PARENTING AUTISM & ASPERGER’S NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 26
December 2008

Hi this is Dave Angel.  Welcome to the twenty-sixth edition
of “The Parenting Autism & Asperger’s Newsletter”

Inside this edition you will find:

1. Hot Topic of Discussion – Docs Say Pooch Helps 11 Year Old – Posh Building Tried
To Keep Them Apart

2. In the News – Autistic Mum’s Baby Taken into Care

3. Prominent People Linked with ASD – Lewis Carroll, Author

4. Parenting Tip -  Helping the police

Thanks

Dave

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1. Hot Topic of Discussion – Docs Say Pooch Helps 11-year old – Posh Building Tried to Keep Them Apart
By Kerry Burke and Thomas Zambito
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Thursday, November 13, 2008

The U.S. federal government sued the owners of a posh New York apartment building for trying to come between a boy and his dog.  Federal prosecutors accused the owners of discriminating against Aaron Schein by preventing him from bringing home a dog that doctors say will help the 11-year-old cope with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The lawsuit says the Townsend House Corporation violated the Fair Housing Act by imposing unreasonable demands on Aaron’s parents before they’d let them bring a dog into the building where one-bedroom apartments cost $1.5 million.  The demands included: the dog could weigh no more than ten pounds, couldn’t be left alone for more than two hours, and must be brought in and out in a carrying case, on the service elevator.  Also, if the dog barked, it could be forced to wear a muzzle.  And, the family would have to buy one million dollars in liability insurance.

All of this was demanded, in spite of the fact that the boy’s doctor and a doctor hired by the building owner both agreed the dog was medically necessary!
Aaron’s parents have appealed.  The family is asking a judge to allow them to bring the dog (a Labradoodle) home and award them monetary damages because Aaron was discriminated against under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
To read the full article, go to: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/11/12/2008-11-12_docs_say_pooch_helps_11year_old__posh_bu.html

People mentioned above as having Asperger’s Syndrome may or may not have actually have been diagnosed with it.

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2.  In the News – Wales Online

Autistic Mum’s Baby Taken into Care
July 7, 2007 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail

The grandfather of a baby taken into care immediately after he was born accused social services of discriminating against his daughter because she has a form of autism.  The mother of the baby, 21 years old, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome a few years ago.  The Monmouthshire County Council placed the unborn baby on an ‘at risk’ register before it was born.  They claimed that because the mother has Asperger’s Syndrome, she is at risk of getting post-natal depression and would neglect the baby.

The baby’s grandparents offered to allow the mother and baby to stay with them, but were rejected.  The baby was placed with a foster caregiver in a remote part of South Wales, which takes several hours to get to by public transport.

The baby’s mother is claiming that the Disability Discrimination Act, the Mental Health Act, the Children’s Act, and the Human Rights Act have all been violated.  Social Services claim that it has the welfare and best interest of the child as its major responsibility.

To read the full article, go to:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/tm_headline=autistic-mum–8217-s-baby-taken-into-care&method=full&objectid=19418874&siteid=50082-name_page.html
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3. Prominent People Linked with ASD – Lewis Carroll, Author

Lewis Carroll was born in 1832 and died in 1898.  His real name was Reverend Charles L. Dodgson.  He wrote the classic children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  Carroll may have had Asperger’s Syndrome, but that is speculation.   His nonsense poem “Jabberwocky” has been called “the king of neologistic poems.”  He was also a mathematician, logician, photographer, academic, and Anglican clergyman.  As a child he was gifted intellectually, a stutterer, and his parents were first cousins.  He never married, suffered from migraine headaches, and may have had epilepsy.

Some researchers believe that the most imaginative minds in history prove that there is a link between “mental illness/disability” and greatness, possibly caused by the same genes.  It is possible that Carroll began writing and painting as a form of “self-help.”  However, he did not lack in imagination and creativity.

To see the full text of the article go to: http://www.rense.com/general66/madness.htm

People mentioned above may have had Asperger’s Syndrome, but were never formally diagnosed.
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4. Parenting Tip – Helping the police

Here’s a great little tip from a parent who is anonymous …

Hi, today i went to the Police station to add us (my asd son and me(family/carer)) to their computer system. I highly recommend everyone to do this. It only takes 30min and for a life of peace!

Especially useful for those times when melt-downs and aggression happens in home or public and police get involved…or if you have a “runner” an asd kid who wanders off or runs away a lot.

It makes it so the police have a you and your asd kid in their files to look up and be prepared as to what to expect when they encounter your asd kid and importantly what they should NOT do ! Medications and allergies and close friend for emergency contact.
it’s simple and if you’re hurt or your child is lost they know what to do to best help.
Please I urge all to do this.

Thanks to whoever supplied this great tip. And just as a side note it is probably useful to also provide this information to your local social services department as they may well be involved too if a young person with ASD ends up missing or in trouble with the police. Please keep sending in tips for me to share with others by adding your tip to the blog at:

http://parentingaspergers.com/blog/parenting-tips-wanted/

I hope this month’s newsletter was interesting and that you enjoyed it.

The next edition of the newsletter is due in January, 2009.

And as ever … please send in any inspirational stories that you know of, any questions that you would like our team of experts to answer, any topics that you wish to be discussed, and news stories that you want to share VIA THE BLOG.

We will publish as many as we can.

There is a final article for 2008 on the blog this week as usual. Then the next will be in 2009! So have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Until next month………

Best Wishes

Dave Angel