Autism and Gordon Campbell's Vile IQ Flip Flop

"We now live in a province that lavishes millions of dollars on bobsledders and junkies, but nickels-and-dimes those with autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, the mentally challenged . . . and the families who worry about protecting them."

Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun

Pete McMartin is the Vancouver Sun columnist who produced, with Sun photographer Glenn Baglo, a series of articles called Faces Of Autism one of the most accurate and comprehensive presentations of autism in the main stream media. In It was wrong months ago -- and it is still wrong today McMartin rips British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and Children's Minister Tom Christensen for reversing their stated positions on the use of an IQ of 70 as a measure in assessing elgibility of developmentally disabled persons for receipt of government services.

This week, Premier Gordon Campbell and Children's Minister Tom Christensen signed an order making an IQ of 70 or under one of the criteria for receiving services. They did so to do an end-run around a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that the province could not deny services to the developmentally disabled on the grounds of IQ. The reversal arises from legal advice following an appeal court decision and is described as "temporary".

McMartin crticizes the arbitrary reliance on IQ as opposed to more realistic assessments of ability to function in society ... or face real life challenges ..... and uses the examples of two autistic persons whose parents he worked with in researching Faces of Autism, one just below the 70 IQ cut off, will be eligible for services, and one well over that number who will not. The mother of the autistic son with the higher IQ points out that her son has serious problems with socialization and problem solving, alone he might have no idea what to do if a fire breaks out in his home. He needs life long support to be able to cope.

But being "smarter" means Schuman's son needs fewer services and is better prepared to face the world as an adult, right?

Wrong. Autism is uneven in its effects. A child with autism might be able to, say, recite long passages of poetry from memory, but the same child may not be able to tie his shoes.

Pete McMartin called the Campbell government decision vile. I fully agree.

autism

New Study Confirms EIBI Results in IQ Gains for Autistic Children

Yet another study has demonstrated the effectiveness of intensive early behavioural internvetion as both an educational AND a healh care intervention for autistic children, with signficant IQ gains for young autistic children who received intensive behavioural intervention. This study will make no difference to the mindsets of the anti-ABA crowd which is as vehement in their opposition to ABA as the mercury-vaccine causes autism crowd are in their opposition to "Big Pharma". For parents of newly diagnosed autistic children though it will be important information for them to be aware of as they decide how to respond to their children's autism.

Date: May 6, 2007

Science Daily — Intensive intervention given to toddlers with autism as young as three years old can significantly raise IQ levels, potentially allowing them to benefit from mainstream education, new research has revealed.

Researchers at the University of Southampton, led by Professor Bob Remington of the School of Psychology and Professor Richard Hastings (now at Bangor University), undertook a study into the impact of two years of Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI).

The results of the Southampton Childhood Autism programme (SCAmP) show that a group of children who received two years of intensive tutoring - or early intervention - had higher IQs, more advanced language and better daily living skills than similar children receiving standard educational provision.

IQ increased for two thirds of the children receiving the early intervention and 'very substantially' for more than a quarter of them. For example one child moved from an IQ of 30 up to 70; another from an IQ of 72 to 115. Most of the population of the UK has an IQ of between 85 and 115.

In what was a 'tough test' into whether EIBI could prove beneficial, specially trained staff and parents taught children with autism a wide range of skills in their own homes for 25 hours a week. Teaching was individualised to take full advantage of each child's abilities and focus on areas of need; each lesson was carefully broken down into easy steps and children received constant praise and other rewards for their successes.

'This form of teaching can, in many cases, lead to major change and enhance the life chances of children with autism,' said Professor Remington. 'In practice, the positive changes we see in IQ, language and daily living skills can make a real difference to the future lives of children with autism.

'But those embarking on EIBI should prepare for some hard work. Twenty five hours of home therapy a week is a big commitment for children and parents alike. Before the research began we wondered if such intensive work would increase the emotional and psychological demands of childrearing, as teaching basic skills needs a lot of dedication and patience and family organisation has to adapt to the ever-present home tutors.

'In fact most parents took this in their stride. The reasons are clear. It's harder to be helpless than it is to get involved in teaching, and in most cases our parents saw rapid improvements in their children's skills and behaviour.'

An estimated 535,000 people in the UK are living with a condition on the autism spectrum.

The SCAmP team is embarking on a follow-up study with those children who took part in the research to establish how long-lasting the effects of the treatment are and how benefits can be extended.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University Of Southampton.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070506163608.htm