Preschool Kids Do Better When They Talk To Themselves, Research Shows
This article states: "Parents should not worry when their pre-schoolers talk to themselves; in fact, they should encourage it, says Adam Winsler, an associate professor of psychology at George Mason University. His recent study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly showed that 5-year-olds do better on motor tasks when they talk to themselves out loud (either spontaneously or when told to do so by an adult) than when they are silent."
Self-talk is a critical part of normal development, and in many situations we use self-talk (as in cognitive therapy) to help us navigate a difficult social world and take actions that often we might react to in an automatic manner and often inappropriate manner. Self-talk is at the heart of cognitive-behaviour therapy, and helps us react to an external prompt. Kids with ASD often do not use self-talk to self regulate their affect (emotions) or to switch mental sets and change from one activity to another. Most adults use self-talk and sometimes you can hear them using it. For instance, after a near accident someone might say, "Well, that was a close call..." in order to calm themselves down (change mental sets). With adults our self-talk has gone from external and audible to "that little voice in my head." It helps us use language to solve problems, rather, and many of our kids do, use language to get stuck in a problem and reinforce negative and ineffective thoughts. working with kids its often helpful to model and use audible self=talk when teaching social reciprocity or other skills. This helps parents and teachers model and then monitor what a child is thinking.
Finally, another key component to self-talk's usefulness is that it is an external prompt, something you can refer to outside of yourself. Matching appropriate self-talk to external visual prompts allows us to eventually teach the child to use self-talk more quietly, and finally talk to themselves in their heads. But to do this successfully we need to match the self-talk to external prompts and cues, teach it in several different settings to generalize the skill (something that is often left out of educational programs) and teach it with a method reflective of errorless learning.
When someone finds themselves in trouble often you will hear, "Well, he can't talk himself out of this." The truth is, appropriate self talk might have avoided the problem in the first place.
For more information on autism spectrum disorder you can check out the resourse page on my web site www.drjimroche.com
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Parent training key to improved treatment of behavior problems in children with autism
Parent training key to improved treatment of behavior problems in children with autism
Too often parents call me for an appointment and ask, "Do I need to stay at your office while Tommy's with you?" Well, the real question is, "Does Tommy need to be here?" Parents are the most important factor in changing a child's behaviour, teaching new skills, and doing the most important two things that lead to success: Modelling the correct social behaviour in the natural setting they would normally take place in, and reinforcing a child when he or she does what we want to see more of. Without these two components going on in the home most programs are unsuccessful.
Often when I work with children in the office I leave the door open for the parent to observe, or they may watch the session on video from the another room. There is a reason for this. While I'd like to think the 50 minute session with me was valuable and life changing, in reality it was only 50 minutes out of the child's week and without some followthrough in new settings to help generalize new skills, not much is going to happen. As a pediatric psychologist much of the time my job is to model appropriate parent based interventions. Yes, I do need to meet your child. Yes, I often meet with children weekly to model skills, teach problem solving and do ongoing assessment of progress, but your child's number one hope is you. Not only does the home provide the most important opportunities for teaching and reinforcing social communication skills, but also provides the most likely place for mistakes to be made. And if you want to be your kid's coach, you need to know the rule book of the game.
I think Super Nanny demonstrates this every week on her show (although I shutter when she uses the "naughty circle" and advise against this exact practice!). Super Nanny comes into your home and observes, she then consults with the parents, teaches new skills and gives immediate and sends parents off to try their new skills. A few days later she's back to help you with problems you've had (usually reviewing a video of your skills in action).
That's really a great way for parents to learn to be their child's coach. And it's a great way to do treatment.
Many of the skills we teach parents are counter intuitive, based upon research and tested again and again. As a parent of several children myself, including several foster and adopted children with special needs, I have often needed to consult with professionals to learns the ins and outs of working with a child who needs very specialized intervention and training. PArent training and education are like the training and education any coach has to undergo before he or she is let on to the field with a team. And being part of a team means theirs more than one brain figuring out a problem.
In addition to working with therapists, psychologists and teachers there are many really good videos and CD programs to help you. You can check some out on my amazon.ca page. Just go to my web page and look for a button directing you to books and DVD's I recommend at www.drjimroche.com
Too often parents call me for an appointment and ask, "Do I need to stay at your office while Tommy's with you?" Well, the real question is, "Does Tommy need to be here?" Parents are the most important factor in changing a child's behaviour, teaching new skills, and doing the most important two things that lead to success: Modelling the correct social behaviour in the natural setting they would normally take place in, and reinforcing a child when he or she does what we want to see more of. Without these two components going on in the home most programs are unsuccessful.
Often when I work with children in the office I leave the door open for the parent to observe, or they may watch the session on video from the another room. There is a reason for this. While I'd like to think the 50 minute session with me was valuable and life changing, in reality it was only 50 minutes out of the child's week and without some followthrough in new settings to help generalize new skills, not much is going to happen. As a pediatric psychologist much of the time my job is to model appropriate parent based interventions. Yes, I do need to meet your child. Yes, I often meet with children weekly to model skills, teach problem solving and do ongoing assessment of progress, but your child's number one hope is you. Not only does the home provide the most important opportunities for teaching and reinforcing social communication skills, but also provides the most likely place for mistakes to be made. And if you want to be your kid's coach, you need to know the rule book of the game.
I think Super Nanny demonstrates this every week on her show (although I shutter when she uses the "naughty circle" and advise against this exact practice!). Super Nanny comes into your home and observes, she then consults with the parents, teaches new skills and gives immediate and sends parents off to try their new skills. A few days later she's back to help you with problems you've had (usually reviewing a video of your skills in action).
That's really a great way for parents to learn to be their child's coach. And it's a great way to do treatment.
Many of the skills we teach parents are counter intuitive, based upon research and tested again and again. As a parent of several children myself, including several foster and adopted children with special needs, I have often needed to consult with professionals to learns the ins and outs of working with a child who needs very specialized intervention and training. PArent training and education are like the training and education any coach has to undergo before he or she is let on to the field with a team. And being part of a team means theirs more than one brain figuring out a problem.
In addition to working with therapists, psychologists and teachers there are many really good videos and CD programs to help you. You can check some out on my amazon.ca page. Just go to my web page and look for a button directing you to books and DVD's I recommend at www.drjimroche.com
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Chelation based on faulty premise -- latimes.com
Chelation based on faulty premise -- latimes.com
Posted using ShareThis
This is an important article about an "alternative therapy" which I hope parent's consider before becoming involved in anything as dangerous and unsubstantiated as Chelation therapy. The most effect treatments for ASD remain Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and related social communications therapies. If your here in BC and you search the web for treatment options for your child surprisingly what comes up first on many Google or Bing searches are alternative therapies for which there is very little scientific evidence. These include Chiropractic therapy, naturopaths, homeopathic interventions and DAN doctors who make diet advise that is not supported by mains team medicine. Again, I urge you to check out mainstream resources, including the ACT website in BC, information from the US National Institute of Mental Health, at your local school ask for a consult with the POPARD consultant (Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders) or, even better, talk to your medical doctor. My favorite resource is Science Based Medicine, edited by Dr. Steven Novella. Quack Watch is another good resource for science / researched based information.
More recently the Lancet, which originally published the article falsely linking autism to vaccines withdrew the article by Andrew Wakefiled, the doctor who proposed the "link" many of these theories and interventions are based upon. There were several other authors of the article, and all of them had withdrawn their names, except Dr. Wakefield. Dr. Wakefield has been found guilty of fixing the data, and creating the link between autism and vaccines to support his own plan to provide an alternative. In spite of the overwhelming evidence, legal cases won and disciplinary action taken against the doctors who started this line of false thinking, some practitioners still make claims that are contradictory of the weight of scientific evidence, and offer to take your money to provide treatments based upon those false claims. Beware. Check with your own medical provider, check with your POPARD consultant at your child's school. What you shouldn't do is obtain information from newspapers who often mis=report data, and not accept information from the internet (including me!)
Look for professional advice, and don't think your getting professional advice from anyone in the field of "alternative" treatments. Usually alternative means unproven or unaccepted by the scientific community.
Posted using ShareThis
This is an important article about an "alternative therapy" which I hope parent's consider before becoming involved in anything as dangerous and unsubstantiated as Chelation therapy. The most effect treatments for ASD remain Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and related social communications therapies. If your here in BC and you search the web for treatment options for your child surprisingly what comes up first on many Google or Bing searches are alternative therapies for which there is very little scientific evidence. These include Chiropractic therapy, naturopaths, homeopathic interventions and DAN doctors who make diet advise that is not supported by mains team medicine. Again, I urge you to check out mainstream resources, including the ACT website in BC, information from the US National Institute of Mental Health, at your local school ask for a consult with the POPARD consultant (Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders) or, even better, talk to your medical doctor. My favorite resource is Science Based Medicine, edited by Dr. Steven Novella. Quack Watch is another good resource for science / researched based information.
More recently the Lancet, which originally published the article falsely linking autism to vaccines withdrew the article by Andrew Wakefiled, the doctor who proposed the "link" many of these theories and interventions are based upon. There were several other authors of the article, and all of them had withdrawn their names, except Dr. Wakefield. Dr. Wakefield has been found guilty of fixing the data, and creating the link between autism and vaccines to support his own plan to provide an alternative. In spite of the overwhelming evidence, legal cases won and disciplinary action taken against the doctors who started this line of false thinking, some practitioners still make claims that are contradictory of the weight of scientific evidence, and offer to take your money to provide treatments based upon those false claims. Beware. Check with your own medical provider, check with your POPARD consultant at your child's school. What you shouldn't do is obtain information from newspapers who often mis=report data, and not accept information from the internet (including me!)
Look for professional advice, and don't think your getting professional advice from anyone in the field of "alternative" treatments. Usually alternative means unproven or unaccepted by the scientific community.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Truth: The Amish DO have autism. The question: why do people spread this lie?
Olmsted Lied, People Laughed:
The "Amish Anomaly" hoax
October 29th, 2009 Urban legend
By David N. Brown
This is a PUBLIC DOMAIN document (dated 10/17/09). It may be copied, forwarded, cited, circulated or posted elsewhere. The author requests only that it not be altered from its current form.
Dan Olmsted's big break for coverage of the vaccine-caused autism coverage was a series of stories about two claims: that the Amish do not vaccinate, and that they do not have autism. He wrote at least six articles on this subject between March and October 2005. To this day, he continues to defend his work. Yet, his critics have long since demonstrated 3 facts: The Amish vaccinate; they do have children with autism, and Olmsted would have known these facts if he had actually conducted a serious investigation.
A major argument by Olmsted is an interview wth Dr. Frank C. Noonan, said (apparently in his own words) to have treated thousands and thousands of the Amish population of Lancaster county. This provided a major recurring sound bite: `You'll find all the other stuff, but we don't find the autism.
We're right in the heart of Amish country and seeing none, and that's just the way it is. However, by Olmsted's admission, Noonan is openly a practitioner of "alternative medicine", which makes him potentially biased. Nor is he the only source with this problem. Dick Warner, a salesman Olmsted was mocked for quoting in the June 2 article "A Glimpse of the Amish", sold "natural health" products as well as water filters. Dr. Lawrence Leichtman, reportedly instrumental in guiding Olmsted to six Amish children with autism, was featured in the April 2005 issue of Alternative Medicine. Heng Wang, another prominently cited source, may also have alternative health ties: The site of his DDC clinic lists nutrition and special diets as among its services, without going into details. (The site reports that the clinic was founded on the initiative of mothers who, for unspecified reasons were unsatisfied with services at Holmes Morton's Clinic for Special Children.) This preponderance of alternative health sources raises questions not only about the objectivity of the article, but also the extent of Olmstead's personal research. This is a good point to note a comment by Kevin A. Strauss to Autism NewsBeat: I don't think he spent much time in Lancaster County.
But, complaining about bias will not help address Olmsted?s claims. With regards to Noonan's quote, I am convinced that it is in one way or another, spurious. For one thing, the listed location of his practice is a single suite, an improbably small space for treating thousands Amish or otherwise. For another, Noonan's practice is not particularly accessible to the Amish. Ephrata has a well-documented Mennonite community, but I can find no reference to a directly adjacent Amish population, unless one counts the Peaceful Valley Amish Furniture store. By all indications, the Amish population is concentrated south and east, closer to Strasburg and Lancaster itself (both filming locations for Witness). Thus, it is very unlikely that Noonan ever had more than occasional contact with the Amish in a professional capacity, except possibly with a small subset of the Amish who are either relatively geographically isolated from the rest, or who prefer his practice over larger facilities closer at hand.
In any event, Olmsted's claims quickly collapsed in the eyes of science and his peers. Olmsted himself admitted that the Amish have some autistics and that at least some vaccinate. Even his strikingly qualified claims were disproved virtually as soon as others investigated. In March 2006, Drs. Kevin Strauss, Holmes Morton and others documented 9 autistic Amish children, which could raise the autism rate of the Lancaster Amish community Olmsted supposedly investigated to almost 1/5,000 all by themselves. In December 2006, a study found that 84% of Amish parents reported vaccinating their children. As criticism spread to Olmstead's journalist peers, his honesty was directly challenged. In 2007, the Columbia Journalism Review concluded that Olmsted has made up his mind on the question and is reporting the facts that support his conclusions. In the unkindest cut of all, UPI has apparently deleted Olmsted's articles from its website, as specific links for Olmsted's articles only lead to the UPI front page.
Throughout this fiasco, Olmsted's responses have amounted to revisions and rationalizations at best, and at worst complete denial. When he first reported finding some autistic Amish (April 18), he tried to blame it on vaccinations among a minority of the Amish. When he acknowledged autism in a number of unvaccinated children, he blamed elevated levels of mercury. And when on-line critics began systematic demolition, he responded with ad hominem attacks on critics, including a reference to Kathleen Seidel as ?toxic. At last report, he was if anything even more defensively strident. On April 4, 2009, he made an AoA post in which he continued to defend his core claims. He repeated his belief in ?the virtual absence of autism among the Amish, based on an undoubted underestimate of the autism rate as 1/10,000 , and said that only half of Amish are vaccinated. He blamed is failure to consult the Clinic for Special Children on the clinic staff, claiming they refused to speak with me over a period of many months. Then he said this: "(T)hat doctor said, oh yes, they do see Amish kids with autism but then went on to say those were ONLY kids with other identifiable genetic disorders. He specifically said they DO NOT see idiopathic autism, a basically nonsense phrase that he used to mean autism without any other accompanying disorders. In other words, they don't see the kind of autism now running at a rate of 1 in 100 or so in the rest of the country.
With this remarkable bit of newspeak, Olmsted does exactly what Prometheus speculated happened in the original articles: Mr. Olmsted found autistic children, but didn't count them either because he either didn't feel that they had real autism or because it conflicted with his forgone conclusion. His specific argument is obviously worthless: Defining real autism by the absence of accompanying disorders is absolutely indefensible, especially for the Amish, who are all at an elevated risk of genetic defects. Furthermore, if autism were redefined in this matter, many if not most of the diagnoses behind the 1/100 figure would have to be thrown out. In a culminating irony, Olmsted himself openly refers to idiopathic autism as a nonsense phrase. So, why is he using this to define who is or is not autistic. By all appearances, it is because he would rather endorse nonsense than retract his long-since indefensible conclusion!
In short, Olmstead's coverage of autism has been fraudulent from the start. At best (and I think most likely), he uncritically interviewed a handful of prejudiced informants, and misrepresented it in the national media as his own, comprehensive investigation of Lancaster County. At worst, he conducted research more than sufficient to show that autism occurred among the Amish at a high rate and independent of vaccination, but knowingly misrepresented, omitted or refused to pursue the relevant facts.
David N. Brown is a semipro author, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as an adult. Previous works include the novels The Worlds of Naughtenny Moore, Walking Dead and Aliens Vs Exotroopers, and the nonfiction ebook The Urban Legend of Vaccine-Caused Autism. This and other articles related to autism are available free of charge at evilpossum.weebly.com .
The "Amish Anomaly" hoax
October 29th, 2009 Urban legend
By David N. Brown
This is a PUBLIC DOMAIN document (dated 10/17/09). It may be copied, forwarded, cited, circulated or posted elsewhere. The author requests only that it not be altered from its current form.
Dan Olmsted's big break for coverage of the vaccine-caused autism coverage was a series of stories about two claims: that the Amish do not vaccinate, and that they do not have autism. He wrote at least six articles on this subject between March and October 2005. To this day, he continues to defend his work. Yet, his critics have long since demonstrated 3 facts: The Amish vaccinate; they do have children with autism, and Olmsted would have known these facts if he had actually conducted a serious investigation.
A major argument by Olmsted is an interview wth Dr. Frank C. Noonan, said (apparently in his own words) to have treated thousands and thousands of the Amish population of Lancaster county. This provided a major recurring sound bite: `You'll find all the other stuff, but we don't find the autism.
We're right in the heart of Amish country and seeing none, and that's just the way it is. However, by Olmsted's admission, Noonan is openly a practitioner of "alternative medicine", which makes him potentially biased. Nor is he the only source with this problem. Dick Warner, a salesman Olmsted was mocked for quoting in the June 2 article "A Glimpse of the Amish", sold "natural health" products as well as water filters. Dr. Lawrence Leichtman, reportedly instrumental in guiding Olmsted to six Amish children with autism, was featured in the April 2005 issue of Alternative Medicine. Heng Wang, another prominently cited source, may also have alternative health ties: The site of his DDC clinic lists nutrition and special diets as among its services, without going into details. (The site reports that the clinic was founded on the initiative of mothers who, for unspecified reasons were unsatisfied with services at Holmes Morton's Clinic for Special Children.) This preponderance of alternative health sources raises questions not only about the objectivity of the article, but also the extent of Olmstead's personal research. This is a good point to note a comment by Kevin A. Strauss to Autism NewsBeat: I don't think he spent much time in Lancaster County.
But, complaining about bias will not help address Olmsted?s claims. With regards to Noonan's quote, I am convinced that it is in one way or another, spurious. For one thing, the listed location of his practice is a single suite, an improbably small space for treating thousands Amish or otherwise. For another, Noonan's practice is not particularly accessible to the Amish. Ephrata has a well-documented Mennonite community, but I can find no reference to a directly adjacent Amish population, unless one counts the Peaceful Valley Amish Furniture store. By all indications, the Amish population is concentrated south and east, closer to Strasburg and Lancaster itself (both filming locations for Witness). Thus, it is very unlikely that Noonan ever had more than occasional contact with the Amish in a professional capacity, except possibly with a small subset of the Amish who are either relatively geographically isolated from the rest, or who prefer his practice over larger facilities closer at hand.
In any event, Olmsted's claims quickly collapsed in the eyes of science and his peers. Olmsted himself admitted that the Amish have some autistics and that at least some vaccinate. Even his strikingly qualified claims were disproved virtually as soon as others investigated. In March 2006, Drs. Kevin Strauss, Holmes Morton and others documented 9 autistic Amish children, which could raise the autism rate of the Lancaster Amish community Olmsted supposedly investigated to almost 1/5,000 all by themselves. In December 2006, a study found that 84% of Amish parents reported vaccinating their children. As criticism spread to Olmstead's journalist peers, his honesty was directly challenged. In 2007, the Columbia Journalism Review concluded that Olmsted has made up his mind on the question and is reporting the facts that support his conclusions. In the unkindest cut of all, UPI has apparently deleted Olmsted's articles from its website, as specific links for Olmsted's articles only lead to the UPI front page.
Throughout this fiasco, Olmsted's responses have amounted to revisions and rationalizations at best, and at worst complete denial. When he first reported finding some autistic Amish (April 18), he tried to blame it on vaccinations among a minority of the Amish. When he acknowledged autism in a number of unvaccinated children, he blamed elevated levels of mercury. And when on-line critics began systematic demolition, he responded with ad hominem attacks on critics, including a reference to Kathleen Seidel as ?toxic. At last report, he was if anything even more defensively strident. On April 4, 2009, he made an AoA post in which he continued to defend his core claims. He repeated his belief in ?the virtual absence of autism among the Amish, based on an undoubted underestimate of the autism rate as 1/10,000 , and said that only half of Amish are vaccinated. He blamed is failure to consult the Clinic for Special Children on the clinic staff, claiming they refused to speak with me over a period of many months. Then he said this: "(T)hat doctor said, oh yes, they do see Amish kids with autism but then went on to say those were ONLY kids with other identifiable genetic disorders. He specifically said they DO NOT see idiopathic autism, a basically nonsense phrase that he used to mean autism without any other accompanying disorders. In other words, they don't see the kind of autism now running at a rate of 1 in 100 or so in the rest of the country.
With this remarkable bit of newspeak, Olmsted does exactly what Prometheus speculated happened in the original articles: Mr. Olmsted found autistic children, but didn't count them either because he either didn't feel that they had real autism or because it conflicted with his forgone conclusion. His specific argument is obviously worthless: Defining real autism by the absence of accompanying disorders is absolutely indefensible, especially for the Amish, who are all at an elevated risk of genetic defects. Furthermore, if autism were redefined in this matter, many if not most of the diagnoses behind the 1/100 figure would have to be thrown out. In a culminating irony, Olmsted himself openly refers to idiopathic autism as a nonsense phrase. So, why is he using this to define who is or is not autistic. By all appearances, it is because he would rather endorse nonsense than retract his long-since indefensible conclusion!
In short, Olmstead's coverage of autism has been fraudulent from the start. At best (and I think most likely), he uncritically interviewed a handful of prejudiced informants, and misrepresented it in the national media as his own, comprehensive investigation of Lancaster County. At worst, he conducted research more than sufficient to show that autism occurred among the Amish at a high rate and independent of vaccination, but knowingly misrepresented, omitted or refused to pursue the relevant facts.
David N. Brown is a semipro author, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as an adult. Previous works include the novels The Worlds of Naughtenny Moore, Walking Dead and Aliens Vs Exotroopers, and the nonfiction ebook The Urban Legend of Vaccine-Caused Autism. This and other articles related to autism are available free of charge at evilpossum.weebly.com .
Friday, October 30, 2009
How to Win an Argument About Vaccines
This is an excellent article on debunking the pseudo-science we are often confronted with by the anti-vac crowd.
How to Win an Argument About Vaccines
Posted using ShareThis
How to Win an Argument About Vaccines
Posted using ShareThis
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All
As we are confronted with a disease that is now taking the lives of children and teenagers, perhaps some will notice how we as a community are ignoring our responsibility to participate in programs that protect the health of everyone. Many parents who rely on pseudo-science and conspiracy theories don't take the time to get the scientific facts and instead decide they will just avoid vaccinations and rely instead upon the "herd immunity" of those who have had their children vaccinated. A better way to deal with your fears is to have a conversation with your medical provider. Not with friends, people at work, celebrities or from conspiracy minded web pages. Instead you need to look at the science. Falling for out of date and paranoid claims has finally started to have an effect on not just the health of individuals, but the health of the community. We do need to fear something, and regretfully the "enemy is us." This is a good read not just about vaccines, but also about community responsibility. Just because some people fail to believe in the germ theory doesn't mean we don't need a sanitation department!
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All
Posted using ShareThis
An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All
Posted using ShareThis
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Psychologist allowed in class - finally
Psychologist allowed in class - Local - Bradenton.com
Shared via AddThis
This story reminds me how the Burnaby School District's Teacher's Union sent out instructions last year telling teachers not to fill out behaviour or similar diagnostic forms from psychologist. Their rationale was that private psychologists were taking away work from school psychologist. Please note that school psychologists generally have an M.A. degree and can't diagnose, aren't a regulated profession and have a waiting list ranging from 1-2 years. The clash between schools and medical providers just astounds me! School districts are still reluctant to allow private practitioners to observe children in their care, or n=private behaviour specialists from working with the children in the schools.
Recently BC cut millions from funding for children with autism, and oddly gave millions to a private organization to build a building. We have a long way to go, but right now we need to protect the funding that we have, and allow children with autism to use all the services they can find.
Shared via AddThis
This story reminds me how the Burnaby School District's Teacher's Union sent out instructions last year telling teachers not to fill out behaviour or similar diagnostic forms from psychologist. Their rationale was that private psychologists were taking away work from school psychologist. Please note that school psychologists generally have an M.A. degree and can't diagnose, aren't a regulated profession and have a waiting list ranging from 1-2 years. The clash between schools and medical providers just astounds me! School districts are still reluctant to allow private practitioners to observe children in their care, or n=private behaviour specialists from working with the children in the schools.
Recently BC cut millions from funding for children with autism, and oddly gave millions to a private organization to build a building. We have a long way to go, but right now we need to protect the funding that we have, and allow children with autism to use all the services they can find.
False autism concerns continue: "60% of swine flu vaccine will have thimerosal."
Autism concerns continue: 60% of swine flu vaccine will have thimerosal
Posted using ShareThis
Here is an interesting article to test your ability to tell what is important, and what is non-sense. Here is a writer, whose qualifications are being a "special mom," writing about vaccines and she decides to give a "balanced" report by including fears and psuedo-science by the anti-vac people .... oh, and giving the headline a twist that can only increase fear and certainly doesn't reflect the" balance of evidence" on this topic.
The evidence is clear, there is no know correlation between getting your child vaccinated and autism. Of course there are some dangers, as there are with ANY medication. But this article like many trying to be "fair" totally misrepresents the "balance" facts. It equates all scientific evidence to the non-prooofs of those who spread fear. The title alone should be a warning that this writer isn't concerned about scaring parents who then don't get their children vaccinated and who the suffer from diseases that were preventable. And perhaps die. Somehow this "special mom" has decided that's the price she is willing to pay to draw your eye to her "balanced report" and increase her readership. These actions are frankly immoral. But it's a good article to read and test your own ability to see fact from fiction. Science from rumour. Data from paranoia.
A humorous YouTube video on this topic might help you understand it more. Humour often makes things clear. Watch Dara O'Brian talk about science, numbers and our fear of Zombies. Develop your critical thinking skills.
For those in fields like psychology I also offer here a LONG article on critical thinking by Meehl, P. E. (1973). "Why I do not attend case conferences."
In P. E. Meehl (Ed.), Psychodiagnosis: Selected papers (pp. 225-302). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
"Common mistakes in the oral process of diagnosis are reviewed. Examples are given of logical, rhetorical, and statistical mistakes, as well as misuses of psychodiagnostic testing and validations. Repeated themes include: The relationship of minor, irrelevant facts to symptoms or diagnosis; The clinical vs actuarial problem; The proper role of the psychologist and psychological testing; And the importance of records, genes, construct validity, diagnosis, interrater reliability, extant research, adequate criterion, and followup. The research on diagnostic testing should include accuracy rates as well as reports of significance levels. The purpose of case conferences is both diagnostic and educations, and focussing on the best methods of diagnosis improves them. The polemical rhetoric calls the many logical, rhetorical, and scientific diagnostic errors silly, muddleheaded, dumb, stupid, softheaded, intellectually dishonest, bobbysoxer, ludicrous, absurd, and incompetent."
Sounds boring? Actually, funny and you learn a lot about critical thinking.
Finally, for a good overview of the history of vaccines you could look at the Jenny McCarthy Body Count Page. There you can see the actual results of spreading false information, fear and paranoid thinking grown in a mixture of various conspiracy mindsets.
Posted using ShareThis
Here is an interesting article to test your ability to tell what is important, and what is non-sense. Here is a writer, whose qualifications are being a "special mom," writing about vaccines and she decides to give a "balanced" report by including fears and psuedo-science by the anti-vac people .... oh, and giving the headline a twist that can only increase fear and certainly doesn't reflect the" balance of evidence" on this topic.
The evidence is clear, there is no know correlation between getting your child vaccinated and autism. Of course there are some dangers, as there are with ANY medication. But this article like many trying to be "fair" totally misrepresents the "balance" facts. It equates all scientific evidence to the non-prooofs of those who spread fear. The title alone should be a warning that this writer isn't concerned about scaring parents who then don't get their children vaccinated and who the suffer from diseases that were preventable. And perhaps die. Somehow this "special mom" has decided that's the price she is willing to pay to draw your eye to her "balanced report" and increase her readership. These actions are frankly immoral. But it's a good article to read and test your own ability to see fact from fiction. Science from rumour. Data from paranoia.
A humorous YouTube video on this topic might help you understand it more. Humour often makes things clear. Watch Dara O'Brian talk about science, numbers and our fear of Zombies. Develop your critical thinking skills.
For those in fields like psychology I also offer here a LONG article on critical thinking by Meehl, P. E. (1973). "Why I do not attend case conferences."
In P. E. Meehl (Ed.), Psychodiagnosis: Selected papers (pp. 225-302). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
"Common mistakes in the oral process of diagnosis are reviewed. Examples are given of logical, rhetorical, and statistical mistakes, as well as misuses of psychodiagnostic testing and validations. Repeated themes include: The relationship of minor, irrelevant facts to symptoms or diagnosis; The clinical vs actuarial problem; The proper role of the psychologist and psychological testing; And the importance of records, genes, construct validity, diagnosis, interrater reliability, extant research, adequate criterion, and followup. The research on diagnostic testing should include accuracy rates as well as reports of significance levels. The purpose of case conferences is both diagnostic and educations, and focussing on the best methods of diagnosis improves them. The polemical rhetoric calls the many logical, rhetorical, and scientific diagnostic errors silly, muddleheaded, dumb, stupid, softheaded, intellectually dishonest, bobbysoxer, ludicrous, absurd, and incompetent."
Sounds boring? Actually, funny and you learn a lot about critical thinking.
Finally, for a good overview of the history of vaccines you could look at the Jenny McCarthy Body Count Page. There you can see the actual results of spreading false information, fear and paranoid thinking grown in a mixture of various conspiracy mindsets.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Great review of a pretty good book: Autism's False Prophets
Many people can be found "making the mistake of starting with the premise that pharmaceutical companies are inherently evil. I think we can all agree that the safe use of pharmaceutical drugs has saved billions of lives. That isn't to say that these companies don't want to make a profit, nor am I saying that they are beyond reproach. But is it profitable to create a vaccine that causes autism or SIDS?"
Read the review, then read the book. Become a skeptic ...and look for evidence.... and follow the evidence rather than starting with a theory and finding evidence to match it. The blog post can be found here:
http://skepticdad.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/book-review-autisms-false-prophets/
Shared via AddThis
Read the review, then read the book. Become a skeptic ...and look for evidence.... and follow the evidence rather than starting with a theory and finding evidence to match it. The blog post can be found here:
http://skepticdad.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/book-review-autisms-false-prophets/
Shared via AddThis
Autism: Removing Thimerosal From Vaccines Did Not Reduce Autism Cases In California, Report Finds
Autism: Removing Thimerosal From Vaccines Did Not Reduce Autism Cases In California, Report Finds
Shared via AddThis
"In the last decade, two hypotheses on autism-immunization links were raised that have had a profound impact in the field of autism research and practice and on public health at large," writes Eric Fombonne, M.D., of the Montreal Children's Hospital, in an accompanying editorial. "One incriminated the measles component of the triple measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the other the amount of thimerosal (about 50 percent of which is ethylmercury) contained in most other childhood vaccines."
Since the 2004 Institute of Medicine report favored the rejection of both hypotheses, "more studies have accumulated that have reinforced this conclusion, one independently reached by scientific and professional committees around the world," he writes.
"Parents of autistic children should be reassured that autism in their child did not occur through immunizations," Dr. Fombonne concludes. "Their autistic children, and their siblings, should be normally vaccinated, and as there is no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism, they should avoid ineffective and dangerous 'treatments' such as chelation therapy for their children."
Shared via AddThis
"In the last decade, two hypotheses on autism-immunization links were raised that have had a profound impact in the field of autism research and practice and on public health at large," writes Eric Fombonne, M.D., of the Montreal Children's Hospital, in an accompanying editorial. "One incriminated the measles component of the triple measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the other the amount of thimerosal (about 50 percent of which is ethylmercury) contained in most other childhood vaccines."
Since the 2004 Institute of Medicine report favored the rejection of both hypotheses, "more studies have accumulated that have reinforced this conclusion, one independently reached by scientific and professional committees around the world," he writes.
"Parents of autistic children should be reassured that autism in their child did not occur through immunizations," Dr. Fombonne concludes. "Their autistic children, and their siblings, should be normally vaccinated, and as there is no evidence of mercury poisoning in autism, they should avoid ineffective and dangerous 'treatments' such as chelation therapy for their children."
No Scientific Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism, Review Shows
Another excellent review of the SCIENCE surrounding vaccinations. This article published in pediatric nursing also contains a very brief but good history for quick review.
No Scientific Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism, Review Shows
Shared via AddThis
No Scientific Link Between Childhood Vaccines And Autism, Review Shows
Shared via AddThis
Saturday, September 26, 2009
New Web Site: "Guess what: Science shows VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM!"
The "about" page of RethinkingAutism.com says:
"I am the mother of an autistic boy. I have had enough of the pseudo-science quackery that certain celebrities are pitching to parents of kids with autism. The media is concentrating on the pseudo-science and there needs to be a forum for more tried and tested information. It is virtually impossible for an individual to deliver a counter-message, but I may have found a way with RethinkingAutism.com. I am in no way affiliated with RethinkAutism.com or any other autism group, pharmaceutical company or part of any government conspiracy....."
And from there we get some great videos. Some I agree with, some I don't. But no one is yelling so loud that science can't be heard.
Another section starts:
"Vaccines and autism:
Many parents claim that vaccines caused their child's autism. There are no reputable studies to substantiate this claim. There are many reputable studies that have failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. Do some research at the following links: TIME, Center for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, Common Sense About Vaccines and Autism.
What a wonderful surprise to find calm minds that express themselves with facts instead of fiction, science instead of scary stories, and knowledge instead of wishes. Check out the page. It's time these celebrities stopped expoliting these children and their families.
Every day the airwaves are polluted with pseudo-science practitioners who spread false information, false hope and drain the energy of individuals and families from the hard task of obtaining scientifically supported and proven treatments. Instead they exploit and victimize. Today I was again shocked to find a conference being offered about the truth of vaccines. A rehash of disproved ideas, poor science and straight out lies. (Sponsored by a Chiropractic organization.) Yes, you can even find chiropractors who tell you they provide services that address "issues relating to autism." Shouldn't parent's be encouraged to spend their limited funds on treatments that directly address the problems of autism (communications deficits, social-pragmatic difficulties and so on?). I suppose a podiatrist could offer a parent service for their child also, kids with sore feet are going to act out...right? But is it ethical? Does it make sense?
Rather than realigning spines our politicians and medical associations need to find one and directly confront these treatments that either lack scientific support or have already been disproven. At times like these, with flu season coming soon, and the possibility of pandemics, celebrities who urge people to avoid medicine and medical treatments and interventions based upon their own conspiracy theories need to be confronted.
It's good to see another web page and source of reliable information join the conversation.
"I am the mother of an autistic boy. I have had enough of the pseudo-science quackery that certain celebrities are pitching to parents of kids with autism. The media is concentrating on the pseudo-science and there needs to be a forum for more tried and tested information. It is virtually impossible for an individual to deliver a counter-message, but I may have found a way with RethinkingAutism.com. I am in no way affiliated with RethinkAutism.com or any other autism group, pharmaceutical company or part of any government conspiracy....."
And from there we get some great videos. Some I agree with, some I don't. But no one is yelling so loud that science can't be heard.
Another section starts:
"Vaccines and autism:
Many parents claim that vaccines caused their child's autism. There are no reputable studies to substantiate this claim. There are many reputable studies that have failed to find a link between vaccines and autism. Do some research at the following links: TIME, Center for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, Common Sense About Vaccines and Autism.
What a wonderful surprise to find calm minds that express themselves with facts instead of fiction, science instead of scary stories, and knowledge instead of wishes. Check out the page. It's time these celebrities stopped expoliting these children and their families.
Every day the airwaves are polluted with pseudo-science practitioners who spread false information, false hope and drain the energy of individuals and families from the hard task of obtaining scientifically supported and proven treatments. Instead they exploit and victimize. Today I was again shocked to find a conference being offered about the truth of vaccines. A rehash of disproved ideas, poor science and straight out lies. (Sponsored by a Chiropractic organization.) Yes, you can even find chiropractors who tell you they provide services that address "issues relating to autism." Shouldn't parent's be encouraged to spend their limited funds on treatments that directly address the problems of autism (communications deficits, social-pragmatic difficulties and so on?). I suppose a podiatrist could offer a parent service for their child also, kids with sore feet are going to act out...right? But is it ethical? Does it make sense?
Rather than realigning spines our politicians and medical associations need to find one and directly confront these treatments that either lack scientific support or have already been disproven. At times like these, with flu season coming soon, and the possibility of pandemics, celebrities who urge people to avoid medicine and medical treatments and interventions based upon their own conspiracy theories need to be confronted.
It's good to see another web page and source of reliable information join the conversation.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Flu vaccine rekindles debate over connection to autism
Flu vaccine rekindles debate over connection to autism
Shared via AddThis
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has repeatedly said that vaccines have a long history of being safe and effective. Weighing in on the autism debate, he noted in a recent interview with Canwest News Service that vaccines are given to children at around the same age as when neurological disorders can surface.
"You can have a close time frame," he said. "Just because something's associated in time does not mean it's causal."
Butler-Jones said he recognizes that parents are searching for answers about autism's cause, but added claims that vaccines are the culprit have not been proven.
"The studies have been pretty clear and consistent that vaccination is not the cause of many of the things that have been claimed around the vaccine," he said.
The benefits of immunization far outweigh the risks, said Butler-Jones, but he understands people need to think carefully about it.
"It's important that they get the facts — not the theory, not the conjecture, not the claims — but the actual facts about what we know about the vaccine and the disease and I think . . . virtually everybody would choose the vaccine," he said.
Shared via AddThis
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has repeatedly said that vaccines have a long history of being safe and effective. Weighing in on the autism debate, he noted in a recent interview with Canwest News Service that vaccines are given to children at around the same age as when neurological disorders can surface.
"You can have a close time frame," he said. "Just because something's associated in time does not mean it's causal."
Butler-Jones said he recognizes that parents are searching for answers about autism's cause, but added claims that vaccines are the culprit have not been proven.
"The studies have been pretty clear and consistent that vaccination is not the cause of many of the things that have been claimed around the vaccine," he said.
The benefits of immunization far outweigh the risks, said Butler-Jones, but he understands people need to think carefully about it.
"It's important that they get the facts — not the theory, not the conjecture, not the claims — but the actual facts about what we know about the vaccine and the disease and I think . . . virtually everybody would choose the vaccine," he said.
Monday, September 21, 2009
August was National Immunization Month in the US. Did you know?
American Academy of Pediatrics to fight back against the anti-vaccine misinformation scare-mongering machine. On Steven Novella's Neurologica Blog you will find more details. AAP's statement starts: "We, the undersigned, support immunizations as the safest, most effective way to control and eradicate infectious diseases. This August, as another National Immunization Awareness Month comes to a close, we are reminded that diseases such as smallpox and polio were once commonplace in the United States. Thanks to vaccinations, we have not seen or experienced many of the infectious diseases that gripped past generations, but other countries have not been so fortunate and outbreaks continue in the United States."
Read the article, and be thankful that for the most part we have moved away from the dark ages when the biology of life was thought to be unknowable. Sometime soon, I hope, there will be some common sense on the part of all involved. Sense based upon science, data, facts.
American Academy of Pediatrics to fight back against the anti-vaccine misinformation scare-mongering machine. On Steven Novella's Neurologica Blog you will find more details. AAP's statement starts: "We, the undersigned, support immunizations as the safest, most effective way to control and eradicate infectious diseases. This August, as another National Immunization Awareness Month comes to a close, we are reminded that diseases such as smallpox and polio were once commonplace in the United States. Thanks to vaccinations, we have not seen or experienced many of the infectious diseases that gripped past generations, but other countries have not been so fortunate and outbreaks continue in the United States."
Read the article, and be thankful that for the most part we have moved away from the dark ages when the biology of life was thought to be unknowable. Sometime soon, I hope, there will be some common sense on the part of all involved. Sense based upon science, data, facts.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
E:60: Surfing Is Life For Clay Marzo - ESPN VIDEO
Great story to share with friends, family and students.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
District sends boy with autism and service dog to another school - Related Stories - CEC SmartBrief
This is an ongoing story of a 5 year old boy whose parents are suing to allow a service dog into the school. The service dog, they claim, is necessary to relieve his anxiety (a symptom of his autism). The school has claimed there is no scientific evidence that the dog is necessary, and may even be used by the boy as an avoidance device. It is an interesting case, especially now that another child in the class is said to have allergies to dogs. There is no evidence, no research, that such dogs help children with autism. In spite of that the school has agreed to provide an alternative placement in a special education setting. A difficult balance.
District sends boy with autism and service dog to another school - Related Stories - CEC SmartBrief
Shared via AddThis
District sends boy with autism and service dog to another school - Related Stories - CEC SmartBrief
Shared via AddThis
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Resources: Vaccines, Autism and Real Science
Science-Based Medicine now has a great overall listing of their reports on vaccines and autism. This resource is comprehensive and can be found here. While the anti-vac people spread psuedo-science, this resource will help you understand the many many holes in their arguments.
Remember, get you information from a doctor, not a celebrity, activist or politician.
Remember, get you information from a doctor, not a celebrity, activist or politician.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Regimens: Restrictive Diets May Not Be Appropriate for Children With Autism
Today the New York Times reported on research concerning diets for children with autism. Many of my patients come in and ask about diets, hoping that a change at the breakfast table will make a change in their child's life. Regretfully life isn't that simple. And many people are mislead by practitioners of "alternative medicine," and the "Defeat Autism Now" diet plan that they pay good money for alternative medical advice which research simply does not support. The NYT article says, "Many parents of autistic children have put their children on strict gluten-free or dairy-free diets, convinced that gastrointestinal problems are an underlying cause of the disorder. But a new study suggests the complicated food regimens may not be warranted"
Lets understand, by "may not be warranted" they are saying there is no evidence that these diets do anything to help children with autism. As a matter of fact, in many cases they do more harm than good.
"Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed the medical records of over 100 autistic children over an 18-year period and compared them to more than 200 children without the disorder. The scientists found no differences in the overall frequency of gastrointestinal problems reported by the two groups, though the autistic children suffered more frequently from bouts of constipation and were more likely to be picky eaters who had difficulty gaining weight. The study, published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to look at the incidence of gastrointestinal problems in an autistic population, according to the paper?s first author, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic. She suggested that autistic children should only be put on restrictive wheat-free or dairy-free diets after having appropriate diagnostic tests done."
To make this clear,"There is actually no trial that has proven so far that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism, she said. The diets are not easy to follow and can sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."
For more information on the article and to locate the original research you can click here: New York Times
The number and frequency of gastrointestinal problems is basically the same for children with autism and children without. As a parent you may notice the problem more because your child is not as tolerant of these feelings as children who do not have autism, but that does not mean their is a connection, or that you can "cure" autism in any way with restrictive a diet.The evidence is simply not there. Some parents, who start to re-organize their child's life around diet may find behavioural improvements because of the new structure, attention, or perhaps because parents become more tuned in to their child's physical state. But there is simply no connection between the two. It's easy to become confused by reports you hear of success, but you are not hearing from all those who did not find these diets made any change, and interpretation of data becomes cloudy. The new rush to publish "Autism cookbooks" and "Autism Diets" (and their are ADHD diets too, all either unproven or in many cases disproven) is more a reaction of the publishing industries success than any success with the diet during a controlled scientific experiment.
Final advice, talk to our pediatrician.
For those who are trying to figure out who to believe in this confusion I suggest starting by reading a little about Science Based Medicine itself at Steve Novella's web page. Click here for Science-Based Medicine 101
Dr. Roche's web page can be found at socialcognitivetheapy.com
Lets understand, by "may not be warranted" they are saying there is no evidence that these diets do anything to help children with autism. As a matter of fact, in many cases they do more harm than good.
"Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed the medical records of over 100 autistic children over an 18-year period and compared them to more than 200 children without the disorder. The scientists found no differences in the overall frequency of gastrointestinal problems reported by the two groups, though the autistic children suffered more frequently from bouts of constipation and were more likely to be picky eaters who had difficulty gaining weight. The study, published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to look at the incidence of gastrointestinal problems in an autistic population, according to the paper?s first author, Dr. Samar H. Ibrahim, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic. She suggested that autistic children should only be put on restrictive wheat-free or dairy-free diets after having appropriate diagnostic tests done."
To make this clear,"There is actually no trial that has proven so far that a gluten-free and casein-free diet improves autism, she said. The diets are not easy to follow and can sometimes cause nutritional deficiencies."
For more information on the article and to locate the original research you can click here: New York Times
The number and frequency of gastrointestinal problems is basically the same for children with autism and children without. As a parent you may notice the problem more because your child is not as tolerant of these feelings as children who do not have autism, but that does not mean their is a connection, or that you can "cure" autism in any way with restrictive a diet.The evidence is simply not there. Some parents, who start to re-organize their child's life around diet may find behavioural improvements because of the new structure, attention, or perhaps because parents become more tuned in to their child's physical state. But there is simply no connection between the two. It's easy to become confused by reports you hear of success, but you are not hearing from all those who did not find these diets made any change, and interpretation of data becomes cloudy. The new rush to publish "Autism cookbooks" and "Autism Diets" (and their are ADHD diets too, all either unproven or in many cases disproven) is more a reaction of the publishing industries success than any success with the diet during a controlled scientific experiment.
Final advice, talk to our pediatrician.
For those who are trying to figure out who to believe in this confusion I suggest starting by reading a little about Science Based Medicine itself at Steve Novella's web page. Click here for Science-Based Medicine 101
Dr. Roche's web page can be found at socialcognitivetheapy.com
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Caution Urged for Autism Treatments Researchers Say 'Fad Therapies' for Autism Are on the Rise
Great article on fads in autism treatment at MedicineNet. A good place for beginners!
Several people have mentioned that this article is "down" so for the time being I've copied the catch here:
Caution Urged for Autism Treatments
Researchers Say 'Fad Therapies' for Autism Are on the Rise
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 20, 2007 -- Unproven treatments for autism have increased as the number of children with autism and related disorders has grown dramatically, according to a team of Ohio State University researchers.
"Fad treatments have grown as the numbers have gone up," says James Mulick, PhD, a professor of pediatrics and psychology at Ohio State University, Columbus, who led a symposium on the topic at the 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in San Francisco.
Today, one in 150 children has autism or an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which encompasses several related disorders, Mulick tells WebMD. In the 1970s, the commonly held belief was that three in every 10,000 children had autism. Autism and related problems, such as Asperger's syndrome or childhood disintegrative disorder, are all complex developmental disabilities that affect the development of social skills, communication skills, and behavior. Genetic vulnerability is suspected, and abnormal brain development during an infant's first months may also contribute.
As more parents hear these diagnoses, they are searching, understandably, for a way to make their children's lives better. "They desperately want their children to have a future," Mulick says.
"The average parent has tried seven different therapies," Mulick says, citing the results of a survey his research team found on the Internet.
Unproven treatments are often marketed aggressively, he tells WebMD, and information often includes testimonials from other parents, making them difficult to resist. As a result, he says, it's sometimes difficult for parents to evaluate the treatment objectively and to avoid totally unproven approaches. The unproven treatments can escape oversight from the FDA, says Mulick, because many are not drugs or devices.
Fad Treatments Abound
Among the autism treatments that Mulick and his colleagues cautioned against at the APA convention:
Facilitated communication. A facilitator holds the hands of those with autism over a keyboard and helps them to communicate. Or a facilitator helps the person with autism communicate by pointing at letters, images, or symbols that represent messages. The goal is independent expression, according to advocates. "In no case was it shown to be a valid communication" for the autistic person, Mulick says.
Chelation therapy. A chemical that binds to heavy metals -- believed by some to cause autism -- is given orally, rectally, or infused intravenously, Mulick says. "The chemical binds to heavy metals and allows the heavy metals to be excreted, and the belief is it will cure autism." But chelation therapy is unproven for autism, Mulick says.
Dolphin therapy. Advocates believe swimming with dolphins can help an autistic child improve interpersonal relationships. Says Mulick: ''There is no evidence it supports any effect except recreation."
Auditory integration therapy. Developed by an ear-nose-throat doctor, this therapy originally was meant to help those with hypersensitive hearing. The theory is that the person is overstimulated and the hearing is overly sensitive at specific frequencies. The therapy involves listening to music at different frequencies to normalize the hearing response across all frequencies within the normal hearing range. "This is based on the theory that kids with autism will often hold their ears," Mulick says, and that they are overly sensitive to sound. "They do hold their ears, but they don't have greater hearing acuity."
Dietary interventions. The gluten-free, casein-free diet, or GFCF diet, is another approach. Casein is a protein found in milk and cheese, and gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. The theory, says Mulick, is that in autistic children these proteins result in an overproduction of opiates in the brain, in turn contributing to social awkwardness and thwarting brain maturation. Scientific studies on the effectiveness of the GFCF diet are lacking, he says. "And very few people adhere to the diet."
Autism Treatment: What Works?
An intensive approach using behavior therapy, often called applied behavior analysis, is uniformly recommended by experts, including a recommendation by the U.S. surgeon general. The basic research for this approach was done years ago at the University of California, Los Angeles. This program is intensive -- one-on-one for 40 hours a week. Similar programs are offered in major metropolitan areas around the country, Mulick says.
The goal of these types of programs is to reinforce desirable behavior and decrease undesirable ones. For instance, the child is taught to perform tasks in a series of simple steps and is given a predictable schedule. The treatment is continued at home.
"Occupational therapy is often given in combination," Mulick says.
The downside of the behavior therapy, he says, is its expense. At Columbus Children's Hospital, for instance, he estimates the cost of behavior therapy for autism is about $65,000 a year -- and it's typically not covered by insurance.
For specific symptoms, medication may help, Mulick says. For instance, the FDA approved Risperdal in 2006 for the treatment of irritability in children and teens with autism. Short attention spans can sometimes be improved, he says, with stimulant drugs.
SOURCES: James Mulick, PhD, professor of pediatrics and psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus. 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco. News release, CDC.
Several people have mentioned that this article is "down" so for the time being I've copied the catch here:
Caution Urged for Autism Treatments
Researchers Say 'Fad Therapies' for Autism Are on the Rise
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Aug. 20, 2007 -- Unproven treatments for autism have increased as the number of children with autism and related disorders has grown dramatically, according to a team of Ohio State University researchers.
"Fad treatments have grown as the numbers have gone up," says James Mulick, PhD, a professor of pediatrics and psychology at Ohio State University, Columbus, who led a symposium on the topic at the 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in San Francisco.
Today, one in 150 children has autism or an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which encompasses several related disorders, Mulick tells WebMD. In the 1970s, the commonly held belief was that three in every 10,000 children had autism. Autism and related problems, such as Asperger's syndrome or childhood disintegrative disorder, are all complex developmental disabilities that affect the development of social skills, communication skills, and behavior. Genetic vulnerability is suspected, and abnormal brain development during an infant's first months may also contribute.
As more parents hear these diagnoses, they are searching, understandably, for a way to make their children's lives better. "They desperately want their children to have a future," Mulick says.
"The average parent has tried seven different therapies," Mulick says, citing the results of a survey his research team found on the Internet.
Unproven treatments are often marketed aggressively, he tells WebMD, and information often includes testimonials from other parents, making them difficult to resist. As a result, he says, it's sometimes difficult for parents to evaluate the treatment objectively and to avoid totally unproven approaches. The unproven treatments can escape oversight from the FDA, says Mulick, because many are not drugs or devices.
Fad Treatments Abound
Among the autism treatments that Mulick and his colleagues cautioned against at the APA convention:
Facilitated communication. A facilitator holds the hands of those with autism over a keyboard and helps them to communicate. Or a facilitator helps the person with autism communicate by pointing at letters, images, or symbols that represent messages. The goal is independent expression, according to advocates. "In no case was it shown to be a valid communication" for the autistic person, Mulick says.
Chelation therapy. A chemical that binds to heavy metals -- believed by some to cause autism -- is given orally, rectally, or infused intravenously, Mulick says. "The chemical binds to heavy metals and allows the heavy metals to be excreted, and the belief is it will cure autism." But chelation therapy is unproven for autism, Mulick says.
Dolphin therapy. Advocates believe swimming with dolphins can help an autistic child improve interpersonal relationships. Says Mulick: ''There is no evidence it supports any effect except recreation."
Auditory integration therapy. Developed by an ear-nose-throat doctor, this therapy originally was meant to help those with hypersensitive hearing. The theory is that the person is overstimulated and the hearing is overly sensitive at specific frequencies. The therapy involves listening to music at different frequencies to normalize the hearing response across all frequencies within the normal hearing range. "This is based on the theory that kids with autism will often hold their ears," Mulick says, and that they are overly sensitive to sound. "They do hold their ears, but they don't have greater hearing acuity."
Dietary interventions. The gluten-free, casein-free diet, or GFCF diet, is another approach. Casein is a protein found in milk and cheese, and gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. The theory, says Mulick, is that in autistic children these proteins result in an overproduction of opiates in the brain, in turn contributing to social awkwardness and thwarting brain maturation. Scientific studies on the effectiveness of the GFCF diet are lacking, he says. "And very few people adhere to the diet."
Autism Treatment: What Works?
An intensive approach using behavior therapy, often called applied behavior analysis, is uniformly recommended by experts, including a recommendation by the U.S. surgeon general. The basic research for this approach was done years ago at the University of California, Los Angeles. This program is intensive -- one-on-one for 40 hours a week. Similar programs are offered in major metropolitan areas around the country, Mulick says.
The goal of these types of programs is to reinforce desirable behavior and decrease undesirable ones. For instance, the child is taught to perform tasks in a series of simple steps and is given a predictable schedule. The treatment is continued at home.
"Occupational therapy is often given in combination," Mulick says.
The downside of the behavior therapy, he says, is its expense. At Columbus Children's Hospital, for instance, he estimates the cost of behavior therapy for autism is about $65,000 a year -- and it's typically not covered by insurance.
For specific symptoms, medication may help, Mulick says. For instance, the FDA approved Risperdal in 2006 for the treatment of irritability in children and teens with autism. Short attention spans can sometimes be improved, he says, with stimulant drugs.
SOURCES: James Mulick, PhD, professor of pediatrics and psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus. 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco. News release, CDC.
Proven Treatments for Autism: Behavioural, Social and Communications Based Interventions
(From Wellsphere): "James Mulick, and several graduate psychology students, presented a symposium on ? Outrageous Developmental Disabilities Treatments ? Aug. 20 in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. The focus of the symposium was the multitude of fad treatments, some of them dangerous, which have accompanied the explosive growth in numbers of autism diagnoses. Ineffective or unproven treatments like special diets or nutritional supplements, Megadoses of Vitamins C and B6, and supplements with fatty acids like omega-3s were discussed. Chelation therapy, the medicinal removal of substances such as mercury from the body, was identified as being not only unproven, but also dangerous and potentially deadly. The conference also mentioned the one proven treatment to date - early intensive behavioral intervention:
While other treatments are still being investigated, right now the only therapy that has been shown to have a long-term positive affect on autism is called Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, Mulick said.
The Wellsphere article this is from can be found here at Wellsphere
Information about the intervention conference can be found by clicking here
Dr. Roche's web page can be located at www.socialcognitivetherapy.com
While other treatments are still being investigated, right now the only therapy that has been shown to have a long-term positive affect on autism is called Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, Mulick said.
The Wellsphere article this is from can be found here at Wellsphere
Information about the intervention conference can be found by clicking here
Dr. Roche's web page can be located at www.socialcognitivetherapy.com
Evidence Based Medicine FIRST!
Another very good web site on Vaccines. May good links.
"Either it is true that a medicine works or it isn't.
It cannot be false in the ordinary sense but true in some 'alternative' sense."
Prof. Richard Dawkins, Oxford, April 2001
from the foreword to 'SNAKE OIL' by John Diamond
The site is found here: Evidence Based Medicine First.
My recent return to this topic stems from several experiences with parents in the lower mainland who have used all their autism funding for alternative treatments that have no scientific evidence to back them, and have been left with no support for teaching communication, reciprocity, behaviour management for the parents. It's a shame that the medical and psychology colleges of BC, as well as UBC, SFU and other providers don't take a stand against treatments that are ineffective and experimental at best. There are treatments out there that help, no miracles, but there is hope.
"Either it is true that a medicine works or it isn't.
It cannot be false in the ordinary sense but true in some 'alternative' sense."
Prof. Richard Dawkins, Oxford, April 2001
from the foreword to 'SNAKE OIL' by John Diamond
The site is found here: Evidence Based Medicine First.
My recent return to this topic stems from several experiences with parents in the lower mainland who have used all their autism funding for alternative treatments that have no scientific evidence to back them, and have been left with no support for teaching communication, reciprocity, behaviour management for the parents. It's a shame that the medical and psychology colleges of BC, as well as UBC, SFU and other providers don't take a stand against treatments that are ineffective and experimental at best. There are treatments out there that help, no miracles, but there is hope.
Celebrity Medicine and Jenny McCarthy
Here is a great article I missed back in May on the dangers of "Celebrity Medicine." McCarthy, who can't understand even the most basics of science continues to scream down medical doctors.
Reader's Digest Version: Childhood vaccines save lives by preventing killer diseases. They're not risk-free, but an immense amount of evidence says the risks do not include autism.
The article can be found here at Reader's Digest.
More sanity from the mainstream media!
Reader's Digest Version: Childhood vaccines save lives by preventing killer diseases. They're not risk-free, but an immense amount of evidence says the risks do not include autism.
The article can be found here at Reader's Digest.
More sanity from the mainstream media!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Problems with "Alternative Medicine."
I sent my daughter a great cartoon the other day. An ambulance was at the scene of an accident, and on it's side it read "Alternative Medical Services." The ambulance attendant was kneeling by an accident victim yelling "clear!" She has two acupuncture needles in her hands. Not the kinds of services that I would hope for. Yet not one block away from my home in Vancouver there is a "holistic medicine" practice. They advertise they provide treatment for ADHD, autism and Asperger's. They provide a long list of their services from blood cleaning to auditory "realignment." None of these are supported by scientific evidence, and many have been clearly proven to be ineffective. Yet families go to these clinics and spend all of their government funding looking for cures and hope. The lack of regulation disappoints me. And watching families waste all their funds on unproven, or worse, disproven therapies is disheartening.
In my assessment reports I have begun to list web sites and resources that I hope guide people to scientifically proven interventions. But we need more of these, and professional organizations like the BC Colleges of Medicine, Psychology and Nursing need to take a firmer stand on the promotion of unproven or disproven treatments.
For ADHD one good source is Dr. Russell Barkley.
Dr. Barkley has written about the various treatments that do not have a sound scientific basis for use in ADHD or that have been disproven in research. These include diet or nutrition treatments or diet supplements for ADHD, health food or homeopathy, sensory integration therapy (usually provided under occupational therapy or physical therapy), chiropractic treatment, EEG biofeedback, neurofeedback, or neurotherapy, cognitive or cognitive-behavioral training, or alternative treatments. One of his recent research reviews on EEG and its use in biofeedback appears on his site. I urge all parents to read it.
Dr. Barkley
Two other good sites are Quack Watch and Science Based Medicine. Check them out for good information on ADHD, Autism and Alternative Medicine you should avoid. You can also seek information at my professional web site, RelatedMinds, on the resource page.
In my assessment reports I have begun to list web sites and resources that I hope guide people to scientifically proven interventions. But we need more of these, and professional organizations like the BC Colleges of Medicine, Psychology and Nursing need to take a firmer stand on the promotion of unproven or disproven treatments.
For ADHD one good source is Dr. Russell Barkley.
Dr. Barkley has written about the various treatments that do not have a sound scientific basis for use in ADHD or that have been disproven in research. These include diet or nutrition treatments or diet supplements for ADHD, health food or homeopathy, sensory integration therapy (usually provided under occupational therapy or physical therapy), chiropractic treatment, EEG biofeedback, neurofeedback, or neurotherapy, cognitive or cognitive-behavioral training, or alternative treatments. One of his recent research reviews on EEG and its use in biofeedback appears on his site. I urge all parents to read it.
Dr. Barkley
Two other good sites are Quack Watch and Science Based Medicine. Check them out for good information on ADHD, Autism and Alternative Medicine you should avoid. You can also seek information at my professional web site, RelatedMinds, on the resource page.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Asperger Syndrome, Autism, And Empathy: Study Links 27 Genes
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified 27 genes that are associated with either Asperger Syndrome (AS) and/or autistic traits and/or empathy. The research will be published July 16 in the journal Autism Research. This is the first candidate gene study of its kind.
Asperger Syndrome, Autism, And Empathy: Study Links 27 Genes
Shared via AddThis
Asperger Syndrome, Autism, And Empathy: Study Links 27 Genes
Shared via AddThis
Saturday, July 18, 2009
NYT article: Research on Autism and Girls
This article in the New York Times speaks about how autism is often thought of as a boys’ affliction."Boys are three or four times as likely as girls to have classic autism (autism with mental retardation, which is now often referred to as cognitive impairment). The sex ratio is even more imbalanced for diagnoses that include normal intelligence along with the features of autism — social and communication impairments and restricted interests; this is called Asperger’s syndrome (when there is no speech delay) or high-functioning autism or, more generally, being “on the autistic spectrum.” Among kids in this category, referral rates are in the range of 10 boys for every girl.
Girls are often "culled" from autism research as they are too few in number to use in statistical analysis. This article reviews some new attempts to refocus the research on girls and their different presentation of the disorder. The article may be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/magazine/05autism-t.html?scp=6&sq=autism&st=cse
and is also referenced at the bottom of the page.
Girls are often "culled" from autism research as they are too few in number to use in statistical analysis. This article reviews some new attempts to refocus the research on girls and their different presentation of the disorder. The article may be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/magazine/05autism-t.html?scp=6&sq=autism&st=cse
and is also referenced at the bottom of the page.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Hyperbaric Oxygen for Autism - answers and questions
Taken from:
http://www.theness.com/neurologica
Hyperbaric Oxygen for Autism
Published by Steven Novella, MD
A new study looks at the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in autism. The study is the first double-blind placebo controlled study of such therapy in autism and found a significant improvement in those children in the treatment group.
However, the treatment is very controversial and remains so, even after this study.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves placing patients in a chamber with pressure increased above atmospheric pressure with an enriched oxygen content. It has many legitimate medical applications, such as treating certain kinds of infection, but also has become popular among some as an unscientific treatment. It is offered by practitioners and chambers are even sometimes purchased by private individuals for their own family’s use.
The problem, of course, is that some claims for hyperbaric oxygen go way past the evidence, or exist in the utter absence of evidence. This includes autism - there are no compelling studies showing any benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy in autism. The few studies that do exist are uncontrolled, which means they are mostly worthless.
This current study is at least a double-blind controlled trial. But it still has significant weaknesses. The primary weakness, in my opinion, is that the parents of the children being studied were allowed in the chamber with their children. The two groups in the study either received 24% oxygen in 1.3 atmospheres, or 21% oxygen in 1.03 atmospheres. It’s probable that many of the parents knew if they were getting increased pressure or not, and this therefore could have unblinded the study.
Tight blinding is critical for these type of studies because the assessment of the effect on the autistic children is highly subjective. For example, the assessment includes how much eye contact the children make.
The study is also on the small side, with 62 children total. However, the clinical effects were very robust.
Some have pointed out that the study leader, Daniel Rossignol, has a potential conflict of interest in that he offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy in his practice. He therefore stands to gain personally if its effectiveness is proven. While such conflicts are important to expose, I think they are trumped by a well-enough controlled study. The whole point of a well-designed study is to eliminate the effects of bias. But given that this study was poorly blinded, and bias was present, it certainly diminishes its impact.
Everyone agrees, even Rossignol, that this study will not end the controversy over hyperbaric oxygen in autism. It needs to be replicated. This is generically true of any new treatment - the first few smallish studies are never enough to establish its effectiveness. The strength of clinical trials rests primarily in replication. Only when various researchers with different biases come to the same conclusion from well-designed studies can we confidently come to a conclusion. The history of medicine is littered with treatments that initially seemed promising but just did not pan out.
Another weakness of the study is that it was short term, only four weeks. It therefore did not test if the effect of hyperbaric treatment survives much beyond the treatment itself. Even if the effect in this study is real, it may represent only a temporary symptomatic benefit - not altering the course of autism itself. Therefore longer followup studies are needed as well.
It is not impossible that hyperbaric oxygen may have some benefit in some children with autism. Although there is no established mechanism at this time, and proposed mechanisms (like the notion that hyperbaric O2 decreases inflammation) are largely speculative. But a physiological effect is not implausible. The treatment is also fairly safe. Therefore it is reasonable to study it further.
The biggest risk of the treatment now is that it is expensive - costing 150-900 dollars per treatment or 14-17 thousand dollars for a chamber. It also diverts energy and emotions away from possibly more productive treatments.
Because of this, this is one treatment where I think high quality research may have an actual impact. If it works, of course, than more people can benefit from it. If high quality studies show it does not work I think there are families who will save themselves from the expense of an ineffective treatment. It will likely not go away completely, but would be significantly marginalized.
But one thing is clear - any future studies should be very tightly controlled, or they will be counterproductive.
http://www.theness.com/neurologica
Hyperbaric Oxygen for Autism
Published by Steven Novella, MD
A new study looks at the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in autism. The study is the first double-blind placebo controlled study of such therapy in autism and found a significant improvement in those children in the treatment group.
However, the treatment is very controversial and remains so, even after this study.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves placing patients in a chamber with pressure increased above atmospheric pressure with an enriched oxygen content. It has many legitimate medical applications, such as treating certain kinds of infection, but also has become popular among some as an unscientific treatment. It is offered by practitioners and chambers are even sometimes purchased by private individuals for their own family’s use.
The problem, of course, is that some claims for hyperbaric oxygen go way past the evidence, or exist in the utter absence of evidence. This includes autism - there are no compelling studies showing any benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy in autism. The few studies that do exist are uncontrolled, which means they are mostly worthless.
This current study is at least a double-blind controlled trial. But it still has significant weaknesses. The primary weakness, in my opinion, is that the parents of the children being studied were allowed in the chamber with their children. The two groups in the study either received 24% oxygen in 1.3 atmospheres, or 21% oxygen in 1.03 atmospheres. It’s probable that many of the parents knew if they were getting increased pressure or not, and this therefore could have unblinded the study.
Tight blinding is critical for these type of studies because the assessment of the effect on the autistic children is highly subjective. For example, the assessment includes how much eye contact the children make.
The study is also on the small side, with 62 children total. However, the clinical effects were very robust.
Some have pointed out that the study leader, Daniel Rossignol, has a potential conflict of interest in that he offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy in his practice. He therefore stands to gain personally if its effectiveness is proven. While such conflicts are important to expose, I think they are trumped by a well-enough controlled study. The whole point of a well-designed study is to eliminate the effects of bias. But given that this study was poorly blinded, and bias was present, it certainly diminishes its impact.
Everyone agrees, even Rossignol, that this study will not end the controversy over hyperbaric oxygen in autism. It needs to be replicated. This is generically true of any new treatment - the first few smallish studies are never enough to establish its effectiveness. The strength of clinical trials rests primarily in replication. Only when various researchers with different biases come to the same conclusion from well-designed studies can we confidently come to a conclusion. The history of medicine is littered with treatments that initially seemed promising but just did not pan out.
Another weakness of the study is that it was short term, only four weeks. It therefore did not test if the effect of hyperbaric treatment survives much beyond the treatment itself. Even if the effect in this study is real, it may represent only a temporary symptomatic benefit - not altering the course of autism itself. Therefore longer followup studies are needed as well.
It is not impossible that hyperbaric oxygen may have some benefit in some children with autism. Although there is no established mechanism at this time, and proposed mechanisms (like the notion that hyperbaric O2 decreases inflammation) are largely speculative. But a physiological effect is not implausible. The treatment is also fairly safe. Therefore it is reasonable to study it further.
The biggest risk of the treatment now is that it is expensive - costing 150-900 dollars per treatment or 14-17 thousand dollars for a chamber. It also diverts energy and emotions away from possibly more productive treatments.
Because of this, this is one treatment where I think high quality research may have an actual impact. If it works, of course, than more people can benefit from it. If high quality studies show it does not work I think there are families who will save themselves from the expense of an ineffective treatment. It will likely not go away completely, but would be significantly marginalized.
But one thing is clear - any future studies should be very tightly controlled, or they will be counterproductive.
A List of Government Resources
Organizations
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
P.O. Box 188
Crosswicks, NJ 08515-0188
info@asatonline.org
http://www.asatonline.org
Autism National Committee (AUTCOM)
P.O. Box 429
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
http://www.autcom.org
Autism Network International (ANI)
P.O. Box 35448
Syracuse, NY 13235-5448
jisincla@syr.edu
http://www.ani.ac
Autism Research Institute (ARI)
4182 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
director@autism.com
http://www.autismresearchinstitute.com
Tel: 619-281-7165
Fax: 619-563-6840
Autism Society of America
7910 Woodmont Ave.
Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20814-3067
http://www.autism-society.org
Tel: 301-657-0881 800-3AUTISM (328-8476)
Fax: 301-657-0869
MAAP Services for Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD
P.O. Box 524
Crown Point, IN 46308
info@maapservices.org
http://www.maapservices.org
Tel: 219-662-1311
Fax: 219-662-0638
Autism Speaks, Inc.
2 Park Avenue
11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
contactus@autismspeaks.org
http://www.autismspeaks.org
Tel: 212-252-8584 California: 310-230-3568
Fax: 212-252-8676
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Special Education Programs
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013-1492
nichcy@aed.org
http://www.nichcy.org
Tel: 800-695-0285
Fax: 202-884-8441
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
31 Center Drive, Rm. 2A32 MSC 2425
Bethesda, MD 20892-2425
http://www.nichd.nih.gov
Tel: 301-496-5133
Fax: 301-496-7101
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse
1 Communication Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20892-3456
nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov
Tel: 800-241-1044 800-241-1055 (TTD/TTY)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
6001 Executive Blvd. Rm. 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
nimhinfo@nih.gov
http://www.nimh.nih.gov
Tel: 301-443-4513/866-415-8051 301-443-8431 (TTY)
Fax: 301-443-4279
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
P.O. Box 188
Crosswicks, NJ 08515-0188
info@asatonline.org
http://www.asatonline.org
Autism National Committee (AUTCOM)
P.O. Box 429
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
http://www.autcom.org
Autism Network International (ANI)
P.O. Box 35448
Syracuse, NY 13235-5448
jisincla@syr.edu
http://www.ani.ac
Autism Research Institute (ARI)
4182 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
director@autism.com
http://www.autismresearchinstitute.com
Tel: 619-281-7165
Fax: 619-563-6840
Autism Society of America
7910 Woodmont Ave.
Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20814-3067
http://www.autism-society.org
Tel: 301-657-0881 800-3AUTISM (328-8476)
Fax: 301-657-0869
MAAP Services for Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD
P.O. Box 524
Crown Point, IN 46308
info@maapservices.org
http://www.maapservices.org
Tel: 219-662-1311
Fax: 219-662-0638
Autism Speaks, Inc.
2 Park Avenue
11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
contactus@autismspeaks.org
http://www.autismspeaks.org
Tel: 212-252-8584 California: 310-230-3568
Fax: 212-252-8676
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Special Education Programs
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013-1492
nichcy@aed.org
http://www.nichcy.org
Tel: 800-695-0285
Fax: 202-884-8441
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
31 Center Drive, Rm. 2A32 MSC 2425
Bethesda, MD 20892-2425
http://www.nichd.nih.gov
Tel: 301-496-5133
Fax: 301-496-7101
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse
1 Communication Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20892-3456
nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov
Tel: 800-241-1044 800-241-1055 (TTD/TTY)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
6001 Executive Blvd. Rm. 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
nimhinfo@nih.gov
http://www.nimh.nih.gov
Tel: 301-443-4513/866-415-8051 301-443-8431 (TTY)
Fax: 301-443-4279
Autism Vancouver Introduction
Autism Vancouver is a blog to help you stay informed of the latest diagnostic and treatment issues in the field of autism. We will focus on science based practice here in the lower mainland including Vancouver, Burnaby, coquitlam, New Westminster and areas nearby. We will discuss therapy and counselling for children, therapy and counselling for adolescents and therapy and counselling for adults. Dr. Roche is a proponent of scientifically supported medicine and psychological interventions for autism, asperger's, adhd and related social-cognitive disorders. The blog is moderated by Dr. Jim Roche, a Registered Psychologist and Registered Family Therapist in British Columbia. He is a behavioural and cognitive behavioural therapist as well as a certified teacher of special education. He provides consultation and training to school districts throughout British Columbia. He has offices in Burnaby, coquitlam and Vancouver and provides disgnostic, counselling, therapy and behavioural intervention services to children, adolescents and adults with autism, Asperger's and ADHD.
Dr. Roche's professional web site can be found at http://www.relatedminds.com or at http://www.socialcognitivetherapy.com
Dr. Roche's professional web site can be found at http://www.relatedminds.com or at http://www.socialcognitivetherapy.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)