I’m not usurping the responsibilities of our assistive tech friends, but for those who are interested, over on Squidalicious one can find a good first-person run-down of iPad applications being used by a boy (young man now?) with Autism.
Sphere: Related ContentArchive for the 'The press' Category
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The sugar-makes-kids-hyper hypothesis is still false. Dan Willingham stuck another fork in it. Roasty-toasty. All done. Fizzle.
Now, I’m not advocating a high-fructose, feed-’em-soda-and-sweets diet, to be sure. It’s just that folks need to disabuse themselves of the popular myth that children’s levels of behavioral activity are governed by consumption of sucrose (whether from sugar cane or sugar beet).
Professor Willingham, who pops bubbles with the best of them, lanced this one in his guest post, “The Answer Sheet: How sugar really affects kids.” The evidence is basically the same as what I covered in the mid 1990s under the title “Sugar High?.”
Sphere: Related ContentSome long-time readers will remember that I featured a story about Stephen Wiltshire, a young man from the United Kingdom who, although diagnosed as having Autism, has tremendous facility in drawing (especially landscapes) from memory. I learned from his Web site that he is currently touring Shanghai and will be drawing some of the cityscapes of that amazing city. Here’s a news report.
Continue reading ‘Rechecking Stephen Wiltshire’
Ignoring children’s mental health problems will just make things worse. Left to their own devices, very few kids are likely to work things out independently. And a lot more problems exist than we might like to admit exist.
The schools in Virginia identify about 1 student in every 100 students as needing special education services because she or he has emotional or behavioral disorders. Yet, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services estimates that 1 in every 5 children will need mental health services. To be sure, not every child who needs mental health services will need special education services, and vice versa. Still, the discrepancy between these numbers illustrates the enormous gaps in recognition of needs and provision of help for children that different agencies offer. Greater coordination and collaboration are important. It should start with understanding and communication. Case management, wrap-around services, and similar practices would be fine results of such communication.
Not all mental health problems are manifested in destructive, overt, disobedient actions. Nor are all mental health problems hidden, repressed, anxiety disorders. They come in lots of shapes and sizes, affect children across the intellectual spectrum, are not confined to any particular ethnic group (nor is any ethnic group immune to them). Mental health problems can strike anywhere, rarely briefly and too often for a lifetime.
Don’t ignore. Deal.
In Virginia (US) we are fortunate to have the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health. Visit this effort to promote awareness and encourage policy makers to recognize the need for action on behalf of children. Learn about the many marvelous organizations that have supported the work of the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health. If you have an organization in your geographical region (whether it is a locality in the US or elsewhere on Earth [or even in the cosmos!]), drop a note in a comment recognizing it, please. Meanwhile, over in the left rail, please check out NAMI, FFCMH, and other Web resources related to children’s mental health.
Sphere: Related ContentBased on the work of a task force composed of highly qualified individuals, the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) has issued position statement about the use of restraint and seclusion in treatment. Members of the task force, which was appointed by the executive board, include Jon S. Bailey, Michael F. Dorsey, Louis P. Hagopian, Gregory P. Hanley, David B. Lennox, Mary M. Riordan, Scott Spreat, and Timothy R. Vollmer (chair).
The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and its members strongly oppose the inappropriate and/or unnecessary use of seclusion, restraint, or other intrusive interventions. Although many persons with severe behavior problems can be effectively treated without the use of any restrictive interventions, restraint may be necessary on some rare occasions with meticulous clinical oversight and controls. In addition, a carefully planned and monitored use of timeout from reinforcement can be acceptable under restricted circumstances. Seclusion is sometimes necessary or needed, but behavior analysts would support only the most highly monitored and ethical practices associated with such use, to be detailed below.
In the “below,” the document goes on to present in detail the a set of guiding principles and specific recommendations about the use of seclusion and restraint. Read the statement, “ABAI Statement on Restraint and Seculsion” from the ABAI Website.
Sphere: Related ContentOver on Spedpro I posted a brief account of the research conducted by O. Ivar Lovaas. Professor Lovaas, the eminent behavioral psychologist who developed detailed procedures for teaching individuals with Autism, died earlier this week.
Sphere: Related ContentThose who subscribe to it know that the summer issue of Science in Autism Treatment, the newsletter for the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT), arrived today in their electronic mailboxes. For folks who are interested in Autism but who do not subscribe, here’s a catalog of content in this issue.
Continue reading ‘ASAT newsletter available’
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to the producer of a product that is sometimes used by people hoping to eliminate heavy metals from children’s bodies (e.g., chelate mercury from children with autism). In a letter addressed to Boyd D. Haley of CTI Science Inc., Teresa C. Thompson of the Cincinnati District Office of the FDA cited a host of problems in the classification and marketing of the product, OSR#1. Among these problems are the following:
Continue reading ‘FDA warns seller of chelation product’
Thanks to Liz Ditz, I learned about this fun testimonial from Shannon Rosa:
My son Leo’s life was transformed when a five-dollar raffle ticket turned into a brand-new iPad. I’m not exaggerating. Before the iPad, Leo’s autism made him dependent on others for entertainment, play, learning, and communication. With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills. People who know Leo are amazed when they see this new boy rocking that iPad. I’m impressed, too, especially when our aggressively food-obsessed boy chooses to play with his iPad rather than eat. I don’t usually dabble in miracle-speak, but I may erect a tiny altar to Steve Jobs in the corner of our living room.
Link to The iPad: a Near-Miracle for My Son With Autism
Sphere: Related ContentOver on Science Based Medicine, David Gorsky has an extended post explaining the finding reported in “Functional Impact of Global Rare Copy Number Variation in Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Dalila Pinto and colleagues (and there are ship load of colleagues) that appeared in Nature. Dr. Pinto and colleagues examined copy number variations (CNVs; deletions, insertions, duplications, and other differences in genetic structure that have been a hot topic in genetics since ~2007) that are associated with Autism. Dr. Gorsky’s summary is well worth the read, saving me the task of summarizing this important report.
Sphere: Related ContentIn an editorial under the headline “Bad science gets its due,” the editors of the Boston (MA) Globe lament the consequences of Andrew Wakefield’s promotion of a connection between vaccines and Autism. At the end of the piece, the editorialist makes an important point:
But sadder still is the possibility that, in the minds of thousands of parents desperately clinging to hopes of finding a cure for autism, Wakefield’s legend might survive untarnished, possibly even exalted. In reality, his work on autism offers an unfortunate example of poor research trumping the scientific method.
Too bad the writer overlooked some of the other consequences. Here are a few nominees for a list repercussions:
Continue reading ‘Bad science?’
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