tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330524042008-08-30T07:30:10.977-03:00Autism News and OpinionAutism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comBlogger945125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-45233338808533943442008-08-29T21:07:00.024-03:002008-08-30T07:30:10.990-03:002008-08-30T07:30:10.990-03:00

New Brunswick has made great progress in helping autistic preschoolers and students. In both age groups children receive ABA instruction by autism support workers (preschool) and teacher assistants in the schools. Premier Graham has partially completed a pledge to the Autism Society New Brunswick by training two of four classes of teacher assistants at the UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training

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In Ontario parents continue battle for accessible autism therapies the Globe & Mail reports on documents submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada by families involved in a class action lawsuit who are arguing for access to ABA and IBI therapies for their children in public-school classrooms. In comparing the situation in Ontario to British Columbia and New Brunswick schools the Globe & Mail

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Alleged federal Health Minister Tony Clement is not known for facing tough issues head on. Although he is the federal Health Minister he refuses to use the federal spending power to send dollars to the provinces to ensure that ALL autistic children receive effective evidence based treatment for their autism disorders regardless of where their parents live. Mr Clement hides behind provincial

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Brian Storseth MP Westlock-St. Paul 4401 50th Street St. Paul, Alberta Telephone: (780) 614-6440 Fax: (780) 645-6817Storseth.B@parl.gc.ca Dear Mr Storseth: Re: Your Flyer I was surprised to receive from you, an Alberta MP, a House of Commons mail out. As a resident of Fredericton, New Brunswick, I am used to receiving such flyers from our MP Andy Scott. "Andy" as he is known

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-51786545061515570212008-08-26T07:25:00.017-03:002008-08-26T08:01:00.147-03:002008-08-26T08:01:00.147-03:00

Do You Have High-Functioning Autism, Asperger’s Disorder, or PDD-NOS? Are you between the ages of 21-75? Are your cognitive abilities within the low average to above average range? Would you be interested in learning more about yourself and how you feel about relationships and sexuality? If you answered yes to the above questions, you are eligible to participate in a research study being

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A New Brunswick acquaintance of mine, BJ McKelvie, is a fervent promoter of the work of Dr. W John Martin. BJ devotes all, or some, of the profits generated by the Autism song "I'm In Here" to fund an "investigational study", described on the ACE Pathway Investigational Study site as: A double blind research study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of methods aimed at activating an

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Outstanding UK guitarist Jon Sterry is supporting the UK Autism Foundation which aims to create an autism center in London. Ivan Corea of UK Autism Awareness forwarded this Youtube video of Sterry playing guitar.

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At a stop in Big River Saskatchewan alleged federal Health Minister Tony Clement took questions on federal health care initiatives including some from Carolyn Forsey the mother of an autistic child. Ms Forsey had previously written to Health Minister Clement urging the federal government to create a strategy for autism. Minister Clement responded, as reported on Meadow Lake Progress:

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In Helping kids with autism shouldn't be a lottery Bobbi-Lynn Hall reports on Nova Scotia's lottery system, a system which is clearly and obviously morally bankrupt. I do not make that characterization lightly. I was born in Waterville, Kings County, Nova Scotia, bordered by Annapolis, Lunenberg and Hants County. My parents, a brother and three sister and their familes, my aunts, uncles,

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Ontario NDP health critic France Gelinas has blasted Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government, in an article in the Sudbury Star, for its shameful, on-again, off-again commitment to providing treatment to autistic children, leaving many of them languishing on waiting lists where some never actually graduate to receive treatment. Ms Gelinas accuses the McGuinty government of closing the door on

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Canada has an autism secret. It's too bad really because this is a not a dark, horrible secret. It is a good news secret. The secret is New Brunswick's autism service delivery model for children. Nova Scotia and Ontario have made negative autism news recently because of long treatment waiting lists in Ontario and a lottery system in Nova Scotia that is forcing some families to move

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-88995445549860291072008-08-21T07:08:00.018-03:002008-08-23T06:07:38.082-03:002008-08-23T06:07:38.082-03:00

In Why does Minnesota have the nation's highest autism rate? City Pages looks at a study published in 2007 by Daniel Hollenbeck, the director of information technology at Thoughtful House, an autism research center in Austin, Texas who estimated that "one in every 81 births in Minnesota is a child who will be diagnosed with autism—about twice the national average." The article points out that a

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The word autism has almost become a synonym for controversy. Parents are routinely mocked and demonized for seeking to cure or treat their own children. ABA, well documented as an effective intervention for autism by decades of study and numerous credible professional reviews is labeled as "unproven" by anti-ABA advocates. Terms such as low functioning/high functioning used in the professional

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-58933064765748772552008-08-17T07:29:00.023-03:002008-08-17T11:18:20.634-03:002008-08-17T11:18:20.634-03:00

I am the father of a 12 year old boy diagnosed with Autistic Disorder and assessed with Profound Developmental Delays. I was invited to attend a showing of Tropic Thunder and yesterday I did so, albeit with serious misgivings. Having seen the movie I believe that Tropic Thunder actually helps those with intellectual disabilities, and others, by focusing our attention on how the motion picture

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Dianne Dempsey of The Age has reviewed Dear Gabriel: Letter to An Autistic Son a book by Norwegian Publisher Halfdan W Freihow which is sure to receive angry reviews from members of the Neurodiversity club. The book is written as a letter to Freihow's autistic son and it breaks two of Neurodiversity's most sacrosanct taboos. In the first instance, Freihow as the father of an autistic son

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-53338609561084191202008-08-11T18:47:00.011-03:002008-08-11T18:59:56.501-03:002008-08-11T18:59:56.501-03:00

Conor and Dad love to spend time at the Saint John River which is very close to our home. Nothing too strenuous tonight. Conor relaxes and then does what many kids like to do, autism or no autism, throw rocks into the water. On the way home, an interesting sight, a tree stump within another tree that has grown around it. autism

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-40373555335801514002008-08-11T16:36:00.019-03:002008-08-19T21:41:58.698-03:002008-08-19T21:41:58.698-03:00

Takao Hensch, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University and professor of neurology at Children's Hospital Boston is the senior investigator of a team of scientists who have identified a protein, Otx2, which is necessary for learning. Otx2 works with other cells called parvalbumin to permit the brain to learn during important development windows. The Ivanhoe

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Nova Scotia has been in the news recently as a result of losing two valuable medical professionals, a husband and wife, who are moving from Nova Scotia to Manitoba so their autistic child can benefit from the autism treatment services at St. Amant. Ontario has also seen a number of news articles - Canada.com, Toronto Sun, Hamilton Spectator, and Welland Tribune featuring the plight of Ontario's

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When Conor was first diagnosed with an autism disorder 10 years ago there were many purported autism treatments floating around as there still are today. Then, as now, only ABA was regarded as evidence based in terms of the quality and quantity of research supporting its effectiveness. For that reason I have been a strong supporter of government funding for ABA intervention for autistic

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A 26 year old severely autistic man was left in a hot van for 90 minutes while a day camp supervisor ordered fries in a bowling alley restaurant in Collier County, Florida. The supervisor's excuse? "She says she never received training from the county relating to her position working with special needs campers." At least one person is reported to have reminded the "supervisor" that there was

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Conservative MP Patrick Brown, Barrie, Ontario, joined Jonathan Howard when the Run the Dream campaign arrived in the Barrie area this week. Mr. Brown ran a ways with him and got a good photo op out of it. Like other Harper Conservative MP's though, when Mr. Brown could have done something to actually help autistic children in Canada he turned his back on them. When Shawn Murphy's private

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The Independent paints a grim picture of autism reality in Ireland in Autism 'chaos' as one-third wait over year for diagnosis and in an editorial Grim message on autism . Figures released by Irish health authorities show that in one county there are no waiting lists while in others there are 14 months to 3 year delays in receiving diagnosis. For many Irish autistic children the early period

Autism Reality NBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838571980003579163AutismRealityNB@gmail.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33052404.post-56338150664102188722008-08-03T14:42:00.011-03:002008-08-03T15:33:43.417-03:002008-08-03T15:33:43.417-03:00

It is fashionable these days to talk about autism disorders as though they are joyful, beautiful blessings bestowed upon our children. Some internet bloggers prattle about the joy of autism. They also try to suppress any negative description of autism whether it was the "Ransom Notes" campaign of NYU Child Study Center's Dr. Harold Koplewicz or the courageous parents who participated in the

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To all Canadians, if you have not already done so, I urge you to visit and sign the Autism Spectrum Disorders Online petition at: http://www.petitiononline.com/andap1/ You will need a Canadian address, including postal code, in order to sign the petition. The petition states: "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" To: Canadian Parliament (House of Commons) PETITION: TO THE HOUSE OF

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Those who wonder why the puzzle piece is the symbol for autism should consider Conor's recent visits with his Grammy and Grampy. He always loved to visit and would run right away into the living room to scan their video collection to make sure all his favorites were there, in their proper locations. On the past two visits to their home in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley though Conor has wanted

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