Archive by Author

Comment on National prevalence rates of bully victimization among students with disabilities in the United States

10 Jan

Bullying is a major issue. This is especially true among the disabled. A recent study focused on bullying within the school aged autistic population, and I discussed that at the Autism Science Foundation blog. Another study has just come out recently in School Psychology Quarterly, National prevalence rates of bully victimization among students with disabilities in the United States. I hope to obtain the full paper and review the methods, but for now here is the abstract:

This study examined the prevalence rates of bully victimization and risk for repeated victimization among students with disabilities using the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 longitudinal datasets. Results revealed that a prevalence rate ranging from 24.5% in elementary school to 34.1% in middle school. This is one to one and a half times the national average for students without disabilities. The rate of bully victimization was highest for students with emotional disturbance across school levels. Findings from this study also indicated that students with disabilities who were bullied once were at high risk of being bullied repeatedly. Elementary and middle school students with autism and high school students with orthopedic impairments were at the greatest risk of experiencing repeated victimization. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

Students with disabilities are victims of bullying as much as 1.5 times more often than their non-disabled peers. The authors also found Elementary and middle school students with autism and high school students with orthopedic impairments were at the greatest risk of experiencing repeated victimization.

The fact that the disabled are victims of bullying at a high rate is not surprising. The fact that this includes autistics is not surprising. It is valuable, though, to get this documented. It does beg the question of what will happen to change this?

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By Matt Carey

Comment on: The association between bullying and the psychological functioning of children with autism spectrum disorders

10 Jan

A study published recently addressed the issues of bullying among school age autistics: The association between bullying and the psychological functioning of children with autism spectrum disorders. The abstract is below. I wrote a discussion of this for the Autism Science Foundation’s blog:

Comment on The association between bullying and the psychological functioning of children with autism spectrum disorders.

OBJECTIVE: : Bullying has become a major national concern, particularly as it affects children with disabilities. The current study aimed to determine the association between psychiatric comorbid conditions, involvement in bullying (victim, bully, or bully-victim), and the immediate psychological correlates of bullying among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

METHODS: : A national sample of 1221 parents completed a survey dedicated to the bullying and school experiences of their child with ASD, reporting on the immediate consequences of bullying involvement, including their child’s psychological well-being and any psychiatric comorbidity. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine whether specific psychiatric comorbidities were associated with an increased risk of involvement as victim, bully, or bully-victim. Analyses of variance determined the relationship between bullying frequency and psychological functioning. All models adjusted for child and school covariates.

RESULTS: : Children who were frequently victimized were more likely to present with internalizing symptoms, whereas children who frequently bullied others were more likely to exhibit emotion regulation problems. Children who were identified as frequent bully-victims presented with both internalizing symptoms and emotion regulation problems. Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression were more likely to have been victimized, whereas children with conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) were more likely to have bullied other children. Children identified as bully-victims were more likely to have ADHD, CD, or ODD.

CONCLUSIONS: : Children with ASDs who had displayed bullying behaviors in the past month exhibited psychological impairments, including psychiatric comorbidity. The frequency of bullying behaviors was significantly associated with the level of impairment.

A Decade of Left Brain/Right Brain

1 Jan

2013 marks the 10 year mark for Left Brain/Right Brain. The blog actually started in June, as I recall, but June of 2003. The blog started out as a place for Kev Leitch to write about his life and his work. Most of his writing about his life was about events pertaining to his autistic child. I found the blog a few years later and it had already evolved significantly from its early days. It has evolved since then as well.

In a time when the online and public discussion was dominated by groups of parents willing to characterize autistics as “train wrecks” and “empty shells” who had “descended into the hell of autism”, Kev stood up to counter the message. Kev put together the autism hub to band together autistics and allies who were writing from a perspective of respect. Kev hosted an online forum and at one point this blog was home to about 10 writers, autistic and allies.

Kev has moved on to other ventures. I wish him well. He did a lot of good here.

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By Matt Carey

Last chance to participate: UJA Adults with Autism Survey

29 Dec

IAN, the Interactive Autism Network, the UJA Federation of New York and the Autism Science Foundation have teamed up to sponsor the Adult with ASD Survey.

The survey closes on December 31, so time is short to participate.  You can take the survey here.

Here is a description of the effort from the ASF:

As many of you know, there is little information about the changing needs of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to guide those planning programs and services. That is why the UJA Federation of New York and the Autism Science Foundation are asking adults with ASD (and their parents or guardians) to complete a survey addressing what is going well in daily life, and what is a challenge. The results of this survey will inform decision making with regard to which programs should be expanded and which may no longer be of value.

We invite you to take this survey by joining the Interactive Autism Network (IAN)—the world’s largest online autism research project—and then completing the UJA Adult with ASD Survey. As a member of IAN, you’ll be informed about future surveys and studies, with a chance to provide ongoing input regarding the experience of adults with ASD over time.

Your participation is critical, and will inform those planning programs about which resources and services adults with ASD and their families need most.

Eligibility for Study Participation:

You are eligible to participate in IAN and the UJA Adult with ASD Survey if you are:

An 18-35 year old adult with ASD who is independent (that is, you are not under anyone’s legal guardianship)
The parent of an independent 18-35 year old adult with ASD (that is, your adult son or daughter with ASD is not under legal guardianship and maintains the right to make their own medical and legal decisions)
The legally authorized representative of a dependent 18-35 year old adult with ASD (For example, you may have legal guardianship or medical power of attorney for the adult with ASD)
Participation Details:

IAN registration and this survey can be completed entirely online and will take approximately 20 minutes.

If you’d like to read the IAN Research study consent form, including privacy policies, before continuing, click here:

https://www.ianresearch.org/pdfs/ian_consent.pdf

Principal Investigator: Dr. Paul A. Law

Contact Information: If you have any questions, the IAN team is happy to answer them for you. You can contact them at 1-866-348-3440 or ian@kennedykrieger.org.

To begin registration and the survey, click on the link below:
http://bit.ly/ORf7d5

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By Matt Carey

SFARI looks back at 2012 autism research

29 Dec

SFARI, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, hosts one of the best autism research focused blogs there is. The Simons Foundation is the largest private funder of autism research.

SFARI has a list of 10 notable papers:
Notable papers of 2012

The list includes genetic, brain structure and treatment studies.

And a discussion of research events from 2012 I. Their director’s column:

Director’s column: 2012 in review

Which is a good discussion of highlighted results.

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By Matt Carey

San Diego mother pleads guilty in the drowning murder of her autistic son

29 Dec

Channel 10 news in San Diego reports Patricia Corby, woman accused in autistic son’s death, pleads guilty to murder charges, Corby faces sentence of 15 years to life.

The story begins

SAN DIEGO – A woman who drowned her 4-year-old autistic son in a bathtub, then drove his lifeless body to a police substation where she admitted the crime, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder.

Patricia Corby, 37, sobbed as she admitted killing her son, Daniel, last March 31.

The mother reportedly drowned her 4 year old son, attempted to drown herself and then drove to the police department to turn herself in.

As an aside: such events as these bother me a great deal. I have a great deal of difficulty discussing these stories and I resort to a rather clinical approach in my writing.

In a previous story it was reported that when she turned herself in:

…she told police that the boy was autistic and that she didn’t believe he would have a life or a future without her, so she decided to kill him, the prosecutor said.

Multiple sources are reporting that the the family had spent a large sum on therapy, implying that financial stress played into the decision to murder her son. This sort of inference is often a source of much controversy for, among other reasons, playing into the “autistic as burden” discussion.  Also statements about the family’s debt are taken by some as an attempt to partially justify the murder.

Ironically, in most murder cases a financial incentive is seen as adding guilt to the crime. However, when a parent murders a disabled child, the financial incentive seems to be used to reduce guilt.

Not mentioned is the discussion of finances is that the murder happened just a few months before California law changed making autism therapies much easier to obtain through insurance. The family was reported to have a history of employment problems, but the father was employed at the time of the murder and may have had medical benefits.

Comments in online stories range from “I would have taken the child in” to “don’t judge the mother unless you have walked in her shoes” to comments that seem to emanate from a modern-day Ebeneezer Scrooge.

As an aside, it is my personal opinion that the “you haven’t walked in his/her shoes” discussion point is beyond meaningless. Consider a term that is often discussed in the context of autism: empathy.

Empathy is the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another sentient or fictional being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.

Somehow we are not supposed to be capable of empathy where it applies to being critical of the mother’s actions, but we are supposed to be capable of empathy in considering offering the mother sympathy.

Another term that comes up often in autism discussions is “balance”. As in “that news story needed to give both sides to show ‘balance’ “. Usually this is in regards to some totally unscientific or disproven idea about autism. News stories about parents murdering their autistic children almost never give balance in regards to presenting any one of  the hundreds of thousands of stories where parents don’t murder their autistic children. Stories of how it is difficult, but does not warrant murder.  How the norm for those of us who have “walked in her shoes” is to keep walking, not to commit murder.  There is no balance in the form of autistic voices, except in the comments to no online stories. Comments that are often met with a “you haven’t walked in her shoes” reply.

Some question why so many parents actively shun the “pity politics” of autism, where real difficulties and challenges for our children and ourselves are colored by language of hopelessness and despair. Among the many excellent reasons I would include  the desire to not encourage the sort of despair that Patricia Corby felt.

Discussions of these types of events are very difficult for many reasons. Not the least of which is being respectful to the family. I wish the father and the family well in this difficult time and apologize for intruding in this tragedy.

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By Matt Carey

San Diego Family accuses caregivers of abuse

28 Dec

A family of an autistic young adult have accused caregivers of abuse after secretly recording video. In apparently pretrial hearings, the mother explains what she saw. The defense causes her of withholding information.

Preliminary hearing Thursday for 2 men accused of abusing autistic man

The video is, as you might imagine, painful to watch. So far the embed code doesn’t work, which might be for the best.

San Diego, California News Station – KFMB Channel 8 – cbs8.com

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By Matt Carey

What has become of Autism Science Digest?

26 Dec

Autism Science Digest was an effort by AutismOne to publish their take on autism science in a magazine format for a general audience. AutismOne is best known for their annual parent convention which focused largely on alternative medicine and vaccine causation.

It is about the time that AutismOne should be publishing their speaker list for next year’s conference so I checked their website. For those interested, the speaker list reads like most past lists.  Andrew Wakefield, the former researcher who promoted the idea that the MMR vaccine causes autism, will speak. So will Keri Rivera, who last year gathered much criticism for promoting forcing disabled children to ingest bleach or undergo bleach laced enemas. Interestingly, neither Mark nor David Geier are on the list. The Geiers have been frequent speakers at AutismOne and other venues favorable to their failed ideas about mercury in vaccines causing autism, as well as bizarre proposals that using drugs to shut down sex hormone production can be used to treat autism.  While not a regular at AutismOne, Luc Montagnier will not make a return visit.  Last year Dr. Montagnier brought the prestige of a Nobel Laureate to the convention. While his presence was touted strongly by supporters of AutismOne, Dr. Montagnier’s ideas were lacking the scientific rigor one might expect from a Nobel laureate (to put it mildly). Of course Jenny McCarthy returns, perhaps to tell us all once again that those who don’t follow her ideas wish for our children to remain disabled so we can bask in the sympathy of our acquaintances.

That all said, while perusing the AutismOne website I noted that the cover for their “Autism Science Digest” hadn’t changed since my last visit.  That was some time ago. The cover informs readers about the then upcoming 2012 AutismOne convention (last April), so my interest was piqued and I checked the page for the “Digest” and found this announcement: Autism Science Digest is temporarily unavailable.

One is left wondering how “temporary” temporary is in this case. Autism Science Digest was launched in August 2011 so the lifespan (should temporary=permanent) seems a bit short.

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By Matt Carey

Andrew Wakefield, who sparked the unjustified MMR controversy, wins the Golden Duck Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to quackery.

23 Dec

Andrew Wakefield, the person most responsible for propagating the now failed notion that the MMR vaccine causes autism, has been awarded the “Golden Duck” award for 2012 by the Good Thinking Society. The announcement begins:

Good Thinking launched its annual Golden Duck award for quackery in 2012, which seeks to recognize those who have supported or practiced pseudoscience in the most ludicrous, dangerous, irrational or irresponsible manner. It was decided that the inaugural award should be for lifetime achievement in any field, and the winner is Andrew Wakefield. His nomination statement can be found here…

One of the members of Winchester Skeptics in the Pub is quoted:

We were very keen to team up with the Good Thinking Society to help choose the winner of the inaugural Golden Duck.

“All candidates fared well in the voting, but it became clear that the one thing the good thinking people of Winchester really can’t stand is a doctor who blatantly abandons and abuses the scientific method.”

Further reading at The Guardian in Struck off MMR doctor handed award for ‘lifetime achievement in quackery’

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By Matt Carey

Alex Plank at CNN.com: Leave autism out of mass shootings

22 Dec

Alex Plank of wrong planet.com and Autism Rights Watch has an opinion piece at CNN.com: Leave autism out of mass shootings. The article begins:

(CNN) — After the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a parade of self-appointed experts tried to insinuate that people with autism are prone to inexplicable acts of violence because they lack the ability for empathy and social connection. This is because the shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism.

These speculations are needless, untrue and hurtful.

The full article, and over sixty comments so far, can be found at Leave autism out of mass shootings.

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By Matt Carey

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