Reuters Health

Japanese researchers have found that people who suffer from chronically itchy skin can also have a higher risk of developing anxiety, depression, and stress. In their study, investigators looked at data on more than 2,200 adults, many of whom had skin conditions such as severe acne, eczema, psoriasis, and the severe itching condition known as pruritis. The researchers found that those who had itchy skin were more likely to report psychological symptoms of stress than those whose skin did not itch.  Read full story >

 

Polly Curtis

guardian.co.uk Thursday 14 January 2010

Conservatives hope to break down barriers facing disabled people who want to be parliametarians, local councillors or civil servants

The New York Times has a thought-provoking article on culture and mental illness, arguing that the American view of the disordered mind has been exported around the world and has influenced how other cultures actually experience mental distress.

It’s probably worth saying that none of the examples are solely ‘American’, although clearly it has had a huge influence our ideas about mental illness, despite being reined in on several occasions. Indeed, if mental illness had been truly Americanised, we’d all be living in a Freudian world by now.

Read More …  http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/01/american_madness.html

Development Of New PsycTESTSâ„¢ Tests And Measures Database

Article Date: 12 Jan 2010 – 3:00 PST

APA announced it has begun development of a new research database for tests and measures to be titled PsycTESTSâ„¢.

With an expected debut in the second half of 2010, the new database will differ from currently available resources, serving as a repository for the full text of unpublished test and measures. PsycTESTS is expected to significantly reduce the incidence of researchers and students recreating tests (and thus duplicating work) when they cannot find one that suits their research.

Psychologists have hailed the development of the new database, saying it will advance the field significantly for all professionals regardless of their specialty. Other important features of the database will include information about the availability of reliability and validity data for each test, links to source documents in PsycINFO® and PsycEXTRA®, links to other records related to each test and to other related research, and much more.

“Because it will make analysis of research results among various experiments much easier, over time data sets will become more useful as a direct result. We are very pleased to be introducing such a monumental tool to the field,” states Gary R. VandenBos, PhD, APA Publisher.

PsycTESTS will build on other APA initiatives such as the APA Testing Office’s extensive web site on tests, built by working closely with several standards groups, and APA’s information for the public on testing issues.

One of the inspirations for the database was the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures, edited by Bert A. Goldman and David F. Mitchell. The contents of the 9 volumes, currently only available from APA Books in print, will be included among the electronic records.

The tool will also feature historic documents from the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron.

Source
The American Psychological Association

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175690.php

Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neuroscience Conferences for 2010

Do you want to attend a neurology, neurosurgery, or neuroscience conference this year? In an effort to provide a consolidated webpage, I’ve compiled what I deem the most exhaustive online listing for 2010. I’ve included as many links as possible to official sources/sites with a rough idea of registration fees; however, should I have left something out, please feel free to comment and I’ll be sure to update the list. Only programs conducted in English are included.

Read More …  http://brainblogger.com/2010/01/10/neurology-neurosurgery-and-neuroscience-conferences-for-2010/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GNIFBrainBlogger+%28Brain+Blogger%29

Talking About Mental Health – Mental Health In The Media, UK

Mind’s Open Up project is proud to be supporting the free One in Four conference ‘Talking about mental health – getting it right’ – in London on 1 February. One in Four is a national magazine written by people with mental health difficulties. Open Up is supporting them to deliver the conference as part of their Open Up Initiatives Scheme.

The conference will look at the ways in which mental health and wellbeing is represented in the media and think about how we can all get better at discussing it. It bring together professionals, people who experience mental health difficulties, and people with a foot in both camps, to set a new agenda for how the media, companies and public bodies talk about mental health. Speakers and panellists include: Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications for Tony Blair, journalist and mental health awareness campaigner, Debra Allcock Tyler CEO, Directory of Social Change, Sue Caro, Senior Diversity Manager, BBC, Jacqui Thornton, former Health Editor The Sun, Shaun Crowe, Regional Co-ordinator, London Mental Health and Employment Partnership and Heather Payne, Media Action Worker at South Warwickshire User Forum.

Places must be booked in advance. For more information and to book a place, go to http://www.oneinfourmag.org. Open Up is part of Time to Change and funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

Source
MIND

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175563.php

 

Voice4u, is a revolutionary AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) application that helps individuals to express their feeling, thought, actions and things they need. It is a perfect solution for learning and communication for autistic individuals and people around them. Also highly recommended for SLPs, teachers, parents, children and adults with developmental disabilities, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.

http://voice4uaac.com/

Related Articles

“iPhone and iPod Touch Apps – Childhood Disability”:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art62136.asp

“Voice4u iPod Touch iPhone Communication App”:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art65220.asp

Autism: it’s time to think differently

 Gordon Darroch

Published on 12 Jan 2010

Thousands of adults with autism are missing out on vital services because of a disjointed approach to the condition, claims an MSP who wants to introduce a national autism strategy.

Liberal Democrat MSP Hugh O’Donnell has proposed a member’s bill at Holyrood that would require the Scottish Government to take the lead in co-ordinating services for children and adults with autism ­spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Mr O’Donnell says the Scottish Autism Strategy Bill is part icularly designed to address the problems people with autism encounter at transitional stages of their lives, such as switching schools or moving from education to work.

“Disruption and changes to ­routine can be much more traumatic for young people with autism than for ordinary teenagers – and heaven knows it can be traumatic enough for them,” he says. “So the thrust of this is to try to make sure that these young people, at a crucial stage of their lives, don’t have setbacks that can wipe out any success they may have had in the education system.

“Because autism isn’t a mental health issue or a learning disability issue, in terms of statutory obligation it falls between a number of stools. As a result the service package available is patchy to say the least. A lot of local authorities don’t even know how many people there are in their area with a diagnosis of autism.”

The National Autistic Society Scotland, which last week launched its own campaign entitled We Exist – A Bill For Autism, A Bill For Scotland, says 94% of people it surveyed ­wanted to see a Scottish autism ­strategy. Figures compiled by the National Audit Office suggest that failure to meet the needs of people with autism is costing the Scottish economy £2.3bn a year through lost job opportunities and the increased burden on public services and families.

With the passing of the Autism Act at Westminster in November 2009 and the establishment of strategic action plans in Wales and Northern Ireland in the past two years, Scotland is now the only part of the UK without a central strategy for people on the autism spectrum.

Support services for autism, which affects an estimated 50,000 people in Scotland, are currently run by health boards and local authorities and can range widely, including speech and language therapy, classroom support, social work and respite care.

The proposed bill would make it a duty for ministers to draw up a ­strategy for autism, incorporating national standards. Mr O’Donnell hopes the bill will be ready to present to Holyrood by the summer, ­following public consultation.

He explains: “At the moment there is a postcode lottery and we need a national approach. Government is supposed to take a lead in these ­matters. It’s not good enough for them to bat it back to health boards and local authorities.

“The idea is to make ministers responsible for a regular annual review of where local authorities are in terms of developing co-ordinated services for people with autism. It would be down to the local authority to have those plans in place and to make sure that those plans met with the national strategic objectives. It’s what’s done in other areas such as heart disease and epilepsy.”

In a survey of people with ASDs ­carried out by the National Autistic Society Scotland last year, one-third of respondents said they had had to go to a tribunal to get the right support.

There are also big information gaps. Last year, four local authorities were unable to provide figures for the first Scottish Government survey of the number of adults in the country diagnosed with autism.

Parents and carers have spoken of the difficulties involved in transition between schools, or moving from one local authority area to another, while young adults often find themselves effectively barred from employment because of a lack of basic support.

Gillian Naysmith, from Dunfermline, has a four-year-old son, Sam, who has been diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay. She says his care has been held up ­repeatedly by poor transition and conflicting advice from professionals.

“On leaving the child development centre, nobody told me that some services would stop and that I would have to physically go to Sam’s paediatrician or GP or health visitor to have him re-referred,” she says.

“We then had to be put back on the ­waiting list, which took around 10 months – a lot of wasted time when they say that early intervention is the best thing possible to help our children.”

She adds that the varied advice offered by experts is confusing for parents. “As a mum, I am looking for advice from the people who should know what the best options are for my son,” she says. “Transitional ­periods should be much smoother. People affected by autism should get all the help they require.”

Problems also often become compounded when children leave school. An NAS report compiled in 2009, ­entitled Don’t Write Me Off, found that only 15% of adults with autism had a full-time job.

James Cusack, who is about to complete a doctorate at Aberdeen University, believes it was only due to the persistence of his parents that he was able to go into higher education. The 24-year-old, who has Asperger’s syndrome, says: “My parents fought desperately to ensure that my local education authority met my needs. The LEA agreed to offer an education and this changed my life. The evidence really does show that without this I would have been in residential care, and on benefits, for the rest of my life.”

One of the strengths of the ­proposed autism bill, says Mr O’Donnell, is that it is a low-cost approach. Much of the data collection, for example, can be achieved using existing surveys. “It would not need a completely new recording methodology,” he says.

“It’s a very simple bill. We don’t anticipate that in terms of cost and workload it will be a huge burden, and that’s important given the circumstances local authorities face.”

Freezing people with autism out of the workforce is not just frustrating and debilitating for the individual concerned; it has a huge cost for ­society through benefits and the cost of deteriorating mental health. The National Audit Office has ­estimated that if just 4% of adults with ­Asperger’s syndrome – a form of autism – were identified and given support, the services would ­effectively pay for themselves through the costs saved to the public purse.

Elkie Kammer, who works with children with developmental disorders in Inverness and has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, says it sometimes takes just a few small adjustments to allow someone with an ASD to lead a productive life.

The 46-year-old struggles with hypersensitivity to noise, a common manifestation of autism. “At work, electronic noise, background noise or too many people talking at once would cause me so much stress that I had to change jobs very frequently,” she says. “Yet it only takes a few small adjustments and a positive attitude to allow me to contribute in a ­meaningful and healthy way.”

NAS Scotland says the Scottish autism strategy needs to include a duty on the Government to identify the numbers of people with autism. Councils should be required to draw up service plans and train staff. Carol Evans, NAS national director for Scotland, says: “The Government must recognise that people with autism should not be disadvantaged, and support our campaign.”

The case for a national strategy

• About 50,000 people in Scotland are believed to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• About 4900 schoolchildren with ASDs have additional support needs.
• Half of all appeals to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal are made on behalf of children with autism.
• Only half of specialist teachers in Scotland have had autism-specific training.
• Fewer than three-fifths of councils offer specialist units for secondary-age children with ASDs.
• More than half (53%) of adults with autism say they received no support on leaving school.
• Only 15% of adults with autism are in full-time employment, yet 79% of those on incapacity benefit said they wanted to work.
• The National Audit Office believes services for adults with ­Asperger’s syndrome would be cost-neutral if 4% of those adults were offered support, due to savings in medical treatment and benefits from those who could find work. Supporting 6% could save £38m per year UK-wide.
• 95% of people in the UK surveyed by the National Autistic Society believed councils and health boards should have a legal duty to improve services for people with autism.

 

The proposal for the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. Visit www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/MembersBills/index.htm.

Source:   http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/autism-it-s-time-to-think-differently-1.997865

 

O’Donnell launches Autism Bill

 

January 13, 2010.