This is Dave Angel.  Welcome to the twenty-fourth edition
of “The Parenting Autism & Aspergers Newsletter”…

Inside this edition you will find:

1. Hot Topic of Discussion - Autism a Hot Topic in Canadian
Federal Election

2. In the News – Second Life Offers Aid for Aspergers
ABC News,  Jan 16, 2008

3. Parenting Tips - Parenting a Child with Asperger Syndrome:
200 Tips and Strategies

4. Prominent People Linked with ASD - Albert Einstein, Scientist

Thanks

Dave

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1. Hot Topic of Discussion -

Autism a Hot Topic in Canadian Federal Election

This fall, the Canadian federal election may become a battleground for
autism funding. Many Canadian parents are furious at the lack of services
for autistic children and are demanding that legislators make changes.
A fight between parents of autistic children and Canadian provincial
governments over funding for autim therapy may be addressed in the
federal election.

Medicare for Autism Now, an activist group, has developed a campaign
called “The Two Percent Solution.” The campaign targets the reelection
of federal Minister of Health Tony Clement and other incumbents who won
seats in the last election by less than two per cent. The campaign will
demand that they support Canada Health Act coverage for autism treatment and full funding for intensive one-to-one therapies or face non-election.

Many Canadian families with autistic children struggle financially to
provide their children with therapies that are only partly funded by the
provincial governments. “The responsibility for delivering health services
in Canada rests with the provinces and territories and it is at that level
that the issue must be addressed. The Canada Health Act (CHA) requires
provinces and territories to provide coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services. The Act does not deal with individual medical conditions. Services provided outside of hospitals, or by health professionals other than physicians, are not insured health services under the CHA. Canada’s Government has already begun to address the issues that individuals with ASD and their families are facing,” states Jean Lewis of Medicare for Autism Now.

A 2004 Ipsos-Reid poll showed that 89% of Canadians support medicare coverage for autism treatment. Some provinces like New Brunswick provide families with up to $20,000 per year in funding for autism treatment until a child is six. After that, funding falls to a maximum payment of $6,000. Autism treatment
funding varies widely in Canada; Alberta and Newfoundland pay $40,000 a year, Saskatchewan $25,000, Manitoba $6,000, New Brunswick pays up to $20,000.

The governments’ rationale for the reduction in funding when children reach school age, is that the schools receive an extra $16,000 per year for each student on the autism spectrum. Parents claim that schools do not do enough to treat the students and the responsibility for further treatment falls heavily on parents.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in the fall election regarding this issue.

To read the full article please go to: http://www.autismspot.com/news/Autism-a-Hot-Topic-Canadian-Federal-Election and http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/09/01/Autism/

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

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2. In the News – Second Life Offers Aid for Aspergers
ABC News, Jan 16, 2008

Young people with Aspergers syndrome, who have difficulty picking up social cues, are getting help from the virtual world “Second Life,” ABC News reports. Researchers have found that Second Life, in which users communicate with others by creating an online avatar (an online persona represented in picture form), is more effective than other therapies for helping “Aspies” learn how to handle social situations, such as asking another avatar out on a date or requesting a raise from a boss avatar.

Researchers believe that these exercises in the virtual world feel more real than when Aspies role-play with a therapist, and, for that reason, are more effective and enjoyable. It remains to be seen if Aspies, who can be inflexible, will be able to use the skills they learn online in the real world. Many Aspies love using computers, which is definitely a positive in this situation. But, a negative may be that they will feel more comfortable in the virtual world and be unwilling to use their skills in the real one.

To read the article go to: http://www.newser.com/tag/18241/1/aspergers-syndrome.html

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

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3. Parenting Tips -  We are running short on parents tips so
if you have anything you’d like to share please add them on
the blog at:

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

I have an excellent quick homework tip from Karen in
Sydney, Australia this week:

In reference to homework - my son has been diagnosed with
Aspergers this year and is in kindergarten. Homework was a
real nightmare in the afternoons, so we now set aside some
time after a healthy breakfast. I also copy the homework
assignment so that my younger son can join in as well and
make it a family time. It seems to work because my son is
fresher in the morning. I might try adding some classical
music as well to see how it goes!

Remember you can post your tips at:

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

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4. Prominent People Linked with ASD - Albert Einstein,
Scientist

Albert Einstein, who was born in 1879 and died in 1955, was an American theoretical physicist often rumored to have had either autism or Aspergers Syndrome.  He was born in Germany of Jewish background and won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921.  He made many contributions to science including the theory of relativity and held strong political opinions, but never joined a political party, even after moving to the US as an adult. Einstein had very delayed speech development as a child, narrowly-focused interests from childhood on, and ignored school subjects that did not interest him.  He would repeat sentences endlessly as a child. He was not popular with other children and disliked by teachers. However, Einstein apparently had a good sense of humor. Einstein’s first wife Mileva, a mathematician, also had a brilliant mind and together they had three children, one illegitimate daughter, one son who became an engineering professor, and another who was institutionalized as a schizophrenic. Einstein worked on the Manhattan Project which eventually developed the atom bomb, used at the end of WWII. Einstein’s brain was preserved after his death and has been carefully studied by scientists. They found that some parts of his brain were more developed than normal and others less so. They also found more glial cells (important for nerve signal transmission) in parts of his brain.
To see the full text of the articles go to: http://rarediseases.about.com/cs/aspergersyndrome/a/041003.htm,
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bleinstein.htm and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein’s_brain

Einstein may have had Aspergers Syndrome, but was never formally diagnosed.
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I hope the information in this month’s newsletter was valuable
to you.

The next edition of the newsletter is due in November.

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.

Until next month………

Best Wishes

Dave Angel