This and Last’s Weeks Top Posts

I got a little behind as a result of traveling to Atlanta for (as it turned out) two conferences. I spoke about the representation of autism in the mass media (the SAMLA) and stopped by the National Autism Association conference and encountered Jenny McCarthy and got a good look at inflatable “soft chamber” hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) units—which are not, as Photon in the Darkness points out, are not “real” HBOT—-which involves placing a patient in a hard, usually a steel, chamber and raising the pressure to 2 atmospheres (atm) or more. I came back home to a pile of ungraded quizzes and queries from first-year students about registering for next semester and……..hence, here is a round-up of two weeks’ worth of posts. 

• Thinking Differently (and not only about autism)
  A little understanding about (sometimes) hidden disabilities can help.
• Autism Vox Gets Nominated
  Autism Vox was a finalist for the Best Medical/Health Issues Blog in the 2007 Weblog Awards.
• 7-year-old autistic girl starved to death in her own home
  7-year-old Shellay Ward was found dead on Nov 6th in her family’s home in Hawks Nest in Australia. She weighed only 9 kilograms—just under 20 pounds.
• More on Mirror Neurons
  The November 2007 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience is all about mirror neurons, brain cells that are activated or “fire” both when we perform an action and also when we see that action being performed; some of the research suggests that mirror neurons are fully developed by the time a child is 7 years old.
• The Money Question
  Have you ever not been able to continue or even start a therapy for your child due to the costs?
• Take Your Own Sweet Time
  Jenny McCarthy in the November 9th Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “There’s a timeline to fix your kid.”
• No More Swimming With the Dolphins
  The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has called for a ban on dolphin assisted therapy (DAT), which some claim has helped autistic children “increase speech and motor skills.”
• Another Culprit: Lead in Toys?
  Speculation that the lead in children’s toys, and in particular toys from China (beware of Aqua Dots), is the cause of the “autism epidemic” appears in a letter in the November 11th Salt Lake Tribune.This
• Schools, Services and Supports For Everyone
  Two recent articles point out discrepancies in services and support for autistic children who are from poorer and minority families.
• What I Did in Atlanta
  I go to Atlanta; I see Jenny McCarthy; I consider the politics of representing autism.
• Flush Away
  Yes, that kind of flushing.
• President Vetoes Bill That Includes Support for Autism
  President Bush has vetoed the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill—the “Democrats’ top-priority domestic spending bill”: The effect on funding for autism.
• Upping the “Anti” on Vaccines
  A study published in the November 14th Journal of the American Medical Association notes that death rates for 13 diseases preventable by childhood vaccinations are at an all-time low in the US.
• A Little More Progress At the Piano
  Practice does not always make perfect, but every day we’re at the piano together, I can sense Charlie’s fingers moving to the right notes.
• Trying to Get It Right
  Gabrielle Sedor from Fertility Notes guests posts on autism services, especially for adults.