JOIN THE ‘PAC’
(Parents of Autistic Children)
Published by Jill Everstan, Secretary of the Jackson, CO chapter of Parents of Autistic Children

Events this month:
September 1: First day back at school
September 5: Happy 10th Birthday Kevin Jacobson!
September 10: High School Football Game at Home against the Raimey Lions
September 12: Guest Speaker at the Memorial Building (see ‘Of Local Interest’ for more information)
September 18: Happy 4th Birthday Randall McKinney!
September 24: School Board Meeting from 6pm to 9pm
September 25: Happy 7th Birthday Katie Adkins!
September 31: Parent-Teacher Conference from 3pm to 6pm - Be there to make sure your child is getting the necessary services and classroom adaptations!

Of Local Interest
On September 12, 2002 at 6pm, guest speaker, Dr. James Erickson, from America University, will be at the Jackson Public Library. Dr. Erickson will present his research paper entitled, “Early Success in the Use of Music Therapy as a Treatment for Autism.” Music Therapy relies on music and musical games to promote social interaction, promote communication, and reduce autistic characteristics. With this therapy, some children are taught to sing responses. This helps the children recognize and use pitch, intonation, and rate when speaking. According to Dr. Erickson, their study looked at the effect of Music Therapy on a random sample of children with Autism. These children received therapy for six months. These children were then evaluated and compared to their previous level of functioning. Dr. Erickson found that these children were more vocal and less monotone. This therapy approach is still undergoing research. More research and long term studies will be needed to determine the actual effectiveness of this approach. Dr. Erickson will be available after the presentation to answer any questions.

New Research in World of Autism
A recent study was performed testing the success of Social Skills Intervention for children with high functioning Autism. This type of intervention focuses on teaching pragmatic, nonverbal skills. Children are given lessons on how to tell if someone is happy or sad, what nonverbal words like ‘hmm’ mean, what the rate of speech can mean, and how different words can affect meaning. The children were given standardized tests before enrollment and after all the lessons were given. While the testing did not show an increase in communication, they did find an increase in the children's social skills. When the children were observed playing, it was found that they began to foster and sustain relationships. The children also showed signs of group trust and friendship. This was a very limited study. Hopefully in the future, longitudinal studies will help us learn more about Social Skills Intervention and the possible benefits.

Camp Timberland
Once again, time for Camp Timberland is nearing. August 4 - 10, the state wide Parents of Autistic Children of Colorado will be hosting a camp for children with Autism. Everyone who went last year had a great time. There are many activities and events, including swimming, hiking, biking, canoeing, and, arts and crafts. The camp is staffed by trained workers who specialize in our special kids. Physical Therapists will be present for those children who need them. The daily activities are designed to include both structured and unstructured play to help promote as much spontaneous interaction as possible. If your child has special dietary or toileting needs, please let us know as soon as possible.

Fact or Fad?
When news of the hormone, Secretin, first hit the air waves, we all wondered if it was too good to be true. When a mother took her autistic son to get an injection of secretin, a hormone naturally found in the digestive system, she noticed increases in eye contact, speech, and social interaction. Soon after news of this was reported on an episode of Dateline. The clinic that treated this child was overwhelmed with requests from parents to have their children given doses of the same hormone. Following this craze, several studies have been conducted addressing the effectiveness of secretin in treating Autism and Spectrum Disorders. These studies have found no improvements in symptoms of Autism due to this hormone. In fact, one study found the children given a placebo actually improved more than children given doses of secretin.

Your Stories
From Catherine Hill:
Back to school time is always stressful. It seems like as soon as I get Adam, my 10 year old who has Autism, used to his summer routine, it is time to go back to school. He, of course, is highly resistent to change so I was dreading even taking him to buy new school clothes. I got him to go to the mall with me by promising him a hamburger at his favorite fast food place. I figured I would have to wrestle with him to even be able to hold clothes up to him to see if they would fit. I was pleasantly surprised when Adam spent almost an hour in the store letting me hold clothes up to him and he even picked out some shirts and a pair of shoes he liked. The tough part, the first day back to school, is still to come, but days like today makes me think it won't be too bad.

Special Reminder
Be sure to send us your everyday stories for next month's letter.

Proceed to an excerpt from Jill's Journal

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