A 16-year-old starts his own computer consulting and repair business, Hire the Brain—impressive. Today’s Columbia Tribune tells how Collin Driscoll, who has Asperger Syndrome, started his company with his father and, too, how he’s learned to deal with his sound sensitivity.

Several months ago, [Driscoll's] mother convinced him to take a trip by himself to his aunt’s home in Kansas and to help her trucking company fix its computer system. It was a big step for Collin, but he enjoyed it, and at his aunt’s encouragement decided he wanted to start the business with his father, Steve, an IT programmer who formerly worked for large companies but was forced into semi-retirement after suffering a stroke.

“I’ve gone from being the geek to being his driver,” joked Steve Driscoll, who marvels at his son’s ability with computers.

Go here to the webpage of Hire the Brain, which notes “Why pay for the whole squad when all you need is one good brain?”—why, indeed?

Remember the Got Autism?” that PETA put up in downtown Newark, New Jersey? The billboard that was subsequently taken down by the ad agency hosting it?

Well, it’s traveled West, to St. Louis, Missouri. From a PETA press release today:

In light of two scientific studies that link milk consumption to autism in children, PETA will be displaying a new billboard parodying a ubiquitous milk ad. The ad shows a bowl of milk and cereal next to the tagline “Has Your Child Got Autism? Learn About the Link Between Autism and Dairy Products at PETA.org.”

The bad news is that data from a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that metropolitan St. Louis’ rate of 7.3 cases of autism per 1,000 8-year-old children is one of the highest among the 14 areas studied.

Just for a comparison, PETA said this about why it put the first billboard up in Newark:

*The Newark area had the highest rates of autism occurrence among 14 states studied in one report.

Wonder if PETA has plans to put up billboards in the other 12 states……..

So autism is referred to at the start of an article in today’s Northeast Missouri Daily Journal.

Never give up, it’s noted in the next few sentences—yes.

But this “dreaded” business—-something we’ve got to change.

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia are studying how to use 3-D imaging to analyze the facial structures and brain abnormalities of autistic children, in the hopes of developing a formula to identify autism in young children. From a press release:

“When you compare the faces and head shapes of children with specific types of autism to other children, it is obvious there are variations. Currently, autism diagnosis is purely behavior based and doctors use tape measurements to check for facial and brain dissimilarities. We are developing a quantitative method that will accurately measure these differences and allow for earlier, more precise detection of specific types of the disorder,” said Ye Duan, assistant computer science professor in the MU College of Engineering. “Once we have created a formula, we can pre-screen children by performing a quick, non-invasive scan of each child’s face and brain to check for abnormalities. Early detection is crucial in treating children and preparing families.”
……..
“Instead of looking at brain structures slice-by-slice in an MRI (magnetic resonance image), we developed tools to create 3-D representations of the structures in order to visualize and make comparisons,” said Kevin Karsch, a research assistant in Duan’s computer graphics lab, MU senior and Goldwater Scholar. “Using the 3-D representations, we are comparing the brain structures of autistic children to those of non-autistic children; no one has ever done that.”

As autism is currently diagnosed through the observation of a child’s behavior, researchers believe that the development of a test, of a biomarker for autism, might result. Professor Duan’s studies rely on two “subgroups” of autism that have been hypothetically identified by Judith Miles, the William and Nancy Thompson Endowed Chair in Child Health at the Thompson Center:

She has observed and distinguished children with a tendency toward more physical and brain abnormalities and smaller heads as having complex autism. Only about 20 percent of affected children fit this subset. The other 80 percent are classified as having essential autism. Miles also has identified physical similarities in facial structure and increased cranium size among those in the essential group and has speculated that the traits may be related to brain abnormalities.

My own son was born with a large head (so was I) and he continues to have one (as do I).

Salvatore Pizzuto—”disability policy specialist, learning consultant, transition specialist and parent/family advocate from East Rutherford”—writes in the June 26th Leader “(the Pulse of the Meadowlands)”:

Autism has become a buzz word in New Jersey that transcends other disabilities that affect children and adults, in terms of its diagnostic and political impact. Over the past two years, several New Jersey State legislators, including Gary Schaer and Joe Roberts, have introduced legislation designed to improve services for children with autism.

Pizzuto then reviews Tereance D. v. School District of Philadelphia, on which a decision was issued by the U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania in February 2008:

….the court held that a child with autism was misdiagnosed as mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed, thus depriving the child of appropriate FAPE (Free and Appropriate Education) for a period of years. Furthermore, the parent was not made aware of her son’s rights to autism services, extended school year services and details about such services.

New Jersey has the highest prevalence rate for autism—1 in 94—-in the US and a number of pieces of autism legislation have passed. It’s been posited that a high level of awareness and understanding—-along with a number of autism professionals and schools dedicated to autistic children—-are behind that high prevalence rate; the case that Pizzuto refers to bears noting, as it hinges around the issue of proper diagnosis, and the services that a child can get, or not get, with it—–whether you’re in Jersey or Alaska or Missouri (which is creating a statewide commission on autism), or in Australia (where a $190 million autism package has been announced).

Autism’s the buzz word now—-but will it always be?

The class mom in Charlie’s class has been sending out emails in preparation for their year end party. Charlie’s entire class is moving onto middle school and we’ve been planning a special ceremony and a party, with special (secret) presents for the teachers and therapists: It’s the boys’ last week at their elementary school, as they will be attending Extended School Year at the middle school and with their new teacher. (And here is a recent article about new classrooms for autistic teens opening in nothern New Jersey.)

And—in Jefferson City, Missouri (the state Charlie was born in)—22-year-old Chad Winkler is is graduating from college. Diagnosed at 4 with autism and in the 4th grade with Asperger’s syndrome, Winkler is graduating cum laude from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, with a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering with a minor in history and chemistry, NBC Action news reports. Kudos to Winkler, who’s moving to Illinois to start a new job. I’m not sure that Charlie will be able to move away from us but certainly, in this season of commencements, my boy is moving onward and upward too.

The Spring semester is almost over at the college where I teach and “getting some kind of job” is the main response from students to the question “what are you planning to do this summer?”. And—it occurs to me on this last day of April with May and Charlie’s 11th birthday right around the corner—-what kind of job will Charlie get some day?

Today’s Southeast Missourian describes the Tailor Institute, which is now offering skills training sessions and social outings for “high-functioning” adults on the autism spectrum. The Institute operates under the Southeast Innovation Center and is currently training three high schoolers and two college students. One student works for the Southeast Missourian and scan negatives. The other student works for the the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University, where he is also a part-time student; he “files papers, archives documents and will work on a project over the summer making a map of a cemetery in Oran, Mo.”

Institute director Elaine Beussink says that, autistic adults are able to find employment, it’s “sustainability” that is the issue:

“Because of the dynamics of the spectrum disorder, they may be perceived as rude, impolite or insensitive. Those may be things needed to maintain employment. If you appear insubordinate or are too rigid, those are complaints employers may have for releasing an employee.”

Charlie’s IEP meeting and annual review are on Friday. He’s going to middle school and more and more of the skills that he is working on are pre-vocational, including in areas such as math (he’s working on addition and subtraction, and money—-he’s had some trouble understanding the different values of the coins). Charlie’s choices for a job will be very limited but I know a steady job will be invaluable when he’s grown up.

Just as some parents of autistic adults have told me that they are less and less, and less, concerned with tracking down what caused to be autistic, so finding jobs—real jobs in the community—-is a major concern to begin to work on. How can companies be encouraged to hire disabled workers?

The April 14th St. Louis Post-Dispatch makes a case for the need for insurance coverage for autism treatment. SB 1122 would allow for insurance coverage “for the treatment of autism under certain conditions”: Autistic children who are “less than 16 years of age” would qualify for up to $50,000 per year of behavior therapy. St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that one family, Molly and Steve Schad whose 7-year-old son Harry is autistic, have spent about $60,000 in treatments over the past 5 years. They have refinanced their home “several times,” borrowed from Molly Schad’s parents, and may have to sell her engagement ring.

Dr. Wayne Meyer, medical director of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, is interviewed:

…….Studies that show benefit from these therapies have flaws, Meyer said. He doesn’t see enough research that show more intensive therapies working better than less intensive ones.

Still he understands parents’ frustration. “If I had a child with this, I might feel the same way,” Meyer said.

“If we could, we’d pay for everything,” he said. “We’re paying for what we can.”

I can’t of course speak for Meyer, but I kind of suspect that most parents of autistic children do feel they have to do everything they can to help their child do the best she or he can, whatever it costs and the general effect on one’s finances and income.

Here’s a Missouri Autism Legislation Overview by G. K. Luetkemeyer, who includes a list of all the Missouri bills concerning autism. And here’s more about autism legislation in some other states:

• Florida
• Arizona
• California
• Wisconsin
• New Jersey
• Oklahoma
• Colorado 9and Gov. Bill Ritter signed SB 163 into law on April 14, to establish a 24-member Colorado Autism Commission)

This post doesn’t have much to do with autism, but a lot to do with some of my earliest memories of life with Charlie. 

While we live in New Jersey now—-my husband Jim is a native and I went to college here—Charlie’s first home was in Kirkwood, Missouri, where this happened yesterday. We didn’t live near the city center where six people died yesterday in a terrible shooting; we were in a condo/apartment complex near to Interstate 270 and a few feet from the railroad tracks. Charlie was born at the Missouri Baptist Medical Center in nearby Town and Country and he went for his earliest walks with us (in his Evenflo stroller) around Kirkwood. Jim walked him down Big Bend Boulevard to the border of Valley Park (where some dogs sent them heading off in a hurry); I once pushed Charlie almost all the way to the center of Kirkwood, on a hot day in late May. I still remember the train station and the store where we bought the double futon we still have.

We moved to a different part of St. Louis after a few months and then, for two years, up to St. Paul, in Minnesota. Then we came back to Missouri and lived in a tiny town called Glendale, and Charlie did OT at the Kirkwood Early Childhood Center and attended preschool for the first time, at Keysor Elementary School, also in Kirkwood, off Manchester Boulevard. In late May of 2001 we packed up the green car and took highway 40 and started driving, past the Arch and through souther Illinois, across Indiana and Ohio and into Pennsylvania where the mountains start, and then east until we reached New Jersey.

I didn’t think I would be hearing about Kirkwood, not in the national news—-not in this way.