San Bernadino Center Still Closed

The social service center in Southern California where a husband and wife killed 14 people will not reopen until next year, raising concerns that some of the 30,000 people with developmental disabilities it serves might not receive needed treatment.
The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino had hoped to reopen next week, but spokeswoman Leeza Hoyt said Tuesday that it was pushed back to sometime after Jan. 1.
Because many of the center's 600 employees work in the field, officials hope services won't be disrupted for too many people, Hoyt said. But she could not say for sure that no one would go without care.

Critics Turn to Academics To Do Cost-Benefit Analysis of OPWDD Services

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  -- Faced with a $90 million cut to the state Office of People With Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island advocates for the disabled have been highly critical of the borough's Albany lawmakers for not doing enough to prevent what amounts to a 4.5 percent reduction in aid. 

Donna Long and Laura Kennedy
are among those critical to the cuts.

But now Assemblyman Michael Cusick and one of the sharpest critics of the cuts to OPWDD, parent and activist Laura Kennedy -- who branded the reductions "cruel and shameful" -- told the Advance Thursday they've come up with a "plan of action" going forward.

Holiday Message to Autism Parents

Susan Moffitt, an editor at Autism Key, is the single mother of high functioning autistic twin sons who are now fifteen. When not advocating for them, she pursues her multiple creative passions of fine art, piano composition, and writing.

For those of you who followed my articles in the past, you will know I’ve been out of the autism loop for a while, consumed by the affairs of my immediate family of sixteen-year-old twin sons with high functioning autism. 
Having seen them to their junior year of high school, I can tell all of you with younger children that it does get better.  Not withstanding the day in and day out rigors of dealing with autism, the myriad ways you work to bring your child to higher ground do, in fact, manifest in the expanse of time.

That Annoying Autism Question

From SFGate.com blogger Laura Shumaker.

I believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question, but there are questions that rub people the wrong way, and in an informal poll on Facebook, I have uncovered  one that might irritate individuals and families living with autism most.

Parents to Sue Connecticut School in Autism Case

CHESHIRE, Conn. -- The parents of an autistic child are planning to sue the town, its school system and several of its employees, charging that district officials during each of the last two years caused their son’s condition to regress.
Norwalk attorney Anne Treimanis filed notice with the town on July 26 that a town family is planning to file suit.
Treimanis’ letter claims that several incidents at Highland Elementary School in Cheshire over the past two school years “caused significant injuries and damages” to the boy, who is now 9 years old.

Father of Child with Autism Starts Summer Camp

SAN FRANSISCO -- Like other parents of autistic children, classical musician Stephen Prutsman faced the challenging task of finding summer activities for his son to participate in. So he came up with the idea of a camp suited to such children.

Prutsman, who approached the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department with the idea, has seen his vision come to fruition at Camp Azure. This summer, the four-week-long Glen Canyon summer camp has accommodated 32 autistic children from ages 6 to 12.

Study Finds Quick Tests Help Spot Development Delays

A new study out of Canada can help parents and doctors ask the right questions to identify developmental delays in children.

BRITISH COLUMBIA -- Researchers with BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia say two quick, low-cost questionnaires can help family doctors better identify developmental delays in children.
Parents can complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) or the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) at home or in the family physician’s office, with the physician scoring the tests and providing results in a matter of minutes.

"It really asks them, 'Do you have concerns about your child's development in a number of areas?' so that's not too difficult for most parents to answer anyway," said family doctor and study co-author Dr. David Joyce.

"And just asking those simple questions about concerns is better than asking none of those questions at all."

A Mother's Message

An interesting blog post from the Huffington Post--a mother's message to the President about the rise in autism.

Dear Mr. President:

I received a form letter from Vice President Joe Biden recently -- one of those mass emails one gets but rarely reads. I read that if I were to make a donation of $5, my name will be thrown into a hat for a chance to have dinner with you. Alone.

I imagined what I would say to you, Mr. President, if I had the opportunity to have dinner with you. And of course I knew what the answer was without hesitation. I would speak with you about the rising number of children diagnosed with autism. In 20years there has been a 600-percent increase in diagnosed cases of autism. I would direct you to the countless news stories regarding the rampant abuse of those same children and adults living in group homes and institutions. I would ask you to help set up communities where individuals with autism were treated with respect and would have more control over how they lived, allowing them to pursue their interests and encouraging them to follow their dreams.

Mr. President, I would tell you about our trips to Central America with our daughter Emma for stem cell treatments. I would encourage you to put more funding into stem cell research, umbilical cord stem cells, using the patient's own stem cells and any other form of stem cells that might prove viable in restoring the lives of hundreds of thousands, even millions.

Two Mothers United By a Little Girl

A tribute to all mothers -- especially those with special needs. Happy Mothers Day to the most important people in the world. Yes, that includes you mom! (She won't see this, at 88 with failing vision, she doesn't have a computer).

"I need help."
It's posted on the wall, about eye-level for a 7-year-old girl whose ability to walk and talk is compromised by autism, cerebral palsy and developmental delays.
When necessary, Bridget's mother, Cathy Collins, will point to the handwritten sign. So will Bridget's caregiver, Letty Gaucin.
They celebrate achievements most people take for granted in a child Bridget's age, such as the steady progress made over two years in getting her potty trained.
They are two moms with backgrounds that couldn't be more different, bound by a common purpose: To see children like Bridget live as full a life as possible.

Divorce and the Child with Special Needs

Came across this on Huffington Post.

Divorce is always difficult for the children, but what happens when the parents about to split have a child with special needs? According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics, the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders has grown to 1 in 110 children today, while another CDC study indicates that 1 in 10 children aged 4 - 17 has been diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Combine these sobering statistics with the ever-rising divorce rates and you have a perfect storm of people navigating the very rocky waters of divorce with the added pressure of needing to effectively co-parent a child with special needs long after their marriage is over.