SOS! Autism Centre Closing Down - 14 June 2009

What is Autism? Kindly click here for google Information!

Both my sons are suffering from acute form of autism, and they have been going to this center for the past few months. This center was funded by a Kind Businessman via charity donation. Hence it has been offered as Free Service to those parents who cannot afford the full commercial service. I am one of those parent who need Early Intervention Program and cannot afford it.

The center was headed by a very experience teacher in autism management and intervention. He is a retiree and if he left this job I don't think he will be actively working for the good of autistic kids again. I want to secure his service and take over the operation of the center. I have the business experience and also autism management experience to turn this around.

We are not going to provide a free for all kind of services, but will be very affordable. We will have a trust fund setup to help those who cannot afford to pay for the service. Time is running out, 14 June 2009 is the deadline for the Current Center to cease operation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the owner of the current center for his contribution in past years.

Why am I here asking for help? I have no other way to go and seeking the help from whoever I can get my hand on to. We need the following: -

1. Premise - prefer a corner lot house with some garden area where we can setup sand and water therapy area.

2. Musical - Since autistic kids are very artistic and musically inclined, I want to setup some musical class to explore their potential. Any good working Piano or Electronic piano are needed. Can Yamaha donate some? Anyone who know someone in Yamaha?

3. Art - Art supply for painting and others

4. Renovation - Can some good soul help to pay for the renovation and furnishing of the center?

5. Telecommunication - Telephone, Fax and Internet access

6. Funding - We need at least one year of funding before we can be self funded. I will work out the requirement once we have more people come into play and willing to help

7. Teaching material - I have plenty in my house becasue both my sons are autistic and I have invested over the years.

Anyone can help me to published all the above? I have 2 weeks to put thing together before they closed it down. 20 kids will be affected if the center is closed down without giving them an alternative to go.

Update


29 May 9:32pm : Immediately we need a place to move all the material to. A place where we can start to put all the thing together. Funding can be later since we need a place to continue teaching those kids after 14 June 2009.

For those who ask me about the account number, I will ask NST tomorrow to see if they can help as independent party. Using my account will be a BIG conflict of Interest.

If you want to help to donate cash, piano, or anything that we can use. Please send me an email at Shiokx@gmail.com with the subject line of "I love to help"

29 May 10:11pm: A few friend comment that my english is really suck and they cannot really understand what am I talking about. Since I am an engineer by training, let me put it in point form: -

• The current Autism Center will cease operation on 14 June 2009 (CONFIRMED)
• 20 kids including my two sons will have no center to go after 14 June 2009
• We negotiate with the owner to take over the material and furnishing
• We need to find a new place, a corner lot house is ideal because we need outdoor/garden to setup Sand and Water Play Therapy
• We Have Not Setup a company just yet
• The idea is to have a SDN BHD as Center. This will be run as normal business center but provide affordable rate of service. The main Objective is to survive by itself.
• The SDN BHD Center will setup a trust fund to manage donation to help those needy.
• Immediate we need a House, Renovation and Funding for at least 1-2 years for Teachers and Operating Cost!

30 May, 12:55am: I have decide to publish my personal account number in Maybank! First I just did a statement summary of my Bank Account as off 30 May 2009. 00:52:23. Please refer to the attached print out from MayBank. We can trace backward from today onward and I am not going to use this account for any other purpose other than the center (Please double click on the image for larger view)



I have also done some budget for the initiate fund required. We would need RM40K to last us until Dec 2009



The following is my Maybank Account detail: -

Account Name : Yong Yek Ming
Account Number : 164847018858

or Paypal

30 May, 17:31pm: I belief this is Zorro Account Number. If you feel more comfortable to donate to his account instead of my Maybank, please do so and the cause is the same.



Update 4 June, 2009: We have received pledge and cash donation, Casio Keyboard and personal help





Click the above image for full or larger view. Thank you very much for your support.


Regards
Yong Yek Ming aka Shiok Guy

+60 12 208 2818 

Brothers, Sisters and Friends who highlighted our SOS call (pls email me if you carry our SOS call): -

• Zoro-Unmasked
• Niamah!!!
• Hornbill Unleased
  
• Malaysia For All
  
• Dream A Little More Dream 
  
• RUN IN DIVERSITY 
  
• YITYIENG TAN
  
• onelikming's Mansion
  
• Susan Loone's Blog
  
• jelas.info
  
• Eyes Wide Open
  

Read more »

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

Since my elder son is still non verbal at the age of 9, and we have decided to start PECS properly and correctly this time round.

I will need some help! Any member/reader who know of Video, Book and Material please leave the information at the comment section of this blog. You inputs are very much appreciated

Anyone who like to contribute all PECS related material, Book, Video and etc please email to me Shiokx@gmail.com. Your contribution will not just help my son, but all those within Malaysia who happen to want to use those Resources. Thank You!

Regards
Shiok Guy

Read more »

Autism insurance bill passed by New Jersey Assembly

Autism insurance bill passed by New Jersey Assembly 

Posted by cstetler May 21, 2009 16:05PM

Autism therapy should be covered by insurance companies, the New Jersey Assembly voted today.

The New Jersey Assembly today approved a bill that will require insurance companies to cover the cost of therapy for autism, which affects 1 in 94 children in New Jersey, making it the state with the nation's highest rate of autism.

The proposal requires health insurance companies to cover the cost of autism treatment deemed medically necessary, including speech and occupational therapy, with an annual cap of $36,000. It also mandates coverage for behavioral therapy, which includes exersizes like helping an autistic child learn to make a sandwich.

If the measure is approved by the State Budget Committee, New Jersey will become the tenth state to enact such a law.

***** In Malaysia *****

If you have difficulty cover your child within Malaysia, do speak to me and we see how we can get it done legally. Email : Shiokx@gmail.com or Call +60122082818


-

Read more »

'Miracle drug' call Lupron

Autism drug Lupron: 'Miracle drug' called junk science

Powerful castration drug pushed for autistic children, but medical experts denounce unproven claims.

Desperate to help their autistic children, hundreds of parents nationwide are turning to an unproven and potentially damaging treatment: multiple high doses of a drug sometimes used to chemically castrate sex offenders.

The therapy is based on a theory, unsupported by mainstream medicine, that autism is caused by a harmful link between mercury and testosterone. Children with autism have too much of the hormone, according to the theory, and a drug called Lupron can fix that.

"Lupron is the miracle drug," Dr. Mark Geier of Maryland said after meeting with an autistic patient in suburban Chicago.

Geier and his son developed the "Lupron protocol" for autism and are marketing it across the country, opening clinics in states from Washington to New Jersey. In the Chicago area, the treatment is available through Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, a family practitioner in Rolling Meadows.

But experts say the idea that Lupron can work miracles for children with autism is not grounded in scientific evidence.

Four of the world's top pediatric endocrinologists told the Tribune that the Lupron protocol is baseless, supported only by junk science. More than two dozen prominent endocrinologists dismissed the treatment earlier this year in a paper published online by the journal Pediatrics.

Simon Baron-Cohen, a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in England and director of the Autism Research Center in Cambridge, said it is irresponsible to treat autistic children with Lupron.

"The idea of using it with vulnerable children with autism, who do not have a life-threatening disease and pose no danger to anyone, without a careful trial to determine the unwanted side effects or indeed any benefits, fills me with horror," he said.

Experts in childhood hormones warn that Lupron can disrupt normal development, interfering with natural puberty and potentially putting children's heart and bones at risk. The treatment also means subjecting children to daily injections, including painful shots deep into muscle every other week.

This weekend, Eisenstein, Geier and his son, David, are scheduled to speak at the Autism One conference at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. The five-day conference, featuring a keynote speech by actress-turned-activist Jenny McCarthy, steps in where modern medicine has yet to succeed, offering answers for what causes autism and treatments with allegedly dramatic results.

All three men plan to talk about the link they see between autism and vaccines; the Geiers will also discuss hormones and autism.

Mark Geier and Eisenstein are physicians, but neither is board-certified in any specialty relevant to autism and the use of Lupron, including pediatrics, endocrinology, psychiatry and neurology. Geier is a geneticist; his son has a bachelor's degree in biology. Eisenstein, a family doctor who preaches a message of home birth, vitamins and vaccine safety, said he treated "virtually no" autistic children in the past.

Eisenstein said he met the Geiers last summer at the Health Freedom Expo in Chicago and that he began offering Lupron in his office because parents of autistic children were pleading with him for help.

Since his Autism Recovery Clinic opened in late January, Eisenstein said he has seen about 75 autistic children, with about 35 undergoing extensive lab testing. On May 11 he told the Tribune that four or five children were on Lupron, and 15 to 20 could start treatment within weeks.

The Geiers say they have probably treated 300 autistic children and a handful of adults with Lupron, and an additional 200 people are being tested.

In February, when the Geiers visited his office, Eisenstein was effusively enthusiastic about Lupron. "It is awesome, just awesome," he told doctors in his practice after the Geiers spoke about their therapy.

But three days after his May interview with the Tribune, Eisenstein called to say he was having second thoughts about the autism clinic, citing issues with insurance companies and less-than-spectacular results.

"It's highly unlikely that we're going to be part of the autism program much longer," Eisenstein said. "I'm not pleased enough with it. It's not where I want to put my energy."

Several parents whose children are on Lupron told the Tribune that it works, saying their children are better-behaved and show cognitive improvement. "It was an obvious, undeniable result," said Julie Duffield of Carpentersville, whose 11-year-old son has autism. "I wish you could see what he was like before."


Read the rest of the article here in Chicago Tribune

-

Read more »

Erasing Autism

Erasing Autism

Scientists are closing in on the genes linked to autism. So why is Ari Ne'eman so worried?

Claudia Kalb
NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated May 25, 2009

It's spring in Washington, and Ari Ne'e-man, with his navy suit and leather brief-case on wheels, is in between his usual flurry of meetings. Ne'eman is a master networker, a guy you'd think was born in a campaign office and bred in the halls of the Capitol. He's fluent in policy-speak and interacts seamlessly with high-level officials (he's just had lunch with the acting vice chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and inquisitive reporters alike. He's formal but sociable and has a well-timed sense of humor. He also has a problem with velvet. I knew this about Ne'eman—he'd mentioned it when we first started talking more than a year ago—but now, in a D.C. coffee shop, he gets into the sensory details. His father used to drive a car that had fuzzy velvet-like cushioning, and it made Ne'eman crazy to sit in it. "I'd wince because I'd think about how it would feel to get that under your fingernails," he says. I think I see him shudder at the memory.

Ari Ne'eman is 21 years old and has Asperger syndrome, a high-functioning diag-nosis on the wide-ranging autism spectrum. Ne'eman's velvet aversion is triggered somewhere deep in his brain, a brain that he happens to relish. He doesn't want anybody to mess with or, God forbid, cure his Asperger's. It's who he is, who he's always been. It's why he's had ob-sessive interests since toddlerhood. At 2½, he saw a dinosaur skeleton at New York's American Museum of Natural History and announced, "That's a pterodactyl." From there he fixated on baseball, reciting players' names and stats ad nauseam, whether or not anyone was listening—a behavior experts call perseveration. Later it was Constitutional law. His friend Ben DeMarzo remembers driving with Ne'eman and two other classmates one high-school weekend. DeMarzo and the others wanted to listen to music—the Beatles were a favorite—but Ne'eman had other plans. "Ari made us listen to Supreme Court oral arguments. It was brutal," DeMarzo tells me. He was outnumbered—how'd he win? I ask. DeMarzo laughs. "Ari always wins," he says.

He certainly puts up a fight. Ne'eman is officially studying political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, but he also runs the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, a nonprofit he founded in 2006, the year after he graduated from high school. The task he has taken on is daunting and controversial: he wants to change the way the world views autism. Autism is not a medical mystery that needs solving, he argues. It's a disability, yes, but it's also a different way of being, and "neurodiversity" should be accepted by society. Autistic people (he prefers this wording to "people with autism," a term many parents use, because he considers the condition intrinsic to a person's makeup) must be accommodated in the classroom and workplace and helped to live independently as adults—and he is pushing to make this happen for everyone on the spectrum. They should also be listened to. "We're having a nation-al conversation about autism without the voices of people who should be at the center of that conversation," he says.

Ne'eman's network has local chapters in 15 states, and he works closely with organizations like the EEOC and the American Association of People With Disabilities. Neurodiversity activists see their mission as a fight for civil rights, and Ne'eman and others are willing to stir un-rest. "Ari's very straightforward," says Lee Grossman, head of the Autism Society of America, who supports many of Ne'eman's efforts. "He tells it like it is from his perspective." Ne'eman has taken on powerful organizations, specifically Autism Speaks, the largest science and advocacy group in the country, be-cause he believes they rely on fearful stereotypes and focus their research too heavily on what causes autism as opposed to improving quality of life for autistic people today. Last year he helped stop an edgy "ransom notes" ad campaign created by New York University's Child Study Center to raise awareness about autism. One said, "We have your son" and are "driving him into a life of complete isolation." It was signed "Asperger Syndrome." Ne'eman was appalled. "There's a misperception that autism is some thief in the night that takes a normal child and places an autistic child in its place," he says. "That's not true."

The autism spectrum itself, however, is a universe with multiple galaxies, including nonverbal toddlers who bite themselves and college grads who can't tell the differ-ence between sarcasm and seriousness. This complexity leads to passionate and conflicting viewpoints. Not everybody stands behind Ne'eman, and some adamantly op-pose his views. One major area of contention: scientific research, which includes the hunt for autism genes.

I knew Ne'eman had a surprising outlook on this and figured he'd have something to say about the recent news that scientists have found common gene variants that may account for up to 15 percent of all autism cases. This is big in a disorder that varies so enormously from one individual to the next. Environmental factors also play a role, but if scientists can test for specific genes—most of which have yet to be discovered—they may be able to intervene much sooner to help kids. One day they might even find a cure. This is exciting for parents who want to understand the roots of the disorder. Therapies—some helpful, some shams—vie for their attention and their pocketbooks, and they'd welcome better, more targeted treatments. But the new genetic advances concern Ne'eman. He doesn't believe autism can be, or should be, cured. His ultimate fear is this: a prenatal test for autism, leading to "eugenic elimination." If a test is developed one day, it will be used, he says. And that means people like him might cease to exist.

When I press Ne'eman on genetic research—doesn't it have some merit?—he says he doesn't oppose it outright, but he believes scientists must consider the ethical implications of their work far more carefully. Already couples are testing embryos for diseases like Huntington's, then choosing to implant only the healthy ones. And who can blame them? But autism isn't a fatal condition. Should people without the disorder be allowed to judge the quality of life of someone who has it? "That is a message that the world doesn't want us here," says Ne'eman, "and it devalues our lives."

The prospect of no more Ari Ne'emans—whether you agree with him or not—is haunting. Termination of fetuses with Down syndrome is routine today; given the fear that autism inspires in parents, why wouldn't it follow? And what would our world be like without autism? The vast differences among individuals on the spectrum make the notion even thornier: will parents start demanding to know whether their fetus will be low- or high-functioning? But it's also impossible to ignore the parents who say they'd do anything to free their children from isolation and pain. Some feel so hopeless so much of the time, they do wonder in private if their children would have been better off not born. And who can blame them?

Ne'eman battles a strange kind of image problem: his critics accuse him of not really being autistic. His mother, Rina, is particularly sensitive about this. "People who see Ari today have no idea where he's been," she says. As a young child, Ne'eman was verbally precocious but socially challenged. "I didn't understand the people around me, and they didn't understand me," he says. He was bullied and ostracized—back then he didn't look at people; he flapped his hands and paced incessantly (he still does both today); he brought newspapers to elementary school as leisure reading. "I think the word 'freak' may have come up," he says. He was, at one point, segregated from his peers in a special-ed school. That led to struggles with depression and anxiety so severe he would pick at his face until it bled. I asked Ne'eman how he manages all the professional mingling he does today. Small talk makes him uncomfortable, but he's learned to play along. Still, none of it is easy. "You come out of a meeting and you've put on a mask, which involves looking people in the eye, using certain mannerisms, certain phrases," he says. "Even if you learn to do it in a very seamless sort of way, you're still putting on an act. It's a very ex-hausting act."

He remembers being taught in social-skills training that when people are happy they smile with all their teeth, and when they're sad they wear exaggerated frowns. "I was always wondering, 'Why is everybody around me neither happy or sad? They don't have emotions'," he says. When you're autistic, social interaction can be like a foreign language: no matter how fluent you become, you're never a native speaker. Katie Miller, a fellow activist, jokes that "Ari is the only autistic we know whose special interest and talent lies in networking." But, she says, "it didn't come naturally. He's learned it the way every-body else learns algebra." Ne'eman has a way of taming the stress he feels: he wears a tie because it puts a soothing pressure on his neck. "It's a good way of calming my anxiety," he says.

One of Ne'eman's latest efforts is a new public-service announcement called "No Myths," which he helped create with the Dan Marino Foundation, a funder of autism research. In it, Ne'eman appears in a red sweater and tie along with others on the spectrum, including a man who speaks through a communication device. "Our futures have not been stolen," Ne'eman says. "Our lives are not tragedies." The message is clear: We stand before you. Don't make us go away.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/197813

-

Read more »

The Autism Train Journey

As a father who has 2 sons suffering from Autism, has make me see the world and life in different context. First thing is that I have already discounted my life, ambition and happiness; to be replaced by dedication to bring about better quality of life for my two sons. What is the life journey of a autism family? The way I see it, The Autism Journey is like those of a train ride with destination uncertain. The destination is this context will be the death of the parent (father or mother). In here, I will just simple using me, a father as an example.


The Beginning
Once I found out about my sons condition, The Autism Train Journey Begin! We step into the train ride and going toward the first station stop. We meet a lot of people in the train and most people does not know what the hacked is happen to my sons, so do I? I am totally lost and just listen to everyone and try every possible remedies suggestion by all the passengers of the train.



The Stations' Stop
At every station, some passenger has gone for good (death) and some new one arrive. The older passenger has get used to my sons and they all show and shower us with love and care. There are those who gave us the hard time, but what the hack I cannot make everyone happy, right?


More Stations' Stop
After a few stations stops and goes, we get use to the situation with annoying new passenger, loving and caring old passenger, bad and heartless old passenger and we also missed those who left us for good in last station stop. They are gone for good!


The Final Destination
Then we start to think about where are we going? Where is our destination. After a much soul searching I realized that next station stop could be my final destination. A final destination not about autism cured or my sons can be independent living alone. The final destination is about I am leaving the train and left both my sons alone in the train ride. They still have a long and lonely ride ahead.

It really sound scary when I imagine them alone in this ride without me holding them, protecting them and loving them. Will the other passenger kind and loving enough to take over my role?

During the ride until now, I have seen some good, bad and "Oh My God" kind of passengers. How then can I leave the ride knowing they will not be in good hand.


Planning
After I realized that the next stop could be my final destination. I start to do the following: -

• Love and get to know every passengers as much as possible.
• Tell them about autism and my sons.
• Share with them my griefs and joys.
• Always live my life, spend the time and loving my sons as if next station stop is my last, My Final Destination!
• Plan financially, they have the money to pay for their ride until Their Final Destination Too
  

-

Read more »

Autism's lonely questions

Autism's lonely questionsby The Oregonian Editorial Board
Friday May 15, 2009, 12:33 AM

Without better research, Oregon families will keep exhausting themselves looking for answers

If any medical condition warrants more attention and research, it is autism. The uncertainty surrounding this common brain disorder takes a terrible toll on families -- especially in Oregon, where diagnosed autism rates are higher than the national average.

It is a condition characterized by questions rather than answers: Who will help us? Will I ever connect again with my child? How much hope should we have? Do any treatments work, and what if we can't afford any of them?

No family should have to face these questions alone.

About 1 in 150 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate in Oregon is considerably higher. Some estimates based on school data peg the number as high as 1 in 87.

Behind the numbers are a thousand stories of parents struggling to cope. They are told the disorder is incurable, but lately they've been peppered with stories of miracle cures. They read about various promising behavioral treatments, which tend not to be covered by health insurance or offered through the local public school.

They are told autism is biological. Or maybe environmental.

On top of all that come the dirty looks at the grocery store.

Perhaps this helps explain why disagreements within the autism community can be so fierce and personal. The stakes are so high, the parenting can be so lonely, and the research is still so thin.

Portland State University is hosting a statewide conference this weekend about educating children with autism. The keynote speaker, Dr. Laura Schreibman, is a longtime advocate of basing autism treatments on good science and not on anecdotes and testimonials. She's a controversial figure herself, at least among people who think she dismisses promising new treatments.

But Schreibman brings up the right point: The need for better autism research is painfully clear.

The federal government is preparing to invest $1.1 billion in "comparative effectiveness research," which will evaluate and rank various therapies for different health problems. The Obama administration also intends to boost funding for medical research in general.

It's not clear whether autism will be treated as a priority area, but it should be. Without better methods to diagnose and treat autism, and without a better understanding of what causes the disorder, families will continue to bankrupt themselves looking for homegrown cures. These families need more guidance. So do the health insurers and school districts that are supposed to act as partners.

We don't know the answers.

We're still learning the right questions to ask.

-

Read more »

Beautiful Minds: Stephen Wiltshire

A human camera? I am totally speechless..
Watch the video and you will know why..




















-

Read more »

Early tests for autism

Q. Is there any early way to tell if a toddler might have autism?

A. There is no standard test yet for autism, a brain development disorder in which children have impaired social interactions, difficulty communicating, and use repetitive words or actions. But new findings from researchers at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven hint at one possible way to identify autism earlier: track a child's eye movement.

If someone is talking to the child, and the child's attention is focused more on the speaker's mouth than the eyes, that may be an early sign of autism, researchers say.

Normal children focus on the eyes, and autistic toddlers, by failing to do so, "are missing rich social information," said psychologist Ami Klin, director of Yale's autism program.

"The mouth is the place where there is the greatest amount of audiovisual synchrony," he said, "which raises the hypothesis: What is the experience these children have when facing another human being?"

Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health - which partially funded the latest study, published online in the journal Nature - said in a statement that the research shows for the first time "what grabs the attention of toddlers" with autism spectrum disorders. Not only does this suggest potential diagnostic tests, he noted, but it may also suggest ways to re-direct visual attention in these children.

Usually, children with autism are not diagnosed until they are 2 or 3, partly because their language skills are not developed sufficiently until then, said Dr. Christopher Walsh, a geneticist and neurologist at Children's Hospital who studies autism.

But there is great interest, he said, in diagnosing children earlier because intensive behavioral intervention done in the early years seems to help them later in life.

The challenge now, said Klin, is to see if doctors can tell soon after birth if a child is at risk for autism. By using the quantitative methods from the new research, he said, hopefully "we will be able to do so, even with children at only a few months of life." From The Bonston Globe

-

Read more »

Happy 9th Birthday WJ

Today 11 May 2009 is my elder son birthday, he is now 9 years old. Time flies when we have fun, and it does flies when you don't.

On 1 May 2009, he lost his two permanent front teeth due to constant self beating, detail here and this is how WJ look like in 2008, detail here.

WJ My Dear Son,

One year ago, you look so different
You still have your two front teeth then
This year you look so much mature and manly
I did not show your lost front teeth

With or without your front teeth, you are still my dear son
I might yell when you are whining non stop
I cry out before I sleep every night
Asking myself, why should I yell.

No matter how I yell at you
You always come to me for anything
Hold my hand and lead me to place
Where you want me to be.

My birthday come 3 weeks before yours
Still no "Happy Birthday Daddy"
Dear WJ, Daddy not giving up
One day, you will, One day.




-

Read more »

Autism Diet

Published: May 8, 2009 (Article by nbc13.com )




There is no cure for autism, but there are lots of therapies and strategies that can improve the abilities and overall well-being of autistic children.

One strategy that works for some children is to change what they’re eating.

A new diet for an 8 year old autistic boy in georgia, named Justin, has improved his life.

“His language skyrocketed, his digestion completely improved. He was able to focus, I think focus a whole lot better in school and able to express himself,“ says his mother, Susan Delaine.

Justin’s diet is completely free of casin: no milk products or gluten.

“You can’t have any wheat, rye, barley or oats,“ says another mother, Jennifer Harris.

It’s not an easy diet to follow.

Many times it means shopping in stores that specialize in organic foods.

It means becoming a food detective.

“A lot of product labels will list white flour, but white flour is just bleached wheat flour, so you still can’t have that. There’s about seven different words for wheat. Triticale, durum, emer, fo, farina, semilima, so there’s things that confuse you when you’re first starting out,“ says Harris.

Justin’s mother began changing his diet about six years ago.

She few recipes, so created her own and then put them in a cookbook to help parents of other autistic children.

“Balancing the Bowl” is now updated and in its second edition.

And the entire Delaine family is now gluten-free.

And Justin’s happier and healthier.

-

Read more »

Genetic Risk Factors for Autism

Researchers have made an important step forward in understanding the complex genetic structure of autism spectrum disorders. A researcher collaboration, including geneticists from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), have detected variations along a genetic pathway that is responsible for neurological development, learning and memory, which appears to play a significant role in the genetic risk of autism. Their findings were published online in the journal Nature on April 28.

Evidence suggests there is a strong genetic component increasing the likelihood of an autism diagnosis, estimated to impact 1 in 150 children in the United States. The study findings suggest that a particular genetic variation, found on a cluster between CDH10 and CDH9, is commonly found in children with autism, according to co-senior author Dr. Gerard Schellenberg, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the School of Medicine.

“We studied more than 10,000 children­—of whom more than 4,500 had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder—and found a common genetic variation that increases the risk of a child developing autism, along with a rarer genetic change that contributes to some cases of autism,” Dr. Schellenberg said. “This work yields important clues on what goes awry during development in children with autism and will help us focus on what is the cause of autism at a molecular level.” Cont...

-

Read more »

Toddler Brain Difference Linked to Autism

Story Highlights

• Study: The amygdala in toddlers with autism is 13 percent larger than unaffected kids
  
• Size of brain area linked to ability to process faces as friend or foe
  
• Autism is believed to affect as many as 1 in 150 children
  
• University of North Carolina researchers hope findings result in earlier intervention
  

(CNN) -- The size of a specific part of the brain may help experts pinpoint when autism could first develop, University of North Carolina researchers report.

Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that the area of the brain called the amygdala was, on average, 13 percent larger in young children with autism, compared with control group of children without autism. In the study, published in the latest Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers scanned 50 toddlers with autism and 33 children without autism at age 2 and again at age 4. The study adjusted for age, sex and IQ.

"We believe that children with autism have normal-sized brains at birth but at some point, in the latter part of the first year of life, it [the amygdala] begins to grow in kids with autism. And this study gives us insight inside the underlying brain mechanism so we can design more rational interventions," said lead study author Dr. Joseph Piven. cont...




-

Read more »

Early autism intervention makes dollars and sense

Early autism intervention makes dollars and sense
By William Frea with Daily Breeze

Posted: 05/02/2009 07:13:13 PM PDT

With one in 150 children today diagnosed with autism, the debate rages on over what is the best treatment for this condition, and - just as importantly - who will pay for it.

In the wake of Autism Awareness Month in April, we have an opportunity to take a realistic and probing look at the most effective means for treating this developmental condition, and where resources should be placed for this treatment.

Today, beleaguered states with budget deficits, such as California, are evaluating all service programs to find ways to cut costs. States need to take a close look at what approaches deliver the best outcomes and the best return on investment. The question is not how much do autism services cost, but how much is saved by treating autism early and effectively, and how much is lost if this early intervention does not occur.

The Autism Society of America has calculated that autism costs the United States more than $90billion each year. There's no question that treatment for autism is expensive. However, there is a significant difference between autism and other severe developmental disabilities. With autism, it's been shown that with targeted early intervention using scientifically validated methods, many children can gain the skills they need to move into a mainstream classroom.

With evidence-based early interventions such as Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, the most widely accepted method for treating autism, as many as half of these children would no longer be on the autism spectrum, and most would go on to successful futures as independent adults.

The costs of caring for a person with autism over his or her lifetime is estimated to be at least $3.2 million, according to a study from Professor Michael Ganz at the Harvard School of Public Health. Others have pegged the cost even higher, up to $4.7 million. With ABA therapy averaging $40,000 to $70,000 a year, and most children requiring only several years of therapy starting around age 2, early intervention with this approach clearly delivers an enormous return on investment by avoiding the multi-millions required for lifetime treatment, residential housing and care.

Not included in this cost-benefit estimate is the value that a functioning adult can contribute back to society, or the joy of parents and families who recover the child they thought lost behind the veil of autism. This human benefit is truly priceless.

Unfortunately, California recently opted not to require insurance providers to cover behavioral interventions such as ABA, even though this treatment has been the gold standard for treating autism for more than 30 years. Insurance companies have taken the position that it is education-based rather than a medical treatment.

Other states disagree. Nevada is close to passing legislation requiring insurance companies to fund ABA therapies. Nevada Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury made a compelling argument citing research that demonstrated 47 percent of children with autism were able to lead independent lives after receiving at least 30 hours per week of intensive ABA early intervention. Nevada would join Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas as states that require insurance providers to cover intensive autism treatments.

We all hope researchers will soon discover the cause of the autism epidemic and how to prevent it. In the meantime, we need to deal with both today's reality and tomorrow's prognosis, as these children move on through middle school, high school and transition to adulthood and careers. The best investment that we can make today is early intervention with scientifically validated ABA therapy.

As policy makers in California struggle with tough financial choices and argue over how much support to give to autism treatments, we urge them to consider not only the dollars and cents of autism, but the dollars and sense. Funding based on the outcomes of evidence-based therapies is the prudent decision for both the short-term and the long-term interests of children with autism, their families and our society as a whole.

Dr. William Frea is chief clinical officer and co-founder of Autism Spectrum Therapies, an agency providing autism services throughout Southern California. He has served on the California State Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism.

-

Read more »

Transfer Factor, What Say You?

Recently I have received a lot of email and phone call regarding Transfer Factor, which they claimed to have documented proof to help kids with autism. As a parent from third world or developing country, we have limited information on any method of tools to manage autism. We tend to have "No harm trying" kind of mentality. But that's cost BLOODY a lot of money to just try!

I am setting up this posting call "Transfer Factor, What say you?" and hope I can either cut and paste your experience without mentioning name and  detail. What I want to do is to gather information for the benefit of parents in Malaysia or third world countries especially in Asia.

Please either email me your experience or comment it online anonymously online. Your experience and insight to the above will greatly help.

Regards
Shiok Guy

-

Read more »

Sad Labour Day

Today is a very sad day for me, not because it is a Labour Day!
Today my elder son beat himself until the front teeth come off.

What kind of force do we need to break this 2 front teeth?
This is not his milk teeth, this 2 are his permanent front teeth.

I cannot imagine a 9 years old boy without his permanent front teeth
Do you think he can wear denture?

I doubt if he can!


I am keeping the 2 front teeth, and hope it can be implanted back.

Can it be done? Please leave your comments and suggestion at the comment section below. I want to know if I can use the teeth for implantation?

Kindly share your experiences and solutions in the comment section, or email to me at shiokx@gmail.com




Sadly,
Shiok Guy
Father of WJ

-

Read more »