1 in 88: APRIL IS AUTISM CRISIS MONTH!

CDC Announces 1 in 88 Autism Numbers: Safeminds Responds with Autism Crisis 2012 - AGE OF AUTISM

Managing Editor's Note: From SafeMinds:  Awareness Isn't Enough - We Need ActionToday the Centers for Disease Control issued the long-awaited autism prevalence numbers for children born in 2000 - 1 in 88 children.

When I first heard the news, I was a little numb to it.  Just what we expected.  Then I thought about it for a few minutes and it felt like a punch in the gut.  So many children affected, needlessly.  Some of them are friends of my three boys.  These are real kids, not numbers. They deserve better. 

More @ http://www.ageofautism.com/2012/03/cdc-announces-1-in-88-autism-numbers-safeminds-responds-with-autism-crisis-2012.html

21 Jump Street Autism Flap - Making “autistic” into the new R-word | autisable

Making “autistic” into the new R-word | autisable: "Now, they’re making a movie by the same name but instead of teenage angst, real life, drama and emotion, it’s a ridiculously stupid comedy filled with cheap laughs.

Don’t get me wrong, I happen to love stupid comedies. I laugh even at cheap laughs.

The problem is that in one particular trailer, the one guy looks at a chart that his officers made and says “That looks like s#!t. What are you, autistic?”

Enter the uproar."

'via Blog this'

Linked to Autism: Skinny Bitches Theory & Serotonin Transporters (mouse study)

AutismParents.NET! » The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism: Curvy Women & Serotonin Transporters

Two new entries on The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism today.  One that sounds like it makes some sense and another that sounds like some researchers with too much time on their hands.  First, another new study where scientists are able to replicate autism symptoms and an over abundance of serotonin, which is common to kids with autism. 

More @  http://autismparents.net/the-big-list-of-s-linked-to-autism-curvy-women-serotonin-transporters/

Another novel mouse model for autism yields amazing clues AGAIN

Novel mouse model for autism yields clues to a 50-year-old mystery

Serotonin is a brain chemical that carries signals across the synapse, or gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT). In 2005, a team of Vanderbilt researchers led by Randy Blakely and James Sutcliffe identified rare genetic variations in children with ASD that disrupt SERT function.
In a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers report the creation of a mouse model that expressed the most common of these variations. 

The change is a very small one in biochemical terms, yet it appears to cause SERT in the brain to go into overdrive and restrict the availability of serotonin at synapses.
"The SERT protein in the brain of our mice appears to exhibit the exaggerated function and lack of regulation we saw using cell models," said Blakely, director of the Vanderbilt Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research. 

"Remarkably, these mice show changes in social behavior and communication from early life that may parallel aspects of ASD," noted first author Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, assistant professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and pharmacology.
The researchers conclude that a lack of serotonin during development may lead to long-standing changes in the way the brain is wired. 

More @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120320115625.htm

No S*&% News of the Day: Study Confirms Financial Impact of Autism on Family Income

Stop the presses!  Being Broke Linked to Autism!!!

Study Confirms Financial Impact of Autism - Special Needs - Families.com

A brand new study confirms the findings of a preliminary study that was released in 2011. The new study shows that the income of a family that includes a child who has autism is significantly less than the income of families who don't. This is due to a number of factors. 

In 2011, there was a preliminary study that used data that came from a survey done by the United States government's Medical Expenditures Panel. Researchers looked at information about families that included children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), about families who had children with other types of chronic health conditions, (such as asthma, ADHD, or cerebral palsy), and about families that had healthy children.  

More @ http://special-needs.families.com/blog/study-confirms-financial-impact-of-autism#

The K.I.T.E. Center for Autism Offers Summer Day Camp (Jackson, TN)

The K.I.T.E. Center: Summer Day Camp for Autism and Special Needs

Lots of fun activities planned for socialization and language development.  Peer partners will work with K.I.T.E. kids during the summer fun.  Activities include nature trail hikes, art projects, fun zone day, swimming, zoo day, cooking classes and much more.   

June 4th - JULY 27TH8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

Space is limited.  Contact Message Margaret for more information (Facebook, Email, or phone @ 731-627-5007) 

People with Autism should have access to TSA's new fast track 'Precheck' screening program!

TSA subject child in a wheelchair to invasive airport security tests in Chicago | Mail Online

The TSA's new fast track 'Precheck' screening, now at two airlines and nine airports, is similar to security checks before 9/11, reports the Wall Street Journal.
To qualify, frequent fliers must be invited by airlines and meet an undisclosed TSA criteria. A $100 fee for a background check is required as well as a brief interview with a Customs officer. 

However, approved travelers who are in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's 'Global Entry' program can transfer into Precheck, according to the Journal.

'It's a completely different experience than what you're used to,' Matt Stegmeir, a platinum-level Delta Air Lines frequent flier who was invited into Precheck, told the Journal. 

'It's really a jarring contrast. It reminds you just how much of a hassle the security procedures in place really are. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2116881/TSA-subject-child-wheelchair-invasive-airport-security-tests-Chicago.html#ixzz1pZm4aIkt 

The K.I.T.E. Center for Autism Wine & Cheese Fundraiser was an overwhelming success

The K.I.T.E. Center: Wine & Cheese Fundraiser 2012

The K.I.T.E. Center held its first annual Wine & Cheese Fundraiser March 10th at The Crown Winery in Humboldt.  The event was the first in a series of events that K.I.T.E. will be hosting over the coming months.  Stay tuned for the next event.  Thank you to all who donated and made this event possible. 

More information about K.I.T.E., a premier school for autism located in Jackson, TN, visit their site @ http://thekitecenter.com/

Ark. police say sibling shooting not accidental - Wire National News - The Sacramento Bee

Ark. police say sibling shooting not accidental - Wire National News - The Sacramento Bee

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Police said Wednesday that a 9-year-old girl pulled the trigger in the fatal shooting of her 7-year-old brother while their parents were briefly away from their Arkansasapartment.
The shooting on Monday afternoon was not an accident, Little Rock Police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said, but he declined to comment any further. Hastings' remarks come a day after a police spokeswoman said the girl shot her brother and then backtracked to say only that the girl was responsible for the shooting.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/14/4337221/ark-police-say-sibling-shooting.html#storylink=cpy
More @ http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/14/4337221/ark-police-say-sibling-shooting.html

The K.I.T.E. Center: Summer Day Camp for Autism and Special Needs (Jackson, TN)

The K.I.T.E. Center: Summer Day Camp for Autism and Special Needs

Lots of fun activities planned for socialization and language development.  Peer partners will work with K.I.T.E. kids during the summer fun.  Activities include nature trail hikes, art projects, fun zone day, swimming, zoo day, cooking classes and much more.  

June 4th - JULY 27TH8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

Space is limited.  Contact Message Margaret for more information (Facebook, Email, or phone @ 731-627-5007) 

More info @ http://thekitecenter.com/summer_programs.htm or https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-KITE-Center-kids-inclined-to-excel-for-Autism/235796236484825

Ark. Police Say Autistic Girl, 9, Shot Brother, 7 - ABC News

Ark. Police Say Autistic Girl, 9, Shot Brother, 7 - ABC News

A 9-year-old autistic girl fatally shot her 7-year-old brother at the family's Arkansas apartment while their parents were signing paperwork at a leasing office, police said Tuesday.

The girl initially told authorities two men entered their Little Rock apartment on Monday and shot her brother, but police didn't find any signs of forced entry and nothing in the apartment was missing, according to a Little Rock police report.

The children's father told officers that his daughter has high-functioning autism. He said she "often told stories, and he did not believe that the apartment had been entered by anyone," police wrote in the report.

Little Rock Police Sgt. Cassandra Davis said later conversations with the girl led investigators to believe she was responsible for the shooting. Davis declined to discuss details of the conversations or whether the girl had been tested for residue left behind when a gun is fired.

More @ http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ark-police-autistic-girl-shot-brother-15911111#.T1-NwIHy8hU

Another Autism Murder Suicide: Mom killed 22-year-old autistic son, then herself

Sunnyvale police: Mother killed 22-year-old autistic son, then herself - Inside Bay Area

A Sunnyvale mother shot and killed her 22-year-old autistic son in his bedroom, then turned the gun on herself, according to police.

Department of Public Safety Capt. Dave Verbrugge said Wednesday that the pair were found about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday in a home in the 800 block of Nectarine Ave.

He did not disclose their names or a possible motive.

...

But one neighbor said that Hodgins told her several times in the last few months that her son was getting increasingly harder to handle, and that she couldn't find a new program to take him.

"She just couldn't do it any more -- take care of him anymore''' said Jacquie Jauch. "She was just tired and very lonely."

Jauch said that Hodgins pleaded with her: "Please help me find a program. I need somewhere to put him. I need a rest."