July 7th, 2009

Getting introduced to PDD

PDD simplified is pervasive developmental disorders, of which, it’s Autism that enjoys currently being the center of attention, despite other four being characterized by similar abnormalities regarding social interactions, communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Thus, anyone displaying these disorders must not get labeled as an autistic individual essentially; a proper diagnosis may prove any of the other four to be prevalent.

That way, Asperger’s syndrome comes the closest; it has signs and likely causes that are often indistinguishable from autism. The psychiatric disorder is usually noted during early school years; characterized by impaired social relations and by repetitive patterns of behavior. Similarly, Rett syndrome shares it’s symptoms with autism’s childhood disintegrative disorders, though it may have several unrelated causes.

But PDD is otherwise specified when there’s absent a criteria that points directly towards a more specific disorder; this is when the term ASD (autism spectrum disorders) is used more profusely along with a description of the intensity of the disorder. These are LFA, MFA, and HFA, denoting low-, medium- or high-functioning autism. The comparison is drawn by comparing the IQ thresholds, but often Autism stays present with very little or no syndromes making detection and treatment a difficult phenomenon.

This proves all the more the necessities behind finding the causes of autism by identifying the biological conditions, for which, psychiatry, psychology, neurology and pediatrics need to traverse some more distance. Newer technologies are definitely bringing in new hopes (e.g. fMRI) in helping to identify phenotypes that are biologically-relevant and such technologies in the lines of brain scans are helping further the neuro-genetic studies that may reveal autism under a whole new brighter light. So far, fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) has been able to classify Type 1 autism as the result of a mutation in the CNTNAP2 gene; we are waiting to see the advanced explanations to show up and abolish completely the dilemma on the disorder pushing myriads into the dark labyrinths of hopelessness.

 

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July 1st, 2009

Autism: The signs of the thing to come

Observation cuts the cheese when a deal is difficult. It’s an old axiom that doctors are now paying attention to; the medical profession to hem is not the same curing with pills and killing with bills anymore. This is what that made most of the physicians analyzing the possible signs of autism and that too, when children are aged between 3 and 4 years. However, it is a greater responsibility for the parents to understand the autistic syndromes, for doctors are not going to invade your home to find if your child shares the misfortune.

Finding out if your child is showing signs of autism can be as simple as observing if he/she is mimicking their parents, especially the facial expressions. Kids smile back if smiled at; get excited when teased with a peek-a-boo; they cry upon you pouting and so any others. If the reactions are not present, it is a high chance for a child being autistic.

However, those are the signs that appear late; an earlier one would be no response to loud noises.  Over the years, it shows up being unresponsive to their own names and an inability to recognize the common voices and sounds present in the environment. It may lead to becoming hearing impaired once teen-hood starts. 

Timidity is another symptom of autism; it is the reason that makes autistic children avoiding any sort of eye contact. A normal kid fairly stays and keeps eye contact while communicating verbally. This also makes autistic children loners; they tend to play alone within a fictitious world. Overall, they spend glum childhood and a distance with the outer world tends them towards impaired developments in linguistic skills. 

With that much of information blended with your instinctive parental concerns, you are now set to decide the primary steps to ensure the correct measures if your child shows any of the symptoms of autism.

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June 20th, 2009

Bullying behavior in children with Autism

” The majority of parents of children with autism and ADD or ADHD were concerned about their children’s bullying behaviors, but there is much we do not yet understand. It is too early to label these children as bullies. These children may have pent up energy that needs to be properly channeled or they may have other underlying behavioral or medical issues that have not been addressed.” - Guillermo Montes, Ph.D., Senior Researcher at Children’s Institute, Rochester, N.Y (W).

 

This is a piece that’s dedicated to all those parents who have spent more time at the office of the principal of the school their children are currently studying in and have also approached the pastor to find out if there’s really something called an evil spirit. These are the parents who are tired of being complained over and over again and also tired of making their children understand to stay away from pushing around co-students. Surprisingly, nothing seems to work more than a few days, be it the kind words or the most expensive toys.

 

These are the children who suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; a condition, mostly in boys, characterized by behavioral and learning disorders) and in more than a quarter of their total number, it is aggravated by autism. These are the children who are four times more likely to bullying around, according to the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. It’s a study that gathered data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (conducted in 2003, by National Center for Health Statistics) ran over 53,219 children between ages 6 years and 17 years. The hypothesis reinforced the fact that autistic children with ADHD do require treatment for aggression but if ADHD is absent, then the chances for a higher rate of bullying almost comes down to zero. And children with autism and ADD (or ADHD) make up for half the count of total number of children with autism spectrum disorders.

 

Jill Halterman (M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor, Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center), the second author of the paper, commented: “These children may benefit from additional support services, such as from a behavioral or mental health specialist, depending on the severity of symptoms. These services may be available through community based organizations or from the broader health care system.”

 

That brings ADHD medication an essential ingredient for treating autistic children with ADHD. Thus, votes are on the rise for Methylphenidate, which also treats the disorders related to pervasive developments. But is it as effective on children without ADHD? No; for them, it is attention that creates more wonders than the medication.

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June 2nd, 2009

Kristi Hogg & Joe Valenzano Interview

Kristi  & Dani  talk with Joe Valenzano, CEO & President  Of Exceptional Parent Magazine during a  Conference call on Special People Normal World.

Kristi & Dani talk with Joe Valenzano, CEO & President Of Exceptional Parent Magazine during a Conference call on Special People Normal World.

Kristi Hogg, Parent Advocate for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Host of Special People, Normal World.

In this video she has described how a single autism article that came out in Exceptional Parent Magazine changed her entire life.

IN HER WORDS :

Hello, my name is Kristi. I have a daughter with a mitochondrial disease and is on the spectrum as well. Mayci is 8 yrs old and does not walk yet. We have been battling for her life all these years just to keep her alive. Drs appointments, hospital visits, and trying to maintain a “normal” life. (I’m sure you all understand this)

Mayci has had severe epileptic seizures all of her life and no medication or treatment worked. In March of this past year she was considered “failure to Thrive”

On May 24th I read an amazing article in the Exceptional Parent magazine. There was a little girl named Grace whose story was much worse than my little girl and Grace had the same disease as my daughter. The story told of how she was failure to thrive for the first 3 years of her life and how she was blind, in a vegatative state and severe epileptic seizures. Her amazing mom, Shannon put her into a Hyperbaric Chamber and things started to change for this little girl. Grace was not blind, her seizures stopped, and she got out of the hospital. This was an amazing thing!! As I read the article I cried because I felt her pain and happiness all at the same time.


Grace was 3 when her life changed and now she just celebrated her 10th birthday in March. Grace developed Autism at the age of 5 because her mother wanted her to join other children at a special needs school and in order to “catch up” and join she had to have all of her shots. Unfortunately Grace became one of the statistics. She was clinically diagnosed with Autism just 6 months after the shots.
So now Grace has a mitochondrial disease and Autism. Her mother has improved her quality of life just by adding HBOT therapy into Grace’s life. Grace is now 10 years old and can now see, walk, talk and no longer has seizures.

I immediately contacted Shannon, the mother and wanted to know how to start Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. She told me of a place in Madison, WI where they treat and within a week we were there.

We started HBOT on June 8th and on June 10, Mayci’s seizures stopped. Now jump forward to today and Mayci is still seizure free, she is learning to say some words and her vision has improved. I absolutely get goosebumps everytime I get to share my story. Mayci has never spoke a word until November of this year!

At the facility that we are going to in Wisconsin, they have a DAN dr on site, Dr. Kyle Vandyke. He has been testing Mayci and showing us that based on her test results she too is on “the SPECTRUM”. So with HBOT we have been treating her biomedically like other Autistic children do. Every day is a new day with her. We have a 10yr old daughter Marli and I feel as though I’m finally getting to see my daughters get to know each other. Our life changes daily since we have started hyperbarics. We have done over 400 dives now to date. In my opinion I feel it is the best decision we have made.

Thank you so much for letting me share Graces’ story and my daughters.

Sincerely,
Kristi Hogg, mother to Marli and Mayci Shea Hogg.

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May 27th, 2009

Confusions that may cost life

                 So how many of us Americans come within the autism spectrum? The

disorder has now climbed higher and a number of questions need to be

answered. There are primebarriers delaying treatments and sometimes,

diagnosis; these are the common beliefs and misconceptions that

surprisingly, at times, make people get optimistic about it.

            The media is somewhat responsible for creating barrages of fictional

imageries, pushing questions regarding vaccines, genetic and environmental

causes and abilities of the affected into further quandaries. It’s doing no good

to solve a complex condition; confusions, are, thus on a rise. None but the

doctors and researchers know better about the causes and characteristics of

autism, so it’s high time that the myths are explained and answered. Else, you

cannot expect a better recognizing of the range of symptoms heralding an

onset of autism . And you got to forget that Autism is an

emotional/psychological disorder.

            Autism is as biological an illness as brain fever and damages more if not

equally. The tolls are taken on the brain’s growth and development, upon

which, Michael Alessandri (Executive Director, University of Miami’s Center

for Autism and Related Disabilities) commented: “It is not a singular entity,

but rather, a variety of syndromes that creates the autism spectrum

disorders. The parts of the brain that are most affected seem to impact three

areas of functioning - social behavior, communication and restricted and

repetitive rituals and routines; (these) are ways that the child or the adult

with autism interact with the environment.” Autism has been proven a

neuro-developmental disorder; it’s better to go with the clinical findings.

             However there is no reason to panic; unlike another myth, autism is

not an epidemic,  despite the 0.66% of the children born worldwide. Whether

there’s a surge in autism is a different topic altogether considering what

seems to be an ever broadening spectrum in autism diagnostics, but autism is

definitely not a disease that’s transmitted through contacts and it’s certainly

is not a harbinger of hidden talents (Rain Man). 

            Though real life examples do exist (e.g. Stephen Wiltshire, The Human

Camera), but they are a minority group of autistic individuals. Those who

consider multidisciplinary evaluations unnecessary in assessing a child’s

skills and deficits, are thus requested to think over – no, not because a lack of

it shall render an autistic patient harmful to the society (Asperger’s

syndrome, the highest form of autism, doesn’t develop that easily), but

 to take him/her as close as it’s possible towards a normal existence. 

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May 10th, 2009

Jenny McCarthy on Ellen - autism and hyperbarics

Jenny’s book is a must read for all autism moms.

Sponsored Links:

For Children Friendly Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment:

California Integrative Hyperbaric Center

Wisconsin Integrative Hyperbaric Center

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May 4th, 2009

Jenny McCarthy, an autism Mom, teams up with Oprah Winfrey !

BREAKING NEWS

The Jenny McCarthy (an activist for curing autism) and Oprah Winfrey Team !

The Jenny McCarthy (an activist for curing autism) and Oprah Winfrey Team !

The former Playboy model, Jenny McCarthy, is on the brink to become the next star in Oprah Winfrey’s media empire.
McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. to develop projects on different platforms, including a syndicated talk show that the actress/author would host.

The first collaboration under the pact is a blog by McCarthy on Oprah.com, which launched on Friday. Like other Winfrey proteges-turned-TV moguls, including Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, McCarthy has been a frequent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

McCarthy talked to the chat queen about her struggles with her son’s autism in conjunction with the releases of her best-selling books “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism” and
Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds.” McCarthy also was part of Winfrey’s Friday Live panels twice, including this past Friday.

About Jenny McCarthy

A former Playboy model, McCarthy burst into the TV scene as the engaging host of MTV’s dating show “Singled Out,” a gig that jump-started her acting career. She later segued into writing with a string of best-selling books and became an activist for curing autism.

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April 28th, 2009

Autism: Causes and Stats

Autism: The Causes

Well, let’s be frank; we humans are still unaware of what causes Autism, despite the many theories, which, at best allow just speculations that range from a state of hypoxia (lack of oxygen in certain areas of the brain) to high fever, infection, birth-related traumas, exposure to harmful minerals, vaccinations or just plain nutritional deficiencies.

Often, it has been noticed that an abnormal flow of blood in the brain also marks an onset for autism, but so far, no cure has been found for the disease. Preventive measures; however, are thus the best that medical science can offer and despite there have been found new and revolutionary means to treat this condition, none has given the promising results as much as a treatment with Hyperbaric Oxygen.

Autism: The Stats

1. Individuals suffering from Autism in the United States: 1.5 million.
2. Individuals being affected with autism every year: 11% to 16%.
3. Growth rate since 1990: 172%

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April 20th, 2009

Autism: At a Glance

Now that Internet has invaded every corner of our life, the name Autism is no stranger to the world, much less to the residents of US. However, a little fraction of the global populace is aware of what the disease is exactly, apart from that it is a developmental disability that’s growing faster than you can say “How?”

Autism is a condition that affects the communication and social interaction skills in an individual due to certain types of neurological dysfunctions. To be more precise, it is a spectrum disorder that brings on the impacts in varying degrees. Considered as the most widely found PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), the other disorders that are also included in the Autism spectrum are:

1. Asperger’s Syndrome.
2. Rett’s Disorder.
3. CDD (Childhood Disintegrative Disorder)

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April 15th, 2009

How autism got Jenny McCarthy explore its origins.

From initiating raunchy pages to the remedial nun, it has been a diverse journey for PlayBoy sweetheart turned MTV star Jenny McCarthy. So far she was (in) famous for initiating sleeping disorders in us men; who in the world thought her to turn her passionate advocate side towards resolving family issues? While many shall think it to be just a gimmick, but the root of it all lie elsewhere – to be precise, amidst a lot of psychological pain that made her spread some awareness on children’s health, especially autism. Her son’s (Evan) misfortune has made McCarthy become a best-selling author (Baby Laughs and Life Laughs; Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism) but her pain continues; the fifth book (Healing and Preventing Autism) thus finds her as the co-author to autism specialist Dr. Jerry Kartzinel. It’s a different topic whether McCarthy was a student of the Gojuryu styled martial arts or not, but her hard and soft techniques to detect autism in a child and finding the causes took a multi-faceted approach combining nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxicity and vaccines.

But our question was: while childhood obesity and diabetes and even an excess of cell-phone use have something to contribute, what made her avoid such causes?

There is no doubt that Jenny McCarthy is working towards a social cause as it is evident from the fact that she had tried all the best possible treatments for her autistic son and now she has come up with some answers on ‘how to treat autism?”.

To a particular question McCarthy’s answer was they do not contribute as much as the other factors, especially the Hepatitis B vaccine. A newborn may only contract this disease if the mother proves a carrier. As a solution, she stresses upon a thorough screening of the mother.
It is to us now to decide how we are going to fight autism and find the answers to treat autism.

Autism Facts

The world is definitely a lot different for kids but there are some who experience it even differently from the way other kids do. They find interaction and conversation fairly (or even greatly) unmanageable and usually require special help to communicate. They are the children suffering from autism – a disease that makes the brain to think sensing the world around is a troublesome task. It can stay present in a very mild proportion and it is a tougher situation than the disorder setting in full-fledged.Autism affects 0.66% children worldwide though definite causes are still a matter of dilemma. While on one hand it can be inherited, on the other, there are many ways that are suspected to let autism invade the brain, barring the neurotransmitters from moving freely through the neural channels, damaging the area of the brain that’s responsible for communication, emotions and senses. If autism sets in a little late, it damages a healthy area partially or completely.

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