Some “treatments for autism” that have recently made the news:
Magnets, in a method called transcranial magnetic stimulation; a study is be published this month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders by neuroscientist Manuel Casanova.
Horseback therapy that is to “restart the development of the left side of the brain,” at Spirit Horse Therapy in Corinth, Texas.
At the risk of sounding like an über-cynic—and not to deny that results can be seen from the above—have to say I’m wondering what remains to be tried.

Autism’s terrible toll: Parents risk hitting “a breaking point” is the headline in today’s Denver Post for a story about 13year-old Jacob Grabe, who was shot by his father, Alex Grabe, early in September. The article notes, and lists “similar chilling stories of sudden parental breakdowns have played out in the U.S. in the past several years,” and mentions Katie McCarron, Ulysses Stable, Kyle Dutter—shot this month by his father—and too many others.
Too many others.

When Charlie was formally diagnosed with autism in July of 1999, “autism” seemed like something strange and puzzling and (to be very honest) unfathomable to me. I didn’t know anything about it, and I didn’t understand why it was necessary to apply such a “label” onto my toddler.
Nine years later, and not only do I know a great deal more about autism (with much more still to learn). It seems that people in general know a lot more autism, or are at least familiar with the word; it’s been some time since I said “autistic” and someone said back to …read more

Corduroy, velvet, denim. Leather, silk, a rock. Bubble wrap, fake fur, burlap. Not a list of supplies for a craft project, but a list of things with different textures—but if you felt each, with your fingers or on the soles of your feet, would they just be so many sensory sensation? Or might one say “security” to you, or one make you agitated, even angry? Does touching certain textures evoke certain emotions in you?
If so, you may have “tactile-emotion synesthesia.” Synesthesia is an “involuntary joining in which the real information of one sense is accompanied by a perception in another …read more

Kev writes about 12-year-old Kyle Dutter, who was shot and killed by his father, Ryan Dutter, who then shot and killed himself, on Tuesday. Ryan Dutter had created a website about his son; he had filed for bankruptcy last fall. Kyle was in the the sixth grade at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, Wisconsin.
No words can say……

9-year-old Zachary Vitto—who’s autistic and wears leg braces for cerebral palsy—hikes with his fellow scouts on a rocky path from Borrego to Red Rock Canyon and more than perseveres, as told in the OC Register.
Never ever give up, right?

A long article to appear in the October 19th’s New York Times Magazine describes the D.I.R./Floortime approach for teaching autistic children and, specifically, autistic teenagers. A Decatur, Georigia, school, The Community School is profiled. D.I.R./Floortime is contrasted to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is based on the principles of behavioral science and is widely used to teach autistic children. The goal of D.I.R./Floortime is said to be a “kindling of a student’s curiosity, intelligence, playfulness and energy, the lessons can take on a spontaneous, electric quality” and the “essence” said to be that “a person learns best when self-motivated, …read more

The PETA “Got Autism? billboard has been taken down by the advertising company that was hosting it. PETA’s blog nonetheless noted that the billboard garnered tons of feedback,” with “support from parents of autistic children who have seen noticeable improvements after removing dairy from their child’s diet” specifically noted but not more, ahem, “sour” responses.

It’s a too familiar story to too many of us: Growing numbers of children diagnosed on the autism spectrum and school districts straining, and groaning, under the need (the onus) to provide appropriate services and educational placements, aides and speech therapists who know how to teach an autistic child and not only run articulation drills, and to educate students with widely varying needs and levels of skills. Inadequate funding for special ed and all the more so as districts facing rising costs and no change in state funding, so that districts have to seek support locally from taxpayers.
Does this sound …read more

Given what’s going on in the world right now—this thing called an “economic crisis“—reporting about what one celebrity said about what another actress said about vaccines seems, well, something to remark upon and move on from, in order to read about how the financial crisis might affect credit for school districts. From Education Week today:
With investment firms such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. going out of business, and others consolidating, there are fewer buyers for the bonds issued by districts to pay for such projects as new schools and major repairs, according to Susan Gaffney, the director of the federal-liaison …read more