Free Autism video glossary now online

This could be a big help to anyone looking to decipher the world of Autism Spectrum Disorders. It's a free, online video glossary that explains a lot of the lingo and behaviors involved with these disorders. Now you can see the things that your doctor, teacher or therapist is talking about.

You can access the glossary, called the First Words Project, at http://firstwords.fsu.edu/.

The project is the product of the Florida State University's Dept. of Communication Disorders. Here's a statement from the university's website: "Our major goal is to identify early red flags of developmental language disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and other communication delays in children under 24 months of age. Through our research findings, we aim to improve screening tools and early detection of communication disorders by maximizing the role of the family, which will help families obtain intervention services sooner."

Note that the link above takes you to the Autism Speaks site, which hosts the actual video glossary. You have to click the big LOGIN button and register, which takes just a minute. It's very easy to use.

Even if you don't need it, bookmark the site and save it for when you get those requests for help from others.

Garlic broccoli recipe - good luck!

I'm posting this recipe simply because it's good. It's gluten and casein free. It's soy free. It's rice/corn/potato/bean free. And, I'm sure there are some kids out there on special diets that like broccoli. My youngest (PDD) does. My oldest (also PDD) doesn't. And, best of all, the adults (that's us) love it. The recipe has many healthy benefits. First, it's low cal, low carb and fat free. Second, the broccoli, for my money, is the king of fiber in veggie land. It also has Vit C, folate, potassium and the phytochemical called sulforaphane, which has been proven to lessen the risk of cancer.

And, the recipe includes some olive oil, a proven link to decreased risk of heart disease and cancer along with increasing HDL, the good cholesterol.

Then, the garlic, which, according to WholeHealthMD, it "may protect against stomach and colon cancer, slow the build-up of artery-clogging plaque, prevent the formation of blood clots, help lower blood pressure, reduce the chances of infection, improve nasal congestion and sinusitis."

Wow!

So, how do you make it. Way too easy.

Take a bunch of broccoli - I don't measure. Wash it. Cut it as you wish.

Prepare 1-2 cloves of garlic. Chop fine.

Heat 1/4 cup water in a stove-top pan. Toss the broccoli and garlic in. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of black pepper. Cover with a lid for five minutes.

This essentially steams the veggies.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the veggies. Heat for a minute longer.

Strain the veggies or remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

Eat. Yum.

Gluten free chicken nuggets recipe -- my versions

I realized over the weekend that I had failed to post one of the most-requested recipes in GFCF land! Chicken nuggets.

So, here, I'll offer a couple different versions for you. However, this is very adjustable, depending on your child's likes and dislikes.

Basic fried nuggets:

- cooking oil (I used Tuscan Sun, non-GMO)
- Chicken (I use breast meat)
- GF flour mix (any will do. I have used different mixes. Some really like frying with chickpea flour mixes. I've also used a sorghum mix with tapioca starch. Use what you like. For today, I will use 1/3 cup sorghum, 1/3 cup tapioca and 1/3 cup potato starch.)
- Spices: add what you like. I add this: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp sea salt. Other possibilities: black pepper, cumin, cilantro, parsley, oregano, etc.
- Optional: ketchup
- Optional: egg substitute (I use Ener-G for this)

So, pour some oil in a frying pan. Heat on medium high to high. Mix the dry ingredients. Add your spices. Make the egg substitute.

Wash, trim and cut your chicken into nugget pieces.

Now, version 1: mix spices into flour mix and stir till blended. Coat chicken with dry mix. Fry several minutes on each side until cooked through.

Version 2: mix spices and flour. Dip chicken into flour mix, coat with egg sub, dip again in flour mix until coated. Fry several minutes on each side. This is a crispier chicken. You could also add a little baking soda to this too. Try it out.

Version 3: With either of the above two versions, you can coat the chicken lightly with ketchup before dipping and coating. Adds a welcome flavor to the mix. Very good.

Version 4: Try baking these instead of frying. I've done this with the "crispier" version. Baked on 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. I've also done chicken strips this way. I think if you did the non-crispy version, you might cook less and maybe have to dab some oil on top halfway through so they didn't dry out.

Version 5: With the fry versions, you could also do this "popcorn" style, simply by cutting the nuggets into smaller pieces, and then cooking them for less time.

I purposely didn't include cooking times here because everybody's pans heat differently and some people use real fryers and all ovens are different, etc. etc.

Anyway, hope this works for you. If not, check for more GFCF nugget recipes at Recipe Circus, like this one here.

Will a new Autism brain center lead to new treatments?

Why is so much 'real' research, funding and general concern about autism among public officials happening everywhere but here?

Oxford Mail
Princess to open autism image centre
The Princess Royal will officially open the world's first brain imaging centre for autism at an Oxford hospital tomorrow.

A special scanner at the £2.3m centre at the university's Department of Psychiatry at the Warneford Hospital, Headington, will help Oxford University researchers study the brains of autistic children and adults, to look at how it functions as they complete tasks.

The technique will highlight how the brains of those with autism disorders differ from other people, and could lead to better treatments.

The Princess Royal will be shown the scanner and other facilities at the Oxford Neurodevelopmental Magnetoencephalography Centre.

While in the city, the Princess will also attend a Citizenship Ceremony at County Hall and join a meeting of the St Helena Diocesan Association at Pusey House.

The battle of school vaccine exemptions

So now we're dealing with the school, where my oldest daughter attends kindergarten, which wants her to get all of her vaccinations. Uh, no. So, we're finding our way through the process of satisfying the school. Our doc is sending the school a letter but it may not be enough, so we're also signing a formal letter citing a section of our state (PA) code that lists vaccine exemptions.

I found some help online with a sample letter at AutismLink. The actual page is at this address: http://www.autismlink.com/pages/autism_exemption/.

We'll see how it goes, but this is one battle we'll fight. I expect the school will not push this.

I forget the exact numbers, but the school got smacked with kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in their incoming kindergarten class this year -- 6 out of 40. So, we're not alone.

Few mercury-free flu shots in Pennsylvania

And, here at home, not a thought given to the mercury lurking in our flu vaccines. I think I'll suffer through the flu this year. I get it anyway, even with the shot.

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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Mercury-free flu shots in short supply
By Mike Cronin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, October 10, 2007

People who want a flu shot without mercury this year in Pennsylvania will have to ask.

Most flu vaccine doses available in the state have thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury, according to local health care providers. About 54,000 of the 250,000 doses bought by the state Department of Health are thimerosal-free. But 90 percent of shots administered in the state will be done by private providers, said department spokesman Dan Miller.

The Allegheny County Health Department has bought 3,000 doses of flu vaccine, 200 of which do not have mercury.

"Children and pregnant women should not receive flu shots with thimerosal," said county Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole.

Eight states have passed laws to ban or limit mercury in vaccines, according to the Washington-based Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning. Pennsylvania allows the preservative, which some people believe is linked to autism disorders.

Read the rest at the Trib's Web site.

Autism, Africa and an 8-year-old boy

This is just a very sad story, but one I couldn't stop reading.

Grieving mother plans autism school

By MICHELLE MOLZ
For the Courier-Post

MOUNT LAUREL

She traveled thousands of miles from one of Africa's poorest countries to seek help for her autistic son.

Now, after her 8-year-old boy died unexpectedly, Sabelle Jelani is preparing for a new journey. The 39-year-old township resident plans to open a school for autistic children in Dakar, capital of Senegal, as a memorial to her son, Hakeem.

It would be the first of its kind in Senegal, Jelani's native country. She left her homeland and spent the past five years here caring for her son and educating herself about autism. She hoped to return to Senegal to share her knowledge with families who have no resources to help them cope.

Plans for the school were under way when Hakeem suddenly died in his sleep in Dakar on Sept. 8. They had been visiting family for the summer.

"We laid down, and I rubbed his head, his chest, his hands, and he was stroking my cheeks, my nose, my eyes. He fell asleep and never woke up," Jelani said in a telephone interview from Dakar.

"I was his shadow, he was my shadow," said Jelani, who with her husband, Ahmed, 59 have two other healthy boys, Osman, 11, and Habib, 7. "He was a sweetheart. He was a wonderful soul."

Read the rest at the Courier Post.