New Treatment Focuses on Turning Autism Symptoms Into Strengths

An innovative method to treat children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder attempts to turn their symptoms into strengths.

Dr. Laurence Sugarman, a pediatrician and researcher at Rochester Institute of Technology has developed a treatment method that teaches affected children how to control their psychophysiology and behavior using computerized biofeedback and clinical hypnosis.

Rehab and Habilitation to Be Covered Under ACA

“To rehabilitate,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means “to restore to a former capacity.”

But what if that capacity — be it walking or talking or brushing one’s teeth — was never there in the first place?  In that case, you aren’t talking about “rehabilitation” but “habilitation.”

People need habilitation when they have a congenital defect or disease that impairs the development of basic life skills. For example, autism may leave a child unable to speak. Cerebral palsy may result in language deficits and severe physical limitations. Birth defects may leave a child deaf.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), habilitation services will now be widely covered for the first time in private insurance plans. Rehabilitative and habilitative services are among the 10 “essential benefits” that must be provided by all plans sold on all the state and federally run health insurance exchanges. 

Neighbors Left Out of Planning for Home

TOWN OF ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Residents of Cedar Ridge Road are upset that town officials failed to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on a planned 4,600-square-foot Ulster-Greene ARC group home for eight people who have developmental disabilities and medically frailties.

The project was approved by the town Building Department earlier this year, but neighbors were unaware of the plan because town Supervisor Carl Chipman said he was not told of public notice requirements despite the town receiving two registered letters outlining the state law.

Editorial: Time to Do Right By People with Disabilities

About a year ago the Senate fell five votes short of ratifying an international treaty that would improve protections for the disabled. It was an ignoble spectacle as the opponents rebuffed Bob Dole, a former colleague and disabled veteran, who came to the Senate floor to lobby for it. The Senate now has a chance to redeem itself.

CDC: 2 Million More Kids Diagnosed with ADHD Since 2004

New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals an additional two million kids have attention attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder compared to stats collected nearly a decade earlier.One million more kids are also taking medications to treat their ADHD, according to the new data collected from 2011-2012.

Canadian Company Links Adults with Autism to Jobs

CALGARY — Jay Serdula has a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics, a masters degree in physical oceanography and several years of experience working with the Canadian military. Still, he says finding work has never been easy.“I suspect that a lot of the people who interview me for a possible job, decide after five minutes not to consider me any further,” he says.

Bullying of Teen with Autism Prompts Controversy in Small Iowa Town

A teenager with autism who attends a small Iowa school is being bullied by his classmates, and some feel school officials have turned their backs on the problem. Others say the teen brought it on himself.

Levi Null, 13, has Asperger's syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by difficulty socializing and obsessive, often repetitive interests or behaviors. His mother, Dawn Simmons, told local news outlet WHO-TV that he gets picked on and "smacked" by his classmates at Melcher-Dallas High School in the town of Melcher-Dallas, which has a population of just 1,288.