3rd Annual RECOVERED CHILDREN & THEIR PARENTS MEETING

• Time: 1-4pm
• Location: Vineyard Newport Church
• Costs: FREE
• RSVP Required: NO – just come own down!

TACA New Parent Seminar

• Time: 9 am-4 pm
• Location:  Vineyard Newport Church
• Costs: $28 per person, $45 per couple –
  THIS IS THE LAST NEW PARENT SEMINAR FOR 2006!
• For detailed agenda & registration information – please see: http://www.tacanow.com/parent_seminar.htm 
• To register online please see: http://www.tacanow.com/shop.htm
  RSVP Required:  YES

Speech Therapy

• Time: 1-4pm
• Location: Vineyard Newport Church
• Costs: FREE
• RSVP Required: NO – just come own down!

TACA Parent Education Seminar Series featuring DONNA WILLIAMS!

• Time: 2 pm-5 pm
• Location:  Vineyard Newport Church
• Costs: $15 per person PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 10th, $20 per person AFTER NOVEMBER 11 th and on-site registration
• To register online please see: http://www.tacanow.com/shop.htm
  RSVP Required:  YES

4th Annual School District Roundtable Meeting

• Time: 1-4pm
• Location: Vineyard Newport Church
• Costs: FREE
• RSVP Required:  YES – please RSVP with your name, child’s age & school district name – ENTRANCE TO THIS MEETING IS NOT ALLOWED WITHOUT YOUR RSVP. ONLY TACA PARENTS CAN ATTEND THIS MEETING.

(Please do not contact the church for meeting details. They have graciously offered use of their facility, but are not affiliated with TACA.) And remember, we are still a non-faith based group!

Directions:
405 FWY South, Exit Bristol
Right on Bristol
Left on Baker
Go under FREEWAY.
The Vineyard Church is on the corner just after the freeway - turn left onto the freeway access road,
make FIRST right into the Vineyard's parking lot.

• Meets: Typically meets the 1st Sunday of each month
• Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
• Location: Jumping Genius – 22750 Roscoe Blvd West Hills, CA
  (the corner of Roscoe Blvd & Fallbrook Ave)
• Information: Please contact Moira Giammatteo or Cathy Beier
• Child Care: This is not offered at this time, sorry. Because of liability insurance limitations of the donated facility, there are no exceptions to this policy, we are sorry.
  • Sunday - October 1, 2006 – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. -
    SPEAKER: Dr. Geoff Radoff
    TOPIC: Biomedical Treatment of Autism using the DAN! Methodology and Homeopathics
  • Sunday – November 5, 2006 – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
    SPEAKER: Erica Roest from Autism Behavioral Consultants -
    TOPIC: How to Incorporate Social Skills & Peers into your ABA program

• Meets: Typically meets the fourth Tuesday of each month
• Time: 6:30 pm-9:00 pm
• Info: Becky Estepp
• Location: Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church - 17010 Pomerado Road,
  San Diego, CA 92128 - Skylight East and West rooms
• Note: We have no affiliation to the church, so please do not contact them regarding our group
• Information: Please contact Becky Estepp
• Child Care: We are sorry – this free service is no longer available
  • September 26 --Dr. Kurt Woeller "Supplements--What are they? What they do and how they can help your ASD child---A DAN doctor's perspective
  • October 24, 2006  Starting the biomedical journey
    Presented by: Lisa Ackerman
    Biomedical treatments for autism spectrum disorders can be a confusing addition to traditional therapies. This seminar will cover:
    • Why you should consider biomedical treatments
    • How to start
    • What to look for
    • What is available as an option
    • How are these treatments paid for

    This seminar will be presented by a parent – not a doctor – in hopes of providing some suggestions and insight for other parents with children on the spectrum

• Meets: Meets the 3rd Saturday of each month
• Time: 1:30–4:30 p.m.
• Location: Peppermint Ridge - 825 Magnolia Avenue, Corona CA  92883
• Information: Please contact Tami Duncan
• Child Care: This is not offered at this time, sorry.
  • September 16, 2006 from 1:30 - 4:30 – Speaker: Tim Adams - Special Education Attorney from Roberts & Adams - Topic- "Avoiding common pitfalls in the IEP meeting"
  • October, 21 2006 from 1:30 - 4:30 – Speaker: Susan Hollar, MS CCC – RDI (r) Program Certified Consultant Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist - Topic - Relationship Development Intervention in Autism
  • November 18, 2006 from 1:30 - 4:30 – Speaker: Dr. Kurt Woeller, D.O. - DAN (Defeat Autism Now! Practitioner) Topic - Advanced Biomedical Interventions for Autism - Chelation, HBOT, anti-viral therapy, etc.
  • December 16, 2006 - End of the year potluck - details to be announced

• Meets: Meets the 3rd Monday of each month
• Location: Whole Foods Market - 2655 Pacific Coast Hiway - Torrance (@ the Rolling Hills Shopping Center)
• Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
• Information: Please contact Beth Mulholland
• Childcare: This is not offered at this time, sorry.
  • September 18th, Karen DeFelice, Enzyme-Autism Presentation
  • October 16th, Dr. Schummer, ADD Treatment Center, Recent advances in treatment of children with autism utilizing neurofeedback
  • November 20th, DAN Doctor, Dr. Geoff Radoff

• Meets: 3rd Wednesday of month
• Time: 6:00-6:30 pm “Happy Hour” with GFCF Snacks & Coffee for Support
  6:30-8:30 pm is the education portion with a speaker
• Location: (Tulare County) Kaweah Delta Multi-Service Center Auditorium, 402 W. Acequia, Visalia.
• Information: Please contact Lynne Arnold
• Childcare: We are sorry, this is not offered at this time.

• Meets: 2nd Tuesday of each month
• NEW LOCATION: Family Resource Center
  1425 Corporate Center Parkway , Santa Rosa, CA – 707-524-6677
• Time: 6:00-7:30 p.m.
• For more info: Cathy Ference
• Childcare: This is not offered at this time, sorry.
• Note: Parents are welcome to bring their little ones. Katie from the Swain Center will come to the Sept/Oct meetings to help with the children - then she will be off to have her own little one!

      By Ian Johnston.

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1308572006

      Probiotic bacteria given to autistic children improved their concentration and behaviour so much that medical trials collapsed because parents refused to accept placebos, a scientist revealed yesterday.

      The effect of the bacteria was so pronounced that some of the parents taking part in what was supposed to be a blind trial realised their children were taking something other than a placebo.

      A number then refused to give their children the placebo when they were due to switch, resulting in the collapse of the trial.

      Glenn Gibson, a microbiologist who ran the study of 40 autistic children aged between four and eight, said this meant it was difficult to draw any firm conclusions and he is planning to carry out further research.

      However, he said parents had told him the probiotic bacteria was having a beneficial effect, resulting in "better concentration and better behaviour".

      One parent said it was "heartbreaking" to have to stop their child taking it.

      "It was really challenging for us and the parents. I'd really like to go back to it and do it in a better way, with perhaps more professional help from people who know how to deal with autistic children," said Prof Gibson.

      "The trial ultimately failed because of the large number of drop-outs.

About half the kids dropped out. Some of the parents worked out their child was on the test and didn't want to move on to the placebo."

      Autistic children often suffer bowel conditions and Prof Gibson said a previous study had found high levels of a "bad" bacteria called clostridia in the gut.

      The probiotic was then designed to reduce the levels of clostridia and promote "friendly" bacteria instead to see what effect this would have.

      Prof Gibson, from Reading University, said the children appeared to show fewer signs of autism when taking the probiotic supplement, which was given in a powder once a day.

      "Very subjectively, we asked the parents to fill in diaries about the mood of the children. We got very positive feedback generally," he said.

      He said that certain kinds of clostridia produced neuro- toxins, which potentially could be the cause of autism or a contributory factor.

      However, he said this was speculation and the apparent improvement could also simply be because the children had felt better.

      "If your gut is not behaving yourself, you feel rough," Prof Gibson said.

      The first bacteria in the gut is received from the mother during birth and then comes from the outside environment, with diet playing an important role.

      "They [infants] may be under medication for an infection and that may have an effect," Prof Gibson said.

      "There are all sorts of different factors that may affect that [the bacterial make-up of the gut]."

      There was a scare over widely discredited claims that autism was linked to the MMR - measles, mumps and rubella - vaccine given to children.

      Asked whether he thought childhood vaccines could have an effect, Prof Gibson said: "No. I don't think there is anything in this MMR business at all."

      It is estimated that 535,000 people in the UK have some kind of autism, including a milder form called Asperger's Syndrome.

      The condition affects four times as many boys as girls for reasons that are not clearly understood.

      A spokeswoman for the National Autistic Society (NAS), the UK's leading charity for people with the condition and their families, said it followed new research into possible treatments with great interest.

      She went on: "There is anecdotal evidence that certain vitamins and diets do have benefits for some people with autism. However, a great deal more research remains to be done in this area.

      "The NAS looks forward to seeing the results of the further research that Professor Gibson hopes to conduct in the future."

      She said that "rigorous scientific evaluation" was necessary to gauge the effects of any new treatment.

      A whole range of therapies had been tried in the past, from medication and behavioural therapy to aromatherapy and swimming with dolphins, with varying degrees of success.

Finding Leads Kennedy Krieger Researchers Down  New Road in Autism Research

BALTIMORE , M.D. -- September 7, 2006 -- Autism spectrum  disorders (ASD) will be diagnosed in more children this year than AIDS,  diabetes and cancer combined, yet researchers and physicians can identify  medical causes in only 10 percent of cases.

But, a study published in the American Journal of  Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) found that a  small subgroup of children with ASD have abnormally low cholesterol levels  (hypocholesterolemia), leading researchers to believe cholesterol may play a  role in the cause of some cases of the disorder. The children's low  cholesterol levels were apparently due to a limited ability to make  cholesterol.

Nineteen of the 100  children who participated in the study were found to have total cholesterol  levels below 100 mg/dL, which is lower than that found in 99 percent of  children. The average cholesterol level for children between 4 and 19 years of  age is 165 mg/dl, as determined by the Center for Disease Control's National  Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2006).

The study authors found evidence that the low  cholesterol levels were caused by a reduced ability of the body to naturally  produce cholesterol, and not by inadequate amounts of cholesterol in the diet  or gastrointestinal problems that interfere with cholesterol absorption, two  of the more common causes of low blood cholesterol levels. Of the 19  individuals in the low cholesterol group, 13 (68%) met criteria for an autism  diagnosis and 6 (32%) met criteria for a different disorder on the autism  spectrum, such as Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder not  otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

"We  know that people can tolerate having low cholesterol, so we suspect that  deficiencies in cholesterol combined with mutations to a specific gene may  have resulted in autism spectrum disorders in these children," said lead  author Elaine Tierney, MD, Director of the Autism Metabolic Research Program  at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. "Our next steps are to  determine if other abnormalities of cholesterol metabolism can be risk factors  for the development of autism."

The  study examined blood samples from 100 children with ASD who met four criteria:  1) member of a family with two or more individuals with ASD; 2) over two years  of age; 3) abnormally slow attainment of a subset of developmental milestones;  and 4) assessment utilizing a standardized autism interview. Blood samples  were drawn from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), a blood  collection repository. Although only a very small proportion of children with  autism come from families with two or more affected children, these children  are much more likely to have a genetic cause of autism and less likely to have  autism due to an environmental cause or early brain  injury.

"This study underscores the  critical importance of families participating in blood collection  repositories," said Dr. Gary Goldstein, President and CEO of the Kennedy  Krieger Institute. "I believe these repositories hold great promise in helping  researchers explore causes and potential treatments for autism spectrum  disorders, such as a possible nutritional intervention for some of these  children with cholesterol deficiencies."

Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, in  collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and AGRE, the  organization that provided the 100 blood samples tested in this study, have  now begun analyzing the genes of the children with low cholesterol. These  children's genes are being compared to their parents' to determine if there  are common mutations affecting cholesterol metabolism being passed from parent  to child. These same families have also performed behavioral and IQ testing  with AGRE, allowing data to be grouped and analyzed based upon the outcomes of  the gene research. This study was supported by funding from Cure Autism Now  and the Smith-Lemli-Opitz/RSH Foundation.

About Autism Spectrum Disorders  (ASD)
Autism is the fastest growing  developmental disorder in the United States. Today, 1 in 166 individuals is  diagnosed with the disorder, which occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social  groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Deficits in  social interaction, limited verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive  behaviors and obsessions characterize children with ASD, whose formal  diagnosis may be autism, or a milder disorder on the spectrum such as Asperger  syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified  (PDD-NOS). For most affected individuals, autism is a serious and lifelong  disorder. While there have been notable advances in ASD research over the last  10 years, the cause of autism in most children remains unknown. Continued  research is crucial to understanding all causes of ASD and allowing the  earliest detection and intervention for affected families. Previous studies  have shown that early identification and treatment can lead to improved  outcomes in individuals with ASD.

SOURCE: Kennedy Krieger Institute