Resources & Support
Posts tagged Early intervention
Review: PBS Documentary The Vaccine War
May 10th
Nearly a year and a half ago my son was diagnosed with autism. Upon hearing the news, nearly every family member and friend would offer their support, and immediately follow up with a conversation about vaccines. (Coincidentally, the same week I told most of my family members about Patton, Jenny McCarthy happened to make an appearance on Oprah with her son, the vaccine topic was VERY fresh in everyone’s mind. )
I’m predicting I am not alone in this experience. It seems most people who have not know someone affected by autism have very little knowledge on the subject, and what they do know seems to be anti-vaccine related. PBS/Frontline was right on target by titling their documentary “The Vaccine War”. Vaccine’s are a hot-blooded issue, with vocal opponents and supporters fighting it out on talk shows, internet videos, and news outlets. Jenny McCarthy being the most well known and outspoken opponent of vaccines has plead her side of the case in the media, and has also authored or coauthored 3 books on the matter. Pro vaccine supporters lack a public figure to voice their opinion, however the Center for Disease Control, and other medical organizations and establishments, are firmly pro vaccines.
“The Vaccine War” does an excellent job in detailing the effectiveness, safety, and risks of vaccinations. Footage is shown of children who have been hospitalized for vaccine preventable diseases, and the clips are very heartbreaking. Most of these diseases are nearly eradicated, but due to an increase in people refusing vaccines, the diseases have begun to surface again. Parents who choose not to vaccinate seem to have little concern that their children could possibly contract any of the vaccine preventable diseases.
I feel both sides were given a fair chance to discuss their stance. Given that the physician (Dr. Andrew Wakefield) who originated the studies into autism/vaccine correlation (specifically the MMR vaccine), has had all of his studies discredited, I don’t feel the anti-vaccine group needed to be given any more opportunity to state their beliefs over scientific evidence. I feel the film is worthwhile viewing for any person who is questioning vaccinations, however I am anxious to see the debate put to rest. The cause of autism is still a big mystery, and it is time to focus research, money, and energy in other directions.
Further review reading (both pro and anti vaccine articles):
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/04/the_vaccine_war_a_review.php
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-0427-vaccine-20100427,0,4863388.story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-mccarthy/ifrontlineis-the-vaccine_b_555785.html
http://daisymayfattypants.blogspot.com/2010/04/jennifer-margulis-poster-parent-for-me.html
Meeting Tomorrow, Book Review, M-CHAT ASD Screening
Jan 20th
Support Group Meeting!
Just to remind everyone, our Support Group is at it’s new, and hopefully consistent location. The meeting will be at the Old Hospital on 400 E (Floodstreet) 600 S, on the bottom level, across from the cafe/cafeteria. This will allow us to have things like food and drink, and allow us to have our meeting without interruption or re-scheduling.
Google Maps Link to the location (if you haven’t ever been there!)
Book: More Than Words
We have a new book to recommend and review. It is called “More Than Words: Helping Parents Promote Communication and Social Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder” and is by Fern Sussman. We have a short review that comes to us from Lindsay Downs, one of the Speech-Language Pathologists at DRMC Pediatric Rehabilitation:
More Than Words is the most helpful and comprehensive parent guidebook on Autism I have seen. It explains first how to determine what stage of communication your child is functioning, and then the rest of the book gives specific instruction on how work with your child at that particular stage. The book focuses on interaction in general, non-verbal communication, and verbal communication. Instructions are very specific, give real-life scenarios, and include many illustrations. The approach is very naturalistic and child-centered, which makes it easy to incorporate into daily living and routines. As a speech-language pathologist, I find myself frequently photocopying many sections to give to families as part of their home speech therapy programs. I would encourage families of children with autism to buy this book; it is worth every penny.
Lindsay Downs, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
DRMC Pediatric Rehabilitation
Office: 435-251-2273
Front desk: 435-251-2250
We want to thank Lindsay for writing this up for us and recommending this book! I do have a copy of the book and will be bringing it to the Support Group meeting for people to see.
Early Intervention Autism Screening: M-CHAT
Lindsay also recommended we distribute the M-Chat (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers). It is the best screening form for parents who are worried about autism in their children. It’s used for children 16-30 months.
The M-CHAT is not designed for people who already have a diagnosis, it is geared towards parents who have a suspicion and would like for some way to assess the situation with their child and consult a professional. It is a tool to help a parent who is concerned get pointed in the right direction.
Parents fill it out but then it is scored by a physician or other professional. It gives parents some specific behaviors to watch for and something concrete to take to a doctor to discuss their concerns. It may be downloaded for free at www.firstsigns.org, and we have posted it here to download from our site as well
Click Here to download the M-CHAT Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening Checklist
Saturday Play Group at Tonaquint Park
I will also be at Tonaquint Park this Saturday from 12 to 1:30ish with my Autistic son, just playing and hanging out. This is just an informal gathering to let the kids play on the playground and maybe interact a little. I will also be bringing cupcakes from 25 Main if any of the kids want some (hopefully I don’t run out after a dozen).
For those who have never been there, Tonaquint Park is basically all the way south on Dixie Drive, OR all the way west on Hilton Drive. It’s where Hilton Drive curves up and turns into Dixie Drive. Here’s another Google Map if you want to see it.
Website Updates
I am still working on gathering more information and resources to put on the website. It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be and takes way more time than I thought it would. But, I am still doing it, it’s just slower than I had hoped.
I have added a page of all our Southern Utah Legislators so that if there is ever an issue or need to contact our local state representatives, we have easy access to their information.
I also am using the Google Calendar system to have our events and activities in. If you use Google Calendars, you can add our calendar (it’s public) and receive notices of the things coming up. The calendar will list our Southern Utah Autism events, but also any other events in the area related to Autism or disabilities in general. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on the Events link up in the menu.
I am also working on fixing the book list (which is broken) and adding more books. I had hoped that WordPress and Amazon would help me streamline this, but they aren’t being compatible right now, so this is something I’ll have to tackle over the weekend (since I want to have A LOT of books listed).
Email List
And lastly, if you haven’t singed up for the Email List, feel free to do so over on the right-hand column of the website. We will only email you announcements from this website, you won’t get any other spam or messages from anyone else. We only use it to announce our meetings and events, and keep parents informed of local news that effects the lives of Autistic kids and their families. So sign up today!
Early Intervention Article from Salt Lake Tribune
Dec 4th
This article was brought up in our December 3rd Support Group meeting, so I searched around and found it on the Salt Lake Tribune website. I am reposting it here for anyone who wants to read it!
Erik
P.S. There’s a “read the rest of this entry” link at the bottom of this post that will take you to the rest of the article.
Autism treatment works in kids as young as 18 months
The first rigorous study of behavior treatment in autistic children as young as 18 months found two years of therapy can vastly improve symptoms, often resulting in a milder diagnosis.
The study was small — just 48 children evaluated at the University of Washington — but the results were so encouraging it has been expanded to several other sites, said Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Dawson, a former University of Washington professor, led the research team.
