Mercury; Bullying Bill; Film Festival
October 21, 2009 by Jeff Stimpson
Filed under Health
New research finds children with autism have mercury levels similar to those of other children. University of California, Davis scientists said that the study was the “most rigorous examination to date of blood-mercury levels in children with autism,” and cautioned that the study did not disprove or prove whether mercury plays a role in causing the disorder. The study looked at the mercury levels in 452 participants – 249 with autism, 143 without it and 60 who had other developmental delays – and found levels “essentially the same” in all the children. More is here.
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Photo courtesy of shoothead (flickr.com)
Massachusetts state Rep. Barbara L’Italien, whose child is autistic, has introduced a bill that would require schools to address bullying and how to identify it at special education parent-teacher and IEP meetings. Advocates cited a 2002 study that found 94 percent of children with Asperger’s Syndrome face torment from peers. More is here.
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The Sprout Touring Film Festival may be coming to a theater near you. For those unfamiliar with Sprout, it presents movies about and by people with a variety of conditions. Cities include Albany, N.Y., on 10/23 at the NYSARC Annual Convention; Charlottesville, Va., on 11/7, at the Virginia Film Festival; and in Pittsburgh on 11/14 at the ARC of US National Convention. If you are interested in bringing the best of the Sprout Film Festival to your area, they’ll work with you to tailor programs and bring a custom version of the festival to your area. Contact anthony@gosprout.org and for more information on Sprout go here. Jill and I attended Sprout here in New York a few years back, and found the event so inspiring that we took the giant step of actually buying a T shirt!
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Alex keeps coming home with school with books, titles I haven’t seen before, He traces his finger along the cover and wants me to read it to him so he can repeat it. I’m encouraged by his reading and curiosity, but I do wonder if he has anyone’s permission to remove the books. We’ll be addressing his new school with proper attention next week, finally, following some family and professional events, and look forward to his getting his sticky-fingeredness under control.
