FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER Sacramento, California

"Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet" ________________________________________________________________

FORENSIC

* Suit: Fillings Caused Child's Autism

* 'Mercury's Legal Morass' Wrong

* Suit: Fillings Caused Child's Autism

AWARENESS

* Siblings of Special Needs Kids Get A Break

* Some Ways To Help Kids With AS

Suit: Fillings Caused Child's Autism

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The parents of an autistic 6-year-old sued the American Dental Association on Wednesday, alleging mercury in the mother's nine dental fillings caused her son's autism.

The lawsuit, for unspecified damages, alleges the toxic element was transmitted to Daniel Galeano through his mother's fillings. Autism is a developmental disability caused by a neurological disorder.

ADA chief counsel Peter Sfikas said the lawsuit was without merit or scientific basis. The ADA says mercury in fillings is chemically bound with metals including silver, copper and tin into a ”hard, stable and safe substance.”

Also named as defendants are the California Dental Association and more than 20 corporations that deal in materials used to produce amalgam fillings, which are about 50 percent mercury by weight. The lawsuit accuses them of fraud, negligence and illegal and deceptive business practices.

CDA officials said they wanted to review the lawsuit before responding.

Daniel, who lives in Burbank with his mother Kathy, 37, and his father Fernando, has severe autism with symptoms including impaired social and communication skills, the complaint says.

Mercury is a highly toxic, naturally occurring element that has been associated with human neurological, reproductive and immune problems.

Lawsuits have been filed against drug companies alleging links between autism and vaccines containing mercury, but Wednesday's complaint is believed to be the first to allege a connection between autism and amalgam fillings, attorneys and scientists familiar with such litigation say.

”I don't know that it's proven, but it's credible, very credible,” said Boyd Haley, chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky and an expert on mercury toxicity. ”Mercury is one of the most neurotoxic compounds known to man.”

Haley said some studies show people with amalgam fillings have four to five times as much mercury in their blood and urine as people without such fillings. Copyright 2002, The Associated Press.

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'Mercury's Legal Morass' Wrong

A couple of points should be made in rebuttal to the "Defense Side":

1. Contrary to the comments of the Corporate Media Relations department for GlaxoSmithKline, the Institute of Medicine concluded that it is biologically plausible that the Thimerosal causes autism and other neurological injury to the developing nervous systems of infants. The actual conclusion of the IOM is attached in a Wordperfect document. It should be kept in mind that the IOM did not have the benefit of an unpublished study which was done by a current Glaxo employee while that Glaxo agent was still working for the CDC at public expense. The CDC researcher was hired by Glaxo prior to his delivering the "modified" results to the IOM..

In reality, the IOM's only reservation in concluding that the Autism Spectrum Disorders were caused by the mercury in Thimerosal was the lack of

associative conclusiveness to confirm or rule out causality. This is a

far cry from the statement of the Corporate Media Relations spokesperson for Glaxo. In reality, the undisclosed results exceeded the benchmark 2.0 relative risk that would virtually seal a finding of causality. Other problems with the study make it likely that the true relative risk in the age groups at which one would consider regressive autism ascertainable will be well in excess of three times the risk in an unexposed population..

2. The Glaxo statement that these lawsuits are a threat to public health, as insinuated in the closing paragraph of your article, defies comprehension. If the disease condition in these children is not caused by their use of Thimerosal, then the companies have nothing to fear. If the disease is caused by the Thimerosal, it is the ultimate, industrial fascism to conclude that these children are disposable victims of the war on childhood disease. The statement reflects a well orchestrated corporate strategy to blackmale the American public, the public health community, and the Congress. Press accounts of severe shortages in the the vaccine stockpiles are further evidence of the strategy..

If the companies wish to compensate these families, care for the children under a no fault system and preserve their companies, I, for one, would support them in this effort. A legislative solution to unfiled cases is certainly a socially beneficial option. However, the system must address four primary issues:.

1. Reasonable compensation for losses above and beyond economic loss..

This disease epidemic has destroyed many, many families. Even if you accept the Glaxo "theory of the case" as to risk/utility, the families must be given reasonable compensation. The medical and economic loss should be fully compensated in a non-adversarial system and not the present NVICP, a mockery of justice behind which the vaccine manufacturers hide..

2. Addition of the Autism Spectrum Disorders to the compensation schedule..

Currently, families choosing to enter the NVICP system have no realistic hope of compensation. The vaccine manufacturers are doing a great harm to the credibility of the public health system by, on the one hand having placed undisclosed and unnecessary known human toxicants (especially

mercury) in vaccines to be injected into infants, while on the other hand refusing to participate in obtaining compensation for the families devastated by the effects of the companies' obvious negligence..

3. Compensation for counsel representing the families at a rate and on a time schedule which will permit the families to obtain competent counsel..

Currently, the administrative law judges do not properly compensate the family lawyers, setting their hourly rates as though these lawyers are appointed public defender counsel (No offense intended to the public defense community, a member of which my own wife was for roughly 15 years. However, these lawyers have taken a virtual vow of poverty. Society has not right to

make such a demand in this arena). The rates are absurdly low when

compared to the rates being paid by the companies to defend tort cases. Under the NVICP the family lawyers are only paid at the end of the cases, which can be in the system for many months. They are not advanced expenses so that obtaining expert witnesses and consultants is rendered not economically feasible..

While the companies are the first to howl about a bonanza for contingent fee lawyers, they offer the families no alternative method for relief. They present a complete stonewall to families with enough challenge in their lives without having to take on wealthy, multi-national corporations as well as the Department of Justice. If the Thimerosal issue makes plaintiffs lawyers fantastically wealthy, the companies have forced this result..

4. The bulk of the compensation must come from the Vaccine manufacturers and not from the public..

The directors and officers of the drug companies should take notice. They can avoid destruction of their companies by providing an alternative to the tort system which results in meaningful compensation. They can avoid the ultimate insult of making the families' lawyers wealthy by urging Congress to compensate the family lawyers under a no-fault system at rates comparable to the rates paid by the companies to their own defense lawyers. In fact, the funds they will expend in the defense of the cases would certainly provide the necessary funding..

THIS IS A VERY LONG WAY OF SAYING: There is no doubt that the public is at risk for losing confidence in the immunization system. It is absurd to further punish the innocent victims of the cause of the controversy by ridiculing their efforts to be made whole. There is some metaphor involving babies and bath water that is particularly appropriate here. This Glaxo

statement is the ultimate corporate arrogance. As an advocate for some

very fine families who have been crushed by the absurd decision to place large doses mercury into our children, I hope we are able to have a jury of mothers and fathers decide who is the greater threat to the public good. Families with permanently disabled children or Companies who profit from the sale of the poison injected into their, then normal, children.

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Father of Autistic Teen Had Rejected Help

Brahim Dukes died while his father and caretaker, Dewey Gillespie, was in jail. Gillespie halted the city's aid a year ago.

The father who said he had cared for his autistic son the best he could before the 18-year-old died of starvation in December told health workers a year ago that he no longer wanted their help in taking care of the teen, officials said yesterday.

Health workers had helped care for Brahim Dukes for more than a year and a half after the city's Department of Human Services received complaints that the severely autistic teen was being abused and neglected, said department spokeswoman Liza Rodriguez.

Because the abuse had not been substantiated, the agency could not force the teen's father to keep using the city's health services, Rodriguez said.

Less than a year after Dukes' father, Dewey Gillespie, told the health workers that their services were no longer needed, the teenager died of starvation and dehydration.

Paramedics responding to a 911 call Dec. 29 to the teen's home on Ruan Street in Frankford found Dukes unresponsive and bruised on the floor in an unheated room with only a bed, according to medical records.

Now, while detectives are investigating the death as a homicide, Human Services Commissioner Alba Martinez has ordered a full review of the case to determine why Dukes died.

"Obviously something went wrong, because this child died," Martinez said yesterday. "This is a horrible thing."

Martinez said she had ordered a review of how her agency responded to abuse allegations. She declined to detail the allegations or say who lodged them. She said she also wants a review of how the school district and others in contact with the family responded to their needs.

"I think this needs to be looked at hard. I'm not going to hesitate, and I'm not going to delay," Martinez said. "We owe it to this child."

Today Would Have Been Dukes' 19th Birthday.

Dukes died after Gillespie, 40, was jailed for failing to pay $1,558 in outstanding fines for traffic tickets.

Gillespie said Tuesday he begged Traffic Court Judge Robert Shaffer not to send him to prison Dec. 13, because he was the only one who could care for his son.

Traffic Court Administrative Judge Fortunato Perri, however, said that Shaffer, whom he contacted Tuesday, had no recollection of any such plea.

Gillespie was released on Dec. 31. During his incarceration, Dukes remained in the care of his stepmother, Audrey McDaniels, and some of the eight siblings who live in the home.

McDaniels did not respond to requests for an interview.

Gillespie said Tuesday that McDaniels assured him that Dukes was being cared for and fed.

Autism is an infliction that most often strikes during infancy and prevents the normal development of a child. Those with the disorder often have speech and behavioral problems.

Allegations Made

In April 1999, Human Services received a complaint that Dukes was being abused, Rodriguez said. These allegations, and other previous abuse allegations made against the family, were not substantiated, and the agency continued to provide services to help care for the teen.

That contact ended January 2001, after Gillespie informed DHS that the agency's help was no longer needed.

"The case was closed because the family indicated they no longer wanted services in the home," Rodriguez said.

Gillespie said Tuesday he was not happy with the services the health workers were providing, and that is why he stopped services. He could not be reached yesterday.

Suzanne Dukes, the teen's aunt, said yesterday she called Human Services numerous times over the years because she believed her nephew was being abused and neglected.

"He didn't die because his father was locked up," the aunt said. "He would have died anyway." According to medical records, the day Dukes died, he had numerous lesions on his body.

Medical staff who treated Dukes at Frankford Hospital-Frankford Campus noted that the teen was unclean and had bruises and abrasions on his neck and right knee and marks on his left hip and right shoulder.

Emotional outburst

"Stepmother reports to us that patient had some type of emotional outburst over some family issues, and then became unresponsive, not breathing and had no pulse," according to medical records.

An autopsy done by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office found that Dukes had no food in his stomach or bowels and was suffering from starvation and dehydration, police said. Medical records note he showed signs of severe malnutrition. Authorities said the teen, who was about 5-foot-9, weighed about 95 pounds at death.

"You could see his bone structure," said the aunt, who attended the funeral. "That didn't happen in just two weeks. He was not always that thin." Jeff Moran, city Health Department spokesman, said that because dehydration is not usually indicative of a homicide, a cause of death had not been confirmed until lab tests were returned this month. On Friday, detectives were notified the death was a homicide, said Police Sgt. Al Strong.

"Right now, we still have a lot of people to talk to," Strong said.

* * *

The World Of Joshua Whitehouse, 11, Autist And Artist

Joshua likes the jungle, Aztecs and buildings. He doesn't like power pylons, cigarettes and the September 11 attackers. When he gets angry, he draws "to put my anger out." Joshua is 11 years old, living with his mum in Birmingham, central England, and autistic.

He is also an artistic prodigy, one of only 23 in the world of his kind, whose drawings are startling critics here with their detail, imagination and depth.

"At first it was impossible to accept that this is a 10-year-old. There are so many details and a humour," said Lee Brenson, a gallery director who first came across Joshua last year.

Blessed with a seemingly photographic memory, Joshua's finely-etched works mix the fantasy world of children with adult reality.

He has the apparent ability to picture something in his mind without having been there, and to draw it uncannily realistically — the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the World Trade Center in New York.

More than 50 of his drawings have been sold, including one of New York that was sold for more than £1 000 ($1 400) at a benefit auction for victims of the September 11 attacks. The rest, which are on display at Brenson's gallery, have sold for between £100 and £400.

Joshua's world is one of beanies — small bags of grain topped with a human face, much beloved of children in Britain - pirates and Aztecs.

"In some cases a magnifying glass is needed to see the sneer on a bad beanie or the twinkle in the eye of a good one," Brenson said.

He said Joshua is one of 23 "artistic autists" in the world. He suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism characterised by problems of perception and coordination.

Blessed with an extraordinary memory, some of them have developed artistic gifts. Joshua is one of them.

"He's (academically) behind for reading, (he is) numbers blind, word blind, very clumsy, dyslexic," his mother Fiona Whitehouse said, "but we explained to him that he has a very gifted talent." "He used to be rough. He'd throw tantrums and make grunting and squealing noises for hours on end." Drawing became his therapy, she said. "Drawing was the only thing that would calm him down." "I draw to put my anger out," said Joshua, blond, freckly and bespectacled. "I hate killers, there are many here, you know." The September 11 attacks affected him deeply, especially the images of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers which he has been drawing furiously ever since.

"The twin towers made me angry," he said. "I hate those who've done that." On one sheet, he has drawn a detailed diagram of the Afghan caves where Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect for the September 11 attacks, is allegedly hiding.

Bin Laden is a beanie too, albeit with a large ... hat.

"No human can get in" to the cave complex, Joshua said. "Only monsters know the way." - AFP

* * *

Siblings of Special Needs Kids Get A Break

Retreat helps them lift weight of having family member who is different.

Luke Larabee is in the woods, a chilly wind whisking pink into his serious cheeks.

Fresh snow swirls around the 10-year-old's head and icy white flakes dot his brown hair.

He doesn't smile a lot, but Luke is smiling now.

"This is a cool hike," he says, clambering over a fallen log in the Lowell forest. He hops onto a tree stump, tilts his head back to look at the sky and stretches his arms heavenward. A few yards away, a nun dressed in a black habit and wearing muddy sneakers smiles.

"Luke!" she calls through the still, cold air. "You look like the mighty king of the mountain!"

Often, Luke doesn't feel like the king of anything.

Back home in Allendale, he has twin brothers who each have autism, a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Children with autism have trouble communicating with and relating to the outside world.

Nine-year-olds Seth and Noah can't shimmy up a tree stump with their big brother Luke. They can't ask him to play with Legos or trade Pokemon cards. Luke's relationship with his brothers often is sadly one-sided.

Luke worries. He senses his parents' stress and exhaustion. He often has to act more like a parent than a brother. When his family goes to Chuck E. Cheese's and others leave because the twins are making noises, Luke gets embarrassed. As his mother puts it, "Luke feels everything."

Which is why Franciscan nun Mary Margaret Delaski is tromping through the woods with him on a snowy Saturday -- and with a dozen other kids who, like Luke, feel the weight and worry of having a sibling with special needs.

Delaski, a sister at the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell, has a master's degree in music education and for 25 years has used music therapy to help children. She specializes in the autistic but works with youngsters who have various physical and emotional disabilities.

She's also a board-certified music therapist at St. Mary's Mercy Medical Center, strumming her guitar, singing and counseling patients through the pain of post-surgery, the doldrums of chemotherapy, the boredom of being bedridden.

She has a way of knowing what people need.

"I began to notice that the siblings of the children I work with -- especially siblings of children who have autism -- had a very hollow look in their eyes," Delaski says. "It's as if they were shutting themselves down, emotionally, in order not to feel. If they don't feel things, it doesn't hurt them so much.

"It tore my heart out," she says. "I thought, 'I've got to do something for these children."'

So, one Saturday afternoon a month, she invites them here, to the Life Process Center in Lowell. It's a beautiful, secluded setting, home to farm animals and surrounded by woods and fields.

Delaski offers the children three hours of music, art, stories and time outside in the fresh air. When they're lucky, she makes chocolate chip date cake from her mother's recipe.

The program is funded by a grant from the Kent County Medical Society Alliance Foundation.

Slowly, the dozen youngsters, ages 5 through 13, are getting to know each other. They know Hope has a 5-year-old brother, Drew, who has autism. Katie's 5-year-old brother Joe has cerebral palsy. John, Nick and Gabriel have a brother, Phillip, who just turned 1. He has Down syndrome and underwent heart surgery to repair two holes in his heart.

"They worry of the parents trickles down to them," Delaski says. "They carry it, too. Children absorb what's around them, and they can't put it into words, but their bodies hold the tension."

Here, it seems to fade a bit.

"I learn something new every time I come here," says Mary Kisielowski, a 9-year-old whose baby brother Phillip has Down syndrome.

She adores Phillip. But he needs a lot of care, Mary says, and he always will.

"We have to keep an eye on him a lot," Mary says. "Someday I'll have to help him in school and with his homework. He won't be walking as fast or running as fast as we do, and he probably won't be talking until he gets a lot older."

Mary smiles.

"He's starting to clap and smile and giggle," she says.

That's a glimpse of what Delaski calls the "gift" special-needs youngsters bring to their families. These siblings love deeply, are fiercely protective and celebrate even the tiniest gains their brothers and sisters make.

"The siblings of these children are very aware of other people and their needs -- much more so than other children their age," Delaski says. "The growth that comes to a family with a special-needs child is unbelievable."

So are the stress, the worry, the exhaustion. And that means siblings like Luke and Mary have their own needs.

"Often, they can't have friends over to play at their house," Delaski says, "or they can, but they're embarrassed."

Children who have autism often scream and rant because they can't cope with their environment, Delaski says. Everyday stimuli are too much for them.

"They have some pretty crazy behavior," says Theresa Larabee, mother to Luke and autistic twins Seth and Noah. It's hard on Luke, she says.

"He goes to Cub Scouts, and he has friends in the neighborhood, but those boys have normal family lives," Larabee says. "This program gives him a chance to be with other kids who have similar frustrations.

"It's a special thing just for Luke that connects something positive to his brothers' autism."

It's a brief break that allows Luke to be 10.

"He's taken on a lot of responsibility and I worry about that. I don't want him to miss out on his childhood," Larabee says.

"He's always asking me, 'How are you doing, Mom?"' she says. "He sees the stress. And I think he might feel guilty that he's OK and his brothers aren't."

The twins sometimes go to a respite center, which gives Larabee time

with Luke. Terri Finch Hamilton writes for the Grand Rapids Press.

* * *

Some Ways To Help Kids With AS

When a child has a fever, parents usually seek medical evaluation immediately, rather than waiting to see if the fever will go away or get worse with time. When a child seems to be slow in developing language or social skills, however, embarrassment or fear of what may be to come often prevents parents from seeking evaluation.

Parents who do seek advice when their children seem developmentally delayed are often told not to worry because "she'll grow out of it" or "boys typically mature more slowly than girls." Parents know their children best, and should not hesitate to push for help when they suspect something may be wrong.

Severely delayed development may signal the presence of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder in children. One widely known PDD is autism. Another, less-talked-about PDD is Asperger Syndrome. AS in children is often overlooked because the children's intellectual abilities and expressive language skills tend to be average, which enables them to function fairly well in classrooms. Children with AS have significant difficulty in other areas however, including:

Communication Difficulties: Children with AS may develop language on time (single words by age 2) or a little late. The spoken language of children with AS sounds peculiar. It is formal and spoken with a flat or "sing-song" tone. The expressive language skills are often strong but these children have trouble reading others' facial expressions and understanding implied meanings in others' speech.

Social Difficulties: This is the major area of impairment for children with AS. As babies, they don't point to show things to others. AS children want to make friends, but lack necessary social skills to establish and maintain friendships. They have trouble picking up on social cues and struggle to understand emotions and cause and effect in social situations. Children with AS seem to lack "common sense" and have very narrowly focused interests. They are often socially inappropriate and may talk endlessly about self-interest topics, disregarding a friend's viewpoint or need to contribute to conversation. Children with AS become anxious in social situations and tend to dislike structured activities, such as recess and lunch at school. They also tend to be socially isolated, but may be unaware that they have no friends.

Motor Coordination Difficulties: Children with AS tend to have poor handwriting and struggle to finish schoolwork. They may avoid physical activity and exhibit weak organizational skills.

Sensory Difficulties: Children with AS may chew non-food items such as clothing, have attention problems, make excessive, bothersome noises, and not care about personal hygiene. Emotional Difficulties: Children with AS often feel anxious and overwhelmed by social situations. They exhibit a range of responses to this emotional reaction, including oppositional behavior, tantrums, withdrawal, destructive behavior or panicking. The children are also somewhat impulsive and have trouble thinking before acting. Signs of AS, and other developmental disorders, are most often apparent in children before age 3. Parents usually notice delays around age 15 to 18 months. AS is an uncommon disorder affecting between 20 and 40 per 10,000 people diagnosed. It is believed to be a biologically based syndrome passed down through family genes. Children are born with AS and do not grow out of it. Research shows that developmental disorders do not result from parenting errors, emotional problems or vaccines. As symptoms of AS are also observed in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and Tourette's Syndrome, AS children are frequently diagnosed with these disorders initially.

There is a direct correlation between early identification and improved development, so parents are strongly encouraged to seek consultation with pediatricians or developmental specialists when concerns arise. A referral to a neurologist or psychiatrist is helpful in obtaining a definitive diagnosis. Upon medical diagnosis of AS, the following strategies may be helpful for parents working with their AS children: Academic Interventions:

* Provide a predictable, safe environment that minimizes the need

for transitions. Consistent daily routines are also essential. Preparing students with AS for changes in routine and any new activities ahead of time will make for smoother transitions.

* Provide a rewarding learning environment that minimizes stress.

Youngsters with AS tend to follow their own impulses unless actively engaged in classroom activities.

* Students with AS need to view themselves as competent and able to

meet expectations. They need additional support when placed in mainstream classes. Often, they are presented with concepts they have difficulty understanding and are assigned written work they are unable to complete. Use of a buddy system in the classroom can help the students more successful.

* Make instructions clear and concise and offer additional

explanation if needed. Simplifying concepts to be more concrete than abstract will also foster understanding. Often, it is assumed that youngsters with AS understand instructions because they can repeat them back verbatim; however, this is often not the case.

* Offer opportunities for students with AS to shine by recalling

factual information during classroom review sessions. These students often have a well-developed memory for facts.

* Many students with AS show visual motor difficulties. Classroom

expectations for completion of written work need to be modified. Reducing the written workloads, allowing more time to complete written work, or allowing use of a tape recorder or oral responding are all appropriate interventions to assist in this area.

* Be aware of behavioral signals that the student with AS is

becoming distressed or overwhelmed. Often, these students tend to react more intensely to failure than do others. Offering assistance on the front end can keep behavioral reactions from escalating unnecessarily.

Social and Behavioral Interventions:

* Use of picture cues, verbal cues and a posted daily agenda can

help prepare youngsters with AS for changes in routine. When faced with unexpected change, these students tend to react with fearful or angry behavior. The more consistent school personnel and parents can be in maintaining a predictable schedule, the easier the transition times will be for the youngster.

* Helping children with AS develop their social awareness

facilitates their interpersonal relationships. They may need help in understanding the perspective of others, interpreting non-verbal gestures and interpretation of non-literal language.

* Youngsters with AS also need help in developing appropriate

non-verbal behaviors in social situations. Teaching such skills as maintaining appropriate proximity to others, maintaining eye contact and appropriate posture and responding with appropriate gestures is beneficial. Role-playing can also be helpful in developing these skills and increasing the youngster's comfort level in social situations.

* Often, youngsters with AS tend to persevere in discussing special

topics of interest at inappropriate times. Restricting these discussions to specified times and/or settings may help them interact better socially.

* Newly learned skills may need to be practiced in a variety of

settings so that the youngster with AS can generalize their skills.

* Youngsters with AS need assistance in developing strategies to

recognize and react appropriately when they get stressed. Teaching them a strategy such as counting to five, talking to an adult, or breathing deeply can help them cope better. Sometimes writing down the steps on a card that they can carry and refer to is helpful.

Information presented was obtained from the following sources: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition; Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, University of Florida, Jacksonville; Helping Children at Home and School: Handouts from Your School Psychologists National Association of School Psychologists, Bethesda MD: l998 p. 531.

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Thanks to all who forwarded separate MMR Vaccine info. It was very helpful and truly appreciated! From wilflipson@yahoo.com

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Need therapist for 5.5 year old high functional autistic twins. Must know how to teach Theory of Mind. Reliable, creative, takes initiative. Newport Beach, CA area. Also, traveling to Rome/Florence in August. Need therapist in those areas to work with children. lagunaMurphy@aol.com

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California Tax Form 3504 gives a $ 500 tax credit to care givers of the disabled. You will need pediatrician's CA License Number. eds@amerlic.com

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I just moved to the bay area. I live in Girloy but am interested in hearing from other parents in the San Jose, Morgan Hill or Gilroy areas. My son will be 3 in May. I have no idea of services available. He was diagnosed PDD-NOS at 22 mos and has done extrememly well. I would love to hear any feedback positive and negative regarding schools and services. Email Tiffanirn@aol.com.

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