Newsletter - Reaching Potentials



Issue 26 August 2001

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Generalization

As implementers of ABA with children who have autism, we are responsible for ensuring the generalization of skills we have taught. In the same way we use our science carefully to help children with Autism acquire important skills, we must strive as carefully to use the science to help in the generalization of them. But just what is “generalization”? Stokes and Baer (1977) define generalization as: “The occurrence of relevant behavior under different non-training conditions across trainers, people, settings, materials, behavior and time”.

One kind of generalization is Stimulus Generalization. This occurs when a behavior becomes more likely in the presence of one situation as a result of having been reinforced in the presence of another situation. For example, a child learns that several pictures of four-legged animals are “dogs”. Then without any further teaching the child is able to correctly identify any representation of a “dog”. Another example would be that a child learns to “clap hands” as a one step command and then claps hands during the song “If You’re Happy and You Know it…” Hints to help achieve this type of generalization include:

• Use a variety of trainers

• Use a variety of materials

• Teach in various situations and in the target situation

• Teach at a variety of time periods

• Introduce contingencies that are used in the natural environment

Another kind of generalization is Response Generalization. This occurs when a behavior becomes more likely in the presence of a stimulus or situation as a result of a similar type behavior having strengthened in the presence of that situation. Examples of Response Generalization include:

• Frequency – how many times is the behavior performed

• Duration – how long can the behavior be performed

• Intensity – how strong is the behavior exhibited

• Latency – how long does it take for the behavior to start after it is signaled

These can all be addressed as a part of generalizing a child’s responses.

Some other guidelines for generalization are:

• Choose useful and meaningful behaviors to teach

• Vary the training conditions

• Establish the target behavior in as many situations as possible

• Reduce the frequency of reinforcement until it resembles reinforcement in the natural environment

• Make sure the natural environment has sufficient reinforcement for maintaining the behavior

• Use incidental teaching methods as part of your ABA program

• Utilize written plans for generalization and take data

• Plan your desired generalization outcome before you begin teaching any given skill

• Teach sufficient examples of targets

Parents can provide many opportunities for generalization because they are with the child 24 hours a day. Even if you feel uncomfortable at “the table” with your child, remember that a child’s most important classroom is the world around him or her! Work with your Behavior Analyst or consultant to make sure that Generalization becomes an organized and well implemented part of your home program!

BEGINNING DISCRETE TRIAL TRAINING SERIES (Florida):

August Track:

August 17 Overview of Behavioral Programming $25.00 6:30 p - 9:30 p

August 18 & 19 Beginning Discrete Trial Training $150.00 9:00 a - 4:00 p

(Two Day Workshop)

(Required Textbook: A Work in Progress by Ron Leaf & John McEachin)

October Track:

October 5 Overview of Behavioral Programming $25.00 6:30 p - 9:30 p

October 6 & 7 Beginning Discrete Trial Training $150.00 9:00 a - 4:00 p

(Two Day Workshop)

(Required Textbook: A Work in Progress by Ron Leaf & John McEachin)

November Track:

November 2 Overview of Behavioral Programming $25.00 6:30 p - 9:30 p

November 3 & 4 Beginning Discrete Trial Training $150.00 9:00 a - 4:00 p

(Two Day Workshop)

(Required Textbook: A Work in Progress by Ron Leaf & John McEachin)

(All classes above are to be held at our DELRAY OFFICE – Advance Registration Required)

(Call Reaching Potentials @ 561-274-3900 or 954-321-7393 one week prior to class date to confirm time and location)

Beginning Discrete Trial Training Workshop carries required prerequisite of Overview of Behavioral Programming class

INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED TRAINING (Florida): (Presenter: Jean Hays Bachrach, MA, CCC/SLP, BCBA)

August 18 Shadowing in the Classroom $45.00 9:00am – 1:00pm

NOTE: This will be held at an outside location – call for space availability and to confirm location/directions.

BEGINNING DISCRETE TRIAL TRAINING SERIES (Virginia):

August Track:

August 25 & 26 Beginning Discrete Trial Training $150.00 9:00 a - 4:00 p

(Two Day Workshop)

(Required Textbook: A Work in Progress by Ron Leaf & John McEachin)

This workshop will be held at the Holiday Inn Select, Fredericksburg, VA. Advance registrations required; please mail to Reaching Potentials, Inc., PO Box 1004, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. One additional workshop is anticipated for the fall schedule but specific date is not yet established. For additional information, please call 540-972-5481 or fax 540-972-1370.

JOIN THE STAFF AT

REACHING POTENTIALS

Reaching Potentials Is Currently Seeking Applicants Interested In Working With Individuals With Autism And Related Disorders In Implementation Of Applied Behavior Analysis Programming. Candidates Must Be Available To Travel And Must Have Their Own Reliable Transportation.

Part-Time And Full-Time Positions Available.

We Offer Training, A Competitive Compensation Package Including Benefits, Ongoing Professional Development, And The Opportunity To Become Part Of A Highly Respected Team of Professionals.

Interested candidates should forward a current resume/vita, together with salary history to: Pamela Gorski, Executive Director, Reaching Potentials, Inc. 2875 S. Congress Avenue, Suite H, Delray Beach, FL 33445. (Confidential submission may be sent via facsimile to 561-274-3932 or

e-mail to RPforAutism@.)

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Research Abstracts – continued from page 15

     

The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Education should promote routine early screenings of children for autistic spectrum disorders, much like they are promoted for vision and hearing problems, says a new report from the National Research Council of the National Academies. Early diagnosis is important because prompt educational intervention is the key to greater progress in children's mastery of fundamental communication, social, and cognitive skills.

"As soon as children are recognized as having any autistic spectrum disorder, they should receive intensive intervention," said Catherine Lord, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and professor of psychiatry, University of Chicago. "These efforts should be systematically planned, tailored to the needs and strengths of individual children and their families, and regularly evaluated."

Experienced professionals can reliably diagnose 2-year-olds with autism, which is best characterized as a spectrum of complex developmental disorders that result in problems communicating or interacting with others. The disorders vary, however, with respect to when symptoms begin to appear in children, the severity of symptoms, and the presence of other disabilities, such as mental retardation or severe language impairment. The committee did not examine the causes of autism, but pointed out that the reported incidence has increased considerably over the past 20 years. Nationally, autistic spectrum disorders may affect as many as one in 500 people, making the conditions more common than childhood cancer or Down syndrome.

Education at school, home, and in community settings is the primary treatment for autistic spectrum disorders, which include autism; "pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified"; Asperger's disorder; and childhood disintegrative disorder. But what now exists across the country is a mixed bag of intervention measures, the report says. Government coordination is needed at all levels to successfully implement existing policies and generate more useful education strategies for children with such disorders within their first decade of life. Although significant scientific evidence confirms the value of many specific therapeutic techniques and of comprehensive treatment approaches, more rigorous studies also are needed to identify which methods are most valuable for various groups of children. Scientists should explore possible links between particular techniques, child and family characteristics, and the outcomes of treatment.

The report offers a comprehensive assessment of the science base regarding educational interventions for young children with these disorders. At a minimum, services -- which are required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -- should be provided for 25 hours every week year-round, it says. The individual needs of children and their families should factor into decisions about how that time is spent. Moreover, parental involvement should be encouraged and supported. Educators should present parents with useful information as well as opportunities to learn techniques that would help them teach their own children new skills and coping strategies.

Given the incidence of autistic spectrum disorders in young children and the often considerable effort required to help them, policy-makers, educators, and advocates at all levels should come together to ensure that educational services not only meet certain minimum standards, but also result in measurable progress toward meaningful goals, the committee added. As a start, federal agencies involved in autism initiatives should form a joint task force to scientifically evaluate a variety of intervention and treatment approaches. At the state level, authorities should encourage service providers to coordinate their work, as well as monitor their progress. Additionally, school districts and agencies that serve toddlers should designate independent ombudsmen who are knowledgeable about autism and would support families as they went through the process of obtaining special education for their children. Both state and federal policy-makers should develop coordinated and systematic strategies to help local school districts and parents pay for intervention programs, which can be costly.

Parents and educators typically face immense and unique challenges in socializing and instructing children with autistic spectrum disorders. To improve professional-development opportunities for teachers in this field, relevant state and federal agencies should set aside extra funds over the next five years to train those who work with or are accountable to such children and their families, the report says. The proposed funding measures should be part of an overarching effort to coordinate services under the current umbrella of special education.

The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides independent advice on science and technology issues under a congressional charter.

Book Review

Educating Children

with Autism

Catherine Lord and James P. McGee, Editors, Committee on Educational

Inverventions for Children with Autism, National Research Council

300 pages (approximate), 6 x 9, 2001.

[This information provided by the publisher's press release.]



Autism is a word most of us are familiar with. But do we really know

what it means?

Children with autism are challenged by the most essential human behaviors. They have difficulty interacting with other people-often failing to see people as people rather than simply objects in their environment. They cannot easily communicate ideas and feelings, have great trouble

imagining what others think or feel, and in some cases spend their lives

speechless. They frequently find it hard to make friends or even bond with family members. Their behavior can seem bizarre.

Education is the primary form of treatment for this mysterious condition. This means that we place important responsibilities on schools,

teachers and children's parents, as well as the other professionals who work with children with autism. With the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, we accepted responsibility for educating children who face special challenges like autism. While we have since amassed a substantial body of research, researchers have not adequately communicated with one another, and their findings have not been integrated into a proven curriculum.

Educating Children with Autism outlines an interdisciplinary approach to education for children with autism. The committee explores what makes education effective for the child with autism and identifies specific

characteristics of programs that work. Recommendations are offered for choosing educational content and strategies, introducing interaction with other children, and other key areas.

This book examines some fundamental issues, including:

• How children's specific diagnoses should affect educational assessment and planning

• How we can support the families of children with autism

• Features of effective instructional and comprehensive programs and strategies

• How we can better prepare teachers, school staffs, professionals, and parents to educate children with autism

• What policies at the federal, state, and local levels will best ensure appropriate education, examining strategies and resources needed to address the rights of children with autism to appropriate education.

Children with autism present educators with one of their most difficult challenges. Through a comprehensive examination of the scientific knowledge underlying educational practices, programs, and strategies, Educating Children with Autism presents valuable information for parents,

administrators, advocates, researchers, and policy makers

* * *

REACHING POTENTIALS TRAINING CALENDAR

AUGUST – NOVEMBER 2001

Most of the doctors and scientists who spoke at the hearing presented

evidence that showed at least a correlation between vaccines containing

mercury and the incidence of neurological disease

Reaching Potentials, Inc.

2875 S Congress Ave., #H

Delray Beach, FL 33445

Ph: 561-274-3900

Fax: 561-274-3932

Ph: 954-321-7393

Fax: 954-321-1019

P.O. Box 1004

Fredericksburg, VA 22402-1004

Ph: 540-972-5481

Fax: 540-972-1370

E-Mail: RPforAutism@



Board of Directors

L. H. Colvin

Angela Guarneri

Cynthia Kleinfield-Hayes

Danette M. Marks

Professional Advisory Board

Wendy Bellack

(Family Network on Disabilities)

Susan Johnson Conlin, M.Ed.

Edward C. Fenske, MA, Ed.S.

(Princeton Child Development Institute)

Sandra L. Harris, Ph.D.

(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

Robin Parker, SLPD, CCC

(Nova Southeastern University)

Roberto Tuchman, M.D.

(Miami Children's Hospital

Dan Marino Center)

Jack Scott, Ph.D., CBA/e/fl

(Florida Atlantic University)

Staff

Jean Hays Bachrach, MA, CCC/SLP, BCBA

Mapy Chavez Brown, M.Ed, BCABA

Pamela Gorski, BS

Rebekah Houck, BA , BCABA

Barbara Jamison, BA

Shawna Kingsley

Lori Mangeny

Cathy Opel, BA

Christine Passaretti, M.Ed

Cynthia Quenet, MA

Lisa J. Shavelson, BA

Patty Thomas-Shutt, Ph.D.

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Understand and be confident that each of us can make a difference by caring and acting in small as well as big ways.

Marian Wright Edelman

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COMPUTER RESOURCES

WEBSITES

Reaching Potentials Website:



Hyperlexia Parents Group:



General Autism Information:







Advocacy:





Autism & Lovaas Type Programs:



Autism Frequently Asked Questions:



ASA Website:



NICHY Website:



Asperger's Disorder HomePage:



Asperger's Syndrome Resources Page:



TEACCH Homepage:



Autism & Brain Development Research Lab:



National Institute of Health:



National Alliance Autism Research:



CAN (Cure Autism Now) Website:





NIH Grants & Contracts:



Autism Network International:



Autism Network International:



Future Horizons Autism Homepage:



Insurance Appeal:



Association for Behavior Analysis:



The Recovery Zone:



The ME-List: (a parent ABA mail list)

rallen@iupui.edu

(E-mail Ruth Allen & ask to be put on mailing list)

Family Network on Disabilities:



Edlaw, Inc.:



General Resource for Exploring the Web:



Abstracts of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis:



Univ. of So. FL - ABA Website:



NEWSGROUPS:

Dads with Disabled Children:

Listserv@dadvocate@ukcc.edu

(St. Johns) Autism & Developmental Disabilities:

listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu

Shadowing Training

Sat. August 18th 9:00a – 1:00p $50.00

This training is being scheduled for Palm Beach County, FL location. Contact our office for specific details on location and space availability.

Call us at 561-274-3900 or fax 561-274-3932

MISSION STATEMENT

Reaching Potentials is a private, non-profit organization, serving children with autism and their families. We partner with parents and the professional community to provide research-based services, including: Training, Early Intervention Programs, Transition Programs, Outreach and Replication. We believe that EVERY child with autism should have the opportunity to reach their potential.

Reaching Out

Reaching Potentials, Inc.

P.O. Box 970161

Boca Raton, FL 33498

Non-Profit Org

U.S. Postage

PAID

Boca Raton, FL

Permit No. 1634

Inside This Issue

• Early Intervention is the Key to Educating Children with Autism

• Fears Raised Over Preservative in Vaccine

• Reaching Potentials Training Calendar

• Adults with Aspergers

• Upcoming Conferences

Help up promote Autism Awareness!

Smart, but Socially Clueless

Dr. Fred Volkmar, a child psychiatrist and head of Yale University's Child Studies Center, helped put Asperger's Syndrome on the psychiatric map less than 10 years ago. He tried to sum up the nature of the disorder and its impact in a short sentence

"I would say [these are] children with amazingly good verbal skills who socially are essentially totally clueless," Volkmar said. "And every time you try to have a conversation with them the topic inevitably will come back to their area of special interest."

Asa was energetic and seemed sociable as long as he was talking about the characters in his book.

"It really has to look like it's not made of paper," Asa said, describing his drawing of one of the characters in his book. "I want him to be as tall as me in the movie."

But when Johnson tried to ask him about his school, Asa fell silent and released a big sigh.

Therapists are groping for ways to help Asperger's kids. Asa has attended a program run by the New York League for Early Learning for the last two years. Academics are not a problem, but the boys in his program struggle to learn the basic social rules of life, such as how to look at people's faces and how to listen when they talk.

Alone in a Crowd

Even with constant support, Asa has problems in group activities. As a group of kids danced, he stood alone and still.

At Yale, Volkmar and his team of researchers are trying to unscramble the brains of children like Asa.

"When they look at faces the part of the brain they use to look at faces is the part of the brain that the rest of us use to look at objects," Volkmar said.

In the area of the brain used to process faces and emotion, the Asperger's patient's brain shows no activity at all.

At Yale, doctors ran an experiment in which a child with Asperger's looked at an emotional movie scene, as the small camera he wore tracked his eye movements. The child's eyes went exclusively to the speaker's mouth, obviously making it difficult to interpret the meaning of the scene.

As for Asa, two years of daily work have made it possible, for the first time, for an ordinary miracle in his life: he has a friend.

Early Intervention Is Key To Educating Children With Autism

Government Coordination

Needed At All Levels

National Academy of Sciences Press Release

06/19/01

Fears Raised Over Preservative In Vaccines

By: Kimberly Atkins, Boston Globe.

raised over preservative

Clinical Director’s Corner

By: Jean Hays Bachrach, MA, CCC-SLP, CBA/e/fl

Upcoming Events / Conferences

PECS 2-Day Training Workshop

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

August 9-10, 2001

For more information, go to or e-mail sfleming@mail.doe.state.la.us

Auditory Integration Training

Ten-day Training session for individuals with auditory processing challenges, hypersensitivity to sound, Autism, PDD, Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities, Behavior Challenges, and Language deficits.

August 10-19, 2001

Richmond, VA

For more information, go to CCICUTO@

Autism Leadership Conference and Policy Summit

Washington, DC

August 11-12, 2001

For more information, call 304.947.5639 or go to asperger.gor

Dr. Ross. Greene; Dr. Brenda Myles ;Diane Adreon ; Dr. Peter Gerhardt; Dr. Julia Robertson ; Jack Southwick ; Dr. Julie Donnelly

High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome: Practical Strategies for the Classroom

Princeton, New Jersey

August 15, 2001

August 29, 2001

For more information call 609.987.0099 or email info@

Practical Strategies for Autism and PDD

Plano, Texas

August 27, 2001

For more information, call 972.233.5089 or email rsvp@

AUTISM RESEARCH - THE CUTTING EDGE 2001

September 8, 2001

Ft. Lauderdale Florida

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet

For more information, call 954-506-5654

WWW. or e-mail Autism@

Florida Association for Behavior Analysis

2001 Annual Conference

September 19-21, 2001

Daytona Beach, FL

Families for Change – March on Washington

Washington, DC

September 14, 2001

For more information, call 716.522.9185 or go to

Vaccines – The Risks, The Benefits, The Choices

Baltimore, Maryland

October 6-7, 2001

For more information, call 440.268.0897 or 440.572.1136

The First Annual Gray Center Conference

Grand Rapids, Michigan

October 16-17, 2001

With Carol Gray, Dr. Tony Attwood, Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Diane Twachtman-Cullen, Linda Hodgdon, and Dr. Liane Holliday Willey.

For more information, go to or e-mail asw@

Enhancing Communicative and Socioemotional Competence with Barry Prizant

Virginia Beach, Virginia

November 29-30, 2001

For more information, call 301.656.2190 or go to

Special Education Law Conference

Alexandria, VA

December 1, 2001

Is your child getting what they are entitled to under the ’99 IDEA regulations, ’99 IDEA appendix A, ’97 IDEA Amendments, Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act & the Family Educational Rights of Privacy Act?

For more information, go to alexandria.html or e-mail connie@

Against that backdrop, the US Public Health Service has recommended

that the use of thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated from vaccines as

soon as possible to minimize the exposure of infants and young children to

mercury, said Dr. Bernard Schwetz, the agency's acting principal deputy

commissioner.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and the National

Institutes of Health have formed a scientific committee to study the health

effects of thimerosal more closely and recommend what more should be done to

limit exposure.

Parents research the best car seat to put their children in, said

Redwood, president of the Coalition for Sensible Action for Ending

Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders. I want parents to know that they

have to research vaccines, too.

Over the past year, the FDA has approved several thimerosal-free forms of

childhood vaccines, including a hepatitis B vaccine. In March, for example,

the FDA approved a low-thimerosal version of Tripedia, a vaccine against

diphtheria, tetanus toxoids, and acellular pertussis.

Now, all routinely recommended pediatric vaccines will be available

as either completely thimerosal-free or without any significant amounts of

thimerosal, Schwetz said at the time.

But many other products contain the preservative - including

children's nasal drops, ear drops, and flu vaccines, said Dr. Jane M.

El-Dahr, head of the Pediatric Allergy, Immunity, and Rheumatology Section

at Tulane University Health Science Center, who was a speaker at yesterday's

hearing. These products are sitting on the shelves in drugstores, El-Dahr

said.

Sallie Bernard, executive director of Safe Minds, said that although

the FDA moved in the right direction by phasing out thimerosal in children's

vaccines, parents still need to beware, because it will take up to a year

for current stocks of vaccines with mercury to be used up.

She also said that a strong statement from the committee can have

far-reaching application. It's still in tetanus shots, she said of

thimerosal. It's still in many vaccines given to the elderly, to children,

groups that are at greatest risk of developing neurological problems.

Most of the doctors and scientists who spoke at the hearing presented

evidence that showed at least a correlation between vaccines containing

mercury and the incidence of neurological disease. But since the sample of

autistic children in most of the studies was so small, and because of a

general lack of data, most specialists recommended more tests to

conclusively determine a scientific link.

© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.

Editors Note: For additional information on this hearing, vaccine controversy and the causal relationship between autism and cumulative infant vaccinations, see article “Headline Draws Questionable Conclusion”. The headline reads, "Study Shows No Link Between Vaccine And Autism.". Some believe that the study quoted does not definitively reach this conclusion. Available at: . Additional information regarding the controversy and childhood vaccines is contained in a recent Consumer Report article which is available at:

DER%3C%3Efolder_id=21135&bmUID=994796022437

Lyn Redwood, a registered nurse, thought she was doing the right thing

when she took her healthy son, Will, to get vaccinated for measles and other childhood diseases. But soon afterward, she saw a change in her 1-year-old.

He lost speech, the Atlanta resident said of her son, now 7. He

lost the ability to make eye contact.

It was only after her son was diagnosed with a form of autism that she found a Food and Drug Administration study warning that a preservative used in some vaccines may have exposed children to levels of mercury higher than recommended under federal guidelines. A check of her son's vaccine records confirmed her fears: The vaccines contained the toxic ingredient, called thimerosal.

My son had 125 times the allowable exposure in one day, she said,

referring to the maximum daily dosage for mercury exposure recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Redwood was one of more than a dozen parents of autistic children from around the country who yesterday urged a committee from the Institute of Medicine to oppose the use of any mercury compound as a preservative in vaccines. The panel, a branch of the National Academy of Science, gathered at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge to hear scientific testimony on the link between mercury in vaccines and neurological problems in children.

Dangerous side effects from children's vaccines have long been a

sensitive subject for public health officials - and a parent's nightmare.

While vaccinations are responsible for the virtual elimination of such

crippling diseases as polio, in rare cases vaccinations themselves can cause severe, even life-threatening reactions.

The form of mercury in vaccines and other medical products, thimerosal, has been used as a preservative since the 1930s. Though mercury has long been known to be a neurotoxin, vaccine makers and federal officials alike argued that it was harmless in the small doses found in vaccines.

However, mercury in vaccines has been an issue of growing debate in recent years as anecdotal evidence increasingly shows that some children develop autism after receiving vaccinations for mumps, measles, and rubella as well as hepatitis B. Though its causes are not well understood, the effects of autism are quite clear: Sufferers have great difficulty in social interactions and some can't even speak.

As a result, children's vaccines became part of the broader controversy over mercury pollution in the environment. Because mercury is so toxic, governments have pledged to virtually eliminate mercury emissions from power plants and other sources, and states have warned children and young women to limit consumption of freshwater fish because of their mercury content.

Inside This Issue

Children with autism present educators with one of their most difficult challenges. Through a comprehensive examination of the scientific knowledge underlying educational practices, programs and strategies, Educating Children with Autism presents valuable information for parents, administrators, advocates, researchers and policy makers.

Reaching Potentials is proud to announce the expansion of our Outreach Services Program into Central Florida and the State of Virginia. If you reside in this area and are interested in ongoing support for your early intervention ABA program, please contact our office for additional information.

561.274.3900

Continued, page 4

The Autism Awareness Ribbon

The puzzle pattern of this ribbon reflects the mystery and complexity of autism. The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of people and families living with this disorder. The brightness of this ribbon signals hope – hope through research and increasing awareness in people like you.

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To make your own ribbons, all you need is the ribbon, scissors, glue or better yet a glue-gun and the pin fastener. If you really want to get creative you can glue a puzzle piece to the center of the ribbon. Jo-Ann Fabrics, a national chain, carries the ribbon. It is fairly easy to make them yourself.

Cut a 6” piece of ribbon, fold it in half length-wise, glue it. Shape it in the ribbon, glue some more. Glue the pin fastener to the other side and you are in business. Presently there isn’t anyone that actually manufactures the (completed) ribbons.

The puzzle ribbon is manufactured by Offray and is sold through Jo-Ann Fabrics. The Sku or stock number that Jo-Ann’s uses is 2877470. The name the manufacturer has on it is JIGSAW 5 and the number is 13 1271. It comes in 10 yard bulk and it is 7/8” or 23mm wide.

C.M. Offray & Son, Inc. Chester, NJ 07930-0601

Something which we think is impossible now will not be impossible in another decade.

Constance Baker Motley – First Black American Woman Federal Judge

MERCURY

FREE

VACCINE UPDATE

In a recent newsletter, Birth Defect Research for Children reported on possible health problems due to childhood vaccinations containing mercury.

The National Vaccination Information Center reports that every mandated childhood vaccine is now available in single dose, mercury-free form. The easiest way to make sure your doctor is giving your child a mercury-free

vaccination is to check to see if the vaccination comes from a single dose vial. Thimerosal is added to multiple dose vials as a preservative but

single dose vials are preservative-free.

National Vaccine Information Center

AASA Statement Regarding Special Education in ESEA

U.S. Newswire

July 19, 2000

ARLINGTON, Va., July 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a

statement by Dr. Paul Houston, executive director of the American

Association of School Administrators, regarding full funding for

special education in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act:

As Congress contemplates federal accountability standards for education, the nation's school districts continue to grapple with the rising cost of special education. There have been two landmark education bills in the last 35 years: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 and the Education for all Handicapped Children Act in 1975. Congress can designate 2001 as another landmark year in education reform by including full funding for special education in the ESEA reauthorization. Congress cannot add an additional layer of accountability on local schools while it shirks its responsibility to defray the cost of special education.

Since 1975 Congress has danced around its promise to fund the federal government's share of special education costs. In the coming year local school districts will receive $11 billion less in special education funding than they were promised. Lack of adequate federal support for special education denies all children an optimal education as districts divert local funds from building maintenance and construction, reducing class sizes and professional development. Rural, suburban and urban superintendents have been forced to implement one of the nation's largest unfunded mandates while Congress refuses to pay its full share.

The Bush administration calls the Harkin-Hagel proposal to fully fund special education "costly and unwarranted." Yet during his presidential campaign, then-Governor Bush said he "fought for full funding of the special education program" and agreed that special education is "one of the largest unfunded mandates." The president must now urge House and Senate conferees to include mandatory full funding in the final ESEA bill.

 

Research Abstracts …….. continued from page 16

Acquire Knowledge.

It enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven, it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, or compassion when friendless; it guides us to happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is an ornament amongst friends, and an armor against enemies.

Prophet Muhammad, Hadith

We welcome your submissions of items of interest for inclusion in our newsletter. Please mail to:

Reaching Potentials, 2875 S. Congress Avenue, Suite H, Delray Beach, FL 33445

Or you may send via facsimile to

561-274-3932 or

954-321-1019 or

e-mail to RPforAutism@

Co-editors:

Pamela Gorski

Lisa J. Shavelson

Our apologies for not including Spanish articles in this issue……please watch for our next issue.

NOTE

Any resources listed in this newsletter or distributed through monthly meetings or training workshops are given on an information only basis. Publication of any treatments, opinions, publications, products or services by individuals or organizations does not indicate an endorsement by Reaching Potentials, Inc.

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RESEARCH ABSTRACTS

If you would like to place an advertisement in our newsletter, please submit your request IN WRITING to:

Pamela Gorski

Reaching Potentials, Inc.

2875 S. Congress Avenue, Suite H

Delray Beach, FL 33445

Fax: 561-274-3932

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Poker-Faced Kids

Sufferers Have Trouble Reading Emotions

ABC NEWS

July 12, 2001

Asa Varrette does not look disabled, but the 7-year-old is profoundly different from other children.

He writes stories — and that's about it. The young boy does not want to watch TV, eat food or play with toys, and he expresses no emotion or enthusiasm, unless it is connected to his stories.

"I'm going to add to the words as much as I add to the pictures," he said, while working on one story. He will often stay up late into the night writing, and completes about one book a day.

Asa is not alone in his fixation. Another boy who was diagnosed with Asperger's focuses strictly on appliances, and another who concentrates on trains 24 hours a day. And yet another child obsesses over game shows.

These children have what is called Asperger's Syndrome.

It was named for pediatrician Hans Asperger, who in 1944, observed a small group of boys who displayed unusual behaviors, both linguistically and socially. But his doctoral thesis is on the subject went largely ignored until the early 1980s.

It was first included in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual, a bible for mental-health professionals, in 1994.

An estimated one in several thousand children suffer from it, to varying degrees.

Can Only Process Abstract

Asperger's Syndrome is a brain disorder in which sufferers are able to process only abstract objects, not people or emotion. Asa is now consumed with the idea of making his stories into animated movies.

As a baby, Asa seemed intellectually gifted. At only 8 months old, he could recognize letters of the alphabet. And his father, Philip Jimenez-Snyder, remembers that at age 1, Asa was unusually interested in street signs.

"He would stop and I would have to stand there — sometimes for 20 minutes, while he pointed to each letter and you know, name each letter," Snyder said.

"We thought he was just really bright, until the whole playground [age] started when you first bring your child and they are old enough to start interacting and they just don't," said Lise Varrette, the boy's mother.

Motion and Emotion: Face Processing By Young Autistic Children

Motion and emotion: a novel approach to the study of face processing by young autistic children.



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1: J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Feb;31(1):37-45

Gepner B, Deruelle C, Grynfeltt S.

Child Psychiatry Department, Montperrin Hospital, Aix en Provence, France.

Gepner@club-internet.fr

The specificity of facial processing impairment in autistic children, particularly in the domain of emotion, is still debated. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of motion on facial xpression recognition in young autistic children. Thirteen autistic children (M age: 69.38 months)

were matched for gender and developmental level with a control group of 13 normal children (M age: 40.53 months). They were compared on their ability

to match videotaped "still," "dynamic," and "strobe" emotional and nonemotional facial expressions with photographs.

Results indicate that children with autism do not perform significantly worse than their controls in any of our experimental conditions. Compared to previous studies showing lower performance in

autistic than in control children when presented with static faces, our data suggest that slow dynamic presentations facilitate facial expression

recognition by autistic children.

This result could be of interest to parents and specialists involved

in education and reeducation of these children.

PMID: 11439752 [PubMed - in process]

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Inferential Language In High-Function Autistic Kids

Inferential language in high-function children with autism.



ds=11439753&dopt=Abstract 70) and typically developing children to use and understand: pragmatic inferences about given or presupposed knowledge in

mental state words; pragmatic inferences about new or implied knowledge in mental state words; bridging inferences essential for coherence; elaborative

inferences involved in enriching a communication by means of figurative language; and the intentional inferences involved in speech acts. High-function children with autism could define words and identify multiple

meanings for ambiguous words.

In understanding words for mental states, they made inferences from mental state verbs to given or presupposed knowledge. However, they failed to infer what mental state verbs implied in context; to make inferences

about social scripts; to understand metaphor; and to produce speech acts, all of which are inferences that are the basis of successful social communication because they elaborate meaning or convey intentions.

PMID: 11439753 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Measuring Autism - The Autism-Spectrum Quotient

The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians.



ds=11439754&dopt=Abstract

1: J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Feb;31(1):5-17 Books

Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Skinner R, Martin J, Clubley E.

Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of

Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, United Kingdom.

Currently there are no brief, self-administered instruments for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. In this paper, we report on a new instrument to assess this: the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Individuals score in the range 0-50.

Four groups of subjects were assessed: Group 1: 58 adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA); Group 2: 174 randomly selected controls. Group 3: 840 students in Cambridge University; and Group 4: 16 winners of the UK Mathematics Olympiad. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 35.8 (SD = 6.5), significantly higher than Group 2 controls (M = 16.4, SD = 6.3). 80% of the adults with AS/HFA scored 32+, versus 2% of controls. Among the controls, men scored slightly but significantly higher than women. No women scored extremely highly (AQ score

34+) whereas 4% of men did so.

Twice as many men (40%) as women (21%) scored at intermediate levels (AQ score 20+). Among the AS/HFA group, male and female scores did not

differ significantly. The students in Cambridge University did not differ from the randomly selected control group, but scientists (including mathematicians) scored significantly higher than both humanities and social sciences students, confirming an earlier study that autistic conditions are

associated with scientific skills.

Within the sciences, mathematicians scored highest. This was replicated in Group 4, the Mathematics Olympiad winners scoring

significantly higher than the male Cambridge humanities students. 6% of the student sample scored 32+ on the AQ. On interview, 11 out of 11 of these met three or more DSM-IV criteria for AS/HFA, and all were studying sciences/mathematics, and 7 of the 11 met threshold on these criteria. Test-retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good.

The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality. Its

potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored.

PMID: 11439754 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Functional Play and Children with Autism

Taking a closer look at functional play in children with autism.



ds=11439756&dopt=Abstract

1: J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Feb;31(1):67-77 Books

Williams E, Reddy V, Costall A.

Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY,

United Kingdom. e.williams@wkac.ac.uk

Research evidence indicates that children with autism may experience problems with functional play, in addition to their well-documented deficits in symbolic play. However, as a result of the tendency of previous studies to group all functional play into a single category, the precise nature and

extent of this deficit remains unclear.

The present study undertook a more refined analysis of such play, subtyping the functional acts into various categories, in terms of the developmental progression suggested by research with typical infants. The functional play of children with autism was compared to that of

developmentally matched children with Down syndrome and typical infants.

Although there were no group differences in overall measures of the proportion of total play time spent in functional play and in the number of functional acts performed, a closer analysis of the composition of this play

did reveal striking, qualitative differences. The functional play of the autism group was less elaborated, less varied, and less integrated than that of the controls.

The implications of these findings are explored in relation to current theoretical models of autism and in relation to the role of other people in mediating the appropriate use of objects.

PMID: 11439756 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Autism and Asperger Disorder And Movement Abnormalities

Movement preparation in high-functioning autism and Asperger disorder: a serial choice reaction time task involving motor reprogramming.



ds=11439757&dopt=Abstract

1: J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Feb;31(1):79-88 Books

Rinehart NJ, Bradshaw JL, Brereton AV, Tonge BJ.

Neuropsychology Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Monash University,

Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3168. Nicole.Rinehart@sci.monash.edu.au

Autism and Asperger disorder have long been associated with movement

abnormalities, although the neurobehavioural details of these abnormalities

remain poorly defined.

Clumsiness has traditionally been associated with Asperger disorder

but not autism, although this is controversial. Others have suggested that

both groups demonstrate a similar global motor delay. In this study we aimed

to determine whether movement preparation or movement execution was atypical

in these disorders and to describe any differences between autism and

Asperger disorder.

A simple motor reprogramming task was employed. The results indicated

that individuals with autism and Asperger disorder have atypical movement

preparation with an intact ability to execute movement. An atypical deficit

in motor preparation was found in Asperger disorder, whereas movement preparation was characterized by a "lack of anticipation" in autism.

The differences in movement preparation profiles in these disorders were suggested to reflect differential involvement of the fronto-striatal

region, in particular the supplementary motor area and anterior cingulate.

PMID: 11439757 [PubMed - in process]

* * *

Genetic Study Autism, Mental Retardation

A family genetic study of autism associated with profound mental

retardation.



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