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This week's
headlines:
- Autism
Awareness Events
a) Autism
Society Ontario: Cycle for Autism UPDATE
The Windsor
to Ottawa ride, passing through 25 major towns and cities to promote
awareness of autism, was made in September 2000 by four men. We congratulate
Luc VanderMeeren of the Toronto area (who also planned the ride),
Eddie Lloyd of the Ottawa area, Ken Meeking of the Windsor area, and
Brendan Vallee of Chatham. (Thanks to Verna Southgate for these details).
The first Cycle for Autism in 1996 was organized by Claudio del Duca,
father of two autistic sons and a member of the Windsor-Essex Chapter
of Autism Society Ontario. Regional and local "Cycle for Autism"
events took place throughout Ontario on Sunday 24 September--in Metro
Toronto, London-Middlesex, Belleville, Halton, Hamilton-Wentworth,
Kingston, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sarnia-Lambton, Sudbury, Upper Canada,
Upper Nipissing, Windsor-Essex, York Region and Wellington County.
All riders, walkers, organizers, sponsors deserve our thanks. http://www.autismsociety.on.ca/rfl2000.htm
Autism
Society Ontario now has chapters in 29 cities or regions of the province.
For a list with contacts, click on http://www.autismsociety.on.ca/contact.htm#chapters
For chapters
that have websites, click on http://www.autismsociety.on.ca/res-3.htm
b) 5,000
attended the second annual Walk for Autism and Family Fun Fair in Clove
Lakes Park, NY. By Eddie D'Anna in Advance.
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?0925autism25.html
Report
by FEAT 29 Sep 2000
c) Community
Walkathon planned for November 4 in Key Biscayne Florida to raise funds
for National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000922/fl_natl_al.html
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
2. Interesting
Research Reports
a) Autism
and the Gastrointestinal Tract
Dr Andrew
Wakefield’s pathbreaking work on the gut-brain connection and gastrointestinal
involvement in autism (as in various other neurological diseases)
receives support from his peers. From The American Journal Of Gastroenterology.
Editorial September 2000 Volume 95, Number 9 Pages 2154-2156.
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Subject: Gastrointestinal Tract Date: 22 Sep 2000
b) Movement
Disorders: Less of a Black Box
New research
findings reported at Sixth International Congress of Parkinson's Disease
and Movement Disorders in Barcelona, Spain. By Jean McCann in The
Scientist 14[18]:14, Sep. 18, 2000.
http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2000/sep/research_000918.html
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Subject: Movement Disorders Date: 25 Sep 2000
c) Our
Brains Recognize Objects by Making Comparisons
Research
reported at the Institute of Physics Applied Optics and Opto-Electronics
Conference in Loughborough, England.
http://unisci.com/stories/20003/0925003.htm
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
3. Unique
Abilities
Temple
Grandin, the autistic scientist considered the leading U.S. authority
on humane treatment of livestock, has won respect from two groups that
agree on almost nothing else - meatpackers and animal rights activists.
Grandin says her autism has given her a unique ability to see the world
as animals do.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000922/us/meatpackers_scientist_1.html
Report
by FEAT 29 Sep 2000
4. Legislation
Passed and Still Needed
a) The
Children's Health Act of 2000 which has cleared Congress includes a
call for $47 million in additional federal funding into the cause and
cure of autism in each of the next two years. It would create five "centers
of excellence" to coordinate research, promote public education and
serve as information clearinghouses. By Charles Pope in the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer.
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com:80/national/auti28.shtml
http://library.northernlight.com/FC20000927040000010.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc
Report
by FEAT 29 Sep 2000
b) Need
for Earlier Identification of Chronic Diseases
While the
United States has a model "rapid-response system" for detecting and
treating infectious diseases, it has no system at all for tracking widespread
but more subtle chronic syndromes--from autism and asthma to slowly
progressing illnesses like cancers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Congress
is now considering amendments to pending bills that would ask Centers
for Disease Control to begin setting up a chronic disease monitoring
system--a federal, state and local rapid-response network that would
investigate clusters, outbreaks and emerging threats of chronic disease.
The cost of developing such a system could reach $275 million yearly.
http://www.latimes.com/news/comment/20000923/t000090200.html
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Subject: Public Health 101 Date: 23 Sep 2000
5. Early
Intervention Works
a) The
Tennessee Early Intervention System serves more than 400 children with
special needs from birth to 3 years, and their families. By Emily Mcdonald
of the Times Free Press.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/2000/sep/08sep00/webLN08EarlyIntervention.html
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
b) The
Lovaas Method (also known as ABA) is being used by 45 children in Israel.
http://www.tomi.org/maarivarticle.htm
Report
by FEAT 26 Sep 2000
6. Dietary
Intervention and the new Parent Support System (PASS)
"Current
research shows that many cases of autism result from an immune-system
dysfunction that affects the body's ability to break down certain proteins
and to combat yeasts and bacteria. Many parents are convinced of the
validity of dietary intervention for autistic individuals, but don't
feel that they have the resources to try it themselves, especially those
with picky eaters and skeptical spouses."
The Autism
Network for Dietary Intervention (ANDI) was started by parent researchers,
Lisa Lewis and Karyn Seroussi, to help families around the world get
started on, and maintain the gluten-free and casein-free diet. ANDI
has begun seeking experienced volunteers around the world to act as
"first contact" person for local families starting the diet.
There are now more than 100 such volunteers, including 5 in Canada,
but the goal is to have one in each city.
To find
more information about ANDI and PASS, click on
http://www.autismndi.com/
There is
also an online discussion group at http://www.gfcf.com
7. Living
with Autism
a) All
for Sammy: Frustration, Elation and Utter Devotion Mark a Teenage Boy's
Life with his Autistic Brother. A detailed story about living with autism
and the roles of a teenaged sibling. Andrew Perez (13) says he wants
to be a child psychiatrist. "And, of course, I'll be taking care of
Sammy."
By
Jennifer Garza in Sunday’s Sacramento Bee.
http://www.sacbee.com:80/lifestyle/news/lifestyle01_20000924.html
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
b) When
Your Child Won't Play. Sue Harrison’s story of what was different about
her son Richard who diagnosed himself at the age of nine.
http://theage.com.au/news/20000925/A15204-2000Sep24.html
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
c) Parents
Ask Simply for Honesty, Understanding. Suggestions of good ways to relate
to children with special needs and their parents. By Katherine Snow
Smith in the St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/News/092400/SouthPinellas/Parents_ask_simply_fo.shtml
Report
by FEAT 25 Sep 2000
A Note about
Autism News
OAARSN’s
main focus is on adult autism issues in Ontario, but we are interested
in the larger context of autism spectrum disorders generally and related
and parallel developments in other places. In scanning our sources for
items to include in our weekly summary, we seek:
- news of
adult autism issues anywhere
- developments
in knowledge of autism spectrum disorders generally
- positive
information about adult disability issues.
Our primary
source for news from outside Canada is the FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER http://www.feat.org
We welcome other items of news from our contacts.
URL links
are tested and work at the time our news digest is posted. If there is
any doubt, we give details of how the report can be reached through FEAT’s
archives. After a URL link may have expired (as in some newspaper archives
after one week), you can reach the full story through the FEAT archives,
searching by the date and title keywords.
Search FEAT
Archives: http://www.feat.org/search/news.asp
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