Epilepsy Awareness Month

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month!

Epilepsy is a condition that causes seizures that affect one's mental and physical functions. A person is officially diagnosed with epilepsy when they have two or more unprovoked seizures within a short amount of time. A seizure is when a part of the brain "misfires" and sends erratic, uncontrolled signals that interfere with normal functioning. A seizure can last from seconds to minutes.

Approximately 1.3 to 2.8 million people have epilepsy in the U.S. and 65 millions world-wide. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, "Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after migraine, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. Its prevalence is greater than Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease combined."

When we hear about epilepsy, most people immediantly think about the epileptics on T.V. who have those "grandma seizures." However, not all seizures result in convulsions. My brother's doctor says that, "A seizure can be just the twitch of a finger."

A friend of mine has epilepsy. David is twenty-four years old now and is my first experiene with epilepsy. His seizures an last from a few seconds to several minutes mintes. The longest seizure he has ever had lasted 45 minutes! I asked him to write about what ti was like to live with epilepsy. Here is what he had to say:

What is it like living with epilepsy? There are pros and cons. The pros are you never have to be the designated driver and you don't have to pay for car insurance since you can't get a driver's license unless you go can go a year without having a seizure. So I will probably never get one. I have had to live with epilepsy since I was in the fourth grade and now being twenty-four, well, that's a while. Really, the only problem I have living with epilepsy is that when a person first finds out that I have epilepsy, they think I'm crazy.

Epilepsy is actually very common amongst those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One of the girls we tutor at SFL-FATE is autistic and epileptic. I have never seen Kiley have a seizure, at least one severe enough that she would show outward signs of it, but I know from others that they who have suspected her to be having seizures in some moments when she seems to stare off into space.

About 1 out of 10 children and adolescents have had or will have a seizure sometime in their lifetimes in America. That's twenty-five million people! However, 20% to 40% of children and adolescents with autism also have epilepsy.

Participate in the Epilepsy Foundation's "30 Days in 30 Ways" to spread the word about epilepsy by doing one thing per day in November. Click the following link to see what you can do each day to spread epilepsy awareness: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/getinvolved/neam/30days30ways.cfm.

Rett Syndrome Awareness Month

October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month!

According to WebMD, Rett syndrome is a "rare, severe, 'girls only' form of autism." It is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and usually appears in children between six months and eighteen months of age.

Boys who develop Rett syndrome usually die shortly after birth. This is because, in boys, Rett syndrome is much more severe. Rett syndrome affects the X chromosome and since boys have only one X chromosome, whereas girls have two, the disorder affects boys much more severely and they die quickly. So, this disorder mainly occurs in girls, with 1 out of 10,000 to 15,000 eventually developing the disorder.

Click the following link to read the entire artile: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/rett-syndrome.

"Clint Black, our national spokesperson featured in our publi service campaign, is holding a 'Black Out Rett Syndrome' concert in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on October 27th to raise money for Rett syndrome . . . Clint will be there to make it a tremendous Rett syndrome event and personally thank every one of you for showing!"

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

Down syndrome may not be an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but it is a learning disorder, just like autism. Those with Down syndrome often have problems with delayed development, behavior problems, speech and language developing slower, and speech being difficult to understand. It occurs in about one out if seven hundred newborns.

Birth defects and severe medical conditions are often seen in those with Down syndrome. Half of the children with this disorder have a heart defect. Fifteen percent of people have hypothyroidism, which is when the thyroid produces less thyroid hormones than normal. This lowers a person's metabolism, which increases their chances of gaining weight and becoming obese. Leukemia is not as common, but is seen in children with Down syndrome. This is a cancer of white blood cells (leukocytes) in the blood.

Click the following to read the entire article: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/down-syndrome.

"NDSS founded the Buddy Walk in 1995 to spread out mission of promoting the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome at the local level. The national program has grown from 17 Walks in 1995 to over 250 Buddly Walks expeted this year. Last year, over 285,000 people participated in a Buddy Walk and $11 million was raised to support both local and national programs. Most Buddy Walks take place in and around October in celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Month."

Click the following link to learn more about the Buddy Walk program: http://www.ndss.org/Buddy-Walk/.

Blog Moved!

I have moved this blog over to WordPress.com with a new name!

To see the new blog, go to www.autism4life.wordpress.com!

I will delete this blog in a few weeks!

Tumblr's aspergersismyworld

Just this morning, I found an amazing blog on Tumblr that everyone should see. The blogger's "name" is aspergersismyworld and she is a twenty-three-year-old with Asperger's syndrome. In her blogs, she talks about different experiences she goes through in her life.

The following are actually quotes from her blog:

"So I was walking down the sidewalk in my own neighborhood when I noticed my neighbors sitting outside. I suddenly felt the urge to cross to the other side of the street to avoid any possibility of social interaction. It was a jolt of anxiety that hit me like a bullet. It was quick and powerful. Every cell in my body was screaming for me to run, avoid the scary humans."

"I’ve gone a long time without thinking about my life. If I start to then I begin to realize how unfulfilled it is. I think about all of the things I could be doing. I’m held back by fear. Fear of change and the new and scary things in the world I’ve never dealt with."

"So once I was waiting to cross a busy street when I noticed that a city bus was slowing down and pulling up to me. I realized that I was standing by a bus stop and the driver must have assumed I was waiting for the bus. For about two seconds I considered actually getting on the bus in order to avoid the possibility of an awkward situation. I ended up making the sane and logical decision to tell them I was not getting on but the fact that I even considered doing otherwise is kind of funny. Aspergers."

Click the following link to see her blog: www.aspergersismyworld.tumblr.com.

On her blog, she offers everyone to ask her a question. If you would like to ask aspergersismyworld a question, click the link above to go to her blog, then click "? Ask me anything" at the top. You don't require a Tumblr account to do this.

Monthly FATE Meeting - July 13, 2013

This month's FATE meeting will be this Saturday on July 13. The meeting will be held in Conference Room 2 (Floor 1, by the lunchroom) of the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, GA. The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM and has no set end time, but it usually ends around 1:00 PM.

Summer break is coming to a close and soon school will be up and running again. Be sure to come to what will probably be our last meeting before school starts. There is no cost of admission and anyone is welcome to attend.

E-mail FATE at facingautism@gmail.com for any questions, comments, or concerns.

Parent Tips: Surviving 4th of July Fireworks

"They're the symbol of our independence and bring joy to the faces of many. But, for people that experience intense sensory input, they can be thunderous and blinding. And each year so many of us stop and ask ourselves, 'Do we go?' 'What about our other children who really enjoy fireworks?' 'Do we think our child can tolerate getting through this?"

"Maybe there are some things we can do to help make this traditional festivity an enjoyable experience for the whole family."

Click the following link to see the entire article: http://www.pathfindersforautism.org/articles/view/parent-tips-surviving-4th-of-july-fireworks.