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I recieved this email from Autism Speaks and thought I would pass it along.
| You are receiving this notice because your member of Congress has not yet cosponsored the ABLE Act. With your calls and emails today, they might!
The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts Act of 2009 – or Achieving a Better Life Experience Act – was introduced on February 26, 2009 in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1205 by Congressman Ander Crenshaw (FL). The bill is designed to encourage individuals with disabilities, including autism, and their families to save for disability-related expenses as well as supplement rather than to replace benefits provided by other sources (including Medicaid and private insurance). The bill authorizes “ABLE Accounts,” which are similar to existing 529 college savings plans and provided certain rules are met, these accounts will be exempt from federal taxation.
The bill has garnered significant support on the House Bill especially with 197 Cosponsors. We have set a goal to add 30 Cosponsors in 30 Days and potentially get this bill passed into law before the end of this Congressional Session!
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| Here is How YOU Can Help: |
1) CALL YOUR FEDERAL HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE! Calls are very important. In this day of electronic communication, we have found that offices are more responsive when they receive calls from constituents.
> You can find your Federal House Representative’s contact information HERE.
> Ask to speak with the Health Legislative Assistant for that office and if you aren’t sure of what to say, say this: “Hi. My name is (NAME). I live in (City, State) and (Representative’s Name) is my Congressman/woman. I am calling today to ask them to cosponsor H.R. 1205, the ABLE Accounts Act. This is a very important bill for me and my family. Our child with autism/loved one with autism, will need care well into adulthood. This allows us a way to provide for our child/that child in the future. Thank you so much.”
2) AFTER YOU MAKE THE CALL, FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL HERE. You can follow up with an email with more information about why you want your Representative to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.
3) ASK TEN PEOPLE TO REGISTER AT AUTISM VOTES AND HELP YOU! This is a quick easy way for people to help you and your family. They can register here. Finding 10 people to help you is easy and magnifies your voice! Ask grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, coworkers, friends and therapists to help you help save for your child’s future.
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You can read more about the ABLE Accounts Act of 2009 here. Thank you so much for your participation
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Don’t forget about this weekend’s free seminar regarding childhood neurobehavioral disorders in Tampa Florida. Topics under discussion will include hemispheric integration therapy, functional medicine for autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities, autism assessment and intervention and RDI. The speakers will include Dr. Danielle Sutton and Kathryn Peter as well as myself. Jules Burt from the high heel hike will also be speaking. The seminar will be held at the Hillsborough County children’s board in Ybor city. Check-in is at 830 am with a question and answers starting at three o’clock. For more information go to http://www.hitautism.com/events download the PDF.
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I received this notfication from Monica Wharton of Disability Radio and thought I would pass it on to everyone. I know many of you are very in touch with politics and the law.
EEOC to Celebrate ADA 20th Anniversary July 22
Speakers to Discuss Landmark Disability Law
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will observe the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 22 with two panels of civil rights experts discussing the landmark law.
Under the theme of “Celebrating the ADA: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” ten speakers, including EEOC officials and authorities on disability law and practice, along with the complainant in a key EEOC disability rights case, will explore the “nuts and bolts of EEOC work” as well as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which expanded the ADA’s scope. The agency will also present awards to current and former EEOC Commissioners and staff who played key roles in the passage of the ADA, promulgation of regulations and guidance under the ADA, and enforcement of the ADA.
DATE AND TIME: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
PLACE: EEOC Headquarters, Training Center, 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC
SPEAKERS:
EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien
EEOC Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum
Wade Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Andrew J. Imparato, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of People with Disabilities
Randel K. Johnson, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Laura Hinton, National Outreach Coordinator, EEOC
Lisa Clinton Jones, Investigator, EEOC Baltimore Field Office
Allison Nichol, Deputy Chief of Disability Rights Section, U.S. Department of Justice, and Former EEOC Trial Attorney, Chicago District Office
Jean Kamp, Associate Regional Attorney, EEOC Chicago District Office
James Hill, Charging Party in EEOC v. Extra Space Management Inc.
John Mosby and Marilyn Cain Gordon, Class Counsel in Glover v. United States Postal Service
The presentation will also be live-streamed on the agency’s website.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Additional information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/7-15-10.cfm
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It has often been said that the best way to deal with a problem is to not have it in the first place. A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the case of autism, we are always looking for risk factors. Things that someone who is concerned about the possibility of having a child with autism should consider. As the risk factors add up then one becomes mores concerned with an undesired outcome. Previous risk factors such as the maternal or paternal age of the parents have been studied. We know that a boy is more likely to have autism that a girl. Having a familial history of Autism such as another child or relation to the parents increases the probability of Autism. And now, as you will see below, mothers with less knowledge regarding toxic exposure are more likely to have a child with Autism than those that are aware and conscious of potential toxic exposure.That is, mothers who showed a greater possibility to exposure to toxins were more likely than the mother with less exposure to have a child with Autism. Many in the autism community are already taking into account heavy metal exposure however things such as canned foods and plastics were also included in this study. The take home message is be aware of toxic exposure if you are pregnant. Be more aware if you are having a boy, are older and have a history of Autism in the family.
Psychiatry Investig.2010 Jun;7(2):122-7. Epub 2010 May 12.
Exposure to environmental toxins in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Kim SM, Han DH, Lyoo HS, Min KJ, Kim KH, Renshaw P.
Department of Psychiatry, Chung Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Environmental pollutants, especially environmental toxins (ET), may have the potential to disrupt neurodevelopmental pathways during early brain development. This study was designed to test our hypothesis that mothers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children would have less knowledge about ET and more chance to be exposed to ET than mothers with healthy children (MHC). METHODS: One hundred and six biologic mothers with ASD children (MASD) and three hundred twenty four biologic mothers with healthy children MHC were assessed using two questionnaires asking about ET. RESULTS: The total score in response to questions related to knowledge about ET in MHC was higher than that in MASD. The possibility of exposure to ET was higher in MASD than MHC. MASD showed higher sub-scale scores in terms of exposures to canned food, plastics, waste incinerators, old electronics, microwavable food, and textiles. CONCLUSION: The current results show that reduced knowledge about ET and greater exposure to ET may be associated with autism spectrum disorder.
PMID: 20577621 [PubMed - in process]
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Approximately 1/100 children are affected by Autism. The Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet, which is considered a major alternative treatment for Autism, was studied by Dr. Susan Hyman; a researcher from the University of Rochester Medical Center. The study is to be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia. Dr. Hyman “did not find an effect on behavior in response to challenges with gluten and casein in children with autism but not GI disease.” The study was 18 weeks long and introduced a challenge after 4 weeks. Behavior issues such as language, social, sleep and gastrointestinal that are commonly associated with autism were addressed. Observers were asked to look for changes although they did not know if the children were given a true challenge or a placebo.
Dr. Nelson Mane D.C., who treats patients on the autism spectrum with Hemispheric Integration Therapy as well as Functional Medicine/Biomedical treatments said, “Looking at the study critically it was too small as only 14 children were involved. The challenge or reintroduction of gluten or casein was termed a snack and may have not been adequate as a challenge. The time period of 18 weeks may not have been long enough as many proponents say the effects of gluten can last up to 6 months. We test for an IgG or immune response to Gluten and Casein and have found a good response when these test are positive otherwise we may not recommend this particular diet. In the end, critics of the diet need to realize that although the diet can be hard to implement and at times expensive it does no harm. Physicians first do no harm. We have seen many parents report considerable progress on the GFCF diet especially if their child tested positive for an IgG reaction which makes this treatment option more specific. In the end Autism is multifactorial and you have to find what is going on with each individual child and it is different form child to child.”
Dr Nelson Mane is a chiropractic physician certified in both chiropractic orthopedics and neurology. He has sub specialty training in childhood neurobehavioral disorders as well as vestibular disorders and electro diagnostics. He was one of 11 doctors out of 60,000 chosen by the American Chiropractic Association to start the first Chiropractic neurology board back in 1989.Dr Mane is a D.A.N (Defeat Autism Now) doctor. He is considered a pioneer in the use of Hemispheric Integration Therapy for the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. For more information regarding Dr. Nelson Mane and his unique approach combining functional medicine with Hemispheric Integration Therapy go to www.Hitautism.com.
For more information about Dr. Nelson Mane, D.C. and his treatment approach for ASD go to http://www.manecenter.com/ADHD.htm.
Dr. Nelson Mañé, D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.N.B., F.A.C.F.N., F.A.C.O.
Mañé Center
1602 West Sligh Avenue Suite 500
Tampa, FL 33604
Tel. 813.935.4744
Fax. 813.931.1427
Email: DrMane@manecenter.com
Website: www.manecenter.com
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Just a reminder that our conference is tomorrow at the Hillsborough County Children’s Board. The Conference is free as everyone including the speakers are volunteering their time. In addition to myself, Dr. Sutton,Suzi Azizi and June Paulsen CLTC. Attorney Mary Greenwood who specializes in special needs planning will also be participating. We have a full house if all the reservations show up but you can call the office , ask for Marilyn and see what the latest head count is. It will be good information for those newly diagnosed as well as more experienced parents.
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I had a parent recommend this book to me as a good book for kids to develop creativity and expression. It has quite a bit of variety with regard to level of ability required so it she serve quite a large group of people. This is the way these recommendations get started. If you all know of a book, toy, doctor, therapist,dentist, restaurant , recipe or anything esle please share it with me and I will share it with everyone else . In this way someone in florida can benifit from a tip that someone in California has learned. Thank you all and here is the link. http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/runningpress/book_detail.jsp?isbn=0762432985
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I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do a video interview regarding my favorite subject Hemispheric Integration Therapy as it relates to Autism Spectrum for the very informative and influential web site Autismhangout.com. It is still very disheartening to see how many people have never even heard of Hemispheric Integration Therapy or Functional Neurology never mind understanding what it is or how it works. This being Autism Awareness Month made the interview extra special for me. Craig Evans did a super job and is a credit to the autsim community. Here is the link, help me spread the word http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rHu4gHk6Hc&feature=player_embedded
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I had the honor of being selected by Parenting Special needs Magazine as their “Everyday Hero” for the month of April 2010. As all of you know by now, April is Autism Awareness Month, so this has extra special meaning to me. It is nice to be win the award but more important is that more and more media is helping us get the word out regarding how Autism Spectrum Disorders affects the lives of so many families. In my particular case, I am also happy that they are helping us get the word out regarding Hemispheric Integration Therapy as a treatment option for families with loved ones on the Autism Spectrum. Here is the link to the article http://parentingspecialneeds.org/heroes&article_id=9
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Here is the flyer for a social skills camp bieng put on by Erica Dupont LCSW this summer. Please consider this as you make your summer plans.
Erica DuPont, LCSW
(813) 966-7064
www.protherapyplus.com
Social Skills Group
12 week group For summer time!!
uGroup will be held at Erica’s new, new office location:
19023 North Dale Mabry Highway Lutz, FL 33548 (Located in Greystone Professional Park)
uWe will meet on Thursdays from 3pm-4:30pm. Groups will begin on May 27, 2010.
uTopics practiced and discussed include: how to make friends, facial expressions and voice tone, conversation skills, appropriate and inappropriate responses to situations, feeling identification, self esteem, listening and following direction skills, empathy, turn taking, sharing, showing a positive attitude and support towards peers, how to handle rejection, anxiety, and fear, among other topics. If you have a particular topic that you feel has not yet been addressed, feel free to make a suggestion.
uThe cost for 1 child attending the group is $600.00 per 12 week period. The cost for a sibling group attending is $900.00 per 12 week period. We do have a small grant fund that is available for those in need of support and on a first come first serve basis.
uPayment, in full, will be due at the beginning of each 12 week session, unless other arrangements have been made.
uPlease RSVP by May 20th, via email, to Erica if you are interested in attending our next group. Groups will be limited to 8 (maximum 10) children at a time. Depending on the ages that are attending, two groups may be offered.
Thank you and we look forward to working with your children! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Erica.DuPont@hotmail.com or 813-966-7064
