By Alex Antunes

Discussion of the rise in diagnosed autism is a controversial topic, and I applaud one company that is sidestepping the entire ‘why’ and ‘who is at fault’ issue and tackling it like good capitalists. MSNBC writes about Aspiritech’s program for training autistics in comp sci — specifically the area of software testing, bug discovery, and data accuracy.  They write:

“Autism seen as asset, not liability, in some jobs. A new movement helps hone unique traits of disorder into valuable skills […] now some revolutionary companies see autism as something else: a resource.”

This is progressive stuff.  They seem to be focusing primarily on people with Asperger Syndrome. Asperger Syndrome is often called a form of high-functioning autism, and Dr. Asperger termed his original child patients “little professors” because of their outlook.  There are many fields where people with Asperger Syndrome can not just ‘function’ (blah) but excel.  Dan Shiovitz of Marchex in the same article notes:

While traits of “detail focus, willingness to repeat tasks and technical aptitude are ones we look for in testers, testing has a lot of creative work,” he notes. Testers need to be able to figure out possible solutions to problems and be agile enough to change plans at the last minute or deal with sudden new requirements.

The best definition I can provide of being an Aspie (someone with Aspergers) is that issues like social interaction are harder to learn intuitively, while issues that other people find hard (memorization, categorization and morphology, and detail-oriented work) come easily.  Most people find physics hard and cocktail parties easy; Aspies have the reverse.

There are also issues dealing with change, preference for repetition over novelty, and a wide variety of co-morbid conditions.  For a good understanding of the autism spectrum, you can visit WrongPlanet, bearing in mind the wide variety that the spectrum covers and the truism “if you’ve met one Aspie, you’ve met one Aspie.”

Read in Full:  http://www.scientificblogging.com/daytime_astronomer/autism_computer_science

 

Public board report finds drop overall

By Joanne Laucius, The Ottawa Citizen

December 16, 2009

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s public schools are suspending a growing number of students with special needs from autism to learning disabilities, according to a newly released report obtained by the Citizen.

The report, which will be discussed tonight by the board of education’s Special Education Advisory Committee, shows that at the same time overall suspensions have dropped almost 38 per cent over the past five years.

But it is the increase related to the suspension of children with special needs that is raising concern.

“The kids who need help the most are the ones getting suspended,” said Dale Ford,

a former special education resources teacher who acts as an advocate for the families of suspended children.

The number of suspensions among special needs students went up from 1,210 in 2006-2007 to 1,893 in 2008-2009, and represented 16 per cent of the 11,601 students who had special needs. That includes 698 students with behavioural issues; 5,185 that have an identified learning disability; 2,770 gifted students; 698 diagnosed with autism and 775 with mild intellectual disabilities.

The total number of suspensions dropped by 2,063 in the 2008-2009 academic year compared to the previous year, according to the report delivered to the Ottawa public board’s education committee.

Overall, there were 5,179 suspensions last year out of 72,565 students, representing just more than seven per cent of the total school population. That’s 32-per-cent fewer suspensions at the elementary level and more than 24-per-cent fewer suspensions in high schools compared to the previous year.

“It (the suspension of special needs children) concerns me. We really need to take a close look at students with exceptionalities,” said Dr. Petra Duschner, manager of safe schools for the school board.

Within the special-needs category, there are different suspension rates. Between 2006-2007 and 2008-2009, suspensions for students with mild intellectual disabilities increased from 18 to 33 per cent. But suspensions for students with autism were down from 7.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent.

“We really need to look at the specific cases and see what we can do to support these students effectively,” said Duschner.

Suspension rates were expected to drop after changes were made to the Safe Schools Act two years ago. Before, principals had a menu of infractions that would result in suspensions. Now, they have more latitude to choose in-school interventions instead.

Mitigating factors include the student’s inability to control behaviour or understand consequences, as well as the risks the student presents to others. If the student has an individualized learning plan, administrators also have to consider if the suspension will worsen the student’s conduct.

Duschner said any diagnosis is a mitigating factor when decisions are made, but educators are still familiarizing themselves with changes to the law.

Most suspensions are for one or two days, she said. “Time away can be good for a child.”

Nancy Gibson, who provides direction and support for the families of autistic children at the Ottawa chapter of Autism Ontario, said she is increasingly getting calls from parents who are asked if their child can take some time off school without formally being suspended. Other students are being asked to reduce the number of hours they spend in school.

Ford has about 50 clients now, all students with special needs.

“What I am seeing is basically children being suspended for being autistic,” said Ford. “They’re continuing to suspend and expel children for disability behaviour.”

Trustee Pam FitzGerald has heard complaints from parents whose children are suspended after they spiral into a meltdown.

While the number of education assistants hasn’t changed, demand has increased. For example, the number of students with autism has jumped from 394 students to 698 in just one year, an increase of over 77 per cent.

“We’re going to have more and more kids with autism in schools,” said FitzGerald. “It’s just growing in leaps and bounds and no one knows why.”

Meanwhile, there are fewer congregated classes, so the education assistants spend only a few minutes in each classroom before moving on to the next, said FitzGerald.

“A lot of kids have something that triggers them. An EA who knows that child can see it coming and whisk the child into a quiet corner.”

Read in Full:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Suspensions+rise+special+needs+students/2345156/story.html

 

Wednesday 16 December 2009 12.19 GMT

Polly Curtis, education editor 

Government report reveals scale of struggle some parents face, and advocates a reform of the statementing system to prioritise the needs of the child over the availability of resources

The government should “radically overhaul” the system for children with special educational needs, to provide new support for parents and pressurise schools to cater properly for pupils whose learning difficulties put them at risk of being left behind, a government commissioned review reports today.

The inquiry, which was immediately accepted in part by the schools secretary, Ed Balls, reveals the scale of the struggle parents have to get appropriate support for children with special educational needs such as autism or dyslexia.

Under the plans, there will be a new helpline for parents providing independent advice and Ofsted would have to judge how well schools are providing for pupils with SEN.

A pilot of a new system of “statementing” pupils, which determines pupils’ level of need and what support is necessary, aims to make the process more transparent and enable parents to challenge decisions. The system of statementing will be reviewed to guarantee that local authorities put the needs of the child first, rather than availability of resources. It follows parental complaints that authorities are deciding the level of their child’s need according to the funding available to them rather than the scale of their problems, leading to a postcode lottery in services across the country.

And it will be easier for parents to seek redress. The local government ombudsman will get extra funding to take complaints from parents unhappy with the support they receive, while the Anti-Bullying Alliance will get extra money to tackle SEN- and disability-related bullying.

Brian Lamb, who conducted the review on behalf of the government, said: “We met some of the happiest parents in the country and some of the angriest. Many had children who are well-supported and making good progress. But we also met parents for whom the education system represents a battle to get the needs of their child identified and met. The crucial issue is that both experiences happen within the same system. While the aims of the SEN framework remain relevant, implementation has too often failed to live up to them.

“There needs to be a radical recasting of the relationship between parents, schools and local authorities to ensure a clearer focus on the outcomes and life chances for children with SEN and disability.”

Balls said: “We are now working to ensure all parents have confidence in decision making by giving them and their children a stronger voice at the heart of the SEN system.”

The National Autistic Society (NAS) warned that unless the government ensured that local authorities complied with their duties the changes proposed by the Lamb review would not make the difference needed by parents.

Mark Lever, the chief executive of the NAS, said: “We hear terrible stories from parents, of local authorities flouting the law by ignoring diagnoses, not meeting statutory timescales, failing to write statements properly, and even saying they don’t do statements any more.”

Source:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/dec/16/special-needs-radical-overhaul

  

December 14, 5:33 PMSeattle Special Needs Issues ExaminerShelley Dillon

WhizKid Games is an online portal designed to help kids with autism develop independent living skills.

The brand new website has a series of free online computer games designed for children with autism which were created by a group of final year multimedia students from Swinburne University, in collaboration with Bulleen Heights Autism School and the National eTherapy Centre.

According to an article at dixigner.com, WhizKid Games is an online portal just launched this month that aims to help autistic children develop their independent living skills, focusing on areas such as coping with change, recognising emotions and non-verbal communication.

According to SABRI director, Associate Professor David Austin, the games will provide a real benefit for children with moderate to severe autism.

I took a few of the games for a spin and I am happy to give it a thumbs up.  The games are engaging and colorful with lots of fun, cute characters.  I particularly love the Australian accent!

Give it a try at whizkids games!

Source:   http://www.examiner.com/x-19093-Seattle-Special-Needs-Issues-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Whizkid-games-online-help-with-kids-with-autism

By John M Grohol PsyD
December 14, 2009

Wondering how you can show someone in your life that you care about them? Here’s a few suggestions that may help you do just that.

1. Do It, Don’t Say It.

You know that old common wisdom, “Actions speak louder than words”? Well, it’s true. While you can apologize for not doing something until you’re blue in the face, you’ll gain so much more appreciation by another in your life by simply doing it in the first place. Yes, it means you have to work harder to keep on top of things to begin with, even with simple things like taking out the trash or running that errand you said you would. But the reward is that your loved one will know you care because you just did it without being asked or reminded to do so.

2. Refuse to Argue and Pick Your Battles.

Arguments are a constant source of relationship strife, even amongst family members or friends. You may say, “How can I just stop arguing?” Easy, because engaging in a conversation with another person is a choice we make (whether we always do so consciously or not). Make a conscious effort to note when you’re entering into an argument, and then just stop. Remember, not every argument is worth engaging in — so don’t feel like you have to get into an argument just because someone else is asking for one. “Sorry, I can’t talk about this right now, let’s talk more about this later…” or “You’re right, I’m wrong, I’m sorry” will put a sudden halt to the argument. Which leads us to.

Read More …  http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/12/14/5-ways-to-show-you-care/

Marriage wards off blues, just don’t end it: study

Tuesday 15th December  2009

Marriage really is good for you, with a major international study finding it reduces the risks of depression and anxiety, but these disorders are more likely to plague people once the relationship is over.

The study of 34,493 people across 15 countries was led by clinical psychologist Kate Scott from New Zealand’s University of Otago, and is based on the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys conducted over the past decade.

It found that ending marriage through separation, divorce or death is linked to an increased risk of mental health disorders, with women more likely to resort to substance abuse and men more likely to become depressed.

“What makes this investigation unique and more robust is the sample is so large and across so many countries and the fact that we have data not only on depression… but also on anxiety and substance use disorders,” Scott said in a statement.

“In addition, we were able to look at what happens to mental health in marriage, both in comparison with never getting married, and with ending marriage.”

Scott said that the study found that getting married, compared to not getting married, was good for the mental health of both genders, not just women, as previous studies had found.

The study, however, did find that men are less likely to become depressed in their first marriage than women, a factor Scott said was probably linked to the traditional gender roles at home, as other WMH surveys have shown that as women get better educated, depression rates tend to fall.

The other gender difference the study found is that getting married reduces risk of substance use disorders more for women than for men. Scott said this may be explained by the fact that women are usually the primary caregiver for young children.

However, the downside of marriage, the University of Otago study shows, is that ending it has a negative impact on both genders.

“What our study points to is that the marital relationship offers a lot of mental health benefits for both men and women, and that the distress and disruption associated with ending marriage can make people vulnerable to developing mental disorders,” Scott said.

The study was recently published in the British journal Psychological Medicine. It was conducted in association with the World Health Organization, Harvard University and a number of other international organisations.

(Writing by Miral Fahmy, editing by Ron Popeski)

Source:  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20091215/thl-life-us-marriage-b2e59e8.html

Managing Conflict When Personalities Clash

Conflict of some form or fashion is an inevitable occurrence in a relationship. A team of Brigham Young University researchers have studied how couples can manage conflict when their personality styles are mismatched.

According to Professors Dean Busby and Thomas Holman different perspectives do not necessarily doom relationship quality.

Information was accumulated from nearly 2,000 couples with the results published in a recent issue of the academic journal Family Process.

“The concern with mismatched couples is that they will have problems that are just never quite resolvable,” Holman said.

“But it’s really about getting to a point where a problem becomes less important to them than the relationship itself.”

The study participants completed a comprehensive relationship inventory called RELATE. The survey covers more than 300 areas known to be predictive of marital quality. Upon completion of the relationship inventory, the couple gets an 11 page report with charts and graphs illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship.

Just as many couples had mismatched conflict styles as had matching approaches (not counting couples considered to have an openly “hostile” dynamic). Depending on the type of mismatch, the data show that certain pairings present bigger red flags for relationship quality than others.

“There are several couples that work through it,” Busby said. “But we know that how couples manage conflict is one of those crucial factors that can lead to divorce.”

So what are the conflict styles and which one fits your personality? And how can you work through a mismatched pairing?

Read More …  http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/12/10/managing-conflict-when-personalities-clash/10111.html

Article Date: 14 Dec 2009 – 1:00 PST

A survey published today by Samaritans and YouGov reports that nearly half the UK population (48 percent) has worried this year about debt and money. In addition, almost a quarter of people (23 percent) describe 2009 as a bad year or their worst year ever.

More than 2,000 people participated in the poll. The public was asked to identify their five biggest worries over the past year. Following money, other top-five sources of anxiety were problems in relationships with family and friends reported by 35 percent of people, physical health concerns by 32 percent, followed by fears over job security by 24% percent and workplace stress by 24 percent.
Other major findings were:

Read More … http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173835.php

 

ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2009) — Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that the brains of individuals with autism are less active when engaged in self-reflective thought. The study published in the journal Brain provides new evidence for the neural correlates of self-awareness and a new window into understanding social difficulties in autism spectrum conditions.

In the new study, Michael Lombardo, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues from the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging to measure brain activity of 66 male volunteers, half of whom have a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition.

Lombardo asked the volunteers to make judgments either about their own thoughts, opinions, preferences, or physical characteristics, or about someone else’s, in this case the Queen. By scanning the volunteers’ brains as they responded to these questions, the researchers were able to visualise differences in brain activity between those with and without autism.

They were particularly interested in part of the brain called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC), known to be active when people think about themselves. “This area is like a self-relevance detector, since it typically responds most to information that is self-relevant,” Lombardo says.

Lombardo found this area of the brain was indeed more active when typical volunteers were asked questions about themselves compared to when they were thinking about the Queen. However, in autism this brain region responded equally, irrespective of whether they were thinking about themselves or the Queen.

According to Lombardo: “This new study shows that within the autistic brain, regions that typically prefer self-relevant information make no distinction between thinking about the self or another person. This is strong evidence that in the autistic brain, processing information about the self is atypical.”

Autism has long been considered a condition of extreme egocentrism. The word ‘autism’ comes from the Greek word ‘autos’, meaning ‘self’. However, recent research shows that individuals with autism are also impaired in thinking about themselves. Lombardo’s study helps explain this paradox: “On the surface these two observations seem like opposites, but they may converge on a common neurobiological explanation that the autistic brain responds less to information that is self-relevant,” Lombardo says.

The new evidence about the autistic brain will help researchers better understand the social difficulties of individuals with autism.

Lombardo added: “Navigating social interactions with others requires keeping track of the relationship between oneself and others. In some social situations it is important to notice that ‘I am similar to you’, while in other situations it might be important to notice that ‘I am different to you’. The atypical way the autistic brain treats self-relevant information as equivalent to information about others could derail a child’s social development, particularly in understanding how they relate to the social world around them.”

Journal Reference:

1. Michael V. Lombardo, Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Edward T. Bullmore, Susan A. Sadek, Greg Pasco, Sally J. Wheelwright, John Suckling, MRC AIMS Consortium, Simon Baron-Cohen. Atypical neural self-representation in autism. Brain, 2009; DOI: 10.1093/brain/AWP306

Source:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091213214104.htm

NTNU
(Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

If you paint, dance or play a musical instrument — or just enjoy going to the theatre or to concerts — it’s likely that you feel healthier and are less depressed than people who don’t, a survey of nearly 50,000 individuals from all socio-economic backgrounds from a Norwegian county shows.

The findings are drawn from the latest round of studies conducted for the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Nord-Trøndelag Health Study, or HUNT, which used questionnaires, interviews, clinical examinations and the collection of blood and urine samples to assemble detailed health profiles of 48,289 participants.

“There is a positive relationship between cultural participation and self-perceived health for both women and men,” says Professor Jostein Holmen, a HUNT researcher who presented the findings, which have not yet been published, at a Norwegian health conference in Stjørdal recently. “For men, there is also a positive relationship between cultural participation and depression, in that there is less depression among men who participate in cultural activities, although this is not true for women.“

But what surprised the medical researcher was that these findings held true no matter the individual’s socio-economic status — whether truck driver or bank president, participating in some way in the arts, theatre or music, as player or participant, had a positive effect on that individual’s sense of health and well-being.

That’s good news for Steinar Larsen, managing director of the Trondheim Soloists, a renowned string orchestra that plays in both Norway and abroad. “To contribute to and to be involved with a positive cultural experience is extremely energizing,” Larsen says. “That it has now been documented more than ever before that the experience has such a positive effect on health ought to contribute to a greater focus on cultural experiences. We in the Trondheim Soloists always try to ensure that each concert provides a positive overall experience for people, and we work with the belief that what we are doing has a positive and healthy effect.“

The new findings were controlled for socioeconomic status, chronic illness, social capital, smoking and alcohol. However, Holmen also reported that the same sense of well-being in people who participate in cultural activities that seemed to protect them from depression did not appear to have the same beneficial effect on anxiety.

Holmen cautioned that the association between health and cultural activities is not strong enough to enable him to say that culture actually makes people healthy. Nevertheless, the researcher says the findings ought to challenge politicians to think differently about health. Steinar Krokstad, HUNT’s director and an associate professor at NTNU, agreed.

“We in the health services do not always have control over the most effective preventive tools given the range of today’s illnesses. We need to increasingly focus on opportunities rather than on risk,” Krokstad said.

 

Source…

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bill Shorten MP