hgh dhea metformin

Calendar

January 2011
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  

Pages

Archives

Recent Posts

Blogroll





Archive for January 20th, 2011

First Published on AE Sunday, 10 May 2009


By Vicki Grimshaw
Last updated at 10:12 PM on 09th May 2009


Katie Hopkins is smiling at the photographer with the trademark grin that convinced TV viewers of her super-confidence before she walked out on Sir Alan Sugar during the 2007 Apprentice final. She then scandalously left her husband and the father of her two children for a married man. Then she reappeared in the Australian jungle on I’m A Celebrity… and next month, the 34-year-old mother of three is standing as an independent MEP in the European elections.


Nothing, it seems, would surprise us about Katie, except perhaps one thing – the revelation that she suffers from epilepsy, a condition that saw her thrown out of the Army.


Katie Hopkins

Confidential: Katie Hopkins has kept her illness a secret since her first attack at 18


Her illness started suddenly, yet subtly, when she was 18.


Chatting with friends at sixth-form college in Barnstaple, Devon, she suddenly stopped talking and stared into space. After an uncomfortable silence, her friends nudged her, but she looked at them vacantly.


‘I knew something had happened but I had no idea where I went,’ says Katie.


But then the blank spells started to happen more frequently. ‘I would be talking and lapse into silence, or I would be walking down the street and suddenly stand still for several seconds,’ she says. ‘I would reassure people that nothing was wrong, that I was deep in thought about something.’


Until now, Katie, who runs a management consultancy, has kept her condition from everyone except her parents, Roy and Anona, both 60 and retired farmers, her partner Mark Cross, 45, a graphic designer, and close friends and colleagues.


But she has chosen to speak out about the condition, which affects 450,000 people in the UK, to coincide with National Epilepsy Week, which starts on May 17.


‘People are frightened of epilepsy as they imagine someone thrashing on the floor foaming at the mouth. Even my parents are not used to the idea of my having epilepsy. My mum won’t even say the word, preferring to call it my “little dizzies”.


‘I have hidden my condition for so long but it is time people knew how common it is and why it is nothing to fear.’


While one in 20 of us will experience a seizure at some point in our lives, every epilepsy case is individual, with some born with it and others developing it later in life, after traumas such as a blow to the head or a brain infection such as meningitis or stroke.


Why Katie developed it in her late teens remains a mystery to doctors but by the time she was studying for a degree in politics and economics at Exeter University she was having up to 15 blank spells – known medically as absences – per day.


She was referred by her GP to consultant neurologist Professor Adam Zeman, at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.


There she underwent tests including an electroencephalogram (EEG) where electrodes were attached to her scalp and a computer recorded her brain’s electrical signals.


‘The doctors could see abnormalities in the front temporal lobe of my brain,’ she says.


The results were devastating as I know people take the mickey out of epilepsy. In your teens you want to blend in and be one of the group, so I would act super-confident as a way of compensating for it.’


Katie Hopkins pictured with her mother Anona at Sandhurst

Katie Hopkins pictured with her mother Anona at Sandhurst


Katie was put on medication to control the seizures but she hated the side effects of nausea and dizziness so stopped taking them.


‘I didn’t realise epilepsy treatment is not an exact science and it takes experimentation to find the right dose, but I decided just to live with it and carry on with all the lies.’


Without revealing her secret, Katie completed her degree and at 21 won a place at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in Berkshire.


However, on her application form she omitted to reveal her seizures.


‘I didn’t want a few fits to stop me achieving my dream so I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell them,’ she says.


But in the closed confines of military life she was unable to hide her condition from her superiors.


‘One day, we were drilling, carrying guns and I had an absence, wandering off in totally the wrong direction. I was hauled out by my drill sergeant. I told him I felt dizzy but I knew they were suspicious,’ she says.


Then a few weeks later, while on holiday with friends in Devon, she suffered her first major ‘tonic-clonic’ seizure – a violent convulsion involving the momentary loss of consciousness, leaving the sufferer with no memory of the incident. Katie’s convulsions were so violent she broke a vertebra in her upper back.


‘I came round thinking I must have had a bad fit as my back was in agony. Hospital X-rays revealed the muscles had spasmed so hard I had broken my back by just lying in bed.’


She was out of action for several weeks, but once again lied to her Army colleagues that she had taken a bad fall. Indeed, Katie even managed to pass her final military exams with flying colours.


But a suspicious Army medic requested permission to see her GP’s medical records which Katie knew would reveal the truth – and would mean instant dismissal from the Army.


Katie says: ‘On my last night at Sandhurst, just before the big passing-out ball, I was marched in to see the senior medical officer. He told me that when everyone else removed the cover from the pips on their uniforms at midnight to show they had officially passed out, I was not to remove mine. And that was how I found out.’


The shock perhaps prompted two other tonic-clonic seizures soon after and Katie decided to seek medical treatment again.


Katie Hopkins, second from left in back row, with fellow Apprentice contestants and Alan Sugar

Katie Hopkins, second from left in back row, with fellow Apprentice contestants and Alan Sugar


In 1997, during three days of tests at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, her brain was again wired up to an EEG machine, with a video camera which recorded her seizures.


‘It was a grim experience, particularly as I was put on a mental-health ward full of confused people.’


To suppress the absences and convulsions she was put on medication that has been constantly reviewed over the years as doctors try out new drugs and dosage levels.


She currently takes medication twice a day and has a stash in every handbag, gym kit and briefcase and makes sure it is the first thing she packs on business trips or holidays.


The side effects such as mouth ulcers, sleepiness and headaches, she says, are worth it to lead as normal a life as possible.


But while daytime seizures have mostly been under control for the past nine years, she has suffered sleep seizures which occur as she falls into and emerges from a deep sleep.


‘Mark is woken up by me shaking and shouting out “Well done!” or “Great” or “It’ll be OK!” Luckily it is always positive things,’ she laughs.


‘After a few seconds I come round but often I have fallen out of bed. And I usually bite the sides of my tongue while I fit which is painful and causes ulcers. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in years as a result.’


During the 11 weeks she spent living in The Apprentice house, she did not tell the other candidates. When she had to share a bunk bed, she dismissed her seizures as nightmares.


‘I thought they might have looked at me differently or been too worried to give me a high-powered job.’


When later that year she took part in I’m A Celebrity…, round-the-clock filming forced her to tell the producers about her condition and she was banned from sleeping in a hammock for safety reasons.


But epilepsy has not prevented Katie from becoming a mother of three. She had India, four, and Poppy, three, with her former husband Damian McKinney, and in November gave birth to Max with Mark.


But her first, unplanned pregnancy was fraught as for the first two months she was taking a high dosage of drugs.


I panicked that they may have harmed my baby. We had several anxious months but luckily, India was born perfectly healthy,’ she says.


When she became pregnant with Poppy, Katie cut her medication – although this brought on another tonic-clonic seizure. However, Poppy and Max were born without complications.


Similar to most epilepsy sufferers, Katie is desperate to lead a life without seizures and is even considering having part of her brain removed in a radical operation.


The procedure involves surgeons removing a section of skull then attaching electrodes to parts of the brain and transmitting shockwaves through them to see which cells are not operating properly.


The malfunctioning part of the brain can then be removed, but only if it is not responsible for a vital function such as mobility or language.


Despite the obvious risks, Professor John Duncan at the London’s National Hospital of Neurology, where the procedures are carried out, claims epilepsy surgery halves seizures in 90 per cent of cases, with 20 per cent of patients seeing their seizures stop altogether.


‘In the 700 operations we have carried out since 1999, only one person ended up with more seizures,’ says Professor Duncan.


Katie is still deliberating, believing the risk of losing her speech or mobility too high.


‘If I didn’t have three children and Mark to consider, I would not hesitate.’


For now, Katie will deal with the effects of daily medication. ‘It gets me down. I would like to be normal and not have to worry. But it could be worse, I could have daily convulsions,’ she says.


‘I have always acted confidently to over-compensate for my condition but I still cannot reconcile me, Katie, with this person who has epilepsy – and I don’t know if I ever will.’


• www.epilepsy.org.uk, www.katiehopkins.co.uk.


450,000 sufferers -  and 75 new cases every day


  • *A seizure, or fit, is caused by a sudden burst of excess electrical activity in the brain, causing a temporary disruption in the message passing between brain cells. The brain messages are then mixed up or disrupted.
  • *There is no proven cause but medics believe that every brain is capable of producing a seizure. A brain tumour, blow to the head, a stroke or a brain infection are all possible causes of fitting.
  • *There is no cure, but most types of seizures can be controlled by medication.
  • *75 people are diagnosed with epilepsy daily.
  • *450,000 people in the UK suffer from epilepsy.
  • *There are more than 1,000 epileptic-related deaths each year from the consequences of falling down or from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), where the nerves to the heart and lungs shut down during a seizure.
  • *Types of seizures vary from mild absences, where the person remains conscious, to the dramatic tonic-clonics, where the person has convulsions, loses consciousness and has no memory of the attack.

Source:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1179775/Apprentice-star-Katie-Hopkins-Why-I-kept-Sandhurst-dark-epilepsy.html



First Published Sunday, 10 May 2009


Exclusive by Nev Wilson


neville.wilson@essnmedia.co.uk


Chuckling as he raced around the wisteria with his watering can, four-year-old Hugo Lewis beamed with life.


As his proud parents looked on, their chirpy little lad proudly posed as his two brothers wondered what all the fuss was about.


Just six months ago he couldn’t read, could barely speak and was in a school for disabled children due to a condition causing brain tumours and epilepsy.


Suffering with Tuberous Sclerosis, little Hugo faced up to 40 fits a day, some serious enough to put him in hospital for a week.


His life-limiting condition, which could see tumours spreading from his brain to the rest of his body, means he is under regular medical watch.


But thanks to a ketogenic diet, high in fat, low in carbohydrates and with zero sugar, Hugo’s life has completely transformed.


His mother Esther, 38, of Alma Road, Reigate, said: “Hugo really is amazing when you think about how much he’s improved in just half a year.


“He has to go for scans at East Surrey Hospital every nine months to see if the tumours have grown or spread, or turned cancerous.


“But for the time being, he’s so much happier and livelier – really before we started him on it he was no more than a vegetable.”


His special diet, similar to the infamous Atkins diet, creates ketone bodies which have an anticonvulsant effect, which stop the seizures.


Esther said: “It isn’t much fun for him, he doesn’t really like the food, if I’m making mince, he has all the fat, or he’ll have lots of cream for pudding.


“But as parents we know it has helped him so much. His reading is still quite basic, but he’s getting there, and he just loves it.”


From the age of six months, Hugo suffered fits and seizures. An MRI scan led doctors to discover his brain riddled with terrifying lesions.


Esther said: “We used to sit him up in his chair, he would just suddenly slump down, we were obviously very worried about him.


“He would sometimes just go all distant and seem like he was somewhere else, other times he would collapse and violently shake in a full-blown fit.


“Seeing all the tumours in his brain on the scan was devastating, we just didn’t know what it would mean for his life.”


“We tried every single kind of drug out there, but he was completely doped up all the time, it was awful.


“As he grew older we worried about his education, he wasn’t able to even read six months ago, when he talked he was difficult to understand.”


Told by doctors the diet would be “too difficult” for them to handle, Esther and Stephen only started feeding Hugo on high fat foods in August 2007.


Through the Oxted-based charity, Mathews Friends, the couple met other parents with epileptic children who swore by the dietary regime.


Esther, a full-time mum with sons, Theo, 6, and Gus, 2, said: “The affects have been amazing, he started talking about a year ago, and then reading.”


Hugo was a former pupil at the Brooklands School, a learning place for children with complex needs, in Wray Park Road, Reigate.


But his reaction to the diet meant he was able start at Holmesdale School in Alma Road with an individual tutor at the beginning of the Easter term last month.


Stephen, 44, an IT project manager, said: “The condition affected the intricate activities, like holding a pencil, but he’s now almost writing his name.”


Despite his successes with his diet, Hugo may face difficulties growing older as his body produces hormones which could trigger the growth of tumours.


Stephen said: “As he approaches puberty we know we have to keep an eye on him. You never really stop worrying about him.


“But I’m so proud of him, to look at him, he’s like any other little boy his age.”


Facts on Tuberous Sclerosis


Tuberous Sclerosis is estimated to affect one in every 6,000 births in the UK each year.


Although genetic, more than 70 per cent of babies with the condition are born to families with no medical history and many parents are unaware they carry the disease.


Brain tumours caused by the condition can bear have mild affects on the child causing learning difficulties, epilepsy, behavioural problems and autism.


But tumours elsewhere in the body, like the eyes, heart, lungs and kidneys, can cause renal disease, heart problems and facial rashes.


Depending on the severity of the tumours, suffers of Tuberous Sclerosis can lead a normal life, but must remain under regular medical watch.


Ketogenic Diets


Ketogenic diets, high in fat, low in carbohydrates, with no sugar, are used to primarily help sufferers of epilepsy


The diet mimics aspects of starvation in the body, forcing it to burn fat rather than carbohydrate.


Normally, the carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose, which gets transported around the body and is important fuel for the brain.


But, with little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies, which replace glucose as an energy source in the brain.


This creates a state called ketosis which has an anticonvulsant affect, stopping seizures and fits.


Source:   http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/news/Reigate-boy-4-life-changing-diet/article-974826-detail/article.html



First Published Sunday, 10 May 2009


A major search is under way after a vulnerable autistic teenager went missing during a walk with carers.


Seventeen-year-old Richard Eckton, who is understood to have the mental age of a three-year-old, was last seen at 6.30pm on Saturday in the area of Eggesford near Chumleigh, Devon.


A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said Richard’s condition tends to encourage him to move towards water and he has difficulty communicating so normally carries a blue folder with pictures to help him.


It is understood he was walking along a footpath near a river when he ran away from his two carers into nearby woodland.


The spokesman said: “Richard is autistic and vulnerable.


“He is a white male, fair, mousy hair short, blue eyes, fair skinned, slim build, wearing blue jeans and white t-shirt.”


The spokesman said the force is being helped in the search by various moorland rescue groups and dog handlers.


Supt Sarah Sharpe told BBC News they are “very concerned” about Richard’s welfare.


She said: “Temperatures were quite low and he was only wearing a T-shirt, so we’re very concerned, particularly with the location of the river nearby.


“He is very vulnerable and it’s absolutely crucial we find him as soon as possible.”


Source:   http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090510/tuk-search-launched-for-autistic-youth-6323e80.html


Vulnerable boy found after search


Police helicopter

The force helicopter spotted the teenager wandering around a field

An autistic teenager, with a mental age of three, who went missing on Saturday has been found.


A major search was launched when Richard Eckton ran off while out walking with carers at Eggesford, Chumleigh at about 1830 BST.


Police, dogs, divers and moor Rescue teams were involved in the search for the 17-year-old.


The Devon and Cornwall Police helicopter found the teenager in a field near Eggesford about midday.


A police spokesman said the vulnerable teenager was safe and well and had been reunited with his father.


Richard had been walking along a footpath which follows the River Taw and the Tarka rail line when he ran away from his carers into nearby woodland.


He was found on on a sandbank in the middle of the river after a search of 18 hours.


Source(Includes Video):   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/8042570.stm



First Published Tuesday, 12 May 2009


Joan Robinson


Research conducted at the University of Queensland has found a traditional extract of Kava (Piper methysticum), a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be effective in reducing anxiety.


To be published in the journal Psychopharmacology are the results of a world-first clinical trial which found that a water-soluble extract of Kava was effective in treating anxiety and improving mood.


The Kava was prescribed in the form of tablets supplied by Queensland company MediHerb Pty Ltd.


Lead researcher Jerome Sarris, a PhD candidate from the University’s School of Medicine, said the placebo-controlled study found Kava to be an effective and safe treatment option for people with chronic anxiety and varying levels of depression.


We’ve been able to show that Kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety, and unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side effects,” Mr Sarris said.


Each week participants were given a clinical assessment as well as a self-rating questionnaire to measure their anxiety and depression levels.


The researchers found anxiety levels decreased dramatically for participants taking five of the kava tablets daily compared to the placebo group.


We also found that Kava had a positive impact on reducing depression levels, something which had not been tested before,” Mr Sarris said.


In 2002 Kava was banned in Europe, the UK and Canada due to concerns over liver toxicity.


While the thee-week trial raised no major health concerns regarding the Kava extract used, the researchers said larger studies were required to confirm the drug’s safety.


When extracted in the appropriate way, Kava may pose less or no potential liver problems. I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban,” Mr Sarris said.


Ethanol and acetone extracts, which sometimes use the incorrect parts of the Kava, were being sold in Europe. That is not the traditional way of prescribing Kava in the Pacific Islands.


Our study used a water-soluble extract from the peeled rootstock of a medicinal cultivar of the plant, which is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia and is currently legal in Australia for medicinal use.


In addition to benefiting sufferers of anxiety, allowing the sale of Kava in Europe, the UK and Canada would significantly enhance Pacific Island economies, which have lost hundreds of millions of dollars by not being able to export the plant over the past several years.


Sarris J, Kavanagh DJ, Byrne G, *Bone KM, et al. The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum. Psychopharmacology 2009;doi:10.1007/s00213-009-1549-9 [Abstract | Full text]

*Conflicts of interest: Kerry Bone is a co-founder of and consultant to MediHerb Pty Ltd, the supplier of the tablets used in this trial. He was not involved in the conduct of the study or the analysis of the data.
Comment:
In addition to the acute necrotizing hepatitis risk alluded to in the article, prolonged high doses may cause “kava dermopathy” a scaly skin rash [Kava monograph (PDF)]. It may also increase photo sensitivity, so excess sun exposure should be avoided.

Kava may be contraindicated if taking benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, buspirone (Buspar®) , some Parkinson Disease medications and antidepressants which act on noradrenaline/norepinephrine such as the tricyclics, desvenlafaxine (Pristiq®), duloxetine (Cymbalta®), mirtazapine (Remeron®), venlafaxine (Effexor®), and the dopaminergic antidepressant bupropion (Wellbutrin®). Consult a physician or pharmacist before taking a Kava supplement with these or other medications.

Abuse of Kava in the form of bulk tea/powder has had a devastating effect on some Australian (and North American) Indigenous communities where it has replaced alcohol. Its use is now restricted in some states.


First Published Tuesday, 12 May 2009

White House

Hello,

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee released its proposals for benefits
coverage in health care/LTSS reform. These proposals can be found here:
http://finance. senate.gov/ sitepages/ baucus.htm. I’m pleased to report that
on page 49 of the document (page 50 in the pdf), several positive proposals
around Long Term Services and Supports are included. This is a direct result
of the advocacy work of our community. They include eliminating
institutional level of care requirements for Medicaid Home and Community
Based Services (HCBS) waivers, prohibiting states from using waiting lists
to prevent eligible beneficiaries from accessing HCBS and increasing the
federal Medicaid match for HCBS by one percent.

Although these changes are by no means comprehensive and we still need to
devote a lot more time and effort to both keeping this progress intact and
making more, I’d like to thank everyone who has utilized our advocacy
alert<http://www.change. org/autisticadvo cacy/actions/ view/pass_ the_community_ choice_act_ with_comprehensi ve_health_ care_reform>on
the inclusion of the Community Choice Act in Health Care Reform and
who
has sent it along to their friends. CCA is still not included in health care
reform, and more effort must go into ensuring that it will be. Nonetheless,
growing pressure is changing the political realities. We’ve gone from a
situation where the inclusion of Long Term Services and Supports in health
care reform was considered impossible to one where it is considered a real
possibility, if we devote the time, energy and attention into making it
happen. I encourage you all, as members of the Autistic and autism
communities, to continue to join us and the cross-disability advocacy
community in advocating around this essential issue.

Please act now and encourage your friends, family and contacts to do the
same. Our advocacy alert can be found at:
http://www.change. org/autisticadvo cacy/actions/ view/pass_ the_community_ choice_act_ with_comprehensi ve_health_ care_reform

Regards,
Ari Ne’eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.autistic advocacy. org
732.763.5530
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— –
Take a look at our innovative new Public Service Announcement produced with
the Dan Marino Foundation at http://www.nomyths. org

If you like what we do, help support the Autistic Self Advocacy Network by
making a donation at:
https://www. change.org/ donation/ create?charity_ id=211198



First Published Tuesday, 12 May 2009


Omega-3

Psychiatry Weekly 2009 May 11;4(1)


Freeman M.


Staff Psychiatrist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Lecturer, Harvard Medical School


The class of “natural” nonpharmacologic treatments in psychiatry-omega-3 fatty acids, St. John’s wort, etc.-is probably best described as “integrative,” although the term “complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)” is more widely recognized.


Complementary approaches generally refer to those that would not be considered mainstream or conventional but would be consistent with general concepts of Western medicine. Alternative approaches are usually considered outside traditional Western conceptual frameworks.


More…
© 2009 Psychiatry Weekly, LLC

Panic attacks linked to poor prognosis in mood disorder patients


By Mark Cowen


MedWire News: A history of recurrent panic attacks is associated with a greater severity of depression-associated symptoms in patients with mood disorders, particularly those with bipolar disorder, research shows.


 

More…
© 2009 Current Medicine Group Ltd



First Published Wednesday, 13 May 2009


It is not often that articles on psychology studies are described as beautiful, but a piece in The Atlantic on the Harvard Study of Adult Development is quite sublime.


The project has followed two groups of men for almost seventy years, tracking physical and emotional health, opinions and attitudes, successes and failures, all in the hope of understanding what makes us happy.


It weaves the staccato train of numerical data with reflections and insights from the men themselves to attempt the impossible – it hopes to record lives.


From their brash early adulthood to their deaths or dotage the stories are brief but profound, sometimes tragic, sometimes joyful, sometimes mundane.


The study itself has generated some remarkable findings, such as the massive impact of relationships, the fading long-term effects of childhood experiences, or the role of defences in managing emotional well-being, but the piece is as much about the life of the project as its conclusions.


It serves as a meditation on the tension between meaning and measurement when trying to understand the individual, and on the potentially futile attempt to extrapolate an experience of a generation to a world of other times, people and places.


But the article also about psychiatrist George Valliant, who has been coordinating the study for over 40 years, and whose life is intricately woven into the project.


The ending of the article is both surprising and poignant, because it questions what we can truly learn from the lives of others.



Link to Atlantic article ‘What Makes Us Happy?’


Source:   http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/05/the_study_of_a_lifet.html



First Published Wednesday, 13 May 2009


Luke Dicker and dog Poppy with the Malmesbury Young Citizen of the Year award


By Joe Ware


An autistic pupil expelled from Malmesbury Secondary School three years ago has been named as Malmesbury’s Young Citizen of the Year.


Luke Dicker, 17, of Hullavington, who also suffers from attention deficit disorder, has turned his life around and become a leading spokesperson for young people with autism since being expelled in Year 10.


Earlier this year he featured on the BBC’s Politics Show and questioned government minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry on the autism bill going through Parliament.


Luke was nominated for the award by Malmesbury town councillor Ray Sanderson and will go on to represent Malmesbury in the Rotary International Young Citizen of the Year Awards in 2010. Luke said: “I knew I had been nominated but it was a good surprise to be announced the winner. It has been nice to hear so many people saying lots of nice thing about me. But at the end of the day I’ve just made the best of a bad situation.”


Luke said he struggled to cope with mainstream schooling. He said: “At Malmesbury School I didn’t get on very well.


“The learning support staff were great but they just didn’t have the resources to deal with autistic students.


“I didn’t like the classes of 30 people and I found it really hard to concentrate.


“Also, people didn’t really understand my condition and I had some difficulties with other students.”


It was when Luke started school at Springfields, a specialist sports college in Calne, that he was able to get his schooling back on track.


He said: “Going to Springfields was the best thing that could have happened to me.


“All the staff are trained to deal with people with autism and the class sizes are small, only eight in each, so I found it much easier to concentrate.


“Also, the sport provides a physical outlet to deal with your anxiety and stress.”


He added: “Because I was in the middle of my GCSes I had to start from scratch and really get my head down.”


Luke has since praised the school at speaking engagements around the country.


He is about to sit the last of his GCSEs and complete an NVQ. He is thinking of studying motorsport engineering at Lackham College.


Source:   http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/4360833.Pupil_who_was_expelled_becomes_Malmesbury_s_Young_Citizen_of_the_Year/?ref=rss



*Site Under Construction

posted Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Tuscaloosa teacher values autistic students

(AP Photo/Tuscaloosa News, Dan Lopez)

David Seale, 9, gets a licking from his border collie, Michael, as his mother Judy looks on, Thursday, April 16, 2009 at their home in Vance, Ala. David Seale, 9, has Asperger’s syndrome, a type of autism, and his family learned in October that he qualified to receive a service dog from the Wilderwood Service Dogs facility in Maryville, Tenn. Michael is named after Michael Phelps.

Associated Press

Published: May 10, 2009

TUSCALOOSA (AP) — At the start of her day at Sprayberry Education Center, Pam Miller pulls out picture cue cards for her students. Because seven of her eight students can’t communicate verbally, Miller, the autism K-5 teacher at Sprayberry, relies on the picture cards and sign language to interpret her students’ needs.
This is Miller’s second year at Sprayberry, but throughout her 18 years in teaching — previously she worked with special education students at Holt Elementary School — she has worked with a number of autistic children.
“I love working with children with autism because everyone is so different,“ Miller said. “They all have such unique and wonderful personalities. There are no two that are the same. They’re each a mystery, and you have to figure out what makes each one work.“
In teaching children with severe autism, Miller deals with students who may experience difficulty communicating, often exhibit repetitive behavior and can be easily upset by small changes in their environment.
So, before she can teach her students their ABCs and 123s, Miller has to first learn about her students’ lives and what makes them tick.
Miller said she has learned that each child has a different “stimming,“ which is a self-stimulating, repetitive behavior, such as hand-flapping, spinning or humming, that they enjoy.
“Some of them like to hold a string, some need something to flash, some sing songs all day and some repeat lines from movies. Every child has something unique and different about them,“ Miller said.
Miller said that after figuring out what interests her students, it’s then her job to integrate those interests into her teaching.
With one student who loves trains, she will use trains in her lessons. With another student who loves to sing, Miller tries to incorporate singing on a daily basis.
“Trying to educate them is like figuring out a puzzle and putting a mystery together,“ Miller said.
Miller said her interest in special education was inspired by her own life.
She has two cousins with disabilities and is amazed by their strength and self-acceptance, she said.
“One of my cousins had an illness that only five children in the U.S. had at that time. He was always fascinating and would often laugh about his handicap. He didn’t let other people get him down by their staring at him. He was the strongest little creatures I’ve ever known,“ she said.
Though she loves her job, her work can be frustrating at times, Miller said.
She works hard to establish a level of trust with her students, but there are always moments when she fails to do so and doesn’t know how to comfort them, she said.
“You might have a child who’s crying with tears pouring down their face, but you don’t know if they’re hungry or hurting. You have to go through a checklist: Are they hungry? Do they have to go to the bathroom?
“Sometimes we never figure it out, and that’s the frustrating part, not knowing what to do to help them,“ Miller said.
That’s one reason Miller’s duties take her beyond the classroom. She stays in constant communication with her students’ parents.
“It’s very critical to have communication,“ Miller said. “We do a daily folder I give to all my parents each day. I give all my parents my cell phone number and am available at all times to talk things out and to help. Whatever I can do, I’m there.“
Suzanne Gaston, whose son, Bradley, is in Miller’s class, said Miller’s passion for her work changes lives.
Gaston said she noticed an immediate difference in Bradley’s social skills and understanding after coming to Sprayberry.
Miller was able to figure out his learning style and build his trust, Gaston said.
“Last year, I struggled with the thought that he would never read, since he failed every standardized kindergarten-level prereading test. But now, we can lie in bed at night and spell words or I can ask him to tell me the months of the year, the days of the week and the seasons,“ Gaston said.
Annette Gilliland’s son, Patrick, 13, has Asperger’s Syndrome and worked with Miller from kindergarten to fourth grade when he was at Holt Elementary.
Asperger’s Syndrome is a disorder that affects children’s ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. Children with Asperger’s typically exhibit social awkwardness and an all-absorbing interest in specific topics.
Patrick’s intense interest and knowledge of statistics is characteristic of Asperger’s, and Gilliland said Patrick did things with Miller that he wouldn’t do with other people. She credits his social skills and level of education to Miller.
“She treated him as an equal. To her, he wasn’t a student with a disability but just a typical student,“ Gilliland said. “He’s totally mainstream now and is on the A-B honor roll. To be a high-functioning autism child is wonderful.“
Because early intervention is crucial for children with autism, Miller plays a pivotal role in her students’ development.
In working with her students, Miller not only helps to improve their communication and social skills, she helps lay a foundation for learning that will prepare and follow them throughout their lives.
While parents call her an angel, Miller said she’s just doing the job she loves.
“There are so many success stories. Those are the moments that keep you going through the repetitive, doing the same thing everyday,“ Miller said. “When a child who doesn’t talk looks you in the eye and makes a noise, my wanting to figure out what it is they are trying to say is why I do what I do everyday. Getting to come to work everyday and do what I love doing is a blessing.“

Source:   http://www.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/tuscaloosa_teacher_values_autistic_students/71870/



*Site under Construction

posted Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Journalists: find our latest press release about Gary McKinnon’s case in ‘Related resources’ at the bottom of this page.

Gary McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in August 2008 and faces extradition to the United States to stand trial for allegedly hacking into US Defense computer systems. As a result of Gary’s late diagnosis, his Asperger syndrome was not taken into account in any legal proceedings prior to August 2008.

A Judicial Review of the decision to extradite Gary McKinnon is due to be heard on 9 and 10 June 2009. This latest legal battle, and perhaps last chance in Gary’s case, is approaching fast. To help stop Gary’s extradition we will present a petition to 10 Downing Street.

Please add your name to our petition and help to show the Prime Minister the huge level of support that Gary has. Signing the petition will only take a minute – add your name today, and ask your friends to do the same.


More about Gary McKinnon’s case

Gary McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in August 2008 and faces extradition to the United States to stand trial for allegedly hacking into US Defense computer systems. As a result of Gary’s late diagnosis, his Asperger syndrome was not taken into account in any legal proceedings prior to August 2008.

The Judicial Review, due to be heard on 9 and 10 June 2009, will represent the first opportunity to consider Gary’s Asperger syndrome in relation to his case and to examine whether extradition would contravene specific human rights.

The decision to allow Judicial Review was the result of a High Court hearing on 23 January 2009. The National Autistic Society (NAS) submitted evidence to this hearing about the nature of Asperger syndrome and the fact that people receive late diagnoses. This evidence was particularly important since the High Court acknowledged that Gary had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome late and that it seemed that late diagnosis was not uncommon.

Janis Sharp, mother of Gary McKinnon, told the NAS:

“We have been hugely grateful and at times overwhelmed by the incredible show of support for Gary’s struggle we have received over the years.

“Since his diagnosis with Asperger syndrome last year, the NAS has backed our pleas that his extradition should be reconsidered in the light of his condition. More recently we have been heartened by support from Lord Carlile, Boris Johnson, Sting and Trudie Styler, and Terry Waite, all of whom have an interest in human rights issues and believe that Gary should not be extradited.

“We desperately hope that the Government listens to all those who have lent their support and realises what we all know: that to extradite Gary to the USA would be disproportionate, wrong and potentially life-threatening.”

The Judicial Review is vital to halting extradition given the disappointing decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on 26 February 2009 not to bring charges against Gary McKinnon in the UK, despite widespread public support for this from campaigners and the autism community. In addition, MPs from across the political parties are continuing to question the decision to extradite Gary.

NAS Chief Executive Mark Lever said:

“We are very disappointed by the CPS decision not to prosecute Gary McKinnon in the UK. Over 4,000 people emailed the Attorney General about this through a campaign on the NAS website and Gary continues to have a lot of support from the autism community. We still strongly believe that the extradition, and a possible maximum security prison sentence, would be inappropriate and very damaging for anyone affected by Asperger syndrome.”


Related resources


Relevant areas/articles elsewhere on this website


Relevant documents for downloading

Source:  http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1895&a=18512