Brittany Donovan is 13 years old and was born with fragile X syndrome, FXS. FXS is a genetic disorder causing mental impairment – Brittany has severe learning difficulties.

Brittany was conceived using sperm from a New York sperm bank, Idant Laboratories, and testing showed that her FXS was inherited from her biological father. A US judge gave Brittany clearance to sue Idant Laboratories under product liability laws.

First, Brittany’s mother tried to sue in 2008, but couldn’t because of the statute of limitations in product liability cases is only two years. But the rules are different for minor children and Brittany is able to sue the sperm bank.

Brittany and her lawyers don’t have to show that Idant was negligent. They have to show that the sperm Idant provided was unsafe and caused injury.

Do you think the sperm bank is responsible for Brittany’s condition? Genetic testing was in its infancy in 1996 when the sperm was donated and while it was possible to test for FXS, it would have been prohibitively expensive to do routinely.

And picking a mate and having a baby the old-fashioned way is certainly no guarantee against genetic disorders.

If Brittany wins her case, it will likely open the way for thousands of other cases brought by babies and children with sperm donor families. Sperm donors are currently not in short supply in the USA, but this lawsuit together with likely future changes that will reduce or remove anonymity of donors, there may well be a shortage of sperm donors soon. And then what will families who dearly wish for a child but need donor sperm do then?

Other families, like Gwenyth Jackaway and her son Dylan, are living in similar circumstances, but right now are not planning to sue anyone and say that they don’t blame their sperm bank. Dylan is five and conceived with donor sperm. He is also autistic, and so are three other children concived using sperm from the same donor, strongly indicating a genetic cause.

Currently, there isn’t a screening test for autism, and doctors aren’t even sure if there is a specific autism gene, so right now there’s no way that the sperm donor could have been tested.

Would Gweneth be happier if it had been possible to screen her son’s sperm donor for autism? Gweneth said that “I’ve done a lot of thinking about this, and to say yes to that is to say that I wish Dylan isn’t Dylan… I love my son and everything about him, and that means loving his autism also. Loving your children means loving everything about them. Our children don’t have autism; they are autistic. It’s part of who they are.”

Or when you have a child, you accept that you get what you get. And we have almost no control over how our child will turn out. If sperm donors are to undergo increasing amounts of screening, it leads to the inevitable question of what is screened for. Genetic diseases are obvious, but what about screening for appearance? Intelligence? Height? Physical ability? Personality traits?

So is the Brittany Donovan case a valid one to compensate a mentally impared child who will need medical care her whole life? Or does it feed a culture that expects perfection, even in it’s babies, and will sue if that’s not what is delivered? Or perhaps a little of both?

Amongst children diagnosed with autism, around a third of their parents notice signs of autism before the child’s first birthday. But the condition usually goes undiagnosed for many years: the average age of diagnosis is over three.

Autistic children are widely believed to be born with the condition. Although various factors have been proposed that could give a child autism, most prominently the vaccine-autism controversy, most medical professionals believe that autism is something present at birth.

The earlier a child is diagnosed, the more effective treatment and therapy can be for the child, with an improvement in quality of life for the child and their family. So tests to diagnose the condition earlier could be very valuable.

Two classic symptoms of autism is repetitive behaviors, and intense interest in very specific things. Researchers studied a group of infants at high risk for autism and found that children later diagnosed with autism played with their toys in different ways. The children were more likely to repeatedly spin or rotate toys. They were also more likely to observe objects in unusual ways, like staring sideways at them, or watching them intently for long periods. Almost every child who was later diagnosed with autism exhibited these behaviors before their first birthday. The repetitive spinning and intense observations were rare in children not diagnosed with autism.

Infants and toddlers are known for repetitive behaviors. It’s normal for babies to try, try, and try again until they acquire a skill. Stacking and arranging objects is very common as babies learn motor skills and begin to realize that they can control their environment, and their determination to master the task is usually impressive. When combined with less focused tasks, and interest in many other things, It’s part of healthy infant development.

But as a parent, if you feel that there’s something not-quite-right, talk with your child’s pediatrician.

Our daughter’s 14 months old. We’ve been on the fence on whether she’ll get much out of a trick or treating experience this year. She was pretty much oblivious to the holidays last year so we were excited about this year. However, we were still unsure whether taking her trick or treating would be worth it. Most significantly, we wondered what we’d do with all that candy.

Well there’s an alternative way to go trick or treating this year now, and all for a good cause. UNICEF’s Trick or Treat drive is encouraging kids to collect money instead of sweets and candies in their special box, then send the collection in as part of UNICEF’s effort to encourage giving back to less fortunate kids worldwide. It may seem like a bummer to some kids, but it’s a great way to expose kids to humanitarian/charitable causes, encourage selflessness, and avoid a visit to the dentist!

The younger ones like my daughter’s age won’t mind, and if you appeal to the older kids, I’m sure they’re generosity will kick in. Challenge your kids, why not?

I just received a newsletter from The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments(NAPVI), which we belong to because of my children’s disabilities. They have worked out a package with The Come Children Sing Institute for a free session of online music classes. The length of the classes is 10 weeks.

To be eligible for this free offer, your infant, toddler or baby(that’s how they word it) must be a special needs child and you must have documentation from a healthcare professional stating so. If you can verify that you have a young child with special needs, request your free gift certificate by sending an email to mepinzino@comechildrensing.com. Be sure to reference the NAPVI connection and Babies Online.

Your certificate will be sent to you via mail and you can begin the classes online any time you wish.

I have noticed, especially with my handicapped children, that they love to listen and dance to music. Even when they were infants, they would respond to music and singing.

My handicapped children are now teens, but their love of music has continued. In fact, my daughter reads her sheet music using Braille. I never knew that this was even a possibility before her Vision teacher told me about this.

I’d encourage parents who have special needs children to take advantage of this great offer! I’d also like to extend a virtual hug to you. Parenting isn’t easy; parenting a child who has special needs is most certainly not easy.

I wish you and yours the very best.

Every so often a story comes along that is truly amazing, and if you’re ready for a really uplifting story then you should hear about Chloe Levine.

She is a toddler who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after it became apparent that she wasn’t developing like she should have. She didn’t have control over the right side of her body and instead of crawling as a baby she shuffled along using only her left side.

Her parents had banked her cord blood when she was born and this made her eligible for a clinical trial to treat cerebral palsy. She participated in the clinical trial and saw almost immediate results! Her right arm is no longer pinned to her side and she can run and catch a ball with both arms, which are two things her parents never thought she would ever do. Other young children have experienced similar successes with this treatment. ( Watch the short video )

Cerebral palsy is only one of the many illnesses that use cord blood stem cells therapy . Parents who seek out treatment for their children using cord blood will agree that despite the cost involved in banking the blood, it can be completely worth it. Just ask Chloe’s parents if it was worth the effort and cost and they’ll agree that cord blood banking changed the life of their daughter.

Watch the video

Find out more about cord blood banking

Sign up for cord blood banking with CBR

In spite of all our planning, nothing is ever certain in pregnancy and childbirth. For instance, only 5 percent of all babies are born on their actual due date. Most, however, are born sometime between 38 and 42 weeks.

Sometimes, nature sends us a real shock. On July 28, 2008, a dear online friend of mine, Mysti, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy; Simon Gabriel’s actual due date was this November.

With Mysti due a month after me, we both had expectations of going through our pregnancy together. “It’s so strange,” she said to me a few days after Simon was born, “that I’m not pregnant anymore.”

Simon was delivered, via emergency c-section, at 24 weeks, 1 day gestation, just barely making the cut-off date for having a chance of survival outside the womb. He weighed 1 lb., 7 ounces and measured 12 inches long. To offer perspective on picturing someone that small, Simon?s entire hand is about the size of his mom?s thumbnail.

Mysti, Simon and the rest of their family, which includes Simon’s dad Rob, and his brother, four-year-old Jaden, have a challenging road ahead. But little Simon is a fighter.

He is fortunate to be in one of the top NICU facilities in the country, located in Denver. Unfortunately, the hospital is approximately 2 hours from Mysti’s Wyoming home. Amongst the other challenges of keeping Simon alive and growing, fixing the hole in his heart and giving him every advantage he will need to grow up big and strong. The family is facing tremendous financial and logistical difficulties with the distance between them and Simon.

Gas prices for the two hour trip are bad enough, but, beyond that, their hope is to be able to stay together as a family while Simon is in NICU this means re-locating to the area during his stay. They have found housing a few short blocks from the hospital, and hope to raise $6,000 to make the move possible.

On her Web site, TheEchoofOne, Mysti wrote: “We want to be there for Simon each and every day while balancing the care and needs of our four-year-old too. If we are able to reach our goal, Jaden (4) will be going with us. There won’t be a day that goes by where both of our son’s will have to miss time with both parents.”

Perhaps it is because our pregnancies, until recently, were so close together, or maybe just because Mysti is a wonderful, giving person herself, her situation has touched me deeply. I felt at a loss of what to do until I realized the best thing I can do is give what I can and, more importantly, help spread the word about her and Simon’s cause.

No one can tell Simon’s story the same way Mysti can. It’s a story of love and inspiration. Simon proves that, whatever your hardships, you are never too small to fight. Please check out their story here.

If you?re moved to donate, you can click on the link “Supporting Simon” to make a donation through Paypal. Whatever you can do, please take a moment to pray or send the Universe some positive thoughts for Simon?s growth and progress.

Parents’ approach toward jewelry and babies can differ quite dramatically around the globe. I found this out when I shared my own baby girl’s ear piercing story. See getting ears pierced in many cultures, including mine, is quite accepted, and even expected. The same thing may be frowned upon by other cultures, especially in Western Europe. So on one hand many Europe-based friends shared with me their European husbands’ horror at the thought of their little babies’ ears getting pierced. On the other hand most Latin cultures share the no-big deal attitude to getting baby’s ears pierced.

In many Southeast cultures, you’ll see babies, even male ones, with bracelets around their wrist. Some are made of jade, for good luck or traditional reasons. Some are made of beads, in red or black. There is a superstition behind the second set of bracelets. It is supposed to catch the eye of strangers or family members who take notice of the baby. Any bad vibes or bad spirits that they may be carrying would then be deflected by the bracelet and baby will not get sick.

Sometimes jewelry on a baby is meant to announce a family’s status. Gold bracelets or necklaces are meant to show that the family can afford such a luxury and is therefore wealthy (whether they really are or not). Most of the time though, jewelry is just a tradition to convey affection (necklaces are heirlooms passed down from generation to generation), good luck, or worn for superstitious reasons.

Whatever the reasoning towards babies being adorned with jewelry or not, it matters very little, if you think about it. What matters is that parents love and cherish their children, and raise them to be caring and kind individuals, among many other things

More on Parenting Around The World series: Italy’s Peanut Butter.

When I heard about tattoos for toddlers, I thought Oh. My. Gosh.

Is this the teenager-ifying of our toddlers going completely off the hook? Are manicures for infants and high heels for newborns not enough? (Tamsen, my Babies Online blogger colleague recently wrote about manicures for preschoolers and I totally agree with her. One manicure at age 4 is cute. Regular manicures at 7 months is bizarre and troubling.)

Turns out, there was no need for me to get in a tizz about these tattoos. Safety Tats are a temporary, washable tattoo, customized with the parent’s cell phone number. If a toddler wanders off, as they are prone to do, then anyone who finds the child and sees the tattoo can call their mom or dad.

More expensive than writing your cell number on your child’s arm with a marker pen, which is what a mom I know does with her toddler, but probably better for their skin.

Safety Tats suggest using them in airports, malls and other busy public places.

I know where these could really come in handy: at the State Fair that’s coming up in my town in a few months. If you loose a child in an airport, then there’s the option of calling mom or dad over the PA system. At the fair, or another busy outdoor event, there’s nothing like that. So these would be a much better way of re-uniting parent and child.

Safety Tats also make designs with health information warnings, such as for autistic, diabetic and allergic children.

I think these are such a brilliant idea, and I’m scratching my head as to why no-one else did it sooner! I think these would be so useful over the summer, with so many family fairs, festivals and warm-weather outings happening.

The only drawback is you need a cell phone, and my cell is barely clinging to life at the moment. So once I get it either resuscitated, or replaced, I’ll be ordering some Safety Tats for my son.

A recent article in our local paper told of the difficulties that families have finding daycare for infants. I?ve found this to be particularly difficult in my case as I have had several special needs children. It?s hard enough to find child care, much less care for a child that has health concerns or other issues.

It is best to begin looking for child care options before your child arrives and keeping an open mind about the options. Flexibility is key here! I found it best to take as much time as possible off from work after the birth of the baby. At times, I was able to take 12 weeks off for maternity leave, but once, I got called in for a special project two weeks after my third child was born! I was able to negotiate with my boss, and he allowed me to bring my daughter with me, which was great.

When considering child care options, you might want to think about the following:

• Check into telecommuting options.
  Make no mistake about it, working at home is still?work. Nevertheless, if you are very organized and motivated, this may be an option for you. A flexible supervisor is a must if you are looking into this option.

• Check into sick day care options.
  Consider what you will do when your child becomes ill when you need to work. A backup plan is a definite when you have an infant. If sick care is not available in your area, make sure to check on the availability of relatives just in case. If you have handicapped children, there are, again in certain areas of the country, providers who just take handicapped children.

• Ask relatives and friends for help.
  Although I was able to telecommute for most of my working career, there were times when I simply could not accomplish a project with the children in the house or after they went to bed. I had contracted out with friends and relatives who were at home to be ?on call? for me during these times. You may or may not be able to ask family and friends for assistance depending upon a number of variables. Be sensitive to the needs and feelings of your relatives and friends when using this option. Note that some relatives may expect you to pay for their services! It?s best to discuss expectations openly when you are using this option(for example, your relative might only be willing to watch you child so many days a week for so many hours. They may or may not expect to be paid).

• Avoid the issue all together.
  Many working mothers avoid the issue all together by finding jobs with flexible schedules, job sharing, or finding a telecommuting job. Other mothers choose to work a shift opposite than the hours their husband or significant other works. This way, there is always one parent home with a child.

Realize that your child care needs will change as your child grows and develops. As with all things pertaining to parenting, flexibility is a must!

Last Wednesday, April 2, the first World Autism Awareness Day was observed. An initiative of the UN General Assembly, it is ?a day to focus on children and adults suffering from autism.?

Autism has been linked to vaccines, genetics, pollution, and prenatal alcohol exposure. A recent study shows another side to the multi-faceted Autism Spectrum Disorders – the association between autism and birth weights.

The researchers followed up a group of 91 very premature babies up to toddlerhood and found that about one-fourth of these toddlers exhibited signs of autism. These children were born on the average 10 weeks before term and weighed less than 4 lbs.

Due to rapid advancement in the medical field, more and more premature babies are able to survive. However, most of these babies suffer from health and developmental problems.

In this study, an early autism screening test which is appropriate for this age group was used. Although this screening cannot be considered a definitive form of autism test, the results indicated that premies have higher risks of becoming autistic

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an estimated 1 in 150 children in the United States is affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Sources:

Limperopoulos et al. Positive Screening for Autism in Ex-preterm Infants: Prevalence and Risk Factors. PEDIATRICS Vol. 121 No. 4 April 2008, pp. 758-765.

ABCNews 2 April 2008

Related posts:

Service Dogs: Autistic Children?s Best Friends?

New Research Into Autism

Is there a link between vaccinations and autism?

New Genetic Find On Autism

Autism and Vaccine Link: Get Over It

Mercury in vaccines: why it CAN NOT cause autism

A recent report by ABC News and Good Morning America examined a relatively new method of helping children with the disorder (and their families) by using trained service dogs?the kind of dogs that we are all used to seeing assist the blind and deaf.

Service dogs provide comfort, help and support

Groups such as 4 Paws for Ability and the North Star Foundation have been working with service dogs and the families of autistic children and people with other disorders and disabilities. The dogs from both groups are trained to do work with specific disorders?in other words, these service dogs are specialists to an extent. 4 Paws was the first agency to begin placing skilled autism service dogs and continues to be the largest organization in the United States to do so. The dogs that work with autistic children are trained to work with specific behaviors that are unique to the autism spectrum including impaired or limited verbal ability and communication skills, an inability to connect well with his or her environment, an inability to read emotions, wandering and repetitive, often ritual-like behaviors.

These specially trained service dogs have proved helpful with all of these behaviors. Tracking is one of their key tasks and is a relief for many parents of autistic children who wander. Using a distinctly Pavlovian model, the dogs are trained in such a way that the child?s behavior elicits a response in the dog that will be helpful, calming, protective (or all three) depending upon the task at hand. Some dogs even attend school with the children. The dogs are also socialized with the children to ensure that the paring is a good one. North Star has a puppy education program which occurs during the first six months of the puppy?s life. That education is then provided to the families of their clients, who become partners in training the dog to meet their child’s specific needs.

According to 4 Paws: ?Research indicates that the child with Autism displays behaviors toward their dog that they rarely, if ever, display towards human companions. In addition, the child that is partnered with a [service] dog is found to seek their dog out for companionship, comfort, and confiding in ways never shown to family members.?Both 4 Paws and North Assert that using service dogs has a therapeutic effect that is heightened in a child with autism because of the powerful nature of communication between the dog and the child. The nonverbal avenue of interacting with a dog is important advantage because of the communication issues surrounding the autistic spectrum, and through this nonverbal advantage they help with socialization, emotional and educational issues.

Are service dogs a cure?

Thus far, there is no cure for autism or any of the disorders along the PDD spectrum. According to John Adams, Ph.D., ?Left untreated, many autistic children will not develop effective social skills and may not learn to talk or behave appropriately. Very few individuals recover completely from autism without any intervention. ? There [is however, a] variety of treatment options [and their effects].? Among the common therapies are medication, emotional and behavioral therapies including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), music therapy, sensory therapy and many others. While there are many therapies being used and studied for helping autistic children, working with service dogs seems to be one that is having positive effects not only for autistic children but for their families as well.

Some Resources (in alphabetical order)

• 4 Paws for Ability
• Autism and Vaccine Link: Get Over it
• Is My Child Autistic?
• New Genetic Find on Autism
• New Research Into Autism
• North Star Dogs

People will pick up on anything to accuse of being autistic. Absolutely anything.

More children are being diagnosed within the Autism Spectrum each year and the anti-vaccine movement just eats it up. Despite the fact that for years scientists and researchers have published comprehensive information disproving the link between the type of mercury found in vaccines, rabid protesters of vaccines still point fingers. See more about the disproving here – Infant study casts doubt on vaccine-autism link.

Perhaps these people fail to notice that the spread of autism has occurred at nearly the same time as the mass introduction of preservatives and other agents into our food supply. Maybe many of these people who are against vaccines would enjoy a back to the past approach of living. You know . . . Fighting off smallpox, polio, and other nasty bugs. I mean, living with those diseases is much better than trying to change the diet your child has. Right?

The link between diet and autism is becoming increasingly clear as research is progressing. Many websites and books are available on the subject, so why the hoo-ha about vaccines? Because of laziness, pure and simple. Or perhaps the need for drama, the need to work for a cause. But, this cause has no real science behind it.

On the other hand, diet and autism have a huge amount of research and proof. Many studies regarding the proteins in wheat and dairy, how they react in a child?s system have been done. Parents around the globe find their children released from the grips of autism by following strict diets that exclude wheat products and dairy. The proteins that are causing the problem in the child?s nervous system are gluten and casein.

Both of these act as opiates on an autistic child?s brain and body. That is one reason children in the autism spectrum are found to have such odd diets. They become addicted to these food items, literally. Chicken nuggets, sandwiches, milk, and any food with gluten or caseins in them.

Of course, many people who advocate the discontinuance of vaccines might come to me and say, ?What do you know? My child never exhibited signs of autism until after she had a vaccine.?

Perhaps this is true. But, normally the real diagnosis of autism does not occur until well after a child has received all of their vaccines. A child may behind in their development, but most of the time, these developments are coming at the same time the vaccines are, so a link is supposed.

I challenge all parents of autistic children to begin eliminating dairy from their child?s diet. Try this for a few months. If an improvement is seen, then move to wheat containing products. It will take time and be a challenge, but the possible benefits outweigh any risk. Once you have tried this, consistently, come back to me and tell me how vaccines are ruining our children?s lives.

This post does not reflect the views of Babies Online or it’s affiliates. The opinion expressed within are those of the writer alone.

There has been question as to whether vaccinations, particularly the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine, lead to autism in children. While some studies have suggested that there may be a link between thimerosal, the mercury-preserving component in some vaccines, and autism, major health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and FDA, deny that there is a link.

Questions were raised when the onset of autistic symptoms were noted in children between the ages of 18 to 30 months, shortly after they received their MMR vaccines. Medicalscience has argued that this timing is merely a developmental coincidence. Some parents are opting to have the vaccine given in three separate doses, which is believed to be safer than the ‘triple-shot” which children usually receive.

Also of concern is the flu shot, as babies receive two during their first year and one in subsequent years. There is a high level of mercury in this shot (there are 25 micrograms of mercury in a single flu shot, as compared to the safe levels of mercury most kids got in their cumulative vaccinations in 2004, which was approximately .4 micrograms all together over several years).

The bottom line is that it is wise to consider these findings, talk with your pediatrician and research the topic further if you are concerned about a link between vaccinations and autism in children.

Research at the Baby Lab Project at Uppsala University in Stockholm is studying electromagnetic brain activity in babies by attaching electrodes to their heads whilst they are playing with different objects.

The aim of this research is to tell which part of the brain does what when the child interacts with the world around him. This will help the researchers to discover the differences between brains in those with autism and others. In order to do this they had to develop special light electrodes so that they were not too heavy for the baby.

One of the reasons for the research is to be able to diagnose autistic children sooner and more easily. This will enable treatment to start earlier, currently it is practically impossible to diagnose before the age of 18 months and sometimes it can take much longer, even into adulthood.

Further information

Diet and Neurodevelopmental Delays

Baby has 128 Electrodes Attached to Head in Bid to Discover Secrets of Autism

Looking For Answers?

I am the mother of a High Functioning Autistic child. So often, parents of children with disabilities find themselves feeling as if they are on the outside of what would be considered normal parenting. Care giving a special needs child is very demanding and the milestones we celebrates are taken for granted by the parents of ‘normal’ children.

Recently, I wrote an article for Western New York Family magazine on the search for an answer concerning the diagnosis for my daughter. We had been working towards a proper diagnosis for five and a half years, only to keep grasping at shadowy answers. Living day to day, not totally sure what the problem was, but knowing there was something wrong is just as challenging as already having a solid diagnosis for your child. You may find yourself feeling pity for the parent who knows their child is Autistic or developmentally disabled in another sense. Don’t. They are the lucky ones, though they may not know this.

Each morning, when you wake up, if you already have the diagnosis for your child, you know what to expect. You have routines, you have information at your fingertips, you know what the issue is. For the parent who does not know, it can be a nightmare. A flurry of doctor visits, school meetings, wrong placements, schools that need you to remove your child because they do not know how to deal with a wrongly labeled child. Genetic evaluations. It goes on and on.

You can find solace, though. My husband, who I could not have followed my dreams of being a writer or stood so strong during this time, summed up the situation in such a manner that he inspired me for life. He said that no matter what diagnosis we end up with or without, our child is just that, our child. Nothing will ever change the love we have for her or the joy each step in her development brings us. Without her disabilities, we would never have delighted as much in her first words, which were anticipated for nearly three years. Her first drawings, the first time she used her imagination to tell a story. Heck, her first lie!

If you are the parent of a child who is special needs, no matter if you have a diagnosis or not, find your inspiration. Each and everyday can give you an amazing amount of joy, even amidst the challenges.

I think that all parents have instinctively been given an internal warning system that alerts them when something is off with their child. What happens when your radar system alerts you that something major is not right?

When my oldest child was a baby, I had concerns. I just brushed them off (and so did my doctor) as “first time mom worries”. But, as she got older, and began to hit her milestones significantly later than her peers, my concerns increased. Due to numerous insurance changes, my daughter had seen a number of professionals who had snippets of the story, but not the whole story like I did. When she turned 3, I sat down to evaluate the facts objectively with a friend who had children of her own. It was after that meeting that I decided to begin looking for help for my daughter. Perhaps you are at that point now? Where do you begin and what do you do?

Easter Seals is a great place to start. They have offices in numerous states and locations. But suppose that there isn’t an office in your state? Check your city’s Social Services Department for resources. They may be listed under Mental Health or Mental Retardation or Early Intervention. The staff should be able to help you further.

Once you’ve made contact, you would begin by stating the reasons you are concerned about your child’s development. You may even want to write out a list of milestones and when your child reached that milestone.

An “intake evaluation” will be scheduled. You might meet with a caseworker or social worker to go over your child’s background. For example: was your baby premature, were there health problems during the pregnancy etc. Once the intake interview has been done, your child will be set up for evaluations by a multi-disciplinary team. Some examples of professionals on the team would be: social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. According to law, agencies have 45 days from the time that the evaluation was requested until they do the evaluation unless they meet guidelines for extensions. Once the evaluations are done, the professionals will advise you of the percent delay that your child has and also make other recommendations as far as specialists for your child. An example of this might be seeing an optometrist for a full vision evaluation.

If your child is over 25% delayed in a certain area, the agency will come up with a plan to address those deficits.

Many of the agencies I dealt with also were helpful in dealing with financial concerns such affording therapy and products that your child might need to progress whether it be government assistance or other grants which will be of help.

Depending on the state you live in, your child may be eligible for government medical insurance (medical assistance) if they are disabled or have certain handicaps as either a primary or secondary insurance option. For children who have serious disabilities, you may want to consider SSI (like Social Security, but for disabled children) to assist with out of pocket expenses. Families are eligible for SSI if their children have specified disabilities and if their income and assets are not above a certain level.

It may also be helpful to find support from other parents who have been there. You can find support via the internet, or also through groups in your community. For example, our community has an autistic support group. I belong to a telephone support group for parents with children who have Retinitis Pigmentosa.

As a mom with two handicapped children herself, I know how hard it can be to find the resources you need for your child to succeed and grow. If you are reading this and you need help with the process, please post and I’ll do my best to help you!

When I had my twins four-and-a half years ago, I wanted to do an umbilical cord blood donation. Unfortunately, at that time, it was not possible at the hospital where I delivered. Since then, the procedure has become widespread and I had convinced a couple of close friends to donate. In the US, this is now possible in many hospitals and information can at least be found in the ones that do not yet support the procedure.

What is umbilical cord blood donation?

During baby delivery, blood is drawn from the placenta and the umbilical cord before they are disposed of. The procedure is fast, safe and hassle-free and does not present any risk for either mom or baby. The drawn blood is tissue-typed and then preserved under very low temperatures (cryopreservation). The blood can then remain viable for many years and are kept in a special donor bank.

What is umbilical blood used for?

Umbilical cord blood can be used in many ways. They are a great source of stem cells which can be used in medical research. They possess properties similar to embryonic stem cells but they are not obtained from embryos as such so there are no ethical issues involved in their use in science. They can also be used in treating serious medical conditions, e.g. as blood marrow transplants for leukemia patients.Isn?t the knowledge that your little baby is already contributing to science exciting?

Who can donate?

Anybody can donate their baby?s umbilical cord blood though this is not recommended for babies with serious diseases and infections. Some people keep their kids? umbilical cord cryopreserved specifically for their own use in future medical procedures. This is especially recommended in people with genetic predisposition to certain diseases such as leukemia and multiple sclerosis. With his/her cryopreserved umbilical cord blood, the patient has the advantage of serving his/her own donor and has therefore less problems with rejection. For this type of blood cord self-donation, you have to pay an annual fee for the preservation and maintenance of the blood.

How do you donate?

Your doctor or obstetrician can usually give you more information about donation. There are organizations and advocacy groups such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org) and the National Marrow Donor Program (www.marrow.org) which have active donation programs. They would be more than glad to help you.

It may seem intuitive, but a study from the Netherlands suggests that screening of toddler’s language abilities, and early intervention by speech and language therapists for children who performed poorly, dramatically reduced the number of children placed in special education schools by over 30%. Early screening also seemed to improve all the children’s spelling and speech skills.

Seems obvious? But this is the first study of its kind. Any move to introduce to formal screening for all children between 15 months and 2 years in this country would only be likely after further studies, it’s probable the government would want to have evidence from children who speak mainly English, rather than Dutch, as their native language.

What can you do to improve your baby, or toddler’s language skills? Talk to your baby, tell her what you are doing when you are bathing, dressing, playing with her, talk when you are cooking, driving and tell her what you are putting in the shopping cart at the supermarket. Speak clearly with simple words and sentences, but not baby talk. Every time she hears a new word, or a familiar word used in a new way, it will stimulate the language part of her brain. Read to your baby. Sing to her. And listen when she talks to you. Even if you don’t know what ba ba ga ha means, to your baby she’s having a conversation, and to her, what she’s saying is as meaningful as what you are saying, so listen and respond.

If you are worried about her language, talk to her pediatrician.

The Dutch researchers caution that screening at an early age can also make parents worry unnecessarily, as toddlers develop language at different speeds and have a very wide range of what’s normal. At one year, my son said Ba, and Da, and Brum Brum to his trucks. It was disconcerting to hear my friend’s 12-month-old say Hat, and Doggie, and Juice, with perfect clarity. But 8 months later, he’s chattering away like your average 20-month-old.

Try not to compare your child to others. If he seems behind it’s likely he’s working on other things like motor skills, or he’s learning colors, or developing social skills. He’s probably building up his vocabulary internally and in a few weeks or months he’ll suddenly start talking away and be equivalent to his peers before you know it.

So what if you are worried about your child’s language development? Talk to your child’s pediatrician. It’s likely your baby or toddler is perfectly normal, but if there is a problem, diagnosing and treating it early will maximize the chance of it being resolved before they start school.

Have you had any experience with language, hearing and speech screening or therapy? Do you think routine screening for all toddlers is a good idea or is it unnecessary intervention?