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AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER
Monday, November 19, 2001
INDEX:
* "Tourette's, Other Tic Disorders Far More Common Than Once
Thought"
* "Class teaches kids the art of manners"
* Upcoming Events of Interest
******************************************
"Class teaches kids the art
of manners"
Monte Whaley, Denver Post Education Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2001 - Like
two friends catching up at a dinner party, Jacob Wilson and Philip Champagne
sat with napkins in their laps and talked quietly about their family's summer
vacation.
Their conversation followed a few minutes of mingling, where they introduced
themselves to others and talked about the weather, mutual friends and that
really cool roller-coaster ride in Las Vegas.
Who said the art of idle banter is lost?
Not at Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Littleton, where Jacob and Philip and
other students took a six-week course on etiquette and manners.
The class ended this week with a refined gathering of friends featuring taped
violin music and a Danish roll for all 12 students.
Fifth-grade teacher Charles Igel started the class to put the ideals of
character education - respect, integrity and politeness - to work in an
everyday setting.
Igel admits he has another motivation. "I want to bring a little civility
into the world," said the former Virginian. "It's my quest."
Kindergartners through fifth-graders learned to shake hands (be firm but don't
squeeze too tight), introduce themselves to classmates or adults by talking
about a common theme (stay away from earnings or age in adults), and the proper
use of dinner utensils (once they are used, they do not touch the table again).
Igel's students also kept a daily journal of their etiquette practices. It
asked if they had expressed empathy for others and if they dressed properly for
an occasion.
Igel found soon enough that his students where thinking seriously about what
they were learning.
"I noticed that almost all of my kids said "Yes sir,' or "Thank
you' than others," Igel said.
"They also held the door for other students."
Some also came up to Igel during the day to ask about proper place settings.
Igel's effort is exactly what proponents had in mind when they asked schools to
put character education into their curriculum. "Things change in
schools" that stress character development, said Robin Johnston, a former
state school board member.
Students sit up straighter, work better with others and do better on tests.
"What we've seen is that what they practice in school carries over to
other things," she said. "It's amazing what happens."
More than 21 schools in Denver have added some element of character education
in classrooms and more will soon follow, Johnston said. Schools in Boulder,
Littleton and Cherry Creek are also doing more with the curriculum, she said.
Philip Champagne, a fifth-grader, is happy he took Igel's class because it
taught him skills he can use later in life.
"I'm normally embarrassed when I introduce myself," Philip said.
"But this made me feel a little more confident."
********************************************
"Tourette's, Other Tic
Disorders Far More Common Than Once Thought" University
of Rochester Medical Center ROCHESTER, NY -- October 31, 2001 -- One
out of four students in special-education classes has a tic-related disorder
like Tourette syndrome, and the rate of Tourette's among students in the
general population is 50 to 75 times higher than has been traditionally thought
by doctors, according to a study published in the October 23 issue of the
journal Neurology. The neurologists who did the study say that
Tourette's comes in many forms, including variations much milder than the
profanity-spewing, limb-jerking characters seen on television shows. Doctors
say the findings should raise awareness among teachers and doctors that
children who are performing poorly in school and who have tics may need medical
treatment, and that such treatment could ease school difficulties for these
students. "Most
people view Tourette's as a very rare, unusual disorder with bizarre symptoms,
but it's really very common, usually with mild symptoms," says Roger
Kurlan, M.D., a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester Medical
Center and lead author of the Neurology paper. "The cases you see
on TV are the most severe cases, and they're just the tip of the iceberg. Most
cases of Tourette's are much milder and don't progress to the severe form." In the
study of 1,596 children in Rochester, NewYork, 8 percent of children in special
education met the criteria for Tourette's, and about 27 percent had some tic
disorder. In the general population, 3 percent had Tourette's, and 20 percent
had a tic disorder. The rate of 3 percent in the general population is about 50
to 75 times higher than typical estimates. While tics like barking obscenities or
jerking one's head are easy to spot, there are a slew of other repetitive and
involuntary movements or vocalizations - tics - that are usually overlooked by
family, friends and co-workers as strange or annoying habits, Dr. Kurlan says.
Common tics include rapid eye-blinking, scrunching up one's nose, little jerks
of the head, facial twitches, or even constant sniffing or clearing one's
throat repeatedly. "The fact that a child has tics probably signifies a
subtle brain developmental disorder. It's like a window into the brain: When
you see a child with tics, it's a sign that the wiring isn't quite right,"
says Dr. Kurlan, chief of the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Unit at the
university's Strong Memorial Hospital, where he treats more than 400 Tourette's
patients regularly. "Tics are observable markers that this person is more
likely to have problems in school." Researchers have linked Tourette syndrome
to an area of the brain known as the basal ganglia, which is involved in
controlling movement and plays an important role in attention, concentration,
and decision-making. The same part of the brain is affected in people with
obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
and some learning disabilities. Given this finding, it's no surprise that the
same factors that affect children with ADHD and these other disorders are also
stumbling blocks for children with Tourette's. Students with the disorder are
five times as likely as others to end up in special education. People with
Tourette's typically are impulsive, have trouble concentrating and are easily
distracted; friends or colleagues might say they're filled with nervous energy
or seem to fidget continually. Dr. Kurlan says that with a little training,
teachers should be able to recognize most tics and thus identify some students
more likely than their peers to have difficulty in school. "A
good proportion of these kids has a recognized medical condition that's
amenable to treatment. Many of the symptoms of Tourette's are treatable, so
that if you recognize it, you can treat it and perhaps improve the child's
school performance and their ability to make friends. "If
a child is doing well, there certainly wouldn't be much to do in terms of
intervening," Dr. Kurlan says. "On the other hand, maybe a child
isn't doing all that well. If the child is struggling in school or having
trouble making friends, perhaps causes like ADHD or Tourette's should be
evaluated, and treatment should be considered for that student." Dr.
Kurlan first became aware of the possible extent of the disorder in 1983, when
a man who had been diagnosed with Huntington's disease hitchhiked more than
2,000 miles to seek a second opinion from Dr. Kurlan. The man actually had
Tourette's, and within an hour - the most astonishing moment in his career, Dr.
Kurlan recalls - the patient had described 20 relatives with similar symptoms. Dr.
Kurlan put together a research team to visit the isolated village in northern
Alberta that the patient called home, for a study of the genetic roots of
Tourette's. The Mennonite community of 700 was made up heavily of descendants
of a single Russian ancestor, and tales of Tourette's-like behavior were rife. "After
several flights, we arrived at the six-room hotel in town, and the very first
person we met, the man checking us in at the hotel, had obvious Tourette's. We
looked at each other in total amazement. We knew we had come to the right
place," Dr. Kurlan says. Through interviews and exams of the man's
relatives, the team ultimately found about 200 members of the extended family
of 2,500 people with the disorder. Dr. Kurlan thinks that the rate of
Tourette's has been underestimated because the patients who seek out treatment
in a doctor's office are usually those with the most severe symptoms. In past
studies, doctors have relied on questionnaires and a review of medical records
to identify patients without conducting direct interviews or exams. "Our
eyes were opened by going out into the community, when we explored what
Tourette's is like in the real world. It's not a severe illness with bizarre
symptoms; most people had relatively mild symptoms and did not go to their
doctors for help. Most live a pretty normal life and are not disabled by tics." Using
his experience in northern Alberta as a springboard, Dr. Kurlan returned to
Rochester and conducted a series of studies indicating that the disorder is
much more common in the general population than previously thought. The Neurology
study, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
was done in the city of Rochester and in 10 suburban school districts and
included students aged 8 to 17. Teachers and parents answered questions about
the students, and then students were interviewed for an hour by technicians
trained to assess tics and separate out possible causes like boredom,
hyperactivity, or simple restlessness. His results back the findings of two recent
smaller studies which estimated Tourette's in about 1 percent of people,
significantly higher than previous estimates.
**************************************
Upcoming Events of Interest
Tom Watkins' Listen and Learn Sessions - Attend one near you! November
19, 2001 @ 7:00 p.m. - Novi Instructional Tech Center November
20, 2001 @ 7:00 p.m. - Northwest Activities Center, Detroit Marquette
Videoconference (tentative) on December 10 Added! The
Special Education segments produced by Richard Bernstein will air on CBS
Channel 62 on the following dates:Monday December 3, 11:00pm news
Thursday
December 6, 11:00 pm newsThe segments explain the issues surrounding the
proposed revisions to the special education rules in Michigan and urge
supporters to continue their involvement in opposing these changes. Attend a free workshop
with Mr. Meryle Weems, U.S. Dept of Ed Office of Civil Rights Monday, November 19,
2001, from 6:00 until 9:00 PM at CAUSE in Detroit. Parents will have the
opportunity to address concerns one-on-one with Mr. Weems. Confirm your
attendance as soon as possible by calling Gwen at (313) 863-0813. Down Syndrome Support
Group of St. Clair County Next Meeting: November 19, 2001 at 7:00pm(Support
Group meets monthly on the 3rd Monday except in June, July, Aug., and Dec.)
Location: St. Clair Co. Children's Services, 2875 Henry St., Port Huron, MI
For more info: Call: (810) 367-2045 or Email: kelly_sue3@yahoo.com
Satellite Town Meeting “No Child Left Behind": What it
Means for Parents
Tuesday, November 20, 2001 8:00 pm
- 9:00 pm ET - click
here for more details. Teleconference Event Accessing
the General Curriculum: Including Students with Disabilities in Standards-Based
Reform will take place on Nov. 29, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. EST - To participate,
call 334.323.4100 and when prompted, enter # 40954. The only cost to you
is long distance charges. The transcript of this teleconference will be
available at http://ici.umn.edu/ncset a
few weeks after the event.
****************************************
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