Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Autism and In Vitro Fertilization

Autism experts study in vitro fertilization

The Israeli team's study suggested children conceived through IVF are three times more likely to suffer from mild to moderate autism.

The Harvard team found that autism was nearly twice as common among the children of women who were treated with ovulation-inducing drugs.

Every parent with a child that has autism spectrum disorder is asking the same thing: "What are the causes?"

"It may be the case that there is something there," Fombonne said of infertility treatments. "But it would apply to a very tiny proportion of the autistic population."




Monday, August 29, 2011

Autistic adults too smart to leave home - Winnipeg Free Press

Autistic adults too smart to leave home - Winnipeg Free Press

Robin Watson is 21 years old, a fantasy novel lover, model employee and video game fanatic. But his parents are terrified of what would happen to him if they weren't around.

"It's the mad truck theory, right? The two of us get schmucked by a mad truck, what's going to happen to Robin?" his father Darius Watson says.

Robin is what autism advocates call a "gapper" -- he's unable to live completely independently, but his IQ is just a bit too high to qualify for the province's supported living program.



Thursday, August 25, 2011

60 Essential Twitter Feeds for Autism

60 Essential Twitter Feeds for Following Autism Education | Online Colleges

Autism has received a lot of national media attention in recent years, largely because the number of children diagnosed has risen sharply. Whether this is due to better diagnostic testing or some yet undiscovered genetic or environmental factor is still to be determined. Either way, its increased prevalence has made it necessary for educators and parents alike to work hard and learn more about autism, from spotting the early signs to the best ways autistic children can learn and thrive. Keeping up with the latest news and information can be a full time job, but social media may prove one fairly effortless way to do so.

We’ve collected 60 Twitter feeds here that will help you to keep up with all the latest news on autism, from charities working to help diagnosed individuals to new discoveries by scientists and researchers — even some support and inspiration from parents raising afflicted children. No matter what drives your interest in autism, you’re bound to find some tweets among these feeds that will help you better understand and work with those who have the condition.

These feeds will ensure you always know the latest in autism research and news.

  1. @theautismnews: This feed is a great follow if you want easy access to a wide range of news articles on autism and autism spectrum disorders.
  2. @autism_research: Check out this Twitter feed to find a great collection of articles that may be of interest to parents and professionals in the autism field.
  3. @autismbulletin: Make sure you stay in the loop when it comes to autism news by reading this regularly updated feed.
  4. @TheCoffeeKlatch: Geared towards parents, this feed is an excellent resource for practical articles on living with autism and the latest research being done.
  5. @asteens: Find some great posts about autism news and more, specifically dealing with the disorder’s impact on teens, through this organization’s feed.
  6. @autismtalk: Host of Autism Talk Radio, Steven Prussack, keeps this feed loaded with links to his show’s latest recordings.
  7. @anne_barbano: Anne Barbano hosts a radio show that focuses on autism and other disabilities. Check out her latest topics of discussion here.
  8. @thinkingautism: Here you’ll find links to some amazingly informative essays written by parents, professionals and those with autism.
MORE HERE. Click to see #9 - #60 @ OnlineColleges.Net


Deaf with Autism Revisited, You are not alone

AutismParents.NET! » Deaf with Autism Revisited, You are not alone

The dual diagnosis ups the difficulty level substantially in getting help for either disorder. As Tarika points out, those that can help with autism are stymied by the deafness, and those that can help with the deafness are stymied by the autism. This for sure puts parents like Tarika in a conundrum.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

10 Questions to Ask Your SLP About Autism

10 Questions to Ask Your Speech-Language Pathologist About Autism - MSN

When you have a child with autism, communication can be a big challenge. Understanding the problem and knowing how to address it can help you feel less stressed and more in control. But what if you don’t have all the vital facts you need?

Your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP), commonly referred to as a speech therapist, is a great source of information about all kinds of communication issues. All you have to do is ask.



Monday, August 22, 2011

Police take boy with autism to hospital in handcuffs

Police take autistic boy to hospital in handcuffs - baltimoresun.com

DENVER – Seeing her 8-year-old son in handcuffs and being escorted by Denver Police into Children’s Hospital was a sight a mother wasn’t prepared to watch.

“That was something I was just not prepared to see, my 8-year-old son in handcuffs,” says the boy’s mother, Raiko. She doesn’t want her family’s last name disclosed.

Her son has been diagnosed with autism, and she took a picture of his hands cuffed tightly behind his back as he was walking into the hospital.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

BREAKING NEWS: Autism blogs are not news




Autism blogs are not news! | Autism from a Father's Point of View

The media, especially aggregators such as Google News, make it especially easy these days for average people to be heard… not just heard, but to be included in with the other news stories.

http://www.stuartduncan.name/autism/autism-blogs-are-not-news/


DETROIT FATHER OF 5 PURSUES FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT

DETROIT FATHER OF 5 PURSUES FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT AGAINST MIA WENK, DHS, JUDGES, AGENCIES FOR REMOVAL OF CHILDREN | VOICE OF DETROIT

DETROIT — A federal civil rights lawsuit against Michigan Child Protective Services (CPS) worker Mia Wenk, her supervisor Monica Sampson, numerous other Department of Human Services personnel, the Detroit Police Department, private foster care agencies and shelters, and Family Court judges and referees is currently proceeding in federal court.


The lawsuit asks for injunctive and declaratory relief and compensatory damages on behalf of Nathaniel Brent, a Detroit father of five children with Native American heritage, who were removed from their home for four months.

Wenk, Sampson and other defendants in the case were also the chief protagonists in the removal of Ariana Godboldo-Hakim from her home in March, and her forced psychiatric hospitalization and medication afterwards.

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/08/17/detroit-father-of-5-pursues-federal-civil-rights-suit-against-mia-wenk-dhs-judges-agencies-for-removal-of-children/


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Missing Middletown Teen Reunites With His Family - Killingworth-Durham-Middlefield, CT Patch

Missing Middletown Teen Reunites With His Family - Killingworth-Durham-Middlefield, CT Patch

Just about now the parents of 17-year-old Nathan Carman are reuniting with their son in Virginia, after spending the last several days searching for the youth, who is autistic and went missing on Thursday, Aug. 11.

Nathan was found around 8:30 last night in Sussex County, Va., about 30 miles from the North Carolina border. He told the police who discovered him that he was on his way to Florida.



JURY RULES AGAINST MARYANNE GODBOLDO IN CUSTODY TRIAL | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

JURY RULES AGAINST MARYANNE GODBOLDO IN CUSTODY TRIAL | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

JURY RULES AGAINST MARYANNE GODBOLDO IN CUSTODY TRIAL

Some of those who participated in national rallies against state child abduction, including supporters of Maryanne Godboldo, outside the Lincoln Hall of Justice in Detroit Aug. 12; Neema Yacef is second from right front

Numerous families stopped outside the Lincoln Hall to sign Govabuse petitions against state child abduction

By Diane Bukowski

August 12, 2011

DETROIT – Despite testimony that Mia Wenk, a “social services specialist” with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, authorized the psychiatric hospitalization of Ariana Godboldo-Hakim, 13, and the administration of four dangerous psychotropic drugs, without reviewing the child’s medical records, a jury found Aug. 9 that it was Ariana’s mother Maryanne Godboldo who had neglected her.

More http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/08/16/jury-rules-against-maryanne-godboldo-in-custody-trial/


Risk of autism in siblings nearly double prior estimates | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Risk of autism in siblings nearly double prior estimates | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Siblings of children with autism are known to be at increased risk for autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), but now researchers from 12 sites in the United States and Canada report the risk is substantially higher than previously believed and much higher than the risk for children in the general population.

Past studies have estimated the risk for those siblings at 3 percent to 10 percent, but new results, published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, show that 19 percent of infant siblings develop ASD by age 3. In families where more than one child was affected, an infant sibling’s risk topped 32 percent.



Thursday, August 11, 2011

Breaking News: Facebook Causes Autism

Neuroscientist Links Autism with Internet Use | Autism Key

Neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield of Oxford University has created a firestorm of controversy by correlating autism with increased computer use amongst children. She contends that the use of social networking Web sites is altering children’s brains, creating shorter attention spans, an expectation of instant gratification and a lack of empathy (i.e. “autistic-like traits"). She proceeds to point out that individuals with autism are particularly drawn to using computers speculating, “Of course, we do not know whether the current increase in autism is due more to increased awareness and diagnosis of autism, or whether it can – if there is a true increase – be in any way linked to an increased prevalence among people of spending time in screen relationships. Surely it is a point worth considering,’” she added.


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Another Autism Murder Suicide (Dr. Margaret Ferne Jensvold)

Maryland Psychiatrist, Teen Son Dead in Murder-Suicide

WASHINGTON - Montgomery County Police say a well-known psychiatrist and author shot and killed her teenage son, then turned the gun on herself in a murder-suicide inside their Kensington home.

Police were called to the rented townhouse on Simms Court Tuesday afternoon. They say Dr. Margaret Ferne Jensvold, 54, was found in her bedroom with a gunshot wound. 13-year-old Benjamin Barnhard was found in his bedroom also suffering from a fatal gunshot wound. The Maryland Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the case a murder-suicide.

FOX 5 News spoke with the boy's father, James Barnhard, who calls his ex-wife a lovely person who likely killed their only child out of desperation and love.

Barnhard says Ben was tormented by bullies at school for being extremely overweight and on the autism spectrum.



Should Pediatricians ‘Fire’ Patients Whose Parents Don’t Vaccinate? – TIME Healthland

Should Pediatricians ‘Fire’ Patients Whose Parents Don’t Vaccinate? – TIME Healthland

Now, pediatricians across the country — and particularly in vaccine-averse pockets such as northern Idaho, Boulder, Colo., Washington State and Marin County, Calif. — are stuck figuring out how to respond to patients whose parents obtain immunization exemptions on medical, philosophical or religious grounds. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends doctors continue to treat — and educate — anti-vaccine families, some pediatricians are electing to “fire” patients who swear off vaccines.



Autism & Police: Improving Interactions | HealthyState.org – Florida Health News

Autism & Police: Improving Interactions | HealthyState.org – Florida Health News

Tales of sour interactions between police and people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) appear to be trending. Last month in Tampa Bay, an autistic teen was killed by police who were called to his home on a domestic disturbance call. Earlier this year, an autistic teen in Virginia was found guilty for assaulting a police officer.

As to why these incidents are increasing, autism advocate Dennis Debbaudt has two theories:

Several high-profile incidents have led to increased autism awareness training for police. Photo by Scott Davidson at Flickr Creative Commons.

Several high-profile incidents have led to increased autism awareness training for police. Photo by Scott Davidson at Flickr Creative Commons.

Firstly, diagnosis rates are up. Secondly, “back in the late ’60s, ‘early 70s, most people with autism, developmental disabilities, mental illness were living in institutions,” Debbaudt says. “Those days are long over.”

Debbaudt, of Port St. Lucie, has helped train officials from the FBI to the New York and Chicago police departments on how to interact with people with ASD. He’s also the father of 28-year-old Brad, who has autism. Debbaudt estimates that at least 100,000 first responders have had some type of autism awareness training; this leaves many more who haven’t.

“We can’t ask them to diagnose the condition in the field,” says Debbaudt, who runs the website AutismRiskManagement.com. “It’s tough enough to get pediatricians to diagnose it in their office, let alone someone who isn’t ready for this.”

http://healthystate.org/archives/14914



Wednesday, August 3, 2011

High Five to Joe's Crab Shack for Autism Fundraising

Think Autism. | causes.com

High Five to Joe's Crab Shack!

Give Joe's Crab Shack a "high five" by eating at their restaurants in one of these 5 states: Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey on August 10 & 11! Up to 20% of your food sales will be donated back to NAA! Just go to our web site (http://bit.ly/km5Lrj) and print off the flyer to take with you to make sure that happens! Live near a Joe's in one of these states? Click "I Want To Volunteer" to help!



Widower struggles with six disabled kids

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

No Running with Pickles

The No Running with Pickles blog has been added to The Autism Retort!












You can add a link to the Autism Retort to your site with the following code:


Prosecutors Lose Key Blood Sample in Gigi Jordan Murder Case - DNAinfo.com

Prosecutors Lose Key Blood Sample in Gigi Jordan Murder Case - DNAinfo.com

Alleged murderer Gigi Jordan, 50, at a recent court appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court. (DNAinfo/John Marshall Mantel)

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The only blood sample taken from Gigi Jordan the day she allegedly murdered her child before trying to kill herself with a drug overdose has gone missing, prosecutors informed her lawyers in a letter last week.

The sample, one millimeter of Jordan's blood in a vial taken Feb. 5, 2010 during her treatment at Bellevue Hospital, had been held by the hospital pending her trial, prosecutors said in the letter sent to Jordan's attorneys on Friday.



Monday, August 1, 2011

Autism and Google+: The potential for a new Autism Community | Stuart Duncan

Autism and Google+: The potential for a new Autism Community | Stuart Duncan

I’ve been using Google+ for a little while now (being relative since it’s only a month old) and the way I see it, Google+ could radically alter the Autism Community online forever… that is… if it really does take off and people use it.

Let me tell you a little bit about how it’s different, some very powerful ways to use it and a couple of surprises at the end that I think will really intrigue you.



Autism - Google News

The Autism Retort: 25 Newest Blogs Posts


ShareThis