PARENTING AUTISM & ASPERGERS NEWSLETTER
VOLUME 16
FEBRUARY 2008

This is Dave Angel and Welcome to the sixteenth edition
of “The Parenting Autism & Aspergers Newsletter”…..

Inside this edition you will find:

1. Thank You and the Broken Blog………

2. Hot Topic of Discussion - Wifi causes autism?

3. In the News – The Kirton Family who have 6 children with
autism

4. Parenting Tips - Finding the right physician

5. Famous Autistic Person - Tito Mukhopadhyay

Best Wishes

Dave Angel

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1. Thank You

I just wanted to say a big Thank You to everyone who took part
in the competition on the blog in January……and everyone who
recently purchased a copy of The Parenting Aspergers Volume 2.

I really appreciate your support and commitment which allows me
to keep this whole things running.

Just a couple of housekeeping bits on this topic:

* The Parenting Aspergers Volume 2 is now no longer available
at the special pre-release price.

But if you still would like a copy its been released to the
general public and you can get a copy at:

http://www.ParentingAspergers.com/Volume2.htm

* I had my web guy make some changes to the blog as a number
of people said that they could not read it too well in their
browser.

I would really appreciate if you could email me back at
sales@parentingaspergers.com to let me know if this has solved
the problem………..or you can just put a short post on the
blog to tell me.

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2. Hot Topic of Discussion - Wifi causes autism?

Recently according to a study by Dr. George Carlo in
Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine,
the signals emitted by Wi-Fi routers cause metals to be
trapped in brain cells, thereby accelerating the onset of
autism.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm interesting one this!

Just wondering how generations of children with autism in
the pre-technology age ever managed to become diagnosed with
autism?!

I have looked into this a little more and as far as I can tell
there appears to be no/little scientific evidence to back this
up……..

There are blogs all over the web debating it (as with any bits
of news……….particularly if it’s to do with geeky techno
appliances or possible “government conspiracy” theories)…

One post I read which I found helpful was:

“The increase in incidence of autism far pre-dates significant
use of wireless technology, more specifically WiFi.

I also recommend you google “Australasian Journal of Clinical
Environmental Medicine.”

No one can find it and it’s being treated as a hoax by several
autism sites.”

Now I have no doubt that wi-fi like many modern technologies
could be a potential source of all kinds of damaging toxins…

But for goodness sake leave autism out of it unless there’s some
real proof………

There appears to be no real evidence and all something like
this tends to do is add to the often negative perception
of the media and general public that autism is something to fear
and not something to understand………..
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3. In the News – The Kirton Family who have 6 children with autism

Many of you in the USA may have already seen the Kirton family
on the Good Morning America show and no doubt they have been
in the newspapers too with such national exposure.

Well they are a family where all 6 children are diagnosed with
autism.

Their full range of children are:

Robert (Bobby), boy, 14, - High functioning Autism

Emma girl, 9 - Aspergers

Nephi (Nee-fi), boy, 8, - Aspergers

Sarah girl, 6, - Classic Autism

Ammon boy, 4, - Classic Autism

Mary girl, 3, - PDD-NOS

Now according to research this is an extremely rare situation
as the stat’s say that if you have a child with autism the
chances are only about 15% that you will have a sibling with a
similar diagnosis………

Well so much for statistics………!

I have known families with 2 autistic children and felt that
their parents have done a great job in circumstances that can
be very challenging at times.

But for Robin and John Kirton to raise 6 children with autism;
well my hat goes off to them………

It’s quite frankly an amazing achievement up there with any
Pulitzer, Oscar or Nobel Peace Prize winner……….

But like so many parents they will just go about their
daily business coping with the many challenges that arise and
also enjoying the good times that will also be there too….

Here’s what they say in their own words about their
children………

“They’re just so wonderful in their own unique ways, and we
accept them and love them for who they are, and they just
bring so much joy into our lives, and we just love being their
parents,” says Robin.

“We do love them, and want to take care of them, and just hope
for a better day to make their lives easier,” says John.

In addition to their busy schedule they have started their
owen website to support other parents and have designed some
great tshirts for children with autism…..

My 2 favourites have the following great slogans on them:

“I’m Autistic and I think you’re wierd too!”

“Eye contact is OVERRATED”

Check out their website at http://www.autismbites.com/
which also has links to their tshirts…

To read about their story at ABC online go to:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4245377&page=1
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4. Parenting Tips - Finding the right physician

Thanks to everyone who emailed in with their parenting tips
last month………they are much appreciated by everyone…

This month’s tip comes from Terry (in Georgia) so thanks again
Terry…….and here’s the tip…..

“Don’t know if this is the kind of “tip” you seek for your
newsletter but …My grandson was diagnosed as Asperger/ADHD
in 2007 after much frustration,changes in medications for
ADHD, etc.

Our local pediatric community was of virtually no help (as
would be the situation in most small/mid-size communities).

After several fruitless searches and useless referrals, we
found a Developmental Pediatrician whose specialty is
ADD/ADHD/Asperger.

Anyone within driving distance of Macon, Georgia might like to
know there is understanding and assistance in the offices of
Dr. Stephen Copps and Mark Prigitano, therapist who works
with Dr. Copps to help children develop social skills, greater
self-esteem, etc.

Terry”

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5. Famous Autistic Person - Tito Mukhopadhyay

Tito is a young man from India who is diagnosed with severe
autism and who has virtually no verbal communication skills.

But he is able to write and communicate through the most
eloquent writing and poetry; and has even won national
awards for this.

He was featured a lot in the media in India before he and his
mother were sponsored to go to the USA by the Autism Speaks
Group.

In fact in previous newsletters I have mentioned his mum as
she introduced an approach to autism called “The Rapid
Prompting Method”.

He has now written several books:

“Beyond the Silence: my life, the world and autism”

and

“The Gold of The Sunbeams”.

You can read more about Tito at:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/tito.php

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito_Mukhopadhyay
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Well that’s all for this edition and I hope you
enjoyed it.

The next edition of the newsletter should be due in
mid-March.

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 (send them to:
tips@parentingaspergers.com).

We will publish as many as we can.

Until next month………

Best Wishes

Dave Angel