Autism Parents Club

The Autism News | English

Happy talk … Donna can now have normal conversations with Neil | Northscot Press Agency

By Stuart Patterson | The Scottish

DEVOTED mum Donna Morrison was devastated when doctors warned that her autistic son would never be able to speak… but she refused to give up hope.

And after battling for ten years, her heart now swells with pride every night when little Neil looks up and tells her he loves her.

Donna, 40, raised thousands to send her boy to America for revolutionary treatment.

She simply couldn’t accept that her little lad would never utter a word. And the proof that he’s defied the odds comes when she puts the ten-year-old to bed.

Donna smiled: “It’s worth a million dollars when he says he loves me every night.

“I couldn’t believe it the first time I heard him say it – I wanted to tell everyone.

“It pulls at my heartstrings because the diagnosis when he was young was so grim.

“It’s absolutely amazing to think how far he’s come.”

Donna, from Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, knew something was seriously wrong when Neil was a baby as he rarely cried and slept all the time.

Medics diagnosed a severe form of autism and said that if he didn’t talk by the age of three he never would.

Donna recalled: “He wasn’t like a normal baby at all.

“It was so sad because there was no interaction with him.”

Neil still hadn’t spoken by the time he turned three – but his mum saw his silence as a challenge rather than a certainty.

She began researching the condition and decided to quit her job so she could focus on him.

Donna then changed his diet and found out about groundbreaking therapies that could help Neil escape from his silent world.

She said: “There was no way I could live with what the doctors were saying. It’s devastating for a parent to be told that.

“You want your child to be normal, to talk to you and to play with other kids.

“To be flat out told that is never going to happen is just horrible.

“I couldn’t just write Neil off like that – I couldn’t believe that he was an impossible case.”

After trawling the internet and talking to other parents, as well as autism experts, Donna realised that the medics could have got the prognosis wrong. She explained: “You can’t say what a human being will or won’t do… you don’t know what someone is capable of.”

Donna and Neil’s father Des managed to raise ?12,000 to send the youngster to the Autism Treatment Centre in Massachusetts for a week.

He began a course of pioneering therapy that would change his life.

The treatment helped Neil to start making eye contact and was geared towards helping him say his first word.

Donna travelled with him to America and was trained on how to continue the treatment when they got home. With the help of three volunteers she created a special school in a Portakabin – where Neil was the only pupil.

She said: “The slightest thing distracts Neil. A car going by the window is enough to take his attention away.

“So the Portakabin was the best place to start getting him to focus on communicating with others.

“It wasn’t easy, but once I started there was no way I was going to stop.”

Donna’s classes concentrated on breaking into Neil’s own little world and forcing him to talk. She would put his beloved toys up on shelves – meaning he would have to ask for them to be taken down. On other occasions she would blow bubbles then stop.

Donna said: “If he wanted more bubbles then he would have to ask for more. Very slowly he started making noises which led to words.

“The first time I heard him talk I was just ecstatic – he had proved everyone wrong and it was the best feeling in the world.”

Neil has now defied everyone’s expectations and Donna feels able to send him to school. And she has returned to work as a classroom assistant.

Donna added: “He talks all the time – we can’t get him to stop.

“He tells me all about his day at school, what he would like to watch on the TV. Every day he takes me by surprise.”

But the ultimate reward comes for Donna when she puts Neil to bed, tells him he loves him, and he replies: “I love you too, Mummy.”

Donna said: “Whenever he says it my eyes well up. It’s hard to put into words how happy him saying that makes me feel.

“It makes all the hard work and all the struggles we’ve had over the years worthwhile.”

Groundbreaking … Donna and Neil at US autism treatment centre | Northscot Press Agency

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/scotlandfeatures/2885943/Mum-Donna-Morrison-tells-of-joy-after-autistic-son-Neil-learns-to-speak.html

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The Autism News | English

The Education Department says the area is never locked and students are supervised at all times (Photo: ABC News)

By Lisa Martin | AAP

A SYDNEY primary school that pens children with autism in a fenced area at lunchtimes should be investigated for human rights violations, the New South Wales Opposition says.

Parents with children at Seven Hills West Public School are angry that pupils with special needs are placed inside a fenced enclosure that has one tree, a bench and a dirt floor.

But the NSW Department of Education has defended the enclosure, saying it is used for new students with disabilities if they require more intense supervision while they adjust to school.

The school has 52 students with special needs.

But Coalition disability spokesman Andrew Constance said the treatment of children with autism at the school was inhumane and called for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to investigate.

“To see the type of facility which autistic children are being penned in is outrageous,” he said.

“I’ve seen cattle yards in better condition.

“You cannot treat children with autism in this way.

“I think it is in breach of every anti-discrimination act in the country.”

The Department of Education said in a statement the enclosure was set up after parents raised safety issues.

“The school is located on a busy road. Without this area, the students may leave the school grounds and could potentially be injured,” the department said.

“Some of these children have no sense of boundaries and do not respond to staff asking them to stop.

“Once the school is satisfied a student will listen to directions from staff members and is also aware of playground boundaries, the child can use the playground.”

The department said any student in the school could use this area if they chose.

“The area is never locked and students are supervised by a school learning support officer at all times,” it added.

“Students are actively engaged in play and can leave the area to use other school facilities like the library.”

In 2008, a number of parents of the students with disabilities raised safety issues with the school about their children leaving the school grounds.

“This fenced off area was created as a result of these concerns,” the department said.

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/outrage-over-seven-hills-west-public-school-putting-autistic-kids-in-cage/story-e6frf7l6-1225839691640

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The Autism News | English

By Alison Rose Levy | Huffington Post

There’s an experiment going on right now-but it isn’t being conducted by scientists. It’s being conducted by parents. In 30 million kitchens across the U.S. that experiment is called “What Can My Child Eat?” In families with children with autism and allergies, the result of that experiment can either be a day of relative calm and comfort, or it can produce anything from brain fog, digestive discomfort, and mood swings, to pain, seizures, skin outbreaks, and severe digestive distress.

While the debate continues as to whether or not laboratory scientists have successfully isolated a single one of the many factors that a growing numnber of doctors say may contribute to autism, families still have to cope and they still have to feed their children. Citing the conservative statistics of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) pediatrician, Dr. Kenneth Bock, reported that one in 100 children (one in 48 boys) have autism-although just two years ago it was one in 150. One in 16 children has ADHD, one in 11 has asthma, and one in four has allergies. A staggering one third of all children are affected Bock told the group gathered for “Food Solutions: Managing Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies,” held at New York’s Urban Zen Center.

Children (and adults) with allergies (and food sensitivities) react to many common foods and food ingredients that other people don’t react to. As doctors like Bock tell it, a child with autism is by definition a child with an overwhelmed immune system, an impaired gut, a higher presence of microbes, candida, and toxins, and many food sensitivities and intolerances. Gut issues are directly linked to issues with attention and focus, so that a child with food sensitivities will also likely be a child who experiences symptoms anywhere from the withdrawal or lack of speech seen in autism to the brain fog, hyperactivity, and/or difficulty in focus seen in children with attention deficit disorder (ADD).

According to Stephen Cowan, MD, a pediatrician in Westchester, N.Y., who also spoke at Food Solutions, “The gut and the brain are not two separate things. They are interconnected.”

Referring to “leaky gut” a condition common in the so-called “spectrum” kids, in which an impaired barrier of cells lining the intestines allow poorly digested food molecules to enter the bloodstream where they can trigger allergic and other reactions. Cowan said that “a leaky gut is like a leaky mind, you can’t digest things and you can’t retain things that you need to retain.”

When parents bring their children into his office for a consultation, Cowan reports that “I can often predict that the child’s favorite foods are pizza and macaroni and cheese”- and these are the same foods that children are most allergic to. According to Bock, gluten, the main protein contained in wheat and other grains, can trigger immune reactions, while casein, a peptide in dairy can break down internally to produce an opioid effect — such that children are literally drugged by food.

That’s why the mainstay of parents trying to nourish their immune-challenged children is the Gluten Free Casein Free Diet (GFCF) as well as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).

Glucose, present in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is yet another no-no since it can feed yeast (which worsens gut issues) and contribute to mood swings due to the abrupt rise and fall of glucose in the bloodstream. Moreover, mercury is used to make HFCS which is present in many processed foods, including sodas, juices, yogurt, and ketchup. While some studies question whether mercury in vaccines is a key trigger for autism, according to Bock, “a range of environmental factors contribute, Studies correlated closer proximity to power plants with mercury emissions with increasing rates of autism.” HFCS is also addictive, and aggressively marketed by food and beverage companies, who according to Cowan, spend $10 billion a year.

In this nationwide lab experiment in which food suppliers push unhealthy food items, while the public naively believes that government regulators protect them, “we’re lab rats,” Cowan points out. “Studies show that when you try HFCS, you can’t get enough of it, you want more and more and more. It releases chemicals, it’s just like you pressed a button.” Yet instead of acting on a national level to curb unhealthy foods, “we blame the victim,” says Cowan.

All too often the victims are children.

Transitioning children from harmful foods to which they’re addicted to healthier ones is a challenge borne by parents. That’s why at Food Solutions, dietician Amanda Archibald and nutritionist Stefanie Sacks introduced a range of healthier options. Although healthy vegetables topped the list, the nutritional team also offered samples of favorite products (rice milk and a dairy and wheat free Mac and Cheese) so parents know what to look for. Simple recipes that participants teamed up to prepare offered easy and nourishing ways to ease food transitions.

The bottom line said Cowan is that force feeding children is counter-productive. “If you want your child to eat more vegetables, let him see you eating them.”

What’s your experience transitioning yourself or your kids to healthier foods?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/autism-and-allergies-what_b_494607.html

Autism Recipes | Free recipes for children and adults on the autism spectrum

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The Autism News | English

Michelle Slezak, a teacher’s assistant at the Eden II School for Children with Autism, says kids are taking loss of hamster hard.

By Rachel Monahan & John Lauinger | New York Daily News

It’s bad enough breaking into a school to swipe computers.

But taking the kids’ beloved class hamster also?

That’s exactly what happened on Staten Island at the Eden II School for Children with Autism, where heartless thugs broke in through a rear window over the weekend.

The kids wept and lost sleep after learning their pet hamster, Star, was stolen while still in his cage, school officials said Wednesday.

A half dozen rubber duckies were filched – and so was Skippy the Sock Puppet.

“Whoever did it was really pathetic,” the school’s executive director, Joanne Gerenser, told the Daily News. “One of the students said to me ‘I miss the sock puppet.’”

The school, in the Elm Park section, was hit for about $5,000 in electronics, including three laptops, two Nintendo Wii systems, a Microsoft Xbox and all its games, and a camera.

It was the loss of Star and Skippy that broke the hearts of preschoolers.

“When you’re stealing games and toys, you’re stealing from the kids,” she fumed.

“It spoke of someone who was worse than [a person] who just needed money.”

The NYPD is investigating the despicable heist, which took place some time after the school closed on Friday afternoon and reopened Monday.

A good Samaritan donated a hamster to the school, and staff is working to cobble together reward money.

Healing the students’ emotional wounds has been the real challenge, Gerenser said, noting that one parent said her child has had trouble sleeping.

“One of the students was now thinking that everything was going to be taken,” Gerenser said. “She was afraid to take her stuff into school.”

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/11/2010-03-11_school_theft_rats_even_took_hamster.html

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The Autism News | English

By Business Wire

LOS ANGELES – Robert J. Nelson of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced that three separate families, from New York, Florida and Minnesota, have filed lawsuits seeking general and punitive damages against Toyota Motor Corporation for the wrongful deaths of their loved ones.

“The complaints charge that Toyota for years was aware that its vehicles were susceptible to sudden unintended acceleration, leading to fatal accidents,” stated plaintiffs’ counsel Robert J. Nelson. “Yet, Toyota never made any significant changes to improve the acceleration and electrical systems of its vehicles, in spite of the availability of safe and inexpensive modifications.”

Description of the Three Fatal Toyota Sudden Acceleration Accidents

Dawn Hanna, Age 26, Minnesota (Los Angeles, California accident)

Prior to her death, Dawn Hanna, from Minnesota, was in excellent physical condition. She was an active and vibrant young lady working as the Manager of Sales Development for a sports management company in Los Angeles. She was also an avid athlete and enjoyed running, hiking and other sports.

On June 19, 2009, at approximately 11:50 a.m., Dawn Hanna was the belted driver of the subject 2005 Toyota Camry. She was driving at a safe rate of speed, proceeding northbound on I-405 in Los Angeles, California, south of Sepulveda Boulevard.

The Camry suddenly accelerated and Ms. Hanna was unable to stop the vehicle as it raced out of control, weaving through traffic on the busy freeway. The Camry clipped the car in front of it, swerved to the left, and ultimately accelerated into the path of a semi-tractor trailer. The Camry became entangled with the semi, and was slammed against the median wall.

The momentum of the semi dragged the Camry against the median wall before it came to rest. Ms. Hanna suffered multiple traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident.

Jonathan Senger, Age 26, Florida

Prior to the accident that claimed the life of her son, Jonathan Senger, Lorrie Krieger of Florida complained about a sudden unintended acceleration incident to the Lexus dealership where she had purchased a 2000 Lexus GS 400. Specifically, she called Lexus of Clearwater, Florida and stated that the subject Lexus was out of control, its tires squealed, and that it was almost like the throttle was wide open.

Ms. Krieger told the Lexus dealership that the car almost killed her. It was further reported that the vehicle was racing and that the throttle was sticking. The Lexus dealership replaced the throttle body and assured her that there would be no further problems.

There were no further incidents until August 17, 2007. On that date, at approximately 1:25 p.m., Jonathan Senger was driving his mother’s vehicle, her 2000 Lexus GS 400. He was driving at a safe rate of speed, proceeding westbound on Curlew Road in Dunedin, Florida.

The Lexus suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed and Mr. Senger was unable to stop the vehicle as it sped through the intersection of Belcher Road. The Lexus accelerated through a red light, crossed the lane into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a Saturn SUV that was waiting in the left hand turn lane facing eastbound on Curlew Road at the intersection of Belcher Road. As a result of the collision, Jonathan Senger, suffered multiple traumatic injuries and eventually died.

Nancy Fox, Age 41, New York

Prior to her death, Nancy Fox was a single mother raising a special needs child, her son Sean, who was diagnosed with Autism. On December 12, 2008, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Nancy Fox was the belted driver of the subject 2004 Toyota Matrix. Her five-year-old son, Sean, was in the back seat, properly strapped into his child car seat.

Ms. Fox was driving at a safe rate of speed, proceeding westbound on Route 17K in Orange County, New York. The Toyota suddenly accelerated and Ms. Fox was unable to stop the vehicle as it careened out of control — first crossing into the eastbound lane and the eastbound lane shoulder, then up on to the embankment of that lane.

The vehicle, still accelerating out of Ms. Fox’s control, then collided with a utility pole in a side swipe manner, traveled across the lawn of a residence, and overturned and collided with brush and small trees, coming to rest on the roof of the vehicle. As a result of the accident, Nancy Fox suffered multiple traumatic injuries and eventually died. Her son Sean survived the accident, but suffered injuries, including profound emotional pain from the death of his mother.

Allegations Against Toyota

The complaints charge that beginning in the late 1990s, Toyota manufactured, distributed and sold vehicles with an electronic throttle control system ( “ETC” ), including the vehicles which are the subject of each case. Unlike that of traditional throttle control systems, where a physical linkage connects the accelerator pedal to the engine throttle, in the ETC system, the engine throttle is controlled by electronic signals sent from the gas pedal to the engine throttle. A sensor at the accelerator detects how far the gas pedal is depressed and transmits that information to a computer module which controls the engine throttle.

Toyota’s ETC system fails to include a failsafe measure, known as brake-to-idle override, that is in use by other vehicle manufacturers. The brake-to-idle override instructs the ETC system to automatically reduce the engine to idle whenever the brakes are applied without success.

“The complaints charge that the lack of the brake-to-idle override failsafe in Toyota vehicles played a direct role in the deaths of each loved one,” commented Mr. Nelson.

Status of the Cases

The complaints submitted by the parents of Dawn Hanna and the mother of Jonathan Senger were filed on March 10, 2010 in federal court in Los Angeles, as two of the primary defendants, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Sales, Inc., are both California corporations with their headquarters located in Los Angeles. The complaint submitted by the grandmother and guardian of Sean Fox was filed today in federal court in the Southern District of New York, where the plaintiff lives.

Each complaint seeks general damages as well as punitive damages against Toyota for its failure to recall its vehicles due to a known, significant safety defect and refusal to take any steps to prevent sudden unintended acceleration accidents in order to increase its profits.

Legal Resources for Drivers and Passengers Injured in Toyota Sudden Acceleration Accidents

Lieff Cabraser represents persons across America injured in accidents involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles that suddenly accelerated.

If you would like to learn more about your legal rights please visit http://www.usautoinjurylaw.com/cases/defects/acceleration/toyota-lexus.htm or call us toll free at 1-800-541-7358 and ask to speak to attorney Todd Walburg. There is no charge or obligation for our review of your case.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a sixty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York, and Nashville. Lieff Cabraser has a comprehensive and diverse practice, which includes representing persons injured and families of loved ones who died in auto accidents. Since 2003, The National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs’ law firms in the nation. Learn more at www.lieffcabraser.com.

SOURCE: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
Robert J. Nelson, 415-956-1000

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