September 14, 2007
10-Year-Old Wins Washington State Bowling Title!
Chance Mair from Marysville, WA, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, won first place in the Washington State Pepsi Bowling Finals in Pullman, WA, this past May. Bowling for 4 years, Chance started bumper bowling on a summer league in his hometown. Although his parents were initially apprehensive, it turned out Chance loved bowling and improved enough to bowl without bumpers. He began getting consistent scores in the 80s, 90s and even an occasional 100. In March 2006, he went to the Washington State Pepsi semi-finals in Tacoma, WA, followed by the state competition in Olympia. Each bowler that bowls 25 pins over their average wins a ribbon; Chance won four for all of his games. The next day, Chance’s picture was on the front page of the sports section in the Olympia newspaper holding up his ribbons!
At this year’s Washington State Pepsi Bowling Finals, Chance finished with a first game score of 109, a second score of 117 and a third score of 126, his highest ever. Chance won a $500 scholarship, a shirt and a plaque, but, according to his mother Christine, what Chance really won was the respect of his peers and adults who didn’t believe he could accomplish something like this.
Congress Returns to Busy Fall Line-Up
Representatives and Senators are back at work, following the month-long August recess. They have their work cut out for them, as several priority bills must be enacted in the coming weeks, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the annual appropriations bills, reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and other legislative priorities.
For the autism community, the annual FY 2008 appropriations bills are of particular importance. The House passed its version of the legislation earlier this summer, providing increases to several key autism programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The Senate bill has even greater increases for autism programs, but has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.
By law, appropriations bills must be passed by September 30th, the end of the fiscal year. If that does not happen, Congress will have to pass a “continuing resolution” to ensure that the federal government keeps operating. Under these pressures, it is difficult to predict the final outcome, but ASA will continue its efforts to ensure that critical autism programs receive the funding increases they need.
House Begins Consideration of the No Child Left Behind Act
In 2001, Congress and the President enacted the No Child Left Behind Act to increase student achievement and bridge the education gap. While the measure had broad popular support, it has received much criticism in the past six years amid concerns that teachers were teaching to the test and were not given enough flexibility in administration of the law.
Another key concern of the bill is the treatment of children with disabilities. The Department of Education has adopted several regulations that undermine the ability of children with disabilities to receive a quality education. ASA is working with Easter Seals and other partners to ensure that all children with disabilities receive a quality education, are taught by well-qualified teachers and are held to appropriate accountability standards.
Congress Continues Discussion on CHIP Reauthorization
House and Senate leadership met this week to continue discussion on reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance benefits to low-income children. The Senate bill will provide $35 billion in additional funding, which would cover an additional four million children under the program. The House measure is proposing $50 billion to increase coverage to five million additional children.
The House measure also includes provisions to strengthen the Medicare program, eliminate a proposed 10-percent cut to physician payments and a range of other provisions. In general, the House bill is more generous— especially to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families—and more expensive. The total legislative package (both CHIP and Medicare) costs more than $90 billion. A side-by-side comparison of these bills can be found at http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/medicaid-coalition-stuff/crs-side-by-side.pdf.
The program must be reauthorized by September 30, 2007, and both House and Senate leadership have vowed to resolve their differences and pass the bill by that deadline. The President, however, has threatened to veto both measures, citing that they are far too expansive and do not focus enough on low-income children.
Atlantic Autism Alliance to Hold Meetings
On September 23-26, 2007, a delegation led by the Celtic Nations Autism Partnership (CNAP) and ASA will be holding a series of meetings in Washington D.C., to explore ways in which our nations can improve the lives of individuals with autism on both sides of the Atlantic.
This series of meetings, called the “Atlantic Autism Alliance,” is an opportunity to provoke fresh thinking in both the U.S. and Celtic nations on adapting a rights-based approach for inclusive lifestyles for individuals living with autism and to build a strong alliance with partners that supports the exchange of experiences and knowledge. The unity of nations within CNAP is further enhanced by its new friendship with ASA.
“We are honored to host the entire Celtic Nation Delegation, led by Eileen Bell (former speaker of the NI Assembly) and The Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (vice-president, Autism NI [PAPA]) and look forward to the collaboration that this event will lead to,” said Lee Grossman, CEO of ASA. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), co-chairs of the Congressional Autism Caucus, have been instrumental in planning this event and will be working with the group to find ways in which a cross-Atlantic collaboration can become the catalyst for promoting the cause of autism.
UK Study Finds Autism Link to Womb
(condensed from Telegraph.co.uk, Sept. 11, 2007)
Babies exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb are more likely to develop autistic traits in childhood, scientists say. The soon-to-be-published findings are the strongest indication yet that one of the triggers of autism could be higher than normal concentrations of the male hormone in fetal fluid. The findings support the theory that autism is an “extreme version” of the male brain and points to it being mainly a genetic condition. Previous studies have revealed that testosterone levels in the womb can affect both brain development in animals and social development in childhood.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University, one of the world's leading experts on autism, revealed initial details of his new study at the British Association Festival of Science. Prof. Baron-Cohen said, “The idea that fetal testosterone may play a causal role in autism is an existing hypothesis. There's no evidence that it's a causal factor, but this research is certainly consistent with that hypothesis.”
For the full story, including details regarding the study, visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/09/11/sciaut111.xml
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