The Financial Burden of Autism?

Jeff Sell with his sons Ben, at left, and Joe in April 2008 at an event called “Bounce for Autism.”

Dealing With the Financial Burden of Autism

By Walecia Konrad

When Jeff Sell’s twin sons were found to have autism 13 years ago, he, like so many other parents in the same situation, found himself with a million questions: Will my children be able to function? What are the best treatments and where do I find them? How will this affect the rest of my family?

And besides those monumental worries, Mr. Sell kept asking himself another fundamental question as he began the long string of doctor and therapist visits with his sons: “How in the world am I going to pay for all this?”

Autism trends, treatments and therapies routinely make headlines. Often overlooked, though, is the financial burden for many families with autistic children.

Treatment is extremely expensive. Direct medical and nonmedical costs can add up to as much as $72,000 a year for someone with an extreme case of the disorder, and even $67,000 a year for those on the lower end of the spectrum, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health.

[Yeah, I suppose it is, if you want to pay the exorbitant amounts demanded by ABA practitioners, for a teaching method which has no benefit for your child, but may actually be harmful instead. Or maybe they're talking about chelation, HBOT, Lupron treatments, OSR-1, none of which have any scientific basis, and should not be covered by insurance programs. Suckers should have to pay for their own folly.]

That figure includes medical costs like doctor visits, prescriptions and occupational and speech therapy, as well as expenses for things like special education, camps and child care, said Michael Ganz, the author of the study, who is now a health care consultant.

“It can cost $3.2 million to take care of an autistic person over the course of his or her lifetime,” the study said.

[As either Mark Twain or Disraeli said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”. This $3.2 million figure happens to meet the definitions of all three. That statement is also reminiscent of the Clinton quote - "That depends on what your definition of 'is' is." First, that "It can cost" - Yeah, I suppose it can, that doesn't mean it always does. Second, that "an autistic person" - I'd like to know just which autistic person is receiving such a huge amount over his/her lifetime. Third, they make it sound as though they arrived at that figure by averaging out the cost incurred by all autistic people, which they certainly have not done. And finally, you can't just add up all the costs of health care, education, camps and child care, you can only count the additional costs incurred because of the autism. All these things, taken together, make that a very misleading statement, a gross exaggeration, and a goddamned lie.]

More families are grappling with the disorder than ever before. One of every 110 8-year-old children in the United States has been diagnosed with autism — and one of every 70 boys, according to the latest survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released last fall. That is up from one in 150 children in a comparable report released in 2007.

[This depends on what your definition of "autism" is. That one in 110, or 1 in a 100, whatever it is, includes the entire spectrum, not just those who are Kanner autistics. Yes, classic autistics will require more in the way of benefits and services, and they should get them, but Autism Speaks is using this 1 in a hundred figure and the $3.2 million figure as scare tactics to get people to grab for their wallets to contribute to them. Hell, I'm no mathematician, but even I can see the bad math involved in that.]

“The numbers are just amazing,” said Pat Kemp, executive vice president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, “Unless we attack this like a national health crisis, we’re going to have a huge economic crisis on our hands.”

[This is an obvious call for huge amounts of government money, funneled into the coffers of Autism Speaks, to further their stated purpose of eradication of autism, most likely to be accomplished through pre-natal screening and abortion of suspected autistic fetuses.]

Certainly families feel the financial strain. Many health insurance policies do not cover autism treatments, while those that do often have severe limits. And there is very little government or private financial assistance available.

In many cases these children will need assistance all their lives, Mr. Ganz points out. Making sure there is money for the future is something else parents worry about.

[Parents would be well-advised to put what money they can into a special needs trust to provide for their children after they've gone, instead of spending it on highly questionable "cures" that they've bought into out of desperation.]

When his sons received their diagnosis, Mr. Sell was practicing personal-injury law in Texas, and he began paying for many of their treatments from his own income and savings. In 2005, as he became more involved in autism issues, he joined the staff of the Autism Society of America in Bethesda, Md., where he is now a vice president.

[The Autism Society of America, does not, in fact, provide any financial assistance to anyone. If you don't believe me, just try them and see. All I got from them was a pamphlet, and a request for a donation.]

His sons are now 15. One, Joe, is talkative and considered “high functioning.” The other, Ben, is nonverbal with profound autism.

“What works for one child doesn’t necessarily work for the other,” Mr. Sell said. “So we’re talking about finding and paying for twice as many treatments.”

In the early years, the Sell family had some autism coverage under Mr. Sell’s health insurance. But claims for certain therapies, tests and treatments were often denied. “I was very aggressive about appealing those denials, and I often won,” Mr. Sell said.

[Just which therapies, tests, and treatments did you get them to cover, Mr. Sell? I hope they weren't any of those I singled out above.]

But even with coverage, Mr. Sell found he needed to pay enormous amounts out of pocket to come close to giving his sons the 20 to 40 hours of behavioral therapies each week that were often recommended. (Eventually, as discussed below, Mr. Sell was also able to obtain financial assistance through a special part of the Medicaid program.)

Although direct financial support may be scarce and hard to obtain, there are several autism information and advocacy groups that routinely help parents navigate financial hurdles. Here is a road map parents can use to get started.

Coverage for autism treatments is still far from common, but it is improving. Some large employers offer policies that cover treatment, and 15 states have passed laws mandating at least some autism-related coverage. The Autism Society’s Web site lists the relevant states. (That section of the site is still under construction, but you can scroll down to see the states.)

In addition, Maine and New Hampshire both have legislation pending that could pass soon, Mr. Kemp said.

If you do have coverage, watch for limitations. Because treatment for autism is so individualized, there are few uniform standards or protocols for insurance companies to follow. That means parents often have to argue that a certain therapy or treatment is necessary. Also, be sure to check any caps on treatment, Mr. Sell warns. What may look generous — say $36,000 a year — can be spent quickly. Or there may be limits on how many sessions of a particular type of therapy will be paid for each year.

And you will want to coordinate your insurance coverage with the services you may be receiving from your child’s school. If an occupational therapist sees your child regularly in school, for example, you may want to save your insurance dollars for social interaction therapies.

In addition, you may need to be especially aggressive about coverage for some medical conditions. Gastrointestinal problems, for instance, are extremely common in autistic children.

[Medical conditions should definitely be covered, and I understand that gastrointestinal problems are often dismissed as "part of the autism". I submit that the condition is just as, or nearly as likely in all children, but autistic children have more difficulty with it, because they can't describe what they're feeling as readily.]

Mr. Sell found himself fighting for such coverage for Ben, his nonverbal son. The insurance company had denied the claim for gastrointestinal testing, saying that because Ben’s behavior problems were related to autism, the testing was not covered.

Mr. Sell, convinced Ben was in pain and could not tell anyone what was wrong, appealed and won. The tests showed that Ben had ulcers and lower-intestine problems that still occasionally flare up and require treatment.

Some states offer Medicaid coverage for children with autism without taking the family’s income into account — only the child’s diagnosis. This is usually reserved for fairly serious cases but is worth exploring, Mr. Sell said.

“This was a godsend for us,” he said. The waiver, he said, allows families access to services that private insurance won’t cover and that they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.

With the waiver, Mr. Sell was able to get more home-based speech and occupational therapies for his sons to supplement the sessions they receive at the public school they both attend. Medicaid also covers recreational therapy during which a specialist takes Ben and Joe on hikes and other outings, giving the parents some downtime.

[Those do sound like worthwhile therapies, and parents certainly do need some respite time. I'm glad these things were finally made available to Mr. Sell and his sons.]

To see if your child is eligible for a Medicaid waiver, go to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site and click on your state.

Because Medicaid is one of the few government lifelines available, waiting lists for waivers can be extremely long. Mr. Sell, for example, waited nine years to get waivers for his sons.

[That is unconscionable, a real "lemme-at-'em" travesty that proves the serious shortcomings of our Health Care system. Our children, hell, everybody, should be able to get the health care they need, without having to put a second mortgage on their homes, or costing them every dollar they have or will ever make.]

“Just go ahead and get on the list and try not to be too discouraged,” advised Mr. Sell. “Many states are moving faster now.”

Many autism advocacy organizations, including Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America, are affiliated with local chapters throughout the country. In addition, most states, counties, towns and cities provide lists of local autism resources and support groups.

It is people in the local groups who will know all the resources available. They can also help you keep up with the latest research, so you don’t spend time and money chasing the many unsubstantiated “cures” out there. They will also have lots of practical advice, like which dentists, optometrists and even barbers are good with autistic children.

“You think going to the barber is no big deal?” Mr. Sell asked. “Just try it with an autistic child.”

[Ah, I still remember my first few trips to the barber. The vibrations of the damned buzzer on the back of my neck were an "intense tickling" that I just couldn't bear. I'd duck my head, raise my shoulders, wiggle around to get away from it. And was then made to feel like I was a sissy or something for not being able to "take it".]

OTHER RESOURCES A handful of organizations like Easter Seals and the National Autism Association offer financial help to struggling families. Autism Family Resources and United Healthcare Children’s Foundation also offer grants to pay for autism treatments.

[Yeah, well, good luck with that! We need affordable Health Care!]

Who the Funk is Penelope Trunk?

Check-up for self-delusion

Penelope Trunk- Brazen Careerist

February 7th, 2010

It’s unbelievable to me that everyone continues to watch football when we know that men are getting genuinely, permanently, brain damaged. The game is tantamount to cockfighting, only with people instead of animals.

[This story isn't really about football, scroll down to the 5th paragraph.]

The NFL has finally admitted the problem, to the extent it is poised to be the largest funding source for research about trauma to the brain. But still, the game encourages brain trauma. And people cheer.

I can understand if it’s like smoking. You’re addicted, you can’t stop. But what about bringing your kids to the game? What about all the people who make the Superbowl a family TV event? Kids who play football in high school are more likely to die from that than drunk driving or guns. And parents encourage their kids to play this sport?

The culture of football amazes to me — the incredible level of denial. So what I'm thinking is that people are delusional. And they know it, but they keep going. They cultivate delusion.

That's what I think of when I hear about the HBO documentary about Temple Grandin. She's a total freak. This is why she’s interesting. Because people love an underdog—people love seeing weirdness succeed because most people feel weird and they worry it’s going to hold them back.

[Wait till you find out what a 'freak' Penelope is, in the URL at bottom.]

The problem is that a little weird is normal, but Temple is weird in a way that makes her a statistical improbability. Unlike Temple, most people with Asperger Syndrome are very smart but cannot hold down a job. Most Asperger people are living at the edge of poverty. They divorce at very high rates, and they are at high risk for depression and suicide.

Journalists who interact with Temple say that, on a personal level, she is absolutely impossible to deal with on a regular basis. This is not surprising. (Being difficult is what Asperger’s is about, in a large way. Everyone tries to isolate themselves from things that drive them crazy. Someone with Asperger Syndrome just has a much longer list with a much lower threshold

[Check this one out, she reveals that she has Asperger's Syndrome.]

in the you-are-driving-me-crazy department.) So it's lucky that she is an absolute genius in a field that has very little competition from people with good social skills. Most people with Asperger’s, even if they are geniuses at, say, engineering (which is very common) get in trouble mid-career for lack of social skills.

I hate the glorification of abnormal. People who are abnormal have an enormous struggle to find a place in the world. It’s not fun or glamorous. The celebration of abnormal is a delusional luxury of the relatively normal population.

[No one has said it was fun or glamorous, but still, not very accepting of her own kind, if she does have Asperger's. Then she goes off in another direction, or maybe she cut and pasted two different posts together.]

More about the world of delusion: Time magazine reports that 78% women feel that media does not accurately represent women with kids.

Probably the most accurate representation of women is in the blogosphere. There is no filter here, no need to appeal to both Peoria and Pasadena all at once. But even the whole of the blogosphere does not represent the female experience particularly accurately.

Here’s how I know: I compare the traffic for dooce.com and thepioneerwoman.com.

The Pioneer Woman is largely housewife porn. The men are hot and rugged, just like in a romance novel. The author, Ree Drummond, is running an operation similar to Rachel Ray or Martha Stewart, but she markets herself as a stay-at-home mom, and a homeschooler at that. The whole thing strikes me as totally preposterous. It’s as impossible as Friends, where everyone had a pricey NYC apartment, and not-high-paying job. But regardless, The Pioneer Woman’s traffic is absolutely through the roof, proving the appeal of preposterous escapism.

Dooce, on the other hand, is more gritty, and has about half the traffic of Pioneer Woman. On Dooce, Heather Armstrong blogs about depression, her kids being difficult, and her parents being Mormon. I love Heather Armstrong. But she’s the gold standard for writing a blog about your life and keeping a marriage together, and she is not, actually, writing about the female experience for married women.

Here is the female experience for married women (from a survey from PayPal):

37% of arguments are about money

24% are about household chores

15% are about in-laws

13% are about sex

Heather does not write about any of these arguments, except, maybe, chores. So who is writing about these fights? Where is the blogger explaining how she got through these fights?

I think the truth is that women don’t want to see themselves reflected back to them. Family life is messy right now. No one would aspire to have the life the baby boomer women had; people won’t even use the word feminist any more. And Generation X women, after creating the first fertility crisis in history by putting off kids for work, realized that they’d rather be home with kids than work full-time. So Gen X doesn’t want to look in the mirror. It’s too painful. Gen Y looks ahead and has no role model that looks appealing.

At first I was going to tell you how everyone who watches football and Temple Grandin are delusional. But I guess I am, too, because I read Pioneer Woman and Dooce all the time. And I like it.

But mindfulness goes a long way. For example, if you carry a book on your head every day for ten minutes, you will actually have more self-discipline to do the stuff in your life that matters more than a book on your head. It might seem like just a funny example, but don’t underestimate how hard it is to get yourself to keep a book on your head for ten minutes each day.

I think this works with facing reality, too. Maybe if we do it daily, in some aspect of our life, we get the temerity to implement that discipline in other parts of life as well. But we have to start somewhere in order to battle the magnetism of delusion.

It's easy to call out other peoples' delusions. It matters much more to call out our own.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[If you want the real, unvarnished truth about just who she is, it's amply revealed here]:

http://unvarnishedtruth.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/penelope-trunk-an-example-to-others-delusional-or-just-a-media-whore/

or: http://tinyurl.com/ykw2s4z

ELF Fugitive Dies in Avalanche

FBI Confirms Fugitive In Caltech Eco-Terror Case Has Died

By Gene Maddaus in Environment, crime

The FBI has confirmed that Tyler Johnson, a fugitive whom prosecutors considered a co-conspirator in the 2003 fire-bombing of an SUV dealership in West Covina, has died.

According to an obituary posted on the website of the Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home in Stockbridge, Mich., Johnson died in an avalanche during a solo expedition in the mountains of Corsica.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed that Johnson's remains have been identified through fingerprints. He and another alleged co-conspirator, Michie Oe, are believed to have fled the country shortly after the environmentally motivated attack.

The obituary states that Johnson spent the last six years on Corsica, during which time he "befriended dozens of people, hiked nearly all 214 summits greater than 2000 meters, and co-founded Solaria, a non-profit association that designs solar technology to power affordable, easily-constructed stoves for residents of third-world countries."

Billy Cottrell, a fellow Caltech student, was tried and convicted for the SUV attack, and is serving an eight-year sentence at a low-security facility in Arizona. At trial, Cottrell's attorneys argued that Johnson and Oe had duped him into participating in the arson spree, but they were prohibited from presenting evidence that Cottrell was vulnerable to persuasion because he suffered from Asperger's syndrome.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned Cottrell's convictions on seven of eight counts, arguing that the trial judge should have allowed the Asperger's testimony. Despite that ruling, the trial judge resentenced Cottrell in December to the same eight-year term. He is due to be released in about 15 months.

Here's the obituary:

Tyler J. Johnson

Tyler James Johnson, age 30, mathematician, physicist, photographer, and mountaineer, was killed from a fall due to an avalanche while on a solo expedition in the Corsican mountains of France, December 26, 2009. He was born June 2, 1979 in Ingham County, Michigan, to James and Patrice (Weddon) Johnson and preceded in death by his maternal grandparents (Edward and Willah Weddon) and paternal grandfather (Kenneth G. Johnson). Tyler is survived by his parents (Dansville, MI), sister Kelsey Johnson (Philadelphia, PA), grandmother Winnifred Johnson (Stockbridge, MI) and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Tyler graduated from Downingtown High School, PA, as an Advanced Placement scholar, skateboarder, martial artist, filmmaker and inaugural president of the Physics Club. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, as one of two Presidential Merit Scholars and was published in scholarly journals for research in both theoretical physics and artificial intelligence. Tyler, who spoke fluent Chinese and French, traveled extensively throughout the US, China, and Australia. During the past six years in Corsica, he befriended dozens of people, hiked nearly all 214 summits greater than 2000 meters, and co-founded Solaria, a non-profit association that designs solar technology to power affordable, easily-constructed stoves for residents of third-world countries.

Services will be held at the United Methodist Church in Stockbridge, MI at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 30, 2010. The family will receive friends at a fellowship reception following the service. All are welcome. In addition, people are invited to view and comment on the memorial blog, www.tylerjohnsonmemorial.wordpress.com. Tyler will be remembered for his kind and friendly nature, leadership, creative passion, independence, optimism, and idealistic vision of how things should, and could, be. Donations in his memory may be made to Solaria.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hunh! No word in his obituary that he was on the lam for having masterminded that fire-bombing of an SUV car dealership, setting up his "buddy" Billy Cottrell to take the fall for the whole thing, while he traveled the world and pursued his many interests. No word on the whereabouts of Johnson's girlfriend, Michie Oe.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On September 10, 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Cottrell's convictions for arson were overturned and his sentences vacated in an unpublished decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.^[14] However, the conspiracy conviction and sentence were affirmed. According to the Times, the omission of Cottrell's diagnosis of Asperger syndrome during his 2004 trial played a key role in the decision. The Federal Bureau of Prisons currently reports that Cottrell will be released on August 10, 2011.

Stupid Celebrity Tricks

Stupid Celebrity Tricks: Vaccines, Autism and Junk Science

Posted by The MaryHunter

Earlier this week, The Lancet retracted a key study published in 1998 that linked the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine with autism. In fact, ten of the thirteen authors of the study partially retracted the paper back in 2004 in the face of mounting evidence showing no causal relation between the MMR vaccine and autism. But mindless Hollywood celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey kept the autism myth alive, to the detriment of who knows how many children of parents insipid enough to take medical advice from actors.

The gnomish Greg Gutfeld uses the article retraction as a departure for dressing down dingbat celebs who fire flames about things they don't understand based on unsubstantiated science.

The heart of Gutfeld's rant, in case you missed it:

I speak of Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and all the saps at the Huffington Post who by their own earnest idiocy, misled the public into skipping vaccinations. The potential result: measles outbreaks all over the globe - and ultimately, dead kids.

It's hard to make jokes about that, so I won't.

But I will make jokes about gasbags like Carrey and McCarthy, two cretins who can't be content simply making us sick to our stomachs with their work - they also gotta make our kids sick with ego-driven medical advice. Now, I'm not a celebrity, but here's my medical advice for this sort of behavior: whenever a star offers an opinion on important health matters - citing flawed studies they know a nearly comatose Larry King won't bother checking - they should be given a vaccination of their own. It should be full of lead and shot straight up their ass.

This, of course, goes for global warming/climate change useful idiots as well -- there are at least a few in Tinseltown, or so I've been told.

Autism Happens

Focus Narrows in Search for Autism's Cause

By Sandra Blakeslee

Published: February 8, 2005

There comes a point in every great mystery when a confusing set of clues begins to narrow. For scientists who study autism, that moment may be near, thanks to a combination of new tools for examining brain anatomy and of old-fashioned keen observation.

(Bearing in mind that this story is 5 years old.)

Within the last year, several laboratories have reported finding important new clues about the mysterious syndrome that derails normal childhood brain development.

For the first time, they say, a coherent picture is emerging.

In autism, subtle brain abnormalities are present from birth. Infants and toddlers move their bodies differently. From 6 months to 2 years, their heads grow much too fast. Parts of their brain have too many connections, while other parts are under connected.

Moreover, their brains show signs of chronic inflammation in the same areas that show excessive growth. The inflammation appears to last a lifetime.

(Inflammation? Oh, the humanity! What does this "inflammation" look like, anyhow?)

''Autism is still a confusing disorder, but one thing is now clear,'' said Dr. Pat R. Levitt, a neuroscientist who is the director of the Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. ''There is a specific disruption of circuitry in brain development. We can really dig in and begin to explain the splintered brains of autistic children.''

(Splintered? We must be made of wood, like Pinocchio.)

To that end, Dr. Levitt and two dozen leading brain researchers held a three-day ''autism summit'' in Malibu, Calif., sponsored by the Cure Autism Now Foundation, to discuss this emerging view and to plan collaborative studies. The meeting ended Sunday.

(Ooh, a party at Malibu, sponsored by CAN. All expenses paid, no doubt.)

''Up to now, there was no theory to link one anatomical study to the next,'' said Dr. William T. Greenough of the University of Illinois, an expert on brain development. ''We now have a theoretical framework that can generate predictions to test.''

People with autism have great difficulty with social interaction. Some cannot speak. Many are clumsy. A common trait is obsessive attention to certain details. Symptoms can be severe to mild.

Diagnoses of the disorder have increased in recent years, although no one knows why. One child in 166 born today may fall on the autism spectrum.

Researchers agree that an unknown number of genes interact with unidentified environmental factors to produce the disorder. The new clues focus on brain development and circuitry, and especially on the brain's white matter. White matter contains fibers that connect neurons in separate areas of the brain, whereas gray matter contains the neurons themselves. ''You can think of this distinction as analogous to that between cables, or white matter, and circuit boards, or gray matter, inside a computer,'' said Dr. Matthew Belmonte, an autism researcher at the University of Cambridge in England. ''Even though each individual circuit board may be intact, if the cables are disrupted then the computer can't function.''

Using a new technique called morphometric analysis, in which post-mortem brain tissue is divided into tiny parcels and examined, Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist at Harvard Medical School, found an anomaly in the white matter of autistic brains -- it is asymmetrical.

In autism, white matter grows normally until 9 months, Dr. Herbert said. Then it goes haywire. By 2 years, excessive white matter is found in the frontal lobes, the cerebellum and association areas, where higher-order processing occurs.

The right side of the brain, the nonverbal hemisphere, is especially encased in white matter. The two sides of the brain are poorly connected. Moreover, small functional regions in each hemisphere tend to be prematurely insulated by excess white matter.

Another clue was reported last year by Dr. Eric Courchesne, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego. Using a simple tape measure, he found that newborns who later developed autism had smaller head circumferences than average. From 1 to 2 months of age, their brains suddenly begin to grow rapidly. Another spurt occurs between 6 months and 2 years, giving rise to exceptionally large heads.

At age 3, one child could wear his father's baseball cap, Dr. Courchesne said. The rate of brain growth gradually slows from 2 to 4 years, reaching a peak a year later. A 5-year-old with autism has the same size brain as a normal 13-year-old.

But by midadolescence, when normally developing children catch up, the autistic child's brain is again comparatively smaller.

Dr. Ruth Carper, who works with Dr. Courchesne, went on to show that the frontal lobes, the slowest and latest brain region to develop, have the biggest size increase of all. But the nerve cells in this region, which is responsible for social reasoning and decision making, are actually much smaller than normal and ''underpowered,'' Dr. Carper said.

A third clue, from the laboratory of Dr. Marcel A. Just, a neuroscientist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, reaffirms the odd circuitry in autism. In a study published in November, he found that people with autism remembered letters of the alphabet in a part of the brain that ordinarily processes shapes. That is, the subjects used a basic sensory region to deal with higher-level concepts.

''Autism results from a failure of various parts of the brain to work together,'' Dr. Just said. ''Distinct brain areas work independently. People with autism are good at details but bad at conceiving the whole.''

Local networks are overconnected, he said. Long-range networks are underconnected.

Skewed brain wiring could explain a fourth clue: clumsiness. Dr. Philip Teitelbaum, an expert on human movement patterns at the University of Florida, studies how babies with autism learn to roll over, sit up, crawl and walk. By looking at videotapes of their early months, before their disorders are diagnosed, he finds that autistic children use unusual strategies for locomotion. It is as if the parts of their brains that control movements are not properly connected.

A fifth clue, also reported in November, may turn out to be a major piece of the puzzle. Dr. Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, an assistant professor of neurology and pathology at Johns Hopkins, studied the brain tissue of 11 people with autism who died at ages 5 to 44. He found a pattern of inflammation in the same regions that appear to have excess white matter.

The brain has an innate immune system separate from the body's immune system, Dr. Pardo said. A sentinel cell type, called microglia, is always on the lookout for trouble. When activated, the cells elicit inflammation and growth factors.

Another cell type, astroglia, helps pattern the brain in fetal development and is later involved in synaptic activity. The astroglia were also elevated in the 11 brains.

Dr. Pardo then examined spinal fluid in six living children with autism. He found evidence of activated microglia, hence inflammation, along with astroglia.

It is not yet clear whether the inflammation is protective or destructive, Dr. Pardo said. In either case, inflammation is most marked in the same areas highlighted in all the other studies showing the same abnormal circuitry.

Other researchers have begun studies to find out whether genes involved in innate immunity and prenatal wiring are involved in the disorder.

A crucial question is why does the brain grow rapidly and then stop growing, Dr. Courchesne said. What accounts for the timing of the defect?

Dr. Herbert and others wonder whether the white matter is really larger.

''We don't know what is inside those enlarged areas,'' she said. ''It could be more axons, more white matter, or more glial cells and astrocytes.''

Dr. Robert Miller, a white matter expert at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, said he planned to examine white matter from autistic brains to see what gives them their ''odd architecture'' and perhaps discover the cause of the overgrowth.

Studies are under way to dissect the white matter in greater detail.

While these new clues are exciting, they do not lead to immediate treatments. Parents should not, for example, rush to give their autistic children anti-inflammatory medications at this time, Dr. Pardo said, because the link between autism and inflammation is still preliminary, and in any case, the drugs do not affect the type of inflammation particular to the brain.

(I'm certainly glad they made that clear. Anti-inflammatory drugs are not indicated, and may even be harmful.)

On the other hand, once autism is diagnosed, often around age 2 or 3, when the frontal lobes fail to activate properly, therapies might focus on activating multiple brain areas at the same time. This would not cure the disorder, Dr. Herbert said, but could theoretically lead to improvement.

(Okay, I'll bite. What do they mean by "activating" multiple areas? Would this be accomplished by means of drugs, or small amounts of electricity, or what?)

Meanwhile, other clues remain elusive. ''Parents will tell you that when their child spikes a high fever, the child becomes lucid and communicative,'' said Dr. Levitt, of Vanderbilt. ''A fever is a neuroinflammatory response. That suggests the circuit defects could be reversible. We just don't know.''


Meanwhile, five years later, we still don't know. I found this article by following the last link in this article: http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2010/02/66626/why-you-should-care-about-vaccines-and-autism/ A fairly good article about Wakefield.

The Meaning of "Neurodiversity"

Is there such a thing as a "neurodiversity" movement? No, not really, there is no organization, but if there were, it would probably tear itself to pieces before it ever got off the ground, because those who agree with the basic principle are usually "self-taught rugged individuals" who would tend to disagree on the details, the "who, what, when, why, and how" to do any particular thing. I know this, because years ago, I tried to bring together a group of people for the purpose of electing a board to make decisions and such, but it dissolved into petty squabbling. No blame on anyone in particular, it's just that all these people had different ideas about how to get things done. Mine was to be an attempt at democracy, but I learned that democracy is over-rated.

Now, there is a movement, in a very loose, grass-roots sort of way, in that there is a group of bloggers, such as those who are on the Hub and their readers, who subscribe to the idea that "Neurodiversity" is the acceptance of the fact that all people are neurologically different, with recognition that we should all have the same basic human rights, because we're people! What in the world is so hard to understand about that? Blacks, women, and gays have fought, and are still fighting for these same rights, and have made significant progress, but the battle isn't done. Civil rights have to be extended to all those who are "different", who are autistic, developmentally disabled, injured so that they can't work in "normal" ways, or simply aged and need some form of support, preferably in their own homes.

What we would say to other autistics is just, start from where you're at, make the best of what you've got, get whatever help you need, but don't waste time moaning about what might have been if only everyone were the same.

If, for instance, everyone were equal in everything except eye color, and brown eyes were in the minority, then those with brown eyes would be discriminated against, and made to feel inferior. Blued-eyed people would then say, "Aw, the poor things, let's cure them. We can weed out these damned brown-eyed people, and then there'll be no suffering!" (Suffering, which, btw, they inflict).

Autistic people have different wiring in their brains, not much different from the way gay people, or left-handed people are wired differently. Yes, it's more pronounced in some, and yes, it's more of a problem for some, but all of us have a right to be who we are, be accepted and respected as human beings, loved for who we are, and not be subjected to radical attempts to change us into something more acceptable to society. And that's the truth...

Gates works for Malaria Vaccine

Gates says malaria vaccine may be ready in three years

By Tom Hagler, BBC News

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has told the BBC that a vaccine for malaria could be just three years away.

Mr Gates is a key campaigner against the disease which kills a million people a year, most of them children.

Since it was formed, his foundation has spent billions of dollars in the fight against malaria.

Just like smallpox, Mr Gates believes the disease can be eradicated. As yet, there is no vaccine, but, Mr Gates says, a breakthrough is near.

"We have a vaccine that's in the last trial phase - called phase three. A partially effective vaccine could even be available within three years, but a [...] fully effective vaccine will take five to 10 years," he told the BBC World Service's World Today programme.

The man believed to be the richest person in the world did have a warning though - he fears developed nations may plunder their foreign aid budgets to pay for the cost of tackling climate change.

Mr Gates says this would be a mistake as aid budgets not only save lives, they also improve people's health and, in turn, that stops population growth - a key reason, he says, for global warming.

"I just want to make sure that that funding doesn't come by reducing the funds for Aids, drugs or vaccines, which, after all, not only do they save lives but its this improved health that actually gets a country to reduce its population growth," he said.

"And, in the long run, for all these environmental issues, having a population that's not growing so rapidly is what will allow us to live on a sustainable basis.

"Climate change is very important, it is an issue money should go to. It just shouldn't come out of health aid budgets."

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Now there's a disease that needs to be eradicated. But gosh, I wonder what Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath, would have to say about yet another vaccination? She is, after all, the "Queen Bee" of Evidence of Harm, one of their foremost "experts", and possibly the most prolific poster on that List. I'm not sure whether she has an autistic child, or lives down the street from one, or just what her interest is, besides pushing her anti-vax propaganda to a willing audience. Nearly every post from her includes information on how to sign up for her classes:

Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath
Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA
Vaccines - http://vaccinationdangers.wordpress.com/
Vaccine Dangers, Childhood Disease Classes &
Homeopathy Online/email courses - next classes start February 24 & 25
http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccineclass.htm or
http://www.wellwithin1.com/homeo.htm

And have you ever looked up to see just what a "Hahnemannian Homeopath" is? This should give you a laugh:

http://www.realhomeopathy.com/classical_hahnemannian_homeopath.htm

I'm sure Orac would have a field day deconstructing that one, but it really isn't worth his time. We already know what he thinks about "magic water". Hell, I won't even bother pointing out just how an why the whole thing is a crock, suffice it to say that I think she's a woomeister extraordinaire, and it really is a pity that she's one of the best and foremost "experts" the Evidence of Harm List has to offer. If it were possible to bring down the "collective intelligence" of that List, she'd be the one to do it.

Coincidentally, it was his research into finding a cure or treatment for malaria that led Dr. Hahnemann to develop homeopathy.

After giving up his practice around 1784, Hahnemann made his living chiefly as a writer and translator, while resolving also to investigate the causes of medicine's alleged errors. While translating William Cullen's A Treatise on the Materia Medica, Hahnemann encountered the claim that Cinchona, the bark of a Peruvian tree, was effective in treating malaria because of its astringency. Hahnemann believed that other astringent substances are not effective against malaria and began to research cinchona's effect on the human body by self-application. Noting that the drug induced malaria-like symptoms in himself, he concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. This led him to postulate a healing principle: "that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual, can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms."^[3] This principle, like cures like, became the basis for an approach to medicine which he gave the name homeopathy.