Archive for April, 2015
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This month, Maryland became the first state in the United States to enact the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s model law banning disability-based discrimination in organ transplantation. Maryland will be the third state to have an organ transplant anti-discrimination law, joining New Jersey and California.
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This victory is the result of years of hard work here at ASAN. It started with our policy brief on discrimination in organ transplants. Our research, described in the brief, found that people with significant developmental disabilities are routinely denied life-saving organ transplants for no reason other than their disability.
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In 2014, I wrote a model law against disability-based discrimination in organ transplants and published it in our comprehensive toolkit on organ transplant discrimination. I hoped that state advocates would be able to bring our model law to their state legislators and ask them to enact it.
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This month, with help from the Arc of Maryland and the Maryland Disability Law Center, the Maryland legislature voted unanimously to pass that law. Our law.
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Once it’s signed by the governor, the law we wrote will become the law of the land in Maryland – protecting not only thousands of Marylanders with disabilities but also out-of-state patients who seek help from major transplant centers like the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. Already, major transplant centers like the University of Maryland have removed language from their web sites saying that they would not perform transplants for anyone with a “severe” developmental or psychiatric disability, regardless of medical need.
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And we won’t stop there: we are working already on getting organ anti-discrimination laws passed in other states, including Pennsylvania!
If you’re as excited as we are about this victory, please consider making a contribution to support ASAN’s important work and help advance the cause of disability rights. Your support makes what we do possible.
Thank you for your support. As always, Nothing About Us, Without Us!
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Sincerely,
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Samantha Crane, J.D.
Legal Director, Director of Public Policy
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Apr
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Dear Readers,
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Hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend!
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Julie
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A new study raises serious questions about the increasingly common use of second-generation antidepressant drugs to treat anxiety disorders.
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Although the practice is becoming increasingly common, researchers worry that the value of the drugs for anxiety may have been overestimated as a result of publication bias.
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Publication bias occurs when only studies that show beneficial effects of the intervention are published.
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As reported in JAMA Psychiatry, the new review concludes that studies supporting the value of second-generation antidepressant drugs for the treatment of anxiety have been distorted by publication bias, outcome reporting bias and “spin.â€
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Even though they may still play a role in treating these disorders, the effectiveness of the drugs has been overestimated, say the researchers.
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In some cases the medications, which are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, are not significantly more useful than a placebo.
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Read More:
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just published its first national study on the various forms of treatment used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The study examined the use of medication, behavioral therapy, and dietary supplements — and its results were eye-opening.
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Almost 1 in 4 preschoolers were treated with medication alone.
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That is an astounding number, when you stop and consider that a preschooler’s brain is still under active development. Prescribing stimulants to such a young child’s brain is a bad idea, given we have no longitudinal, long-term studies demonstrating that these medications won’t be harmful in a child’s development.
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Read on to learn more about the study’s key findings.
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Read More …
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/04/03/too-many-preschoolers-getting-medications-for-adhd/
Here we are again. It’s April, and in the coming weeks, Autistic people and our allies will face a long list of non-autistic experts and spokespeople talking about us, without us. For many of us, April is a time when the public is “aware” of autism but chooses to ignore Autistic people.
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We’re often asked by non-autistic friends and allies what they can do to support the Autistic community in the month of April and beyond. We know that many of you are looking for ways to be a part of the solution. That’s why this month, we’d like to ask you to join us in taking the pledge for Autistic inclusion. It’s a simple message:
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“I pledge to only attend, speak at or otherwise participate in autism panels, conferences and events that meaningfully involve Autistic people. I choose not to give my business or my time to settings that fail to include Autistic voices in conversations about autism.”
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Conversations on autism should include Autistic people – it’s as simple as that. That should not be a difficult standard to meet, but for too many conferences, panels and events in the autism community, the most important stakeholders – Autistic people ourselves – are excluded.
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We think it’s time to change that – and your voice will help make that possible. Will you join us in signing the pledge and taking a stand to support Autistic voices? What you do today matters in building a truly inclusive community for all of us. We hope you’ll join us in standing up for including autistic people in our national conversation on autism. Once you do, tell your friends on social media using the hashtag #AcceptanceIs and we’ll signal boost you to help get the message out.
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Thank you for your support in helping turn April into Autism Acceptance Month. Autistic people deserve more than just awareness – we deserve respect, inclusion and acceptance. You can help make that happen. As always, Nothing About Us, Without Us!
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Sincerely,
Ari Ne’eman
President
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Kimberly Greenberg. Photo courtesy LAPD.
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Posted by Crime on in
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Police Tuesday continued their search for a teenager missing for the past week from her home in Mar Vista.
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Kimberly Greenberg, 15, has not been seen since last Tuesday, when she went missing around 8 p.m. from her home in the 11200 block of Westminster Avenue.
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Family members are concerned because she takes medication for autism and has not made contact with them since she disappeared.
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Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Daniel Gonzales said officers would continue to search the area Tuesday but were hoping Kimberly would contact her family of her own accord.
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“We’re hoping someone will call in with some information, or she will check in with her mom,†Gonzales said.
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The teen is Hispanic, with long brown hair, brown eyes and a light complexion. She is 4 feet 10 inches and weighs about 110 pounds. She was wearing a red sweater, jeans and Ugg shoes when last seen.
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Anyone with information about her whereabouts was asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department’s Pacific Division Watch Commander at (310) 482-6371.
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-City News Service
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Source:
http://mynewsla.com/crime/2015/03/31/cops-still-searching-for-missing-autistic-mar-vista-teen/