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News- Page 12
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Health : Making sense
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Posted by Sylvia on Monday, January 12, 2004 (18:41:13)
Boulder News 12/01/2004
By Susan Glairon
Does your child fall often, touch everyone, scream when touched or have lots of tantrums? He may have a sensory processing disorder.
There's a boat sailing outside the kitchen, and Ryan Murphy Strom is perched on a chair, peering at it through his telescope. He secures the ship — a couch with paper sails —with a rope and bravely battles pirates with his plastic sword.
Ryan, 7, a second-grader at Niwot Elementary, has been known to ask penetrating questions: "Was there a time before time? Will future generations consider us less than human?"
But the boy used to have a more troubling side to his precocious and imaginative nature, his parents say. He threw tantrums when asked to switch tasks, like moving from playing to eating dinner. While watching television, he plugged his ears, even if the sound wasn't loud for others. He often was distracted and had trouble completing simple tasks, such as getting dressed.
"It didn't feel good inside," Ryan says. "It felt like I was going to explode."
When he was 4, Ryan was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction, now typically called sensory processing disorder. He recently underwent therapy, which lessened the symptoms, his parents say.
Children with the disorder have trouble perceiving, organizing and processing information from different senses, which can include touch, sound, vision, hearing, position, movement, smell and taste. Although symptoms vary, those with the disorder might be unable to screen out unimportant information— such as the soft purr of a refrigerator motor— or they might seem unaware of extreme sensations, such as pain from walking on burning pavement with bare feet.
Others strike out if someone bumps them, or throw tantrums if asked to do "messy play" such as finger-painting or playing in the sand. They might become confused on how to crawl out of a playground tunnel or afraid to step up on a curb.
"We tend to look at these children and think, 'Why isn't he doing the obvious?'" says Carol Stock Kranowitz, author of "The Out-of-Sync Child," and "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun."
The disorder appears to affect 5 percent of children, according to a pilot study that will be published this year in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, says Lucy Miller, author of the study and an associate professor of rehabilitation medicine and pediatrics at University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center in Denver.
Although sensory processing disorder often occurs in children who are otherwise typical, it's also commonly found in gifted children and in those with autism, attention deficit disorder, fetal alcohol syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and sometimes Down syndrome.
No one knows exactly what is happening in the brains of those with the disorder, but Miller says research points to problems in the cortex. The cause of the disorder is unknown, though experts think genetics is a factor. Babies in under-stimulating environments — such as inattentive orphanages —or those in over-stimulating environments, such as premature babies in intensive care, also may be prone to the disorder, Kranowitz says.
Although sensory processing disorder was first noted by occupational therapist Dr. A. Jean Ayres in the early 1960s, the disorder isn't listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV, a standard reference physicians and psychologists use to diagnose developmental and behavioral disorders.
"There is doubt in the scientific community on whether (sensory processing disorder) is real," says Miller, who is lobbying to get the disorder into the manual. "And that's because there hasn't been enough research."
Occupational therapy a solution
Traditional therapy for those with sensory processing problems involves occupational therapy, which focuses on learning living skills such as eating and dressing as well as getting sensory information into a child's body. The idea is to change pathways in the brain, says Stephanie Martens, an occupational therapist at Boulder Community Hospital's Pediatric Rehabilitation Services.
The therapist may try gently swinging the child in an effort to help her tolerate movement, Martens says. Or the therapist might brush a child's skin with a soft brush to encourage better toleration of touch.
Although the amount of improvement varies by child, Marten says she has seen kids improve significantly with therapy.
"They are more cuddly, they are not acting out at school, they are not overwhelmed, they are much more focused," she says. "They are not that clumsy kid anymore."
Ryan began a nontraditional therapy in mid-November at the Sensory Learning Institute in Boulder. At the center, children come twice a day for half-hour sessions for 12 days, where they are exposed to movement, light and sound simultaneously in an unpredictable, gentle fashion, says Mary Bolles, who developed the method. After that, the child is treated at home with light therapy for 18 more days.
Children lie in the dark on a slowly moving motion table. A small light pulses on and off with colors throughout the visual spectrum. Music volume varies, and some frequencies are randomly deleted. Bolles says the unpredictable nature of the therapy excites the brain stem area, waking up the sensory system.
Ryan's parents say the Sensory Learning Institute had a tremendous effect on him. They say immediately after the treatments they noticed an inner calmness and happiness.
"Transitions became effortless," his mother says.
Two weeks after therapy ended, Ryan had some tantrums, but they weren't as bad and were far fewer, his mother says. He has since begun a traditional therapy program and regained ground, whereas previously, traditional therapy was too over-arousing for him, she says.
The 30-day program costs $2,550. Some, like Miller, who is also the director of the Sensory Processing Treatment and Research center at Children's Hospital in Denver, question the validity of the program where a child passively receives therapy.
"The child has to have an inner drive to self-actualize to get the most out of the therapeutic experience," she says.
Still, others swear by it. Last week, California resident Susan Daniel traveled to Boulder with her autistic son, Matthew Davis, 6, for treatment at the Sensory Learning Institute.
Matthew falls a lot, flaps his hands and doesn't talk. He would only eat with his fingers, and no one could touch his mouth. Six days after starting the therapy, Matthew began eating with a fork and spoon, his mother says. He listened on the phone for the first time and also for the first time he is responding to his mother singing "Twinkle Twinkle." He looks at her and tries to say the last word of each verse.
She recently took him to Red Robin for lunch. She says previously he would always flap his hands excitedly— a typical self-stimulating behavior of autistic children— when he saw fans.
"There were probably 12 fans and he wasn't 'stimming,'" she says. "If this is all we got, I would be happy with it."
Adult compensation
Kids with sensory processing disorder grow into adults with the disorder, but they learn to compensate, Kranowitz says.
They may choose a sedentary job, such as writing, and avoid distressing situations. Sensory seekers — those with the disorder who crave sensations — might enjoy sky-diving or bungee jumping, she says.
Patricia Murphy, Ryan's mother and a local lawyer, says she also was plagued by the same problems as her son. She would start to get dressed and forget why she was looking in the closet. She couldn't get the laundry done or the kitchen clean. She would avoid cooking. Being in a loud restaurant felt like an assault.
"It felt like my body was a glove I didn't fully have on," Murphy says. "I didn't have control."
Murphy chose traditional therapy, including jumping on trampolines, brushing her skin with a soft brush and doing joint compressions. Since starting therapy she says she can handle the laundry and cook meals and feels more organized and more efficient.
"After three weeks, it felt like I was fully in my body," Murphy says. "It feels like a well-fitting glove."
Her son also feels a lot better. His parents say he can now dress himself and is having fewer meltdowns during transitions.
"I don't feel like I am going to explode," Ryan says.
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Health : Call for MMR vaccine in immunisation scheme
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Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, January 11, 2004 (21:38:53)
News Today 11/01/2004
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine should also find place in the National Immunisation Scheme, Dr Mrudula Phadke, consultant, UNICEF, has said.
Speaking to reporters at a press meet organised by Serum Institute of India Ltd in Chennai yesterday on the importance of administering the child with MMR vaccine, Mrudula said measles was the main cause of child deaths in the world killing nearly eight lakh infants and children annually with the majority of them from developing countries.
India was one of the countries that had the largest number of measles cases in the world. According to health authorities, effective control of measles was possible if the vaccine coverage was 95 per cent every year as against the existing below 50 per cent in many States.
Rubella intrauterine infection in the first trimester produces congenital anomalities like cataract, deafness, heart defects and mental retardation.
Pregnant women must be immunised to prevent the disease from affecting child. Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) are highly- contagious childhood illnesses which caused morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing world.
The right age for immunisation would be between 12 and 15 months for the first dose and an age of five for the second dose. The public must understand the importance of the MMR vaccine and it was good that 80 per cent of the children in Chennai city were immunised but in India, only 60 per cent were immunised.
The vaccine costs between Rs 50 and Rs 70, she said and urged the public to immunise their children to prevent future complications.
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Health : New MMR offensive fails to convince the sceptics
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Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, January 11, 2004 (11:48:30)
Ham&High Express
Health officials may have stepped up the campaign to promote the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine but parents remain unconvinced of its safety.
Ann Johnson is one of many mothers faced with the difficult decision of whether to have her son immunised with MMR.
Despite Government assurances that MMR is safe, 30 per cent of parents in Camden and Islington have refused to get their child immunised, fearing that it could lead to autism and bowel disease.
When her daughter, Mia, was immunised two years ago Ms Johnson said it was like waiting for a "time bomb".
"We were just left waiting to see if she would develop autism," she said. "It was a very anxious time and there hasn't been much to convince us since that it is safe."
Ms Johnson said she realised the risks when a former consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampsteaddiscovered a link between MMR and autism and bowel disease.
Her 18-month-old son Joe is now due to have the MMR vaccine and she does not know what to do.
"It seems it's not safe to leave your child unprotected because measles is a nasty disease but I'm not convinced that the MMR is safe," she said. "I'm just
holding my breath hoping something will change soon."
Ms Johnson, who lives in Kentish Town, wants the Government to give parents the choice of having their child immunised with three single vaccines.
"I'm against going private," she said. "I want everyone to be able to give their children the same protection, regardless of money."
Hundreds of parents in Camden have shunned the jab, leaving almost 40 per cent of young children unprotected and bringing the lack of protection to danger point.
Only 73.5 per cent of two-year-olds received the vaccination last year. At one period the level dropped to 68.5 per cent.
Helen Davidson did not want her 15-month-old daughter, Breeze, to be unprotected against measles and travelled to Hertfordshire for a £65 single vaccination.
Ms Davidson, who lives in Camden Town, said: "My friend's little boy is autistic and she is convinced that it is a reaction to the MMR vaccine. She says she will never forgive herself and I would be the same. It may be the case that it has nothing to do with the vaccine but as long as there is doubt there I am not prepared to take the risk."
Virginia Woolf was due to take her daughter Lily to receive a £130 single vaccination at a Highgate clinic this week. She said she lost faith in the vaccine when Tony Blair refused to sayif his son, Leo, had had the jab.
Mrs Woolf said she had carefully examined all the risks of the three options. "We could either have the joint vaccine and see if she developed autism, have the single vaccine and see if there were any side effects, or have no vaccine at all and dread a measles epidemic. We had to weigh up which option had the least risks. Unfortunately, we have had to do all of the research ourselves. We feel extremely disappointed by the lack of balanced guidance."
But Janet Owen, a mother of four, said the negative publicity surrounding MMR had not put her off protecting her children. Two years ago she decided against having her son, Dewi, immunised but now that he is older she has changed her mind.
"I am mindful that we are going to places where there may be measles outbreaks and I want him to be protected against that. Now he is four I think his body is big enough to handle it," she said.
Mrs Owen, who lives in Tufnell Park, believes she made the right choice to postpone vaccinating her son and will do the Children with measles suffer from high fever, red eyes and a nagging cough. Long-term effects can include ear infections and viral pneumonia.
Boys who suffer a serious bout of mumps could become sterilebut usually the virus runs its course after a child has suffered a high temperature.
Rubella, also known as German measles, is usually a relatively mild illness but can cause birth defects, including deafness and heart problems, if caught by a pregnant woman.
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Health : Childhood vaccination rates up in the west
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Posted by Sylvia on Friday, January 09, 2004 (10:33:42)
Galway Advertiser Ireland 08/01/2004
By Mary O'Connor
More local parents are heeding the warnings of health experts by getting their children vaccinated against the major childhood illnesses.
Falling immunisation rates, both nationally and locally, in recent years led to fears that diseases like measles, which is potentially deadly, would make a comeback. There were two outbreaks of the condition in Galway in the past two years - 13 cases in Athenry last January and 26 in Tuam in April 2002.
New figures released by the Western Health Board reveal that all childhood immunisation rates in the board rose by three to four per cent from July to September last year. The uptake for the MMR vaccine at 24 months increased by six per cent. The rate currently stands at almost 76 per cent.
One of Ireland’s most accepted childhood illnesses, measles is highly infectious and potentially deadly. It claims the lives of one million children worldwide each year. Measles causes 10 per cent of all deaths worldwide among children aged five and under.
An acute viral illness, it is transmitted by coughs and sneezes. It is most common in one to four-year-olds who have not been vaccinated against the disease. However, it can be caught at any age.
It is extremely infectious, even before the rash appears. Sufferers complain of a high temperature, cough, conjunctivitis and generally feel miserable for days.
The MMR vaccine protects children against measles, mumps and rubella. These illnesses can cause deafness, brain damage and death. While minor reactions to vaccination are common, major reactions are extremely rare, say doctors.
The vaccine can prevent measles in more than 90 per cent of immunised children following a single dose. After the second dose, the vaccine provides 99 per cent protection.
Diseases such as measles, whooping cough, polio, mumps, rubella, meningococcal C and HIB meningitis are all preventable by immunisation.
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Health : MMR vaccine take-up
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Posted by Sylvia on Saturday, January 03, 2004 (23:44:53)
Hampstead and Highgate, UK Hampstead & Highgate Express 03/01/2004
by Andrew Brightwell
A top Royal Free doctor has warned that many children will die because of the poor take-up of rate of the MMR vaccine.
Professor Brent Taylor is the director of child health at the hospital in Pond Street, Hampstead, which was at the centre of allegations in 1998 of a connection between the combined vaccination and autism.
Prof Taylor believes the fallout following research released by his former Royal Free colleague Dr Andrew Wakefield could cost lives as the vaccine’s take-up rate in Camden has slumped from 90 per cent in 1994 to just 69 percent.
“With the current uptake of MMR we are almost certain to get outbreaks of measles, mumps and, increasingly likely, rubella,†Prof Taylor said. “We could have eliminated measles but now many children will be damaged and many children will die,†he said.
Prof Taylor has published research that suggests the increase of reported cases in autism is due to better record keeping and awareness of the condition and not the triple measles, mumps and rubella injection.
Dr Wakefield’s suggestion of a connection between the vaccination and increased cases of autism has also been discredited by epidemiologists and other medical researchers.
Prof Taylor hit out at the broadcast of a controversial drama, Hear the Silence, on Channel Five on December 15, which
depicted an “utterly biased and distorted†version of Dr Wakefield’s research at the Royal Free.
Prof Taylor was among three doctors at the hospital who declined an invitation to join a discussion show on Channel Five that followed the drama.
He said that Dr Wakefield’s arguments were already entirely discredited and there would be little point in joining the show.
“We would have been a sticking plaster for the broadcasting regulations to appear that they were presenting a balanced case,â€
he said.
Prof Taylor said he was clearly identifiable in the drama and was concerned by the inaccuracies of his representation.
“It was fairly easy to identify individuals in the drama,†he said. “I was the head of paediatrics.
“It is no less than I expect, but it missed all the research I have done and that a lot of the work I do involves treating children with autism, whereas Dr Wakefield wasn’t treating children – he was a researcher.
“In the drama you would think he was the only person who had contact with patients.â€
But Prof Taylor said he had no intention of seeking redress.
“What would be the point of that? I was just pleased to hear that their viewing figures were only a million, considering all the puffing it got in the newspapers beforehand.â€
When asked what he would say to Dr Wakefield, he said: “I’d tell him it is time he put his hands up, admit he is wrong and he is sorry and he strongly recommends that
parents give their children the vaccine.â€
Channel Five was unavailable for
comment.
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