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Bills, We Got Bills with a Capital B…

Archive for the ‘Research’ Category

Bills, We Got Bills with a Capital B…

  The Autism Society of North Carolina tracks bills that could impact people on the spectrum, including legislation about the budget, education, the developmental disability system and health care, among other issues. During the long legislative session, members of the North Carolina General Assembly introduce hundreds of bills; this session, new House rules that limit…

Another possible tool for diagnosing autism even younger

Georgia Tech researchers are leading a team of universities to try to develop computerized tools to help people without specialized training to diagnose autism.  With the help of a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the tools include a smart video camera, as well as heart rate and skin monitors to measure responses…

CAP-MR/DD Stakeholder Survey

During the month of September, you are invited to participate in a survey about the CAP-MR/DD Medicaid waivers (Comprehensive Waiver and Supports Waiver).  Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to improve the waivers.  We want to hear from individuals receiving CAP-MR/DD services, parents and guardians of individuals receiving services, service providers,…

Diagnosing Autism with an MRI Scan?

Sounds a little futuristic—diagnosing autism with a brain scan.  In a small study of 60 adults, Dr. Christine Ecker of King’s College London was able to use an MRI to detect which adults had autism with 90% accuracy.  The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, has several limitations.  First and most importantly, the…

Report on use of antidepressants and autism

According to an article in The Boston Globe, antidepressants may not be helpful for treating the symptoms of autism.  However, parents and individuals on the spectrum have reported that they might still help with accompanying depression.  As usual, study results need to be taken in context: this is based on a compilation of only 7…

Sensory seeking or avoidant? New study to examine characteristics

THE SENSORY EXPERIENCES PROJECT (SEP) is funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (#42168) to examine the development, functional impact, and cause of various sensory features in children with autism, developmental delay, and/or typical development, ages 2-12 years. The goals of the project are to determine the sensory changes a child…

Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) Services Subcommittee will be having two meetings, as well as a public workshop, in the coming weeks and months. The first meeting will be a conference call held on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 from 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET. For more information see: http://iacc.hhs.gov/events.   The purpose of…

Survey about Moving into Adulthood

The Family Advocacy and Support Training (FAST), a project of the PACER Center in Minnesota, is currently conducting a study of the needs of youth with disabilities (12 – 22 years old) as they move into adulthood. Parents or primary caregivers are asked to complete this survey, which is also available in Spanish.  The purpose…

Proposed Changes to CAP MRDD Waivers in coming months and years….take a look…

Please be aware of proposed changes to CAP MRDD system in the coming months and years.  Most proposals are available for public comment if you wish.  We encourage interested parties to review the proposed information and make comment to DMA as you see fit.  Please remember comments are public information and kept as such.  Please…