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December 22, 2001        News Morgue Search  www.feat.org/search/news.asp

CARE

·        10 Year Old Autistic Child Arrested

 

ADVOCACY

·        ‘I Just Wanted Dad To Say He Loved Me’

 

AWARENESS

·        Even if You Don’t Get a Digital Camera for a Holiday Gift. . .

 

TREATMENT

·        New Guide To Intestinal Health in Autism Spectrum Disorder

 

RESEARCH

·        Autism May Be Caused By An Immune System Response To A Virus

 

 

10 Year Old Autistic Child Arrested

[As broadcast on a TV news program, WEAR TV3 in Pensacola, Florida.

Thanks to kneeleee.  This isn’t the first we’ve heard of this kind of thing

happening and it won’t be the last.  What to do? -LS]

Http://www.weartv.com/news/stories/december/1220/autistic.htm

A 10-year-old fort walton beach boy faces two felony charges after an

outburst at his elementary school earlier this month.

But his mother says the circumstances surrounding the fourth grader’s

arrest make the filing of criminal charges a disturbing decision.

Okaloosa reporter Michele Nicholson is in our Fort Walton Beach newsroom tonight with details on this case.

Michele, what about these special circumstances the mother’s referring

to?

Angel Fitzwilliams says her son, Dustin, has the neurological disorder

called autism that calls for understanding and tolerance, not handcuffs and

courtrooms.

Angel Fitzwilliams won’t dispute her autistic son Dustin sometimes has

emotional outbursts.

But she doesn’t think he deserves to be handcuffed and arrested when

those outbursts turn aggressive, as can happen when autistic children feel

frustrated or overwhelmed.

Angel Fitzwilliams, Dustin’s mom: “he’s not aggressive just out of the

blue. I mean, that’s just not like him. If he gets frustrated, usually you

can see it coming on.”

According to a sheriff’s office report, it came on December 3^rd, at

Elliot Point Elementary school.

A school resource officer was called here the same day the ten year

old’s accused of punching a teachers aide.

This time, Dustin was reportedly being combative.

The officer says dustin kicked her and tried to grab her gun.

He was ultimately placed in handcuffs, charged with battery on a

school official, and battery on a law enforcement officer.

Rick Hord, Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office: “there’s no question but that we

had all the elements of a felony crime present. There’s no question but that

the arrest at the time was a valid one under the circumstances. What happens

with the case in court is a different matter.

Fitzwilliams however is working to get the case dismissed before it

goes to court.

She says an arrest is not the way to handle an autistic child with the

social skills of a five year old.

Fitzwilliams: “he’s ten years old. He can’t ride a bicycle. He can’t

tie his shoes. You know? I mean he’s got a lot of disabilities and they know

he can not function like a normal ten year old child.”

School Superintendent Don Gaetz says it is a matter between the parents, law enforcement, and the courts.

Dustin’s plea day is scheduled for January 23^rd.

Is Dustin still in school? He was suspended... But he is now back in

class. It’s a special class for children with communication, social, and

behavioral problems.

* * *

 

‘I Just Wanted Dad To Say He Loved Me’

By Helen Rumbelow.]

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001592040,00.html

One night while Sam Peters was pregnant she rushed downstairs to find

her father. “Dad, I’m terrified, I think I’m losing the baby,” she told him

in the darkness of their small terraced house in Cwmbran, South Wales.

“Oh really? By the way, what are we having for dinner tomorrow?” was

his reply.

Hers is the extraordinary story of a woman known as the Erin

Brockovich of autism. A childhood of bullying by her eccentric, domineering

father produced a shy and introverted woman, who pinned her hopes of a

normal life on her two sons. But they behaved oddly from the start, unable

to communicate, and screaming inconsolably for hours on end, forcing her

into virtual imprisonment at home.

After years of struggle she discovered that her boys and her father

all have some kind of autism. In the rare moments when she was not caring

for them she stayed up late training herself to become a lawyer to help her

to fight two separate legal battles for their care, one of which went to the

High Court.

Now her courage and determination have convinced one of London’s most

prestigious law firms to offer Ms Peters, 33, a job so that she can fight

the battle for others. They are paying for the entire family to move to

London in the new year, offering all the childcare and support she needs so

that she can work.

It is only in looking back that she realises how strange her childhood

had been made by her father’s condition. John Peters, now 56, had what

relatives referred to as the “Peters family madness”, but is now known to be

a spectrum of autistic disorders passed down through the male line.

He would eat nothing green, nor anything that had touched something

green. He would drill his daughter in esoteric subjects, like mineral charts

and combustion engines. No ornaments could be moved, every coat had to be on

the right peg, no object could be thrown away, and he would answer any questions people asked of his daughter.

When his frustration at not being able to control a situation boiled

over he sometimes physically lashed out at his wife, Jacqui. “It was a very

strange childhood, we were almost locked inside the house, walking on

eggshells the whole time, trying to figure out what we’d done wrong,” Ms

Peters said. “Just recently he said to me, ‘I can’t love you, but I like you

very much, because you belong to me.’ That was devastating to hear, because

deep down I’d always longed to hear him say that he truly loved me.”

After doing an MA in English literature Ms Peters returned home to

help her mother and soon became pregnant with her first son, Acis. When she

brought him home from the hospital, her father looked at him and said: “It

will do.”

But there was something wrong with Acis. He would not sleep, and would

sit for hours spinning cans on the floor. By three he could not talk. “When

I tried to hug him he froze like a porcupine, which was a huge blow for me,”

Ms Peters said.

Late one night she saw a programme on autism. “I’ve never cried so

hard as that night because I knew I was watching my son,” she said. It took

another year of campaigning, and finally a tribunal hearing before a

diagnosis of autism was put on Acis’s statement of education needs, which

compelled the local authority to give him extra support.

During this time John had acted as chaperon for his grandson to

meetings with experts. His unusual mannerisms caught their eye. In his

fifties, John Peters was finally told that he had a condition that explained

why his life had been so fraught.

Ms Peters sat down with a paediatrician and traced her family tree,

and the autism, for several generations. “It was just at the time when they

made this family connection that I got really scared, because I was pregnant

with my second son.”

When Harry had autism diagnosed, Ms Peters was not relieved as she had

been with Acis. “I had this selfish thought, ‘I’m never going to have a child who is loving,’ ” she said.

The entire household entered into a dark period of depression, with

each member feeling isolated and alone. “I was very shy and retiring, I was

a wimp, because I had spent my life being bullied by my Dad. Suddenly I

realised that if I didn’t do anything, no one would. I became a lion, and I

went out roaring on behalf of my sons.”

She began an Open University law degree and then the battle to have

Harry recognised by the local education authority as autistic. This went

first to a special needs tribunal, then to an appeal in the High Court,

which she won this year. The National Autistic Society was crucial in

offering advice and support. Soon her success at advocacy became famous on

the underground network of families with autistic children.

She was amazed to receive the recent job offer from a London law firm

with full training as a solicitor included. “I was absolutely stunned. Now I

’m just so determined to improve the bloody terrible services for people out

there. There is such a big problem with early diagnosis. That is probably

the single most important thing.”

Her father and sons have made huge improvements since diagnosis, with

the boys thriving at school and in the care of a doting grandfather. “It’s

still like my Dad and them can speak a special code which I can’t

understand,” she said. “I will find them all totally engrossed in counting

the fairy lights on the Christmas tree for hours.

“But I still remember those times of giving and not receiving, living

in an emotional vacuum, which is dangerous because you are so desperate to

be loved.”

 

 

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* * *

 

Even if You Don’t Get a Digital Camera for a Holiday Gift. . .

[From Nancy Cale at Unlocking Autism.]

During the chaos and hectic activity of the holidays take just a

moment and snap a picture of that special person in your family with any

camera you have. You may have no idea what an impression has already been

made by the nearly 5000 wonderful faces that Unlocking Autism has permanently displayed on 6 foot by 3 foot boards.

I have personally witnessed the emotion and compassion on the faces of,

not only family, but total strangers. These boards tell a story. These

children and adults may not have a voice but their pictures scream out, “Do

not forget us, we are a part of your world.”

I fell madly and wildly in love with the first person that I really got

to know who had autism and his precious almost 7 year old face in always

before me. Let’s give the world tens of thousands of precious faces. Let’s

take our story to the world and get our children the recognition and support

they deserve.

We cannot remain silent.....their faces speak volumes. Please consider

letting us add another picture to the boards and share this information with

any families and/or support groups that you may know.

For registration form, go to: http://www.unlockingautism.org/openeyes6.html

TOGETHER WE CAN UNLOCK AUTISM !

* * *

 

Free New Book Online Now: Guide To Intestinal Health in Autism Spectrum

Disorder

http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/links/Gut_Protocol/Gut_Protocol.pdf

From Kirkman Lab’s comes a 179-page draft to view online or download,

“Guide To Intestinal Health in Autism Spectrum Disorder.”  It’s a comprehensive review of intestinal health issues in Autism Spectrum Disorders and the options available for treating them.

Special section on enzymes and probiotics including the new

EnZym-Complete with DPP-IV

* * *

 

Autism May Be Caused By An Immune System Response To A Virus

[This report came out in October, 1998 when our readership was less

than 500 and we missed it. So here it is, now.  It covers aspects of the

neuro-immune theory of still-idiopathic autism spectrum disorders.

http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/1998/Oct98/r103098b.html

Antibodies found in the blood of autistic children suggest that at

least some cases of autism are caused by a misguided immune response, triggered by exposure to a virus, researchers in the University of Michigan’s College of Pharmacy report.

The researchers found that autistic children who had been exposed to

certain viruses in the past showed unusually high levels of antibodies to

brain proteins, suggesting an autoimmune response. Their findings appear in

the October issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology.

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects brain function,

interfering with reasoning ability, imagination, communication, and social

interaction. Children with autism start talking later than other children,

and when they do speak, their communication skills are extremely limited.

They often avoid looking at other people and don’t learn to read others’

faces for signs of emotion or other cues. These children typically are

unable to play creatively, and some engage in repetitive, sometimes

self-destructive, behavior, such as rocking, hand flapping or head-banging.

No single cause of autism has been found, and researchers believe that

genes and environmental factors (such as viruses or chemicals) both may

contribute. The kinds of brain abnormalities found in people with autism

suggest that the disorder arises when something disrupts normal brain development.

One possibility is that early exposure to a virus prods the body into

mounting an immune response that somehow goes awry. In addition to producing

antibodies against the virus, the body makes antibodies against itself,

resulting in damage to tissues and organs. This “autoimmune” response is

what happens in autoimmune diseases such as lupus, and some researchers

think a similar response may account for the brain abnormalities found in

people with autism.

It was this possibility that U-M researchers Vijendra Singh and Victor

Yang and undergraduate student assistant Sheren Lin investigated. In their

study of 48 autistic children and 34 normal children and adults, the

researchers measured levels of antibodies to two viruses---measles virus and

human herpesvirus-6---in the subjects’ blood. These antibodies were chosen

because they are often used in research on known autoimmune diseases, says

Singh, the principal investigator of the project and an assistant research

scientist in the College of Pharmacy.

The researchers also measured levels of two brain autoantibodies

(antibodies to brain tissue). One, anti-MBP, is an antibody to myelin basic

protein, a protein found in the protective sheaths around nerve fibers in

the brain. The other, anti-NAFP, is an antibody to neuron-axon filament protein, a protein that makes up the nerve fibers themselves.

Virus antibody levels were essentially the same in autistic and

non-autistic subjects, as the researchers expected. But the majority of

autistic children who had virus antibodies also had brain autoantibodies.

The higher the level of virus antibodies, the more likely an autistic child

was to have brain autoantibodies. None of the non-autistic subjects had brain autoantibodies.

The strongest link found in the autistic children was between measles

virus antibodies and anti-MBP, suggesting that exposure to the measles virus

may trigger an autoimmune response that interferes with the development of

myelin, says Singh. If myelin in the brain doesn’t develop properly, nerve

fibers won’t work as they should. This could be one way that the brain abnormalities associated with autism arise.

The question of how exposure to measles virus occurs raises a

controversial issue. Parents of children with autism often report that the

children started showing signs of the disorder shortly after being immunized

with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) or diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT)

vaccine, but no scientific studies have shown a link between vaccines and

autism. In the U-M study, almost all the subjects had had MMR immunizations,

and none had ever had a case of measles. It is possible, however, that some

might have been infected with measles virus but never developed symptoms of

Lenny Schafer, Editor@feat.org  •  CALENDAR EVENTS@feat.org Michelle Guppy

Catherine Johnson PhD  •  Ron Sleith  •  Kay Stammers  •  Edward Decelie

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