New Vitamin/Mineral Supplement for Children and Adults with Autism

Participate in a 12-week trial of a new vitamin/mineral supplement for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a new vitamin/mineral supplement by evaluating symptoms at the beginning and end of the study. This study has been approved by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at Arizona State University.child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Hillary Clinton's Autism Plan

Hillary Clinton unveiled her plan to help children and families affected by autism, vowing to dramatically boost research funding and support services for families caring for an autistic loved one.

As President, Hillary Clinton will provide approximately $700 million a year to address autism through the following initiatives:

•Expanding research to identify causes of autism and monitoring its impact across the country
•Creating an Autism Task Force charged with investigating evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services
•Providing planning and demonstration grants for services for adults
•Improving access to post-diagnosis care
•Providing teacher training
•Creating a National Technical Assistance Center
•Guaranteeing quality, affordable health care

Read what Autism Organizations are saying about Hillary’s Plan

For information on autism visit child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Toy Containing 'Date-Rape' Drug Pulled

Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the toy Aqua Dots, a popular holiday toy distributed by Spin Master Toys. Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death. The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused together when sprayed with water. child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Read full article here.

Adolescence And Autism: A Difficult, But Not Hopeless Combination

The challenges autistic patients face become more pronounced during adolescence, when many kinds of social behaviours are developed these individuals can become more aware of their relationship difficulties.

"This study shows that the social and interpersonal skills of autistic adolescents can be improved, and we established that our method is efficient and does not require significant resources," said Dr. Fombonne, Head of Child Psychiatry at McGill University Health Centre.

They wanted to address the needs of autistic adolescents who had no major delay in their language development or who were not cognitively challenged (high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome). The major component of the sessions is role play, which allows the patients to simulate different social situations and create new friendships with other members of the group.

The study results definitely back up this conclusion, as there was increase in patients' social skills over the course of the sessions, an improvement that was maintained outside the training groups. This last point proves that behaviour improvement in these patients is not solely tied to the hospital environment. The training has also helped some of the adolescents reduce problems with excessive irritability or sensitivity.

McGill University Health Centre (2007, November 3). Adolescence And Autism: A Difficult, But Not Hopeless Combination.

For more information on adolescence and autism visit: child-autism-parent-cafe.com

Three New Video Presentations Added to www.Autism.com

From the Autism Research Institute:

The following video presentations are now available on the Autism Research Institute's homepage:

Dr. James Adams' recent talk titled 'Results of a DMSA Treatment Study.' This lecture was presented at last month's Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Garden Grove, California (Oct. 2007). For those who remember, ABC's Primetime Live aired a story about this research project last year while the study was ongoing.

ASA President Lee Grossman's talk at the Defeat Autism Now! Conference in Garden Grove, California (Oct. 2007). Lee is the President of the Autism Society of America (ASA), and he discusses some of ASA's initiatives and ASA's association with the Autism Research Institute.

Andrew Wakefield, M.D.'s keynote address at the Autism Society of America's National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona (July, 2007). Dr. Wakefield discusses the research on gastrointestinal problems associated with autism.

To view the videos:
Go to www.autism.com -- the video links are located on the far right column on the homepage. The videos were rendered in both high band (DSL, cable) and low band (dial-up).

child-autism-parent-cafe.com

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week

During National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week check out Parent Guide to Understanding Bullying to help you recognize and deal with both bullied and bullying children, warning signs parents should be alert to, the psychology of bullies and victims, how to empower children, and how to reach out to bullies, how not to raise a bully and what schools can do to help prevent bullying.

Books

Bullying at school: What We Know and What We can Do
By Dan Olweus, Ph.D.

Bully-Proofing Your Child: A Parent’s Guide
By Carla Garrity, Ph.D., Mitchell Baris, Ph.D., and William Porter, Ph.D

Resources

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

American Medical Association
Violence and Bullying Resource Links

NYU Child Study Center
Social Life in Middle and High School: Dealing with Clicks and Bullies (pdf)