Writing in the Boston Globe, pediatrician Claudia M. Gold says she’s worried about the potential for over-reliance on drugs for the treatment of autism. Already, she says, children with ADHD are getting too much medication. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics found that intensive and focused play, with parent, child and therapist participating together, brought significant improvement in behavior, language and IQ. An excerpt:

Aggressive marketing tactics have made second-generation antipsychotics among the highest-selling classes of drugs in the United States. A study published this fall showed that these drugs cause rapid weight gain in children. Add to these facts an epidemic of childhood obesity and a culture that looks for a quick fix over a long-term solution, and we have a potentially dangerous mix.

The Pediatrics study points in the direction of devoting resources to nurturing relationships in treatment of autism.

When considering medication, I hope all who care for these children will exercise extreme caution.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat, warned voters yesterday that budget cuts would reverse years of progress in autism treatment unless state lawmakers hike income taxes by 16 percent for three years.

Speaking at an autism rally at Bryn Mawr, Rendell urged voters to lobby their lawmakers.

One theme emerged: Services for autistic children, though expanded in recent years, virtually disappear once the children turn 21. As the disorder is diagnosed in more and more people, the need for state programs to back up hard-pressed parents will only grow.

Republicans responded that there was “zero” chance of getting approval for a tax increase during an economic downturn, and said the cuts to autism services would not affect treatment.

See also: NJ senate passes bill expanding coverage for developmentally disabled children — [NJ] Star-Ledger

“Countless families with an autistic child are bankrupting themselves to give their child the potential for a brighter future,” said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), one of the bill’s sponsors whom families credited for driving the bill’s success. “Autistic and disabled adults who have not received the proper treatment will leave our families, communities and state with new and more expensive challenges.”

From the Detroit News:

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has announced plans to offer coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for children with autism who are between 2 and 5 years old.

The announcement comes as the insurer is being sued over its previous refusal to cover ABA claims. The company had maintained that ABA is unproven.

The coverage will consist of 60 sessions per child, and will be available for purchase by groups that already cover outpatient mental health coverage. The insurer plans to begin offering the coverage July 1, pending regulatory approval.

‘I am not a puzzle, I am a person’

By Elizabeth Svoboda in Salon.com:

A growing group of advocates say people with autism should be valued and celebrated for their uniqueness, not aggressively treated in hopes that they will become “normal.”

Proponents are skeptical of therapies that force people with autism to behave like typical peers, whom they call “neurotypicals,” and say therapists should instead focus on helping them deal more effectively with the non-autistic world.

… the rhetoric [used by autism advocates] is often as strident as anything out of the deaf-pride movement. Some autistic people even use the pejorative term “curebie” to refer to people who hope for a cure for the condition. Organizations like Autism Network International view efforts to cure autism as similar to misguided efforts to cure homosexuality and left-handedness.

Judith Graham writes in the the Chicago Tribune Triage blog that a new Illinois law will require insurance companies to provide “habilitative” therapies for youngsters with developmental disabilities to gain new skills. Previously, coverage was limited to children receiving “rehabilitative” therapies to recover lost skills.

Coverage will be extended to children with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disorders. The law will require insurers to pay for speech, physical and occupational therapies for such children up to the age of 19.

Similar laws are on the books in Maryland and the District of Columbia. The Illinois measure will take effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

From the [NJ] Star-Ledger:

Parents and therapists say music helps children with autism build communication skills — even though they concede that more research needs to be done to support the theory.

Parents say they’ve observed that music therapy helps children with autism focus; that it relieves anxiety and frustration; that it decreases agitation; that it improves their cognitive function and their ability to master language; and that when they are in a musical environment, they are better able to interact with their peers.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s made a difference,” says one mother.” I wish I could say how, exactly, but I just know that music is an avenue to get their little brains going.”

(Star-Ledger photo)

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Sandy Banks slams a ruling by California regulators that insurance companies must pay for speech, occupational and physical therapies for kids with autism, but not for their behavioral therapies.

An excerpt:

State law says insurers must cover mental and behavior disorders the same way they cover other medical conditions. So a depressed teenager can get a psychologist’s ear, and a kid who smokes pot gets rehab treatment — and that is as it should be.

But an autistic child doesn’t merit a professional’s help to learn how to share a crayon or ask a classmate for a play date? That doesn’t seem fair to me. Or to their families.

Earlier post here.