Parents United to Fight Autism: February 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Missouri House Passes Autism Insurance Bill

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (St. Louis Public Radio) - The Missouri House has passed legislation that would mandate insurance coverage for treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

Lawmakers had said that autism legislation would be a top priority this year. The bill would require insurance providers in Missouri to cover up to $36,000 a year for behavioral therapy for kids age 18 and younger with autism.

The Senate version differs. It would provide $55,000 of coverage per year for those with autism under age 21. State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale), whose 5-year-old son Stephen has autism, remains hopeful that a compromise can be reached.

"These therapies that we're talking about are the difference between a mom being able to take her daughter to a movie, a dad taking his son to a ball game, a child having meaningful relationships and friendships, being invited to a birthday party, a lot of things that we just take for granted," Schmitt said.

House leaders were roundly criticized in 2009 for not holding a vote on autism coverage. But House Speaker Ron Richard (R, Joplin) defended last year's inaction before reporters today at the Governor's Mansion.

"I mean, you all just kicked me in the butt every week on autism last year...I'm telling you, there wasn't a consensus! We made a consensus happen (this year) through (House Minority Floor Leader) Paul (LeVota) and I working through the process, and now it's a bill that we're proud of," Richard said.

St. Louis Public Radio also made calls to the Missouri Insurance Coalition for this story, but so far they have not commented. The group has said that mandating coverage for treatment of autism would harm small businesses.

Source:

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Both Parents’ Ages Linked to Autism Risk

Older mothers are more likely than younger ones to have a child with autism, and older fathers significantly contribute to the risk of the disorder when their partners are under 30, researchers are reporting.

In a study published online on Monday in the journal Autism Research, the researchers analyzed almost five million births in California during the 1990s, and 12,159 cases of autism diagnosed in those children — a sample large enough to examine how the risk of autism was affected when one parent was a specific age and the other was the same age or considerably older or younger.

Previous research found that the risk of autism grew with the age of the father. The new study suggested that when the father was over 40 and the mother under 30, the increased risk was especially pronounced — 59 percent greater than for younger men.
By contrast, for women 30 and older, the risk of autism rose 13 percent when the father was over 40.

Every five-year increase in a mother’s age raised her risk of having a child with autism by 18 percent; a 40-year-old woman’s risk was 50 percent greater than that of a woman who became a mother in her late 20s, and 77 percent higher than that of a woman under 25.
But while the number of California women giving birth in their 40s rose sharply in the 1990s, the researchers said that could not account for the sevenfold rise in autism during the decade.
“The rise in autism is occurring among children of parents of all ages,” said Janie F. Shelton, a graduate student in epidemiology at the University of California, Davis, who was the paper’s lead author. “We can’t say that the shifting trend of maternal age is responsible for the increased rates of autism.”

The new findings appeared to question the conclusions of earlier research suggesting that the risk of autism spectrum disorders increased with advancing paternal age, but not with advancing maternal age.

One such study analyzed a large Israeli military database and found that children of fathers 40 or older were more than five times as likely to have an autism disorder as those whose fathers were under 30.

An author of that study, Dr. Dolores Malaspina, a psychiatrist at New York University Langone Medical Center, said Monday that mothers and fathers were usually so close in age that small statistical differences could appear to shift the effect of advanced age from one parent to another.

“It’s important we not turn around and blame mothers,” Dr. Malaspina said. “The evidence is very, very strong that there is a paternal age effect.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/health/09autism.html

About Autism

There is no single treatment protocol for all children with autism, but most individuals respond best to highly structured behavioral programs. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development lists Applied Behavior Analysis among the recommended treatment methods for autism spectrum disorders. Some of the most common interventions are Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Floortime Therapy, Gluten Free, Casein Free Diet (GFCF). Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, PECS, SCERTS, Sensory Integration Therapy, Relationship Development Intervention, Verbal Behavior Intervention, and the school-based TEAACH method.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)Behavior analysis is a natural science of behavior that was originally described by B.F. Skinner in the 1930's. The principles and methods of behavior analysis have been applied effectively in many arenas. For example, methods that use the principle of positive reinforcement to strengthen a behavior by arranging for it to be followed by something of value have been used to develop a wide range of skills in learners with and without disabilities.
Since the early 1960's, hundreds of behavior analysts have used positive reinforcement and other principles to build communication, play, social, academic, self-care, work, and community living skills and to reduce problem behaviors in learners with autism of all ages. Some ABA techniques involve instruction that is directed by adults in highly structured fashion, while others make use of the learner¹s natural interests and follow his or her initiations. Still others teach skills in the context of ongoing activities. All skills are broken down into small steps or components, and learners are provided many repeated opportunities to learn and practice skills in a variety of settings, with abundant positive reinforcement. The goals of intervention as well as the specific types of instructions and reinforcers used are customized to the strengths and needs of the individual learner. Performance is measured continuously by direct observation, and intervention is modified if the data show that the learner is not making satisfactory progress. Regardless of the age of the learner with autism, the goal of ABA intervention is to enable him or her to function as independently and successfully as possible in a variety of environments.
FloortimeDeveloped by child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, Floortime is a treatment method and a philosophy for interacting with autistic children. It is based on the premise that the child can increase and build a larger circle of interaction with an adult who meets the child at his current developmental level and who builds on the child's particular strengths. The goal in Floortime is to move the child through the six basic developmental milestones that must be mastered for emotional and intellectual growth. Greenspan describes the six rungs on the developmental ladder as: self regulation and interest in the world; intimacy or a special love for the world of human relations; two-way communication; complex communication; emotional ideas; and emotional thinking. The autistic child is challenged in moving naturally through these milestones as a result of sensory over- or under-reactions, processing difficulties, and/or poor control of physical responses.
In Floortime, the parent engages the child at a level the child currently enjoys, enters the child's activities, and follows the child's lead. From a mutually shared engagement, the parent is instructed how to move the child toward more increasingly complex interactions, a process known as "opening and closing circles of communication." Floortime does not separate and focus on speech, motor, or cognitive skills but rather addresses these areas through a synthesized emphasis on emotional development. The intervention is called Floortime because the parent gets down on the floor with the child to engage him at his level.