Neil Young

Just of the press from the NAS http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata&v=JB6xDpgtepU&gl=GB

That is right Vannie. On the ADI he would not be diagnosed BUT there ia more involved than just the ADI, not least the clinician's experience in the area of autism. I worry about terms such as "high functioning Aspergers". It is true that the ADI and in particular the ADOS are not as sensitive as they could be and it also depends upon which version / module was used. However there are always grey bounadries between social eccentricity / social phobia and some related speciific language disorders which would need to be considered differentially. Think of it as a aVenn Diagram. It ain't easy diagnosing!

The ADI-R interview generates scores in each of the three content areas (i.e., communication and language, social interaction, and restricted, repetitive behaviors). Elevated scores indicate problematic behavior in a particular area. Scores are based on the clinician's judgment following the caregiver's report of the child's behavior and development. For each item, the clinician gives a score ranging from 0 to 3. A score of 0 is given when "behavior of the type specified in the coding is not present"; a score of 1 is given when ?behavior of the type specified is present in an abnormal form, but not sufficiently severe or frequent to meet the criteria for a 2?; a score of 2 indicates "definite abnormal behavior? meeting the criteria specified; and a score of 3 is reserved for "extreme severity" of the specified behavior. (The authors of the measure recode 3 as a 2 in computing the algorithm.) There are also scores of 7 (?definite abnormality in the general area of the coding, but not of the type specified?), 8 (?not applicable?), and 9 (?not known or not asked?) given under certain circumstances, which all are converted to 0 in computing the algorithm. A classification of autism is given when scores in all three content areas of communication, social interaction, and patterns of behavior meet or exceed the specified cutoffs, and onset of the disorder is evident by 36 months of age. The same algorithm is used for children from mental ages 18 months through adulthood, with three versions containing minor modifications: 1) a life-time version; 2) a version based on current behavior; and 3) a version for use with children under the age of 4 years. The algorithm specifies a minimum score in each area to yield a diagnosis of autism as described in ICD-10 and DSM-IV. The total cutoff score for the communication and language domain is 8 for verbal subjects and 7 for nonverbal subjects. For all subjects, the cutoff for the social interaction domain is 10, and the cutoff for restricted and repetitive behaviors is 3. The ADI is part of a whole range of other assessments including the ADOS. Technically CCS does not meet the criteria for ASD as the Interests & Behaviour Score=1 (Clinical cutoff 3) is below cut off. http://portal.wpspublish.com/portal/page?_...;_schema=PORTAL

This may help and includes the Foundation Stage http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=12968

This is useful http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=128&a=3346 Ghaziuddin, M. (2005). Mental health aspects of autism and Asperger syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley. 1843107279.

Please remember that the true definition of EXPERT (thank you Mumble) is X = an unknown quantity Spert = A drip uner pressure BEWARE THE EXPERTS!

Sounds great - pray tell more

Pearl Ah yes, I remember it well........................ Perhaps the question all should ask, parents and professionals (those who fund Higashi, ABA or clog dancing therapy!) is "If it doesn't work do I get my money back?" Quid Pro Quo - as Del Boy would say!

Interesting http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/health/artic...e-children.html

Saw this and it sounded sensible! Breaking the Cycle of Perfectionism by Diana Nielsen Do you think you might be a perfectionist? Many of us who have been wondering about ourselves or someone we know attended Judy Galbraith?s presentation on ?Breaking the Cycle of Perfectionism? at Pittsford Middle School. Judy is the president of Free Spirit Publishing whose mission is to help kids help themselves. They offer a catalog of publications addressing issues about many subjects including behavior disorders, bullies, conflict resolution, goal setting, health and nutrition, social skills, self esteem and violence. The focus of her lecture was perfectionism and the stress that comes with it. Her first slide pictured a dog at the psychiatrist?s office. The caption was ?Sure it?s always good dog - but is it ever great dog?? She gave us a pop quiz. We discovered some of the traits of perfectionists. One is that they may insist on finishing each project in every detail, working and working until they get it right. Then, they aren?t satisfied with the results. They also tend to be critical of others if they don?t live up to their standards There is no evidence that perfectionism is genetic but it does run in families. Every day we see ads telling us we should have perfect makeup, perfect cars and perfect children. She stressed that there is a difference between striving for excellence and seeking perfectionism. A perfectionist doesn?t feel satisfied with his performance whereas someone who strives for excellence would look back and feel satisfied with a job well done. Perfectionism comes from not feeling elevated, the ?If only I had . . . ? syndrome. It takes more than a competent intellect to be a success. Sometimes the more you think about something, the worse it gets. The less a person understands his own feelings, the more he falls prey to them. We need to feel pleased with how we are acquiring a healthy self esteem. Ms. Galbraith read some letters from students who have heard her speak. One boy wanted to know if potential goes away when we get older. Potential is something we can love or loathe. It means having something to offer but it can be a burden to try harder, work smarter and do better. ?I want to be an artist, but I must strive to be a brain surgeon.? ? I made the junior varsity, but I could have tried out for varsity.? ? I?m in the top 20 percent of the class but I should have been the valedictorian.? In some families you are not allowed to express negative emotions. ?If you don?t have anything nice to say, don?t say it.? Look at your vocabulary around emotions. Do you know the difference between frustrated and mad? Sometimes all we know is mad. There is a place where we can find optimal performance between too low and too high demand, too much and too little stimulation. This means finding a balance of stress whether it applies to intellectual, athletic, artistic or interpersonal pursuits. It?s important to remember what is stressful for one person may not be for another. How do we achieve good results without exhausting ourselves and how do we accomplish work without undue stress? The speaker?s list of self care skills sound familiar, sensible and straightforward. 1) Get physical activity and stay fit. 2) You are what you eat. 3) Practice relaxation. Your body talks to you all the time. Learn to listen. Remember to breathe. 4) Find support from friends. 5) Be assertive. To get your needs met you may have to ask for that. If you feel powerless, describe what?s going on in simple language, tell how you feel and ask for things to be different. Another tool is the fine art of prioritizing. Not everything worth doing is worth doing well. She asked the audience for an example of something not worth doing well. Someone mentioned housework. We may waste time finishing a project not worth finishing rather than starting something new that is worth it. We will go without enough sleep, but adequate sleep is necessary because during that time, we actually do problem solving so we can function better. When it comes to learning and development, optimal knowledge and achievement come in levels, clusters and spurts. We develop each level in a cycle related to brain growth. As we take in new learning, our ?intelligence? may move repeatedly to lower levels in order to build components to produce new higher levels. For me, this related to my experience with depression. It seems as if I plunge into an apathy and lethargy so deep that I find myself unable to do much of anything. Then later I am able to function at higher levels. This is something I have suspected for some time. Ms. Galbraith advised three techniques. 1) Practice saying ?It?s time to stop.? Give yourself time limits. 2) Reward yourself in the process of learning. 3) Redefine the word ?mistake? in your own mind. Mistakes are proof of growth and learning. One of the favorite expressions I have used with friends and family when things don?t turn out the way we had hoped has been ?It?s a learning experience.? Just because you are half way through something doesn?t mean what you did until that point didn?t matter. What do you do when you are around a young person and you make a mistake? Do you say ?I?m an idiot? or ?You didn?t see that. ?[insert ??? AP] What kind of model are you? Ms. Galbraith related an experience she had when she missed an airplane and was upset that she had to wait at the airport. She was becoming disagreeable and had started to blame others or [[and AP]] be unkind to the counter person. She sat down next to a somewhat disheveled man in the airport with a battered briefcase and a name tag from a conference he had been attending. It was Isaac Asimov. If she hadn?t missed the plane, she wouldn?t have had the chance to meet him. Madeline L?Engle?s Wrinkle in Time was turned down by 20 publishing houses because they said it would too hard for children to read. She later proposed that it may have been too hard for grownups. Sometimes when things don?t work out as we expected, if we are open to it, something even better will occur. Another technique to avoid perfectionism is developing a sense of humor. Find what?s funny even when you are sad or in pain. It is the opposite of taking yourself too seriously. It may help you put your experience in perspective. Pressures can blot out the lighter side of life. Think about what success is. Who determines it? Your relatives? Your neighbors? One thirteen year old said success is reaching his manifest destiny. Another said it is not worrying about her manifest destiny. During a question and answer period, someone asked about the connection between perfectionism and obsession compulsion. She said that those traits are seen in some perfectionists. If it goes that far, one should see a professional. What can you do to help someone who tends to be a perfectionist? Advise him to try something that he will probably do well. Break assignments down, mix them up and brainstorm with the person. Do some things just for the fun of it. Judy Galbraith spoke to an audience of parents in a middle school who were concerned for their children, but what she discussed could apply to anyone with perfectionist tendencies. Put This in a Box Examples of Perfectionism vs. the Pursuit of Excellence The Pursuit of Excellence means thinking more of yourself for trying something new. It leads to congratulating yourself on a job well done instead of beating yourself up because you didn?t do well enough. This difference is shown in the following examples: q Doing three drafts, staying up two nights in a row and being late because you had to get it right (and still feeling bad about it). Doing the research that is necessary for a project. Meeting the deadline and feeling good about what you learned. q Always working alone because no one can do as good a job as you ? and you don?t want anyone else to mess it up for you. Choosing to work on group projects because you enjoy learning from the varied experience and approaches of different people. q Deciding to organize and run a day care center. Deciding to baby-sit to earn some extra money. q Not being able to leave the house until everything is just so. Keeping your house cleaner and neater, vacuuming once a week, putting things away. Laura, This Should be another box: Traits of Perfectionism and Tips for Combating Them. 1. Setting unreasonable and impossible goals. Be average for a day. Allow yourself to be messy, late, incomplete . . . imperfect. Acknowledge that your expectations of yourself might be too high, even unrealistic. 2. Unsatisfied in an area of good results. Celebrate your success. Savor your past accomplishments. Write about how good they made you feel. 3. Unable to take risks (academically or socially ) because of fear of failing, not being best, not doing well enough. All-or-nothing view. Difficulty seeing situations or performances and projects other than good or bad. Take a risk. Sign up for a course with a reputation for being challenging. Start a conversation with someone you don?t know. Do a project or assignment without overdoing it. 4. Compulsive planning. Start a day without a plan. Alter your morning routine. 5. Critical of self or others. Join the human race. It?s less lonely when we accept our own and others? imperfections and feel part of life. 6. Afraid of making mistakes. Give yourself permission to make at least three mistakes a day. 7. Afraid of revealing weakness and imperfections. Share a weakness or limitation with a friend. Recognize that he or she doesn?t think any less of you as a result. 8. Procrastinate because of the need to do perfectly. Feel that your self worth depends on performance. Get involved in activities that are not graded or judged ? activities that focus on process, not product. 9. Difficulties in relationships expecting too much of self and others. Dissatisfaction with situations and relationships that are not ideal. Ask your friend to help you ?cure? your perfectionism. Perhaps they can give you a sign or a word when they notice you are being a perfectionist. 10. Experiencing stress and anxiety. Prone to depression. Difficulty in enjoying the present moment because preoccupied with the next hurdle. Stop using the ?should? in your self-talk. Remove ?I have to? from your conversation.

Norm Ledgin caused a stir with his book, Diagnosing Jefferson. The author claimed that the genius of America's third president was due to Asperger Syndrome, which could explain his 54-year obsession with building and rebuilding Monticello, his inability to control his spending, and his affair with a child/slave. After this book became a best seller, the author wrote Asperger's and Self-Esteem: Insight and Hope through Famous Role Models, which claims that thirteen giants of history - Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Mozart among them-also had Asperger Syndrome. Some people also believe that Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, Galileo, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Margaret Mead and Aristotle had Asperger Syndrome. Lately authors are adding Bill Gates to the list of famous Aspies because of his lack of social skills, inability to make eye contact and tendency to rock back and forth coupled with his obsession with technology. Diane Kennedy, an author and advocate for Asperger Syndrome, writes, "They are our visionaries, scientists, diplomats, inventors, chefs, artists, writers and musicians. They are the original thinkers and a driving force in our culture." Hans Asperger, the German doctor who discovered the syndrome, would agree with Kennedy's assessment. He believed that "for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential. The essential ingredient may be an ability to turn away from the everyday world, from the simply practical and to rethink a subject with originality so as to create in new untrodden ways with all abilities canalized into the one specialty." Likewise, Dr. Temple Grandin, an adult with autism who became a successful engineer, academic and speaker, believes that her disorder is an asset. She once famously called NASA a sheltered workshop for people with autism and Asperger Syndrome. She believes that people with autistic spectrum disorders are the great innovators, and "if the world was left to you socialites, nothing would get done and we would still be in caves talking to each other." However, it is absolutely impossible to diagnose anyone posthumously or without having the person in the room. Clinicians can only diagnose Asperger Syndrome by observing behaviors. Another problem in throwing people like Mozart and Benjamin Franklin into the Asperger population is that even if a person is in front of them, doctors have a hard time distinguishing between intellectual giftedness, Attention Deficit Disorder and Asperger Syndrome. There has been little research into the personalities of intellectually gifted people, but the few that have been done show that they are often intense, restless, strong-willed, and sensitive to light and sound -- all qualities of Asperger Syndrome. People with very high IQs often question the status quo, resist direction, have long attention spans, undergo periods of intense work and effort, and like to organize things even as children. Other people often perceive them as "different." All this is the same with those who have Asperger Syndrome. The idea that every Aspie is a potential genius can put undue pressure on a child with Asperger Syndrome. Luke Jackson, a thirteen-year-old author with Asperger Syndrome, complains that he is always watching television about high functioning autistic people who can do things like play the piano brilliantly without taking lessons, draw detailed renditions of buildings they had only seen once or add numbers in their heads like Rainman. "I find these television programs depressing," he says. "I got all the nerdiness and freakishness but none of the genius." Many people who are experts in Asperger Syndrome such as Dr. Teresa Bolick, Dr. Tony Attwood, and Dierdre Lovecky write about the positive aspects of Asperger Syndrome without focusing on the idea of genius. Lovecky notes how Aspies often have advanced vocabularies, recognize patterns others do not, and pursue ideas despite evidence to the contrary because they are not easily swayed by others' opinions. Their ability to focus on details and their inability to see the big picture means they can often come up with solutions to problems others overlook. Aspies are often willing to spend long hours in laboratories and in front of computer screens because they do not mind being alone. All this enables them to make tremendous contributions at work and school. Author Patricia Bashe points out that people often admire those who can work independently. She writes, "Our society celebrates the individual who does what he thinks is right and goes his own way." Because of their unusual reactions to stimuli such as light and sound, Aspies see the world differently than most people. They are able to comprehend multiple levels of meanings of words and can be fabulous punsters. When told they had to "eat and run," one Aspie said, "Oh, that's makes us carnivorous panty hose." Many experts relate that Aspies can make amazingly loyal friends. They are usually free from sexism or racism. They do not manipulate people but speak out frankly and honestly. They are sincere truth-tellers, whose naivety and trusting nature makes them incapable of backstabbing. As employees, they are completely dependable and follow the rules of the job. Psychologist Teresa Bolick writes, "Their deficits are actually assets, as they are unfettered by convention or manners. .Aspies help us stay grounded by questioning why we do what we do, why we need to get married" and other basic societal assumptions. Parents who have successfully raised happy and productive children with Asperger Syndrome often advise others to never give up or become discouraged. An Aspie who receives good help and professional services can lead a good life. The goal does not have to be about genius but rather everyday love and sharing among family members. Dr. Michael Powers, a psychologist who works with families with autism, says success for a person with Asperger Syndrome can be "going to work or school without many incidents." Success can be simply having "improved social relationships until the time when everyone's life becomes better. Life then becomes a more cooperative adventure for everyone and all." http://www.yourlittleprofessor.com/benefits.html

Take in some copies of these http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/asd/documents/Flyer4270606.pdf

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UyEeJyRSPfs http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=797&a=5022 http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=87709 http://www.zazzle.com/ejyoungquist/product...634385615183187

Three Italian nuns die and go to heaven. At the Pearly Gates, they are met by St. Peter. He says, 'Sisters, you all led such exemplary lives that the Lord is granting you six months to go back to earth and be anyone you wish to be The first nun says, 'I want to be Sophia Loren;' And *poof* she's gone. The second says, 'I want to be Madonna and *poof* she's gone. The third says, 'I want to be Sara Pipalini..' St. Peter looks perplexed. 'Who?' he ask 'Sara Pipalini,' replies the nun. St. Peter shakes his head and says, 'I'm sorry, but that name just doesn't ring a bell.' The nun then takes a newspaper out of her habit and hands it to St. Peter . St. Peter reads the paper and starts laughing. He hands it back to her and says. 'No sister, the paper says it was the ' Sahara Pipeline' that was laid by 1,400 men in 6 months.'

Teenage, tantrums, transitions Provider Blackpool Council , Blackpool Tiggers Event Date 2nd May 2008 Venue Imperial Hotel, North Promenade, North Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 2HB Details This is a one day conference considering the multifaceted impact of social, emotional, mental and physical demands in developing into an adult with autism. This event brings together a range of speakers with knowledge of experience of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The day seeks to explore the physical, mental and emotional impact of the process to adulthood, giving an opportunity to consider the elements taken together and to reflect on how each affects the other. Various perspectives from the theoretical to the practical will reveal insights for professionals, practitioners and parents, with an interest in helping those with an ASD grow into adulthood with less trauma and greater success. Speakers Rita Jordan, Olga Bogdashina, Geoff Evans, Ros Blackburn, Mick Connelly Duration 1 day; time: 9.00am - 4.30pm Target Audience Parents and carers of those with autism or Asperger syndrome, Educational Psychologists, Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Children's Services staff, Health Professionals, Local Authority staff and anyone with a general interest in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) Keywords Transition Hi All.I have Edited this to remove contact details in line with Forum rules.Please pm Neil if you would like more details.Regards Karen.