ADVANCE Outlook: OT : Pediatrics

AOTA Responds to AAP Policy Statement on SI

Jill Glomstad — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:59:00 GMT

AOTA President Florence Clark has written a response on behalf of the national association to the American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy Statement on Sensory Integration Therapy released in the June issue of Pediatrics . The policy statement cautioned...(read more)

DSM-V Will Carry Revised Definition of Autism

Jill Glomstad — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:47:00 GMT

Most of the focus on the upcoming edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been on whether sensory processing disorder will be approved by the APA to appear as a diagnosis when the Fifth...(read more)

Podcast: Gifted Kids, ADHD, and Autism

Jessica LaGrossa — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:05:00 GMT

"Parents, don't get hung up on the labels." This is Temple Grandin's advice to those raising children on the spectrum. And in this podcast presented by the Coffee Klatch, Grandin--along with her coauthors Diane Kennedy and Rebecca Banks--discusses "twice...(read more)

Digging Deeper: Autism & Vacationing

Jessica LaGrossa — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:59:00 GMT

Our popular blogger Devon Alley just wrapped up a three-part series on her blog, From Inside the Puzzle: Raising a Child with Autism Blog , about her family’s vacation. She wrote about some of the challenges of vacationing with an autistic child, as well...(read more)

ADHD Diagnoses on the Rise

Jill Glomstad — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:17:00 GMT

Brand new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say ADHD is on the rise. From 1998-2000 through 2007-2009, the percentage of children who had ever been diagnosed with the condition rose from 7 percent to 9 percent. In the Midwest...(read more)

NY Legislature Passes Autism Insurance Reform Bill

Jill Glomstad — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:12:00 GMT

Last week, New York legislators passed a bill mandating coverage of autism screening, diagnosis and treatment. The legislation, approved by both houses of the legislature, would require insurers in the state to cover services including OT, PT and speech,...(read more)

NICU Resources

Jill Glomstad — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:42:00 GMT

Back in March 2009, occupational therapist Lisa Bader wrote a great article for us on training therapists to work in the NICU. As more OTs and PTs in her facility wanted to work in the neonatal intensive care unit, Bader decided to create a training manual...(read more)

The Vaccine Myth: How Much Has it Cost?

Jill Glomstad — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:41:00 GMT

For 13 years, since the study linking vaccines to autism was first published in the Lancet , a growing contingent of parents fearful of autism have intentionally withheld vaccines from their children. Websites and organizations have sprung up around the...(read more)

Pediatric Homeopathic Remedy Recalled

Jessica LaGrossa — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:42:00 GMT

As a mother, I have depended on natural and homeopathic remedies when I can for my son. When he was teething I used what my husband and I came to jokingly refer to as the "magic cocktail" at bedtime of Hyland's Teething Tablets and Motrin. The teething...(read more)

UPDATE! Comment on SPD for DSM-5

EJ Brown — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:21:00 GMT

The Sensory Processing Foundation (SPDF) has created a special Web page to educate therapists who want to comment on the new draft of the DSM-5 , the latest diagnostic manual for mental health disorders now under review by the American Psychatric Association...(read more)

Check Out Our New Specialty Sites!

Jessica LaGrossa — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:28:00 GMT

ADVANCE is pleased to introduce our new Specialty Spotlights on our Web site! On Sept. 1 we unveiled 9 new specialty sites which highlight many of the most popular practice areas and interests in occupational therapy. Each specialty site contains information...(read more)

New Study Finds Lack of Association between MMR Vaccine and Autism

Jessica LaGrossa — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:32:00 GMT

Results of a multi-center study of MMR vaccines and autism were released Sept. 3. The study (conducted by Harvard, Columbia, Mass General, CDC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics) is the first attempt to duplicate the original 1998 study by Dr. Wakefield, which raised questions about a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The new study concludes that there is "strong evidence against an association of autism with persistent Measles Virus RNA in the GI tract or MMR vaccine exposure."

To read the study, click here.

Court Rules in Autism-Vaccine Case

Jessica LaGrossa — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:41:00 GMT

The news spread like wildfire today among the health care industry and autism circuits:

The US Department of Health and Human Services has ruled in favor of the family of 9-year-old Hannah Poling of Athens, GA, entitling compensation from a federal vaccine injury fund. Government health officials conceded that vaccines "significantly aggravated" Hannah's underlying mitochondrial disorder and led autism-like symptoms.

For more information, read:

Government Concedes Vaccine Injury Case

First Autism-Vaccine Link: How Hannah Made History

The family held a press conference in Atlanta today and will be appearing tonight on Larry King Live.

ADVANCE first reported on the first test case for a larger group of autism-vaccine claims-the Omnibus Autism Proceeding in the US Court of Federal Claims-in June of last year. That article can be read here.

The most recent update in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims was filed on Jan. 17 and divulged the following:

* Currently, there are 4,900 petitions in autism cases pending, all dependent upon the Omnibus Autism Proceeding (OAP).

* Additional petitions are always being filed.

* The first set of three test cases was presented in the OAP for the first of three varying theories of general causation-the theory that MMR vaccines and vaccines containing thimerosal combined can cause autism.

* Test cases for the first theory include first test case Cedillo VS HHS, no. 98-916V (began in of June of 2007); second test case Hazelhurst VS HHS, no. 03-654V (began in October 2007); and third test case Snyder VS HHS, no.01-162V (began in November 2007).

* Evidentiary hearings for all three cases in the first theory as well as opening briefs have been conducted. Additional briefs are forthcoming. A written ruling will be made once all additional briefs have been filed.

* Test cases for the second general causation theory-the theory that vaccines containing thimerosal alone can cause autism-were identified early this year and include first test case Mead VS HHS, no. 03-125V; second test case Krakow VS HHS, no. 03-632V; and third test case King VS HHS, no. 03-584V.

* An evidentiary hearing for the three cases for the second theory of general causation is scheduled for May 12-30 of this year in Washington, DC.

* Test cases for the third theory-the theory that MMR vaccines alone can cause autism-will be identified by May 5 of this year with an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Sept 15 in Washington, DC.

Parties have been instructed to complete evidentiary hearings for all test cases for the second and third theories by Sept. 30, 2008.

(The full report can be obtained here.)