Dachel Media Review: Ho Ho No Questions Asked about Autism Epidemic
By Anne Dachel
Read Anne's comments and view the links after the jump.
Nov 24, 2013, Sensitive Santas are back--Three stories
Nov 22, 2013, UK Mirror: Miriam Stoppard on autism: Each new revelation is a step towards understanding autism
Nov 22, 2013, NBC 7 Panama City Beach, FL: Gulf Coast School of Autism Gets New Facility
Nov 19, 2013, MyCentralJersey.com: Mother fights for autistic son's education
Nov 19, 2013, Utah Desert News: My view: Access to insurance coverage for autism treatment makes sense
Sensitive Santas Are Back
WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, NC: Santa makes special visit for Autistic children
A local nonprofit dedicated to helping children with Autism held a Santa event in Raleigh at Crabtree Valley Mall on Sunday.
Two hours before the mall opened, Spare Some for Autism invited children with Autism and their families to come see Santa.
Video: "In fact it was so popular, there's some talk about expanding this opportunity to other local malls next year."
KMOV-TV St. Louis, MO: Mall offers children with Autism calm atmosphere to visit Santa (Virginia Beach, VA)
Video: "One mall is offering some quiet time with Santa for children with autism. The effort, so popular, there's a waiting list."
The Autism Society of Tidewater serves 1,500 families, working as an advocate for them.
"The prevalence is growing so much that families are having a rough time finding services, qualifying for services and affording services and therapies for their kids," said AST President Vania O'Keefe.
25 families visited the mall for the quiet visit with Santa Claus. 25 will be there next weekend. Another 20 families are on a waiting list.
Portland ) Maine Telegram: With Maine Mall's Caring Claus, all is calm for children who have autism
But during four Sunday mornings this holiday season, he is toning it down for some children who would otherwise find a visit with him unendurable. For the second year in a row, the Maine Mall is turning down the lights and the noise to offer Caring Claus Sundays with Santa for children with autism and sensory conditions. . . .
Autism is a neurological disorder that affects brain function, impairing social, verbal and nonverbal skills with varying degrees of severity. The number of people diagnosed with the disorder has risen sharply in recent years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in 88 children in the United States was diagnosed with autism in 2008 compared with one in 150 children in 2000. The rise is in part because of changes in diagnostic practices, but whether its prevalence has increased has not been determined.
The cause of the disorder is not known, although scientists believe there is a genetic link. There is no cure but early intervention can greatly improve a child's development.
In Maine about 2,900 children between the ages of two and 20 have been diagnosed, said Heidi Bowden, executive director of the Maine Autism Alliance.
She said Caring Claus Sundays have made a big difference for families of children with autism and sensory issues.
I'm happy to see autistic kids get to visit Santa in a calm atmosphere. It's the complacency that leaves me stunned. Why weren't we doing this 25 years ago? This is more conditioning of the people to think we're addressing autism at the same time it remains a perpetual mystery.
Little by little, we're decoding autism. Each new revelation is a step towards understanding it and how, if possible, to avoid it.
Not an easy goal.
We know quite a lot already. First, it's not caused by MMR and, as you'd expect, genes play an important role.
Most researchers now believe certain genes a child inherits from their parents could make them more vulnerable to developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). . . .
A report in the British Medical Journal suggested yet another contributory factor: mothers taking antidepressants during pregnancy.
This is important because increasing numbers of women suffer depression when pregnant and many of them are given antidepressants.
In a Swedish study that looked at more than 40,000 instances of parental depression, researchers found that depressed mothers have an increased risk of ASD in their baby.
But in those who took antidepressants the risk was three times greater.
But wait! A new study from Aarhus University in Denmark shows antidepressants during pregnancy DON'T INCREASE THE RISK FOR AUTISM.
That news came out on the same day the Daily Mirror in Britain repeated the litany of the ways parents cause their children to develop autism: bad genes, maternal infections, old dads, moms who smoke and moms who TAKE ANTIDEPRESSANTS.
The Mirror cited a Swedish study showing a link between antidepressants. So who do we believe, the Swedes or the Danes?
Probably the whole reason for the story in the first place is the claim. . . "We know quite a lot already. First, it's not caused by MMR. . . " That says it all.
Gulf Coast School for Autism held its grand opening for a brand new, much larger facility on Ruth Hentz Drive Friday.
The school began with a small group of students, but quickly had more than the old facility could handle.
The new facility has an indoor gym for enhancing motor skills, a recreational room, and several additional classrooms. There are also three private therapy rooms for speech and physical therapy along with two cafeterias.
A new program called functional autism community transitioning or F.A.C.T. works on the living skills children and teenagers need to transition into the community after high school.
Stories like this are proof that the cover-up has worked. All the health officials and doctors who told us that autism was a new name for a disorder that's always been around have won. We're all totally and willingly accepting of the epidemic. We're so enlightened that stories about enlarging schools for autistic kids don't bother us. In fact, this should make a lot of us feel good. More awareness.
Anyone born in the last 20 years has grown up with autism being talked about. They've been in school with other kids with the label "autistic." It's easy to believe it's always been like this.
But we've haven't had a significant population of adults with autism. I can't wait to see how our society is going accommodate the rush of adults. Tell us again how it's all better diagnosing.
Laura O'Neill is rallying her friends and family to attend the South Plainfield Board of Education meeting on Nov. 20 in the hopes of convincing district officials to send her 5-year-old autistic son to a special out-of-district school. Ryan, who was diagnosed at the age of 2 with autism spectrum disorder, has been enrolled in a district inclusion class for three years, but O'Neill, a 37-year-old single mother, and her boyfriend, Andrew Toth of Edison, don't believe it has helped Ryan progress. The couple does not agree with the child study team's determination that Ryan is being adequately served by the district's inclusive program.
"They want to send him to kindergarten with an aide," said Toth. "He doesn't know what kindergarten is. He doesn't even know up and down." . . .
Like most other 5-year-old boys, Ryan is a loving boy who enjoys playing video games. But Ryan can't communicate and speaks only a handful of words. Autism affects one in 88 children and one in 54 boys, and is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States, according to www.autismspeaks.org. . . .
"I ran into a lot of the same problems and difficulties they are going through," said Jeff Seider, a former South Plainfield Board of Education president whose daughter was diagnosed with autism in 1994. "That's one of the reasons I ran for the board. Now here we are years later, still fighting the same battles. The district's attitude is that one size fits all. A special ed teacher is not qualified to teach to every disability out there. You wouldn't go to a general practitioner for open heart surgery just because it's cheaper."
In these days of tightening school budgets, some might say the district is just looking to save money, but Genco insists that is not the case.
"We would not try to save two pennies if it means shortchanging a child," he said.
Seider believes the whole issue does come down to money.
"Some parents like these will fight to the end, but many are worn down and just quit," he said. "Autism is on the rise. What would our world look like in 15 years if these kids don't get the appropriate services?"
Seider has been helping advise O'Neill to help with Ryan's case.
"If I allowed the district to do what they wanted to do with my daughter, she would be no further along," he said. "I will do everything I can for Ryan so he gets what he needs to be a functioning member of society."
O'Neill believes that teachers trained to work specifically with autistic children can give her son the tools to live the most productive life possible.
They're missing the big picture here. We're hearing about a boy and others who have severe needs. We're told once again that the numbers are increasing--no explanation given. We're shown a photo of a smiling little 5 year old and told he loves video games. That seems pretty typical and he looks like a typical kid. The only problem is, he only speaks 'a handful of words.' His mother says, 'He doesn't know what kindergarten is. He doesn't know up and down.' How is this boy going to function in a regular ed kindergarten, even with an aide?
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities, often diagnosed during early childhood. What normally unfolds as a hectic but joyous time for the parents may quickly become a baffling, frightening period as they try to cope. Some children with autism do not learn to speak as normal children do; some have tantrums; others withdraw into themselves.
More children are diagnosed at earlier ages – a growing number of them by 3 years of age. However, most children were not diagnosed until after they were 4 years old. The Centers for Disease Control reports that 1 in 47 children in Utah are in the autism disorder spectrum, compared to 1 in 88 nationally. . . .
As one Utah advocate for autism treatment has said, “You wouldn’t say that insurance shouldn’t cover surgery or medication to treat a brain disease, but in Utah we accept a situation where there’s no coverage for this all-too-common brain disorder.” As mayor of a county that self-funds its health insurance plans, I’ve identified a path to change that – at least for county employees and their dependents.
My proposed 2014 budget includes a health insurance benefit package that includes autism coverage. It offers those dependents with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis up to $36,000 in annual coverage for children ages 0-9 and $15,000 in annual coverage for those ages 10-18. It is included in a proposed budget that is structurally balanced and has no tax increase.
Salt Lake County may well be the first county to take this step, but 34 states have enacted laws that require coverage for the treatment of autism that include coverage of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). A growing number of companies that self-fund their health benefit plans are including coverage for ABA, including Home Depot, Microsoft, State Farm, IBM and Wells Fargo. Thirty years of medical research shows ABA is an effective treatment.
Annual medical expenditures per child with an ASD range from $2,100 to $11,200, and intensive interventions may cost five times as much. Families living with ASDs have unique stresses. Many parents even report having to stop work to care for their child with an ASD. Most parents will do anything they can to help their child, incurring great emotional and financial stress.
First of all, a mysterious disorder that affects one in 47 CHILDREN in Utah is a disaster. The Utah legislature should be holding all night sessions demanding answers. Instead, they're quibbling over insurance coverage. Imagine the future cost when all these children age out of school. Today's legislators must all be planning to be retired by then.
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
It's hard to know who to believe when two studies contradict each other. But I usually disbelieve the story that lets pharma off the hook. Here's how I justify the Swedish study with what I know. Recent research into the human microbiome indicates a connection between dysbiosis and depression. Maybe moms who are depressed have bad gut bugs they pass on to their newborns. Maybe newborns with bad gut bugs are more likely to have a bad reaction to shots. So maybe it's true that depressed moms are more likely to have kids on the spectrum. And moms who take antidepressants may be eating fluoride (many are fluoride bassed) and polysorbate 80 or other nasty "inactive ingredients". It makes sense to me that there may be an increased risk of bad reaction to vaccines based on depression and even more with antidepressant use.
Posted by: Betty | November 26, 2013 at 03:14 PM
Anne,
Love the new format where the news stories are in italics and your comments are in bold! Makes your comments so easy to find and read, which I greatly appreciate, as they are the best part!
Thank you for your continued coverage of the constant stream of ridiculous news in our country. You call a spade a spade like no other. Will there ever be honest reporting in our country about the vaccine-injury epidemic/holocaust? I suppose only when Big pHARMa is knocked off its pedestal of power, the power to buy every regulator, every legislator, every entity, and every government agency it needs to to remain untouched, liable for nothing, and accountable to no one. I hope I live to see the day when Big pHARMa goes under, and when true journalists, who aren't cowardly industry shills who cut and paste what they're told to, return.
Thank goodness for the true journalists at The Age of Autism! Forge on!
Posted by: Laura Hayes | November 26, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Dr Miriam Stoppard is, of course, wife of former GSK chairman Sir Christopher Hogg.
Posted by: John Stone | November 25, 2013 at 06:17 PM