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By Julie Deardorff
April is National Autism Awareness Month. According to the Autism Society of America, autism is a complex developmental disability affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others.1.5 million Americans are living with the effects of autism spectrum disorder and the prevalence of autism has risen to 1 in every 150 American children.
A Florida kindergarten teacher recently asked her pupils to vote on whether a 5-year-old boy should be removed from the classroom. The misbehaving child, who was in the process of being tested for autism, was ousted by a 14-2 count; he spent the day in the nurse's office.
In Minnesota, meanwhile, a mother was ticketed for ignoring a restraining order and bringing her 13-year-old autistic son to church. Church officials charged that the 6-foot, 225-pound boy was "disruptive" and his "erratic" behavior threatened the safety of others.
"We've seen the light at the end of the tunnel," is the expression some autism communities now use to describe the growing and aging autistic population. "And it's a train."
By all accounts, autism prevalence has risen dramatically. In the 1970s the neurological disorder affected an estimated 1 in 10,000 children. Today, at least 1 in 150 children - who will one day be adults - have landed on the spectrum.
Society isn't prepared to handle the increased demand for special needs. But as these types of cases show, affected children are looking to be part of the mainstream. Parents are insisting on it.
It's an understandable desire; we all want our children to have an equal opportunity in life. For example, Karen Race, the Minnesota mother, knows that some people might fear or misunderstand her son Adam, who cuts an imposing figure for a 13-year-old, is severely autistic and has limited verbal skills. But she rejected the church's suggestion that he view mass through a video feed in the church basement."There are lots of places I won't take my son if he's a distraction, such as a school play or concert," said Race. "But we're talking about mass, the source and summit of Christian life. (Excluding him) ushers in all the ways that autistic individuals are hurt and left out by society."
Children with milder forms of autism, meanwhile, such as Asperger's, often can function in a regular classroom to everyone's benefit, as long as teachers, bus drivers, aides and support staff recognize their brains are wired a little differently than "neurotypical" children. Higher-functioning autistic children are not mentally handicapped; in fact, they are often very bright.
It's easy to see how a child with autism or Asperger's could frustrate a teacher with limited or no knowledge of the disorder. Problems inevitably arise when autistic behavior is misinterpreted as willful disobedience, something that a child - or parent - can control, which may have been what happened in Florida.
Before the teacher, Wendy Portillo, held the vote, she had the boy's classmates tell him what they didn't like about his behavior, which included throwing crayons and kicking the tables while lying on the floor. Portillo told police that she believed that if the boy heard from his classmates _ rather than adults _ how his actions affected them, the lesson would finally sink in.
Autistic children vary widely in terms of intelligence and behavior. They may have difficulty relating to others, miss social cues, have trouble forming relationships and suffer from sensory overload. The very nature of the disorder makes it hard for them to understand how others feel.
This doesn't excuse unruly behavior that disrupts the class. Everyone loses when children are forced into inappropriate situations. But a little familiarity with autism might make a teacher think twice before using negative peer pressure to cruelly shame a 5-year-old in front of his classmates.
Source: http://www.wreg.com/health/sns-healt...0,115383.story
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By CHARLES ANDERSON - The Nelson Mail
The entire New Zealand regional staff of autism information officers has been made redundant, including Nelson-based Felicity Jordan, who offers advice to 300 families from Kaikoura to Haast.
Ms Jordan was told on Thursday along with 11 other officers from around the country that the organisation she works for was undergoing restructuring.
She was told she would have to reapply for a new position and, if successful, her hours would be cut from 20 hours a week to five hours.
"I am absolutely shocked," said Ms Jordan. "This will create a huge gap. Five hours is not enough to cater to the community."
Ms Jordan works for a government-funded organisation called Altogether Autism, a national information and advisory service for people with autism and their families.
Altogether Autism is run by Parent to Parent New Zealand and the Life Unlimited trust, which last year signed a memorandum of understanding to work collaboratively because resources were so scarce.
Parent to Parent New Zealand chief executive Anne Wilkinson said they had been concerned for some time about "a strategic issue of financial sustainability".
"We see this model as sustainable for our organisation. I would hope the level of service would not change under the restructuring."
Altogether Autism is a not-for-profit organisation but received funding from the Ministry of Health which had been "totally involved with the restructure every step of the way".
Ms Jordan said the restructure was "completely out of tune with the needs of the community".
Nelson woman Sharon Bryce, who has a child with autism, said relationships were vital for helping those suffering from the disorder.
"Any time resources are pulled out it's never a good look, it's never helpful, how can it be?" she said. "Families are left to cast around to make new connections and to find others that they feel comfortable with. It's all about relationships."
Ms Jordan was at Nayland College on Thursday to oversee a mufti day to raise awareness of autism.
Students and support staff drew smiley faces around the school library to show their support for those students at the school who were affected.
According to Autism New Zealand, one person in 100 has autism or Asperger's syndrome, which means about 40,000 New Zealanders are affected.
Nayland College support co-ordinator Kerry Budge said that without Ms Jordan the school "would be lost".
Nayland College has two dozen students with autism, and Ms Budge said Altogether Autism had been instrumental in helping the school set up a model to help cater to those students.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/n...ade-redundant/
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By Lisa Jo Rudy - Autism & Parenting Examiner
This year, our son Tom decided we should celebrate Passover.
Between my husband and I, we grew up Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Unitarian, agnostic and atheist. This time of year, traditionally, we celebrate just about everything - the Spring Equinox, the Passover Seder, Easter... we eat Kosher one day, and bake a ham the next.
Sometimes, that's just great. Othertimes, not so much - especially as we're attempting to provide our kids with some understanding of faiths and traditions, and help them to feel like they're a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Having a child with autism makes this even tougher. Since we're not part of a religious community, the idea of asking a well-meaning Unitarian volunteer Sunday School teacher to engage my child - knowing full well that it will be a challenge - seems rather unfair (not to mention a lot of hard work).
Yet Tom has always really enjoyed any kind of religious tradition. He's the kid who loves stained glass, organs, and candles... gladly sits quietly through church services.... and when he was in a Jewish preschool, actually enjoyed wearing a yamulka (skull cap) and saying a Hebrew prayer over snack. He memorized the Passover prayers, and has always gotten a real pleasure out of having Passover at our friends' home.
When Tom decided he wanted to celebrate Passover, I figured it was a good thing. And being the one who comes from at least a partly Jewish heritage, I decided it was up to me to figure out how to incorporate the experience into homeschool.
I found directions for making a clay seder plate, and we made it together (Tom painted it). We borrowed a book about Passover and he read it with his Dad during the school day. I found an online children's haggadah, and printed it. We made a list of all the things we needed for the ceremony, went to the store and bought them together. Tom put everything on the seder plate - the egg, the bone, the greens, the bitter herbs, the shredded apples with honey - and when I thought we were all ready, it was Tom who remembered we needed salt water to represent the tears of the Israelite slaves.
Then, we sat down to dinner. But somehow, after al that preparation, no one was all that excited about actually going through the process of the ceremony. Tom, who'd remembered the salt water and the bitter herbs, couldn't remember Moses' name. Sara, who really doesn't care for ceremonies at all, asked for the peanut butter as I was reading about the parting of the Red Sea.
Finally, in frustration, I threw down the book and told everyone to just eat dinner. I was surprised at how upset they became. I had wanted to pick up on what Tom seemed to be asking for - a special traditional event - and perhaps shouldn't have been surprised when what he really wanted was just the trappings, not the experience itself.
Some people feel that kids with autism have a special connection to all things spiritual. And perhaps, given his love of the traditions, sights, smells and sounds of religious experiences, Tom really does. But I'm not quite sure how to capture that - or how to go beyond just the sensory to something a little deeper.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-2007-Autis...eschool-autism
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By Debra Friedman - Greenwich Time
A 61-year-old town man accused of stabbing his estranged wife nine times with a screwdriver was barred Thursday from seeing the couple's 18-year-old son, who sat just inches away from his mother as the violent attack occurred, prosecutors said.
Michael Parrotta, of 26 Byram Terrace Drive, appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford on Thursday, where a judge signed a restraining order requiring that Parrotta stay at least 100 yards away from his son and refrain from contacting him.
The order was issued after prosecutors stated their concern for the son's safety if Parrotta posts his $1.5 million bond. The son is autistic and doesn't speak, according to officials.
It's the second restraining order against Parrotta since the alleged attack. On Tuesday, the court imposed an updated restraining order barring Parrotta from contacting his wife, officials said.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney James Bernardi told the judge that Parrotta's parental rights should be revoked after such a violent crime was committed in the presence of his child.
"He (the son) was present at the time the defendant stabbed his mother nine times. He observed it. I think to enter this order would be both legal and appropriate," said Bernardi. "I'm afraid if contact is allowed between the (son) and the defendant, the whereabouts of his mother will leak out."
Parrotta stabbed his wife in the chest and abdomen with a sharpened screwdriver on the night of April 2 as she sat in her car, police said. His wife, who lives separately from Parrotta, had arrived to pick up their son when her husband leaned in through the car window and began stabbing her, puncturing her lung and sending her to the hospital for a week.
Parrotta is charged with criminal attempt at homicide, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, breach of peace, violation of a protective order and carrying a dangerous weapon.
He was later charged with another count of violating a restraining order and criminal possession of a firearm after police found a rifle following a search of the home.
Parrotta's wife has since been released from Stamford Hospital, officials said, but Bernardi said she may be attempting to relocate and felt Parrotta should not be in communication with her or their son because he might attempt to find them.
Parrotta's attorney, Philip Russell of Greenwich, said that Parrotta should not be restricted from seeing his son, whom he cared for five days a week. Russell said that because of the son's disorder, he would not be able to communicate to his father where his mother was staying.
Comerford also scheduled a hearing for Thursday on Parrotta's $1.5 million bond.
Under current conditions of his potential release, Parrotta will be confined to house arrest wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Russell said it was too soon to tell whether Parrotta would be able to post bond next week, noting that the issue is complicated by the couple's pending divorce. The divorce involves the couple's assets and properties, which Parrotta would use to post bond, Russell said.
Source: http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_12110107
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Eustacia Cutler sat at a piano, practicing Bach. Her daughter, Temple Grandin, was on the floor lost in her own world. Lost inside her 2½-year-old mind. Temple couldn’t talk and refused to communicate. She started humming, crumpling a newspaper. Squeezing. Shredding. Tossing. Staring blankly as the pieces floated to the ground. Jagged fragments. Isolated and alone. Mental debris. Destined for the trash can. Cutler stopped playing, trying to get her daughter to engage, trying to get some love. That was the hardest part of having an autistic child, not feeling a shred of love, not feeling like a mother.
By: Jeff Seidel
DETROIT — Eustacia Cutler sat at a piano, practicing Bach. Her daughter, Temple Grandin, was on the floor lost in her own world. Lost inside her 2½-year-old mind.
Temple couldn’t talk and refused to communicate. She started humming, crumpling a newspaper. Squeezing. Shredding. Tossing. Staring blankly as the pieces floated to the ground. Jagged fragments. Isolated and alone. Mental debris. Destined for the trash can.
Cutler stopped playing, trying to get her daughter to engage, trying to get some love. That was the hardest part of having an autistic child, not feeling a shred of love, not feeling like a mother.
“See the bright colors?” she said to her daughter.
Temple sat there, unable to climb out from behind those numb, baby blue eyes.
Frustrated and afraid, unsure what to do, Cutler started playing again. And Temple started humming.
Back in the late 1940s, when Temple was a child, her doctor called it infant schizophrenia. It was a rare disorder, affecting one in 10,000 children. Many were sent to an institution, locked up, discarded.
Today, the same thing is called autism. It affects 1 in 150 children. It’s more common in boys, affecting 1 in 94.
Through love and determination, not to mention the help of some amazing teachers, Cutler pulled her child out from behind those baby blue eyes. “I was going to pull her to me,” Cutler said. “I was going to pull her into the world with me.”
And Temple grew up to be a remarkable success story — the poster child for autistic achievement.
“Temple Grandin has been known for years in the autism community,” said Dr. Colleen Allen, the director of the Henry Ford Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities in Detroit. “She is an example of a person who can go through this life with this kind of disability and really make it.”
But it was Temple’s mother who was behind the scenes, gently pulling her into this world.
Sharing her struggle
Cutler is 82 and lives on New York’s Upper West Side. She travels around the country, giving 12 to 15 speeches every year to families with autistic children.
She will come to the Detroit area and be the keynote speaker at an autism workshop next month.
In her speeches — Cutler calls them lectures — she tells families how her daughter grew up. Temple didn’t speak until she was nearly 5 but she entered a small country school, where she received individual instruction. “Temple was mainstreamed at 5,” Cutler says. “But we didn’t call it that back then.”
Cutler tells the families how Temple graduated from high school and college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce College, a master’s degree from Arizona State University and a doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois.
She tells the families how her daughter is a professor now at Colorado State University.
She tells the families how Temple became a media darling, appearing on television programs, including “20/20” and NBC’s “Today” show. She has been featured in several publications, including People magazine, the New York Times and Time magazine.
She tells the families how her daughter has found peace. She has found herself, found a place in this world.
“Temple is a smart girl who has overcome a severe disability,” Cutler says. “What I think is important for people to understand is we are not going to cure autism. What we can do is help our children be fulfilled.”
Most of all, she gives the families hope.
Cutler finishes her story and then she waits. Sometimes, she goes to the ladies room and washes her hands slowly. Deliberately. Stalling. Waiting for the approach.
In the quiet, after the crowds have left, they come up to her - parents from the present, asking for advice from a mother who has already gone through the hell.
“They would come up to me privately and tell me, ‘Your story is my story,’” Cutler said.
‘Mothers were breaking down’
As scientists and researchers debate the cause of autism — Is it genetics? Vaccinations? Pollution? A combination of everything? What? — there is a profound struggle inside the families with an autistic child.
More often than not, it rips apart marriages. Eighty-six percent of the marriages with an autistic child end in divorce, according to Allen.
“Most of these children are raised by single mothers,” Cutler said. “In a sense, I was a single mother.”
Like so many others, Cutler’s marriage ended in divorce. She waited until after her husband’s death to write her best-selling book, “A Thorn in My Pocket” (Future Horizons, $24.95).
“I struggled through a marriage where Temple’s father wanted her institutionalized and I wouldn’t,” Cutler said. “Therefore, he went to work to try to prove I was crazy. In those days, in the ‘50s, he could have succeeded. There was a tremendous feeling against mothers in those days. What people didn’t realize was mothers were breaking down.”
So she tries to give the parents some inspiration.
“I try to give them an emotional compass,” Cutler said. “With that compass, I try to give a simple guideline for what they can expect out of an autistic child.”
Cutler said that autistic children will struggle with concepts and context. They struggle to make social connections. And it is important for parents of an autistic child to explain to others that autistic children do not always make eye contact.
“It is hard for these children to look at somebody in the eye,” Cutler said. “They don’t understand what we are getting from each other. They are not being shifty-eyed. Once you understand that, you can deal with it.”
But most of all, she tries to give the parents a simple message: Never give up hope.
“Hope is different than control. It’s not Hallmark cards - oh, it’s all going to be all right. It’s really a bet. You check out the odds, and you place your bet. That’s how I describe hope. And I bet on Temple’s growth.”
Inspiration and advice
Eustacia Cutler has words of wisdom for parents who are raising a child with autism. But parents of any child can heed her advice:
“What do you want for your children? For them to be fulfilled as they would like to be fulfilled. Not your idea or my idea of fulfillment, but theirs.”
“Never give up hope. They will find their way.”
“Your child will be who your child will be, and you will come to terms with it.”
“The more our children are educated, the more they will join the workforce, and be able to manage for themselves, all their lives.”
Early diagnosis
Dr. Colleen Allen, the director of the Henry Ford Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, said it is important to identify children who have autism early in life.
“Pediatricians are supposed to be administering an autism tool beginning at 18 months of age,” Allen said of testing for the disorder. “If a child fails that, they should be referred” to a specialist.
The majority of children affected by autism are boys.
“It’s one in 94 males,” Allen said. “Even in my own caseload, it’s a majority of males when we look at the kids coming into the autism clinic every week.”
According to the Autism Society of America, some of the early warning signs are:
• Lack of or delay in speaking.
• Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects).
• Little or no eye contact.
• Lack of interest in peer relationships.
• Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play.
• Persistent fixation on parts of objects.
Source: http://www.grandforksherald.com/even...cle/id/114241/
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By Barbara O’Brien - The Buffalo News
ALLEGANY — The story of an autistic high school student forcibly restrained by school officials attracted national attention last year when the New York Times reported about his parents’ complaints.
Eight months later, outrage still is evident in this Cattaraugus County community, only now it belongs to the parents of the student’s classmates. They say their children are put at risk because school administrators refuse to protect them from the autistic teenager.
These parents have formed a group, taken out ads in the local newspaper urging attendance at School Board meetings and attended board meetings in the last three months to express their concerns. They say they are not targeting one student in particular or specialneeds students in general.
But when one student yells, runs down the hall and engages in behavior that can be viewed as violent or bizarre, they say that it interferes with their children’s ability to learn. And the district, they contend, is not doing enough to protect the other students.
“I’m putting you all on notice right now: If anything happens to my daughter in this school system, or any other child for that matter, because of your inaction on these matters, I’m going to hold all of you legally responsible,” parent David Nolan told the Allegany-Limestone School Board.
Court case is factor
The father of the 16-year-old youth whose story garnered national attention last year said the parents are less concerned about safety than they are about getting his son out of the school. The father and other parents asked that The Buffalo News not use the student’s name out of fear that he would be further stigmatized.
“This group has disseminated false information,” the father said. “What they are doing is very disruptive and hurtful to my child.”
“We’re in the middle of a tough situation as a district and as a community,” School Superintendent Diane Munro said. “Student safety is No. 1. We just have a difference, apparently, about what constitutes safety.”
The difference has shattered the calm in the rural school district, which is awaiting a federal court ruling on a challenge to the restraints placed on the autistic student when he was in sixth grade.
The student, now about 6 feet tall, is in his second year in high school and rides the bus to the high school, which has an enrollment of about 450. Some classmates have said they are frightened by his loud outbursts and other behavior. And their parents wonder whether the school is treating him lightly in view of the court case.
Parents say their children have reported seeing the student running down the halls, acting inappropriately in a bathroom of the middle school, glaring at a younger student and saying he didn’t like her, and asking who the popular students are, which they view as an attempt to target students.
While the behavior might be unnerving, it is not unusual for a person with autism, said the student’s father. His son sometimes is loud and disruptive, he said, and the teenager also has made lists since he was a child.
Photos add to discord
“Absolutely, he’s different,” the father said. “Look at him, he’s different. Listen to him talk. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be in that setting.”
He maintains that his son is not a danger to others, and he denies rumors that the youth has killed animals. He has two pet cats, the father said.
“We all feel sorry for this child. It’s not his fault,” said one of the parents concerned about safety. “As a parent, I would want to do everything in my power to see that my child got a good education, which is not happening.”
Is it a case of intolerance? Or are the behaviors identified by parents warning signs that the school is ignoring?
The school superintendent will not discuss the particulars of any student, and parents have avoided naming students when they have talked with the School Board. The superintendent has met privately with concerned parents and has said publicly she is confident that students are safe in Allegany- Limestone schools.
Still, some parents disagree.
Discord is evident at board meetings, and parents called local police after the father took photographs of them when they addressed the board.
The father said he took the photos because he wanted to know who was making the statements, and he said the parent group has knowingly spread false information.
“The behavior of this parent group is elevating and feeding disruptive behavior,” he said.
Students with disabilities were excluded from fully participating in school for years. Placing such students in the regular classroom, or the least restrictive environment, not only is the goal of the inclusion movement, it is federal law.
‘Equal access’ at issue
“It’s really about access to the general education curriculum. There can’t be equal access in a segregated environment,” said Michelle A. Hickman, assistant professor in exceptional education at Buffalo State College.
But there is a difference between physical inclusion, she said, and meaningful participation. Special-needs students require the proper support services to successfully integrate into the classroom.
Parent Marcia Wymer told the board at a recent meeting that she has written two letters about the safety issue, as well as talked with school officials. She said she was told that her information was not fully accurate and that she was promoting fear in her children.
“We do not feel that the school has been candid about proactive measures being taken to assure the safety of our children. We have been told that there is constant adult supervision taking place to keep our children safe,” Wymer told the School Board.
But if this were true, she said, her daughter would not have been scared about a comment made about her, and her son would not have been asked who the “popular” students are.
‘Watching very closely’
Not all students are afraid. One senior told the School Board he has no problem with the student.
“Though he has had certain interactions that could be considered outbursts of his condition, he has not struck me as dangerous. Not once have I feared for my safety,” Daniel Jaremco said. “He is a talented individual and deserves the right to a fair and just representation in the school and a fair and just education.”
Munro maintains that the schools are safe. “We are watching very closely, and we are taking every step available to us for student safety,” she said.
The father of the specialneeds child said the district’s close monitoring of his son in the last several months has provoked some disruptive behavior. He was doing so poorly late last year that his parents took him out of school in December, and he was tutored at home. He has gradually started returning to classes, the father said.
“I am in agreement it was disruptive. That’s why we took him out,” he said, but he insisted, “Who has he endangered?”
Students feel threatened, some parents say. They said that the district dealt swiftly and decisively with students who brought a BB gun to school but that it has not done the same with special-needs students.
Inappropriate behavior can be punished, Hickman said, but it won’t do any good if the person does not have an appropriate behavior to take its place. Children with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, who have difficulty communicating, may use inappropriate behavior as a communicative tool, she said.
But certain behavior can’t be ignored. “If there is a danger to other students,” she said, “you can’t overlook that just because the student has a disability.”
Which leaves the school with the dilemma of how to balance the needs and rights of all students.
“That’s the question of the day,” Munro said. “Whether or not we’re successful is a matter of perspective.”
Source: http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/632188.html
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By Karyl Caplan
As we celebrate National Autism Awareness Month in April, we must recognize the critical role that education plays in the growth and development of people with autism. Although investment in research is still essential to find a cause of and, it is hoped, a cure for this increasingly prevalent disorder, we need to direct the focus - and greater resources - toward educational programs to help people with autism continue to lead full and productive lives.
Autism is a complex neurological condition that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of autism has risen to 1 in 150, affecting about 1.5 million Americans and making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. Of the approximately 4 million babies born every year, 24,000 of them will eventually be identified as having autism.
Autism can usually be diagnosed by age 3, although new research has advanced the age of diagnosis to as early as 6 months. Currently there are no effective means to prevent autism, no foolproof treatments and no cure. Studies have shown, however - and our experience at ARC's Prime Time For Kids Early Learning Center has borne out - that early intervention has a dramatic impact on reducing the symptoms of autism.
Although parents may have concerns about labeling a toddler as having autism, the earlier the diagnosis is made, the earlier interventions may begin. Intervention - as early as possible up to age 3 - in an appropriate educational setting yields significant improvements for many children with autism by the time they enter kindergarten, often decreasing the need for intensive supports. Effective programs focus on developing communication, social and cognitive skills.
A teaching method called applied behavior analysis (ABA) has been very successful in mitigating behaviors associated with autism and increasing communication, learning and appropriate social behavior. It is based on the premise that appropriate behavior - including speech, academics and life skills - can be taught using scientific principles involving reinforcement.
In particular, an ABA technique known as verbal behavior has proved especially effective in improving communication proficiency. Using this strategy, instructors introduce the child to language through the use of sign language. The child then learns to articulate and use sign language concurrently, and eventually discontinues signing while maintaining articulation skills.
Our instructors have employed this method for the majority of their learners. We also provide training for parents of children with autism so that families may apply these successful techniques at home. In addition to building communication skills, the program trains parents to help their children develop life skills such as playing with siblings, making the right food choices, appropriate behavior in public settings, and other real-life situations outside the classroom.
Although great strides have been made in treating children with autism, the challenges of educating these individuals remains formidable. The Autism Society of America estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million, and that this country faces almost $90 billion annually in costs for autism, encompassing research, educational spending, insurance costs, therapeutic services and other expenses.
Much has been written in the mainstream press of a purported link between early immunizations and higher rates of autism. Symptoms of autism are first noted by parents as their child begins having speech delays after age 1. The vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella is initially given to children at 12 to 15 months. Since this is also an age when autism commonly manifests itself, it is not surprising that autism follows immunization in some cases.
Although the debate over the role that vaccines play in causing autism has intensified, researchers have not found a definitive link between the two. As researchers continue to seek answers about possible causes of this complex disorder, we should not overlook the singular importance of education in the life of a child with autism. As the spotlight shines on autism awareness this month, we must renew our focus on providing the highest quality educational programs so that people with autism can continue to make a positive contribution to our community. They deserve no less.
The writer is executive director of ARC of Rockland.
Source: http://lohud.com/article/20090408/OP...1076/OPINION01
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