•
I got a note from Erica Dupont LCSW who runs a support group here in Tampa that let me know about a program for children under 5 to get free Busch gardens passes. Here is the link but if you can not find it, I simply went to the Busch Gardens web site in Tampa and clicked on the sesame street symbol, from this point it should be easy to figure out what to do. I hope you all can enjoy, summer is around the corner. http://www.buschgardens.com/bgt/safarioffun/Pass.aspx
•
One of our patients came in yesterday and was kind enough to show me this site. I thought this was a great site for those with allergies and thought I wanted to share it with you. This site is beneficial because you can put in what your allergies or sensitivities are and the site will give you sample recipes that you can use. Obviously, the recipes do not include anything that your child is allergic to. We will put this site on the resource page for you to refer to in the future. Also recall the switcheroo site which allows you to take a recipe, that perhaps you already have and find a substitute for an ingredient that your child may not be able to have. Here is the link to the allergy recipe site. http://www.cookingallergyfree.com/
•
A member of our support group www.hitautism.net sent me this note and I thought I would pass it on to everyone. This is particularly timely as today Lancet retracted the paper linking vaccines to autism. She sounds sincere and like she wants to take some action. Please feel free to comment on this site or contact Arlene directly, below is her contact info.
I am writing because I feel that something may have been overlooked with the connection between autism, and vaccines.
Everybody says that there is no connection between the shots and autism, I beleive that is partially true. What I beleive is that the shot given by itself is not a problem. The shot given along with other shots is what causes the problem.
I am 54 with a grandson diagnosed with autism. When my children were young doctors gave one shot at a time. There weren’t as many shots given, like today. I have heard too many stories including my grandsons where 3 to 4 shouts were give at one office visit. The children were held down by nurses and given a total of 4 shots 2 at a time. This is what I beleive is the cause for the increase in autism. The body cannot handle that amount at once.
I have been listening to young people and their stories,and now want to talk to some doctors who deal with autism and see if multiple shots given at one time could be the answere. I will be doing some research and may even write to newspapers to see if people will write to me. I need and want to find a way to stop or decrease autism especially if one of the solutions would be easy. Stop the multiple shots at once.
Can you ask patients and people in your support group if they remember if their children received multiple shots when they went to their doctors prior to seeing change in their children. Please help me help them. Feel free to call me if there is anything I can do.
Respectfully
Arlene Ridder
727-597-0521
•
It is the newer imaging techniques such as functional MRIs and SPECT scanning that is really giving us great clues and insights into how the brain works. This of course will lead us further understand how the brain works in autism or what in essence is the dysfunction taking place. Here is a nice video series regarding a doctor whose son has autism. She scans her own brain as well as her sons and makes comparisons. This is a three part series, however, I thought the third would be the nicest one to expose you to in order to see if you had further interest. Naturally you are welcome to go back and check out parts one and two. The doctors accent is a bit difficult to understand but I still think this is a nice introduction and educational tool for everyone regarding SPECT scans. Hopefully you will find it interesting and not too technical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEoVwFLErIE
•
I hope you all have heard about what is going on in Arkansas with Zakhquery Price. If you have not, here is some background information and some action steps you can take. I have written previously about Autism and higher rates of encounters with the law but nothing makes the point like a real boy and a real situation. Please do not just read the story, read it and take at least one action step.
The information below was provided to me by Rachela on the Autism Speaks Forum
Senators:
Lincoln, Blanche L. – (D – AR) Class III
355 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4843
Web Form: lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Pryor, Mark L. – (D – AR) Class II
255 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2353
Web Form: pryor.senate.gov/contact/
Governor:
<a href=”http://governor.arkansas.gov/contacts.html”>http://governor.arkansas.gov/contacts.html</a>
Also your state’s reps…
Congress:
Representative Marion Berry (D – 01) 202-225-4076 202-225-5602 <a href=”http://www.house.gov/berry/zipauth.shtml”>http://www.house.gov/berry/zipauth.shtml</a>
Representative Vic Snyder (D – 02) 202-225-2506 202-225-5903 <a href=”http://www.house.gov/snyder/contact-form.shtml”>http://www.house.gov/snyder/contact-form.shtml</a>
Representative John Boozman (R – 03) 202-225-4301 202-225-5713 <a href=”https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml”>https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml</a>
Representative Mike Ross (D – 04) 202-225-3772 202-225-1314 <a href=”http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77″>http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77</a>§iontree=7677
•
Here is a short article describing the common medications used for attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder. The article is a nice 101 regarding the medications used, their effects as well as side effects. Remember that autism spectrum disorders is a spectrum with ADD at the beginning of the spectrum and severe autism on the far end of the spectrum. Also recall, that there is much of mixing and matching of signs and symptoms with regard to the various conditions on the spectrum. That is to say, that there are those with Asperger’s syndrome that have attention and hyperactivity issues and those with autism or sensory integration disorder with compulsive issues as an example. Therefore many of those on the spectrum whether they have a primary diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder or Tourettes Syndrome are many times on medications for hyperactivity and can benefit from the information in this article. This is also a nice website for you to peruse regarding ADD and ADHD. http://adhdadd.org/?p=64
•
In the Autism community the amount of mercury in vaccines as thimerosal has always been a big issue. Now with the advent of the H1N1 parents are very concerned and cautious. I know this Flu season we have gotten more questions about vaccine than ever. We have questions regarding both the MMR and H1N1. Whether you believe that mercury toxicity is at the root of the dramatic rise in autism spectrum disorders or perhaps just another factor to consider or not important at all, it is always good to be informed. This link will to you to the latest information on vaccines and mercury content. http://www.hitautism.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/thi-table-Oct2009.pdf
•
One of our members in The Netherlands contacted me regarding his development of a Picture Exchange Communication System type application software for Windows. The application is in Dutch, English and French. The application is free but he ask for donations and help with creating new pictos. For those of you with speech or communication issues I think this is worth you all checking this out. As always, I hope someone out there finds this helpful and that it makes their life a little bit easier. He is the link. Happy New year to you all!
www.pictoselector.eu
•
Avoiding allergies and immune reactions such as IgG food sensitivities can be a big part of helping children on the autism spectrum improve. As always, this assumes that you have found a problem in this area. We all know how varied not only are the children but are the triggers to their conditions. In any event, I have been asked by several parents who do have children with issues relating mostly to IgG food sensitivities about food labels and how to really interpret them. What they really mean. We all know that many times gluten-free may not necessarily be truly gluten free. So here is the page from the FDA explaining what they mean with regard to food allergies and labels. It is also a nice place to begin and further navigate the site if you have other interests.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079311.htm
•
One of the major findings with biomedical interventions and functional medicine as applied to autism spectrum disorders is gluten sensitivity. I found a nice video series Children’s Hospital in Boston that explains how to create a gluten-free home. In addition, this is only one of a series of videos which relates to things such as gluten-free cooking and gluten-free shopping. So check out this video and feel free to check out the entire series. I think the series will be very informative even to those of you who are experienced with the gluten-free diet. For those who are brand-new to the diet this is a wealth of information in a nice concise and easy to learn format. Just watch and learn.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ChildrensHospital#p/u/48/neqJJy-2INg
