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Speaker Spotlight for Autism Vancouver Biennial Congress 2007
Autism Vancouver Biennial Congress 2007, March 1-4, 2007, has assembled leading experts on autism spectrum disorders, with presenters from England, Canada, and the United States. Speakers will focus on ways to improve the quality of life for the affected individuals and their families/caregivers by conducting presentations in the areas of educational and biomedical interventions, research, adjunct therapies, diet and nutrition, and family issues.
Speakers include Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, Dr. Phillip DeMio, Dr. Stephen Shore, Shannon Kenitz, Dr. Lauren Underwood, Dr. Barry Prizant, Stan Kurtz, Dr. Diane Twachtman-Cullen, Dr. Teresa Bolick, Dr. William Shaw, and plus more experts in the field of autism.
 Dr. Jeff Bradstreet will present, "Recovery is Possible: Using Biomarkers to Determine the Best Clinical Therapies," Saturday, March 3rd at 8:00 am - 9:30 am. For the entire schedule, click here.
Dr. Bradstreet has published landmark studies with regard to the role of mercury and measles virus in autism, such as A Case Control Study of Mercury Burden in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, as well as speaking before Congress and the Institute of Medicine. His 11-year old son, Matthew, is recovering from autism. Dr. Bradstreet is the founder of a special school for children with autism that encompasses biological, behavioral, sensory, auditory and speech therapies into a combined program.
 Dr. Temple Grandin's keynote presentation is Saturday, March 3rd at 11:00 am - 12:30 pm. For the entire schedule, click here.
Dr. Temple Grandin is inarguably the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. Dr. Grandin has become a prominent author and speaker on the subject of autism because "I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and, yes, professionals, too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic.' This dictum has meant sad and sorry lives for many children diagnosed, as I was in early life, as autistic. To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can."
 Valerie Paradiz, PhD, USAAA Advisory Board Member, Appointed Director of Education at the Asperger Institute in New York University's Child Study Center
Valerie Paradiz, PhD, has been appointed Director of Education at the Asperger Institute in New York University's Child Study Center. Dr. Paradiz is a USAAA Advisory Board Member. Congratulations Dr. Paradiz on your recent appointment.
Dr. Paradiz, along with the New York University’s Child Study Center are designing and offering a model educational program for children with Asperger’s syndrome.
Dr. Paradiz features a journal, entitled, "Val's Journal," at her website http://www.valerieparadiz.com. Recently, she wrote about her New York subway experience, "Kindred Spirits on the Subway." The following is an except from her encounter on the subway system:
When the subway pulled into Times Square, it was time for me to get off. The doors opened, and like a burst balloon, crowds of people in our car began pouring out, hurrying off to work in all directions. Others filed in, yet the car had certainly thinned out. I was relieved to see that the mother and her small boy had captured two seats for themselves.
She looked depleted to me. I knew that together they had had many days of situations such as these, and I knew that there were more to come. They would happen in that familiar and unremitting stream of menacing uncertainty that demanded every ounce of their combined energy.
I also saw their isolation. How could I not? I am on the autism spectrum, and I have parented an autistic son, who is now 16 years old, through many similar and lonely incidents. “STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS,” the prerecorded voice blared out once more. That’s when I decided not to get off the train.
I wanted to say something to this woman, yet I was terrified of breaking the code of silence in the subway. I managed to position myself to stand just in front of her and her son. Although there was no longer a crush of bodies in the subway car, it was nonetheless crowded. I gathered up my gumption, gripped the overhead railing tightly, and bent down toward the woman to speak.
“You are an extraordinary mother,” I said, “and he is a trooper.”
The woman looked up at me, and for a brief moment, our gazes matched up with one another. Then tears began streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head “no.” “Truly, truly, you are,” I quietly insisted, finding that I myself had begun to cry, too.
Click here for the entire story.
TIP of the Week - Mechanisms Behind the Leaky Gut; Do children on the low oxalate diet find improvements in previous intolerances?
by Susan Costen Owens, MAIS, RA
Medical literature on the leaky gut provides useful information that may help unify the picture of how diets used in autism are addressing some issues that have been studied more carefully in celiac disease. This mini-paper will review these mechanisms that may not yet be familiar to
many in the autism community. Click here to read entire paper.
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