Daily Herald 

“Jessica Clute talks about her 12-year-old son at her home in Buffalo Grove. ‘He’ll tell me he’s going to kill me,” she says, but, “He later becomes very remorseful.’…

“She has gotten bruises from his fists and from things he has thrown. Recently, the boy seemed surprised to discover his kick now packs enough power to leave a hole in the wall.

"’He'll tell me he's going to kill me and use a knife to cut my head off or put it in my back,’ Jessica Clute says.”

While we’re given a lot of information about the 12 year old, nothing is said about the medications he’s on. Also, it’s clear he has sensory issues. Nothing is said about GI problems he may have. From the description of his behavior, I can’t imagine what the future holds for this boy.

News On Six http://www.newson6.com/story/20408119/mother-writes-book-after-autistic-son-commits-suicide-at-walmart

“Four years ago, it made national news when a 25-year-old man walked into the Checotah Walmart and shot and killed himself in the electronics aisle.

“As is often the case, we didn't get to hear the story behind the headline or what led up to that moment.

“But that young man's mother has written a book about her son, his very public death and her life since that day.

“Mikey was born a happy, healthy little boy, but soon started showing differences from his older sister.

“He didn't want to be held, didn't want to sleep, and he was fascinated with repetitive motion.”

This is too sad for words.  We are now so conditioned to accept the loss of our children---no questions asked.

CBS Minneapolis

News anchor #1: "In the coming months there'll be a big change in how we define autism.{

News anchor #2: "The American Psychiatric Association is making the diagnosis broader and that means that certain conditions like Asperger's, are being dropped."

Reporter: "There'll be no classification for certain disorders like Asperger's. The idea here is that diagnosis will be easier."

Pat Pulice, the director of autism services at Fraser, says the idea behind the change is to make diagnosis easier and less confusing.

"There is some confusion inherent, in here, that I think going to this new system will be helpful," Pulice said.

“But there's concern the new definition could affect how a child is diagnosed, as well as services or treatment opportunities, in those crucial years of development.

“‘Any time you change criteria there's the possibility that there's somebody that's not going to fit in the criteria as in other cases,’ Pulice said.

“With the fifth edition of the DSM scheduled for a May release, the autism community is still waiting to see how the changes will impact each family.”

News anchor #2: “It's suspected that this new diagnosis won't affect any services in schools, although each family will have to check with their insurance company to see if they'll be affected."

It’s amazing that a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism is in a manual for diagnosing mental health problems in the first place. This report said that the definition will be broadened when in actual fact, the criteria for autism will be more restrictive, excluding a large number of children who currently have a diagnosis according to a number of studies.

USA Today

“At the end of my blog post, I called for a national conversation on the subject of mental health. I hope the discussion that my impassioned piece sparked will swell through families, communities and our nation

“I don't know what the solutions are. But I know my family is not alone in our struggles to obtain effective treatment for this disease. According to the National Institute of Mental Health:

“One in five children in the United States has a diagnosed mental disorder (the most common is ADHD).

“Lifetime cases of chronic mental illness begin early — half by age 14.

“The median delay from onset of illness to treatment is 10 years.”

Liza Long has written several things recently about her special needs son and his violent behavior. It’s extremely frustrating to see autism and ADHD referred to as “mental illness” and then to see only calls for early diagnosing and more services. Something is very wrong with our children and it won’t matter how early it’s recognized or what services are available, our society can’t continue with neurologically damaged children seen as the new normal. We need to stop the epidemic of sick kids. 

See her earlier blog story: Dec 14, 2012

“We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.”