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

Guidelines for service animals

Excerpt from: South Coast Today (click for full article)

 

When I retired from the Yarmouth Police Department in 2001 after a line-of-duty injury that left me with severe chronic pain and a diagnosis of PTSD, I decided to train a dog to help me adjust to my new life. I was given a black Lab puppy by a Yarmouthport breeder and named her "Paxil" because I knew she would make me happy.

Paxil provides physical assistance by picking up items I drop, fetching phones, helping me climb stairs, telling me when to take my pain medications, opening and closing doors, tugging off jackets and shoes, operating light switches, and even taking the clothes out of the dryer and putting them on the counter for me to fold.

She provides psychiatric assistance by alerting me to people approaching from behind, waking me from nightmares, creating a furry comfort zone in crowds and distracting me with a paw in my lap or a nose in my face.

As Psychiatric Wards Close, Patients Languish In Emergency Rooms

Excerpt from NPR: (click for entire article)

Last fall, Kathy Partridge got a phone call from a local emergency room, telling her that her daughter, Jessie Glasscock, was there — and was OK.

Glasscock had gone missing overnight. She was away at college, and had a history of manic episodes. Police had found her in a Dumpster and brought her to the ER for her own safety. It was a huge relief for her mother. But she was completely surprised by what happened next.

"I went down to this emergency room and just found her by herself, basically locked in a closet," says Partridge.

Efforts mount to cut improper use of antipsychotics for seniors

Excerpt from Bradenton Herald: (click for entire article)

A prescription for the wrong medicine, or too much of the right one, can cause dullness, danger or even death for older people.

That's the word from a growing group of family members, as well as medical, government and nonprofit groups working on medication issues involving older patients nationally.

Many people who have placed older relatives in long-term care tell the same story: a frail but communicative person goes into a facility and within a day or so their normal demeanor has changed so drastically as to be unrecognizable. Experts on aging, as well as government and business leaders, attribute such changes to widespread use of behavior-modifying medications, including strong antipsychotics such as Zypresa.

Abolish label 'schizophrenia,' psychologist says

Excerpt from CBC News: (click for entire article)

The term schizophrenia should be dropped because it is not scientifically valid and is stigmatizing, a mental health expert says, renewing a debate on the best ways to fight the shame associated with the disease.

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder in which a person loses touch with reality. Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disturbances in thinking and withdrawal from social activity.

More than 250,000 Canadians are living with schizophrenia, which affects an estimated one per cent of the population.

"It groups together a whole range of different problems under one label," Richard Bentall, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Manchester, told a news conference in London on Monday, the eve of World Mental Health Day.

An Update on the DSM-5 and ASD

Excerpt from Autism Society: (click for entire article)

The Autism Society knows individuals are concerned about the potential impacts of the proposed criteria for autism spectrum disorders in the DSM-5, set to be published next spring. The American Psychological Association has recently opened the third session for public comment ending on June 15. So far, more than 6,000 comments have been received by the APA workgroups related to ASD. Read more…

Three Autism Advocates for your Membership!

The Autism Society is your source for autism information you can trust. To show what we mean, we’re giving away three editions of the Autism Advocate to new or renewed Autism Society members! Read more…

Register Now for the Autism Society National Conference!  Early Bird Registration Closes on May 31
 
This year’s conference includes a program full of the timeliest topics in autism, from transition to adulthood, to environmental health and the DSM-5. Read more…

Successfully decreasing antipsychotics use

Excerpt from McKnight's: (click for entire article)

If you're wondering if anyone outside the profession is paying attention to the antipsychotics-use debate in long-term care, allow me to direct your attention to Boston.

In a two-part series last weekend in the Boston Globe, health reporters Kay Lazar and Matt Carroll put together a package that looked at data on more than 15,600 nursing homes nationwide, the result of a Freedom of Information Act request sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. They were looking at the percentage of long-term residents without a diagnosed psychotic illness who received antipsychotics (which is contrary to federal recommendations), and the profile of the nursing home, such as staffing level, percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries and numbers of residents who had behavioral problems.

They found that in 21% of nursing homes in 2010, at least one-quarter of the residents without illnesses recommended for antipsychotic use received the medications anyway. They also found a significant correlation between staffing levels and the percentage of residents on antipsychotics.

Psychotherapy Can Be Effective for Subclinical Depression

Excerpt from Aging in Action: (click for entire article)

Depression that does not reach the criteria of major depression as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Medical Disorders (Fourth Edition; DSM-IV) is a significant burden to many older adults. Not only does such subclinical depression interfere with quality of life, it is also associated with an increased risk for cognitive impairment, disability in activities of daily living (ADLs), physical ailments, and transition to major depression. A forthcoming review finds that psychotherapy may be a safe and effective way to treat subclinical depression and to prevent major depressive disorder among older adults.

The authors reviewed research studies on the non-pharmacological treatment of subclinical depression among community-dwelling older adults. Although antidepressant medication is often effective against major depressive disorders, it can increase risk of falls (particularly for individuals taking other medications), and appears to be less effective against depression that does not meet the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder.

The authors found five studies that matched their criteria, which consisted of randomized controlled trials that included participants of at least 50 years of age, and who had reliably diagnosed subclinical forms of depression. The studies that were reviewed varied in their method, design, and number of participants. They included cognitive-behavioral therapy and life review therapy administered in a range of methods. Overall, the interventions that were reviewed had large effects against depressive symptoms, and led to lower incidence of major depression at follow-up assessments.

Gender Differences in Chronic Medical, Psychiatric, and Substance-Dependence Disorders Among Jail Inmates

Excerpt from NCBI: (click for entire article)

Ingrid A. Binswanger is with the Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver. Robert E. Booth and Ingrid A. Binswanger are with the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver. Joseph O. Merrill and Joann G. Elmore are with the Department of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle. Joann G. Elmore is also with the Department of Epidemiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle. Patrick M. Krueger is with the School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Mary C. White is with Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco.

Affordable Care Act Demonstration to Expand Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care

Excerpt from AHP: (click for entire article)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that 11 States and the District of Columbia will participate in the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration, established under the Affordable Care Act to test whether Medicaid beneficiaries who are experiencing a psychiatric emergency get more immediate, appropriate care when institutions for mental diseases (IMDs) receive Medicaid reimbursement.

“This new demonstration will help ensure patients receive appropriate, high quality care when they need it most and save States money,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.

Dr Allen Frances - The DSM V

Excerpt from Blog Talk Radio: (click for entire article)

Dr Allen Frances Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force returns to discuss the confusion and concerns over the soon to be released DSMV.  How will the changes impact your child?  What do the changes mean for your childs accommodations?  Why are so many additions and revisions causing so much controversy?