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[Super Dad]

*** REMINDER ***

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

When the Parents are Gone: preparing for the day we hand over the disabled child
at
6:45pm, January 20
in
Lynn Valley Library program room

We are very pleased to have Pat Tesan from PLAN (the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) as our guest speaker. Pat has inspired countless parents with stories of disabled children who achieve a level of independence and happiness previously considered unimaginable.

The presentation will include:
* Planning for major transitions;
* Writing a Will;
* Establishing a Discretionary Trust and appointing trustees;
* Setting up a Microboard and appointing board members;
* The importance of the Representation Agreement Act.

DATE: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
TIME: 6:45pm – 8:45pm
LOCATION: Program Room at the new Lynn Valley Library (1277 Lynn Valley Rd, North Vancouver, a part of Lynn Valley Centre).

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 21; turn right on Mountain Highway; turn left at Ross Road (across from Starbucks) which is the entry to the underground parking lot. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 19; merge onto Blvd Crescent; then continue on Lynn Valley Rd. Turn right on Mountain Highway; turn right at Ross Road (across from Starbucks) which is the entry to the underground parking lot. An elevator will take you up to the plaza level for entry to the library.

Coffee/Tea and snacks provided.
Donations are greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Peter Wong]

Dear all,

I am looking for ideas (place, people we can hire) for my boy's first birthday party.

He will be 7.

I appreciate any input.

Thanks a lot.

Peter
v a n c o u v e r p e t e r AT gmail.com

[Elna Sund]

I just came across this from a friend. Anyone heard of it or is using it?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_en_mo/eu_med_autism_video;_ylt=ApltwLOL__WFlsWxDZxBaBUDW7oF

[Bill & Cheryl Jensen]

Eczema anyone?

Apparently a lot of children with autism may also have problems with eczema.

My son usually got eczema on the backs of his hands in winter and it disappeared in the spring. Last year, it didn't go away. It was very itchy, inflamed and became open sores. We tried cortisone and prescription hydrocortisone and they didn't help. It kept getting worse. He would scratch in his sleep. Just try telling a typical child to stop scratching, never mind one with autism.

In June we were promised a referral to a dermatologist at Children's Hospital, but it would take a while. We were going through bottles of antihistamine to manage the discomfort. We bandaged his hands with gauze to prevent scratching and also to cover up the open wounds that began to look like burns.

We tried all kinds of lotions, cream etc. Nothing worked. My son began scratching his thighs and buttockes so badly, that they bled. It was now summer and it was too hot to keep him in pants.

A friend recommended we switch from soaps to Cetaphil or Spectrogel. It helped, but his skin was in such bad shape that it made very little difference, but I'm sure it played a part in things getting better.

I found some literature that recommended evening primrose oil. Since my son couldn't yet swallow capsules, I got a bottle of gel caps, pricked them with a pin and massaged the oil into his skin after bath every night. He didn't mind, and actually looked forward to the massage. It does tend to stain the pajamas. We tried the same process with Vit E, but it was very sticky, hard to massage around and took forever to dry. The evening primrose oil soaks in very quickly, so I didn't have to worry about oil marks on furniture. The skin began to heal, but very gradually.

I came across some Essential Fatty Acid gelcaps for children that were chewable. There are several kinds available at health foods stores, and I've even seen some at Walmart. The brain is the biggest user of EFAs (which the body cannot manufacture), but the skin also needs EFAs. The itchiness decreased substantially and the skin slowly began to heal over. As a bonus, he got used to taking the gelcaps and learned to swallow pills without hassle.

We've now seen the dermatologist 3 times and the eczema is under control. I thought I would also pass on some of her recommendations.

Dr.'s Recommendations:

1. bathe daily in the tub – ou want to get the skin damp and lock in the moisture with lotion/cream/ointment.
2. use an unscented soap or body wash such as Cetaphil, Spectrogel or Dove for sensitive skin
3. do not use:

.. bubble bath
.. shampoo in bathwater – wash hair separately
.. perfumed skin care products
.. "scented" baby skin care products
4. pat skin dry
5. immediately apply an emollient, such as unscented Vaseline petroleum jelly, Aquaphor ointment, Vaseline Creamy, Moisturel Cream or lotion, Eucerin Cream or lotion, Cetaphil Cream or lotion.

Creams sting more than ointments.

If you go into a hot tub or chlorinated pool, be sure to shower after and put on moisturizer.

Although the doctor discounted the use of the evening primrose oil and the EFA's, they were the ONLY things that helped while we waited 4 interminable months for the referral to come through.

Good luck!

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Hi Michelle:

We saw a neurologist at Children's with Jeremy -I can't remember his name though – I think he was head of the neuro department though – I quite liked him not the greatest bedside manner but really, really knew his stuff – was instrumental in helping me deal with the meds and how to increase them (not the typical cookie cutter way that all drs. told me) but how to do it for Jeremy. I was so against meds and the bloody side effects but this dr. was the most understanding. For meds there are so many new ones around now and each works great for different types of seizures,etc. so I think it's important to have a dr. you trust and can really talk to when dealing with this especially as our kids can't communicate side effects (other than those wonderful behaviors) as well as a NT kid.

Take care.

Barbara

[Michelle Weis]

Hi Everybody,

I am posting for a family out near Maple Ridge. There 8 year old child has been havin seizures and they were wondering if anyone has these same issues and could recommend a good Dr or have any information that might help them? If so either post or please email me with any helpful information.

Thanks

[Super Dad]

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

The North Shore ASBC Support Group proudly presents:

When the Parents are Gone: preparing for the day we hand over the disabled child
at
6:45pm, January 20
in
Lynn Valley Library program room

We are very pleased to have Pat Tesan from PLAN (the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) as our guest speaker. Pat has inspired countless parents with stories of disabled children who achieve a level of independence and happiness previously considered unimaginable.

The presentation will include:
* Planning for major transitions;
* Writing a Will;
* Establishing a Discretionary Trust and appointing trustees;
* Setting up a Microboard and appointing board members;
* The importance of the Representation Agreement Act.

DATE: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
TIME: 6:45pm – 8:45pm
LOCATION: Program Room at the new Lynn Valley Library (1277 Lynn Valley Rd, North Vancouver, a part of Lynn Valley Centre).

For those going north/west on Highway #1: take exit 21; turn right on Mountain Highway; turn left at Ross Road (across from Starbucks) which is the entry to the underground parking lot. For those going east on Highway #1: take exit 19; merge onto Blvd Crescent; then continue on Lynn Valley Rd. Turn right on Mountain Highway; turn right at Ross Road (across from Starbucks) which is the entry to the underground parking lot. An elevator will take you up to the plaza level for entry to the library.

Coffee/Tea and snacks provided.
Donations are greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Carol at colemanmoser@hotmail.com

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Carol and Tony
(Co-facilitators for ASBC North Shore Group)

[Super Dad]

North Shore ASBC Lecture Series

Important notice from the North Shore ASBC Support Group:

*** NEW TIME and NEW LOCATION for our January meeting! ***

On Tuesday January 20th, our meeting will be from 6:45 – 8:45 pm.

Our location will be at the Program Room @ the beautiful new Lynn Valley Library, with quick and easy access from the Upper Levels Highway.

Details to follow.

Carol & Tony (parent co-facilitators)

[Jemma Lee]

Here is another great entry in Harold's fantastic blog:

http://autisminnb.blogspot.com/2009/01/inane-autism-quote-of-year-award-for.html

Harold wrote, "Inane Autism Quote of the Year Award for 2008 Goes to Dr. Laurent Mottron, Who Else?"

Just for fun, I have tried writing variants of the quote, by substituting "autism" with other diseases of unknown causes. Here is one example:

"The main thing is that nobody knows what it is. We know that a society decided to call it lupus. So, lupus is a definition currently. It is a NIAMS. It groups certain numbers of people who have in common, who share, atypicalities at the musculoskeletal level, at the internal organ level, and in the variety of life span. So they may be in some ways quite different, but they all share these peculiarities. Lupus is currently included in medical disorders. This is a sociological fact. It doesn’t mean that it is medical. It means that it is incorporated in medical books which list all the variations of typical immune response, for example."

We should stop making all young lupus patients feel inferior by insisting that their immune systems are abnormal (rather than just atypical). More importantly, we should stop forcing them to take drugs and suffer horrible side effects. Since it's their own immune systems attacking their organs, outsiders have no right to interfere. Instead, we should all learn to respect "Immuno-Diversity."

Jemma

[Milburn Drysdale]

The Federal Government is giving away money! The catch is that you must apply for it.
The feds have announced that the deadline for the 2008 RDSP application has been extended to 2 March 2009.
The RDSP provides for up to $3,500 in matching grants or up to a $1,000 bond with no matching contribution depending on your income level.
Refer to my page http://asdfunding.com/rdsp.aspx for more information and links to RSDP sites.
The Bank of Montreal is the first national bank to offer the RDSP.
Don't wait for the last minute as there are a few steps which must followed prior to applying for the plan.
1) Ensure your child qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit;
2) Have a valid Social Insurance Number;
3) File a tax return for two years prior (to receive the Grant and Bond)
4) Ensure you sign up for the Canada Child Tax Benefit if your child is under age 18

Milburn Drysdale
Autism Funding in BC
http://asdfunding.com

[Author]

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