Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

What's the connection between autism and depression?

Excerpt from: Autism Speaks (click for full article)

 

This is an important question. Mood disorders – including depression – do appear to be more common in those with developmental disabilities than in the general population.

However, diagnosing depression in those with autism represents a challenge that dates back to Leo Kanner’s original description of “infantile autism,” in 1943.

Kanner described a disturbance of “affective contact” in those with autism. Clinicians use the term “affect” to describe how someone’s emotional state appears to others. In other words, does the person look depressed or anxious? This can be different from “mood.” Mood refers to how someone actually feels inside.

Affect and mood are not always aligned. For example, someone’s expression may appear flat and register little reaction. However, that person may say that he or she feels fine. Clinicians refer to this as an “incongruence of affect and mood.”

DOJ Issues Important Pronouncement on Application of the ADA to School Voucher Programs

Excerpt from: Disability Law (click for full article)

 

A few weeks ago (but just publicized last week), the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Wisconsin's state Superintendent of Public Instruction regarding the Division's ADA investigation of the Milwaukee school voucher program.  The letter contains a number of important pronouncements regarding the responsibilities of states that operate voucher programs to prevent discrimination by the schools -- public and private -- that receive vouchers under those programs.

The first important pronouncement is that, even when parents use vouchers to attend private schools, the state retains an obligation to prevent discrimination against students with disabilities by the schools participating in the voucher program:

DPI's obligation to eliminate discrimination against students with disabilities in its administration of the school choice program is not obviated by the fact that the schools participating in the program are private secular and religious schools.  Indeed, courts recognize that the agency administering a public program has the authority and obligation under Title II to take appropriate steps in its enforcement of program requirements to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities, regardless of whether services are delivered directly by a public entity or provided through a third party.  [Many case cites omitted.]  In short, the State cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place MPCP students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs.

The Intersection of Foster Care and Mental Health

Excerpt from: Disability Blog (click for full article)

 

May is recognized as both National Foster Care Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month.  What most people do not realize is the overlap that often occurs with these populations.

In the United States, there are more than 400,000 children and teens in foster care.  Research reveals that children and teens in the foster care system have disproportionately high rates of psychiatric disability. 

One study by the National Institute of Mental Health found that nearly half (47.9 percent) of youth in foster care were found to have clinically significant emotional or behavioral problems.  Likewise, researchers at the Casey Family Programs estimate that between one-half and three-fourths of children entering foster care exhibit behavioral or social competency problems that warrant mental health services.

Family members concerned about under-staffing of long-term care homes

Excerpt from: Global News (click for full article)

 

Sunset Extendicare admits they’ve had some short-staffing in the past that they’ve now dealt with and said they are providing more than adequate care to the 152 residents.

“Our professional staff here at the facility are doing an amazing job of providing care to our residents here,” said administrator Kevin Siebert.

Klassen and Seabourne disagree, saying that even if the facility is ‘fully staffed’, there simply aren’t enough workers.

Extendicare wasn’t forthcoming with an exact ratio of number of patients to a single care worker, but Klassen said they told her on average that ratio was around one care worker for every 9 patients and as many as 12 patients in the evenings. She says she’s worried about the stress load of frontline staff.

More kids diagnosed with mental health disabilities

Excerpt from: Health 24 (click for full article)

 

Significantly more US children have a neurodevelopmental or mental health disability than did a decade ago, according to new research.

Disabilities that impair a child's day-to-day living have risen 16%, with the greatest increase seen in richer families, according to the study. Conditions such as autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder appear to lie behind the increase, experts said.

But the surveys of parents in 2001-'02 and 2009-'10 also revealed some good news: The rate of disability due to physical conditions went down, according to the study, which is scheduled for presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in Washington DC. Data and conclusions presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

The cost of care

Excerpt from: Life Health Pro (click for full article)

 

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Genworth Financial's Cost of Care survey and it's a great time to discuss long-term care in all its forms with your clients. By minimizing their risk, you can help them prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow before the task becomes too monumental to achieve.

Here's how.

Get to know what your clients value.

Childhood disability rate jumps 16 percent over past decade

Excerpt from: Science Codex (click for full article)

 

More children today have a disability than a decade ago, and the greatest increase is among kids in higher-income families, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The study also found that disabilities related to physical health conditions have decreased, while disabilities due to neurodevelopmental and mental health problems have increased greatly.

"Nearly 6 million kids had a disability in 2009-2010 — almost 1 million more than in 2001-2002," said lead author Amy J. Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, chief, Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Houtrow said previous studies have indicated that the prevalence of childhood disability is increasing. She and her colleagues wanted to look more closely at the conditions and socio-demographic factors associated with disabilities.

Neonatal ICU treatments linked to intellectual disabilities in newborns

Excerpt from: The Saratogian (click for full article)

 

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) interventions for babies born very small and early have drastically reduced infant deaths in the United States, but in doing so they've contributed to more intellectual disabilities, according to a new study.

Past research has shown such disabilities have been reduced in recent years through vaccines and newborn screening, for example.

But disability rates may also be rising due to procedures that save the lives of children who go on to have limitations in social and practical skills, according to researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Brosco.

"We actually through medical interventions, in some sense, cause a fair amount of intellectual disability as well (as preventing it)," said Brosco, from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

New housing option helps those with disabilities

Excerpt from: Echo Press (click for full article)

 

It’s tough for any parent to let go of their adult child, but it’s especially difficult for parents of an individual with special needs. As they work toward personal goals of independence, people with disabilities have added challenges. Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota’s (LSS) Host Homes, a new option, can offer extra security and peace of mind as these families navigate through one of life’s biggest transitions.

“This is a very unique housing option,” explained Alissa Dott, program director for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. “It offers a nurturing and supportive family-style living environment for people with disabilities who are seeking more opportunities to engage in their community and live fuller, more independent lives.

Host Home providers are licensed and trained under Minnesota’s adult foster care guidelines to offer personalized care that supports the individual’s unique needs. In partnership with LSS, the host family works with individuals to build their skills and capacity to participate in all aspects of family and community life. The unique care model promotes personal choice by developing customized support plans based on the interests and personal goals of each person.

$6M Award Upheld for ‘Rampant’ Sex Abuse of Deaf and Blind Children

Excerpt from: Lawyers.com (click for full article)

 

A federal court has upheld a $5.75 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging rampant student-on-student sex abuse at the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind.

The lawsuit claimed that a group of older students who called themselves “the ringleaders” bullied, terrorized, assaulted, robbed, gang raped and sodomized younger, smaller students at the school.

The parents of the victims blamed the school administration, the state of Hawaii, and school counselors for not providing a safe school environment and for trying to cover up the abuse.

Each of the class members will receive $20,000 or more, depending on the degree of abuse they suffered and other factors that figure into the impact of the abuse and the amount of damages they are owed for their injuries, such as whether the abuse affected their job history, mental health, substance abuse and other evidence of physical, psychological and emotional consequences.