this behavior," Decety said.

Are your children Mini-tech addicts?

Rachel Mosteller, a columnist on HuffingtonPost.com, write an interesting piece on children and technology. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think...as you know, I've got very strong thoughts on this subject.

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Four years ago, almost to the week, I gave birth to my first child, a daughter. Eighteen short months later, her little brother joined us and I found myself with two small eyes watching everything I did.

(No, really, they do. Don't believe me? Try to shave your bikini line with two small children in the general vicinity. It won't be long until you hear shouts of "What are you doing?!?")

I think like most other breeders, I believe I'm trying to do the best for my kids. I want them to be happy, well-rounded kids. I want them to hopefully have good lives, whatever they deem that to be.

I have to say I'm a little concerned about what I'm up against. A couple weekends ago, we went to a birthday party where a 4-year-old had her very own computer situated on a kid-sized table. Surrounding the computer were a variety of computer games for her use.

My jaw dropped to the floor. A computer? For a 4-year-old? Are you serious? The most my children know about computer is that sometimes we let our daughter use the paint function and that there are both photos and videos on it.

They are never allowed to touch the computer without our direct consent.

We are raising a generation of children who have access to technological gadgets at increasingly young ages. I've seen pre-kindergarteners with iPods, elementary school aged children with cell phones, pre-teens texting--the list goes on and on.

But have we stopped to think about what the consequences are for our children who are growing up in such a technologically-advanced age?

Two Spanish children, ages 12 and 13, have been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for cell phone addictions. According to the article linked, the two teens were unable to go about their daily lives without cell phones, going so far as to lie to relatives to get money for the phones.

Doctors quoted said the parents had done little to curb their phone use before realizing just how far it had gone. So, let me get this straight. These two children, because that's what they are, had free-range on their phones? They could call and text whenever they wanted and their parents were surprised at the results?

Did they ever consider disconnecting these phones?

We are raising a generation of children who can't go about their daily lives without all these technological gadgets. While it is easy to think these things are harmless, we don't know the full ramifications of their use just yet. Only when these children who are raised with the gadgets become adults will we see how they turn out.

I'm constantly amazed at the websites aimed at children my daughter's age. I get emails about them from time to time, inviting my child online to do "crafts" or "play games" with her favorite characters. All the major networks aimed at children have sections for kids and it scares me to death.

I haven't made any set "rules" regarding these devices and my children just yet. They're still young and haven't shown any interest in playing on the computer or getting an iPod (thankfully). I'm not dim; I realize the day will come that they'll wonder what else is on the computer besides paintbrush.

When that happens, you can bet that I won't be giving them a free for all on a computer or with a different gadget. I want them to learn to use these items in moderation while still enjoying the non-technical side of life.

Phones and computers do have places in our lives, and it isn't at the top of an altar for them to worship.

Calling All Vaccine-Autism Critics

(PLEASE NOTE: Due to tremendous response, the venue for the NYU event has been moved to the Law School's much larger Tishman Auditorium, at the same address: 40 Washington Square South, Ground Floor. RSVP for this is event is still required at kirbylecture@gmail.com)
In the next two weeks, I will give three public lectures and Q&A sessions, free and open to the public, at Brown University in Providence, NYU Law School in Manhattan, and Northeastern University in Boston. (Other events are to be announced soon for New Jersey, Long Island and Southern California).
I sincerely encourage any and all vaccine-autism skeptics, critics, agnostics and cynics living in the northeastern US to please consider attending one of these talks, armed with all of your most pointed, difficult and critical questions.
For my part, I will present slides showing evidence to support and refute the link between autism, vaccines, mercury & heavy metals, air pollution and other environmental factors.
My only arguments will be that the evidence is NOT conclusive against a link, and it is premature to declare that vaccines and their ingredients have been 100% exonerated as environmental contributors to autism.
I hope to have a reasoned and enlightening public discussion with members of the audience. Among the subjects we will tackle are:
1) The Poling Case - in which the government conceded that vaccines induced autism in one little girl, and updates on other court cases.
2) Brand New Evidence - of a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and autistic regression, and evidence of mitochondrial issues in many ASD kids.
3) Research Underway - at top universities on the connection between environmental toxins, oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, neuro-inflammation and autistic encephalopathy.
4) Declarations - By the US Presidential candidates and the former NIH director that autism is epidemic and calling for more research into vaccines and mercury as possible causes.
5) Recent Studies - Linking autism spectrum disorder with heavy metals and contaminants in air pollution.
Here are the times and locations:
PROVIDENCE: Thursday, June 19 - 6:30-9:00PM Brown University, Salomon Center, Room 101On the Campus Green Hosted By Wendy Fournier, President of the National Autism Association
NEW YORK CITY: Thursday, June 26 - 6:30-9:00PMNYU School of Law, 40 Washington Square SouthVanderbilt Hall, Tishman Auditorium, Ground FloorHosted By Mary Holland, NYU Law SchoolNOTE: RSVP REQUIRED: kirbylecture@gmail.com
BOSTON: Friday, June 27 - 6:30-9:00PMNortheastern UniversityBehrakis Health Science Building (Bldg #26) - Room 10Hosted by Dr. Richard Deth, Northeastern University Professor of Pharmacology
This series was made possible by Generation Rescue, Autism Research Institute, National Autism Association, Coalition for SAFE MINDS, and Talk About Curing Autism. Announcements for each event can be downloaded at http://www.evidenceofharm.com/- please feel free to circulate these electronically and otherwise to all interested parties.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Autism Rights Movement

Wonderful article from New York magazine on the neurodiversity movement. Mr. Solomon also does a brilliant job including the points of view of the bio-medical approach advocates and brushes lightly on the researchers focusing on a genetic answer. If there is a criticism, it's that he doesn't put much weight in the scientific responses to the bio-medical approach or the possible impact of the neurodiverse crowds arguments which would seem to include the suspension of ABA programs nationwide. Below are some choice quotes but I highly encourage you to read the entire article...THE AUTISM RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

“When you know a person on the spectrum, you know one person on the spectrum.”

“When your child is 12 years old and not toilet-trained, or is head-banging at age 15, how much of your acceptance is wise and how much is preventing recovery?” NIMH director Insel

“Why should I force eye contact or hugs on someone for whom that’s just noise?”

“The perception of people like us as lacking emotion is wholly inaccurate,” Ne’eman says. “It’s the failure of society to understand the communication styles of autistics.”

“I’d like nothing more than for her to develop the kind of consciousness that would allow her to join the neurodiversity movement,” Nash said. “If she decides to communicate without speech, that will be her choice, and I would love for her to be capable of such choices. It’s my fantasy that someday my daughter will go to her therapist to say what a terrible mother I was forcing her to do all this ABA. When that happens, I’ll know I succeeded.”

“I protest the wholesale characterization of people on the autism spectrum as toxic. It’s scientifically incorrect and symbolically offensive,” Seidel says.

Family link to autism

Parents of children with autism have double the odds of having been hospitalized for a psychiatric condition than parents of children without autism, a comprehensive review of Swedish medical registries found.

The findings by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

The study incorporated data on 1,237 children who had been diagnosed with autism before age 10, as well as about 31,000 controls. Both mothers and fathers with schizophrenia were roughly twice as likely to have a child with autism, the study found. Mothers (but not fathers) with depression and neurotic and personality disorders had an increased risk of having a child with autism.

"This study might help us pinpoint some more genetic ties to more cases [of autism]," said study lead author Julie Daniels.

Thanks to everybody who is helping...

Wow! I can't tell you how wonderful it's been hearing from everyone. While I deeply appreciate those of you who clicked the donation button and sent me some of your hard-earned money it's been amazing to hear from everyone sending me their support. I laughed at some notes and cried at others. I was really scared but I'm glad I sent the email out...I am a very lucky guy.

adam

For those of you who didn't receive an email. I sent out the following email to everyone in my contacts folder. Again, apologies to all who didn't wish to receive the email...I didn't mean to offend.


========================================================

Hello All-

I hope this email finds you all well. I am doing very well and for those of you who don't know, I am currently attending Columbia University's Teacher's College in New York City. I am enrolled in their intensive Special Education Master's program with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis. I know, it's a mouthful. Essentially what it means is I am being taught how to teach children with a wide range of language, social and emotional deficits/disabilities. More importantly, I am being taught how to induce missing capabilities in these children. Teaching children who can't speak how to speak, can't read how to read, can't make eye contact how to make eye contact. It's an exhilarating and exhausting journey. I'm going to include more on the program below but the reason you're getting this email is simple. I left a fairly lucrative career in television/media production to embark on this path. While I am enrolled in this program I am working full-time as a Teaching Assistant so the math is simple. Take one six-figure job, subtract 85% of the income and the result is obvious. I could use a little help from my friends during this change.

***The help I am requesting is simple. If you can donate a few dollars, a few hundred dollars, a few thousand dollars or a few million dollars it would go quite a long way to helping me out. If you can't, won't, shouldn't, mustn't then that's fine. I'd still love to hear from you.

How do I adopt a special education teacher (donate to the cause)?
Easy. Just go to my blog at marvelouschildren.blogspot.com and click on the 'Make a donation' button below my picture on the left side of the page.

Is this a joke?
A fair question considering my sense of humor but no, I could really use some help...jelly belly donations are also welcome. Have you seen the cost of jelly bellys lately?

Why am I on this list?
An even better question. You are on this list because you have somehow made your way into my 'Contacts' folder. When this idea first popped into my head the idea was to send to everyone in my list. A couple of days passed and it occurred to me, belatedly as most things do, that there would be people in my contacts list whose receipt of this email would be embarrassing to me. The more I thought about it the more horrifying the prospect seemed so I began a mental editing. I soon realized that the only reason I was considering taking this person or that person off is the personal embarrassment I might suffer which stuck me as more of a fear-based decision than one grounded in common sense. So if you're upset or find this in poor taste I am sorry. It's not my intention to embarrass myself or make anyone uncomfortable, it's simply to ask for help. I am generally really bad at asking for help so this is pretty huge for me.

What's this program you're enrolled in?
The best question yet. Applied Behavior Analysis is "the science of applying experimentally derived principles of behavior to improve socially significant behavior." I am enrolled in a program at Columbia that focuses on the application of these principles to classrooms and more broadly to education. There are millions of children in the United States falling behind or falling through the cracks. Our methodology is proven to work with the special education population (So far I have worked with emotionally disturbed middle schoolers and children with profound deficits such as autism and intellectual disabilities (Can't write, can't talk). You can find out a lot more in an article that appeared in the Teacher's College Magazine HERE.

What's with your blog?
My blog is a work in progress so feel free to give me any criticisms you want to. I also have a website marvelouschildren.com. Both are designed to help me if I decide to do private work and to give me a platform to put my views out there. The blog is primarily a place to post interesting stories and videos I come across. It is no way affiliated with Teacher's College.

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may trigger autism in babies

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy has been shown to cause many type of abnormalities including, but not limited to neurological damage, growth deficiencies, abnormal facial features and behavioral problems. See THIS link for more information on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It is unknown what amount of alcohol consumption is considered 'safe' so most doctors recommend total abstinance during pregnancy. Now, one of the leading FAS researchers is publishing his findings that alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be a contributing factor in causing autism. Read more below. You can also contact the doctor directly through the information below:

Dr Raja Mukherjee
SpR / Honorary Lecturer
Department of Mental Health Learning Disability
St Georges Hospital Medical School
rmukherj@sghms.ac.uk

London, Mar 23 (ANI): A new study, led by an Indian researcher, has suggested that women who drink alcohol during pregnancy put their babies at risk of developing autism.

Raja Mukherjee, a consultant psychiatrist at Surrey Borders Partnership NHS trust, earlier found that drinking while pregnant can give babies a condition called foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

He has now come up with his latest finding suggesting that the consumption of alcohol by expecting mothers can also cause autism.

This is the first research to cite that autism may be triggered by the child’s mothers alcohol intake during pregnancy.

Mukherjee said that the findings of this study might elevate concerns about the increasing alcohol consumption among women of childbearing age.

For the past 18 months, Mukherjee was examining children who have been damaged by their mother’s drinking during pregnancy and discovered that a high proportion of them have autism.

“Genetic conditions are by far the most common cause of autism but that is not to say that other things cannot cause it, and prenatal alcohol appears, possibly, to be [a cause]. Unlike genetic conditions, this is 100% preventable, Times Online quoted him, as saying.

While the Department of Health noted that more than half of all mothers drink alcohol while pregnant, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will issue a new warning about the dangers.

The findings of a recent survey suggest that 8 percent of women aged 18 to 24 had consumed at least 35 units of alcohol, i.e. about 15 glasses of wine, during the previous week. Binge drinking among young women has caused number of alcohol-related deaths in women aged 35 to 54 doubling between 1991 and 2005.

The British Medical Association warned earlier this year that the increase in alcohol consumption by young women will be seen in a rise in drinking during pregnancy thereby putting more babies at risk of being damaged by alcohol while in the womb.

In fact, Mukherjee has also warned earlier against any drinking during pregnancy as he thinks that even low levels of alcohol may endanger babies.

Drinking during pregnancy can cause foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which includes disorders ranging from minor anomalies such as low birth weight to severe FAS, the symptoms of which include mental retardation and facial abnormalities such as a short nose.

The findings of this research have been presented at scientific meetings. (ANI)

FRONTLINE: The Medicated Child

'Take meds, take meds, take meds.'"

"The rates of bipolar diagnoses in children have increased markedly in many communities over the last five to seven years," says Dr. Steven Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. "I think the real question is, are those diagnoses right? And in truth, I don't think we yet know the answer."

"We're dealing with developing minds and brains, and medications have a whole different impact in the young developing child than they do in an adult," says Dr. Marianne Wamboldt, the chief of psychiatry at Denver Children's Hospital. "We don't understand that impact very well. That's where we're still in the Dark Ages."

Frontline aired a somewhat balanced look at the issue of children and medication. Those of you involved in this field for any length of time will notice an absence of alternative therapies or a thorough look at what environmental issues may be contributing to these behaviors.

In my experience that is what is usually being medicated...behaviors. You never hear of a well-behaved child being medicated. Find a diagnosis that allows for a medical approach and run with it...that's what I see.

You can watch the full show HERE.

Let me know what you think.

Adam

Children and Medication

As most of you know, I am pretty firmly in the no medication camp when it comes to treating children. I will concede that in rare cases medication is necessary but those cases are very very rare. What I see most of the time is medication being used to treat behavioral issues and those are almost always treatable through the application of behavioral techniques that have been proven to work thousands of times. As far as medication goes, I am most unnerved by the blindness with which we subject our children to what are, in effect, uncontrolled clinical trials. Zyprexa, which has been shown to have some devastating side effects in adults is going to be used in children. Check out the first video to see a report on that. The second is probably much more controversial but it's my belief you are laregly only getting the drug companies talking points from the press so a little dose of 'alternate programming' is a good thing. As always, I advise parents to discuss all medical issues with their doctor but remember that your doctor MIGHT NOT KNOW. Most doctors receive most of their 'education' on drugs from drug company representatives. My goal is always to help inform the debate, not yell fire and run from the room...

adam