Nope, not an experiment about how to get kids to clean their rooms, but a proposal to study the effects of a hypoallergenic environment on the behavior of children with Autism. According to an article by Timothy McNulty entitled “Doctor plans novel treatment for autism,” that’s the idea. Writing in the 11 May 2008 issue of the Pittsburgh (PA, US) Post-Gazette, Mr. McNulty reported that a physician named Scott Faber in the Pittsburgh area plans to create an environment that will be free of toxins and examine the effects of living in such an environment on children with Autism.
Continue reading ‘Clean room study’
Archive for the 'Musings' Category
Page 3 of 7
Over on Teachers At Risk (great title!), Elona Hartjes has a post about her reaction to a popular press discussion about the prevalence of mental illness among school children.
Twenty percent of kids sitting in classrooms today are mentally ill. That’s shocking. What’s even more shocking is that only 1/5 of that twenty percent are getting treatment.
I could hardly believe my ears tonight when I heard that statistic on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Next week, May 3 – May 10, 2008 , is Children’s Mental Health Week and I suppose that’s why the program, “Kids aren’t right†aired tonight.
Continue reading ‘Prevalence of EBD’
Sphere: Related ContentApril is Autism Awareness month. It’s a good time to stop and reflect on how much we have learned from systematic and dogged research over the time since I first became aware of Autism. In the mid 1960s, I was already working with some children who had received that diagnosis, but knowledge about it was limited; when I asked my psych 101 professor about Autism, all I got was a blank look. I was fortunate to be in the neighborhood of UCLA, so our work with the children we had was influenced by behavior analysis.
Continue reading ‘Autism Awareness’
Dick Whelan, who is one of the foundational folks in providing special education for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, is going to be honored at this year’s meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children. I don’t usually quote e-mail messages from others without their permission, but I’m doing it here. Thanks to Chris Walter-Thomas for this:
Continue reading ‘Dick Whelan’
Here in central Virginia, we are fortunate to have many marvelous neighbors and entertainment activities. In a nifty coincidence, two of those are connected. The Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA) is taking advantage of author Jeffrey Cohen visiting C’ville for the Virginia Festival of the Book at the end of March 2008. As illustrated at the right, VIA is hosting a special reception for Mr. Cohen’s visit and invites folks to attend.
Mr. Cohen, who writes the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker mysteries, is also the author of The Asperger Parent: How to Raise a Child With Asperger Syndrome and Maintain Your Sense of Humor, and Guns A’ Blazing: How Parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum and Schools Can Work Together—Without a Shot Being Fired.
As you’ll learn if you read the invitation, there’s a special treat at this reception: The fabulous Hamiltons’ will be serving desert. Yummm!
Here’s a link to the Virginia Festival of the Book Web site and another to the program information about Mr. Cohen’s presentation based on one of his books about Autism. In addition, readers can learn more about VIA via the VIA Web site more about Mr. Cohen’s books on Austim-Aspergers at his Web site.
Sphere: Related ContentAt Translating Autism N. L. Lopez-Duran posted a note explaining why he retracted a statement about evidence failing to support a link between vaccination and Autism. In the note, Professor Lopez-Duran explained that he didn’t want to taint his blog with hints of advocacy, hoping to preserve it as a source of information that parents, educators, and clinicians would find useful.
Specifically, I stated that what I believe doesn’t really matter, because “beliefs†rapidly turn into blind faith, even amongst scientists. Instead, good science only occurs when positions are flexible and reflective only of the status of the research (data) at any given time. Second, the addition of that particular disclaimer went beyond a discussion of the results and possible interpretation of the data presented in that particular study. This departed significantly from the spirit of the Translating Research Project…. I’m committed to preserving the spirit and purpose of this blog: To review the latest findings in the nature, causes, and treatments of autism spectrum disorders and translate these findings into information that is useful to parents, educators, and clinicians; and I seek to do this while distancing myself, and all blogs belonging to the Translating Research Project, from any advocacy position.
Continue reading ‘Blind faith’
Sphere: Related ContentIn “Juvenile prison system needs reform, lawyers say: Advocates urge a judge to appoint a receiver to take over a system they say remains broken despite long-standing promises to fix it,” Michael Rothfeld reports that lawyers told a judge that long-standing problems with prisons for California youth apparently have failed and more drastic action is needed. Published in the Los Angeles (CA, US) Times 18 February 2008, Mr. Rothfeld’s report includes specific concerns about students with disabilities, many of whom are likely to have Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.
Mr Rothfeld’s article includes some recognition of these problems:
* Students do not attend classes the required four hours a day; they often are removed from classrooms for misbehaving, for work assignments or for counseling. At one prison school, 347 classes were canceled between August and October last year because there were not enough substitute teachers.
[....]
* A plan to accommodate youths with disabilities suffered from a lack of leadership and funding. Staffers never received disability sensitivity training, and working groups that were to integrate programs for the disabled with other services were never convened. In two facilities, accessible visiting areas for the disabled were supposed to be in place in 2006, but were not.
Although many people probably have little sympathy for juveniles who have been convicted of crimes and incarcerated, education—especially those with disabilities—is fundamental to any reasoned hope of their rehabilitation. Furthermore, students with disabilities, including those in prisons, are legally guaranteed a free and appropriate public education. So, all of our usual concerns should apply to these schooling situations.
Having observed education services in one such institution, I have heightened concern about problems in juvenile justice system. I saw many failures to provide appropriate services. To be sure, some of them were linked to failure to adopt the kinds of methods discussed on Teach Effectively, but others were simple and clear failures to meet the letter and spirit of laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
- Link to Mr. Rothfeld ‘s article.
- Some of the other materials available regarding this case: Second (June 2006) and Fifth Report of Special Master(October 2007; Donna Brorby, Special Master and Cathleen Beltz, Monitor).
- National Center on Education and Juvenile Justice
- Some academic references:
- Howell, K. W., & Wolford, B. I. (2002). Corrections and juvenile justice: Current education practice for youth with learning and other disabilities. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. Available on-line at http://www.edjj.org.
- Leone, P. E., Zaremba, B. A., Chapin, M. S., & Isili, C. (1995). Understanding the overrepresentation of youths with disabilities in juvenile detention. District of Columbia Law Review, 3, 389-401.
- Malmgren, K., & Leone, P. E. (2000). Effects of a short-term auxiliary reading program on the reading skills of incarcerated youth. Education and Treatment of Children, 23, 239-247.
- Murphy, D. M. (1986). The prevalence of handicapping conditions among juvenile delinquents. RASE: Remedial & Special Education, 7(3), 7-17.
- Quinn, M. M., Rutherford, R. B., Leone, P. E., Osher, D. M., & Poirier, J. M. (2005). Youth with disabilities in Juvenile Corrections: A national survey. Exceptional Children, 71, 339-345.
- Snowling, M. J., Adams, J. W., & Bowyer-Crane, C. (2000). Levels of literacy among juvenile offenders: The incidence of specific reading difficulties. Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health, 10, 229-241.
- Robinson, T. R, & Rapport, M. J. K. (1999). Providing special education in the juvenile justice system. RASE: Remedial & Special Education, 20(1), 19-26.
- Tulman, J. B. (2003). Disability and delinquency: How failures to identify, accommodate, and serve youth with education-related disabilities leads to their disproportionate representation in the delinquency system. Whittier Journal of Child And Family Advocacy, 3(1), 3-76.
According to Liz Ditz of I Speak of Dreams, Stephen Hinshaw gave the closing keynote speech at the Learning and the Brain conference in San Fransisco (CA , US). Professor Hinshaw, who chairs the Department of Psychology at the University of California—Berkeley and is an eminent psychologist with a list of accolades as long as my arm, spoke about his current book on the stigma associated with mental illness. Liz’s report starts as follows:
The closing keynote speech at the San Francisco Learning and the Brain conference was by Stephen P. Hinshaw on The Mark of Shame: Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (With Emphasis on Children). I thought it was excellent. You should read his memoir of his father’s life-long struggle with mental illness, The Years of Silence are Past: My Father’s Life with Bipolar Disorder. An interview is here; the Amazon link is here.
Continue reading ‘Hinshaw about mental illness’
Sphere: Related ContentEric Fombonne has continued to voice his doubts about the putative relationship between thimerosal and Autism. In an editorial in the prestigious Archives of General Psychiatry, Dr. Fombonne, whom alert readers will remember was mentioned in an earlier EBD Blog post because of his research on this issue, makes a clear case about the problems with the thimerosal hypothosis. In his comments for the Archives, he is providing context for the results of another study in that journal that shows no apparent causal relationship.
Here are the first few words of Dr. Fombonne’s comments:
Continue reading ‘Fombonne on thimerosal’
As some loyal readers (if there are any) know, today is Jim Kauffman’s birthday. Because he retired, I don’t see him as often as I once did. I miss the frequent chuckles over absurd events and the chances to talk seriously about topics that really matter.
Anyway, happy birthday, buddy!
Sphere: Related Content“Are we too quick to medicate children?” Melissa Healy asks this question in the headline of an article in the Los Angeles Times. She also weaves the related question—”Are we able to discriminate between normal and atypical behavior?”—into her article.
These are generally sensible questions. They reflect issues of real concern in the scientific community. But, when the headline asks whether we presrcibe medications too quickly, one can guess the answer pretty readily. Unless I’m way off base, would many readers expect the answer to be “no?”
Indeed, the article is nearly chockfull of critical concern about diagnoses, labeling, and treatment. Ms. Healy cites research results (without revealing some of the sources) and quotes at least a half dozen experts. Some of these experts would probably be consider advocates by some of the other experts.
As is de rigeur in contemporary journalism, Ms. Healy leads (and closes) with a case example. She tells the story of a 38-year-old mother who takes her 11-year-old daughter to a psychiatrist, because the girl’s “behavior and performance in school were exemplary, but an ill-tempered outburst had gotten the preteen kicked out of a Girl Scout troop she had joined at age 5. The girl was confused and heartbroken over her ejection.”
Katie’s maternal instincts tell her she must protect her child. But from what, she asks — a disease that threatens health, happiness and future? A bogus label applied to an admittedly challenging kid? Or drugs with potentially harmful and little-studied side effects?
And protect her exactly how — by resisting or by medicating?
In general, this is not a dispassionate examination of the question under which Ms. Healy’s article appears. I say this not because I disagree with her slant, but because the treatment is sensational and poorly informed. Had she gone more deeply into the topic, she would have learned about effective behavioral treatments that provide viable alternatives to medicaiton for many child behavior problems. Instead, she stuck with the hidden-mysteries view of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of children.
Link to Ms. Healy’s article.
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