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SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT             "Healing Autism:

                             No Finer a Cause on the Planet"

 

________________________________________________________________

August 7, 2002                  CALENDAR LISTING: EVENTS@doitnow.com

 

    RESEARCH

   * Smaller Suburban Babies

   * Dental Fillings Unlikely to Cause Mercury Poisoning

   * Funding Affects Researchers' "Spin" On Results

   * Gene May Protect Abused Kids Against Behavior Problems

   * Video Modeling May Improve Perception of Emotion

   * Regulatable Gene Therapy

   * Sound Unlocks the Brain

 

    COMMENTARY

   * Commentary on ABCNews Autism Report by Nicholas Regush: 'AUTISM FIASCO'

 

    AWARENESS

   * Dinner Auction Nets FEAT $95K, Enjoys Record Attendance

   * Writing Helps Woman Handle Hardship

 

 

RESEARCH

 

Smaller Suburban Babies

Study Shows an Increase in Low Birth Weights

 

      [By Nurith C. Aizenman in the Washington Post.]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52523-2002Aug6.html

 

      Low birth-weight babies have become increasingly prevalent in the

nation's suburbs as more women have children at older ages and use

procedures such as in vitro fertilization that are more likely to produce

multiple births, according to a study released yesterday.

      The study by researchers at the State University of New York Downstate

Medical Center found that the suburban low birth-weight rate in the nation's

largest 100 metropolitan areas rose more than 14 percent in the 1990s, from

6.1 percent of births to 7 percent, or 87,860 babies.

      Although still lower than the 8.9 percent rate in cities, where low

birth weight traditionally has been associated with conditions of poverty,

the suburban rate rose nearly three times as fast.

      "This really took us by surprise," said the study's lead author,

Dennis Andrulis, a professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, in Brooklyn,

N.Y.

      The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,

compared the success of cities and their suburbs in meeting seven federal

health goals, including lowering the rates of infant mortality, homicide and

syphilis.

      While many cities and suburbs fell short of those objectives, low

birth weight was the only one for which city and suburban rates on average

were higher at the end of the 1990s than at the beginning. And no cities,

and only two suburbs, met the government's goal of a 5 percent low

birth-weight rate.

      Low birth-weight infants are defined as those born weighing 5 pounds 5

ounces or less. The median weight for newborns in the United States is 7

pounds 7 ounces.

      The growing numbers of underweight babies in the suburbs is of

concern, Andrulis said, because they are at higher risk of developing a host

of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism, mental retardation and

vision and hearing disorders. "This is a not-so-early warning sign about the

health of our next generation," he said.

      Washington's suburbs reflect the trend -- with the low birth-weight

rate increasing from 6.4 percent to 7.5 percent, or 4,753 births, over the

last decade. By contrast, the District's low birth-weight rate decreased

from 15.1 percent to 13.1 percent, or 987 births.

      The slower rate of increase of low birth weights in many cities may

reflect efforts by local and federal public health officials to improve

indigent women's access to prenatal care and to educate women about the

risks of smoking while pregnant -- which significantly increases their

chance of giving birth to an underweight child, said study co-author Lisa

Duchon.

      There are signs of progress: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, the percentage of women who smoked during pregnancy

has declined by nearly 40 percent since 1989. Similarly, the infant

mortality rate, which is affected by access to prenatal care, declined

significantly in both cities and suburbs over the last decade.

      But even as officials have celebrated these gains, a variety of

developments are fueling an increase of underweight babies in the suburbs.

      Among the most dramatic has been the advancing age at which women are

having children. The percentage of women between 35 and 39 who gave birth

increased by nearly 40 percent over the last decade to 4.04 percent in 2000.

      The chance of having a low birth-weight baby increases substantially

as a woman ages for a number of reasons, experts say. For instance, "older

women tend to have more multiple births, and multiple births are much more

likely to be born prematurely because there is only so much room in the

uterus," said Mark Klebanoff, a director at the National Institute of Child

Health and Human Development.

      An increasing number of women who would otherwise have difficulty

conceiving are also taking advantage of advances in reproductive

technologies, which studies have shown roughly double the chance of

delivering a low birth-weight baby.

      About 29,000 children were born through such procedures in 1998 -- the

most recent year for which statistics were available.

      Authors of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center study cautioned that

there may be additional, underexplored factors behind the rise in

underweight babies in the suburbs -- including changes in the

characteristics of suburban populations.

      If the number of underweight suburban babies continues to grow,

schools, workplaces and social service agencies across the nation could be

affected.

      There are already indications that suburban hospitals in the

Washington area are adapting to the increase.

      For years, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville would refer

women likely to give birth to underweight babies to District hospitals with

neonatal intensive care units. But by 1996, Shady Grove was coming across

enough cases to warrant opening an NICU of its own.

      Since then, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Prince George's Hospital

Center and Howard County General Hospital have followed suit.

      Shady Grove, meanwhile, has seen the number of patients in its NICU

rise from 400 a year to more than 700. The facility now resembles a bustling

village for tiny people, with its inhabitants housed in row upon row of

glass incubators decorated with photographs and blankets.

      Beside one such dwelling, Susan Ostrinsky sat in a rocking chair on a

recent evening, cradling her 3-pound son, Benjamin, as she fed him through a

tube barely wider than a thumbnail.

      The mixed emotions she felt as she looked down at him reflected both

the promise and the predicament that underweight suburban babies represent.

      On the one hand, she had much to be thankful for. Three years ago,

after years of searching, she finally met a man she wanted to marry. Now, at

38, she had given birth to their first child.

      But Ostrinsky also had some bad news to worry about. Born 6 1/2 weeks

premature, Benjamin now appeared to have blood leaking into his brain. She

was trying not to dwell on the implications.

      "My emotions have been running the gamut," she said. "It's been a real

roller-coaster ride."

      © 2002 The Washington Post Company

 

 

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* * *

 

Dental Fillings Unlikely to Cause Mercury Poisoning

 

      [By Stephen Pincock, Reuters Health, London.]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Living/reuters20020806_220.html

 

      A range of ailments that some people attribute to the mercury in

"silver" dental fillings are more likely to be caused by other factors,

German researchers report.

      Dr. Birgit Gottwald, from the University of Giessen, said that some

patient groups in Germany attribute hundreds of different physical

complaints to dental amalgam, including fatigue, dizziness, lack of

concentration, headache, burning sensations in the mouth and back pain.

      "When you talk to groups of patients in Germany they link all sorts of

disease to amalgam. I heard of a group of patients who listed 1,000

disorders that can be linked to amalgam," Gottwald told Reuters Health.

      She and colleagues studied 40 patients with amalgam fillings and

health problems they attributed to amalgam, and 40 similar "controls" with

the same number of fillings but no complaints. Their findings are published

in the August issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

      Participants were given a dental examination to measure the quantity,

surface area and quality of their amalgam fillings, then the researchers

measured the amount of mercury in their blood and urine and assessed their

allergy to amalgam.

      They also gave the study participants a series of questionnaires to

assess coping strategies, interpersonal problems, self-consciousness,

depression and other problems.

      Patients and controls had similar levels of mercury in their blood and

urine, Gottwald said. Only one patient tested positive for allergy to

amalgam, while 28% were found to be allergic to other things, such as house

dust, pollen or animal hair.

      "These patients, some of them knew they had allergies not due to

amalgam, but they [heard] reports in the media that something like an

amalgam allergy might exist. We found that there were more likely

explanations for their allergy than amalgam."

      More of the patients than controls had "psychic disorders," or

"unfavorable styles of coping with stress," according to the report. The

researchers suggest that some of the physical symptoms may be physical

manifestations or "somatizations" of those illnesses.

      "These patients are ill, but we don't think that they suffer from

amalgam poisoning, we think they suffer from psychic disorders and

allergies," Gottwald said.

      Mercury is poisonous in high enough concentrations, and the symptoms

of mercury poisoning can be the same as those reported by the patients in

the study, including an inability to concentrate, dizziness, mental symptoms

and depression, she said.

      "But you must have a certain concentration [of mercury], and this

concentration cannot be reached by inorganic mercury from amalgam."

      Mercury has been used in dentistry for about 150 years but some

believe the fillings can give off harmful vapors that can be dangerous for

dentists and patients. But dental associations say it is safe when mixed

with other metals and there is no scientific evidence for a link between the

material and health problems.

      SOURCE: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2002;71:223-232.

* * *

 

Gene May Protect Abused Kids Against Behavior Problems

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020805075625.htm

 

      New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison identifies a

genetic variation that might protect abused children from developing

antisocial behavior.

      Childhood abuse is a universal risk factor for antisocial behavior,

says Terrie Moffitt, a UW-Madison psychologist who contributed to the study.

Children who have suffered physical or sexual abuse are twice as likely to

develop conduct disorders as adults, yet, as Moffitt explains, which of them

will have behavior problems later on greatly varies.

      The new findings, scheduled for publication in the Aug. 2 issue of the

journal Science, suggest that a genetic variation associated with low levels

of a certain brain enzyme may make some abused children nine times more

likely to exhibit antisocial behavior.

      As many psychologists search for environmental factors linking

childhood maltreatment and adult antisocial behavior, the group from

Wisconsin has looked to a gene that regulates levels of monoamine oxidase A

(MAO A) - an enzyme that cleans up excess neurotransmitters, chemicals in

the brain that transmit nerve signals. Previous studies of MAO A activity in

both mice and humans have shown that low levels of this enzyme increase

aggressive behavior.

      "There are known genes that protect against malaria and other

parasites," says Moffitt. "We wanted to know if a particular MAO A genotype

could protect maltreated children against antisocial behavior."

      The research group, led by UW-Madison psychology professor Avshalom

Caspi, studied 442 males living in New Zealand for 26 years beginning at

their birth. The subjects were part of the longitudinal Dunedin

Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study started in 1972.

      The group looked for variations in the MAO A genotype in all

participants and also periodically assessed the subjects' history of abuse

and criminal convictions, their penchant for violence and any symptoms of

antisocial personality disorder.

      Symptoms of this antisocial behavior include persistent fighting,

bullying, lying, stealing and disobeying the rules during adolescence; as

adults, the subjects may repeatedly violate the law, show no remorse for

their actions and act impulsively and aggressively.

      By age 11, 36 percent of the subjects had been maltreated (8 percent

severely), as defined by frequent changes in primary caregiver, rejection by

the mother and physical or sexual abuse. Although only 12 percent of the

maltreated children had low activity levels of the MAO A, they accounted for

44 percent of their generation's total convictions for assault and other

violent crimes.

      "As adults, 85 percent of the severely maltreated children who also

had the gene for low MAO A activity developed antisocial outcomes, such as

violent criminal behavior," says Moffitt. "The combination of maltreatment

and the genetic variation magnified the odds by nine times."

      On the other hand, the group found that children who had been

maltreated but who had higher levels of MAO A were unlikely to develop

behavior problems, suggesting that the gene regulating the enzyme does serve

a protective function. "The genotype of high MAO A activity," explains

Moffitt, "may promote 'trauma resistance.'"

      Based on these initial findings, Moffitt says, "The combination of the

low-activity MAO A genotype and maltreatment predicts antisocial behaviors

about as well as high cholesterol predicts heart disease."

      Low levels of the MAO A enzyme may help explain why some abused

children are more likely to develop aggressive or criminal behavior, but

Moffitt stresses that it does not explain why people are violent: "Low

levels of the enzyme did not predict antisocial outcomes in the whole

population. It's relation to aggression only emerged when we considered

whether the children had been maltreated."

      However, the UW-Madison researchers suspect that the MAO A genetic

variation may play a similar role in protecting people who have experienced

other stressful events, such as car accidents or wars.

      Besides showing the interaction of the MAO A enzyme and maltreatment

on behavior, the group thinks its findings are important for another reason:

methodology. Discovering the link between a gene and a disorder is hard,

says Moffitt. "This problem has plagued research into genes for

schizophrenia, autism, depression and hyperactivity."

      The key to finding the link, she says, is to focus on subjects who

share an experience. "If researchers had not noticed that some people

exposed to pathogens from mosquitoes escaped malaria, science would never

have known about the gene for susceptibility to the disease," Moffitt

explains.

      By turning to maltreatment -- an environmental pathogen known to bring

about antisocial behavior -- the UW-Madison researchers were able to

identify a genetic variable necessary to solve the equation of why only some

maltreated children develop antisocial behavior.

* * *

 

Regulatable Gene Therapy

 

      [By Martina Habeck, Drug Discovery Today.]

http://news.bmn.com/news/story?day=020729&story=2

 

      The gene therapist's dream of switching genes on and off at will may

be a step closer: An American biotech firm has shown that one of its

programmable transcription factors can be activated by an oral drug. Their

system can be used to activate and deactivate endogenous genes.

      The company behind the new system, Sangamo BioSciences of Richmond,

California, specializes in engineering zinc finger-based transcription

factors. Zinc fingers are small DNA-binding peptide motifs that contain one

or more molecules of zinc as a structural component; they can be designed to

bind to virtually any DNA sequence. Fused to an effector domain, for example

the activator protein p65 or the repressor protein KRAB (Kruppel-associated

box), they make up artificial transcription factors that can be used to up-

or down-regulate a given target gene.

      "It is a very general approach for gene regulation that mimics the way

most organisms regulate the expression of endogenous genes," says Sangamo's

CEO, Edward Lanphier.

      Based on this approach, the firm has several gene activation and

repression programs underway in therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular

disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. The most advanced therapeutic of

these involves upregulating the endogenous gene for vascular endothelial

growth factor (VEGF), which plays a key role in regulating vasculogenesis

and angiogenesis and is thus an attractive target for the treatment of

ischemic heart and limb diseases. Lanphier says pre-clinical studies have

shown that activating the endogenous VEGF gene generates all the normal

isoforms of the VEGF protein in their normal ratios. This leads to the

formation of histologically normal vasculature.

      In contrast, conventional gene therapy approaches that work with only

one isoform of VEGF lead to extremely leaky and histologically abnormal

vasculature. Sangamo plans to file an investigational new drug (IND)

application in the second half of 2003.

      The ultimate goal, Lanphier says, is to be able to control the

expression of engineered transcription factors, and thus of endogenous

genes, pharmacologically. Several genetic switches are already available to

control the transcription of inserted transgenes. One of the lead

technologies is the GeneSwitch system developed by Bert O'Malley and

commercialized by Valentis. This plasmid-based system has the following

components: a mutant form of the human progesterone receptor's

ligand-binding domain, which allows the transcription factor to be activated

allosterically by very low concentrations of the anti-progestin drug

mifepristone; the transcriptional activation domain from the p65 subunit of

human NF-kB; and the DNA-binding domain from the yeast GAL4 protein, which

allows the transcription factor to bind to a transgene with a promoter

containing sequences specific to the GAL4 DNA-binding site.

+ Article continues at: http://news.bmn.com/news/story?day=020729&story=2

* * *

 

Sound Unlocks the Brain

 

      [By Sylvia Pagan in the New Scientist.]

 

      Ultrasound beams could make it possible to treat brain diseases with

gene therapy without making a single incision.

Until now, the only attempts at targeted drug delivery and gene therapy in

the brain have involved opening the skull and injecting substances into

particular areas, which is risky. This is necessary because the cells lining

blood vessels in the brain are tightly bound together to keep out infectious

agents. This blood-brain barrier also keeps out large-molecule drugs, and

the lipid particles or viruses used to carry DNA in gene therapy.

      But Ferenc Jolesz and his team at Brigham and Women's Hospital in

Boston have found a way to temporarily open the barrier. First, tiny protein

bubbles, which are already used by doctors to improve ultrasound images of

blood vessels, are injected into the bloodstream. Then an ultrasound beam is

focused on a specific region, which bursts the bubbles in the blood vessels

in that area. Earlier this year, Jolesz's team reported that the resulting

shock waves make the blood-brain barrier permeable, so large particles can

get into the brain both between cells and through cell membranes.

      Now his team has shown this method could be used to deliver genes to

the brain. They injected three rabbits with the bubble mixture and focused

an ultrasound beam on several different spots in their brains. Then they

injected the rabbits with a modified herpes virus- a common tool in gene

therapy.

      The virus reached the brain areas on which the beam had been focused,

the team will tell a meeting later this month. The method sidesteps the two

obstacles that make the brain hard to treat: the skull and the blood-brain

barrier.

      The researchers plan to make delivery even more specific by putting

the viruses inside the bubbles themselves. They think this method will also

work with large-molecule drugs. But Jolesz cautions that it will take many

experiments to show that the technique is safe and effective enough for gene

therapy.

      "Applications could include the treatment of cancer and different

neurodegenerative diseases," says gene therapy expert Richard Mulligan of

Harvard Medical School. But he adds that it's not enough to get viruses to

the right place in the body. They must also be able to deliver genes to the

target cells, and the genes must be properly expressed.

      Various other groups are looking at the ultrasound technique as a way

to improve gene delivery elsewhere in the body. "I think it has a great deal

of promise," says Christopher Newman of the University of Sheffield.

Ultrasound is attractive because it has a very strong safety record, he

says.

* * *

 

Funding Affects Researchers' "Spin" On Results

 

      [I'm shocked. Shocked! Who knew? –LS.]

www.reutershealth.com/archive/2002/08/02/eline/links/20020802elin023.html

 

      Reuters Health - Authors of journal articles about clinical trials are

more likely to draw positive conclusions from their findings if they

received funding from a drug company or other for-profit organization,

Danish investigators report in the August 3rd issue of the British Medical

Journal.

      Drs. Lise L. Kjaergard and Bodil Als-Nielsen, from Copenhagen

University Hospital, studied all 159 articles on randomized clinical trials

published between 1997 and 2001 in the British Medical Journal, a

publication that requires authors to declare funding and competing

interests.

      They examined each report for a link between funding source and the

authors' conclusions, specifically the "extent to which overall results

favoured the experimental intervention."

      Their analysis showed that conclusions of studies were far more likely

to show a positive result from the experimental intervention if the study

was funded by a for-profit organization.

      "The association was quite strong," Kjaergard told Reuters Health.

"The interesting thing was that it was only when they were funded by a

profit organization alone. If someone else--a nonprofit organization--was

involved, somehow, then, the association was not there."

      Other sorts of competing interests, such as political, personal or

academic interests, did not significantly affect the conclusions.

      The study did not determine what was responsible for the link.

      "Maybe they [companies] are just a lot better at finding effective

treatments. That is one possibility," Kjaergard said. "The other possibility

is, of course, bias."

      She said a tendency for companies not to publish negative data was

also "very likely" to be part of the reason for the association. "But I know

that this has changed, and drug companies in the UK are beginning to publish

their results regardless of the outcome," she said.

      The results emphasize the need for authors to state their competing

interests very clearly, she said. "Also, if they have no competing

interests, this should also be clear from the report."

      The analysis should also serve as a reminder for readers to take

conclusions with a grain of salt, she said. "They should do that with all

trials. They should always look for bias and it is always a good idea to be

critical, irrespective of the funding."

      SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:249-252.

* * *

 

Video Modeling May Improve Perception of Emotion

 

      [By Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., UC Davis MIND Institute.  This article is

from the current FEAT quarterly newsletter.]

http://www.feat.org

 

      Much of human learning occurs vicariously by simply watching others in

a process referred to as observational learning. Research has consistently

shown that children with autism do not naturally learn through observation

and thus must be taught to imitate and learn this basic skill. Video

provides a unique form of observational learning. Video modeling is an

innovative intervention that is well documented in the research literature

and has numerous applications in the behavioral. However, it appears to be

an underutilized medium despite early reports by behavioral scientists

demonstrating the efficacy and promise of video in treatment.

      Video modeling appears to be a particularly promising treatment

approach for children with autism who, according to parental report and

clinical observation, frequently engage in repetitive TV/Video watching.

Many children who do not readily imitate models and behavior in their own

environment will reproduce verbalizations and actions from television and

videotapes. In fact, some children with autism appear to learn better via

video technology than face-to-face modeling and instruction.

      Furthermore, the use of videotape permits the direct skills training

of discrete behaviors that are important in social communication (e.g.,

facial expression, speech intonation), which are likely misperceived by the

child with autism in typical social situations.

      Currently Dr. Blythe Corbett, pediatric neuropsychologist and

behaviorist at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, is conducting a pilot study

evaluating the efficacy of video modeling to improve the perception of

emotion in children with autism 4-to-I 2 years of age. The primary aim of

the video modeling pilot study is to test the hypothesis that children with

autism spectrum disorder, who demonstrate impairment in the processing of

emotional and social information, can learn to Identify, interpret and use

emotional information in a more socially appropriate, flexible, and adaptive

way. The treatment includes the participant being exposed to videotaped

scenes of typically developing peers engaged in a variety of age-appropriate

social and play scenes in which they express basic emotions, which include

happ, sad, angry and afraid. As part of the program, the participant will

engage in role-play and behavioral practice.

      The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated through the

use of neuropsychological and behavioral measures. In addition, functional

magnetic resonance imaging (fMRl) will be used pre- and post-treatment in

collaboration with Dr. Susan Rivera, also of the M.l.N.D. Institute. A

central hypothesis of the fMRl component is that behavioral intervention

targeted at the basic processes of emotion perception will result in the

reorganization of relevant brain regions known to be involved in the

processing of emotion and facial information. As part of the neuroimaging

study, participants will be exposed to a simulator or “mock scanner” to

practice staying in the scanner. The fMRl investigation will Include

high-functioning children with autism from 84o-12 years of age. The study

will begin in July 2002. For more information, contact: Blythe Corbett,

Ph.D. (916) 734-6159.

* * *

 

COMMENTARY

 

"On ABCNews Autism Report by Nicholas Regush: 'AUTISM FIASCO'"

 

      [Nicholas Regush is a formeer medical columnist for ABC News.]

Visit Redflagsweekly.com http://www.redflagsweekly.com

 

      Today, I'm going to point you in the direction of one of the worst

health news reports I have come across in months, and it involves ABC News

where I produced TV segments on health for a decade.

The report, which you can read at ABCNEWS.com, is about autism. It is

unbalanced, foolish to the point of stupidity and a classic example of

people producing health news who have little understanding of what they are

doing. It means bad research and lousy supervision.

      A report like this involves a correspondent and a producer and I

suspect that ABCNews.com added some material to the report (which is often

done). And forget about the supervision. It is much like the blind leading

the blind. You can read the piece which aired on World News Tonight with

Peter Jennings at:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/autismWNT020801.html

(If you cannot click on the above link, you can cut and paste it into your

browser.)

      Here are examples of statements about autism and also vaccines in the

report which should never have made it into the broadcast. They required

clarification and counterpoint. In fact, the entire piece is narrow in scope

and conceived badly, resting on high degrees of speculation, masquerading

somewhat as fact.(My remarks are in caps).

      1."It presumably affects the developing brain prior to birth."

EVIDENCE PLEASE?

      2."It's a polygenetic disorder, which means each case is caused by

three to four interacting genes, but you can't have a genetic epidemic. So

the increase would have to be a genetic-environment interaction&#133;" WHAT

KIND OF BAFFLEGAB IS THIS? AND WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?

      3.And then vaccines are considered, but the report says that "experts

say there is no scientific evidence to support this." The emphasis in the

piece is that parents have been frightened away from vaccines by talk of the

MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine being involved in autism. NO

COUNTERPOINT IS PROVIDED IN AN AREA HOT WITH SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY.

      4. "Some parents feared that mercury in vaccines might cause autism,

but scientists say there is actually very little or no mercury in vaccines

these days."

      5. "Vaccines have not had mercury in them for years." DEAD WRONG. AND

AGAIN, WHERE IS THE COUNTERPOINT IN ANOTHER AREA HOT WITH CONTROVERSY? WHAT

ABOUT LAWSUITS REGARDING THIMEROSAL,A MERCURY-CONTAINING ORGANIC COMPOUND

WITH POWERFUL NEUROTOXIC EFFECTS?

      It's really sad to see complex health issues treated in such a sloppy

manner. These types of reports simply create more confusion. World News

Tonight medical reports are usually of poor quality but are no worse than

those produced at CBS or NBC or CNN. Better to read newspaper accounts. They

will often, at the very least, mention the counterpoints. In TV Land,

research is usually done on the fly by people who don't have the required

scope to investigate in the first place. Good grief!

      Have A Good Weekend!

* * *

 

AWARENESS

 

Dinner Auction Nets FEAT $95K, Enjoys Record Attendance

 

      [By Nannette Henderson, Dinner Auction Committee in the Families for

Early Autism Treatment's quarterly newsletter, Summer 2002 and is mailed out

free to families and providers in Northern California.]

http://www.feat.org

 

      Oh, what a Night! The tenth annual Families for Early Autism Treatment

“Night of Caring” Dinner and Auction was a huge success, raising over

$95,000 to assist children with autism and their families. Nearly 800 guests

were greeted by mistress of ceremonies Lynda Clayton as they bid on unique

silent auction selections and spending time catching up with family and

friends.

      After a wonderful dinner accompanied by wine donated by Karly Winery,

FEAT president Nancy Fellmeth addressed the audience and presented Dr. Linda

Copeland with the Rick Rollens Award for “Excellence in Services to Young

Children with Autism.” As always, the professionally created video of our

autistic children stole the show and the hearts of everyone. Special thanks

to John Volinsky and Nancy Heath for producing this inspirational film.

      The fun was just beginning as lively auctioneers Kelly Brothers and

Pat Still led a brisk and cornpetitive live auction. Offerings included a

vacation to the prestigious Phoenician resort in Arizona as well as a framed

replica jersey signed by Sacramento Kings star Peja Stojakovic. The

sentimental favorite was an original artwork piece by Tre Tuttle, a child

with autistic spectrum disorder who lives in the Sacramento area, which sold

for $1,300.

      Thank you, Ire and family!  This event is not just one night. For

months sponsorships were secured and raffle tickets sold. Dedicated

committee members gathered auction items and checked on numerous

behind-the-scene details. Families brought their children to photo sessions;

contributed information for their child’s decorative “star”; and volunteers

stuffed and mailed over 3000 invitations. It takes a lot of planning to make

this event a reality. Thank you to everyone who did such a fantastic job.

Without each of you, we would have never have had such a successful event.

      And don’t forget to check out Sacramento Magazine sometime in the next

few months. FEAT’s “Night of Caring” is expected to be featured inlhe

“eventr around town” photo section. We’ve held another great party but next

year’s auction is already in the initial planning stages. Be sure to mark

yourcalcndar for April 26, 2003 for our next “Night of Caring”. Our first

organizational meeting will be held sometime in September and if you would

1ike to help in any way or can contribute to this special event, please call

Mary Hall at 9l6-381-

5270.

* * *

 

Writing Helps Woman Handle Hardship

 

      [By Patricia Villers, in the New Haven Register.]

www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4962207&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7577&rfi

=6

 

      Kimberly Tucker writes about her life as a wife and mother of three —

and the daily challenges she faces dealing with Asperger Syndrome, an

autistic disorder.

Tucker, 37, prefers to communicate by writing and through various forms of

artwork.

      "I've written ever since I could hold a pen," she said. "When I was

growing up, I filled 15 diaries."

      She paints portraits of her husband and pictures of old buildings, and

creates elves from scraps of fabric. She uses broken pieces of tile to

decorate furniture and flower pots.

      Adding to the challenges she faces is her husband Howard's diagnosis

of ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.

      That was when he was 37, almost three years ago.

      Howard was employed for 21 years as a roofer until he was no longer

able to handle the work. Now he uses an electric wheelchair to get around

their small house.

      "I've had to take over everything as he loses skills," she said. "It's

getting a lot easier as I get into routines."

      Kimberly Tucker's work has appeared in several magazines, and most

recently an essay was published in Issue 45 of "Kaleidoscope," a semiannual

magazine.

      The periodical is published by United Disability Services in Akron,

Ohio. It expresses the experiences of disability from the perspective of

individuals, families, health care professionals and society.

      The Ohio Arts Council helped fund "Kaleidoscope" to encourage economic

growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all residents of

Ohio.

      "When people think of autism they think of its most severe form,"

Tucker said. "I'm considered a high-functioning person."

      Tucker said she was diagnosed as an adult. Often children who have the

disorder "act like little adults or little professors and have a strong

sensitivity (to sounds, smells and sights)," Tucker said. "They didn't look

at mild autism back then (when I was a child)."

      The essay, "'Cause It's Friday," marks Tucker's second time being

published in "Kaleidoscope," she said. "A poem called 'Holy Dust Motes' was

in Issue 41," she said.

      "'Cause It's Friday" was selected from more than 200 submissions for

publication. The essay documents the family's outing to a fast-food

restaurant on a Friday night, after her husband lost his job.

      The trip had become a regular Friday supper routine, but this time was

different because he had just been let go from his job, she wrote.

      "Kaleidoscope" senior editor Gail Willmott said she liked the

"liveliness" of Tucker's prose. "I like the sort of humor (Tucker uses). It

took a hold of me right away," she said.

      "We get a lot of personal insights submissions that are just

recitations," Willmott said. "In Kim's piece, she tells a story and draws

you into it."

      Tucker believes she will be able to get her autobiography printed in

book form someday. "I think it's sellable because I've published a lot of

excerpts," she said.

 

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