SCHOLARSHIP OFFER TO ATTEND AN AUTISM TODAY CONFERENCE

Thank you for your interest in our Keys to the Treasure Chest conference series on Autism and Asperger’s.  These comprehensive series will provide you with leading edge topics, trends, treatments and therapies surrounding autism.

Although these are excellent resources for parents and other family members of children affected by autism, we are well aware that the registration fees for these events can be difficult for parents to afford on top of the many other expenses that arise from raising a child with exceptional needs.  This is why we are offering a partial scholarship for parents and family members to attend our upcoming Keys to the Treasure Chest Conference in Saskatoon, SK on May 11^th and 12^th.

The partial scholarship that we are offering to parents and family members will reduce the registration fee to $50.00 CAD (plus GST) for the full two day conference.

To apply for this partial scholarship please provide the following information via fax to 1-780-452-1098 or email to info@autismtoday.com;

Name:

Mailing address:

Telephone number:

Email:

Brief paragraph introducing your family and explaining why you would not be able to attend this conference without the partial scholarship:

Note: You will be contacted via email if your scholarship is approved.

Sincerely,

Karen Simmons
CEO Autism Today

US Survey Shows Autism Very Common

      By Maggie Fox for Reuters http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1923924

      The first national surveys of autism show the condition is very common among U.S. children -- with up to one in every 175 with the disorder, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

      This adds up to at least 300,000 U.S. schoolchildren with autism, a condition that causes trouble with learning, socializing and behavior, the CDC said.

      The CDC analyzed data on 24,673 children whose parents took part in two separate government surveys on health in the United States to generate its first national estimate of the prevalence of autism.

      "Together, these two national surveys of parents indicate that at least 300,000 children aged 4 to 17 years old had autism in 2003-04," the CDC said in the report.

      The surveys came up with similar results -- that autism has been diagnosed in anywhere between 5.5 per 1,000 and 5.7 per 1,000 children aged 4 to 17. This translates to between one in every 175 to one in every 181 children.

      "(The surveys) affirm that autism is a condition of major public health concern that affects many families," Dr. Jose Cordero, director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

      He said the findings fit in with previous estimates of autism, which were based on local surveys done in Atlanta and New Jersey.

      The 1996 Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program survey showed autism had been diagnosed in 3.4 per 1,000 of the 3- to 10-year-olds included, or one in every 296. The 1998 Brick Township, New Jersey survey showed a rate of 6.7 per 1,000 children of the same age, or one in every 166.

      None of the surveys pointed to a cause for autism -- a matter of deep controversy in the United States. Some groups have accused the CDC of covering up data that would link autism with vaccines, although studies in several countries have discounted such a link.

      "We recognize that parents want answers," Cordero said.

      "If children have autism, parents want to know what caused it and how they can lower this risk if they have other children. We share their frustration."

No Trends

      While there were some differences among age groups, the CDC said the differences were not statistically significant.

      "Both surveys indicated that boys were nearly four times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism than girls," the CDC said in the report, published in its weekly report on death and disease.

      "Both surveys indicated that Hispanic children were less likely to have an autism diagnosis." The survey could not indicate why that might be.

      Laura Schieve, an epidemiologist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities who helped conduct the study, said the study could not answer many questions about autism.

      "Although often autism can be identified as early as 18 months, many children will not be diagnosed until they get to school," she told the briefing.

      And parents of older children could easily have forgotten an early childhood diagnosis, she said.

      "After children have received treatment for an extended time, they may show fewer symptoms of autism," she added.

      "Also the criteria for autism have been broadened slightly."

+ CDC original article here: http://www.sarnet.org/lib/CDCPrev5-4-06.htm

Where Does Canadian Buck Stop For Autism Treatment?

      By Rob Demone for Abbotsford News, British Columbia, Canada. http://tinyurl.com/nmnu8

      In the political minefield that is the autism debate, there is a rumour.

      It's not a pretty one, such debates seldom begat pretty rumours. And this particular debate is fought on one side by parents fueled by passion for their children.

      Who can blame them, or fault their motives. Everyone knows not to get between a mother and her child.

      And that is why this debate over funding for autism treatment is such a political football.

      The rumour, fast becoming the stuff of urban legend, has it that a particular lobbyist approached a particular person in a particular elected representative's office to ask that yet another petition be presented to have autism treatment recognized in the Canada Health Act.

      "I will not be the poster boy for autistic children," the person is said to have retorted.

      Perhaps six-year-old Maya Kaler is a more appropriate poster child for autism. Her haunting black eyes only hint at the depth of mystery that is her mind. She's considered mildly autistic, and the treatment that will help her have a better life (she only gets one life) is expensive.

      So far, her Ocean Park parents have managed to cope - by depleting the family savings and cashing in their RRSPs.

      It's interesting this week, as we watch West Vancouver parents pack the kids in the Audi for the trek to protest Sea-to-Sky Highway construction. Those Gap-clad kids are given posters to wave and slogans to chant for the fawning TV cameras.

      It's interesting to contrast the protest parents of autistic children must wage.

      Where is the orchestration for 150,000 children who live under the smothering blanket of autism? Where is the media frenzy to demand answers? You can't see autism. It's not a haggard deformity or a visible scar. You can't command these nine-year-olds to flap signs in cadence to trumped-up poems about what an atrocity it is to have government make greater-good decisions their parents don't agree with.

      Many families of autistic children are, to be sure, privileged. They have the ability to pay for the intense Lovaas (behavioural) treatment that is giving them hope their children will lead better lives.

      But how long can they afford $40,000 a year for treatment and related family care costs? More glaring is the untold story of the families who cannot afford treatment in the first place.

      Who champions their cause? The federal and provincial governments shunt this at each other, neither wanting to shoulder the rather extensive burden of responsibility. Because with that comes the huge funding burden.

      There are many, many questions - and far too few answers. The trouble seems to be, no one will begin the discussion, lest they are considered to be taking the lead role, ergo the responsibility - and with that comes the burden of funding.

      It's a complicated issue, and it deserves more pointed discussion and firmer resolve on the part of policy makers.

      As the buck is passed, parents are left with the bills. And only those who can afford the good treatment are getting it.

      Bottom line: that's not universal health care. And that's a federal responsibility.

      - Rob DeMone is editor of the Peace Arch News.

Light shed on invisible disability

Pamela Cowan, The Leader-Post

Published: Monday, May 01, 2006

Children and adults wearing white T-shirts were at the Legislative Building Saturday afternoon to send a visible message to the public about an invisible disorder.

The Autism Resource Centre in Regina hosted a picnic, games and entertainment for families affected by autism spectrum disorder and those who work with them.

"We thought we'd give people a visual and show them how many people are affected so we got everybody in the same location wearing the same shirts for the same cause," said Julie Weimer, the event co-ordinator.

About 1,700 Saskatchewan individuals, ranging in age from zero to 19, are affected by autism spectrum disorder. Weimer's six-year-old son Braydon is autistic, which causes all of his senses to be highly sensitive.

"He would hide under picnic tables on a sunny day because he can't handle the sunlight or any loud voices would throw him off," Weimer said.

When Braydon tantrums in places such as grocery stores, people think he's naughty but his disruptive behaviour is caused by the fluorescent lights, she said.

"People judge because they look normal and you can't see their disability," Weimer said.

She hopes greater public awareness about autism will lead to less judgmental attitudes and more funding for the disorder.

The Autism Resource Centre currently supports 60 autistic individuals and their families, but Weimer has been on the wait list for two years.

"Our wait list has over 100 individuals," said Christa Baron, the centre's program co-ordinator.

The recent provincial budget allocated additional funds for the centre. Earlier this week, Healthy Living Minister Graham Addley said the extra funding would reduce the wait list up to 40 per cent.

The centre provides assessments and develops individual programming. Programs for autistic children are also held during school breaks. Quality of life increases with early intervention, Baron said.

"We need to create awareness that there are many families in Saskatchewan, particularly in the Regina area, that are affected by the disorder," she said.

Lindsay Ast has been involved with the resource centre since she's been four, said her mother Lynn Ast.

"That's been our main support -- it's great," said Lynn.

She and her 16-year-old daughter played Frisbee at the side of the Legislative Building Saturday. "It's sure been an awesome day," Lindsay said.

Pam Schaan from Saskatoon attended activities at Wascana Centre to show support for her 13-year-old autistic niece Samara Styles from Regina. Since her niece was diagnosed with autism, their family has pulled together, she said.

"It has really opened our minds and our hearts towards other children and people with different abilities and disabilities," Schaan said.

As a Grade 1 teacher, Schaan has taught autistic children.

"It has profoundly changed how I teach now," she said. "I've found that there are things that autistic children need that all children need -- they just need it a little bit more. Things like routine and structure and very clearly stating what's going to happen."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2006