Autism Treatment Drugs May Be On Your Local Pharmacy Shelves Right Now

The drugs to provide effective autism treatment may be sitting on the shelves of your local pharmacy right now. Linda Restifo is a University of Arizona professor of neurobiology and neurology and a researcher with the Arizona Research Laboratories. She is interviewed by Evan Pellegrino of Scripps Howard News Service and the interview is reported on NewsChief.com about her research on fruit flies. That research which may not sit well with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin but is done because of the similarities between some segments of fruit fly brains and human brains. As reported on NewsChief.com, Professor Restifo is currently conducting tests which she hopes may disclose existing drugs which could help treat autism:

"Restifo takes single mutated brain neurons from a fruit fly and tries to figure out what's wrong with them and, more importantly, what can be done to correct it.

And Restifo thinks there may be a drug to improve brain function in people with autism that's already been discovered and is waiting in the pharmacy.

She tests drugs that already have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for a purpose other than improving brain function to see whether they also may correct mutated or curly neurons.

"It's entirely possible drugs to treat autism are already out there," she said.

And it's much faster to conduct research with drugs that already have been approved because they've already been proved safe, she said.

I don't know if Restifo's research will, or will not, discover any existing drugs that might treat autism but I admire her focus on treatment for autism and her can do attitude. The USA has long been a leader in real research to benefit persons with autism and it looks like that trend will continue with efforts like Professor Restifo's.

Once again, God Bless America.

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Straight Talk, Hard Facts: Governor Palin Slashed Autism and Special Needs Funding

hampsona, or Aram, from Southern Oregon has posted on ireport an article by Julie Pippert featuring two Alaska Government operating budget documents. Aram has a seven year old autistic daughter and is concerned by Ms Pippert's report showing that Governor Palin, in one year, actually slashed spending for the department that provides services for children with severe disabling conditions, including schooling, by 60%

The decreases in planned and actual spending are set out in two operating budget documents for 2007 and 2008:

1. State of Alaska FY2007 Governor's Operating Budget for the Department of Education and Early Development Special Schools Component Budget Summary

budget actuals are (FY = Fiscal Year):
FY 2005 6945.30
FY 2007 Management Plan 7949.30
FY 2007 Governors 8265.30

2. State of Alaska FY2008 Governor's Operating Budget for the Department of Education and Early Development Special Schools Component Budget Summary

FY 2006 7949.30
FY 2007 Management Plan 3173.70
FY 2008 Governor 3156.00

Some straight talk, "my friends"? Governor Palin's past record is not that of a friend of special needs children.

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Senator Obama Not Governor Palin Has Plan For Autism

In commenting on autism issues in the context of American politics I can only do so as an outsider, a Canadian with no vote, but keenly aware that American events can have a dramatic impact on Canada. I have followed American presidential elections closely since my grade 3 teacher put pictures of President John F. Kennedy on our classroom bulletin board and I remember hearing the horrific news of his assassination one year later. I am heavily biased toward the Democrats, and admire many of them - Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Al Gore and Barack Obama. I still can not believe that Al Gore did not win in 2000.

With that declaration of bias again out in front though I am curious about Governor Palin's announcement yesterday that autism is an issue near and dear to her heart. Governor Palin has a nephew with autism. And that certainly identifies a personal connection to autism for the Governor but notwithstanding that personal connection what does she actually have in mind for autism programs? What plan, if any, does she have for autism? The answer, apparently, is none. The Governor spoke with KRNV News4's Shelby Sheehan:

"There are a lot of wasteful expenditures in the federal (government)," Palin said. "Let's get rid of those and put them into strengthening NIH (National Institutes of Health) and these other areas where we can help our kids with autism."

....

"Here's the difference between John McCain and our ticket and Barack Obama and Joe Biden," she said. "We don't just talk the talk, we walk the walk. And that's why in not just that first speech, but in every speech I give, I talk about being an advocate and a friend in the White House for our families who have members who have these special needs."

The WKNV online reports that Governor Palin did not indicate what expenditures would be cut and what autism programs would be funded in a McCain-Palin administration. Stating over and over that you are an advocate for autistic persons appears to be a clear example of talking the talk but does not demonstrate that Governor Palin is prepared to walk the walk as she claims. As the report indicates Governor Palin has no actual plan for how to help autistic persons and their families.

WKNV reports that Senator Obama has specified what action he would take when, sorry IF, he becomes President (my bias again) :) The Obama plan can be found in full at Obama 08 BARACK OBAMA: SUPPORTING AMERICANS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM
DISORDERS. The elements of the Obama plan include:

1. Appoint Federal ASD Coordinator to Oversee All Federal ASD Efforts.
2. Fully Fund the Combating Autism Act and Federal Autism Research Initiatives.
3. Support Special Needs Education for Children with ASD.
4. Support Universal Screening.
5. Work Together.

Senator Obama, not Governor Palin, appears ready to walk the walk to help autistic persons and their families. Here in Canada it is not clear if Stephen Harper has even uttered the word "autism". The sweater PM has made it clear that a Harper government will do nothing to address Canada's autism crisis. Hopefully, if Senator Obama's historic presidency does come to be, he will have some positive influence on our Canadian Prime Minister with respect to autism issues.

On autism issues Canada is still looking for The Change We Need.

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John McCain Visits Facing Autism in New Brunswick

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain honored Facing Autism in New Brunswick with a visit today. Well, I understand the Senator is not a big internet user, and he has other things to do, so it was probably a junior staffer.

Still it was interesting to receive a visit from the McCain campaign to this humble Canadian blog. The campaign was interested in my comment Governor Palin As A Special Needs Advocate?
I hope they were not offended by my Barack Obama bias.

Below is the visit information provided by Statcounter:
If you blog them they will come.

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Governor Palin As A Special Needs Advocate?

Most Canadians follow American presidential politics with as much, if not more, interest than our own federal elections. Proximity to such a large, powerful, (and generally friendly), neighbor and the reach of American media make it fairly easy. Right or wrong it also seems that American politicians will go much further than Canadian politicians in stretching the truth and attacking opponents. While we may profess to disdain such behavior it is fascinating and we do watch. This year with the emergence of the charismatic Barack Obama I believe there has been even more interest here in Canada.

Now the emergence of Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican VP nominee also draws interest particularly for parents of children with disabilities. Governor Palin chose to have her youngest child knowing he would have Down Syndrome. As the father of a severely autistic 12 year old boy I can not imagine life without him. He has brought incredible joy. Under no circumstance would I have not wanted him to come into this world. But that is easy to say now. Governor Palin made her decision without yet knowing her child. Her decision to do so commands respect.

Governor Palin's decision to keep a Down Syndrome child gives her instant credibility on special needs matters. But at the same time as the father of an autistic boy I know that my wife and I have both had to devote vastly more time to his care and well being than we do for his older brother who was able to speak, converse, read and understand life at very early stages. I am not attacking Governor Palin but I find it difficult to understand her decision to take on the VP nominee challenge when her Down Syndrome child is only 4 or5 months old. And yes I would say the same thing if she were a man.

I have made career choices based on what is best for my children, and particularly for my autistic child who has special needs. I recognize that Governor Palin might have lots of family support to help during these challenging VP times but missing so much time with Mom could be tough for a special needs child during such a critical period of development.

What seems most puzzling about the idea of Governor Palin as a special needs advocate as she claims she will be are the policies she has practiced and will practice as part of a Republican administration. Jennifer Steinhauer and Amy Harmon have a balanced review of Governor Palin's history on disability issues in the New York Times. Alaska lacks many basic services for children with special needs although geography and remoteness are major contributors to that reality. Governor Palin did sign into law legislation that would increase funding for special needs although she had no role in its development, she simply signed it. She did actually cut spending for Special Olympics in half.

What really makes me wonder about Governor Palin's new mantle as a special needs advocate is the following excerpt from the NYT article describing past actions of the "Top of the Ticket" Senator John McCain:


The law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, passed in 1975 with bipartisan support, called for the federal government to pick up 40 percent of the state cost of teaching children with special needs. The federal government pays less than half that, though more under the Bush administration than under President Clinton.

Mr. McCain voted to reauthorize the law, but voted against a measure, with nearly every other member of his party, to increase financing through a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. Mr. McCain has been a proponent of school vouchers, denounced by many advocates for children with special needs as draining public money away from special education programs; Ms. Palin is a school-choice advocate, her spokeswoman said.

Mr. McCain also opposes proposed federal legislation that would help pay for states to move people with special needs from state institutions into other living arrangements, but he has said he supports updating the Americans with Disabilities Act to offer more protections.

As I understand American politics it is the President, not the Vice-President, whose policies and priorities prevail in the White House. It is difficult to see how Governor Palin, whose own record on special needs children is mixed, will be able to forcefully advance their cause, particularly if to do so, would require reduction of tax breaks for the wealthy.

And like I said earlier, I have a difficult time seeing how a parent, male or female, could take on such a time consuming, all absorbing, challenge as running for Vice President of the United States of America while putting first the interests of a very young child with special needs. If Governor Palin would put that challenge ahead of dedication to her own young child I am very doubtful she would actually put the interests of special needs children high on her list of priorities.

Still, I don't get a vote and my opinion, as a Canadian, doesn't count for much. But I will watch with fascination as the process continues toward November.

Even as a Canadian whose opinion does not matter I should still disclose my bias : I believe that Senator Barack Obama represents the change we need in the United States ... and in Canada.

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