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  • Parent’s concerns

    The story of James Delorey is, sadly, an instructive one. For those who have children, the possibility of a daughter or son being lost is a frightful concern. For those whose children have disabilities and are even more vulnerable than other children, having a missing child must be even more [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2009, 9:25pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Remarkable Autism story

    In “Autism: A journey of recovery” on the “American Morning” section of the Web site of CNN, reporter Kiran Chetry relates the story of Jake Exkorn and his family. Jake’s remarkable story is one of great losses in competence as a toddler, followed by persistent, intensive therapy during his childhood [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2009, 2:39pm EST
    by JohnL

  • First Step takes off

    Hill Walker and colleagues reported that the First Step to Success program benefitted young children at risk for developing emotional or behavioral disorders. In a longitudinal study of the three-year program conducted in Albuquerque (NM, US), the researchers found substantial reductions in disruptive behavior and improvements in social functioning. In [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2009, 6:21am EST
    by JohnL

  • More maltherapy coverage

    Trine Tsouderos and Patricia Callahan, the Chicago Tribune reporters who have provided exemplary examinations of unsupported therapies for Autism, continued their series of stories on the topic with a piece entitled “Autism: Kids Put At Risk” in the Los Angeles Times. In this briefer (though still well-researched) article they devote [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2009, 6:29am EST
    by JohnL

  • CCBD conference

    Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD; a division of the Council for Exceptional Children) will hold it’s 2010 International Forum 11-12 February in New Orleans (LA, US). The theme for the conference is “Research Into Practice: Achieving Academic and Social Competence with Challenging Students.” Registration is limited. Learn the [...]
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    Posted: December 04, 2009, 6:52am EST
    by JohnL

  • FC nightmare

    Writing for MSNBC, Brian Alexander provided a thorough examination of the history and devastating consequences of some facilitated communication (FC). After making quick reference to the case of Rom Houben that has been in the news recently, in “Dark shadows loom over ‘facilitated’ talk: Opening minds or telling tales? Michigan [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:58pm EST
    by JohnL

  • ADHD and smoking and lead

    In the November 2009 issue of Pediatrics, Tanya Froehlich and colleagues reported that maternal smoking during pregnancy and children’s exposure to lead were associated with diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Each factor alone was linked to ADHD, and the two in combination had an even greater association ADHD. [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 6:10am EST
    by JohnL

  • ESDM benefits toddlers

    File this one in “things that work.” In a smallish-but-well-done study, Geraldine Dawson and colleagues reported in Pediatrics that the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)—a variant of the behavioral methods that have often been found to be effective—produced salutary benefits for young children with Autism. The children who received the [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:05pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Meds plus behavior management for Autism

    Michael Aman and co-authors (and there are at least 25 of them) reported that a combination of medication and parent training in behavior management was more effective than medication alone in reducing behavior problems. They assigned families randomly assigned to receive either risperidone as well as parent management training or [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 2:59pm EST
    by JohnL

  • More on alternative treatments for Autism

    The second installment of Chicago Tribune reporters Trine Tsouderos’ and Patricia Callahan’s investigation of alternative treatments for Autism is available. Liz Ditz cited it in her comment on my earlier post about the first installment of this exemplary piece of journalism, but I am repeating the link here so that [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 1:55pm EST
    by JohnL

  • FC required by law?

    Number of comments: 3
    While we’re on the subject of ineffective interventions, I want to revisit facilitated communication (FC). The US commonwealth of Massacheusetts apparently is considering a bill that will require teachers to learn to use FC. In “An Act To Improve Augmentative And Alternative Communication Opportunities For Children With Disabilities,” the legislative [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 11:24am EST
    by JohnL

  • Baseless, risky therapies for Autism

    Number of comments: 3
    Writing in the Chicago (IL, US) Tribune under the headline “Autism treatments: Risky alternative therapies have little basis in science” Trine Tsouderos and Patricia Callahan reported about the background and myriad problems with many treatments used as therapy for children with Autism. They expose the lack of evidentiary support for [...]
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    Posted: November 21, 2009, 4:20pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Reporter falls for HBOT

    On the heels of the report by D. Granpeesheh and colleagues that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) did not benefit individuals with Autism comes a news story that uncritically describes the use of the therapy with children. In “Special Report: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Autistic Children,” Jenni Joyce of TV station [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:19am EST
    by JohnL

  • More reason to doubt benefits of HBOT

    Number of comments: 3
    Doreen Granpeesheh and colleagues reported that a randomized trial of hyperbaric-oxygen therapy did not produce beneficial effects on children with Autism. The results of the study—double-blind, placebo controlled procedures, making it scientifically sound—showed no significant differences in direct observations of toy play, hyperactivity, appropriate vocalizations, vocal stereotypy, physical stereotypy, aggression, [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:27pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Meds cause weight gains

    Children and youths who were treated with “atypical antipsychotic medications” (aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone) gained substantial weight and had changes in their metabolism in a study reported by Christoph Correll and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The drugs, which are used to treat childhood schizophrenia, [...]
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    Posted: November 01, 2009, 9:54am EST
    by JohnL

  • Jani and Oprah

    Enclosure: [download]
    January First made Oprah! I’m a tad late getting to this, as the segment aired 6 October 2009, but I’m glad to note that Ms. Winfrey covered the story of Jani, the 6-year-old girl with childhood schizophrenia whose story Shari Roan candidly reported last June in the Los Angeles Times. [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 3:24pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • National Standards Project

    The National Autism Center released the report of its National Standards Project. The project was designed to identify interventions that are or are not beneficial for individuals with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder and it presents known therapies in three categories: established, emerging, unestablished (including a subsection on “ineffective/harmful treatments”). [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 4:04pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Chromosomal linked to Autism

    In a letter to Nature, Lauren Weiss, Dan Arking, the Gene Discovery Project of Johns Hopkins, and the Autism Consortium report that they have analyzed multiple data sets and identified potential loci on human genes for susceptibility for Autism. They found possible linkages on four chromosomes (5p15, 6q27, and 20p13) [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 11:33am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Autism prevalence > 1%?

    Drawing on the data collected as a part of the US National Survey of Children’s Health, Michael Kogan and colleagues estimated that slightly greater than 1% of children have Autism. The survey asked parents whether a doctor or other health-care provider had said that a child had Autism and the [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 7:44am EDT
    by JohnL

  • C0nc0rdance’s anti-vax takedown

    Number of comments: 1
    An individual who goes by the screen name C0nc0rdance posted a pair of videos to YouTube on 1 October 2009 that make a clear and compelling case for ignoring ill-reasoned arguments recommending that parents avoid vaccinating their children. When we make risky decisions about our health, it’s always good to [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 8:30am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Nice…kinda

    Number of comments: 1
    Based on some in-coming traffic and then a message from someone who signed “Suzane Smith,” I learned that EBD Blog was included in a list of blogs about Autism. L. Mae Wilkinson, who may be associated with a Nurse Practioners School (but the affiliation isn’t quite clear), compiled the list. [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 6:22am EDT
    by JohnL

  • More HBOT

    Number of comments: 2
    Under the headline, “Hyperbaric chamber: healthy or hype?” in multiple news sources, Chris Woolston reported about various uses of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). He has quotes from an advocate and, hooray, from people who know better. Link to the version that appeared in the Hartford (CT, US) Courant. Links to [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 10:02am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Secretin reminder

    Although I have followed the promotion of secretin as a treatment for Autism pretty much since the first reports about it, I hadn’t checked on it lately. My initial foray into the topic in 1998 resulted in some skepticism with hedges. As the research evolved, it became clear that the [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 6:46am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Screening teens

    Writing under the headline “Pros and cons of screening teens for depression,” Brendan Borrell examined some of the issues that sometimes roar around surveying youths to identify those who are depressed or at risk for depression. Mr. Borrell’s article, which is one in a series of articles about depression appearing [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 6:05am EDT
    by JohnL

  • A. Duncan promotes PBIS

    Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, wrote to the chief officers of education for each of the states in the US on 31 July 2009 regarding the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. He expressed concern about the testimony heard recently by the Education and Labor Committee of the [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 3:29pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Citalopram’s non-effects

    Citalopram, one of the class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) which are usually used to address depression, did not yield beneficial results in a recent study of whether the use of the drug with children and youth with Autism reduced repetitive behaviors. The study, reported by [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 2:13pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Following Danny Watt’s story

    Tom Jackman’s article about Danny Watt to which I referred a few days ago (see this post) is generating a lot of discussion on the Post’s Web site. The comments on Mr. Jackman’s story are informative. For example, at least a half dozen mention having a family member with mental [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 8:16am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Snyder on Sears

    Over on Science-Based Medicine, John Snyder has an extended post that systematically analyzes the assertions of Robert Sears about vaccinating children. The title is “Cashing In On Fear: The Danger of Dr. Sears.” Highly recommended. [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 7:43am EDT
    by admin

  • Media matters

    The recent posts about news coverage of mental illness (e.g., “Danny Watt’s Story” and “Jani Illustrates Troubles“) has had me thinking about how popular media portray these problems. Over on Psych Central, Margarita Tartakovsky has an article entitled “Media’s Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness” that I recommend to readers of [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 6:49am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Danny Watt’s story

    Number of comments: 1
    The parents of Daniel Watt, a youth who had multiple problems, told the story of their son’s life and suicide. Tom Jackman of the Washington Post reported the story of Danny and his parents, helping explain some of the problems of addressing the needs of children with multiple diagnoses—co-morbid schizoaffective [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 6:50am EDT
    by JohnL

  • APBA Autism TF

    For those who are familiar with the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA), this is old hat, but for others this is news: APBA has a task force devoted to services for individuals with Autism. Here’re a few words about the task force from Gina Green (Executive Director of APBA): [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 3:44pm EDT
    by admin

  • Florida Autism Conference

    Over on Behavior Mod Info there’s a post describing an up-coming conference on behavior analysis and Autism. Link to the post. [...]
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    Posted: July 25, 2009, 1:30pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Seclusion and restraint on Parade

    Parade Magazine, the insert into millions of Sunday newspapers in the US, carried a brief piece about seclusion and restraint in the versions to be delivered 26 July 2009 (available on line 25 Jul 2009). The piece doesn’t present anything new, but we can hope that it helps to sustain [...]
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    Posted: July 25, 2009, 7:08am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Swimming with Autism

    In “‘Benefits Go Beyond Sports’: Autistic Children Find an Outlet In Swimming,” Bill Oram of the Washington Post reports about the social benefits of participating in sports. Justin Etherton, 13, a swimmer in the Montgomery County Swim League, is autistic. Swimming provides him a social outlet, and has been [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 6:26am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go

    “Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go,” a movie about a UK school for children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, will air on US television 28 July 2009 on P.O.V. The film, made by Kim Longinotto (pictured at right), features the children and staff at Mulberry Bush School in the Oxfordshire [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Evidence-based practices registry

    Number of comments: 2
    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, maintains a Web site where users can search for and learn more about methods for preventing or treating some Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. It’s called the “National Registry of [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 7:06am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Chelation clinic closed

    According to Mary Ann Roser of the Austin (TX, US) Statesman, a clinic that provided chelation therapy for Autism is apparently under investigation by federal authorities. Ms. Roser did not report the nature or cause of the investigation of the CARE Clinics. CARE Clinics, an autism clinic on Bee Cave [...]
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    Posted: July 19, 2009, 7:33pm EDT
    by admin

  • Systems of care for ADHD

    Children and youths with ADHD and their families ought to know about systems of care. Systems of care are networks of services that are coordinated across different agencies and groups within the community. A system of care focuses on the needs of individuals and should be designed so that it [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 6:23am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Consumer Watchdog on Autism therapy insurance

    On behalf of the families of two children with Autism, a consumer advocacy groups claims that regulators in California (US) are allowing insurers to deny access to needed therapy. Consumer Watchdog seeks to require the Department of Managed Health Care to mandate that insurers pay for treatment based on applied [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2009, 9:10am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Jani illustrates troubles

    Shari Roan’s article entitled “Jani’s at the mercy of her mind” illustrates the difficulties encountered by children with schizophrenia and their families. For those who do not know about schizophrenia in children, this journalistic case study will be a good introduction. It’s been a rough week. A few days ago, at [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 6:23am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Familiar concerns?

    Summer in the US finds children and youths out of school and, perhaps, less vulnerable to some of the problems that are associated with the social and academic demands that are part of schooling. As a result, perhaps fewer of the familiar problems illustrated in this poster are apparent during [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 6:02am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Autism and insurance in MI

    In the US state of Michigan, a major health insurance provider will now reimburse families for the cost of providing therapy for children with autism. The case, Johns v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, arose because Blue-Cross-Blue-Shield denied payment for behavioral treatment often called “ABA” to the family of [...]
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    Posted: June 25, 2009, 7:09am EDT
    by admin

  • Healthy youth

    Even though many schools in the US have closed for the summer or are about to do so, I want to remind folks that this is not a good time to take a break from considering the mental health needs of children and youth. Although they are likely to wax [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 7:09am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Ted Carr dies at 61

    Number of comments: 1
    Edward G. Carr, a widely respected respected authority on Autism, was killed in an automobile accident Saturday 20 June. I’ve posted an obituary on SpedPro. [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2009, 10:59am EDT
    by JohnL

  • HBOT skepticism listed

    Over on Autism Street, Dad Of Cameron (”Do’C”) has assembled a list of sources that have questioned the strength of the evidence about hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Autism. I’m pleased he included the resources from EBD Blog. Thanks! [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 11:45am EDT
    by admin

  • Sleep predictors of later depression

    Adolescents who are at risk for later episodes of major depressive disorders differ from their peers who are not at risk on multiple measures of rapid eye movement (REM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity during sleep, according to a study by Uma Rao and colleagues that appeared this fall in Neuropsychopharmacology . [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 10:39am EDT
    by JohnL

  • CCBD call for papers extended

    Sheldon Braaten announced that the call for papers for the regular conference sponsored by the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders has been extended. Here’s the text of his message. 8th Biennial International Conference on Children and Youth with Behavioral Disorders “Strategies for Promoting Academic and Behavioral Competence of Students with Emotional/Behavioral [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 9:48am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Mirror neurons background

    In Scientific American, Daniel Lametti wrote an article providing background research on mirror neurons and implications for future research. The article, “Mirroring Behavior: How mirror neurons let us interact with others,” only has a few words about Autism and mirror neurons. However, readers of EBD Blog who are new to [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 3:21pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • CCBD on seclusion and restraint

    Number of comments: 2
    The Council for Children with Behavior Disorders (CCBD), an international group concerned about children and youths with EBD, published statements about the use of seclusion and restraint with students. Although the documents appear to be in preliminary form, they began circulating on the Internet today, so I’m posting copies of [...]
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    Posted: May 22, 2009, 1:26pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Officer training for handling incidents

    Reporting on US National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Joanne Silberner presented a story about police officers handling incidents in which they encounter people with emotional and behavior disorders who are behaving in ways that appear threatening to the officers. Although her story uses adult cases for illustrations, this topic should [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2009, 6:48am EDT
    by JohnL

  • US Congress hearings on seclusion and restraint

    Over on Behavior Mod Info readers can find several entries about the hearings regarding US schools’ use of seclusion and restraint. The hearings were conducted by the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor. (Apologies for the cross-posting to those who read Teach Effectively.) [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 9:44pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • ICDR priorities voting ends soon

    Number of comments: 1
    Link to ICDR Stakeholders Site As noted here earlier, people have a chance to influence future priorities for research about disabilities. It’s an opportunity for families to affect policies and shouldn’t be missed. Here’s a reminder that the time for public voting on the importance of the priorities ends tomorrow (15 [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 5:56am EDT
    by JohnL

  • HBOT links

    Over on Autism Street, Dad Of Cameron (”Do’C”) has assembled a list of sources that have questioned the strength of the evidence about hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Autism. I’m flattered that he included the entry from EBD Blog. [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2009, 6:37am EDT
    by admin

  • Chromosome 5 and Autism

    Important studies of humans’ genes conducted by a team led by Hakon Hakonarson and Gerard Schellenberg have revealed that individuals with Autism are substantially more likely to have different genetic structures at specific areas on chromosomes than individuals who do not have Autism. Although previous studies of the human genome [...]
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    Posted: April 29, 2009, 6:24am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Remembering seclusion and restraint

    Number of comments: 1
    Over on her Ed Week blog, Christina Samuels posted an entry entitled, “Use of Seclusion, Restraints on Students at Issue: Watchdog agency preparing report on practices.” She reports not only about current efforts to keep awareness of the issue high, but also about the sometimes-tragic background on the issue. In [...]
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    Posted: April 21, 2009, 8:33am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Stanford Medicine Magazine

    The spring 2009 issue of Stanford Medicine Magazine, a publication of the Stanford University School of Medicine, examines the turmoil swirling around vaccines. In “Hot Shots: Vaccines under the gun” one can read any of ten articles (not counting an introductory comment by Rosalyn Carter): The demonization of immunization: Shots get [...]
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    Posted: April 20, 2009, 9:14am EDT
    by JohnL

  • ICDR input opportunity

    Number of comments: 1
    Link to ICDR Stakeholders Site The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) issued a reminder about its process for securing recommendations about priorities for about disability and rehabilitation research. Following its earlier call for recommendations, ICDR now solicits public voting about the agenda. The ICDR Seeks Your Recommendations on Emerging Disability [...]
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    Posted: April 19, 2009, 3:39am EDT
    by JohnL

  • NBC series on autism

    Number of comments: 1
    The US television broadcast company NBC ran a series of segments about Autism during the week ending 17 April 2009 on the program Today. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, a medical editor for NBC, introduces the segments. Sadly, some of the content trends toward the woo-woo—replete with fantastic explanations offered by well-intentioned [...]
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    Posted: April 18, 2009, 1:23pm EDT
    by admin

  • More facial expressions work

    In “Teaching autistic kids to read facial expressions,” Amber Dance of the Los Angeles Times reports on multiple projects looking at (sorry ’bout that) helping individuals with Autism to recognize human expressions. Of course, she discusses the Transporters videos, but she also describes other efforts. She mentions KASPAR (Kinesics and [...]
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    Posted: April 14, 2009, 7:14am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Savant skills among Autistics

    Patricia Howlin and colleagues (including Sir Michael Rutter) reported the results of a study of savant skills among individuals with Autism. They found that, although some individuals with Autism have savant skills, it might not be as common as the popular press says. Of course, the rare cases really astound us. [...]
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    Posted: April 13, 2009, 10:36am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Mind those miraculous remedies

    Michael Fitzpatrick posted an edited version of a lecture entitled “It’s time to stop this ‘miracle cure’ madness” that he gave to Royal Society of Medicine in London (UK) on 23 March 2009. For parents the priority must be to put the interests of the child first. Children with autism [...]
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    Posted: April 10, 2009, 11:21am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Adult stakeholders

    The US Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is seeking citizens’ recommendations about a research agenda. Although this initiative aims at addressing issues for adults in the community, which differs from the focus of EBD Blog (educational issues related to children and youth and their families), I want to mention [...]
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    Posted: March 28, 2009, 10:32am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Lest we forget about teaching academics

    I’ve harped on this a couple of times before, but I’m returning to it because it is very important. We have to resist the sirens’ call to ignore academic instruction for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Just as much as their peers who do not have disabilities, these pupils [...]
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    Posted: March 27, 2009, 7:58am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Autism-x-immunization rates

    Probably someone’s done a much more sophisticated version of this analysis, but I fiddled with it just to see what I’d find. I took the number of children identified as having Autism by the schools in each US state (as a percentage of the state’s population) and correlated that with [...]
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    Posted: March 27, 2009, 7:28am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Talent and Autism video

    Some folks may recall a few news items last fall regarding the idea that austistoid characteristics may have benefitted selected artists and scientists. Part of that interest may have arisen because of a symposium convened by the British Academy and the Royal Society. The event, called “Talent and Autism” was [...]
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    Posted: March 26, 2009, 8:14am EDT
    by JohnL

  • US Senate mental health briefing

    Number of comments: 1
    No, sorry. It’s not a briefing about the mental health of the US Senate. It’s about a briefing held in the US Senate regarding the looming problems in mental health in the US. Ordinarily I focus on issues in children’s mental health, and this may appear to be more about [...]
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    Posted: March 25, 2009, 1:33pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Does Rossignol et al. show HBOT’s effective?

    Number of comments: 6
    “Hyperbaric treatment for children with autism: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial” by Daniel A. Rossignol, Lanier W. Rossignol, Scott Smith, Cindy Schneider, Sally Logerquist, Anju Usman, Jim Neubrander, Eric M. Madren, Gregg Hintz, Barry Grushkin, Elizabeth A. Mumper appeared as an on-line publication 13 March 2009 and will appear [...]
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    Posted: March 21, 2009, 9:18pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Insurance and Autism in California

    Although insurance carriers in California must pay for some services, in a memorandum to insurers Monday 9 March 2009 insurance regulators in California indicated that insurance coverage does not have to extend to applied behavior analytic (ABA) treatment for children with Autism. According to Lisa Girion, the memorandum from the [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2009, 6:54am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Taser incident investigated

    Jack Leonard and Richard Winton reported that a California police department will investigate whether an officer who used a taser stun gun to subdue a boy with Autism acted according to police guidelines. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from the boy’s parents. Under the headline “Hawthorne police review [...]
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    Posted: March 02, 2009, 6:37am EST
    by JohnL

  • Gorski: “bad year for antivaccinationistsâ€

    Over on Science-Based Medicine, Dr. David Gorski has an extended entry entitled “2009: Shaping up to be a really bad year for antivaccinationists.” Dr. Gorski, who has repeatedly written on the topic of putative causes of Autism, connects lots of dots in this piece. [...]
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    Posted: February 23, 2009, 6:05am EST
    by JohnL

  • New prevention book

    The US National Academies Press announced the publication of a book entitled Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities that discusses prevention of problems during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Edited by Mary Ellen O’Connell, Thomas Boat, and Kenneth E. Warner, the book represents the [...]
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    Posted: February 13, 2009, 1:00pm EST
    by JohnL

  • VIA Gerenser talk

    The Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA) will host a workshop by Joanne Gerenser, Executive Director of the Eden II Programs (New York, NY; US), entitled “The Key to Quality of Life: Effective Communication.” The focus of the workshop, which is aimed at professionals who work with individuals with Autism, is [...]
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    Posted: February 13, 2009, 11:04am EST
    by JohnL

  • MHA celebrates centennial

    MHA Turns 100 Mental Health America, a large and active US group that advocates for people with emotional and behavioral disorders, will focus its centennial celebration around the theme, “’Celebrating the Legacy; Forging the Future’ 1909 - 2009.” Mental Health America is celebrating 100 years of advocacy, public education, and support [...]
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    Posted: February 11, 2009, 9:03am EST
    by JohnL

  • Wakefield data questioned again

    Number of comments: 5
    Changes in incidence of measles In the context of increasing cases of measles in Great Britain—cases rose from 990 in 2007 to 1348 in 2008; add those ‘08 data to the accompanying graph—there is another report that the foundational study of the putative link between vaccinations and Autism may have used [...]
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    Posted: February 08, 2009, 6:14am EST
    by JohnL

  • Pending workshop

    Later this month Ronald Leaf and Mitch Taubman of Autism Partnership will present a workshop in the Los Angeles area, and it is likely to be of interest and benefit to some readers of EBD Blog. The session. entitled “It Has To Be Said! ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m [...]
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    Posted: February 07, 2009, 7:34am EST
    by JohnL

  • Sci Am on paternal age

    Under the title “The Father Factor: How Dad’s Age Increases Baby’s Risk of Mental Illness: Could becoming a father after age 40 raise the risks that your children will have a mental illness?” in Scientific American, Paul Raeburn reported on the association of paternal age with childhood schizophrenia and Autism. [...]
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    Posted: February 05, 2009, 11:02am EST
    by JohnL

  • Behavior mod and Autism

    Over on Behavior Mod Info I posted an entry about CNN covering brief, intensive intervention for a family with a child who has Autism. The story covers work done by the Autism Partnership. Here’s the link. [...]
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    Posted: February 04, 2009, 10:33am EST
    by JohnL

  • Tantrum management

    Over on FAQAutism, Cathy Knoll has a pair of posts advising a student teacher about handling outburst by a student with Autism. The student teacher described the situation in this way: The student teacher wrote that she is in an elementary classroom this semester, and is concerned about a youngster in [...]
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    Posted: January 31, 2009, 8:31am EST
    by JohnL

  • Baron-Cohen hits press

    On Wednesday 28 Jan 2009, reporting for National Public Radio (US) news, Jon Hamilton covered Simon Baron-Cohen’s recent entry into the market of products for individuals with Autism. Professor Baron-Cohen is affiliated with the department of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge (UK). [...]
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    Posted: January 28, 2009, 6:42pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Wrap-around grants

    For schools and local education agencies that are doing a good job of working collaboratively with local mental health agencies or aspire to do so, here is a fine funding opportunity. Wrap-around systems of care have well-known benefits for children and youths with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Grants for the [...]
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    Posted: January 16, 2009, 9:05am EST
    by JohnL

  • NYT Autism coverage

    Number of comments: 1
    For folks who are following press coverage of Autism, there are two items of potential interest in the New York (NY, US) Times. Under the headling “Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade,” Donald G. McNeil, Jr., reports about the effects of Dr. Paul Offit’s book Autism’s False Prophets [...]
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    Posted: January 14, 2009, 5:38am EST
    by JohnL

  • WORKING WITH TROUBLED CHILDREN (book available soon)

    Number of comments: 1
    Just a note to readers that a new little paper back (about 160 pages) that I authored with Rick Brigham (now of George Mason University) will be available before long. It might be used as a text in teacher education (special or general education) or as a resource by parents [...]
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    Posted: January 08, 2009, 7:44pm EST
    by Jim

  • Gupta, Autism, and EBD policy

    It will be interesting to watch what happens if Dr. Sanjay Gupta becomes US Surgeon General and a chief advisor on public health policy for the Obama administration, as many news sources are reporting is likely to happen. Of special interest to those who are concerned about Emotional and Behavioral [...]
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    Posted: January 07, 2009, 2:03pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Going around for the fifth time

    Number of comments: 1
    Happy anniversary Four years ago today, I published the first entry on EBD Blog, so we’re starting our fifth spin around the blogosphere. If you have your own sparkle (and yes, the contents of that glass are from Champagne), raise a glass. If you have recommendations for coverage for the next year, [...]
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    Posted: January 05, 2009, 6:01am EST
    by admin

  • Gun safety at home

    The combination of a child and a gun is frightening to me. Although guns are certainly not involved in all of them, “In the United States, unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide are the first, second, and fourth leading causes of death among persons aged 1–19 years, respectively,” according to Stephanie [...]
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    Posted: December 23, 2008, 6:37am EST
    by JohnL

  • Mirror neurons symposium

    Number of comments: 1
    A press release entitled “How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialise by going through the motions in the head” from the European Science Foundation provided additional conceptual basis for the role of mirror neurons in the development of social behavior. I’ve covered a potential connection between Autism and [...]
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    Posted: December 22, 2008, 6:38am EST
    by JohnL

  • New resource

    I have not yet had the chance to review it, but from the table of contents, the new book entitled Effective Practices for Children With Autism: Educational and Behavioral Support Interventions That Work and edited by James Luiselli and colleagues appears to be a valuable resource. I’ve sent a request [...]
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    Posted: December 17, 2008, 5:45am EST
    by JohnL

  • K. Kavale’s death

    For folks who do not routinely read LD Blog or SpedPro: I report sadly that Ken Kavale died Saturday. I posted an obituary yesterday at Kenneth A. Kavale, 1946-2008. [...]
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    Posted: December 16, 2008, 12:16pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Very Tweet

    Will I remember to post tweets today at the appointed hours, as per Bonnie Sayers’ Internet hit, “Autism Twitter Day?” [...]
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    Posted: December 16, 2008, 5:44am EST
    by JohnL

  • NPR covers vaccination

    The US public radio show Morning Edition covered the hullabaloo caused by celebrities spouting expertise about vaccines causing Autism. In “Defending Vaccines: Actress Dispels Link To Autism,” Jon Hamilton presents a well-grounded story: A movie star and a prominent scientist have teamed up to reassure the public that childhood vaccines are [...]
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    Posted: December 11, 2008, 5:51am EST
    by JohnL

  • CoMed’s landmarks multiply

    Number of comments: 2
    As happens when I see words such as “breakthrough” and “miracle,” my skeptackles arise when I find “landmark” used to refer to new research. In my Occamistic view, studies don’t qualify as breakthroughs or landmarks until they have been closely vetted and, yes, replicated. So it was when I heard [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2008, 6:01am EST
    by JohnL

  • CCBD forum 2009

    Number of comments: 1
    Here’s a special opportunity to learn about how to address challenging behavior problems. This is a star-studded line-up.—JohnL International Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders Professional Development 2 9 International Forum Achieving Academic and Social Competence: Improving Educational Outcomes for Challenging Students Tuscany Suites and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada January 30-31, 2009 Don’t miss [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2008, 7:19am EST
    by JohnL

  • Teaching them matters

    In “Failing Sam,” Jessica Shyu—who taught special education for two years at an American Indian reservation school in New Mexico—makes an important point about what we provide educationally for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Teachers may become lulled by having a quiet, disruption-free classroom and overlook the need to [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2008, 12:04pm EST
    by JohnL

  • AEAA

    Thanks to Christina Samuels, I’ve learned of a resource that I didn’t know previously. It’s called Act Early Against Autism Blog and it looks like a winner. AEAA Blog is the product of a parent, Jayne Lytel, who took the plunge and began to blog during the summer of 2007. [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2008, 6:53am EST
    by JohnL

  • Mirror, mirror, neuron, neuron

    Enclosure: [download]
    I’ve been meaning to post this for quite some time and, as I prepared for tomorrow’s class, I just now remembered it. For any (of my two) readers who are interested in the hypothesis about mirror neurons’ connection to Autism, in October of 2007 Professor Marco Iacoboni of UCLA gave [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2008, 2:10pm EST
    by JohnL

  • Severe disorders as extremes in gene expression

    Christopher Badcock and Bernard Crespi, professors of sociology and biology, respectively, developed a new and intriguing hypothesis about the causes of severe disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Under the titles “Imbalanced genomic imprinting in brain development: An evolutionary basis for the aetiology of autism” in Journal of Evolutionary Biology [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2008, 6:41am EST
    by JohnL

  • Infant toy play predicts Autism

    Sally Ozonoff and colleagues at the U.C. Davis M.I.N.D. Institute have identified a potential early indicator of Autism: At age 12 months children with autism play with objects differently than typical peers and children who later develop other problems. Professor Ozonoff’s study was published in Autism. This prospective study examined object [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2008, 11:39am EST
    by admin

  • Greene on Floortime

    Number of comments: 2
    Writing for the New York Times, Melissa Fay Greene provides a sympathetic view of the variation on D.I.R.-Floortime (D.I.R. stands for “developmental, individual-difference, relationship-based) methods employed by The Community School of Decatur (GA, US). In “Reaching an Autistic Teenager,” Ms. Greene describes several youths behavior and progress at the school, [...]
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    Posted: October 18, 2008, 10:26am EDT
    by JohnL

  • Miracle or mistake?

    According to a story on a CBS (US) television station, a controversial therapy may yield miraculous results. As a reporter for the CBS, Dr. Holly Phillips covered the use of hyperbaric oxgen chambers as a treatment for Autism. She told the story of a family who sought treatment from a [...]
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    Posted: October 17, 2008, 2:58pm EDT
    by JohnL

  • Revisiting food dyes and hyperactivity

    As exploring readers will know, I long ago doubted that food components (especially sugar and dyes and flavorings) were causes of hyperactive behavior in children. There are good reasons for my doubt. Meta-analyses of studies that tested additive-free diets revealed essentially no benefits of the diets. Other studies showed that [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2008, 8:02am EDT
    by JohnL
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