SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT "Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet"

________________________________________________________________

July 30, 2002 CALENDAR LISTING: EVENTS@doitnow.com

ADVOCACY

* National Autism Organizations Quiet on Frist's 'Dump Injured Kids' Bill

AWARENESS

* Autism: A Hidden World

* Wrenching Genes: Rett Syndrome

EDUCATION

* Bunching of Special Ed Kids Faulted in Chicago

READERS' POSTS

ADVOCACY

National Autism Organizations Quiet on Frist's 'Dump Injured Kids' Bill

The threat of Sen. Frist's bill to families of autism has so far been

met with a curious silence by the major national autism organizations.

Absent from the Internet has been any position statements or action alerts

by normally high profile groups. ASA's Jeff Sell has been doing important

behind-the-scenes lobbying in Washington on the bill, and been a one-man

promoting effort on the Internet, but other than that, the organization

seems to be taking a low profile – as are the major autism research

organizations.

Only the ARI, with director Dr. Bernard Rimland, has visibly taken on

the charge to raise public awareness and push for political action.

Sell reports that the decision on the bill has been pushed back by at

least one more day, Thursday.

A source at Waters & Kraus, one of the legal firms from California

representing parents of children allegedly damaged by vaccines, says the

date may even be pushed back further into August.

This gives advocates a little more time to generate public pressure

against the Bill. If you are a member of any of the major autism

organizations, urge them ASAP to get the word out to their members on the

seriousness of these developments, and to take political action by

expressing opposition to Frist's Dump Injured Kids S. 2053.

If you haven't already done so, phone, fax, and/or email your Senators

*immediately* to state your opposition to Senate Bill 2053 -- Frist's 'Dump

Injured Kids' Bill. Send a copy of your letter to us:

edit@doitnow.com See web site: http://click.topica.com/maaasFaaaSYKQa4Pmzeb/

for more information.

Of course, if you think Frist's Bill is worthy vaccine injury tort

reform, you can let your Senators know this, instead. It would appear by

the sounds of silence, you would not be alone.

One group who isn't afraid to speak out is Safe Minds. Safe Minds is

a non-profit parents organization founded to investigate the continuing

risks to infants and children of exposure to mercury from medical products,

including Thimerosal in vaccines. Its Web site is www.safeminds.com. Sallie

Bernard, the Executive Director, pens this eloquent petition to 21 US

Senators on S. 2053. -Lenny Schafer

Dear Senator,

Safe Minds opposes S. 2053 (Improved Vaccine Affordability and

Availability Act) and requests a full investigation and public hearings to

explore appropriate solutions to problems with the 1986 Vaccine Injury

Compensation Act (VICA). VICA, intended as a swift and efficient

alternative remedy to costly products liability litigation, was supposed to

provide appropriate compensation to children injured by vaccines, while

manufacturers were afforded some relief from the uncertainties of civil

litigation in multiple fora without uniform rules. VICA was never intended

to be a substitute for or to preempt traditional civil remedies, simply to

provide a low-cost speedy alternative. VICA recognized and implemented the

essential principle in a just society that the benefits of herd immunity

through mandatory vaccination cannot be obtained at the expense of imposing

the costs associated with vaccine injuries on a few children and families.

Since no vaccine, or system of vaccines, can be made perfectly safe, society

as a whole must bear responsibility for injuries, death, and disease caused

by vaccines.

S. 2053 effectively destroys the traditional civil tort remedies left

intact by VICA without fixing the severe problems that have developed during

fifteen years of experience under the well-intentioned, but seriously

flawed, VICA program _alternative._

Vaccine companies already enjoy immunity from individual liability

unprecedented under American law. The principle that the law provides a

remedy for every injury is an ancient component of the rule of law. S. 2053

contains a significant expansion of that immunity. For example, Section 203

extinguishes parental claims for medical expenses, and loss of companionship

and consortium. Sections 215-217 bar claims based upon injuries from

contaminants and adulterants. Sections 202 and 214 preclude equitable

relief, such as scientific studies and medical monitoring.

Such a radical change is the rules governing compensation for vaccine

injuries should not be made without full public hearings and debate.

Moreover, the vaccine companies are presently seeking passage of S. 2053 as

a complete defense (immunity) from recent lawsuits filed across the country

by parents seeking compensation for injuries caused by mercury (Thimerosal)

added to many vaccines as a preservative. The Institute of Medicine (IOM)

recently found in a 2001 report that it was biologically plausible that the

doses of mercury received my infants from vaccines could indeed cause or

contribute to a host of cognitive and neurological disorders ranging from

autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to ADHD. IOM recommended a comprehensive

program of medical and scientific research to fully study the extent of

injuries to these children. Although the mercury in pediatric vaccines was

largely removed by 2001 under pressure from Safe Minds and others parents_

groups and Congress, VICA does not presently contain procedures to

effectively redress these injuries. It is unconscionable to slam the door

on any relief for perhaps 500,000 families who may face expenses for

lifetime care of several million for a seriously injured child without

providing for an alternative and effective remedy.

While it might seem desirable at first blush to channel all claims

for vaccine injuries, regardless of cause or plaintiff, to a single

specialized court, S. 2053 in fact goes too far and is contrary to the

public interest. S. 2053 essentially destroys effective traditional tort

remedies by eliminating class actions, imposing an unrealistic short statute

of limitations, disallowing traditional tolling provisions until injuries

are manifest, limiting compensation to a fraction of potential lifetime

expenses, extinguishing punitive damages, shifting the burden of proof from

manufacturers to parents, and imposing a novel and unreasonably difficult

standard of causation.

S. 2053's expanded immunity from traditional tort liability is

contrary to the recently debated and restated intent of Congress and the

Administration to hold corporations and their executives accountable for

their actions. The mandated use of vaccines will continue to produce

unprecedented profit opportunities. Vaccine companies must be liable in

tort if they marketed vaccines without proper safety testing to assess the

long-run risks of mercury, with its long history of neuro- and

immuno-toxicity, used as a preservative, as well as the long-run risks of

exposure to an increasing number of biologically active agents, often

administered on the same day or in combination vaccines such as the MMR. The

FDA announced in the Federal Register in 1982 that Thimerosal was both toxic

and largely ineffective, and began its removal from consumer products. The

medical and scientific literature is replete with studies documenting the

toxicity of bioavailable mercury in its various forms, including Thimerosal.

Manufacturers nevertheless continued to increase the burden of mercury

injected into infants without demonstrating safety. Ironically, mercury need

not have been used at all, with vaccines delivered as a single dose or in

multi-dose vials with an alternative non-toxic preservative. Congress must

not lessen the standards of accountability after the manufacturers made

their choices and the injuries were sustained.

For the future, expanded immunity provides perverse incentives for

less safe vaccines and will necessarily undermine public trust and

confidence essential to an effective nationwide program of herd immunity.

VICA is badly broken and is long overdue for review and adjustment.

Emergency passage of S. 2053, in secret and without public hearings, is not

the solution. Rather than _restoring balance_ to the Act, as its proponents

claim, S. 2053 would eviscerate legitimate claims brought by desperate

families badly in need of compensation for serious vaccine injuries. The

Act, with its very short statute of limitations, was originally designed to

process claims for injuries that were immediately apparent, such as sudden

death and seizures, and not intended to deal adequately with injuries whose

manifestation was delayed or where the injuries only appeared after the

accumulation of effects as part of an overall system of vaccine mandates.

Aside from conferring additional and unjustified immunities, S. 2053

does nothing to fix the serious defects in VICA. For example, it provides

no _look back_ provision, which would allow families to seek compensation in

the special vaccine court, or otherwise, for vaccine injuries based on the

eventual findings of the research program ordered by IOM. HR 3741, a

bipartisan bill introduced by Dan Burton and Henry Waxman, provides a much

better vehicle to fix VICA, and should be the subject of hearings and full

public consideration by the Senate.

Some proponents claim that the Bill is needed now to address alleged

supply problems. Whatever problems exist are the result of, for example,

long overdue FDA enforcement actions concerning violations of good

manufacturing practices, and the need to redesign some vaccines to remove

toxic mercury, and not the result of any deficiencies in the VICA. Any

industry claims that they will stop making vaccines or withhold research

spending on new vaccines are patently absurd, as manufacturers are allowed

huge profits on products the use of which is mandated by law.

S. 2053 expressly preempts all equitable relief. Several states have

provided for court-mandated medical monitoring and scientific studies (of

the type ordered by the IOM) in order to establish a sound scientific basis

for causation, liability, and treatment. Families have filed several suits

throughout the country seeking industry funding of such studies to

establish, or refute, the link between vaccines and neurological injury. To

date, Congress has not allocated funds to conduct the IOM studies. S. 2053

thus has serious federalism implications and will stifle critical research

and studies essential to resolution of the debate over the role vaccines

play in neurological injury.

In conclusion, the Committee must not report out S. 2053. It is a

misguided attack on VICA and traditional civil remedies that would confer

dangerous and unprecedented immunity on vaccine manufacturers for their past

wrongful acts. VICA is broken and badly in need of examination and repair,

but this must be done in public with full and fair debate. Hundreds of

thousands of families are counting on the Committee and Congress to ensure

them full and complete accountability and compensation for injuries and

costs they were sadly forced to incur allegedly for the overall good of

society.

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AWARENESS

Autism: A Hidden World

http://click.topica.com/maaasLwaaSZSwaaaaaab/

The number of children diagnosed with the disorder is rising at an

alarming rate, Shafiq Qaadri reports. But science continues to play catch-up

in its search for a cause.

Aloof, distant, self-absorbed, remote -- all these words describe

children with autism. "He's in his own universe -- it breaks my heart," says

the mother of a six-year-old autistic child. "Much of the time I can't reach

him."

Living in a hidden world, an autistic child has weak verbal, social

and intellectual skills. Many avoid eye contact, and cannot comprehend an

angry tone of voice, or facial gestures such as frowns or smiles. And the

number of children being diagnosed with autistic disorders is rising.

The Geneva Centre for Autism in Toronto estimates that 30,000 Canadian

children -- one in 200 -- suffer from some form of the disorder, an increase

of 600 per cent over the past decade. Part of the increase is explained by

the loosening of diagnostic criteria and changing terminology; many children

are being labelled with PDD, pervasive developmental disorder, a softer

version of autism.

But the increase is real, and doctors have no firm explanation. "We

don't know why we're seeing this explosion, but we do know that it's a

dramatic one," says Dr. Ari Zaretsky, an assistant professor of psychiatry

at the University of Toronto.

Autism is a group of brain disorders of varying severity, which cause

a spectrum of difficult and erratic behaviours. But autistic individuals

share one quality: They have difficulty making sense of the world, as they

live in a milieu of their own creation -- hence the word autism (auto-ism),

a withdrawal into self.

Organizations such as the Geneva Centre cater to a child's whole

support network, as autism affects the victim's whole family.

Parents of newly diagnosed autistic children go through a period of

adjustment, the first step of which is bereavement.

"Allow yourself to feel bad [initially]. . . . Scream. Grieve," says

Dr. Marlene Brill, a psychologist and author of Keys to Parenting the Child

With Autism.

"I was devastated when I found out my sons had autism," says the

father of five-year-old twins. "They had empty expressions, and no amount of

cuddling helped."

Many parents go through a stage of self-recrimination. Searching for a

cause, parents begin a blame-game: Was there a problem during pregnancy? Was

it the husband's smoking? The mother's social drinking? For example, for

years there was a myth that cold and distant parenting -- "refrigerator

mothers" -- caused the disorder. Autism is a neurological condition, not the

parents' fault.

Confronting such a disabling condition in their child, parents also go

into denial, often spending considerable sums of money on tests and unproven

cures.

"Thirty-thousand dollars worth of testing later," says the father of

10-year-old autistic triplets Chris, Justin and Michael, "I accepted my sons

for who they are -- and I love them even more now that I know they're

special."

Through support groups, parents are also taught to deal with

embarrassing situations, especially violent flare-ups. "When my daughter

gets flustered in public," confides the mother of an 11-year-old, "she bangs

her head, screams and bites her own fist, sometimes even drawing blood."

Tantrum management is a skill parents of autistic children acquire early.

Some families will engage in heroic measures, even hiring friends for

their child. One father admits: "My 10-year-old [autistic] daughter doesn't

have any close pals, and that burns me. So I 'rented some kids' for her

birthday, which was a mistake." On reflection, he sees he did it more for

himself than his daughter.

Having an autistic child has innumerable implications. Families face a

"long and painful process of coming to terms with their child's disability,"

says Dr. Lorna Wing of the British National Autistic Society. But with an

involved caregiving network, families can progress from grieving to

acceptance to education to advocacy.

Physicians must also educate themselves about the nuances of autism

management. There is no single autism test. One useful diagnostic approach

is to watch the child at play, and then make a behavioural assessment.

Though intense medical research is underway, no single cause of autism

has been identified. The usual suspects are blamed: birth trauma, genes,

viral brain infections, food allergies, environmental toxins, the MMR

(measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine -- but there's no proof any of them are

responsible for autism. One research goal is to create a prenatal diagnostic

test, as is now available for Down syndrome.

Yet medical science is yielding some remarkable insights into a number

of brain defects, which directly explain autistic behaviours. "Autism is the

result of an abnormality in the structure and function of the brain," says

Dr. Bryna Siegel, a psychologist at the University of California, San

Francisco, and author of The World of the Autistic Child: Understanding and

Treating Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, for example, shows some

autistic children have abnormal frontal lobes, the areas of the brain

responsible for planning and control. Abnormalities have also been found in

the limbic system, the centre of emotional control and tantrum regulation.

Measurements of brain electrical activity, known as EEGs

(electroencephalograms), show that autistic children have excessive brain

waves, too much background noise, leading to sensory overload.

Even crunchy foods such as chips and nuts can sound "like a raging

forest fire," as one autistic adult comments. Remarkably, if an autistic

child feels frightened, he may begin head-banging or biting himself, not to

injure himself, but to block his fear, focusing his attention on a known

stimulus.

The brain wave activity can be so excessive, in fact, that 30 per cent

of autistic patients have epileptic seizures. Oversensitive autistic

children will insist on maintaining a routine, which they find comforting.

It's as if their brains, which are always firing, are too tired to make new

connections. That's why autistic children, for example, are distressed if

family members don't all sit in the same spots at mealtimes.

On occasion, this excessive brain activity can lead to genius-level

skills in a narrow area. Hollywood aside, most gifted autistics, known as

autistic savants, do not have the casino-worthy mathematical card-counting

abilities of Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man.

But there are individuals who bridge the mysterious divide between

autism and genius. Having "islands of ability," autistic savants have been

able to memorize things such as perpetual calendars, phone books, messages

in Morse code, baseball scoring histories or complex musical pieces.

One of the most famous high-functioning autistics is Dr. Temple

Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, who

credits her success to being an autistic who "thinks in pictures." She

writes, "I can accurately visualize the piece of equipment I designed

because my . . . visual image of [a livestock facility] contains all its

details, and it can be rotated and made to move like a movie."

High-functioning, successful autistics such as Dr. Grandin believe

that starting special educational programs early, and forming lasting

rapport with trusted teachers, is critical to an autistic child's future

success. And finding such programs, caregivers and institutions becomes the

vocation of many families with autistic children.

But the diversity of available therapies matches the spectrum of

autism itself -- the array of behavioural modifications, approaches and

philosophies is intimidating and vast. Deciding on an educational program

for their child, parents must undergo rigorous self-appraisal, and answer

several questions, such as:

How mentally limited is their child?

What is the highest level of function that might be expected?

Is the child disabled enough to warrant institutionalization?

Is the child a danger to himself or others?

Should the child be on medication?

Some of these emotionally charged questions are not easily addressed,

and the answers may change with time, financial resources, housing and the

family's ability to cope. With the assistance of caseworkers, parents must

realistically assess their child's needs and then decide how best to teach

social skills, interaction, language, possibly job placement, even

mainstream integration.

The Son-Rise Program, for example, is an expensive American

therapeutic regimen that combines home-based play-centred approaches:

Therapists spend most of their time with the child in the child's home, and

the instruction is individually tailored.

Other therapists make liberal use of picture-word cards, music

therapy, drawing as a means of communication and escorted outings. For the

severely language-impaired, caregivers even teach autistic children sign

language.

Most therapists are also specially trained to engage children,

intruding into their world as necessary, befriending them in the process.

"If an autistic child is allowed to withdraw into his own world, his brain

will not fully develop," says caseworker Roberta Sklar. And parents learn to

savour small milestones. One couple said: "We were delighted that our

[autistic] son has started to share toys with his younger brother."

But accessing such multidisciplinary care is expensive, and parents of

autistic children become reluctant political activists.

Parents must contend with governments, which are hesitant to pay

thousands of dollars in therapy costs annually. From the world of the

autistic child, parents move to the domain of bureaucracy, which they say

can be similarly confusing, slow-moving and frustrating.

Autism is on the rise, and will increasingly tax the patience of

parents and society. But if the mark of a civilized society is how it cares

for its less fortunate members, multidisciplinary solutions and adequate

resources must be found.

Dr. Shafiq Qaadri is a Toronto family physician with a special interest in

medical education

* * *

Wrenching Genes: Rett Syndrome

New insights into a rare disorder may illuminate the biology behind a range

of mental problems

[By Nancy Shute in USNews.]

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/020805/health/5rett.htm

Lindsey Ross loves making chocolate chip cookies and playing

PlayStation-the usual stuff for a miniskirted 15-year-old. But Lindsey's

life is anything but usual. The Schaumburg, Ill., teenager's hands flap

uncontrollably, and words come out of her mouth as shrieks. She communicates

with her family and high school friends with an electronic voice

synthesizer.

Just a few years ago, Rett syndrome was an obscure neurological

disorder known only to a handful of scientists. It was often mistaken for

autism since children with Rett appear to develop normally for the first six

to 18 months of life. It wasn't until 1983 that it was widely recognized as

a separate disorder that affects 1 in every 15,000 children. Symptoms

include seizures, loss of motor control, digestive and breathing problems,

and perhaps mental retardation-though victims' mental abilities are hard to

test. Many also share a strange gesture, wringing their hands over and over.

Three years ago, researchers found that a single genetic mutation

causes most Rett cases. Intriguingly, the same gene mutation has since been

identified in some people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and forms of

autism, raising the possibility that identification of the Rett gene could

speed understanding of these far more common diseases. This month, Baylor

University neurologist Huda Zoghbi reported in the journal Neuron that her

research team has succeeded in creating a Rett-like disease in mice. "This

gives us the freedom to try therapies we wouldn't dare try in humans," says

Zoghbi, who also identified the Rett gene. If Rett patients were identified

at birth, the disorder could perhaps be treated early.

Spectrum. Finding specific genes that cause diseases is frustratingly

difficult, but Rett made a good candidate for a gene hunt because it

primarily affects girls. Researchers started looking for a gene on the X

chromosome, but it was still a needle-in-a-haystack exercise because the

disease appeared to result from a random genetic mutation. Then they

discovered the Woodcock family of Union, Wash. Both Maureen Woodcock's

daughter Erika and granddaughter Paige have Rett, and when researchers

studied the DNA of the extended family they found that Rett was indeed

inherited. What's more, they found that Paige's mother, Tiffany, had the

same defect-but only mild learning disabilities. Something was clearly

modulating the bad DNA in her body. The gene that is mutated in Rett helps

switch DNA on and off, which may account for its broad range of effects in

various disorders. The fact that girls have two X chromosomes also plays a

role; only one X is activated, so each cell has a fifty-fifty chance of

getting the mutant gene.

The Woodcocks made one more contribution to science, a tragic one.

When Tiffany became pregnant again, the family was thrilled to learn that

the baby would be a boy; no boy had ever been diagnosed with Rett. But

little Ari died just after his first birthday. He, too, had the Rett gene.

It's now clear that boys do have Rett. But because males have only one X

chromosome, the disease is invariably fatal. "I believe my girls and

grandson have an important job to do," Maureen Woodcock says. "Through them,

the research value of our family will live on."

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EDUCATION

Bunching of Special Ed Kids Faulted in Chicago

[By Kate N. Grossman.]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sped29.html

Special education students in Chicago are concentrated in some of the

poorest, lowest-performing public high schools, putting increased burdens on

already-stressed schools, a series of reports released Monday say.

In 11 neighborhood schools, all on academic probation, as many as 38

percent of the students were in special education in 2000, while as few as 3

percent were in special education at some selective-enrollment and charter

schools.

"It's a travesty," said Steve McIlrath, math department chairman at

Austin High School, where 30 percent of students were eligible for special

education programs in 2000. "Someone is getting shortchanged, and usually

it's both kinds of [special and general education] students."

On average, 30 percent of ninth-graders at the 11 South Side and West

Side schools were eligible for special education services in the 1999-2000

school year, up 10 percent or more at each school since 1993, according to

the Consortium on Chicago School Research, which is affiliated with the

University of Chicago.

The percentage of special education students also went up systemwide,

from 11.5 percent in 1993 to 16.4 percent in 2000. The increases are most

acute in the grades where students can be held back under Chicago's policy

to end social promotion, the researchers found.

They say the burden of handling special education students should be

more evenly distributed throughout the system.

Schools CEO Arne Duncan agrees, but he said the real answer lies in

reducing the number of special education students by improving reading

instruction in elementary schools. That population is dominated by

learning-disabled students who are slow readers. Many of the students

recently referred for special education, for example, may have simply been

considered slow readers 10 years ago.

The increased percentage of special education students is an

unintended consequence of efforts made to improve the high schools,

researchers say. As the School Board moved to stop the practice of social

promotion in the elementary schools, some students responded with improved

performance. But after eighth grade, many of the newly improved students

chose to go to new charter, selective-enrollment and other high schools

outside their neighborhoods, the researchers say. Duncan said he would like

to draw more of those students back to neighborhood high schools.

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of other slow readers were classified as

learning disabled and placed in the special education category. And they are

going on to their neighborhood high schools.

In practice, this means schools are increasingly being forced to teach

their special education students separately from general education students,

a move that runs counter to conventional educational wisdom and a 1998 legal

settlement calling for inclusion of Chicago special education students.

It also means more paperwork for teachers, less attention for each

student, and, because of a severe shortage of special education teachers,

more kids who go without needed help.

"When they're concentrated, I don't think that the school gives the

kids what they really need," said Yvonne Thompson, a West Side mother who

pushed to get her disabled son into a high school with a relatively low

special education population.

To help reverse the trend, Duncan is pushing selective-enrollment

schools to enroll more special education students, as is the state. The

legal settlement has given the state and city more leverage in pushing all

schools to take more special education students. Data from the 2000-01

school year appear slightly improved, U. of C. researcher Shazia R. Miller

said, though final numbers won't be available until fall.

It's an uphill battle, says Sue Gamm, who oversees special education

for Chicago schools and has been working with principals for the last few

years to coax special education students to try schools outside their

neighborhood.

She has found that many students aren't comfortable leaving a

neighborhood they know. At the same time, some principals, such as Learna

Brewer-Baker at Austin, say colleagues across town exacerbate the

concentrations by trying to keep special education students out.

"It's bigger than special education," Gamm said. "It takes all of us

to resolve this."

* * *

Readers' Posts

Everyday Miracles is a parent led community based support group designed to

strengthen, empower and inform families and communities about children with

autism. We offer occasional guest speakers and family outings, which may

require that we change the regular monthly meeting to a different night in

order to accommodate the guest speaker or special event. We meet the second

Monday of each month from 7 - 9 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church 143 Albany

Ferndale, MI 48220 Everydaymiraclesautism@yahoo.com

******

We are working on a large awareness project for our children and adults on

the autistic spectrum. We are collecting artwork and also hosting an 'essay

contest' (at no cost for submission) for someone to participate in the first

Inaugural World Autism Congress this November in Melbourne, Australia. Our

proposal is part of the Art Exhibition which will be displayed in a

prominent position in the You Yangs Exhibition Hall. Presentation Type:

Special Event 'AUTISM ARTS' UNITED WE STAND - USA

http://www.autismarts.com/ Sandy McMurray

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Now see the New And Improved UNLOCKING AUTISM at www.UnlockingAutism.org. We

are excited about the new look and all new features. Go shopping for UA Gear

while you are there. Unlocking Autism has relocated its Headquarters:

Unlocking Autism, PO Box 237, Walker, Louisiana 70785 Street Address: 9463

Florida Blvd., Suite D, Walker, Louisiana 70785 (225)-665-7270

Unlocking Autism is also accepting applications for the position of State

Representative in many states. If you are interested and would like to

volunteer to work with our team to UNLOCK AUTISM e mail Nancy Cale at

nancale@aol.com

******

A friend of mine came back from the doctor after an ultrasound. The image

showed that there was a black spot on the baby's heart. Based on this

information, the doctor said that there is an increase in the chance that

the baby would be born with autism. Have anyone come across any information

about this correlation? Todd Kellogg Kellogg@arcgreenwich.org

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The Center For Developmental Excellence Is Now Open! Run by parents of an

autistic child. Our new office is located at 113 West White Horse Rd

Kirkwood Plaza, Suite #5, Voorhees, NJ 08043. 856-566-5797, FAX:

856-566-5798, TOLL FREE 1-866-566-5797, CDEinfo@comcast.net www.cdeinfo.com-

under construction. Have access to many different therapies and services

available for Autism and Developmental Delays like: Sensory

Integration/Occupational Therapy-daily Monday- Saturday Interactive

Metronome- daily Monday-Saturday Yoga, Music Therapy, Deep Pressure Massage,

DAN Doctor- Dr. Neubrander & more. Also offering birthday parties!!!

Saturdays and Sundays. Call for information

******

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