AUTISM FIRST STEPS
AUTISM DAILY NEWSLETTER
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
INDEX:
* VB Workshop
* New
Jersey Autism Statistics
* Lobbying
skills seminar
* Study
confirms secretin no more effective than placebo
* Parents
flock to maverick vaccine doctor
* Small
Study Supports Food Allergy-ADHD Link
* Animal
Handling Expert Temple Grandin Wins 2002 Knowlton Award
* Life in
prison, not execution, is the proper sentence, judge told
******************************
VB
Workshop.
Teaching Language and Appropriate Behavior to Children and Adults
with Developmental Disabilities, including Autism:
An Introduction and Hands-on Training
Duncan Fennemore and Patrick McGreevy, Ph.D., BCBA
Behavior Analysts
February 23-24, 2002 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Towngate Theatre,
Basildon, Essex, UK
This 2-day workshop provides an introduction to the verbal behavior
approach
to teaching language and appropriate behavior to vocal and non-vocal
children and adults with developmental disabilities, including autism.
This
ABA approach, which is based on B.F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior
(i.e., expressive language) and the work of Sundberg, Partington, Michael,
Carbone, McGreevy, and others, begins with expressive language and
includes
specific teaching procedures unfamiliar to most parents and professionals.
This workshop is designed for parents, teachers, speech-language
pathologists, curriculum coordinators, psychologists, behavior analysts,
in-home trainers, and other professionals and their supervisors.
In contrast to other ABA approaches and cognitive models, this approach
(1)
builds a behavioral relationship with the learner by using noncontingent
reinforcement, interspersed (rather than repetitive) discrete trials,
errorless teaching (rather than delayed and corrective prompting), and a
variable ratio schedule of reinforcement, resulting in a cooperative
learner
who exhibits fewer tantrums, (2) begins by teaching expressive language
(rather than teaching imitation, matching, and receptive language and
waiting for expressive language "to develop"), (3) builds language
that is
spontaneous, natural (rather than scripted), fluent, and generalized
(i.e.,
occurs in many situations other than those in which it was taught), and
(4)
provides an opportunity for older children and adults, regardless of their
handicap, to learn to express their needs and wants for the first time.
This
approach, with these teaching procedures, often results in children and
adults who spontaneously request and describe specific items and events,
work cooperatively and enthusiastically, and initiate and participate in
conversations which include a variety of questions and answers.
This workshop will also provide hands-on training - through demonstration
and guided practice, participants will learn to initiate, implement, and
monitor a verbal behavior program designed to improve language and
appropriate behavior.
The registration fee includes a set of guided notes written by Patrick
McGreevy and Duncan Fennemore, and refreshments.
Location, Directions and accommodation details will be sent with
confirmations.
Send this registration form with a cheque or postal order for £95 (payable
to; TABA)
to: Mrs Jan Woolhead
22 Coombe Road
SOUTHMINSTER
Essex
CMO 7AH
UNITED KINGDOM
e-mail BRYAN@CORRINGHAM2.FSNET.CO.UK
Please tick
Registration
Parent or professional
Additional members of a family or in-home
training team
Last Name______________________________
First Name______________________________
Address_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Agency/Organization:________________________
Daytime Phone Number Evening
Phone Number
__________________
__________________
******************************
New Jersey Autism Statistics
From US Dept. of Education (NJ numbers supplied by Dept. of Education
in Trenton, NJ)
Number and Change in Number of Children Ages 6-21 Served
Under IDEA,
Part B
Sample Years
Year 1991-1992 196
Year 1992-1993 446
Year 1997-1998 1,634
Year 1998-1999 1,812
Year 1999-2000 2,354
The latest from Trenton for the year 2000-2001 is 2,905, not
yet on
the US Department of Education's web site. The following breakdown by age from
Trenton:
Age 6 Age 7 Age 8 Age 9
Age 10 Age 11 Age 12 Age 13 Age 14
470 425
424 354
244 200
166 142 123
Age 15 Age 16 Age 17 Age 18
Age 19 Age 20 Age 21 Total
88
73 55
63 34
34 10 2,905
******************************
Lobbying skills seminar
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT from the
Human Rights Campaign
919 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
email: hrc@hrc.org
Take Action At: http://www.hrc.org/actioncenter/
___________________________________________________________________
WOMEN'S CENTER OFFERS SEMINAR ON LOBBYING SKILLS
HRC is forwarding this notice from the Women’s Resource and Action Center
at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Iowa State Representative Mary Mascher will facilitate the next workshop in
the Women's Resource and Action Center's Social Change Training Program:
"Building Your Lobbying Skills," to be presented on Tuesday, December
4,
2001, from 6-9 PM in River Room 1 of the Iowa Memorial Union. The
workshop
is free and open to everyone. Advance registration is required; please
call 319-335-486 to register.
Through expert guidance and practical application, this workshop will help
participants to build their confidence in talking to elected officials,
teach effective lobbying skills and strategies, and provide an opportunity
to practice those skills.
Since 19994, Mary Mascher has been the District 46 State Representative in
the Iowa Legislature. She is also a fifth-sixth grade teacher at Irving
Weber Elementary School and has a masters in counseling education from The
University of Iowa.
The seminar is provided by the Women's Resource & Action Center.
To register for the workshop, or request an accommodation to attend, or for
more information, please call the Women's Resource & Action Center at
335-1486.
******************************
Study
confirms secretin no more effective than
placebo in treating autism symptoms
Contact: Bob Bock
rb96a@nih.gov
301-496-5133
NIH/National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development
The latest in a series of studies on secretin has failed to show that
giving the digestive hormone to children with autism alleviates symptoms of the
disorder, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development. The study, which appeared in the November 2001 issue of
the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found
that patients with autism who received a form of the hormone derived from swine
showed no statistically significant improvements in the core symptoms of the
disorder when compared to when the same patients received a placebo. (The core
symptoms of autism involve social and communications skills.) In certain
secondary measures of autism, patients receiving secretin also showed no
improvement when compared to when they received a placebo.The researchers used
porcine secretin, a form of the hormone derived from pigs, and the form most
commonly used in diagnostic tests of the digestive system. Previous studies
have also tested laboratory manufactured secretin as a treatment for autism.
The current study tested porcine secretin to rule out the possibility that the
naturally occurring form of the hormone might have a different effect than does
the synthetic version."These results, in addition to those from other
secretin clinical trials, do not provide evidence to support using the hormone
to treat the symptoms of autism," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of
the sponsors of the study. Interest in secretin as a possible treatment for
autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication
problems and repetitive behaviors and interests, arose from reports of children
with autism whose symptoms improved after receiving a single dose of the
hormone. Secretin is routinely given during tests to diagnose intestinal
ailments, but its safety and effectiveness in treating autism were not known.
Since 1999, more than a half dozen studies examined whether or not secretin
could reduce symptoms in children with autism, with little evidence of benefit.
Varying the doses of the hormone and giving it on more than one occasion have
not proved useful in treating the disorder."Our study reiterates the need
to perform careful studies of any new treatment--even one that appears
promising--before routinely prescribing it to patients," said the study's
first author, Thomas Owley, M.D., Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.The study, conducted at sites in
Illinois, California, and Utah, included 56 children with autism, ranging from
age three to age 12. The children met the autistic disorder criteria for two
scales used to measure the "core" symptoms of autism, the Autism
Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation
Schedule (ADOS). The core symptoms of autism pertain to social and
communication skills. The researchers confirmed the diagnosis using the DSM-IV
criteria, currently the standard for diagnosing autism from the American
Psychiatric Association. Children who did not meet the requirements of all
three scales did not participate in the study. Children were randomized to
receive either an intravenous dose of secretin, followed by a dose of harmless
saline (salt) solution four weeks later, or an intravenous dose of saline,
followed by a dose of secretin four weeks later.The children went through
detailed evaluations before receiving treatment, and then every two weeks, to
see if their symptoms of autism showed any change. These evaluations continued
until eight weeks after treatment, to ensure that the researchers would detect
any positive effect. Using a change in the ADOS social-communication score as a
primary measure, researchers found no statistically significant differences in
the group when they received secretin versus when they received the placebo.
Assessments of secondary measures showed no treatment effect at all between the
secretin and placebo groups. The results were the same eight weeks after the
treatment.None of the five controlled clinical trials published on secretin,
either in the porcine form or in the synthetic form, given at varying doses,
have shown any improvement over the placebo in symptoms of autism.Open label
studies -- those in which researchers know what they are giving to the patients
- comparing secretin with the saline solution, have suggested that some
improvements might result when secretin is used in patients with autism. The
current study was "double-blinded," meaning that neither the patients
nor the researchers who treated and evaluated the patients knew when the
patients received the secretin or the placebo. The purpose of studying a
treatment (secretin) against a placebo (saline) in a double-blinded design is
to assure objectivity in the evaluation of a person's response to a medication
by eliminating any bias that might be caused by the expectations of the
participants. Scientifically, a double-blinded, placebo-controlled design is
considered optimal in investigations designed to determine whether a treatment
is effective. This study also used a cross-over design, in which the same
patients are evaluated on placebo and treatment, rather than comparing one
group receiving treatment and another receiving placebo. Because of its
objective nature, the study provides strong evidence that the use of secretin
does not improve autistic symptoms and behaviors. However, it is not possible
to say from such a relatively small study whether or not there may be a small
sub-group of autistic patients who may experience some benefit from secretin.
"This multi-site study analyzed possible changes in autistic symptoms
based on very well accepted measures," said Laurence Stanford, Ph.D., a
program officer in NICHD's Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Branch. "The study results reinforce the findings of other controlled
clinical trials on secretin that, for most people with autism, the hormone is
not an effective treatment." ###
The study was conducted as part of the Collaborative Network on the
Neurobiology and Genetics of Autism, supported by the NICHD and the National
Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), both parts of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the biomedical research arm of the
federal government. Additional support for the trial came from the National
Institute of Mental Health and the National Center for Research Resources at
the NIH, and from the University of California-Davis Medical Investigation of
Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute. The NICHD is one of the
Institutes comprising the NIH, the premier biomedical research agency in the
federal government. The NICHD supports and conducts research on development
before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive
biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications,
as well as information about the Institute, are available from the NICHD Web
site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov, or
from the NICHD Clearinghouse, 1-800-370-2943, e-mail NICHDClearinghouse@mail.nih.gov.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-11/nioc-scs112701.php
******************************
Parents flock to maverick vaccine doctor
because of autism link scare
The Irish Examiner 27 Nov 2001
By Jim MorahanTHE country's first GP to offer
parents the option of having their children inoculated with single doses of the
MMR vaccine was yesterday inundated with calls.Dundalk-based Dr Mary Grehan
began offering the service yesterday amid concerns the combined measles, mumps
and rubella vaccine may be linked to autism.She reported inquiries from GPs
throughout the country interested in following her lead."At this stage,
the jury is out on whether the MMR is safe or not," said Dr Grehan at her
surgery. Official medical opinion insists no proven link between the
three-in-one vaccine and autism.Dr Grehan - very pro-immunisation - is helping
parents import the separate vaccine from England."I am delighted that
someone has finally done it," Kathy Sinnott, mother of an autistic son,
Jamie said. "It was completely unreasonable that parents were being denied
that choice."Dr Grehan is providing an information pack through which
parents can receive the vaccines on a named-patient basis. This is the only way
that vaccines can be imported. The parents have the vaccines sent to Dr
Grehan's surgery, where the vaccination can be carried out.The Co Louth GP
criticised the Department of Health for failing to issue a booklet on pros and
cons of vaccination and side effects of the illnesses themselves."At the
moment, the one they produced only gives the side effects of the illnesses and
nothing else," she added.Last October, the Association of General
Practitioners demanded the department provide a booklet to parents on the birth
of their child so they would have time to study all the implications and then
make an informed decision.
http://www.online.ie/news/irish_examiner/viewer.adp?article=1590946
******************************
Small Study Supports Food Allergy-ADHD Link
By Paula
MoyerORLANDO (Reuters Health) - Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) are seven times more likely to have food allergies than
children in the general population, according to the results of a small,
preliminary study.``This recent study shows that food allergy may play a role
in the development of ADHD,'' Dr. Joseph Bellanti, the study's lead author,
told Reuters Health.Bellanti directs the International Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center
in Washington, DC. He presented the findings here at the 59th annual meeting of
the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.Bellanti and his
colleagues used sensitive tests to check for food allergies in 17 children
diagnosed with ADHD who ranged in age from 7 to 10. Fifty-six percent had
positive food allergy tests, compared with the 6% to 8% incidence seen among
children in the general population.The investigators also asked the
participants and their parents about reactions to certain foods, and found that
four (23.5%) patients had suffered adverse food reactions in the past.``We feel
this finding supports a possible relationship between food allergies and ADHD,
and that this preliminary study deserves further exploration,'' he told Reuters
Health.However, the study involved a small number of children and the findings
are not supported by most research on ADHD, a spokesperson for the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) said. For parents of
children with ADHD, who are accustomed to hearing about links between their
children's symptoms and the foods they eat, these findings may be interesting,
but they are not definitive, Dr. David Fassler told Reuters Health.``You need
to put any study like this in the context of a broader range of research,'' Fassler
explained. ``In general, research indicates that ADHD is not caused by food
allergies. That said, there may be children who have certain symptoms and
behaviors that happen in reaction to a food or other environmental substance. A
child could get agitated or irritable as the result of exposure to a particular
food.''Fassler is a member of the AACAP Workgroup on Consumer Issues and a
clinical associate professor in psychiatry at the University of Vermont in
Burlington.``There are some well-intended clinicians, including some
physicians, who believe that most, if not all, of ADHD is caused by food
allergies,'' he said. ``Most physicians do not endorse that view. I worry about
preliminary studies' findings being extrapolated to large populations.''
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011127/hl/adhd_1.html
******************************
Animal Handling Expert Temple
Grandin Wins 2002 Knowlton Award
Updated: Mon, Nov 26 8:01 AM EST
CHICAGO (BUSINESS WIRE) - Temple Grandin, an assistant professor in the animal
sciences department at Colorado State University and longtime consultant to the
meatpacking industry on issues of humane animal handling, has been selected to
receive the prestigious 2002 Richard L. Knowlton Innovation Award from Meat
Marketing & Technology magazine.The award, named after the former chairman,
president and CEO of Hormel Foods, recognizes individuals whose ingenuity and
leadership have been a catalyst for positive change in the meat
industry.Grandin was selected by the magazine's editors for her innovative
designs and inventions that have helped plant managers manage livestock more
efficiently and humanely. As consumer perceptions of food quality have evolved
to encompass humane treatment of animals, major food companies and fast-food
chains have turned to Grandin to develop practical, pragmatic
solutions."Seldom in any industry does a single individual effect lasting
change," said Dan Murphy, editor of MMT. "But Temple Grandin is just
such a rarity. For more than 25 years, she has labored to improve and
streamline the entire process of handling livestock. There are few meat plants
in North America that haven't been affected by Grandin's work."Beginning
in 1998, the top three fast-food burger chains began auditing their meat suppliers
on the issue of humane treatment of livestock, and USDA officials have
conducted similar audits to ensure compliance with the Humane Slaughter Act,
based on criteria Grandin put together. "I've seen tremendous improvement
in scores for stunning efficiency and proper animal handling in just the past
few years," she said. "With the audits, there are measurable
criteria. You can't improve what you can't measure."Her clients are quick
to praise Grandin's impact."Proper livestock handling is extremely
important to meatpackers, not only for financial reasons, but because it's the
right thing to do," said Mike Chabot, general manager of Excel Corp.'s Ft.
Morgan, Colo., beef plant. "Temple has been a guiding force in helping
packers play an active role in humane animal treatment."Equally compelling
is Grandin's personal story, having overcome autism to develop a deep,
intuitive understanding of animal behavior. "I credit my visualization
abilities with helping me understand the animal perspective," Grandin
said. "I would kneel down and take pictures...from a cow's eye level.
Using the photos I was able to identify things that scared the cattle, such as
shadows or bright spots of sunlight."MMT is proud to present Temple
Grandin with the 2002 Knowlton Innovation Award. For more information about
Grandin and the award, see the December 2001 issue of Meat Marketing &
Technology.Meat Marketing & Technology magazine is published monthly by
Marketing & Technology Group, an integrated media company serving multiple
channels of the meat and poultry processing industries. The company's
properties include Meat Marketing & Technology, Poultry and CarneTec
(serving the Latin American meat processors) magazines; an industry Web site (www.meatingplace.com) and
the Digital Directory, an annually updated, interactive buyers guide on CD-ROM.
about:blankhttp://news.excite.com/news/bw/011126/
*****************************
Inmate mentally retarded, so spare him,
lawyers say
Life in prison, not execution,
is the proper sentence, judge told
By ESTES THOMPSON
Associated Press
ELIZABETHTOWN -- A
condemned man who killed his girlfriend and her grandson should serve life in
prison instead of being executed, because he is mentally retarded, defense
lawyers told a judge Monday.Sherman Elwood Skipper, 59, was sentenced to death
for the 1990 killings of Aileane Pittman, 56, and Nelson B. Fipps Jr.,
18.Skipper is the first inmate to ask that his life be spared under a new state
law that bars execution of the mentally retarded. Under the law, a person must
have an IQ below 70 and show inability to adapt to society before age
18."Mr. Skipper operates at the level of a 6-year-old child," said
defense lawyer William Mills. "He can't take care of himself. His social
skills are basically nonexistent."This man-child should spend his life in
prison instead of being put to death."Defense and prosecution agree that
Skipper's IQ is 69. But District Attorney Rex Gore said alcohol was the primary
reason for Skipper's problems with the law. Before the murder conviction,
Skipper was convicted of wounding his brother.Gore noted that Skipper operated
a junkyard from his home in rural Columbus County, "made money and spent
it as he saw fit."Neighbor Winnie Carter testified she had known Skipper
more than 20 years and compared him to her two autistic sons."If a person
was talking about something other than cars, Elwood would stand off to the
side," Carter said, comparing his stare during conversations to the way
her son appeared during small seizures.Skipper frequently wore the same clothes
for days and smelled bad when he came to her house, she said. Once, he was so
dirty she put a towel on his chair.Carter also said Skipper went to car
auctions once a week and would give her money when she needed it.During the
hearing, which is expected to end today, the gray-haired Skipper sat quietly in
his leg and hand shackles at the defense table. He appeared to be looking down
most of the time.Skipper had been scheduled to be executed Dec. 7, but the date
was put off after his lawyers asked a judge to order a hearing under the new
state law.The law gives currently incarcerated death-row inmates until the end
of January to file an appeal claiming they were mentally retarded when they
were convicted.
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/skipper1127.htm
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DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL
INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.