Here is a great resource for parents: "Complex Child is a monthly online magazine written by parents of children with special healthcare needs and disabilities. It is intended to provide medical information, along with personal experiences, in simple language that other parents can understand. Articles are on a wide variety of topics ranging from basic information on medical conditions and treatments to advice on how to beat insurance company denials."
Folic Acid Recommendation for Women Contemplating Pregnancy
In a large study (85,176 children born between 2002 and 2008) mothers who took folic acid from 4 weeks prior to conception until at least 8 weeks after their last menstrual period prior to pregnancy were less likely to have children diagnosed with autism. Adjusted odds ratio for autistic disorder in children of folic acid users was 0.61. This means that chances of having a child with autism were reduced almost 40%. However, these findings do not establish causality. Our practice recommends folic acid supplementation for women contemplating pregnancy. Read more...
Newtown Tragedy: 10 Tips for Helping Your Children Cope
Parents, teachers, grandparents and other caregivers are very concerned about how dramatic images of and discussion about the tragic event will affect the emotional well-being of their children. They are looking for advice on how to communicate with children. So Save the Children put together a list of tips to help children cope with the tragedy in Newtown, CT. How to Help Children Cope with a Crisis
ARI Autistic Global Initiative Committee's Statement on the Newtown, CT Tragedy
The staff at the Autism Research Institute is deeply saddened by yesterday's tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In the hours following the attack, some in the media reported the shooter may have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. This morning, the leadership of ARI's Autistic Global Initiative project - a committee of adults diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions - issued the following statement:
Continue reading...
Statement from AAP on Arsenic in Rice
In order to help address potential member and parent questions around these issues, information was compiled/developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and made available online. See this article
Our recommendations for Vitamin D supplements
We recommend Vitamin D supplementation for our patients. Virginia is too far north for our children to get all the Vitamin D they need from the sun. In our opinion, most children can benefit from taking 1000 mg of Vitamin D3 per day; this is more than the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation for 400 mg per day.
See this article
Adults with ASD eBulletin from the Autism Research Institute
Check out this informative eBulletin from the Autism Research Institute that highlights perspectives from youth and adults with Austism Spectrum Disorders. Read more...
healthychildren.org - Update for Health Care Professionals: July 2011
Read updates and articles about coughs and colds, earaches, splinters, and more!. Read more...
Since 2007 Virginia has experienced significant increases in the number of reported Lyme disease cases and other tick-borne infections. The risk of acquiring Lyme disease is no longer confined to northern Virginia. These significant increases are one reason Governor Bob McDonnell has declared May as Lyme Disease Awareness month in Virginia.
Free, Weekly Seminars on Autism Diet and Nutrition
Each week Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant and Autism Diet Specialist, will conduct FREE educational webinars for parents and caregivers to learn and become more effective with their dietary strategies. Topics will range from beginner GFCF implementation to advanced diet discussions focused on other special autism diets, as well as entire Q&A sessions dedicated to having your questions answered. Julie is a leading specialist in "nutrition intervention" for ASDs which comprises deep understanding of biochemistry and the role of food, nutrition, and supplementation in the restoration of health and well being. She understands, applies, and customizes the varied dietary strategies - as there is no "one size fits all" approach, nor one particular "autism diet." Take just one hour each week for nutrition learning, guidance, advice and at-home support.
Register for a Free Webinar
Check out the site below from the Environmental Working Group on sunscreen recommendations. Our practice recommends 20 minutes a day of sun exposure without sunscreen in order to maintain good Vitamin D levels. 2012 Sunscreen Guide
Why is My Child on a Special Diet?
Of the thousands of parents who filled in the Autism Research Institute's survey concerning dietary intervention, 66% said their child improved on a gluten- and casein-free (GF/CF) diet. Please understand that this diet must be followed carefully because even a few crumbs of a cookie is a very big deal... Help for special diets...
When to Call the Doctor
Wondering whether your child's symptoms are serious? Should you call the doctor, treat your child at home, or go to the emergency room? HealthyChildren.org now has an exciting new interactive tool to help parents evaluate their child's symptoms. Try the HealthChildren.org KidsDoc Symptom Checker...
McNeil Consumer Healthcare Announces Voluntary Recall of Certain OTC Infants' and Children's Products
By Maureen H. McDonnell, RN
Although the entire mystery of what has caused the autism epidemic has not yet been solved, based on emerging science and parents reporting what specific treatment have improved (or in some cases recovered) their children...
Our telephone is answered 24 hours a day. All after hours or weekend calls will be returned by the physician or nurse on call, however if your child requires medical care between 11:00PM and 6:00AM you will be referred to the emergency room. This telephone service is available for our primary care patients only. All other patients will need to call for assistance during regular office hours.
Housing options for out of town patients
Some of our out of town patients stay in Lynchburg for long periods of time. Within one block of the Rimland Center, there are furnished townhomes available with flex terms
See the "Link Road Furnished Townhomes & Apartments / Flex terms" entry on Craigslist
Also, some of our patients stay at the Wingate Inn, which is just minutes from our offices and features a hot breakfast daily and free Wi-Fi.
New Fees for Email Consultations
At The RIMLAND Center, we make every effort to be available and to answer questions regarding your child during your office and/or telephone visit. We realize that additional questions and/or problems will arise and that you will want to seek counsel directly from us. We receive an enormous amount of email requesting very child-specific counsel. This requires research and preparation on the part of Dr. Mumper and the staff in order to provide you with the appropriate answers to your questions and the best quality of care. Therefore, all email communications requiring this level of care will incur a charge. The amount of the charge will be determined by the complexity of your issues. As always, we aim to provide you and your children with the highest quality of care and we appreciate your prompt payment for these services.
EMAIL - Simple
$30
EMAIL - Moderate
$50
EMAIL - Complex
$70
ARI Releases New Autism.tv Site
Link Your Child's Story to ARI's Latest Media Site
The Autism Research Institute is pleased to announce the release of its Autism.tv website featuring links to stories of intervention and recovery. The website is intended to demonstrate to parents, physicians, and research scientists that recovery is a reality for a significant percentage of children with autism. Autism.tv links to caregiver stories about treatment and recovery. Please send us existing story links to:
Videos (youTube, short films, etc.)
Online video news clips
Online (written) news stories or blog articles published on the Web
At ARI, we are very careful about giving false hope to parents; but it is a far greater error to offer no hope, when recovery or near-recovery is possible. ARI strives to give realistic hope, by stating: "Autism Is Treatable, and Recovery is Possible."
Dr. Bernard Rimland, ARI's Founder, worked exhaustively to identify effective biomedical and behavioral treatments for autism. Decades ago, when most believed children would progress only as far as their innate potential permitted, Dr. Rimland spoke of recovery. And, in Dr. Rimland's lifetime, we went from "no hope" to "hope for many." With hard work and luck, we will meet our ultimate goal: "prevention and recovery for all."
In the final months of his life, Dr. Rimland often talked about the recovered children whose overjoyed parents shared their stories with ARI. His face clearly showed how proud he was to know that increasing numbers of children are improving dramatically from a disorder that, only a few decades ago, was considered hopeless.
Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) Consensus Statement on Environmental Factors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
CONTACTS: Elise Miller, MEd - (360) 331-7904; emiller@iceh.org
Steve G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT – (206) 527-0926; sgilbert@innd.org
CONSENSUS STATEMENT: http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.html
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES INITIATIVE (LDDI)
PUBLISHES SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS STATEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
February 20, 2008, Seattle, WA. The Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative published today the Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (available at http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.html). This statement, signed by more than 50 scientists and health professionals nationally and internationally, summarizes the latest science about environmental contaminants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disabilities and developmental delays.
The statement, which has a glossary and over 200 references, was drafted and reviewed by a prestigious committee of scientists and health professionals based in North America. They concluded:
Given the established knowledge, protecting children from neurotoxic environmental exposures from the earliest stages of fetal development through adolescence is clearly an essential public health measure if we are to help reduce the growing numbers of those with learning and developmental disorders and create an environment in which children can reach and maintain their full potential.”
We know enough now to move on with taking steps to protect our children. This document pulls that knowledge together to further this vital effort," said reviewer Martha Herbert, PhD, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric neurologist with subspecialty certification in neurodevelopmental disabilities at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Other researchers on the review committee underscored the cost-savings, policy-related and ethical implications of this consensus statement. “We could cut the health costs of childhood disabilities and disease by billions of dollars every year by minimizing contaminants in the environment,” said Phil Landrigan, MD, MSc, of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “Investing in our children’s health is both cost-effective and the right thing to do.”
The overwhelming evidence shows that certain environmental exposures can contribute to life-long learning and developmental disorders,” noted Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, with the Science and Environmental Health Network. “We should eliminate children’s exposures to substances that we know can have these impacts by implementing stronger health-based policies requiring safer alternatives. Further, we must urgently examine other environmental contaminants of concern for which safety data are lacking. ”
The proportion of environmentally induced learning and developmental disabilities is a question of profound human, scientific and public policy significance,” said lead author Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT, of the Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders, “and has implications for individuals, families, school systems, communities and the future of our society. The bottom line is it is our ethical responsibility to ensure all children have a healthy future.”
This document is designed for researchers, health professionals, health-affected groups, environmental health and justice organizations, policymakers and journalists to use as a resource for understanding and addressing concerns about links between environmental factors and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Elise Miller, M.Ed.
Executive Director
Institute for Children’s Environmental Health
1646 Dow Road, Freeland, WA 98249
Ph: 360-331-7904; Fax: 360-331-7908
New direct phone line: 360-331-7989 www.chenw.org
Hope For You To Heal
A friend of the practice, Hugo Hanson, has allowed us to make the song "Hope For You To Heal" available on our website. This song was inspired by the vision we share.
