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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Beaver County Dads 4 Special Kids

We are a group of Dads from Beaver County that have a child/children with special needs in our lives. We provide an on-line private Facebook page to share information and pose discussions coupled with meeting once a month locally.


We encouarge an enviroment of support to those who are striving to improve, enrich, understand, and who are determined to provide their best to their child with special needs.
Our next meeting is Wendesday, March 14, 2012 at the Quaker Steak & Lube at 5:30PM
Please visit and join our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/234679336617092/



To RSVP, please contact Todd Nichols
724-991-0830
or join our FB page and let us know online.

The Response I received from the American Psyc Assoc to my letter about DSM-V proposed changes

Dear concerned respondent to the DSM-5 Autism proposal:

Thank you for contacting the American Psychiatric Association with your thoughts about the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) proposed for DSM-5. We at APA have been and will continue to be advocates for a full range of services for people with autism and all other neurodevelopmental disorders. We understand the devastating impact that discontinuation of services can have on patients and families. We also recognize that services are determined not just by a diagnosis but also by the severity of symptoms and needs in areas such as education, social skills, activities of daily living, and maintaining personal safety. Even if an individual's diagnosis changes, this does not invalidate the treatments and other services that have worked for him/her, and these services should be continued based on need.

The new proposed criteria for ASD in the DSM are intended to improve the accuracy of diagnosing the disorders currently known as autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. The proposal is based on years of accumulated clinical, epidemiological, and neuroscience research which was thoroughly examined by the members of the DSM-5 work group on Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Most of the work group members are also clinicians who see patients with these disorders, and the proposal was developed with clinicians and their patients in mind.

There are clinical and scientific reasons for improving the accuracy of diagnoses. All patients should have an accurate diagnosis based on the most up-to-date clinical and scientific knowledge available. A more accurate diagnosis will help clinicians and other service providers target available treatments and rehabilitation methods for their patients. In addition, it is important to note that patients whose symptoms no longer meet diagnostic criteria for the DSM-5 ASD diagnosis will very likely meet the criteria for one or more other diagnoses-for example, a communication disorder, for which interventions are available. From a scientific standpoint, more accurate diagnoses will also help guide research into the causes of the neurodevelopmental disorders and the development of new treatments. An informative article written by a work group member, Dr. Francesca Happé, on the changes to Asperger's disorder can be found on the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative website:
http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/viewpoint/2011/why-fold-asperger-syndrome-into-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-the-dsm-5.

We are hopeful that continuing advances in research, diagnosis and treatment will help us devise better ways to treat autism and to reduce the devastating effect it has on individuals and families. We invite you to visit the DSM-5 Web site at
www.dsm5.org where further information on ASD is available under the "Proposed Revisions" tab. This Web site will be revised and opened for public comment for a third a final time late this spring. Once again, thank you for your input.

David Kupfer, M.D.
Chair, DSM-5 Task Force