Conference Information

The Northeast Georgia Chapter, Autism Society of America’s 2001 conference, “Autism: Meeting the Challenge Through Inclusion and Visual Teaching” will be held on January 23 & 24, 2001 in Athens, Georgia.

-January 23^rd Mrs. Rebecca Moyes’ topic will be, “Addressing Socialization Instruction in the Regular Classroom.

-January 24^th Jill Fain Lehman, Ph.D., topic will be “The Basics of Visual Learning.”

Georgia participants can earn one SDU credit.

Registration fee: ASA members = $115, Non ASA members = $140, School systems or agencies registering 3 or more participants, payment one check = $115/registrant; Registrations postmarked January 15, 2001 or later = $150

For a brochure or additional information contact,
Renee Feldman, (706) 208-0066 or email:
rfeldmann@mail.rx.uga.edu

Asperger Web Sites

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

http://www.asperger.org/

http://www.tonyattwood.com/

http://www.amicusforchildren.org/

From the FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER Sacramento, California http://www.feat.org/
Another Possible Genetic Link to Autism
Deleted Area Likely To Contain Genes Determining Risk of Autistic Behavior
(This is not the same research on the HOXA1 gene by Dr. Patricia Rodier.)
http://www.newswise.com/articles/2000/12/AUTISM.UCI.html

    Irvine Calif. – A 7-year-old patient with autism was found to have a chromosome with deleted segments of DNA. The segments are likely to contain genes that help determine susceptibility to the disorder, according to a study by a UC Irvine College of Medicine research team.
   The study, which appears in the Dec. 4^th edition of the American Journal of Medical Genetics. Neuropsychiatric Genetics, is the first to show this area of the shromosome to be missing in an autistic patient and may help scientists understand the genetic underpinnings of autism.
   Dr. M.Anne Spence and Moyra Smith, professors of pediatric genetics, led a team which found that about 1,000 building blocks of DNA that constitute our gentic material were missing from the atient’s 15^th chromosome. The missing DNA could contain or control genes that play a role in controlling the incidience of autism.
   ”We found that a number of genes normally on the chromosome were deleted at the point of breakage in the deleted chromosome in our patient,” said Spence. “This detailed information can help us try to match these deleted genes with suspected genese for autism and piece together how genes interact with the body to result in autism. We think this information will then help us uncover links that, once understood, could eventually result in a treatment for this disorder.”
    The researchers’ work is part of a nationwide study of the causes of autism sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. Autism, which has no known cause, affects as many as one in 500 Americans and usually appears in early childhood. Individuals with autism have impaired thinking processes, emotions and social abilities, causing them to become walled from society.

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