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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

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 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

Bloomberg: Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators

22 Dec

Bloomberg has an article out on how genetic testing is being misused by alternative medical practitioners to justify their “treatments”. The article includes names which might be familiar to those who have followed the online discussions of autism and alt-med: Amy Yasko whose RNA therapy has been widely criticized for implausibility; James Laidler, a doctor who once worked with the DAN movement; and parent-writer Kim Wombles.

The article, Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators begins:

April Hauge, a nurse practitioner in Weimar, California, spent $500 on a genetic test for her autistic son in 2009 that led to purchasing thousands of dollars in vitamins and supplements. Impressed with the results, she’s now selling advice on the approach to others.

There’s just one problem: the DNA tests and related treatments have scant backing from science and U.S. government officials. They’re untested, unproven, and may constitute “health fraud,” doctors, regulators and concerned parents said.

Yes, practitioners order genetic testing ($495 in one example) and then sell therapies supposedly based on these results which can cost the consumer thousands of dollars over the course of “treatment”. The tests are marketing, not science.  There is no real link between the tests, the condition and the treatment.

Discussion of “Dr. Amy’s” RNA therapies go back at least six years.  The idea that ingesting small doses of RNA could treat anything fails the biological plausibility test. Per the Photon in the Darkness blog:

This would be earth-shaking news…if it were true. The sad fact is that the cells in our body have a “thing” about stray RNA. There are enzymes – RNAse’s – that chew up RNA in order to prevent unauthorized “communication” from RNA viruses. These enzymes are in every cell and every body fluid.

There is enough RNAse in a fingerprint to degrade milligrams (1000 micrograms) of RNA in a few minutes. And it’s even worse if you try to ingest the RNA. There are high concentrations of RNAse in both saliva and pancreatic digestive enzymes, so it is highly unlikely that any RNA would survive to be absorbed.

Yes, one’s body is designed to attack and destroy foreign RNA. The full discussion The Alternate RNA Universe. Another can be found at Science Blogs as Autism & RNA????.

Government agencies are aware of the claims made and the lack of a logical link between the tests and the “treatments”.

“A lot of this skims on the edge of health fraud,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, referring to the use of DNA testing to recommend alternative therapies.

But for now, those offering the tests are allowed to “skim” health fraud laws. Laws which may change:

Following public hearings in July 2010, the agency developed guidance for regulating complex genetic and other tests sold by laboratories. The rules have been under review by the Obama administration since late 2011, he said. Until they are finalized, the agency is “somewhat hamstrung” in cracking down on companies that sell the tests, Gutierrez said.

The full article, Autism Cures Promised by DNA Testers Belied by Regulators is online at Blomberg.com

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By Matt Carey

IACC conference call this week

21 Dec

Earlier this week the IACC met via conference call to finalize the Strategic Plan updates for 2012.  A 2-day workshop on the updates had to be cancelled due to hurricane Sandy.  Below are just a few fragments of discussions that occurred during the meeting.

Drafts of the updates can be found on the IACC’s website. And final versions will be posted as soon as they are completed.

The meeting started with a discussion of whether the IACC should issue a statement following the speculation that the shooter at Newtown Connecticut was autistic.  Such a statement has been prepared and will be released shortly.

One public comment noted the lack of support for a family trying to navigate the extra hurdles a family with disabilities faced following Sandy.  Some of the federal members noted that there are resources specifically focused on vulnerable populations. I am trying to get more specifics on that now.

Each question of the Plan was discussed and modified, sometimes with word smithing and sometimes with more extensive edits.  The question on treatments in particular had a great deal of discussion and edits were prepared real-time by OARC staff. There is a good team supporting IACC and it was impressive to see them continue to keep making notes on the discussion while preparing significant edits for approval during the call.

One question that came up during the discussions was that of immigrant populations and autism prevalence. There has been much discussion of the Somali-American community and autism and Idil Abdul spoke of the concerns of that community. Two studies had come out in then past year, one from Sweden and one from the Netherlands, suggesting higher autism prevalence for immigrant communities in those countries.  This highlights the fact that we don’t have autism prevalence data for most of the world.  To my knowledge there are a few from northern Africa, possibly none from sub-Saharan Africa and South America, little or none from south Asia.

The UK adult autism prevalence study was discussed and the fact that little is known about the adult population in the U.S..

Obviously much more was discussed in the whole day meeting.  Much of that can be found in the draft documents linked to above.

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By Matt Carey

Note: I serve as a public member to the IACC but my comments here and elsewhere are my own.

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