SCHAFER AUTISM REPORT "Healing Autism:

No Finer a Cause on the Planet"

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Tuesday, October 08, 2002 Promote Your Event - Free! -

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EDUCATION

* Teaching Autistic Children in Normal Environment 'Nearly Impossible'

* When Law And School Safety Collide: Autism Backlash?

* L.A. Unified to Keep 16 Schools Segregated for Special Education

RESEARCH

* Drawing Insight From Pix: The Development Of Concepts

Of False Drawing

* Landau-Kleffner & Autistic Regression:

The Importance Of Differential Dx

* Attentional Skills During the 1st 6 Mos. of Age in ASD

* Auditory Brainstem Response In Two Children With Autism

* Purkinje Cell Size Is Reduced In Cerebellum Of Patients With Autism

* Blood Levels of Reelin & Isoforms Would Be Altered In Autistic Twins

LETTERS

* Docs Speaks Out of Both Sides

* Format Works for this Research Clinician

* Works for a Parent, Too

* Deeply Offended

AWARDS

* Vijendra K. Singh, Ph.D. Autism Researcher Wins Humanitarian Award

* More Hugs From Spectrum's Randy Over Awards

EDUCATION

Teaching Autistic Children in Normal Environment 'Nearly Impossible' Teacher Preparation: While most autistic children attend traditional classes to some extent, many teachers don't have any experience working with the developmentally disabled

For a child with autism, going to school is difficult. For a teacher attempting to instruct them in a normal environment, the task is nearly impossible.

That's why Glenn and Diane Faus - residents of Roseville, parents of Taylor, an autistic sixth-grader, and representatives of Autism Spectrum Kids - are working with the Roseville City School District on a series of educational workshops to help teachers learn how to deal with autistic kids in the classroom, assist families who have children with autism, and gain community acceptance.

Taylor Faus begins his school day integrated with other students in a physical education class. He spends the remainder of his day in one-on-one lessons.

"Most autistic kids, to some degree, are mainstreamed into regular classes,"

Glenn Faus said. "And a lot of the teachers don't understand how to react when things happen. They get frustrated when they can't get the kids to do things in the normal way that they are accustomed."

To help teachers and school staff understand how to deal with an autistic child, Dr. Linda Copeland, a primary care and developmental specialist, has volunteered to give lectures with a question-and-answer period. The meetings will take place on the second Thursday of each month at Spanger Elementary School, and will contain lessons on behavioral analysis, punishment methods, and social skills training.

"Every behavior is motivated by a function that it serves, and is based on reinforcement during or after the behaviors happen," said Copeland.

She says that there is a need to identify behaviors and misbehaviors in order to learn why they are being performed, and what types of reactions are occurring for the child because of it.

"Those with autism have extremely sharp memories, and performance with mechanical and visual learning," Copeland added. "But communication for them is hard. It is important to learn how to teach them communication skills through their other abilities."

The Fauses said that when Taylor is placed in a mainstream classroom environment he often causes a disruption, and other kids tend to model his behavior. They don't have a problem with him being mainstreamed; they just feel that it's necessary teachers be prepared to deal with the problems that can arise.

"Teachers have a difficult time because normal punishment doesn't always work for our son, and then another student will perform a similar behavior that he did, and when they get punished they want to know why they were punished and Taylor wasn't," said Diane Faus.

The Fauses know that the best way to help the schools is to work with them rather than be their adversaries. They have a very good concept of what the school system can and cannot do. Special-education teachers and many other faculty members are excited to work with them in learning how to best deal with autistic children. There are a lot of seminars available, but they are costly and schools are usually unable to send teachers to them.

The workshops are supported by the district. Teachers are not only being informed of the workshops, but those who attend will be given professional growth credits that can help them advance up the district's salary scale.

Diane Faus said she is excited to get the ball rolling in the quest to serve her son's educational needs and help other families in similar situations.

She knows that her son is having a difficult time, and she is making every effort to prepare him for advancement in school.

"I kind of compare him to the character "Spok" on Star Trek. He takes things very literal and at face value. He doesn't understand the emotions of other people," she said. "I am nervous about him in school. Right now he's beginning middle school as a sixth-grader. I'm nervous about going into seventh grade, and then eighth, and I'm terribly worried about him going into high school."

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* * *

When Law And School Safety Collide: Autism Backlash? Mainstreaming problem students can cause difficulties for others

p2ch6.htm <- - address ends here.

DEEP CREEK -- The promise of public schools is an opportunity for all who seek an education to learn. But that promise holds peril for students, staff and others at Deep Creek Elementary School. There, a well-meaning intention on the part of an autistic boy's parents to place their son in a regular class has left at least one district employee injured and the award-winning school disrupted.

After hearing about two incidents last week involving the boy, a parent, Belinda Latham, decided to take action. In an e-mail sent to School Board members, she asked that something be done to protect her daughter, who is in the boy's class.

"We are writing to you because the physical and emotional welfare of the students in this class is in jeopardy," wrote Latham and her husband Dan. "We have met with the Deep Creek administration and have hesitated writing you this letter in hopes the situation would soon be resolved ... however this has not happened. In fact, the situation appears to be getting worse."

Deep Creek principal Peg Jividen refused to give the names or phone number of the autistic boy. She agreed to pass on a reporter's request that he talk with the parents, but at press time there has been no response.

School Board member Barbara Rendell responded to the e-mail by asking Superintendent Dave Gayler to do something.

"I want to know what's going to be done about this right away," she wrote in her e-mail to Gayler. "Keeping a student in a regular classroom until she/he injures another student is ... just plain wrong and has got to stop."

She said the situation was novel in her experience as a School Board member.

"This is the first time I've received an e-mail from a parent saying an autistic child is in her child's classroom and it's causing a problem," Rendell said.

District officials have refused to discuss specifics of the case, citing federal law and legal restrictions. But Rendell confirmed that at least one aide had been injured while working with the boy.

"I am told that someone has been injured, not directly by the student," she said. "I am told that in the midst of restraining the child, this person fell and hurt her knee. I am told she went to the hospital."

School Board president Sue Sifrit said she was unaware of the situation. She suggested that parents follow the chain of command, speaking first to the child's teacher, then principal Peg Jividen, and if not satisfied, the district office.

District officials have refused to confirm rumors circulating among parents that several aides had been bitten or struck by the child. But the absence of district information has left some parents are frustrated and scared.

"I don't want her injured in any way," said Susie Thomas, a registered nurse whose daughter is in the same classroom as the boy. "I'm an R.N. and I understand autism. I had a premature baby and I wanted the best for my child so I understand (the mother's concern)."

Thomas, who volunteers at the school, worries that her child, and others in the class, are being deprived of the same experiences as kindergartners in other classrooms because of the boy's behavior. She told of how a reading loft has been placed off-limits because the boy attempted to clamber up the ladder when he shouldn't have. She said a train set has been placed in storage because the boy wanted to play with it when he was not scheduled to do so.

Under federal law, any child with a disability must have the same opportunity to learn as that provided non-disabled children. The playing field is leveled through the use of teacher aides, different forms of communication such as sign language, and other advantages. The school district uses a measure known as a continuum of services to determine how best to serve a disabled child's needs. Mainstreaming is the highest level of educational opportunity.

"We must start at the top of that continuum," said Ann Eppler, director of Exceptional Student Education and Psychological Services.

Eppler said there are about 80 autistic students in the district, being educated in environments ranging from classrooms specifically for exceptional students to mainstream classes. There are four or five classes for elementary-age students with moderately to profound disabilities, she said.

"I wouldn't be in this business if I wasn't concerned about all kids and their learning potential," said Eppler. But her hands are tied. Eppler said the district must abide by federal law when it comes to providing the child with an educational environment equal to that of non-disabled children. That rankles some parents.

Deep Creek has been designated a "A plus" school under Gov. Bush's education improvement program. Some parents, such as Thomas, have moved to the community which the school serves in order to enroll their children at Deep Creek. Popular principal Jividen has a strong reputation for discipline, and for encouraging parental involvement.

But now, some parents are having misgivings about the school. The wrong lessons are being taught by the boy's example, Thomas said.

"The children are learning to wait their turn and be quiet expect when called on," she said. "But then he's up running around in the classroom while the other kids are sitting there."

Classrooms in the pod where the boy's classroom is located must be locked to prevent him from bursting into classes. The boy bangs his head against their doors, and otherwise disrupts lessons.

Parents at Deep Creek have been understanding, but they are also concerned about the safety and education of their children.

"I have a son who will protect himself -- if he gets in a situation like that he'll not only protect himself, but his teachers," said Patrick Brazill, a regular volunteer at Deep Creek who has three children at the school.

Thursday, Brazill called the Sun after doing his regular volunteering stint at the school. He was concerned about an altercation involving the boy who, Brazill said, screamed on and off for almost 45 minutes as teachers and aides tried to calm him.

Belinda Latham, in her e-mail, described a Friday incident during which, she said, the boy had to be restrained and removed from the classroom as the other students were trying to take their daily naps.

"Our daughter dreads going to school and complains of stomachaches which tells us this is a highly stressful situation," she wrote. "... We are not comfortable sending our child into this situation day after day and she is not comfortable going."

Brazill, Thomas and the Lathams agree that the school staff is doing the the best they can in a difficult situation.

"I think the other kids hear what's going on, but the teachers do a good job of covering it up," Brazill said. "I think these teachers are doing everything they can in their power."

But that's little consolation, said Dan Latham.

"I just don't think it's a place for him to be," he said. "There's nothing we can do about it. The school is stuck between a rock and a hard place."

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L.A. Unified to Keep 16 Schools Segregated for Special Education

Ruling: The decision by a federal judge was prompted by parents' opposition to integration.

%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia

A federal judge is allowing the Los Angeles Unified School District to preserve 16 special education schools, prompted in part by protests from parents who want their disabled children in sheltered environments instead of integrated on regular campuses.

The dispute over the 16 schools illustrates the passionate debate surrounding special education.

Some parents and experts insist that students whose disabilities include blindness, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism and learning problems will progress and become socially accepted if they are mixed in with non-disabled students and given extra help. Such parents were represented in a 1993 lawsuit, named after a learning-disabled student, Chanda Smith, which alleged that special education programs in Los Angeles were a failure.

That suit led to a 1996 federal court order directing the district to integrate about 35,000 special education students into mainstream classrooms over the next few years.

Other families worry that their children will be traumatized in regular classrooms and that the children's needs will be overlooked on campuses obsessed with academic test scores and football games.

Those parents prevailed in the most recent court proceeding. The decision will affect nearly 4,800 physically or mentally handicapped students at the 16 special schools. Under the 1996 court order, the school district would have been required to enroll non-disabled majorities at those sites.

The agreement to preserve the sites came after mediation between the school district and advocates of mainstreaming. It was approved last week by U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew, who had ordered the original integration plan. Though the 16 schools will stay mainly segregated for the disabled, the rest of the ambitious integration plan is still in force.

"We're delighted," said Harold Kwalwasser, general counsel for L.A. Unified. "We always opposed the elimination of special education schools .... The plan was simply a bad idea. It would not have resulted in a better education for these students."

Without the change, those 16 centers would have had to reduce their enrollments of disabled youngsters to between 7% and 17% of their total student bodies. The district's 660 regular campuses still are supposed to increase their special education populations to a similar range.

Parents who want to keep the more sheltered schools include Alex Gonzales, mother of a mentally retarded daughter who attends Miller High School for the disabled in Reseda. Gonzales and others had threatened to sue to prevent the 16 schools from being phased out.

Gonzales said parents and students were ecstatic when they heard the news last week that Miller would stay as it is.

"Every student deserves to be treated as an individual," she said. "One-size-fits-all approaches to education are a recipe for miscommunication and disaster."

Catherine Blakemore, one of the attorneys who filed the initial Chanda Smith lawsuit, said the recent mediation allowed parents on both sides of the debate to do what they think is best for their children.

"We're striking a balance so that all children can get the services that are most appropriate for them." she said.

An estimated 45,000 special education students, including many with learning disabilities, are already integrated, at least part time, at many regular Los Angeles schools.

Nearly 30,000 others attend segregated all-day classes at those mainstream campuses, and will be more integrated by 2006 under the court order. The 4,800 at the 16 sheltered centers can stay there if their parents want.

The integration will cost millions of dollars, district officials say, for hiring classroom aides, training teachers and principals and renovating buildings.

Many of the details are still being discussed in mediation.

Mary Falvey, an education professor at Cal State Los Angeles who co-wrote the district's integration plan, initially advocated phasing out the 16 special schools.

Although she supports the settlement, she said she hopes children in those schools still will be exposed to the wider world.

"I still think kids who attend those school have a right to interaction with non-disabled peers," Falvey said. "Several of the [special] schools have jump-started ways to create those opportunities."

She referred to the Alfonso B. Perez School in East Los Angeles, a K-12 campus for 400 disabled students that also enrolls nearly 100 non-disabled students in kindergarten through third grades.

Other special education campuses also have added non-disabled preschools or activities that mix the groups, she said. Donnalyn Anton, associate superintendent of special education for the district, said the agreement shows that both sides can work together.

"There's a strong, strong feeling among some parents of children at these centers that they've made the best choice for their kids where their kids are safe and getting programs that they need," she said. "And there was a lot of resentment that someone else, some court edict or plan, would tell them what the best placement of their child was."

Joy Efron, principal of Frances Blend school for the blind, who has rallied public support for the separate schools, called the agreement a "a great victory for students with disabilities and for their families," she said.

"This is a real validation of what special schools do in terms of teaching specialized skills, access skills, quality of life and self-esteem."

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RESEARCH

Drawing Insight From Pix: The Development Of Concepts Of False Drawing and false belief in children with deafness, normal hearing, and autism.

ds=12361311&dopt=Abstract

Peterson CC.

School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. candi@psy.uq.edu.au

Theory-of-mind concepts in children with deafness, autism, and normal development (N = 154) were examined in three experiments using a set of standard inferential false-belief tasks and matched sets of tasks involving false drawings. Results of all three experiments replicated previously published findings by showing that primary school children with deafness or autism, aged 6 to 13 years, scored significantly lower than normal-developing 4-year-old preschoolers on standard misleading-container and unseen-change tests of false-belief understanding.

Furthermore, deaf and autistic children generally scored higher on drawing-based tests than on corresponding standard tests and, on the most challenging of the false-drawing tests in Experiment 2, they significantly outperformed the normal-developing preschoolers by clearly understanding their own false intentions and another person's false beliefs about an actively misleading drawing.

In Experiment 3, preschoolers outperformed older deaf and autistic children on standard tasks, but did less well on a task that required the drawing of a false belief. Methodological factors could not fully explain the findings, but early social and conversational experiences in the family were deemed likely contributors.

PMID: 12361311 [PubMed - in process]

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Landau-Kleffner & Autistic Regression: The Importance Of Differential Dx

ds=12364957&dopt=Abstract

[Article in Portuguese]

Ribeiro KM, Assumpcao FB Jr, Valente KD.

Servico de Psiquiatria da Infancia e da Adolescencia, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil.

Some neurological disorders may present psychiatric signs and symptoms, therefore the search for an etiological diagnosis is crucial. The aim of this study is to report the case of a patient with a neurological disorder, diagnosed during a psychiatric admission. A boy with normal neuropsychomotor development until the age of 3 years, started presenting epileptic seizures, followed by behavioral disorder and language deterioration. During neurologic follow-up, the patient was referred to the Psychiatry Department with a diagnosis of autism, in this case an autistic regression (AR). During his admission, diagnosis of Landau-Kleffner syndrome

(LKS) was established on clinical and EEG grounds. LKS is characterized by acquired aphasia, epilepsy, EEG abnormalities and behavioral changes, including autistic traits. Language regression is observed LKS and AR. We stress the main differences between these two entities because misdiagnosis may postpone early intervention and consequent benefits, as observed in our case.

PMID: 12364957 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Attentional Skills During the 1st 6 Mos. of Age in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ds=12364846&dopt=Abstract

Maestro S, Muratori F, Cavallaro MC, Pei F, Stern D, Golse B, Palacio-Espasa F.

OBJECTIVE To study the quality of early attention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through home movies.

METHOD Fifteen home movies from the first 6 months of life of children who later received a diagnosis of ASD were compared with home movies of 15 normal children. The diagnosis was performed after the third year of life of children by two senior child and adolescent psychiatrists using a checklist of symptoms according to the. The films of the two groups were mixed and rated by blind observers through a Grid for the Assessment of Attentional Skills in Infants, composed of 13 items grouped into three developmental areas.

RESULTS Using multivariate analysis of variance, the authors found significant differences between the two groups for the items in the social attention and the social behavior areas; on the contrary, there were no differences in nonsocial attention.

CONCLUSIONS The authors pose some hypotheses about a specific early-appearing impairment of attention in ASD in which children shift their spontaneous attention mainly toward nonsocial stimuli rather than toward social stimuli. The importance of this finding for early diagnosis and treatment is underlined.

PMID: 12364846 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Auditory Brainstem Response In Two Children With Autism.

ds=12363427&dopt=Abstract

Coutinho M, Rocha V, Santos M.

Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital de Criancas Maria Pia, Rua da Boavista, 827, 4050-111., Porto, Portugal

Autism develops before 30 months of age. Autistic disorder is characterized by a qualitative impairment in verbal and non verbal communication, in imaginative activity, and in reciprocal social interactions. Communication in autism is so strikingly impaired that the function of the hearing system has been under study over the past 30 years, namely after the advent of physiological assessment of hearing with the auditory brainstem response (ABR). Many research studies were developed to study ABR in autism as they constitute a direct test of both hearing status and integrity of brainstem pathways, but the results obtained are contradictory. The authors present case reports of two children with autistic disorder, 2 and 4 years of age, in which the ABR findings document a prevalent Peak I in the four ears tested. This characteristic configuration in ABR has not been previously reported and future work is needed to establish the importance of this finding and its implications in the awareness of the auditory status in these children.

PMID: 12363427 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Purkinje Cell Size Is Reduced In Cerebellum Of Patients With Autism

ds=12363198&dopt=Abstract

Fatemi SH, Halt AR, Realmuto G, Earle J, Kist DA, Thuras P, Merz A. Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. fatem002@umn.edu

1. The authors' goal was to compare the size and density of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of subjects with and without autism. Blocks of cerebellum were dissected at autopsy from the brains of age, sex- and postmortem-intervaled (PMI) groups of autistic and normal control individuals (N = 5 per group). Frozen, unfixed blocks were sectioned and stained with 1% cresyl violet.

2. The linear, molecular, granular densities and cross-sectional area of Purkinje cells were measured using computer-assisted image analysis. The average cross-sectional areas of Purkinje cells of the patients with autism were smaller by 24% when compared to the normal subjects. Two of the five autistic subjects had mean Purkinje cell sizes that corresponded to greater than 50% reduction in size. There was a substantial effect size difference in Purkinje cell size (eta2 = 0.29) between control and autistic brains (F(1, 8) = 3.32, P = 0.106). No differences in Purkinje cell densities were observed between the two groups

3. These data indicate the possibility of Purkinje cell atrophy in autism with significant neurohistological heterogeneity among individuals diagnosed with this disorder.

PMID: 12363198 [PubMed - in process]

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Blood Levels of Reelin and its Isoforms Would Be Altered In Autistic Twins

ds=12363196&dopt=Abstract

Fatemi SH, Stary JM, Egan EA.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. fatem002@umn.edu

1. Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with potential genetic and environmental etiologies. Recent genetic linkage reports and biochemical analysis of postmortem autistic cerebellum point to Reelin, an important secretory extracellular protein, as being involved in the pathology of autism.

2. We hypothesized that blood levels of Reelin and its isoforms would be altered in autistic twins, and their first degree relatives versus normal controls.

3. We measured blood levels of unprocessed Reelin (410 kDa) and its proteolytic cleavage products (Reelins 330 and 180 kDa) as well as albumin and ceruloplasmin in 28 autistic individuals, their parents (13 fathers, 13 mothers), 6 normal siblings, and 8 normal controls using SDS-PAGE and western blotting.

4. Results indicated significant reductions in 410 kDa Reelin species in autistic twins (-70%, p < 0.01), their fathers (-62%, p < 0.01), their mothers (-72%, p < 0.01), and their phenotypically normal siblings (-70%, p < 0.01) versus controls. Reelin 330 kDa values did not vary significantly from controls. Reelin 180 kDa values for parents (fathers -32% p < 0.05 vs. controls, mothers -34%) declined when compared to controls. In contrast autistic Reelin 180 kDa increased, albeit nonsignificantly versus controls. Albumin and ceruloplasmin values for autistics and their first degree relatives did not vary significantly from controls. There were no significant meaningful correlations between Reelin, albumin and ceruloplasmin levels, age, sex, ADI scores, or age of onset.

5. These results suggest that Reelin 410 deficiency may be a vulnerability factor in the pathology of autism.

PMID: 12363196 [PubMed - in process]

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LETTERS

Docs Speaks Out of Both Sides

The article in the Schafer Autism Report "Most MMR Studies Are Meaningless" contains an interesting paradox - either the body of research on the MMR is lacking and no determination of association between MMR and IBS or autism can be made -- or the research is indeed sound enough so you can make this call. Seems to me that Dr. Jefferson speaks with a forked tongue...

- Charles Whiting Wheeling, WV

Format Works for this Research Clinician

As a provider who sees children on the autism spectrum, I think the diverse format is wonderful. It accents the medical research in all fields, points out legislation and tips from state to state, and talks about the day by day issues that families are living. All help me to think about the whole child and family and not just diets or intestines.

- Tim Buie M.D.

Works for a Parent, Too

In regards to the non-science oriented "news posts" about autism and some of the terrible things that happen across the country: I agree they can be very difficult to read. However, I think they serve a purpose, especially for newer subscribers like myself. Despite the great support we see from your newsletter and other groups, I think it's important to remember how ignorant some (most?) people can be. Sometimes it takes a slap in the face like those stories provide, or a new neighbor saying "excuse me, but is there something wrong with your child?" to remember that there are people who have no clue.

It's our job as parents/providers/educators of children with autism to educate as many people as possible, in any way possible, about autism and what it does to our precious children. Use the stories to talk to people who may not understand and help them understand, at least in some small way. Every new person who has a better understanding of autism will help us all out in the long run. Reporters could show a different slant; law enforcement could have a more sympathetic reaction; other families could be more tolerant.

My hope is the more awareness we get out there, the more sympathetic others may be at some point in the future. It may be a pie in the sky way of thinking, but I feel I owe that optimism to my son.

Thanks again for the great service you provide through the newsletter.

~Dawn

I really enjoyed the gentle reply you gave about people first language, going right to the point with surgical precision, yet painless. It had to be said and I thank you for saying it so incredibly well.

Also, much as the horror stories of autism (the death, the tragedy), are hard to read sometimes, and even impossible to read sometimes, I think the mix and attitude you provide for the newsletter is just right. As unpleasant as the horrors of autism can be, it's probably dangerous to live in a rose coloured world where we pretend that doesn't exist, because to be prepared for what we need to be prepared for, we need to know what we need to be prepared for. In some way or another we must deal with it all. It's tough, but it's better.

-Ken Newman

Deeply Offended

I am deeply offended and hurt by your [anti-'People First'] remarks. I have three children. So far, two have been diagnosed with autism, and one also has a mood disorder. I have fought countless battles for my children and I have millions more to face. I really don't have the time or energy to educate you on the importance of respecting people, so I'm going to make this short. I really don't care what you think about person first language, but if families are telling you that they (we) find it more respectful, then I think you should listen. Otherwise you are just an arrogant SOB. And that would be a terrible shame.

Dear Amy, it would make no sense for me to harbor disrespect to those for whom I work to create this newsletter everyday, which includes families just like yours. This is more than about just political correctness. People First is a sectarian political movement whose agenda includes an unbridled passion for now-long-time discredited socialism. So my opposition is political and as such, I refuse to wear their neighborhood gangsta colors in my language to "show respect."

Is it possible for people to honestly disagree, and not be an evil person for doing so? Show me a child who has been hurt by the use of non-people first language.

-Lenny Schafer

* * *

AWARDS

Vijendra K. Singh, Ph.D. Autism Researcher Wins Humanitarian Award

The Second Annual O. Spurgeon English Humanitarian Awards were given out to 12 honorees for their great service to mankind at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA., last Saturday, October 5. One of the 12 winners is Vijendra K. Singh, Ph.D. for "unraveling the mysteries of the 20-fold increase in Autism."

The award givers said, "these Honorees all have searched and toiled strictly for the purposes of helping and serving our present and future generations. In doing so, they remain singular in focus. They serve one master. This is why, without billions of commercial dollars, their results reach beyond expectation."

More Hugs From Spectrum's Randy Over Awards

[From Randy Keyworth, Executive Director, Spectrum Center. The Spectrum Center provides behavioral services, treatment programs for school districts and their students in Northern California.]

Lenny Schafer received the prestigious Public Information Award from the Contra Costa ARC on Friday, October 4. The award was in recognition for his outstanding contributions in the providing information, support and a forum for parents through the Internet and his online Schafer Autism Report. Lenny received the award at the L'Affaire Extraordinaire, Community Service Awards dinner hosted by the Contra Costa Arc at the Marriott in Walnut Creek. The event was attended by 250 people including leaders in the Developmental Disabilities Community.

In addition to a plaque, Lenny received resolutions of recognition from the California State Senate and Assembly. Lenny was nominated for the award by Spectrum Center on behalf of the many families and children we serve. Congratulations Lenny!

-Randy Keyworth

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