From USA Today:

Comedian Howie Mandel answers questions about his new book, “Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me” , arriving in stores today. The book details his lifelong struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

An excerpt:

Q: In your book, you say any public restroom freaks you out because of the germ factor. You write about not being able to take your daughter into one when she was a toddler. What are some of your other issues?

A: The difference between you and me is that even when I wash my hands, I can’t get it out of my mind that they’re not clean. I have to go back to the sink, I can’t even continue with my day. I have to leave the party, leave work. Those thoughts are so intrusive and on a continual loop that I can’t inhibit it. Everybody has irregular thoughts, but not like this.

Earlier post here.

(USA Today photo)

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Denton [TX] Record-Chronicle:

The death of a resident of the Denton, Texas, State School has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy released by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

The autopsy said Janice Campbell, 53, died Friday of head injuries she received in an assault about two weeks ago. An official at the medical examiner’s office said Campbell was taken from the institution to a hospital on March 3.

A state official said the incident was an accident, not an assault, but declined to release specific information to protect residents’ privacy.

Campbell’s death comes as Texas is considering statewide reforms of its 13 institutions for people with disabilities, after a federal investigation found widespread evidence of abuse, neglect, preventable deaths and denial of civil rights.

A federal investigation of the Denton facility last spring found evidence of staff failure to protect clients from abuse, neglect or mistreatment, failure to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect, and failure to provide healthcare services, prompt treatment and followup care.

See also:

• Officials: Woman died after colliding with another resident at Denton State School — Dallas Morning News
• State calls death at state school an accident — AP/Houston Chronicle

From the [Toronto] Globe and Mail:

Experts say as many as 50 percent of children with developmental disabilities may also have mental health issues like anxiety, depression or obsessiveness. But  the second conditions often go undiagnosed as kids have difficulty communicating with doctors.

Symptoms of mental health issues may also be mistakenly attributed to the developmental disability by doctors and loved ones.

“They’ll say it’s because of his developmental disability that he’s not interested in the world around him and prefers to sit and watch television all day,” says social worker Susan Morris, clinical director of the dual diagnosis program at Toronto’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Stephanie Meredith, past co-president of the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta, sends a response to Leslie Roberts’ blog post: ‘When abortion may be an acceptable choice.’ Roberts, a Canadian newsman and television personality, had written that abortion may be an acceptable choice when a disability is diagnosed prenatally.

Meredith writes:

Far from adding unendurable stress, parents of children with Down syndrome indicate that the stress involved with raising a child with Down syndrome is lower than expected (Hodapp et. al. 2001) and that families enjoy positive benefits from raising a child with Down syndrome (Blacher & Baker 2006). In fact, research suggests the parents of children with Down syndrome actually experience a lower divorce rate than couples who do not have children with Down syndrome (Urbano & Hodapp 2007), and the siblings of children with Down syndrome are typically more compassionate and well-adjusted than their peers (Dykens 2005).

While the reasons for this have not been fully explored and since most parents would resolutely deny the claim that they are saints, the evidence suggests that there is something to be learned from embracing genetic diversity. (more…)

Writing in the New York Times, broadcast journalist Jeff Bell explains what it’s like for a person with obsessive compulsive disorder to go to a restaurant. Thanks to a therapy called exposure response prevention, Bell is now able to visit restaurants without being immobilized by fears, anxieties and repetititive behaviors.

I am no brain scientist. I understand almost nothing about proteins and neurotransmitters. But my own extensive work with this particular form of torture (that is, directed treatment), with medication, has progressively allowed me to take back much of the life my disorder stole from me.

Today I travel extensively, sharing my recovery story and working with groups like the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation to raise awareness. In my job as a radio news anchor, I don’t have to eat out much, but when I’m on the road for work related to the disorder, I wind up eating in a lot of restaurants. I can honestly say I’m starting to enjoy it. In fact, while I still like ice water with my meal, I often find myself drinking from the glass, not washing with it.

Now when I say check, please, I’m simply asking for my bill.

Bell is the author of the book “Rewind, Replay Repeat.”

John and Jane Roberts at his swearing-in ceremony in 2005. (AP Photo)

– Doctors have started using the word “epilepsy” in connection with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. , who stayed overnight in a hospital in Maine after experiencing a seizure on Monday. The seizure was similar to one he experienced 14 years ago, according to a court press release.

– Parents of children with disabilities send a few choice words in response to a recent Wall Street Journal story on special ed – words like “union thugs” and “overpaid fat-cat administrators.”

– Researchers find a link between pesticide exposure and autism, but caution that it’s too early to draw conclusions.

– Reviewing the new reality series “Flipping Out,” Ginia Bellafonte says the show at last sets the record straight on obsessive compulsive disorder.

“For years now, the comic detective series “Monk” has equated O.C.D. with intuitive brilliance. We’ve long required a corrective interpretation, and “Flipping Out” is it. Mr. Lewis isn’t a genius of anything. He’s just a delusional jerk.”

– A growing number of professionals are prescribing a new treatment to patients with depression and anxiety. They call it “bibliotherapy.” In lay language, that means: read a self-help book.