FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER
Sacramento, California http://www.feat.org
December 17, 2001
News Morgue Search www.feat.org/search/news.asp
·
Family, State Settle Lawsuit For $2.7m
·
Mother and Autistic Boy See Eye To Eye
·
Getting The Needle Over MMR
·
Looking Past Limitations
[By Carolynn McLuskey.] http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2001/12/14/build/accountability/adopted. php?nnn=5 <-- address ends here.
In what may be the largest settlement in a negligence case
against the state, a Missoula, Montana couple is slated to receive about $2.7
million to help care for their severely developmentally disabled child for the
duration of his life.
The settlement follows a ruling by District Court Judge
Jeffrey Sherlock Wednesday that the State of Montana is responsible for the
fact that the baby boy adopted by Mike and Kristin Maxwell in 1989 was born
with developmental disabilities including autism.
Expert testimony offered to the court by the Maxwells
indicated that a child born from an autistic woman is likely to possess the
same developmental disabilities as his or her mother — an expert opinion the state
was unprepared to refute, Sherlock said.
“There is no higher settlement with the state that I know
about,” said Monte Beck, one of the attorneys for the Maxwells.
However, the true blessing, he said, is that the Maxwells’
12-year-old son will have the medication and care he needs to live a happy and productive
life.
“We’re very proud the state did the right thing,” Beck
said.
The Maxwells filed a lawsuit in Helena District Court
in February 2000
demanding that the state pay for the past and future care of
their son relating to his severe developmental disabilities.
The boy was the offspring of a 42-year-old resident of the
Montana Developmental Center who was raped in 1988 by Lloyd Dean Drummond, one
of her caregivers at the state-run facility. The rape victim was described as being
mentally and physically handicapped, unable to communicate or care for herself.
In 1989, the woman gave birth to the child, who was later
adopted by the Maxwells through Catholic Charities on assurances that the boy
did not share the same conditions that affected his mother. At the age of 3, however,
the child began to exhibit signs he had inherited the disorders.
According to a pretrial order filed in the Maxwell case,
the state acknowledged that its negligence was the cause of the rape and
pregnancy of the MDC resident as a result of its hiring of Drummond to work at
the facility.
However, state lawyers denied that that state was
responsible for the fact the boy possessed the disabilities of his mother.
That argument went out the window in the second day of the
trial, which began Tuesday, with Sherlock’s decision, taking out the major stumbling
block on the path for lawyers for the state and the Maxwells to reach a
settlement, Beck said.
Although a professional life care planner hired by the
Maxwells estimated that the ongoing medical and psychological care, in addition
to the financial burden of assisted living care, would cost between $4.5 million
and $10 million, the Maxwells are satisfied the $2.7 million will meet his
needs, he said.
Steve Harman, one of the state’s attorneys, said the
benefits of the settlement go beyond the care of the Maxwells’ child.
“The state is satisfied to finally resolve this difficult
case which has been pending for many years,” he said. “The money will benefit
the disabled child. Upon the child’s death, any money remaining will revert to
a foundation to benefit other disabled children.”
The paperwork in the case should be finalized and signed
by the judge within the month, Beck said. At that time, more details about the administration
of the funds and foundation will become available.
* * *
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30700-1038451,00.html
The British Prime Minister’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth
has accused the Government of double standards over the MMR vaccine.
Cherie Blair’s half-sister says ministers should tell the
truth about the combined measles, mumps and rubella inoculation given to young
children.
“Where my daughter’s health is concerned I’m more inclined
to believe information I find on the Internet than to swallow advice from a
Government leaflet,” Ms Booth told the Mail On Sunday. ‘Breezy recommendation’ “How
can a Government, which in one breath advises us to check the labels on food
for additives and E numbers, then so breezily recommend vaccinations containing
mercury and formaldehyde for babies less than nine weeks old?”
Ms Booth has refused to allow her 12-month-old daughter
Alexandra to have the MMR jab.
The Department of Health has insisted that MMR, rather
than single injections, is the most effective way to protect children against
the illnesses.
Autism link But about 2,000 families have taken legal
action, claiming their children have been damaged by the jab, with many
believing it has triggered autism and bowel disorders.
Earlier this month, Dr Andrew Wakefield, who researched
the possible link between the vaccine and autism, resigned from his job at
London’s Royal Free and University College Medical School.
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* * *
Mother and Autistic Boy See Eye To Eye
[By Laura Peek.]
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001580136,00.html
A scheme to teach autistic children and their parents how
to communicate helped a four-year-old boy to look his mother in the eye for the
first time.
Deborah McDougall had despaired of ever making normal eye
contact with Jamie, who was two when autism was diagnosed. Because of the
severity of his condition he could barely communicate with the rest of his
family. He ignored his parents and could not play with his older sister,
Rachael.
“He just wandered around the house in a world of his own,
ignoring everybody,” Mrs McDougall, 41, said. “Sometimes there were dreadful
tantrums and I was tearing my hair out.”
However, a pilot scheme run by the National Autistic
Society (NAS) changed everything, radically improving her relationship with
Jamie. The Early Bird scheme aims to support and educate parents of children
with autism during three months of lectures and home visits. Autism experts
host weekly talks for parents, home visits are made every three weeks and
parents are videotaped applying the new skills they have learnt.
One of the Early Bird volunteers suggested that Mrs
McDougall gently rock Jamie on her knee then suddenly stop, as an exercise to
improve his eye contact. The effect was instant: Jamie enjoyed the game so much
that he wanted it to continue. He looked at his mother and made noises to
encourage her to start rocking again.
“It was absolutely brilliant,” said Mrs McDougall. “We did
Row the Boat on my knee and he loved it and didn’t want it to stop. The scheme
gives you the tools to unlock your child’s world.”
The Times Christmas Appeal is raising money for the NAS,
which depends on charitable donations to fund vital services for people with
autism and Asperger’s syndrome, a similar condition.
Organisers of the Early Bird scheme are hoping for funds
to expand it, giving more families access to the kind of care and education
that helped the McDougalls.
Jo Stevens, the scheme’s director, said: “We are trying to
start more programmes to reach as many parts of the UK as we can. Early
intervention for children after a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder is
essential and the involvement of parents has been shown to have a positive
influence.”
Before she discovered Early Bird, Mrs McDougall, who lives
in Sheffield and works in a blood transfusion centre, had researched autism on the
Internet and had attended a six-week course. She said: “I was very depressed
with what I found on the Internet. I had no idea how to help my child and that
was a dreadful time. I spent a year floundering around and panicking.
“The course was no help either. The children were put in
one room and the parents in another. We were left out in the cold. Parents were
not empowered in any way. It all had a knock-on effect on my relationship with my
husband. I was snapping at everybody.”
Early Bird “redressed the balance”, Mrs McDougall said.
“As well as the skills it gave us, there was also the opportunity to exchange
stories with other parents. People said ‘I had that problem and this is how I
solved it’. We learnt from each other. It was a fantastic morale booster. We
were so much happier.”
The scheme also helped to bring the family together.
Jamie’s sister joined in with some of the exercises and gradually built a
relationship with her brother, who is now seven. “They played games together,
which improved matters a lot. They were quite rough and tumble, like lots of
siblings.”
Mrs McDougall credits Early Bird with transforming her
life. “I cannot praise it highly enough. It was a lifeline. The earlier you can
intervene then the better the prognosis for the future with autism. Early Bird
did a fantastic job.
“That is why it needs money so that more and more families
across the country can benefit like we did.”
Since it was set up in South Yorkshire in 1997, Early Bird
has helped more than 450 families. The scheme aims to help parents to
understand their child’s autism, structure interactions in which communication
can develop and pre-empt problem behaviour and deal with it when it occurs.
·
Make your donations using the coupon, or online at www.thetimes.co.uk/appeal.
* * *
[By Diane Gale Andreassi in M Alive, Ann Arbor,
Michigan.]
http://aa.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20011211aautism1211.fr
The conviction in Evan Stosick’s voice when he says he’ll
be the next Albert Einstein makes everyone in hearing distance believe his
dream will come true. The fact that the 12 year old is autistic doesn’t detract
from his aspirations, but is evidence that he already knows how to overcome larger
obstacles than most of us will ever face.
In spite some of his limitations, the Dexter resident
keeps excelling. For instance, he
recently met all the requirements for his black belt at Keith Hafner’s Karate
in Ann Arbor.
“I have seen a significant growth in Evan,” says Melanie
Hamilton, program director at Keith Hafner’s Karate. “He has matured and
learned so much. He’s come a long way.”
Stosick’s vocabulary is excellent as he talks about his
struggles and his successes.
“Most kids think karate is all about fighting and that’s
not really true,” he says. “It’s to help yourself and not to hurt someone else.”
The seventh-grade , Mill Creek Middle School student learned discipline, too.
“The first couple of belts weren’t hard,” he says. “The
black belt camp, man, that was tough.”
While eating his lunch at school, the red haired, pre-teen
describes what it’s like to be autistic. After a moment’s hesitation, as he
struggled with a question, Stosick seemed to be illustrating his words when he explains:
“It’s very difficult for me to focus, because I’m distracted by too many
things.”
Other times, his conversation is fluid and articulate.
Reacting appropriately in social situations is
something he works on
improving. Since his behavior can seem odd to others,
Stosick decided he would give a small speech about autism to his classmates.
“Now that they know about autism, they also help me in a
nice way,” he says. “They say, ‘Evan, get to work.’ I may think it’s annoying,
but I know they’re trying to help me.”
When he was in the third grade Stosick was diagnosed with
Asperger’s Syndrome, which is considered a disorder on the higher end of the
autistic continuum.
“At the time of his diagnosis, we were just terrified for
him and the quality of his life,” says his mother, Brie Stosick.
“What we have come to realize from raising him, is that he
is differently abled and sometimes that will be difficult, embarrassing (for us
mostly), but mostly amazing if we opened ourselves up to the way he is, worked
with his strengths and helped him to understand his disability and work toward
his personal best,” she says.
Stosick, who was born on Christmas day, has an uncanny
talent for creating detailed drawings and loves to brainstorm cartoons. In
fact, he often takes school notes, especially in science and math, by sketching
pictures to capture concepts. If he’s not a great inventor or scientist, Stosick
says, he’d like to be a cartoonist.
“We always sensed there was something different about him,”
Brie Stosick says.
He met all the developmental milestones and at times at a
quicker rate than most children, like knowing his alphabet when he was two and
being able to repeat verbatim 40 pages of a story that was read to him.
But, there were other obvious problems that Brie Stosick
refers to as “little red flags” that hinted something was wrong, like not being
able to switch from doing one thing to another and having a hard time focusing.
“He couldn’t remember what I just asked him to do, but he
could name all the planets in the solar system and give you the distance
between them in light years,” Brie Stosick says. “Sunlight would send him into
fits of anxiety. Noises like the vacuum and hand dryers would unhinge him.”
Despite the tremendous hurdles he’s had to face, Evan
Stosick says that if given a choice to rid himself of autism he didn’t think he
would, because that’s part of what makes him who he is.
“Although it would help me tremendously,” he says, “being
autistic is unique in a way if you can still talk and stuff.”
His advice to other autistic children is: “Try your best
and maybe try to get everyone else to understand who you really are. You’re
autistic and you don’t understand things that well. But, it doesn’t mean you’re
dumb. You’re born that way and it’s
something that some kids have.”
In what Stosick calls “the first part of his life” he and
his family had no idea that he was autistic “and it was kind of tough, because
my mom didn’t know it wasn’t my fault. People didn’t understand that I had
autism and it made them think I was strange and rare.”
Stosick’s blue eyes widen as he explains: “I’m the most
popular guy in school. Even guys I don’t know come up to me and say, ‘Hello.”’
Brie Stosick says that Evan’s only sibling, nine-year-old sister, Tessa (Nick),
came home from school one day upset, because a friend told her that kids in his
class were making fun of him.
“It’s so interesting how even in his own family (which
also includes his father Doug) we have to be educated.” It’s also a constant
struggle for Brie to get relatives, friends and strangers to understand what
autism is and why her son might act the way he does.
Evan gets help in school from a paraprofessional, Charlie
Wilke, who accompanies him to most classes.
“Evan keeps an extremely positive attitude about things,
despite the fact we are often trying to put him, a square peg, in a round hole,”
Wilke says.
Arlene Winn, Stosick’s teacher consultant from the Washtenaw
Intermediate School District, describes him as “a very kind, creative and motivated
young boy, who is extremely sensitive.”
Stosick takes all the classes other students his age
attend and he maintains a B grade point average. His potential is limitless. In
fourth grade, for instance, he won a recognition certificate for inventing a sleeping
bag that a person doesn’t have to get out of to go to the bathroom.
His mother describes him as someone who teaches the people
around him lessons of courage, self-acceptance, compassion, patience,
creativity, what being “smart” means and “most of all” compassion and love.
High-functioning autism is characterized by an average or
above average intelligence. While public speaking is something that Stosick’s
good at, he also had to be taught how to begin and end a conversation.
I sometimes wish I could get in there and change the
wiring that seems crossed, it would be so much easier,” Brie Stosick says. “He
is just going to process life in his own way.” Brie Stosick describes a “mourning
period” when her son was diagnosed with autism.
“A little over three years later he is thriving,” she
says. “We had to give up the idea we had a perfect love or a perfect child, but
in its place we got something much greater. We’ve met amazing people who have
all been members of Evan’s team including teachers, tutors, speech pathologists
and karate instructors and have formed deep bonds with people who ‘get it’
about him.
“He is our sort of litmus test with people. The way people
respond to him says a lot about them, whether they will take the time or not.”
Evan Stosick says if other kids with autism, think
something is too hard for them to do, they should “put your mind to it - there’s
nothing they can’t do.”
He regularly seems to have the insight of a sage. Like the
time his mother noticed he was being teased by a couple of boys and she called
him in to explain what was happening.
“He says, ‘But, mom everyone deserves
a second chance,”’ Brie Stosick says. “I try to look at the world from inside
his shoes.”
Lenny Schafer, Editor@feat.org • CALENDAR EVENTS@feat.org
Michelle Guppy
Catherine Johnson PhD
• Ron Sleith •
Kay Stammers • Edward Decelie
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