[Sabrina Freeman]

TO ALL ABA THERAPISTS WHO ORGANIZED AND PARTICIPATED IN THE AES FUND RAISER:

On behalf of everyone at the Autism Education Society and our children with autism, we would like to express our thanks for your kind support of our ongoing work to establish a Centre of Excellence in autism training and research in British Columbia. Your fundraiser brought in $1524.48 to the cause. This makes a tremendous difference to the future of children with autism.

Thank you,
Sabrina Freeman, Ph.D.
Director
Autism Education Society (AES)

[Sabrina Freeman]

For the FEATBC mothers who would like a chance to vent, read on!

Dear FEAT BC Members,

You are invited, on behalf of Dr. Cory L. Pedersen, to participate in a study on stress in mothers of children with autism. This study is very important to families of children with autism. By doing research in this area we hope to better understand the stress that parents of children with autism may feel, help normalize the stressful experiences that a parent may face, and provide suggests for interventions that may assist parents with managing their stress. Your participation would be an important contribution to research in this area and will help other mothers like yourself. If you agree to be part of this study, you will only be required to participate in a one-time telephone interview that will be scheduled at time convenient to you. Your telephone interview will last no more than one hour, during which time you will be asked questions about your child’s behaviors and your own stress levels.

Your telephone interviewer, Kimberly Hurd, is a Bachelor of Applied Arts Psychology Honors student from Kwantlen University and an experienced behavior intervener. All your personal information will remain strictly confidential and all documents (e.g., questionnaires) pertaining to your interview will be identified only by code number and will be kept in a locked filing cabinet. Furthermore, your responses will only be viewed by the Kwantlen research team, Dr. Cory Pedersen (primary investigator) and Kimberly Hurd (honors student). Although the results of this study will be published in a professional journal and all participants and supporting agencies will have access to the results, individual data will never be revealed under any circumstances and participants will not be identified by name in any reports of the completed study. Only the general conclusions of the entire set of research data will be analyzed and published. Finally, please note that your participation in this study is completely voluntary. Choosing not to participate will not affect your status with the organization providing services to you. Further, you have the right to withdraw your participation from the study at any time without any penalty whatsoever.

If you have any questions or concerns about this research, please contact the principal investigator, Dr. Cory Pedersen at 604-599-3356.

To schedule your interview please call Kim Hurd at 604-599-3356 and leave your name, number, and a time(s) that is most convenient to have your call returned.

Thank you for your assistance,

Dr. C. L. Pedersen
Department of Psychology
Kwantlen University
Kimberly Hurd
Department of Psychology
Kwantlen University

[Sabrina Freeman]

FEATBC Chat Board Members,

IMPORTANT!!!

The CKNW discussion that Kandi Kilgour had with Stephen Harper has hit the media! The National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Edmonton Journal, and Vancouver Sun all mentioned Harper’s cold and callus reaction to Kandi’s questions (the articles are posted below).

Now is the time for everyone on the Chat Board (and remember that there are more than 900 of us) to send one letter to all the following e-mails below. If you are outraged but need some help in formulating your letter, just read Isaac’s recent letter on the Chat Board analyzing Stephen Harper’s comments.

The Ottawa Citizen:
letters@thecitizen.canwest.com

The Edmonton Journal:
letters@thejournal.canwest.com

The Vancouver Sun:
letters@thejournal.canwest.com

Here are the email addresses to send your letters to all the MPs and Senators:

bqmem@parl.gc.ca
cpcmem@parl.gc.ca
indmem@parl.gc.ca
libmem@parl.gc.ca
ndpmem@parl.gc.ca
sens@sen.parl.gc.ca

Writing and sending these letters will be time well spent in the battle to have our children once and for all included in Canada’s health care system.

Sabrina Freeman, Ph.D.
Executive Director,
FEATBC

——————————————-
Articles:

Harper doesn't want to 'sing and dance and act' for cameras: Tory leader says
his focus is on getting results, not on showing sensitive side
The Vancouver Sun

Dec 19, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Edition: Final
Dateline: VICTORIA
Byline: Peter O'Neil

VICTORIA — Conservative leader Stephen Harper, criticized for showing little
emotion as he tries to sell his family-friendly platform to middle-class
Canadians, admits he could have voiced a little more empathy during one of those
painfully awkward moments in a politician's life.

A young Vancouver mother named Candy, obviously struggling with a crying baby,
pleaded during an open-line radio program on Friday for Harper's help in getting
medical coverage for her four-year-old autistic daughter.

It was a pitch a politician like Bill "I feel your pain" Clinton would have
knocked out of the park. Harper, a father of two young children, might have
said: "Candy, I know how challenging it is to raise healthy children. This must
be a difficult situation."

Instead Harper's first reaction was to tell Candy that health care is under
provincial, not federal, jurisdiction.

When asked about it during a weekend interview, Harper immediately acknowledged
he could have handled it differently.

"It's funny," he told The Vancouver Sun in an exclusive interview here at the
end of a four-day B.C. campaign stop.

"You think of things, you know, only after. I sort of wish I'd spent a little
more time on her situation."

He said he'd never dealt with the autism issue, which was decided last year when
the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that provincial health plans don't need to
cover costs for autistic children that can run up to $60,000 per child a year.

He also felt pressed because CKNW host Peter Warren is known for cutting off
long-winded guests and callers, and barking "on with it!" when someone
hesitates.

"I was searching my mind for what precisely our policy position is on this. You
know how it is — you get a lot of these thrown at you. You try to strike a
balance between emotional content and policy content," he said.

"And I guess the nature of me, the nature of my personality, and the nature of
my party, is, we want to think about what we can actually do. That's the most
important thing.

"It's great and obviously important to tell people we feel their pain. But for
me it doesn't mean much unless somebody gives me some idea that we're going to
improve it."

Harper was also questioned over the weekend about his emotionally detached
approach during the TV debates, when Prime Minister Paul Martin waved his arms
and spoke patriotically on national unity and Canada-U.S. relations.

"I think the problem with Mr. Martin's passion is, it's all phoney," Harper told
reporters, noting that when Martin headed Canada Steamship Lines, he registered
some vessels in foreign countries to save taxes.

"It's great to wrap yourself in the flag, but when your own business interests
are at stake you fly the flag of another country."

Harper said his objective is to not "sing and dance and act" for the cameras.

"I'm there to communicate a direction for the country, and give serious and
intelligent answers to people."

Harper's aides, while emphasizing Harper's family and bringing his personable
spouse Laureen Teskey to as many events as possible, haven't tried any image
make-over to help him connect to Canadians.

They said Harper's former leader in the old Reform party, Preston Manning, was
spot-on when he wrote last week that Harper isn't necessarily everyone's first
choice to go out for beers with on Friday nights.

But, as Manning wrote metaphorically, voting for the cerebral Harper to deal
with complex problems like the economy, national unity, or health care, is like
choosing an expert furnace repairman to fix a broken furnace rather than hiring
the friendly handyman who may not have expertise.

"Mr. Harper will fix your furnace, and more important than that he'll understand
why it's broken," said Harper's communications director, William Stairs.

Interview with Stephen Harper.

Colour Photo: Jonathan Hayward, Canadian Press /
Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks during a radio interview
at CKNW in Vancouver Friday. Harper has come under fire for his cold
response to a caller begging for help with the cost of raising her autistic
daughter.
______________________________________________

Don't waste votes on NDP: Harper: Campaigning in B.C.
National Post

Dec 19, 2005
Page: A4
Section: Canada
Edition: All but Toronto
Dateline: VICTORIA
Byline: Peter O'Neil

VICTORIA – British Columbians have a unique opportunity to turn Canada's
political establishment "on its ear" on Jan. 23 and shouldn't waste their votes
on the NDP, Stephen Harper says.

The Conservative leader made the pronouncement on the weekend after unveiling a
broad "Stand up for B.C." platform that includes the promise of more House of
Commons seats for B.C., Alberta and Ontario — a potentially risky move in
Quebec because it would reduce slightly that province's relative share of seats
in Parliament.

Mr. Harper, in an intense three-way race with the Liberals and New Democratic
Party for B.C.'s 36 seats, predicted Canadians will be staying up late on
election night to see if West Coast voters will boot the Liberals from office.

The Conservatives are locked in a battle with the NDP in many parts of B.C.,
fighting over the populist, anti-establishment vote that swung to Reform in the
1990s but has started moving back to the NDP.

"British Columbia will have a decisive impact on this election," Mr. Harper told
The Vancouver Sun. "British Columbia could elect some opposition MPs for a party
[the NDP] that won't change a government, or they can elect opposition MPs for a
party [the Tories] that's going to throw the entire political establishment out
on its ear."

Mr. Harper, who was criticized for showing little emotion as he tries to sell
his family-friendly platform to middle-class Canadians, admits he could have
voiced a little more empathy during one of those painfully awkward moments in a
politician's life.

A young Vancouver mother named Candy, obviously struggling with a crying baby,
pleaded during an open-line radio program on Friday for Mr. Harper's help in
getting medical coverage for her four-year-old autistic daughter.

Mr. Harper's first reaction was to tell Candy health care is under provincial,
not federal, jurisdiction.

When asked about it during a weekend interview, Mr. Harper immediately and
candidly acknowledged he could have handled it differently.

"It's funny," he said. "You think of things, you know, only after. I sort of
wish I'd spent a little more time on her situation."

He said he'd never dealt with the autism issue, which was decided last year when
the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that provincial health plans don't need to
cover costs for autistic children that can run up to $60,000 per child a year.

He said he also felt pressed because CKNW host Peter Warren is known for cutting
off long-winded guests and callers, and barking "on with it!" when someone
hesitates.

Mr. Harper's B.C. platform includes the vow to strike two judicial inquiries,
one on the 1985 Air-India terrorist disaster and the other on missing Fraser
River sockeye salmon.

He also said he'd reconsider Ottawa's planned privatization of the Ridley Coal
Terminal in northern B.C., consider compensation for victims of B.C.'s
$1.5-billion leaky condo crisis, bring back a dedicated police force for
Canadian ports, re-establish an army base on the West Coast, and help fund a
costly treatment plant so the city of Victoria no longer dumps raw sewage into
the Pacific Ocean.

Black & White Photo: A radio microphone.
__________________________________________________
Harper promises more seats for West, Ontario: Attacks B.C. NDP vote
National Post

Dec 19, 2005
Page: A7
Section: Canada
Edition: Toronto
Dateline: VICTORIA
Byline: Peter O'Neil

VICTORIA – British Columbians have a unique opportunity to turn Canada's
political establishment "on its ear" on Jan. 23 and shouldn't waste their votes
on the NDP, Stephen Harper says.

The Conservative leader made the pronouncement on the weekend after unveiling a
broad "Stand up for B.C." platform that includes the promise of more House of
Commons seats for B.C., Alberta and Ontario — a potentially risky move in
Quebec because it would reduce slightly that province's relative share of seats
in Parliament.

Canada's current formula for redistributing seats every 10 years is biased
against Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. because Quebec and the smaller provinces have
a constitutionally guaranteed minimum number of seats.

Mr. Harper predicted that B.C. would get four more seats to go to 40, Alberta
two or three more than its current 28, and Ontario would go from 106 to 116.

Quebec, which has 75 seats in the 308-seat chamber, would see its relative share
of seats compared to larger provinces drop slightly under the Tory plan.

"There may be some reaction [in Quebec] on that, but we're simply doing a fairer
system here," Mr. Harper said, stressing that the Constitution intended to have
provinces represented based on population.

"We've departed simply too far from the reality."

He said there are "other ways" to deal with Quebec's concerns, and said he will
reveal those plans later in the campaign.

Mr. Harper, in an intense three-way race with the Liberals and New Democratic
Party for B.C.'s 36 seats, predicted Canadians will be staying up late on
election night to see if West Coast voters will boot the Liberals from office.

The Conservatives are locked in a battle with the NDP in many parts of B.C.,
fighting over the populist, anti-establishment vote that swung to Reform in the
1990s but has started moving back to the NDP.

"British Columbia will have a decisive impact on this election," Mr. Harper told
The Vancouver Sun. "British Columbia could elect some opposition MPs for a party
[the NDP] that won't change a government, or they can elect opposition MPs for a
party [the Tories] that's going to throw the entire political establishment out
on its ear."

Mr. Harper, who was criticized for showing little emotion as he tries to sell
his family-friendly platform to middle-class Canadians, admits he could have
voiced a little more empathy during one of those painfully awkward moments in a
politician's life.

A young Vancouver mother named Candy, obviously struggling with a crying baby,
pleaded during an open-line radio program on Friday for Mr. Harper's help in
getting medical coverage for her four-year-old autistic daughter.

Mr. Harper's first reaction was to tell Candy health care is under provincial,
not federal, jurisdiction.

When asked about it during a weekend interview, Mr. Harper immediately and
candidly acknowledged he could have handled it differently.

"It's funny," he said. "You think of things, you know, only after. I sort of
wish I'd spent a little more time on her situation."

He said he'd never dealt with the autism issue, which was decided last year when
the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that provincial health plans don't need to
cover costs for autistic children that can run up to $60,000 per child a year.

Mr. Harper's B.C. platform includes the vow to strike two judicial inquiries,
one on the 1985 Air-India terrorist disaster and the other on missing Fraser
River sockeye salmon.

He also said he'd reconsider Ottawa's planned privatization of the Ridley Coal
Terminal in northern B.C., consider compensation for victims of B.C.'s
$1.5-billion leaky condo crisis, bring back a dedicated police force for
Canadian ports, re-establish an army base on the West Coast, and help fund a
costly treatment plant so the city of Victoria no longer dumps raw sewage into
the Pacific Ocean.

Black & White Photo: Ed Kaiser, CanWest News Service / Stephen Harper addresses
a rally in Edmonton on the weekend.
_________________________________________
Harper chides himself
The Edmonton Journal

Dec 19, 2005
Page: A4
Section: News
Edition: Final
Dateline: VICTORIA

VICTORIA – Conservative Leader Stephen Harper admits he could have been more
empathetic during a painful moments in a politician's life.

A young Vancouver mother named Candy pleaded during an open-line radio program
on Friday for Harper's help in getting medical coverage for her four-year-old
autistic daughter. Harper told her health care is under provincial, not federal,
jurisdiction.

"You think of things, you know, only after. I sort of wish I'd spent a little
more time on her situation," he later said in an interview.
___________________________________________
Harper tells B.C. voters they can make an impact: Tory leader unveils platform
that includes more western seats and a military base
The Ottawa Citizen

Dec 19, 2005
Page: A4
Section: News
Edition: Final
Dateline: VICTORIA
Byline: Peter O'Neil

VICTORIA – British Columbians have a unique opportunity to turn Canada's
political establishment "on its ear" on Jan. 23 and shouldn't waste their votes
on the NDP, says Conservative leader Stephen Harper.

The Tory leader made the pronouncement on the weekend after unveiling a broad
"Stand up for B.C." platform that includes the promise of more House of Commons
seats for B.C., Alberta and Ontario — a potentially risky move in Quebec
because it would slightly reduce that province's relative share of seats in
Parliament.

Mr. Harper, in an intense three-way race with the Liberals and New Democratic
Party for B.C.'s 36 seats, predicted that Canadians will be staying up late on
election night to see if West Coast voters will boot the Liberals from office.

The Conservatives are locked in a battle with the NDP in many parts of B.C.,
fighting over the populist, anti-establishment vote that swung to Reform in the
1990s, but has started moving back to the NDP.

"British Columbia will have a decisive impact on this election," Mr. Harper said
in an exclusive interview. "British Columbia could elect some opposition MPs for
a party (the NDP) that won't change a government, or they can elect opposition
MPs for a party (the Tories) that's going to throw the entire political
establishment out on its ear."

Mr. Harper's B.C. platform includes the vow to strike two judicial inquiries,
one on the 1985 Air India terrorist disaster and the other on missing Fraser
River sockeye salmon, and to build a military base in the province.

Canada's current formula for redistributing seats every 10 years is biased
against Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. because Quebec and the smaller provinces have
constitutionally guaranteed seat minimums.

Mr. Harper predicted that B.C. would get four more seats to go to 40, Alberta
two or three more than its current 28, and Ontario would go from 106 to 116.

Quebec, with 75 seats in the 308-seat chamber, would see its relative share of
seats compared to larger provinces drop slightly under the Tory plan.

"There may be some reaction (in Quebec) on that, but we're simply doing a fairer
system here," he said, stressing that the Constitution intended to have
provinces represented based on population.

"We've departed simply too far from the reality."

He said there are "other ways" to deal with Quebec's concerns, and said he'll
reveal those plans later in the campaign.

Mr. Harper said there could be delays in passing the legislation, since
Elections Canada currently only redistributes seats every 10 years after the
national census. He said another problem is the lack of space in the House of
Commons, which is supposed to undergo a major renovation.

The Conservative leader also candidly admitted he could have voiced a little
more empathy during one of those painfully awkward moments in a politician's
life.

A young Vancouver mother named Candy pleaded during an open-line radio program
on Friday for help in getting medical coverage for her four-year-old autistic
daughter.

Mr. Harper's first reaction was to tell Candy health care is under provincial
jurisdiction.

When asked about it during a weekend interview, Mr. Harper acknowledged he could
have handled it differently.

"It's funny, you think of things, you know, only after. I sort of wish I'd spent
a little more time on her situation."

The Winter Campaign

Photo: Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press / Conservative leader Stephen Harper
was back in Ottawa yesterday with his children, Rachel and Ben. The family
attended Ben's weekly hockey game.
____________________________________________________
I'm an 'average Canadian,' says Harper: Tory leader says he's just a
middle-class dad whose wife buys the eggs and milk
The Vancouver Sun

Dec 17, 2005
Page: A6
Section: News
Edition: Final
Byline: Peter O'Neil

Conservative leader Stephen Harper, contrasting himself to millionaire Prime
Minister Paul Martin, said Friday he's an "average Canadian" who will represent
middle-class values.

"You know I've never been that conscious of image, but I think it is a reality,"
Harper said during an open-line radio broadcast here prior to Friday night's
crucial English debate.

"I am in fact an average Canadian. I'm from a middle-class background, I have
middle-class kids who use the public health care system. You know, obviously,
we're trying to make sure people understand who I am and the things we stand
for."

Harper was then challenged by CKNW interviewer Peter Warren to guess the price
of a litre of milk or a dozen eggs. The Tory said he didn't know, but guessed
they would cost $3 each.

Warren told him that milk was going for $1.79 a litre at a local supermarket,
and eggs for $2.52.

"It's been a while since I bought them myself. My wife does the shopping," said
Harper, who earns $216,000 a year and lives with his family rent-free in the
government's Stornaway mansion in Ottawa's upscale Rockcliffe Park
neighbourhood.

Harper's campaign platform, aimed at winning the support of Canada's middle
class voters, includes a GST cut, annual grants to parents of pre-schoolers, and
tax breaks for hockey dads and soccer moms.

The platform is part of a broader campaign to convince Canadians not to buy into
the Liberal argument that Harper has a right-wing "hidden" or "scary" agenda.

Harper, whose support plummeted in the 2004 campaign when he began talking about
forming a majority government, has twice this week stressed that he wouldn't
introduce obviously unpopular legislation in a minority government situation.

"I think a number of the things we're running on are very popular," said Harper,
whose ability to win a majority is very limited due to Tory weakness in Quebec.

"I would obviously anticipate that the minority Parliament would be prepared to
pass the things the government ran on, that the government was clear that it ran
on, and that Canadians wanted to see."

Later in Friday's open-line program, Harper was asked by a mother of a young
child with autism if he'd back the demand for an expanded medicare program to
cover the high costs of treating autistic children.

"How do I get her help?" said the caller, Candy, who was dealing with a crying
baby as she pleaded over the phone.

"I can't see how politicians can say they're against disabled kids. This is a
no-brainer."

"I appreciate the question and it has come up before," Harper replied.

"The truth of the matter of course is that what actually is covered under health
care is determined by the provinces under the provincial health insurance
plans."

Harper said he would encourage premiers to follow court decisions, and added
that he believed there had been a recent court decision that supports expanded
aid for parents of autistic kids, though he didn't identify the decision.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in November, 2004, that the B.C. government
wasn't obliged to cover costs for the treatment that can be as high as $60,000
annually per child. The ruling struck down two lower-court decisions.
____________________________________________

[Sabrina Freeman]

Dear FEAT-BC Chat Board members:

Thanks to the great work of a FEAT dad, Mr. Dave Chan, we now have a fantastic, new autism wristband for our cause. The wristband says, "Medicare for Autism Now!" and is available from FEAT-BC. Here is a photograph of the item:

https://featbc.org/Medicare_for_Autism_Now.jpg

If you believe that children with autism deserve to be in Medicare for their core health need, then I encourage you to purchase a wristband. If you want everyone you meet to know that you support the cause of making publicly funded autism treatment for our children a reality, then I encourage you to purchase a wristband. If you want a way to involve others and have them say, "How can I help?" and YOU also want to help FEAT-BC's important lobbying work in Ottawa — intended to change laws and also create new ones to end the horrible injustice — then I encourage you to purchase a wristband.

Now that the Supreme Court of Canada has forsaken our children by overturning two key B.C. rulings in favour of publicly funded autism treatment, the only way to make this goal a reality is to lobby federally so that our children get "Medicare for Autism Now!"

As I mentioned, the proceeds from the bands will help support our lobbying effort. Canada is geographically a huge country; unfortunately, that means that our current lobbying project, with its hundreds of packages to ALL Members of Parliament and Senators in Ottawa, will be costly. Although letters mailed in number10 envelopes are postage free, everything else we send them is not. Therefore, in order to keep pressing our message with the federal government, we need to sell lots of "Medicare for Autism Now!" wristbands. This will help cover the cost of lobbying the federal decision makers and lawmakers, with the goal of having them take autism treatment seriously and fix the glaring health care neglect of our children.

Also, it's important to recall that the numerous benefits of the FEAT-BC discussion board to our community are brought to everyone free of charge (and will continue to be free). Yet the many New Parent information packets and videos we send out weekly free of charge to families with newly diagnosed children cost us $10/each to produce and ship. Therefore, this fundraiser will also let you help many new parents make informed decisions about how to help their children, as well as enable you to publicly "own" the issue of the urgent need for autism to be in the healthcare system.

The cost of the wristband is $5 plus $2 shipping and handling. Regardless of how many wristbands you choose to buy — whether one or one hundred — the shipping charge will still be only $2 per order. If everyone in this discussion group were to purchase only one wristband, we'd be well on our way to paying the postage for the current FEAT project to lobby ALL of the lawmakers in Ottawa. If everyone bought two wristbands, well, we'd be that much farther ahead in funding the effort to win powerful support in Ottawa to make the important changes necessary.

If you'd like order the "Medicare for Autism Now!" wristbands, an order form can be downloaded from FEAT-BC at this address:

https://featbc.org/downloads/wristband_order.pdf

Simply print out the order form and fax it back (or mail it) to FEAT-BC. You can also order by phone.

Just so everyone knows, I'm wearing two!

Sabrina

[Sabrina Freeman]

Hi All,

Based on my data base search of MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, CINAHL, COCHRANE Collection, and ERIC, I could not find even one peer-reviewed article on the efficacy of Chelation for autism (and I searched from the 1960's up to 2005). There is no shortage of testimonials from parents who are very invested in this treatment; however, anecdotal reporting (which include parent testimonials) is highly unreliable. Unfortunately, these testimonials play on the vulnerability of parents who are desperate for a quick fix (aren’t we all).

In short, there is absolutely NO reliable data – from peer-reviewed journal articles – showing any efficacy for Chelation Therapy.

By the way, this has not been the first death associated with Chelation. A woman in California died a few years ago. Also, you should all know that right now, proponents of Chelation are recommending it for whatever disease you have (including heart disease and hardening of the arteries). The following organizations recommend against chelation:

American Academy of Pediatrics
National Council Against Health Fraud
Quackwatch
American College of Preventative Medicine Practice Policy Statement recommends which children are and are not candidates for chelation.

Until more research is conducted, Intensive Behavioural Treatment is still Best Practices.

Sabrina

[Sabrina Freeman]

Hi All,

I have great news! I recently received a letter from the Wisconsin Early Autism Project informing me that a new consultant has moved to town. I've reproduced the letter here for your interest.

Sabrina

June 24, 2005

FEAT of BC
20641 46th Avenue
Langley BC V3A 3H8

Dear Dr. Freeman,

I am pleased to announce that Early Autism Project is expanding its services to families in B.C. Margot Squire has recently relocated to Vancouver where she will work with Buffy Paul, Clinic Director of EAP, to provide quality services to children. Ms. Squire has many years of experience providing practical application and supervision of intensive in-home behavioural therapy for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Under my direction, Margot worked as a Senior Therapist from 1996 through 1999 for the Wisconsin Young Autism Project, which was part of an N.I.M.H. grant to replicate Dr. Ivar Lovaas’ 1987 study. Preliminary findings stemming from the third year results of the research project show that the Wisconsin Early Autism Project, Inc. has achieved similar and in some cases more promising outcomes than Dr. Lovaas’ 1987 study. The results of the 3-year study are due to be published in November 2005 in the American Journal on Mental Retardation.

In 1999, Margot was transferred to London to help supervise programs at the newly opened WEAP affiliate, London Early Autism Project. There she supervised individual programs and, as a Clinic Supervisor, trained and supervised local consultants. Margot relocated to Sydney, Australia in 2001, where she developed WEAP’s second international affiliate clinic, the Early Autism Project, Sydney. Under her guidance, the Early Autism Project now provides intensive ABA services to children in the greater Sydney and Canberra regions.

Ms. Squire is a skilled and compassionate clinician who has a passion for teaching children with ASD. She brings valuable experience and knowledge to our EAP team as well as a great deal of enthusiasm.

Regards,

Glen Sallows, Ph.D., BCBA
President
Early Autism Project

[Sabrina Freeman]

Re: ABA ONLY covered in 17 states

First of all, one reporter's opinion (the Baltimore Sun) would not hold water in any court. A newspaper article is hardly solid proof that the claims made are correct.

However, let's for a moment entertain such a notion:

This information refers to insurance companies who are breaking the law and the Federal Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 makes it possible for these parents to sue. In Canada, we have no grounds to sue because we don't even have laws to protect our children!

In addition, every child from AGE 3 is entitled under the IDEA (a Federal Act) to "an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment". Thousands of American children have their ABA programs paid for by their school district (direct funding or ABA schools), and 75% of Lovaas cases prosecuted under the IDEA have won in American courts. In other words, the minute parents remind the school districts that they're breaking the law, generally they get what their children need (despite the fact that this is a health care issue, not a educational issue). Bottom line: American law provides very real protection for children with autism.

I know it may be painful for an American expat with a child with autism to admit that the U.S. is only light years ahead of us when it comes to disability rights (particularly when it comes to autism); however, there is no debate that there are several Federal American laws that do protect Americans with disabilities. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Canada.

We have no Federal Canadians with Disabilities Act.
We have no Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
We have no Federal Mental Health Parity Acts.

This is simply the truth and no amount of cognitive dissonance or sophistry can deny these facts.

Whatever Canadians or American expats may think about the U.S., the American construct of disability rights has much to teach Canadian policy makers.

It's time that all Canadians fight for those same disability rights that have existed south of the border for decades.

Sabrina (Miki's mom)

[Sabrina Freeman]

Regarding the "Fluency" model of autism
treatment, Dee-Dee Doyle posits that we
should all, "open [our] minds to ABA treatment
and methods supported by single subject
research and all that it can offer our children
with autism."

This view of autism treatment research begs
the question: is single-subject research
design truly a valid means of establishing the
efficacy of an autism treatment for a
population of children with autism, as
opposed to the treatment needs of only a
single child? I thought I'd share some
thoughts on the single-subject case design in
autism treatment, for those of you who may be
interested.

What is a Single-Subject Case Design?

A single-subject research design (SSRD) is
simply an experiment that uses one subject.
I'm certain almost every parent of a child with
autism has seen of or heard of this kind of
design. It is very common in autism research.
Not only is it common amongst the kooks; it is
also very common amongst legitimate
clinicians. In fact, the vast majority of studies
done in the field of applied behavior analysis
are single-subject case designs. In addition,
in rehabilitation research it is used often,
particularly by Occupational Therapists and
Physiotherapists. The reason for this is that
single-subject research is ideally suited when
there is a patient with an injury, for example,
and the treatment plan for the person is
individualized. Remember, in this case, the
goal is to rehabilitate that one patient; the goal
is not to generalize that treatment plan to other
patients, or a population of patients with the
same diagnosis.

Before I explain this kind of research, I need to
let you all know that researchers who do this
type research often feel that they are under
attack from the scientific community, and there
is an ongoing debate as to how this kind of
research should be used. That said, I think it
is fair to say that there is consensus in
science that single-subject research is useful
in a clinical setting, but it's absolutely not
appropriate to generalize from one
single-subject research design to the
population at large, which unfortunately
happens in autism research — a lot!

There are advantages to single-subject
research designs. The first is that the
experimenter uses the person as his own
control by comparing data from before the
treatment, and immediately after the
treatment. This removes all the possible
errors that can flow from random, individual
differences amongst people, since it is the
same person in the study. In fact, this design
typically observes behavior, for example, on
five different occasions before introducing the
treatment. Then, many researchers in SSRD
will use statistical analyses to ensure that
there is a true difference between the before
treatment and after treatment data. Many
researchers don't use statistics to see the
results; they simply look at a graph showing
the data points before and after. Even those
using statistics are criticized because there is
a debate about which statistical tests are
appropriate to use. These researchers claim
that SSRD is actually better because the
internal validity is high. Here they are referring
to the idea that there is no variability between
children in the control and experimental
groups since the control and the treatment are
done on the same person. In other words, as
mentioned above, there is no difference
between children because there is only one
child who is measured before and after.

A hypothetical design example shows a child
who enters treatment for 6 months and then is
given an I.Q. test. Then the child is not given
treatment for a year and his I.Q. is measured.
Then the child goes into treatment for another
6 months and his I.Q. is measured. Then the
child is taken out of treatment for another year
and his I.Q. is again measured. From this
kind of design, one could clearly see whether
the child was benefiting from treatment, and if
the child was regressing when not in
treatment. For that ONE child, it appears as
though treatment is having a very strong effect.
For clinical decisions, the single-subject
design looks very compelling since we are not
generalizing to the population at large; rather,
we are simply making a clinical decision as to
whether that child is benefiting from the
treatment. When single-subject designs are
used in that manner, they do a true service to
the child.

This is particularly true with autistic individuals
with self-injurious behavior. If a clinician uses
techniques to eliminate self-injurious
behavior, do we really care about the fact that
there was only one child in the study?
Obviously not. We care only that this treatment
worked for this individual and has now given
him a life where he is not restrained, but
rather, can go out into the community with his
family. When these kinds of studies are
published, they are incredibly beneficial to
other clinicians as new and valuable tools in
the kit box for use when presented with a
self-injurious client.

SSRD's are also very useful to motivate
different kinds of research to determine
causal relationships. In fact, a small
within-subject design using 2 children actually
motivated Lovaas to do a large-scale
between/within subject design, which became
a very well known experiment published in
1987.

To summarize single subject research
design:

– Study using only 1 child with autism in the
entire study
– Common in autism research
– Useful in a clinical setting
– Controversial research design if used
improperly

What's the Problem with Single-Subject Case
Designs?

There is no problem with the single-subject
design when it is used properly; however, it is
used improperly in autism treatment research
all the time. It is used heavily by quacks
because it is cheap and easy. Quacks only
need to find one child on which to
"experiment," and then a poor single-subject
case design can morph into an anecdote-now
-dressed-up-as-genuine-research.

Another problem amongst some researchers
is that they claim single-subject design can
show that A causes B in general. Under
certain conditions, it's fine to say that a child
improved due to the treatment if proper
measurements have been taken. When this
happens, the "Therapeutic Criterion" or the
treatment value for the subject has been met.
Unfortunately, from that one child, one cannot
make general statements about how effective
the treatment was. This is called the
"Experimental Criterion." The "Experimental
Criterion" has not been met from one or two or
even three experiments. I think it is safe to say
that single-subject designs are one very
valuable way to probe and see if it is
worthwhile to create a between-subjects
experiment with a larger number of children
(as in the Lovaas's research) if indeed we
want to generalize results to the larger
population of children with autism.

Proponents of the single-subject case design
argue that the solution to the generalizability
problem is to do many replications, and in this
way show that the result can be generalized to
the population of children with autism. They
would say that their study is just as good as
between-subject designs in terms of
generalization, as long as both types of
studies can replicate their results.

They are also proponents of meta-analyses.
In a meta-analysis, the researcher combines
the results of a number of single-subject
studies to discern whether a given treatment
is effective. This is difficult to do well, and has
some methodological problems associated
with it, but it is a much better way to add to the
body of knowledge in autism research than
generalizing through only one, single-subject
research design — a definite no-no.

Other critics, such as a researcher by the
name of Furedy, are completely against the
use of this type of design. He says: "The
'single-subject' design (which really denotes a
design that employs too few subjects to allow
statistical inferences concerning significance
to be made) is useful only for the generation,
but not for the testing or evaluation, of
hypotheses concerning any psychological
functions." That's a fancy way of saying that
there are not enough children in the study to
make sure that the effect is real, and that the
proper use of the single subject research
design is to generate interesting ideas to test.

Although we are not going to end the long
running debate regarding the merits of
single-subject designs in autism treatment
any time soon, it is safe to say that there are
too many methodological problems
associated with this type of research design to
rely upon its results as an autism treatment
protocol that can be generalized to the
population at large.

It is my opinion that single-subject designs
are relied upon far too heavily in autism
research–again, often by quacks. The main
point to take away from this discussion is this
(and you can "take this to the bank"): it is not
scientifically valid to generalize any given
autism treatment protocol to the population at
large from a single-subject design. So please
be careful!

Sabrina (Miki's Mom)

[Sabrina Freeman]

To All FEAT BC Chat Board Members:

Re: March 12th Conference co-sponsored by ASAT, FEAT and ASBC

I'm pleased to hear that the early-bird registration has been extended to March 4rd. That's great since this is one conference that you definitely do not want to miss!

To Parents:

It is very rare that we have two such brilliant experts in the field come up to British Columbia (and it's not going to happen for a long time again). Most of the so-called autism professionals I see advertised up here are, in my opinion, not worth hearing. I take this view because I have read about the vast majority of treatments out there and know who is pushing what and I am familiar with their agenda. This upcoming conference is very different.

I so wish I could have heard Drs. Newman and Gerenser years ago when my daughter was younger. The genuine expertise and quality they have to offer, you will not come across in B.C. Dr. Newman is a fantastic presenter who truly understands all facets of autism. He is a superb speaker and has a great sense of humour! Every time I hear him speak, read his posts on international discussion boards or speak with him, I learn something new about autism – even after having read extensively on the topic for over 14 years.

Regarding Dr. Gerenser, it is very rare to have an expert whose areas of expertise include both Speech and Language (SLP), and ABA (intensive behavioral treatment). Aside from Dr. Gerenser, I don't know of any other professionals who hold the dual credential. This unique perspective is very important because many of our children who do well in their ABA programs for a couple of years, seem to get bogged down in the area of higher level language. Despite this serious and not uncommon problem, the vast majority of SLPs know nothing about ABA and are therefore of little or no value in advancing the child's program. Again, I would have loved to hear Dr. Gerenser when my child was seven years old – she would have benefited tremendously. Even now, I'm extremely excited to hear Dr. Gerenser speak, even though my child is now seventeen.

Unfortunately, because these highly trained professionals are from New York, it is doubtful we will have them out again for quite some time. So, short of you getting on a plane and flying to a conference in the U.S., this opportunity will not be matched soon in B.C.

To Therapists:

If you are serious about improving your knowledge of ABA, these two professionals are a must to hear. I know that it might be somewhat more costly than most lecture series, but I urge you to look at this as the price of tuition. From an autism treatment standpoint, B.C. is a relative backwater, with a dearth of very high caliber academic expertise. I am certain you will not have this quality offered to you locally for a very long time. There is not a single academic at any of the three universities in B.C. who can hold a candle to these two in terms of science-based, autism treatment. This conference will broaden your horizons, and give you much insight into whether this could become a career path. To those therapists who are thinking of becoming Speech and Language Pathologists, this conference is an absolute must!

In closing, those who know me well, know that I rarely come out so unequivocally in recommending something, but this is a truly special opportunity. If you plan to go to only one conference this year, this should be the one! For those of you on Vancouver Island or in the Interior (or for our friends in Alaska), this one is worth the trip.

See you there!

Sabrina

Sabrina Freeman, Ph.D.
Executive Director
FEAT BC

[Sabrina Freeman]

To ACT-BC:

Me thinks thou doth protest too much!

Regards,

Sabrina

[Author]

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