News

1/25/2010

New York's Autism "Act Early" Campaign is Underway

If you don't know the early warning signs of autism yet, you will soon. A group of State agency staff, parents and scholars are launching a statewide "Act Early" public awareness campaign with the goal of making sure people in all walks of life and every corner of the state know what to look for and what to do when someone exhibits signs of autism. The campaign aims to bring autism to a whole new level of public recognition.

1/22/2010

Study Examines use of Oral Health Services and Access to Care Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Virginia face many barriers to oral health care

1/21/2010

Interventions to Support Readiness, Recruitment, Access, Transition, and Retention for Postsecondary Education Success: An Equity of Opportunity Policy and Practice Analysis

Center for Mental Health in Schools (UCLA) report focuses on interventions for improving K-12 education in ways that redyce dropouts and improve readiness for postsecondary education. Recommendations for a shift in policy to enhance equity of opportunity are offered.

1/20/2010

For Severely Ill Children, a Dearth of Doctors

A growing shortage of pediatricians trained in specialties such as neurology, gastroenterology, and developmental and behavioral medicine is threatening timely access to care for children, according to pediatric medical groups

1/20/2010

White House Fellowship

White House Fellows typically spend a year as full-time, paid assistants to senior White House Staff, the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. For more information, go to the webpage provided above, and explore links on the left side of that page. The President and Mrs. Obama are committed to inclusion of people with disabilities; please spread the work and help identify qualified candidates.

1/19/2010

HHS Accelerates Head Start Quality Improvements, Submits Impact Study on 2002-2003 Head Start Programs

HHS announced plans to strengthen the Head Start and Early Head Start programs as part of an Administration-wide effort to close achievement gaps and promote early learning through the first eight years of life for the nation?s most vulnerable children. These quality improvements respond to growing evidence on what works in early learning policy and practice, and incorporates Congressional mandates from the 2007 reauthorization of the Head Start Act.

1/16/2010

First HHS Medical Teams Providing Assistance in Haiti

HHS News Release

The first medical teams on the ground in Haiti from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are providing technical assistance at the GHESKIO Clinic in the capital, Port-au-Prince. They will begin basic and acute medical care in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake and its aftershocks.

1/13/2010

CAHMI Call for Input: 2011 National Survey of Children's Health

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) are preparing to revise the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) instrument for a third round of data collection. We need your input to inform MCHB and NCHS staff, as well as our technical expert panel, during the planning process.

1/12/2010

Autism Speaks announces release of a Request for Applications

Autism Speaks announces the upcoming release of a Request for Applications (RFA) for the next funding cycle of its Autism Treatment Network (ATN), a collaboration of treatment and research centers dedicated to improving medical care for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The RFA will solicit letters of intent from hospitals and academic medical centers interested in participating in a multi-site clinical care and research network. The ATN mission is to provide and expand access to a state-of-the-art comprehensive and coordinated medical care model for children with ASD. This RFA is open to both new and existing ATN sites.

1/11/2010

2009 H1N1 Influenza and its Impact on People with Chronic Medical Conditions

Date: January 12, 2010, 2:30-3:30 pm Eastern Dial-in number: 1-800-857-4785, passcode 9335569 This webinar is presented in conjunction with National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) by the US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association and American Lung Association.

1/11/2010

Brain Imaging May Help Diagnose Autism

Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia report their findings in an online article in the journal Autism Research, published today

1/11/2010

UW Autism Center Study Reveals Benefits of Early Intervention for Toddlers

A groundbreaking study at the University of Washington?s Autism Center, part of the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) is the first randomized, controlled study of an early intervention for children with autism who are younger than 2½ years of age. Those youngsters who received an intensive intervention program showed dramatic improvements in their social interaction, IQ, language ability and autism diagnosis.

1/10/2010

NBC News - CDC: 1 in 110 U.S. children have autism

According to a new study, from 2002 to 2006, autism increased 60 percent in boys and 48 percent in girls. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.

1/9/2010

What About George?

WHEN George Kramer was a child, his parents were told to put him in an institution. Though it?s not clear whether doctors gave him a precise diagnosis at that time, they said he would never be able to get along in society. His mother visited a couple of schools, including the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, which later became notorious for its brutal treatment of residents but ultimately they kept him at home. George?s younger brother, a copywriter in New Jersey, said George was eventually found to be mentally retarded but has not been examined for his disability since childhood.

1/7/2010

The Health and Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2007

Now Available From Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau

1/6/2010

Study turns up 10 autism clusters in California

CHICAGO U.S. researchers have identified 10 locations in California that have double the rates of autism found in surrounding areas, and these clusters were located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of white, highly educated parents