AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
INDEX:
* Mini State Ambassador Project
* State
Autism Ambassador Project
* Coaches
put aside rivalry for night
* UK
couple sing the praises of home rehabilitation
* Residents
give legislators personal look at state budget cuts
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Mini State Ambassador Project
Each Mini State Ambassador will receive an
Official Certificate from the United States Autism Ambassador
As one of the first projects of the Newly Appointed United States Autism
Ambassador is to start a Mini Ambassador (Child) Program to represent each
state.
The United Autism Ambassador was nomiated and appointed by the people for the
people by over 192,210 people.
In the State Ambassador Program two children with autism spectrum disorders
will be appointed by the US Autism Ambassador to represent each state as a Mini
State Ambassador to assist the State Ambassador in their Autism Endeavers.
Currently this is a volunteer position. This will be determined by the US
Autism Ambassador
Mini State Ambassador Duties:
As a Mini State Ambassador each person will have some duties to
perform and execute ranging from awareness, guest speaking or attend (If able)
on few occasions ( Autism Rallies,etc.), and represent the voice of other
children with autism spectrum disorders in your home state.
Each State Mini Ambassador will work closely with the United States Ambassador
and Co-Ambassador, Autism Council, and more.
We would like one male and one female from seperate families for each state.
We will
provide online support, toll free hotline for answers, and everything you will
need to accomplish and fulfill your duties as a State Mini Autism
Ambassador.
Each State Mini Autism Ambassador will take part in Direct changes within their
state to help make a difference in their home state to support and bring unity
among all states.
If you are interested in the State Mini Autism Ambassador position for your
state please contact AutismAwakening@aol.com to receive an application or
simply fill out the form below.
NOTE: You
must have parent's permission, and they must fill out the form below. Parents
must agree to supply us with a picture and permission to use it in all Mini
Autism Ambassador endeavors as well as all promotional projects. In submitting
the form below you agree to these terms.
US
Autism Ambassador
State Ambassador Program
1900 K Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Phone: 1-866-PDD-IOWA
To submit your form online it is located at:
Mini
State Ambassador Project
http://autismawakeninginia.bizland.com/unitedstatesautismambassador/id4.html
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State Autism Ambassador Project
As one of the first projects of the Newly Appointed United
States Autism Ambassador is to start a Ambassador Program to represent each
state.
In the State Ambassador Program One person will
be appointed by the US Autism Ambassador to represent each state as a State
Ambassador and one person will be appointed to be the State C0-Ambassador to
assist the State Ambassador in their Autism Endeavers.
Currently this is a volunteer position, which we hope to change within a one-
two year sabatorial to a paid position. This will be determined by the US
Autism Ambassador
State Ambassador Duties
As a State Ambassador each person will have many duties to perform and
execute ranging from awareness, legislative, media, guest speaking on occasion,
Implement the First Steps Autism Action Plan and Programs, and more.
Each state Ambassador will work closely with the United States Ambassador and
Co-Ambassador, Autism Council, and more.
We will provide master packets, materials, online support, toll free
hotline for answers, and everything you will need to accomplish and fulfill
your duties as a State Ambassador.
Each State Ambassador will take part in Direct changes within their state to
help make a difference in their home state to support and bring unity among all
states.
If you are interested in the State Ambassador position for your state please
contact AutismAwakening@aol.com to receive an application or simply fill out
the form below.
US
Autism Ambassador
State Ambassador Program
1900 K Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Phone: 1-866-PDD-IOWA
States Taken:
IOWA
States Applied Already For By At Least One Person:
WI
DE
NH
Questions or comments? Get in touch with us at:
AutismAwakening@aol.com
To Submit your form online it is located at:
http://autismawakeninginia.bizland.com/unitedstatesautismambassador/id2.html
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Coaches put aside rivalry for
night
(11-27-01)By
STEVE GILBERT for SentinelSource
Keene State College and Plymouth State may be fierce rivals inside the sporting
arena, but the state's Division III sister schools continue to show just how
strong their bond really is. The latest example will take place next Tuesday at
the second annual Granite State Division III Challenge at New Hampshire
Institute of Technology in Concord. It features a men's basketball
double-header matching KSC vs. Colby-Sawyer of New London and PSC vs. New
England College of Henniker. The classic has been dedicated to Jacob's Bridge
Through Autism, an organization that promotes education and awareness about
autism. PSC Coach John Scheinman and his wife -- KSC Hall of Famer Susan
Woodworth -- are the parents of an autistic child. The Scheinmans are actively
involved in research and fundraising, complete with a Web site (jbtautism.org).
"Now we just have to find a babysitter for our other two children so we
can bring Jacob," Scheinman said with a chuckle. Informational packets on
autism, raffles and souvenir sales will be available at the games. Also,
WMUR-TV 9 has indicated it will be there with a report and highlights. NEC and
PSC tip off at 5:30 p.m., followed by KSC vs. Colby-Sawyer at 7:30. Scheinman
is a former assistant coach at KSC, and was head coach at NEC before taking
over the PSC program two years ago. The idea didn't originate with Scheinman,
but KSC Coach Rob Colbert. "It was all Rob and I am truly grateful,"
Scheinman said. "He's the one who said, 'Hey, why don't we do this.'
Obviously, I'm pleased as punch." As for the games, they should have some
punch, as well, especially the nightcap. KSC and Colby-Sawyer haven't played
since 1998, when the Chargers beat the Owls 102-95 in the finals of the ECAC
Tournament at New London. That game was a sellout; Coffin Gymnasium filled to
capacity an hour before tip-off. Next week's game could be just as entertaining.
Colby-Sawyer went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history
last year and may be stronger this season. Not only do the Chargers return nine
letter winners, they welcomed back Jay Como, who took last year off. Como, of
Exeter, was a first-team, All-Commonwealth Coast Conference player two years
ago before he moved to California to try acting. "He's still shaking the
rust off -- he's not at the level where he was when he left and he's not
shooting the ball like he was. But he brings many, many (attributes) to the
court," Colby-Sawyer Coach Bill Foti said. In addition to Como,
Colby-Sawyer is infused with New Hampshire-born talent. Senior guard Calen
Paquette out of Manchester Central is just eight points shy of 1,000 for his career.
"He's a throwback in that he's a jack-of-all-trades," Foti said.
Other senior stalwarts include forward Adam Tuttle of Manchester Trinity, who
started his college career at St. Anselm. Other feature players include Brendan
Carney out of Hanover and 6-foot-6 Grant Kelly of Manchester West, who last
weekend made the all-tournament team at a four-team invitational at
UMass-Dartmouth. Foti is 177-62 in nine years at the New London school, and has
the sixth-best winning mark (74 percent) in all of Division III. Many of those
victories came via the Keene connection of Jim McGilvery and Ethan Casson in
the mid-1990s. So KSC knows it has its hands full. "They're tough. This is
a team that returns nine kids from last year when they went (21-7),"
Colbert said. "They have to be one of the top five teams in New
England." Colby-Sawyer won 18 of its last 19 games last year, including 16
in a row. It became only the second team in the state to make the NCAA Division
III Tournament, and the first to host a game. PSC was invited in 1995-96 as an
at-large pick, while KSC has never made the NCAAs. Though they haven't met for
real in nearly four years, the Chargers and Owls are familiar with each other.
They hooked up in a scrimmage last year that Colbert called "very exciting,
pretty even," even though it didn't count. "We really try to help
each other," Foti added. Division III is set up so that only conference
champions make the NCAA Tournament. There are six national at-large bids, but
they rarely find their way to the Little East Conference or CCC. "You want
to win every game, but the whole season comes down to those three (conference
tournament) games in February," Foti said. Just for fun, and in the spirit
of Red Auerbach, Foti and Colbert have agreed that the losing coach must
present the winner with a cigar. "It's really nice that we can take a fun
basketball atmosphere and bring some awareness to a cause that John (Scheinman)
and his wife have dedicated themselves to," Foti said. "It's good for
everyone." In last year's tournament, KSC defeated NEC 120-81 and PSC
clipped Colby-Sawyer in overtime 97-92. The matchups rotate every year, though
KSC and PSC won't play each other since they meet twice in the regular season.
KSC is off to a 3-0 start -- all blowouts -- even though forward-center Kyle
Purinton and guard Harley Davis are sidelined with injuries. Both players have
doctors' appointments today. Davis (broken pinkie) could be released to play
and Purinton (ankle) hopes to be cleared to practice. Davis is a highly touted
freshman who rolled an ankle two weeks into practice, then broke his finger two
weeks ago. Purinton was a starter last year. Colbert said Purinton has been
working out intensely every day. "This is a kid who's our version of Ivan
Drago," Colbert said, referring to the Russian boxer in Rocky IV.
"I'm not saying that it's good for us that he's out, but we have
definitely improved as a team because we've had to count on other people."
Before thinking about Colby-Sawyer, the Owls have a tough task ahead of them Thursday
night against non-league foe Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. On
Saturday they open their LEC slate at home against UMass-Boston (3 o'clock
start). PSC is also banged up with veterans Dan Craig, Jason Blackburn and
Frankie Finklea all nursing sore backs. Freshman Nick Pelotte on Monday was
named LEC Rookie of the Week, yet he may have mononucleosis. On Nov. 10, the
Franklin Pierce College men's basketball team scrimmaged NAIA St. Joseph's
College in Standish, Maine. Normally no big deal, but it was a huge day for FPC
Coach David Chadbourne, who was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
Chadbourne played both basketball and baseball at St. Joseph's, and is a 1986
graduate. John Scheinman, the current PSC coach, was an assistant and interim
head coach at St. Joseph's after Chadbourne left. "You just can't believe
all the David Chadbourne stories," Scheinman said. "He was just an
unbelievable player." ... Game of the week: Southern Connecticut State at
FPC, 7:30, Thursday night. These teams aren't particularly fond of each other,
having engaged in some brouhahas over the years. And once again the Ravens may
have been underestimated by the rest of the Northeast-10 following their two
wins over nationally ranked opponents in Pennsylvania. They were picked to
finish ninth; last year the coaches rated them 12th and they ended up fifth. On
Sunday the Ravens host in-state rival Southern New Hampshire University at a
special 5 p.m. start. Word is that SNHU freshman David Cooper of Manchester
Central could easily be in Division I. SNHU also sports in-state players Dan
Rasanen and Mark Yeaton of Concord, and Steve Lavolpicelo of New London
(Kearsarge Regional). ... WKBK AM-1220 will broadcast 12 KSC games this season
starting with Saturday's UMass-Boston game. All but two of the team's 14 LEC
games will be on the air. Once again Bob Lund and Dean Prentiss will provide
the audio. ... At the opposite end, Channel 9 isn't doing any live broadcasts
involving state basketball teams after a change of ownership last year. That
includes KSC-PSC in Plymouth on Super Bowl Sunday, which prompted the schools
to reschedule the game to a Tuesday night. ... The FPC women's soccer team has
an early wakeup call Wednesday. The Ravens are leaving campus for San Diego and
the NCAA Division II Final Four at 2:30 a.m. They have a 6 a.m. flight out of
Manchester and plan on practicing at UC San Diego Wednesday afternoon. Ranked
No. 1 in the country, the Ravens play No. 2 Christian Brothers of Memphis,
Tenn., Friday at 8 p.m. EST. The other semifinal (San Diego vs. Northern
Kentucky) is a rematch of last year's championship game, so it's no wonder many
are calling it the strongest Final Four in the history of the tournament. The
championship match is set for Sunday, then FPC takes a red-eye into Boston
Monday morning. Steve Gilbert covers college sports for The Sentinel.
http://www1.keenesentinel.com/localnews/sports1.htm
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UK
couple sing the praises of home rehabilitation
Parents urged to help disabled children
Nayla
Assaf
Daily Star staff The first thing Michael and Helen Downey tell parents
who visit them at the St. Briavels Center for Child Development in the
United Kingdon is that they can’t achieve miracles.
But the couple’s presentation at the Bristol Hotel Monday showed that love and
faith in one’s child can indeed achieve wonders.
Ever since their son was diagnosed with sensory disability over 20 years ago,
the couple have been striving to make a difference, advocating a holistic
method that transforms parents into therapists.
“Parents are there all day long. They know, love and care for their child,”
said Helen Downey, “there’s no reason why they should sit out in the corridor
while their child is at the therapist.” The couple’s method works on empowering
parents, by teaching them the right technique to care for their child around
the clock and be directly involved in his or her progress.
According to one attendee, regular methods can achieve wonders, but they are
only implemented at school. “The strength of this program is that methods are
transferred to the household,” said Pauline Najarian, the learning center
coordinator at the Valley International school in Jouret al-Ballout. Several
hundred parents and professionals listened as the Downeys presented the basic
principles of their Early Intervention Program on Monday.
Three main types of diseases were covered. Michael Downey first spoke of
children with cerebral paralysis, which entails poor coordination. He then
spoke of autistic children and those suffering from Down’s Syndrome. “We now
have a girl with Down’s Syndrome working at a bank. In fact, she recently got
promoted … another one is working as a travel agent in Madagascar … and a third
is growing organic food,” said Michael Downey, proving wrong misconceptions
about the disease.
The couple’s technique embraces disabled children on all aspects, mainly on the
intellectual, physical and nutritional levels.
They work on identifying the problem and developing alternative skills, while
always urging children to do better. “If you don’t stimulate a child at all
then there’s no reason why he should make substantial improvement,” said
Michael Downey. He also presented cases of reflex problems which, he said, are
at the root of learning or behavioral disabilities and which can be altered by
special reflex inhibition programs. According to him, certain inborn reflexes,
due to disappear early on in life might remain, hindering the child’s ability
to adapt.
The Moro Reflex, for example, which is what babies do when they are startled
(by holding their breath), is at the root of hyperactivity and could lead to
health complications, because it exhausts the person. In the final session,
Helen Downey advocated a classic method for improving children’s intellectual
abilities.
She said that flash cards are a good visual stimulus which increases
understanding and confidence in a child.
According to the Downeys, parents with a disabled child may seem to panic at
first, but as days go by and they help their child develop.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/27_11_01/art8.htm
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Residents give legislators
personal look at state budget cuts
Rep. Preston Scroggin discusses the state's budget problems
with citizens assembled for a forum Monday that was sponsored by Faulkner
County legislators. Mike Kemp Photo
By JUSTIN PETRUCCELLI
Log Cabin Staff WriterTuesday, November 27, 2001
The much-publicized state budget cuts
being felt throughout Arkansas took a distinctly more human form during a forum
organized by Faulkner County's legislative delegation Monday night at the
Conway Area Chamber of Commerce."My grandson is five years old and he's
autistic," JoAnn Harrell of Conway said. "He's supposed to transition
into regular school next year. You're talking about the cream of the crop and
I'm talking about a little guy down here whose home care has just been cut.
He's going to fall through the cracks somewhere. Technically, if he's educated
right, he could be the cream of the crop someday, even though he's
autistic.""My son's five years old, he's autistic and we're going to
be dealing with this for the rest of his life," Eyvonne Whisenant of
Conway, the boy's mother, added. "We get a call telling us no more. We
don't know what to do."Faulkner County Day School Executive Director Ruth
Castleberry warned the legislators about what can happen to children and others
whose care is neglected, especially those who are dependent on respirators and
other health care technology."Clearly, they're nickel and dimeing people
who are going to have no choice but to institutionalize these kids," she
said. "I've heard that eight or ten of them are dead because their care
was cut. It seems to me that we're targeting the weak and helpless."Jodi
Kramp of Conway agreed that the cuts seemed most hurtful to those who needed
the money the most."I think we're sending a pitiful message to the people
of this state," she said. "I think the cuts are being made where
there will be the least squeaking. Those programs were already spearheaded in
January. What confidence are people to have that they'll be reinstated."State
Rep. Marvin Parks, R-Greenbrier, said that while the cuts may appear drastic on
the surface, they actually represent projections that simply fell short and in
the end are only a small portion of the state's entire
budget."Ninety-seven percent of the budget is still there," he said.
"So we are going to be able to function as a state. We'll have to tighten
our belts, but we will be able to function."Parks and the other members of
the legislative delegation also tried to deflect any direct blame of Gov. Mike
Huckabee for the cuts, citing a steady downturn in the economy that was
worsened by the events of Sept. 11. While he did praise all branches of state
government for their efforts, former state Rep. Steve Simon was
unconvinced."I think most legislators felt the budget was based on a rosy
forecast," he said. "In my opinion, you'd probably be looking at $60
million in cuts even without Sept. 11. Personally I think that the governor's
staff made a gross mistake in that area."Simon added that Huckabee's plan
for the use of tobacco settlement funds, which was approved by Arkansas voters
in November 2000, projected $62 million per year in revenue that has now become
closer to $50 million.State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, reiterated his praise
for Faulkner County's school districts, which despite the cuts will be able to
provide at least the first installment of their promised teacher raises.
Vilonia School Superintendent Frank Mitchell said that his and the other
smaller districts in the county will do their best to make due."I think if
yo drive through Conway and then drive out to Vilonia, you see the problem we
have," he said. "One or two of these industries is probably equal to
our whole assessment. It's going to be a struggle. I don't want to cut back the
quality of our education. We're going to do the best we can with what we've
got."The forum was the first in what the legislators hope will be a series
that eventually visits every city in Faulkner County. The next two forums will
take place in Holland on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and in Mount Vernon on Monday, Dec.
10.(Staff writer Justin Petruccelli can be reached by phone at 505-1266 or
e-mail at justinp@thecabin.net.)
http://www.thecabin.net/stories/112701/loc_1127010015.shtml
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How
efficacious and safe is short-acting methylphenidate for the treatment of
attention-deficit disorder in children and adolescents? A meta-analysis
Abstract Background: Numerous small
clinical trials have been carried out to study the behaviourally defined
efficacy and safety of short-acting methylphenidate compared with placebo for
attention-deficit disorder (ADD) in individuals aged 18 years and less.
However, no meta-analyses that carefully examined these questions have been
done. We reviewed the behavioural evidence from all the randomized controlled
trials that compared methylphenidate and placebo, and completed a
meta-analysis. Methods: We searched several electronic sources for
articles published between 1981 and 1999: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, ERIC,
CINAHL, HEALTHSTAR, Biological Abstracts, Current Contents and Dissertation
Abstracts. The Cochrane Library Trials Registry and Current Controlled Trials
were also consulted. A study was considered eligible for inclusion if it
entailed the following: a placebo-controlled randomized trial that involved
short-acting methylphenidate and participants aged 18 years or less at the
start of the trial who had received any primary diagnosis of ADD that was made in
a systematic and reproducible way. Results: We included 62 randomized
trials that involved a total of 2897 participants with a primary diagnosis of
ADD (e.g., with or without hyperactivity). The median age of trial participants
was 8.7 years, and the median "percent male" composition of trials
was 88.1%. Most studies used a crossover design. Using the scores from 2
separate indices, this collection of trials exhibited low quality.
Interventions lasted, on average, 3 weeks, with no trial lasting longer than 28
weeks. Each primary outcome (hyperactivity index) demonstrated a significant
effect of methylphenidate (effect size reported by teacher 0.78, 95% confidence
interval [CI] 0.64–0.91; effect size reported by parent 0.54, 95% CI
0.40–0.67). However, these apparent beneficial effects are tempered by a strong
indication of publication bias and the lack of robustness of the findings,
especially those involving core ADD features. Methylphenidate also has an
adverse event profile that requires consideration. For example, clinicians only
need to treat 4 children to identify an episode of decreased appetite. Interpretation:
Short-acting methylphenidate has a statistically significant clinical effect in
the short-term treatment of individuals with a diagnosis of ADD aged 18 years
and less. However, the extension of this placebo-controlled effect beyond 4
weeks of treatment has not been demonstrated. Exact knowledge of the extent and
definition of the short-term behavioural usefulness of methylphenidate is
questioned.
To See the rest of the story it is located At:
http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/vol-165/issue-11/1475.asp
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Contextual abnormalities of saccadic inhibition
in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Sheree Cairney1, 2, Paul Maruff1, 2, Alasdair Vance3, Rebecca
Barnett2, 3, Ernest Luk3 and Jon Currie1, 4(1) The Neurophysiology and Neurovisual Research Unit, Mental
Health Research Institute of Victoria, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3052
(2) School of Psychological Science, Latrobe University, Victoria, Australia
(3) Maroondah Hospital Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Victoria,
Australia
(4) Brain Research Unit, Westmead Hospital, NSW, Australia
Abstract. Abnormalities of executive function are observed consistently
in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and it is
hypothesised that these arise because of disruption to a behavioural inhibition
system. Executive and inhibitory functions were compared between unmedicated
and medicated children with ADHD (combined type), age-matched healthy children
and healthy adults. Executive functions were measured using a test of spatial
working memory shown previously to be sensitive to ADHD and to stimulant
medication. Inhibitory functions were measured using an ocular motor paradigm
that required individuals to use task context to control the release of
fixation. Context was set according to the probability that a target would
appear at either of the two locations. In one block, targets appeared on 80% of
trials. In the other block, targets appeared on 20% of trials. The ability to
control the release of fixation was inferred from the fixation offset effect
(FOE), or the difference in saccade latency when the current fixation is offset
200 ms prior to the onset of the saccade target (gap condition), compared with
when there is no offset (overlap condition). Although the healthy children made
more errors on the spatial working memory task than the healthy adults, there
was no difference between the two groups in their ability to control fixation
using context. Both showed a larger FOE when target probability was low. As
expected, the unmedicated ADHD group made more errors on the spatial working
memory test than the healthy children, although spatial working memory
performance was normal in the medicated ADHD group. However, both the
unmedicated and medicated ADHD groups were unable to modulate the FOE according
to context, and this was due to their inability to voluntarily inhibit saccades
when there was a low target probability. These data suggest that the
context-based modulation of fixation release is not controlled by the same
systems that control executive function. Furthermore, deficits in executive
function and inhibitory control appear independent in children with ADHD.
Keywords. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - Fixation offset
effect - Frontal eye field - Superior colliculus - Inhibition - Human E-mail: sheree@neuro.mhri.edu.au
Phone: +61-3-93881633
Fax: +61-3-93875061
http://link.springer-ny.com/link/service/journals/00221/contents/01/00890/
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