Meet Bud

And his very clever MOM-NOS. Her stories about Bud make my husband and I giggle endlessly. I only hope when Chandler starts having conversations with us that they are this entertaining.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Coffee Buzz
You know you're addicted to coffee when:you drive by Dunkin' Donuts and from the back of the minivan you hear your echolalic 5-year-old squeal "I'll have a medium coffee, milk, one sugar!"

All you fans of echolalia don't miss This Child Brought to You By...

I Love Twin Studies

Autism: Lots of clues, but still no answers

14 May 2005
Celeste Biever
New Scientist Print Edition.


THE risk of autism in twins appears to be related to the month they are born in. The chance of both babies having the disorder is 80 per cent higher for January births than December births.

This was one of the many findings presented at the conference in Boston last week. It typifies the problems with many autism studies: the numbers are too small to be definitive - this one was based on just 161 multiple-birth babies - and even if the finding does stand up, it raises many more questions than it answers. For instance, is infection during pregnancy to blame? Or another environmental factor that varies with the season? Is it the birth date that is important, or the date of conception?

While it is now clear that autism is a complicated combination of genetic and environmental factors, no one knows exactly what these environmental effects are and which genes they might be interacting with to cause autism. "We clearly have a daunting task ahead of us," Craig Newschaffer of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, and a member of the birth-date study team, told the conference. "We have had slower-than-hoped for progress finding autism genes, and now we see an increased focus on the environment in autism."

Based on twin studies, the consensus is that, depending on how you define autism, between 60 and 90 per cent of cases are genetic in origin. And although progress has been slow, geneticists are homing in on some of the genes involved.

Eric Geschwind of the University of California, Los Angeles, announced that he has linked a region on chromosome 17 to autism, confirming earlier studies. Other recent studies have linked mutations in specific genes to some cases of autism, including two genes that code for brain proteins called neuroligins, which are involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Further emphasising the genetic basis of the disease, Geschwind has also found that although people with autism have larger heads than the population in general, on average their heads are no larger than those of siblings and parents without the disorder.
“What if you have an infant with some genetic susceptibility to autism and then you add a toxin? It looks very disturbing”

One of the reasons progress has been slow is that many genes appear to be involved. Some people with autism have mutations in one gene or set of genes, and others have mutations in different ones. That makes it hard to carry out the statistical studies needed to pinpoint the genes involved. Geschwind thinks that the best way forward is to first identify smaller, measurable components of the disorder, and then to look for the genetic underpinnings of each one.

But it is not just about genes. "The genetics is very compelling and explains most of the risk, but there is room for the environment since genetics cannot explain it all," Geschwind says.
“The genetics explains most of the risk, but there is room for the environment since genetics cannot explain it all”

Identifying which genes and which environmental factors are interacting presents enormous challenges, says Ellen Silbergeld, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. "One real problem is we don't have a good idea of the disease's history," she says. She points out that our understanding of heart disease was greatly helped by the Framingham Heart Study, which followed around 5000 individuals for up to 50 years.

Autism not only lacks a similar study, but also presents more challenges, because fewer people develop autism than heart disease, and because it might be not one but multiple disorders with related sets of symptoms. "Are we talking about 10 different diseases?" Silbergeld asks.

Complicating the story still further is the apparent rise in autism. The Autism Society of America estimates that there was an increase of 172 per cent in the US in the 1990s, though the population grew only 13 per cent. It is still not clear if the rise is due to some new, presumably environmental, factor or if doctors are simply becoming better at diagnosing the disorder. But that has not held people back. "We are going through a frenzied period," says David Amaral at the University of California, Davis. "People speculate wildly about the things that could cause autism."

Some have focused on exposure to viruses or vaccines, others on pollutants such as mercury. Emitted by factories and power stations, some forms of mercury build up in animals such as fish and enter the food chain. In 2003, a small study by paediatrician Amy Holmes found much lower levels of mercury than normal in the hair of children with autism (New Scientist, 21 June 2003, page 4). Her hotly contested theory is that they have an impaired ability to excrete mercury.

In Boston, Jim Adams, a chemical engineer at Arizona State University in Tempe who has an autistic daughter and believes that mercury causes many cases of autism, presented results supporting Holmes's theory. He found that children with autism have up to three times as much mercury as normal in their baby teeth, yet lower levels in their hair.

And in December last year, Jill James of the University of Arkansas published a study showing that people with autism have raised levels of glutathione, a compound that detoxifies mercury. But as so often with autism, far more studies are needed before any conclusions can be drawn.

Others are looking at polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Banned in most countries since the 1970s, PCBs still persist in the environment and in animals and people. A team led by Tal Kenet of the University of California, San Francisco, found that one type of PCB can devastate the auditory cortex in rats, the brain area that processes sound signals according to frequency.

Some people with autism have abnormal auditory cortices and difficulty communicating verbally, despite having perfect hearing on regular hearing tests. Kenet speculates that this could be linked to exposure to PCBs or other toxic substances. Although it is far too early to confirm the link with autism, no one had ever looked at this before. "What if you have an infant with some genetic susceptibility to autism and then you add a toxin? In all it looks very disturbing," she says.

There could be a whole host of chemicals that wreak havoc on the brains of genetically susceptible individuals, team member Isaac Pessah of the University of California, Davis, told the meeting. He points out that according to the US National Toxicology Report, between 60 and 80 per cent of the chemicals we are exposed to through pesticides, cosmetics and foods have not undergone adequate risk assessment.

From issue 2499 of New Scientist magazine, 14 May 2005, page 14

Fred Green is FOUND!

Autistic Boy Reunited With Missing Pet Iguana
Fred Green Missing For More Than 1 Week

May 10, 2005

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. -- A 12-year-old autistic boy from Imperial Beach was reunited with his pet iguana Monday afternoon, 10News reported.

The last time Steve Stutzka saw his beloved 3-foot long iguana, Fred Green, was more than a week ago before she -- yes, Fred's a female -- disappeared from the backyard.

The family searched high and low, but to no avail. Stutzka and the rest of the family was heartbroken.

But, on Monday afternoon, the tides turned when three sophomores from Mar Vista High School showed up at Stutzka's house with the iguana.

According to 10News, Nick Alexander, Jonathan Hernandez and Dante Flores were on their lunch break when they saw Fred Green.

"We were coming down the street from school and we (saw) the lizard coming right here. We see it lift up its head, kinda, and my friend Dante was like, 'There's a lizard right there.' And we were like, 'Oh dude, let's go over there and go get it,'" Alexander told 10News.

Capturing the iguana was easier said than done, but luckily a neighbor loaned the boys a towel and soon enough the iguana was caught and on her way home.

Stutzka's mother, Pam Stutzka, couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Fred Green.

"(I was) astonished. Absolutely astonished," said Pam Stutzka.

"I think she was about to cry. She was just like so happy. I felt pretty good because I actually did something nice for once," Hernandez said.

Hundreds of volunteers, including the sheriff's search and rescue crew, helped Stutzka look for his beloved pet iguana, Fred Green.

Sheriff's deputy Mike Forbes used his infrared-heat seeking camera to help find Fred Green, a helicopter searched the grounds from above for the missing iguana and on Monday students from Mar Vista High School volunteered their time to look for the creature.

Pam Stutzka thanked the community for their support.

"We've had calls from Carlsbad, Escondido. I got a call from Ohio," Pam Stutzka said.

The story, which was first posted on 10News.com, soon got national attention. The family received offers from people volunteering to put up reward money.

"I wanted to thank all of San Diego County, especially Imperial Beach. We love our community. The outpouring of everyone's love and prayers -- that's why this happened," Stutzka told 10News. "I didn't have any doubt. This was meant to be. Those boys were the ones that were supposed to find Fred and they did. I just thank you. Thank you for all the prayers and undying affection."

According to 10News, Fred Green was in good condition. The family said in order to prevent losing Fred again, she will be microchipped.

Letting Go Of Chandler

From the day our children are born, we have to begin letting go of them.

Our instinct as parents is to hold on tight and protect them from the harsh world and tell them where to go and what choices to make because we know better than they do. But if we are to serve them we have to let go of them just a little bit at a time as they begin to master their own lives, occasionally stepping back in when they are having trouble navigating (done with most frequency between the ages of 14 and 16).

My sons are 3 and 4 1/2 and at this stage of parenting I should still be able to, as my friends can, languish in that "My Boy's Gonna Be The President" dream where the possibilities of what they will become are wide open. The natural progression of parenting seems to be that as your child grows, and as the two of you get to know the person that they are (and are becoming), that field possibilities narrows. It happens gradually as you as a parent mature gradually, (hopefully) becoming more trusting of your child's decisions and less needy of having your child be The President. Then, eventually, your child is 16 and you don't so much need him to be The President as much as you need him to remember to clean his room and bring home the car in one piece.

When you find out that your son has Autism, you have to do 20 or so years of maturing in one day. You have to let go of all the expectations that you have for him, and for what you thought the rest of your life would be like. There is no 'growing out of' the adolescent fantasies that you have carried around for years, the rose colored glasses are just ripped right off, and it is painful.

It is painful, but not necessarily a bad thing.

Learning to give up some of the things that you have always wanted and face reality can be a gift. It has been a year since we found out about Chandler's Autism, and I am at the point of having gone down the path just far enough to look back and see how far I have come. Not how far Chandler has come in his "recovery", but how far I have come as a mom and a person and a grown-up.

I was fortunate to grow up in a church that had a lot of good teaching and preparing for life stuff. One of the great perspectives I learned on parenting when I was still a teenager was the idea that our children are not really ours. They are a gift from God. That they are his and he has entrusted us with their care. The idea that he has trusted these precious little ones is both a huge responsibility and a huge relief for me, because it reframes parenting in a really balanced way.

It describes a relationship to them in which I am responsible for their upbringing, but God is responsible for their life. That I am to love them and mold their character, but God is responsible for their destiny. I am merely preparing them for the journey that they will walk with God, and He will be there with them on that journey when I fail them, or when I am long gone.

For me that is freeing because it relieves me of the panic that presses on me when I begin to feel that I am responsible for the men these boys will become and if I screw up then they are doomed. (Any one else feel like that sometimes or is it just me?)

While I thought that I was pretty good compared to most mom's at "holding my children with an open hand", Chandler's diagnosis exposed my still much too fantasy based grip on My Children. After all, if I truly believed that my children were are gift from God for me to raise to the best of my ability and then offer back to him, then why would it matter quite so much to me that my boy is so different from all the other little boys. Certainly I would worry for him, but even then, if I trust that God made Chandler just as he wanted him to be, and had charted out his own distinct journey, should I not be able to trust Him that He will take care of this little life that He loves even more than I do?

Hudson Taylor wrote:

...the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient.

It matters little to my servant whether I send him to buy a few cash worth of things, or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me for the money and brings me his purchases. So, if God should place me in serious perplexity, must He not me much guidance; in positions of great difficulty, much grace; in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.

I am a Christian. Years ago I stepped up to God and, in gratitude for his love and sacrifice for me, handed my life back to him. As Isaiah did after meeting God, I said, "Here am I. Send me." If I really meant it, then it should matter little where he sends me, or what hardships I face. I volunteered for service, and was given a very important assignment, to serve my wonderful family and my precious boys.

I have a very wise friend named Judy Nelson. When I was in college, and writhing in pain over men and stricken with panic and fear of the future, Judy used to say, "Ginger, it all comes down to whether or not you really believe that God is committed to your best interest". Her challenge rings in my head a lot these days.

If I really believe that he is committed to my best interest, and that he really loves my children more than I ever could, then despite the very natural instinct that I have as a mother to worry about my boys, I must know that everything is fine, because it is as God has had planned all along. And God can be trusted with my boys.

So this is where we circle back around to Letting Go of Chandler. When I look at the gorgeous faces of Webster and Chandler, the love that I feel for them is practically brain melting. The thought of them going out into the world gives me a stomach ache, but the harsh revelation of our little one's "specialness" is an early reminder that our job is to get them ready to do just that, be able to go out into the world and set off on a journey that we can't really go with them on. ("Ships are safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are for") Webster is benefiting in that I spend much more time thinking much farther ahead for him than I would have, had we still been allowed to loiter in "President Taylor" land.

So I am trying to learn to 'let go' of Chandler even as my love for him grows. I am trying to learn to serve him rather than serving my own ego's idea of what my son should be. The better I get at it, the more I see the poetry that Chandler is.

After weeks of searching, Dan Olmsted still can't find any more autistic Amish

This series begs the question, why the heck isn't Lancaster County crawling with investigators from the CDC and HHS? If I was Secretary Leavitt, that place would look like a scene out of "Outbreak". Can someone get him on the phone and let him know that this is perhaps something the government might look into?

The Age of Autism: Witness
By Dan Olmsted
UNITED PRESS
INTERNATIONAL

Lebanon, PA, May. 10 (UPI) -- Frank Noonan is a family doctor in Lancaster County. When I met him for lunch last Saturday, he was still in golfing togs from his weekly game -- "Saturdays are my 'I can breathe' day," he says. Even so, he stayed after our meal to meet a cancer patient who phoned him at the restaurant.

He's energetic, friendly, straightforward -- the kind of doctor people want.

People such as the Amish. As a family practitioner, Noonan sees patients of all ages. He combines traditional and alternative medicine in an "integrative" blend to suit the individual. The Amish like that approach -- they prefer to see just one doctor for all their care, and their first resort is herbs and supplements, not prescriptions and pills. For one thing, most don't have insurance.

Based on movies like "Witness" and the image of the Amish in horse-and-buggies, many people -- myself included -- assume they have virtually no contact with such outside influences as modern medicine.

Not so.

Noonan has been a doctor in Lancaster County nearly 25 years and about a third of his patients are Amish, making his Amish practice one of the area's largest. He has seen "thousands and thousands" of the county's 22,000 Amish residents and others who live nearby.

I found him through an Amish-Mennonite mother of an autistic child adopted from China. She told me she has seen almost no autism among the Amish, but that I should talk to Noonan because he has treated so many Amish for so long.

Based on my reporting so far, there is evidence of only three or possibly four Amish with autism in Lancaster County, where there should be dozens at the 1-in-166 prevalence in society at large. One of them is the adopted Chinese child. Another was described as having "a clear vaccine reaction" at 15 months, after which she became autistic. I have not met that child and can't vouch for that description.

When I called Noonan three weeks ago, he seemed surprised by my question about Amish autism but agreed to think about it, check around and tell me what he found. At lunch, Noonan said he hesitated to offer an opinion when I first called because it
had never occurred to him. But now, he said, he realized something.

"I have not seen autism with the Amish," Noonan told me. "And I say that having seen a ton of Amish patients. I may be able to think in all those years of maybe one case of (Amish) autism I've had."

"I've checked with some of my colleagues," he added, "and they all tell me it's very, very sporadic that we'll see a case of autism among the Amish." From 2000 to 2003, Noonan also saw patients at the Wellness Center, which is operated by the Amish and Mennonites. About 90 percent of those patients are Amish, Noonan said, and he saw thousands of them. But still he saw no autism.

"Absolutely none, in the almost three years I was there. We would have seen it. It's not something they would hide. They're not like that."

Noonan said he sees "a fair amount of mental retardation among the Amish." A significant percentage of people with autism have mental retardation as well as severe speech and hearing problems. Wouldn't they show up on the radar of those who track and treat such issues? And wouldn't autistic Amish see Noonan for the same inevitable illnesses and injuries that bring the rest of their family to him?

I tried various ways to find gaps in Noonan's account. Perhaps autistic Amish children were seeing pediatricians or specialists as opposed to family doctors ...

"The Amish don't go to specialists like we do," he responded. "The Amish go to family docs for all their pediatric care. So at least in Lancaster County, where I practice, almost all pediatrics among the Amish is done by family docs."

"You'll find all the other stuff, but we don't find the autism," Noonan said. "We're right in the heart of Amish country and seeing none. And that's just the way it is."

In my last column, I said this interview was a tipping point between absence-of-evidence (not finding many autistic Amish) and evidence-of-absence (finding there might not be many).

The case is still open, but does anyone disagree that Dr. Noonan makes a compelling
witness?

The subscription service has been down

So you you have not gotten notices of the site being updated since mid February apparently.

This should correct the problem, if not I will find another service.

Please come by and look at the interesting things that have been posted including Chandler's first unprompted sentence.

There are good people in the world

Volunteers Search For Pet Iguana By Land, Air
Autistic Boy, Family Heartbroken Over Missing Pet
POSTED: 12:48 pm PDT May 6, 2005
Channel 10 News, San Diego
IMPERIAL BEACH -- Dozens of volunteers are coming together to help the family of an autistic boy search for his lost iguana, 10News reported.

Steve Stutzka, 12, is heartbroken over his missing iguana, Fred Green.

The last time Fred Green was spotted was in the 1100 block of Ouden Lane in Imperial Beach.

As a sheriff's deputy, Mike Forbes knows how to find people. But Thursday night, he used his tracking skills for an unusual mission -- find Fred Green the iguana.

When Forbes heard Fred Green was missing, he volunteered to use his infrared-heat seeking camera to find the iguana.

Stutzka is best friends with Fred Green and has been searching for him for days.

While Forbes and Steve use their cameras on the ground, San Diego helicopter pilots hover above, using their infrared devices to search for Fred Green. Students from Mar Vista High School will be searching for Fred Green on Monday, as well as the sheriff's search and rescue team.

Steve and his parents told 10News they don't care who has the iguana, just bring him back, even anonymously.

If you have any information please call (619) 429-7319.

The Autistic Amish - Or Lack There Of

The Age of Autism: Julia
By Dan Olmsted
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Leola, PA, Apr. 19 (UPI) -- Three-year old Julia is napping when I arrive at the spare, neat, cheerful house on Musser School Road near the town of Leola in Lancaster County.

She is the reason I have driven through the budding countryside on this perfect spring day, but I really do not need to meet her.

In the last column, I wrote about trying to find autistic Amish people here in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and noted there should be dozens of them -- if autism occurs at the same prevalence as the rest of the United States.

So far, there is evidence of only three, all of them children, the oldest age 9 or 10. Julia is one of them. I found out about her through a pediatrician in Richmond, Va., Dr. Mary Megson. I had been asking around for quite some time about autism and the Amish, and she provided the first direct link.

Megson said she would give my name to this child's mother, who could call if she chose. A few days later the phone rang. It was Stacey-jean Inion, an Amish-Mennonite woman. She, her husband Brent and their four children live simply, but they do drive a vehicle and have a telephone. After a few pleasantries, I told her about my trying to find autistic Amish.
Here is what she said, verbatim:
"Unfortunately our autistic daughter -- who's doing very well, she's been diagnosed with very, very severe autism -- is adopted from China, and so she would have had all her vaccines in China before we got her, and then she had most of her vaccines given to her in the United States before we got her.

"So we're probably not the pure case you're looking for."
Maybe not, but it was stunning that Julia Inion, the first autistic Amish person I could find, turned out to be adopted -- from another country, no less. It also was surprising that Stacey-jean launched unbidden into vaccines, because the Amish have a religious exemption from vaccination and presumably would not have given it much thought.

She said a minority of Amish families do, in fact, vaccinate their children these days, partly at the urging of public health officials.

"Almost every Amish family I know has had somebody from the health department knock on our door and try to convince us to get vaccines for our children," she said. "The younger Amish more and more are getting vaccines. It's a minority of children who vaccinate, but that is changing now."

Did she know of any other autistic Amish? Two more children, she said.
"One of them, we're very certain it was a vaccine reaction, even though the government would not agree with that."

Federal health officials have said there is no association between vaccinations and autism or learning disabilities.

"The other one I'm not sure if this child was vaccinated or not," she added.
During my visit to their home, I asked Stacey-jean to explain why she attributed the first case to vaccines.

"There's one family that we know, their daughter had a vaccine reaction and is now autistic. She was walking and functioning and a happy bright child, and 24 hours after she had her vaccine, her legs went limp and she had a typical high-pitched scream. They called the doctor and the doctor said it was fine -- a lot of high-pitched screaming goes along with it.

"She completely quit speaking," Stacey-jean said. "She completely quit making eye contact with people. She went in her own world."

This happened, Stacey-jean said, at "something like 15 months." The child is now about 8.
For similar reasons, Julia Inion's Chinese background is intriguing. China, India and Indonesia are among countries moving quickly to mass-vaccination programs. In some vaccines, they use a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal that keeps multiple-dose vials from becoming contaminated by repeated needle sticks.

Thimerosal was phased out of U.S. vaccines starting in 1999, after health officials became concerned about the amount of mercury infants and children were receiving. The officials said they simply were erring on the side of caution, and that all evidence favors rejection of any link between Autism Spectrum Disorders and thimerosal, or vaccines themselves.

Julia's vaccinations in China -- all given in one day at about age 15 months -- may well have contained thimerosal; the United States had stopped using it by the time she was born, but other countries with millions to vaccinate had not.

Stacey-jean said photographs of Julia taken in China before she was vaccinated showed a smiling alert child looking squarely at the camera. Her original adoptive family in the United States, overwhelmed trying to cope with an autistic child, gave Julia up for re-adoption. The Inions took her in knowing her diagnosis of severe autism.

I tried hard -- and am still trying -- to find people who know about other autistic Amish. Of the local health and social service agency personnel in Lancaster, some said they dealt with Amish people with disabilities, such as mental retardation, but none recalled seeing an autistic Amish.
Still, I could be trapped in a feedback loop: The Amish I am likeliest to know about -- because they have the most contact with the outside world -- also are likeliest to adopt a special-needs child such as Julia from outside the community, and likeliest to have their children vaccinated.
Another qualifier: The Inions are converts to the Amish-Mennonite religion (Brent is an Asian-American). They simply might not know about any number of autistic Amish sheltered quietly with their families for decades.

It also is possible the isolated Amish gene pool might confer some kind of immunity to autism -- which might be a useful topic for research.

Whatever the case, Stacey-jean thinks the autistic Amish are nowhere to be found.
"It is so much more rare among our people," she said. "My husband just said last week that so far we've never met a family that lives a healthy lifestyle and does not vaccinate their children that has an autistic child. We haven't come across one yet."

"Everywhere I go (outside the Amish community) I find children who are autistic, just because I have an autistic daughter -- in the grocery store, in the park, wherever I go. In the Amish community, I simply don't find that."

A Beautiful Thing

A great way to help an autistic student and build a bunch of compassionate adults.

Fellow students pave the way for autistic classmate
Sandy Cullen Wisconsin State Journal

Twelve-year-old Garner Moss is fascinated with maps and has an uncanny knack for remembering geographic locations.

He also loves buses and can hear one eight blocks away, said Brent Lodewyk, his teacher at Stephens Elementary.

That's why Lodewyk had to move his combined fourth- and fifth-grade class from the street side of the school to the back.

Garner, who has autism, would jump out of his seat and stand at the window, excitedly announcing, "The bus is coming!"

Moving Garner's classroom is just one of the things that makes it easier for him to be in a regular classroom. At times he wears headphones to listen to music so he's not as distracted by other things that are happening around him.

In addition to his classroom teacher and special education teacher Kara Meyers, he gets lots of support from his classmates, who formed the group A Helping Hand For Autism to help other students understand more about the neurological disability that can affect how a person sees, hears, feels and communicates - and about Garner.

"It's really created by kids, run by kids," Lodewyk said.
Advertisement:

The fourth- and fifth-graders in AHHFA - pronounced "ah- fa" - have put together a presentation they are taking to other classes at Stephens this month, which is Autism Awareness Month.

They also will be making a DVD to introduce Garner and explain his autism to the new classmates he will encounter next year at Jefferson Middle School.

As part of their presentation, group members are asking students to decorate a drawing of a hand and hang it up outside of their classroom as a show of support.

Their presentation also includes a poster board with photographs of Garner enjoying swimming, hiking and horseback riding.

"Just because a person has autism doesn't mean that they can't do all that stuff," said fifth-grader Lexus James, 11.

In fact, the group's young members can tell you, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein had some degree of autism.

Their display uses puzzle pieces to represent the mystery of autism - for which there is no known cause or cure - along with bright colors that represent hope.

Next year, they hope to do presentations at other schools, such as Jefferson and Spring Harbor Middle School.

AHHFA members, who have their own bright green T-shirts, meet once a week over lunch with Garner's mom, Beth Moss, who helps the students plan activities.

She hopes that being in a regular classroom will enable Garner to function independently in the real world, where perhaps he could get a job mapping bus routes.

That's why Garner's family moved from Tennessee to Madison, which has a reputation for successful inclusion of students with special education needs in regular classes.

Students with special needs are segregated only when it benefits the student, or to address behavior or safety concerns, and only for as long as necessary, said Jan Duxstad, a special education coordinator for the district.

Not only did Moss choose Madison, she selected Stephens Elementary after speaking with Principal Nancy Yoder.

At Stephens, Garner is one of 12 students with autism, or 3 percent of the school's students, Meyers said, adding that other schools in the district, as well as nationally, typically have 1 percent of students with the disorder.

In the district, 328 students have some form of autism, spokesman Ken Syke said.

Lodewyk, who has been Garner's classroom teacher for two years, said AHHFA has made a big difference in Garner's confidence and personal growth.

"They're really teachers," Lodewyk said of the group's members. "He's very supported by his friends."

"People were teasing our friend, Garner, and I wanted to help stop that," said fifth- grader Azucena Wisch, 11.

"They were telling him to hug other people and telling him to say stuff to other people because they thought it was funny," Wisch said, adding, "He'd be the one to get in trouble."

"When I didn't know him, I admit I teased him a bit," said fifth-grader Robert Quintana. "I wanted to start being his friend to help him out."

AHHFA members who are going on to Jefferson say they will continue to look out for Garner at their new school.

Garner said he likes having a group of supporters to lend him a helping hand.

"I have more friends with AHHFA," said Garner, who isn't worried about having to go to a new school next year. "I'm excited."

Fifth-grader Camden Hirshfeld said, "Through AHHFA and our help of Garner, he has become a much better student and has got a lot of good friends, including me."

Contact Sandy Cullen at scullen@madison.com or 252-6137.

Antioxidant Levels May be Linked to Autism

Antioxidant Levels May be Linked to Autism
By Serena Gordon
Forbes.com

SUNDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Could oxidative stress, a suspected contributor to many disease processes like heart disease and cancer, also play a role in autism?
University of Arkansas researchers think it may.

In a recent study, autistic children were found to have significantly lower levels of an antioxidant called glutathione and its metabolic precursors.

"Glutathione is the major antioxidant in cells important for detoxification and elimination of environmental toxins, and its active form is reduced in about 80 percent of the kids with autism," said the study's lead author, S. Jill James. She is director of the biochemical genetics laboratory at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute and a professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
Reduced levels of antioxidants, such as glutathione, would increase the level of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress occurs when antioxidants aren't able to clear the body of free radicals, which can damage cells in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and immune system.

"[Our findings] suggest that these kids would be more sensitive to an environmental exposure and would be less likely to detox from heavy metals," said James.

Exposure to heavy metals, such as the mercury preservative that was commonly used in children's vaccines until recently, has long been suspected as a trigger for autism in genetically susceptible children. Most research, however, has failed to confirm this link, and in 2004, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that it did not believe that vaccines contributed to the development of autism.

Not everyone agreed with that conclusion, however. Laura Bono, chairwoman of the National Autism Association, and the parent of an autistic child, believes vaccines play some sort of role in the development of autism and said the new study's findings would seem to support a link.
"These are children that are more vulnerable, that don't quite detox the way the rest of us do," said Bono.

James didn't look at the vaccine question for the current study. She said that autism is believed to have a genetic basis, but that it "takes an environmental trigger to bring out the genetics."
For this study, James and her colleagues compared blood samples of 90 autistic children to those of 45 children without the disorder, and found that the active form of glutathione was reduced by about 80 percent in children with autism. James also said the metabolic precursors of glutathione were reduced.

"If they have lower glutathione, they would reach a toxicity earlier than someone with higher levels," said James. "But, it's not clear whether this is a cause or a consequence of autism," she added.

James and her team also looked at changes that occur in several genes that could affect glutathione metabolism in blood samples from 233 autistic children, vs. 183 children without autism. They found changes in three genes more often in the children with autism. James said these are common genes that don't cause autism, but they could contribute to the development of these metabolic abnormalities.

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Traveling tips for families with an autistic child

Chantal Sicile-Kira
sheknows.com

Traveling with children may not seem like such a big deal. However, when one of them has an autism spectrum disorder, it adds an extra dimension. Chantal Sicile-Kira, author of Autism Spectrum Disorders and host of a weekly radio show "The Real World of Autism with Chantal" on Autism One Radio (http://www.autismone.org/), has traveled widely with her autistic son. She offers some insight.

Many families who have an autistic child do not travel because they are concerned about how the child will handle the change and disruption, or are overwhelmed at the thought of managing the certain behaviors their child might exhibit in public. Leaving the security of home to a new place can be off putting for a child with autism. All the preparation may seem a bit daunting, but it pays to plan ahead.

In my book, I offer the following suggestions for preparing to travel with your child, which can be adapted to suit your child's needs. How you prepare your child depends on his age and ability level; and taking a short trip is recommended before attempting long voyages.

Airports and train stations are areas that involve lots of waiting. Teach your child the "waiting" skill if he does not have it. Make or find a picture that will represent "waiting" to your child, such as a line drawing of a "stick" person sitting in a chair, with the face of a clock next to it. Write "waiting" clearly on the card. Glue to cardboard, laminate it and place a piece of Velcro somewhere on it. Next, make sure you have picture of whatever items your child usually requests or wants immediately (favorite food, toy, ride in the car) backed with Velcro.

Have a second's timer available. When you are ready to teach this skill, have the favorite items you know the child likes available to you, but out of sight and reach of the child. The next time your child communicates that he wants that preferred item, put the picture on the Velcro on the waiting card, then put the timer on for a few seconds. Say, "we are waiting" and point to the card. When the timer goes off, immediately give him the desired item.

Some children need to start with a wait of only five seconds, and work on up from there. Others can start at 10 seconds or even closer to a minute. Once your child has learned to wait for a certain amount of time, add more time in small increments. Eventually, your child will understand that he WILL get what he asked for; it is only a matter of time. Then, when the family is preparing to go out, you can put the picture representing where you are going on the waiting sign and put the timer on 10 minutes (for example) before leaving the house. This will give him a heads up about when you are going, and where. When traveling, you can take the waiting sign, timer and goodies with you if necessary. Some may not need it, others will.

Put up a monthly calendar with the departure date clearly marked, and has the child check off every day until departure. Bring the calendar with you and mark off number of days in one place or on the trip, always having the return date indicated.

Put together a picture and word "travel book" of what means of transport you are going to be using to, who you are going to see, where you will sleep, and what you will do or see at your destination. Go over this with your child, like you would a storybook as often as you like in preparation for the trip. Using a three-ring binder is best, as you can add extra pages or insert the calendar mentioned above for use on the trip.

Put together a picture or word schedule of the actual journey to take with you on your trip. Add extra pages to the travel book. Add Velcro and attach pictures or words in order of the travel sequence. Add an empty envelope to add the "done" pictures when you have finished one step of the journey.

For example, if you are flying to another city, start with a picture of the taxi or car that will take you to the airport. (When you are at the airport, have him remove the taxi) picture and put it in the envelope. Then have a picture of the airport, followed by the waiting picture, and then the airplane, followed by the airport, then the waiting sign, the taxi and then the hotel.

Think of your child's daily routine and the items he likes or needs for his routine and bring them along to make him feel more at home. Bring whatever foods and drinks will keep him happy on the trip.

Buy some small, inexpensive toys that he can play with and that if you lose it will not be the end of the world. If he only plays with one favorite item, try to find a duplicate and see if you can "break it in" before the trip. Do not wash any items (including plush toys) before the trip as the child may feel comfort in the "home" smell of his cherished item.

When staying in a hotel, It is a good idea to call ahead and ask for a quiet room. You may wish to explain about your child's behavior if there is a likelihood of your child exhibiting them in the public part of the hotel. Same with a friend or relative's home. It can be a bit disconcerting for everyone concerned if your child takes his clothes off and races through your friend's home stark naked.

Make sure your child has an id tag attached to him somewhere, with a current phone number written on it. You can order medical bracelets, necklaces and tags to attach to shoe laces for your child. Additionally, if your child can carry it in his pocket, make an ID card with a current photo, date and phone numbers. Be sure to put any information that is important to know such as allergies and medications, and any special information (i.e. non-verbal).

If you are traveling by plane, Sicile-Kira recommends that you call the airlines as far in advance as you can, and tell them you will be traveling with someone who has special needs. Some airlines have "special assistance coordinators." You may wish to explain about your child's needs and some of the behaviors that may affect other travelers, such as rocking in the seat. You may also request that assistance be provided to help you with your child and luggage to get to the gate, and ask that assistants meet you at the airplane upon arrival. Remember, the person may not understand about your needs. They may ask you questions and say that assistance is only for the physically handicapped, so you may need to explain in concrete terms why you need help.

Good News for Vaccine Safety

The CDC has split their vaccine division so that there can be better oversight of the safety of shots our children receive:

"Critics of the agency have argued for some time that the advocacy nature of its immunization program hinders the agency's ability to monitor and investigate any adverse reactions to vaccines.

Much of the pressure has come from lawmakers and parents of autistic children, who are concerned about a possible link between rising rates of autism and a mercury preservative, thimerosal, once widely used in childhood vaccines. They have argued that the agency's dual role in promoting vaccines and overseeing their safety represents a serious conflict of interest."

Autism in the olden days

Interesting article on the ABC News web site about autistic children described in old stories.

Fairytales tell of autistic children
Leask says several stories describe children believed to have been stolen byfairies who then left behind a strange, sickly, "changeling" child."The description of changelings is very similar to those given to autistic children," she says. "Changelings were described as unresponsive, resistant to affection, did not express emotion, cried a lot or did not speak."