The Disabilities Studies Blog has a post by Stephen Drake of the Autism Self Advocacy Network updating the situation. I am republishing it here...
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I am pleased to inform you that this afternoon the NYU Child Study Center
announced that they will be ending the "Ransom Notes" ad campaign in response to widespread public pressure from the disability community. You can read that
announcement here. The thousands of people with disabilities, family members,
professionals and others who have written, called, e-mailed and signed our
petition have been heard. Today is a historic day for the disability community.
Furthermore, having spoken directly with Dr. Harold Koplewicz, Director of the
NYU Child Study Center, I have obtained a commitment to pursue real dialogue in
the creation of any further ad campaign depicting individuals with disabilities. We applaud the NYU Child Study Center for hearing the voice of the disability community and withdrawing the "Ransom Notes" ad campaign.
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Again, this goes to reinforce the power and importance of advocacy and how the Internet can get the word out, and mobilize a constituency group.
Hurrah!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Inspirations on the Internet
I have also started an additional blog-- focused on the motivational, and spiritual. Lots of Thomas Kinkade artwork and poems. It also has a great link for online Christmas Carols-- with sheet music and instrumental music.
Check it out!
Check it out!
"Ransom Notes" Ad Campaign Reinforces Stigma
There is an ad campaign by the New York University Childhood Center that is upsetting quite a few folks in the autism community. These ad presents ransom notes, threatening to 'make' someone autistic. There is an online petition, to speak out against it.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Future Doc Wilson: The Real Meaning of Christmas..
As I was reviewing the traffic on my blog, one posting came up quite a bit. I re-read it, and can not improve on it-- so enjoy!The Future Doc Wilson: The Real Meaning of Christmas..
Fever as a Cure for Autism?
The following NPR story may be of interest:
NPR : Autism Study Lends Credence to Fever Effect
Several parents cite the subsidance of autistic traits when children have a fever. This is being studied further...
--------------------
Morning Edition, December 6, 2007 · For the first three years of his life, Rene Craft's son, Jackson, communicated primarily through screaming tantrums. He never spoke. He didn't point to things. He didn't make eye contact. He had the classic signs of severe autism.
Then a couple of years ago, Jackson got sick. His mother, Rene Craft, says he was running a high fever.
"He was lying in our bed, and he was recovering," Craft says. "And he said out of the blue, 'I like the sheets, Daddy. They're really comfortable.' And then later that day he looked out the window and he said, 'Oh, it's raining, and squirrels eat nuts."
Craft says that she and her husband got a brief glimpse of a son who had been locked in his own world of autism. Then the fever went away, and so did Jackson's improvement.
Craft isn't the first parent to notice the so-called "fever effect." Autism researchers have been hearing reports about it for decades.
Now a team from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore has done a study that suggests the fever effect is real.
Laura Curran, Ph.D., is the lead author of the study, which appears in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"We did find fewer autistic-like behaviors when kids had fevers," she says. "And as the fever disappeared, their autistic behaviors returned."
That wasn't true for every child. And the study included just 30 children, and relied on parents to fill out detailed checklists about each child's behavior.
Even so, Curran says it looks like parents have been right all along. She says she's not surprised.
"As a mother myself, I know no one knows their children better than the parents," she says. "And we've been hearing about these anecdotes for many, many years."
Now the question for researchers is how fever affects autism.
Dr. Andy Zimmerman of Kennedy Krieger says the answer probably involves the connections between brain cells — which many researcher believe is one place things go wrong in autism.
Zimmerman says that it's not the rise in a child's temperature that makes the difference. But it may be that brain connections work better in the presence of small proteins called cytokines that are produced by the immune system.
"We'd like to know what those cytokines are in children with autism when they get fevers, to see if one or more of these cytokines might be unusually increased," he says.
That might lead to a treatment that could mimic the beneficial effects of fever without actually making a child sick.
Craft believes researchers will find an answer, and it will help her son.
She says she has noticed that every time Jackson gets a high fever, he undergoes a dramatic change. He may ask to play a game, or make eye contact, or stop biting his hands until they bleed.
"Jackson runs into furniture with his head when he's upset or I question him," Craft says. "When he has a fever, those behaviors disappear."
Craft says she plans to enroll her son in a new study at Kennedy Krieger that will try to explain the fever effect.
. "There is something occurring in his brain that he needs, that he gets when he has a fever," Craft says. "I don't know what it is. That's for the doctors to figure out. But he's in there. He's waiting to come out."
-----------------------------------------
Other autism stories on Morning Edition, on NPR--
In Depth
Nov. 5, 2007
Neuroscientists Focus on Autism
Aug. 21, 2007
Schools Strive to Meet Needs of Autistic Students
Aug. 16, 2007
Parents Fight for Autism Insurance Coverage
Aug. 15, 2007
Public Schools Prepare to Educate Kids with Autism
June 28, 2007
Autism Poses Extra Obstacles for Blacks
June 14, 2007
Vaccines on Trial for Alleged Link to Autism
April 11, 2007
Parents of the Autistic Weigh Lifelong Care Options
April 5, 2007
Online Project Promotes Autism Research
March 15, 2007
Cause of Autism Narrowed Down to 100 Genes
NPR : Autism Study Lends Credence to Fever Effect
Several parents cite the subsidance of autistic traits when children have a fever. This is being studied further...
--------------------
Morning Edition, December 6, 2007 · For the first three years of his life, Rene Craft's son, Jackson, communicated primarily through screaming tantrums. He never spoke. He didn't point to things. He didn't make eye contact. He had the classic signs of severe autism.
Then a couple of years ago, Jackson got sick. His mother, Rene Craft, says he was running a high fever.
"He was lying in our bed, and he was recovering," Craft says. "And he said out of the blue, 'I like the sheets, Daddy. They're really comfortable.' And then later that day he looked out the window and he said, 'Oh, it's raining, and squirrels eat nuts."
Craft says that she and her husband got a brief glimpse of a son who had been locked in his own world of autism. Then the fever went away, and so did Jackson's improvement.
Craft isn't the first parent to notice the so-called "fever effect." Autism researchers have been hearing reports about it for decades.
Now a team from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore has done a study that suggests the fever effect is real.
Laura Curran, Ph.D., is the lead author of the study, which appears in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"We did find fewer autistic-like behaviors when kids had fevers," she says. "And as the fever disappeared, their autistic behaviors returned."
That wasn't true for every child. And the study included just 30 children, and relied on parents to fill out detailed checklists about each child's behavior.
Even so, Curran says it looks like parents have been right all along. She says she's not surprised.
"As a mother myself, I know no one knows their children better than the parents," she says. "And we've been hearing about these anecdotes for many, many years."
Now the question for researchers is how fever affects autism.
Dr. Andy Zimmerman of Kennedy Krieger says the answer probably involves the connections between brain cells — which many researcher believe is one place things go wrong in autism.
Zimmerman says that it's not the rise in a child's temperature that makes the difference. But it may be that brain connections work better in the presence of small proteins called cytokines that are produced by the immune system.
"We'd like to know what those cytokines are in children with autism when they get fevers, to see if one or more of these cytokines might be unusually increased," he says.
That might lead to a treatment that could mimic the beneficial effects of fever without actually making a child sick.
Craft believes researchers will find an answer, and it will help her son.
She says she has noticed that every time Jackson gets a high fever, he undergoes a dramatic change. He may ask to play a game, or make eye contact, or stop biting his hands until they bleed.
"Jackson runs into furniture with his head when he's upset or I question him," Craft says. "When he has a fever, those behaviors disappear."
Craft says she plans to enroll her son in a new study at Kennedy Krieger that will try to explain the fever effect.
. "There is something occurring in his brain that he needs, that he gets when he has a fever," Craft says. "I don't know what it is. That's for the doctors to figure out. But he's in there. He's waiting to come out."
-----------------------------------------
Other autism stories on Morning Edition, on NPR--
In Depth
Nov. 5, 2007
Neuroscientists Focus on Autism
Aug. 21, 2007
Schools Strive to Meet Needs of Autistic Students
Aug. 16, 2007
Parents Fight for Autism Insurance Coverage
Aug. 15, 2007
Public Schools Prepare to Educate Kids with Autism
June 28, 2007
Autism Poses Extra Obstacles for Blacks
June 14, 2007
Vaccines on Trial for Alleged Link to Autism
April 11, 2007
Parents of the Autistic Weigh Lifelong Care Options
April 5, 2007
Online Project Promotes Autism Research
March 15, 2007
Cause of Autism Narrowed Down to 100 Genes
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
ADA Disability Law and Policy- A National Audio-Conference
Tuesday December 18
2 - 3:30 pm EST
Speaker
Peter Blanck, JD, Ph.D, Chair, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse
University
Reviewing previous research efforts, this session sets out a
blueprint for the role of research, policy, and law in advancing the
civic, economic and social participation of persons with disabilities
in a global society. It reviews past public policy efforts and
research findings regarding workers with disabilities. It discusses
current and future research initiatives on the cutting edge of
promoting successful employment outcomes for people with
disabilities. The discussion presents promising research
methodologies in multidisciplinary field disability and employment
research. Finally, our presenter will put forth challenges and
opportunities for research, policy, and legal initiatives, framing a
blueprint for the next quarter century.
Cost per site (regardless of the number of participants at each site)
$25 for nonprofits, individuals and government agencies
$40 for businesses
Sessions are 90 minutes and delivered by telephone (call in to a toll
free phone number that you can access after you register).
Participants are in a "listen-only" mode until the question and
answer period. The sessions are offered real-time captioned on the web.
Audio conferences are a great way to get information without
traveling. You sit in your office or home or at any telephone and
call in. If you have a speaker phone invite your colleagues to
participate.
Registration is at www.ada-audio.org
If you have problems/questions with registration: the Great Lakes ADA
Center at 312-413-1407 voice/tty
2 - 3:30 pm EST
Speaker
Peter Blanck, JD, Ph.D, Chair, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse
University
Reviewing previous research efforts, this session sets out a
blueprint for the role of research, policy, and law in advancing the
civic, economic and social participation of persons with disabilities
in a global society. It reviews past public policy efforts and
research findings regarding workers with disabilities. It discusses
current and future research initiatives on the cutting edge of
promoting successful employment outcomes for people with
disabilities. The discussion presents promising research
methodologies in multidisciplinary field disability and employment
research. Finally, our presenter will put forth challenges and
opportunities for research, policy, and legal initiatives, framing a
blueprint for the next quarter century.
Cost per site (regardless of the number of participants at each site)
$25 for nonprofits, individuals and government agencies
$40 for businesses
Sessions are 90 minutes and delivered by telephone (call in to a toll
free phone number that you can access after you register).
Participants are in a "listen-only" mode until the question and
answer period. The sessions are offered real-time captioned on the web.
Audio conferences are a great way to get information without
traveling. You sit in your office or home or at any telephone and
call in. If you have a speaker phone invite your colleagues to
participate.
Registration is at www.ada-audio.org
If you have problems/questions with registration: the Great Lakes ADA
Center at 312-413-1407 voice/tty
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