News, commentary, resources, and more about Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.
In “Handcuffing revives autism reform calls,” Natalie Craig reported about a story that, it seems to me, we’ve heard sometime before now.
POLICE handcuffed a 10-year-old autistic boy at a Geelong primary school after a breakdown in which he threw a compass that speared a classmate’s leg.
Link to the full version of Ms. Craig’s story.
Sphere: Related ContentUnder the headline “Time to reexamine bipolar diagnosis in children,” Brendan Borrell reports on proposed changes in the American Psychiatric Association
s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for the identification of bipolar disorder. In addition to presenting the basic information, Mr. Borrell has alternative views by Dr. Gabrielle Carlson and Dr. David Axelson.
Psychiatrists in favor of a new label, temper dysregulation disorder, cite a spike in bipolar diagnoses. But others worry it will add uncertainty to the treatment of an already confusing condition.
I wonder which side the psychiatrists who were concerned about the change from “manic depressive” to “bipolar” are on with this newest change. Will I have to change the category label in EBD Blog?
Link to Mr. Borrell’s story. Use the short link for this entry: http://wp.me/peQI7-iw
Sphere: Related ContentThe publishers of Nature are promoting a new site, Scitable. The publishers bill Scitable as “a free science library and personal learning tool brought to you by Nature Publishing Group, the world’s leading publisher of science. Scitable currently concentrates on genetics, the study of evolution, variation, and the rich complexity of living organisms.” Autism is one of the topics featured at Scitable, so I’ll be reviewing what’s there and monitoring for updates about the scientific study of Autism at it’s “Spotlight on Autism.”
Sphere: Related ContentOver on Countering Age of Autism, Kim Wombles has an extended post about research on facilitated communication. She’s not just gathered together the evidence that is familiar to those who have followed the science, but also engaged in discussion in the comments section of the post. Take a look at Facilitated Communication: A Review of the Literature. While you’re there, check many of her other sensible and clear posts.
Sphere: Related ContentAST Online’s most recent newsletter (as of this date) provides lots of helpful information. Check it!
In “A Prospective Study of the Emergence of Early Behavioral Signs of Autism,” Professor Sally Oznoff and colleagues found that infants who develop Autism behave differently than their typically developing peers even as early as one year of age. Writing in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the researchers reported about a comparison of video tapes of children (n=50, half of whom had Autism) made at six-month intervals during infancy and early childhood.
Continue reading ‘Autism appears early’
Janie Shelton and colleagues at the University of Califonia at Davis reported that women over 40 years of age who give birth have an increased risk of the child having Autism. By studying a large sample of births, the researchers were able to disentangle the relative contributions of maternal and paternal age to the likelihood of having a child with Autism.
This study conflicts with some previous research that pointed at paternal age as a factor in Autism (see the EBD Blog page by Leslie Feldman on Fathers’ Age as Contributor to Risk for Autism). The Shelton et al. analysis expressly examined the relative contributions and points at maternal age as an independent factor. Additional research will help to clarify the relationships.
Continue reading ‘Maternal age increases risk of Autistic offspring’
As the US House of Representatives prepares to make statements about and amend HR 4247, Representative Joe Courtney (CN, US) posted a statement on the blog maintained by the House committee that will debate the legislation. The post, “Rep. Joe Courtney: Congress Must Make Schools Safe Havens for Children,” touts Representative Courtney’s perspective on the legislation. There’s lots more about the proposed legislation via that blog and related resources. Take a look.
Also, read the actual proposed legislation, “Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act” and the position statements by the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders about seclusion and restraint and “Position Summary on Restraint and Seclusion.”
Sphere: Related ContentDuring the 40 weeks after receiving a brief course of ω-3 (“omega three”) polyunsaturated fatty acids, adolescents at risk for psychotic disorders were less likely to progress to psychotic status than similar peers who did not receive the supplement. In the study by G. Paul Amminger and colleagues, the youths in the treated group also had fewer positive, negative, and general symptoms of psychosis and improved overall functioning than those in the control group.
The youths in the treated group received a supplement of two fish-oil capsules twice a day for 12 weeks, and the controls received a placebo of coconut-oil capsules. The researchers then monitored their status and symptoms for the following 40 weeks.
Continue reading ‘Fish oil and adolescent psychosis’
The US Congress is considering legislation to prevent abusive restraint and seclusion of students in schools. This is a welcome consequence of the highly visible reports about terrible abuses of students’ right to be free from harm. However, as much as I support this initiative, it is important to make clear that the laws (and regulations resulting from them) must be crafted carefully.
Here’s some text from the press efforts by the US House of Representatives about this important legislation. I follow it with a cautious support of the law.
Continue reading ‘US legislators consider law for preventing abusive restraint and seclusion’
As most readers probably know, the UK General Medical Council censured Dr. Andrew Wakefield for his research that supposedly shows a link between immunization with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The Autism corner of the blogosphere has been rife with discussion (more than what I can up with keep). However, Liz Ditz has been maintaining a catalog of notes pro and con regarding the finding. For those who are interested, read Andrew Wakefield: Dishonesty, Misleading Conduct, and Serious Professional Misconduct: Blog Posts Critical of Verdict; Blog Posts Approving of Verdict
Also see theBBC news coverage, MMR scare doctor ‘acted unethically’ panel finds, and the UK Telegraph story, “GMC brands Dr Andrew Wakefield ‘dishonest, irresponsible and callous’.”
I want to note that readers should understand that the GMC investigation, though very important, did not expressly examine the scientific basis of Dr. Wakefield’s case. The findings discuss whether he was qualified to do the work and followed procedures in seeking approval for it. The scientific strength of the findings from the study in question have been examined extensively by well-qualified researchers and found wanting, though (see, for example, Hornig et al., 2008).
Sphere: Related ContentLord Jones of Cheltenham, a member of the the UK Parliament, has formally asked “what measures are planned to improve services for (a) children with serious emotional disturbance, and (b) adults with mental health illnesses.” The request is in response to recent UK report, Keeping Children and Young People in Mind – Full Government Response to the CAMHS Review that, in turn (and as the title shows), was a response to the government-sponsored review of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
Keeping Children and Young People in Mind calls for a system of universal services, targeted services, and specialist services accompanied by support for them from local and national government agencies. Get a copy of Keeping children and young people in mind: the Government’s full response to the independent review of CAMHS and visit the Web site of the UK Department of Children, Schools, and Families for more about “services supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.”
See the Parliamentary records for a written version of the request by Lord Jones.
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