“Hawaii Launches Landmark Children’s Health Study - msnbc.com” plus 1 more |
| Hawaii Launches Landmark Children’s Health Study - msnbc.com Posted: 04 Oct 2010 12:47 PM PDT HONOLULU — KITV.com University of Hawaii researchers are preparing to launch an ambitious long-term study of children's health. The goal is to track 1,000 Hawaii children from birth to 21 years of age. The first step is to find families who might be eligible for the study. "We are looking for women who are thinking about getting pregnant or those who are already pregnant," said Dr,.Lynnae Sauvage, professor and chair of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health. "This is the most important study that has ever been conducted in children's health. We would like everyone to help us and be part of it. This is our chance to learn about the health of children and adolescents in Hawaii," said Dr. Beatriz Rodriguez, co-director of the National Children's Study. The John Burns School of Medicine will receive more than $14 million for the first five years of the project. The plan is to mail out postcards to families in 12 neighborhoods starting Oct. 11. Those neighborhoods include Moanalua, Salt Lake, Pearl Harbor, Ewa Beach, Waipahu, Mililani, Schofield Barracks, Waianae, Haleiwa, Hauula, Kailua and the Honolulu Airport area. Families will be asked to answer questions about on everything from cultural influences to genetics to environmental factors. The goal is 50 children this year, 300 next year and 250 every year after. Researchers hope to get data that may help with things like obesity, diabetes and asthma. It will also look at autism and childhood injuries, as well as rare diseases. Another phase of the study will include field researchers taking samples of things like water, soil and air. "We will be hiring a field staff of 50 people who will be knocking on doors. It's kind of like running the census. We have 10 of those hired already," said Dr. Sauvage. The National Children's Study will identify 100,000 youngsters across the country who will be tracked long-term into adulthood. The data will look at what keeps children healthy, and what makes them sick. Most Popular Stories at KITV This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Ozark Center for Autism offering new programs - St. Louis Post-Dispatch Posted: 04 Oct 2010 10:03 AM PDT Hope soars with just a few words. "She said bye-bye for the first time last month," said Shain Jordan in reference to his 4 1/2-year-old autistic daughter. Jordan's daughter was diagnosed autistic at 23 months. Jordan describes her as "pretty severe" on the spectrum. There was a time when she would suddenly flop on her back, flap her hands, roll her head back and forth, and roll her eyes, and then scream and try to bite herself when Jordan intervened. "That was pretty rough," the father recalled Friday morning at Ozark Center for Autism in Joplin, where his daughter is enrolled six hours a day, five days a week. Life over the last couple years has been measured in a procession of what Jordan characterized as small steps that have amounted to "huge" change. She can point to something that she wants now. She wants to be with other kids. And now Jordan has one less thing to worry about. Looking ahead a few years, wondering if his only child will be able to transition to mainstream classrooms, there is an alternative in case she can't, at least not right away. "It takes a huge load off me," he said of the new Special Education Center at Freeman Health System's Ozark Center for Autism, noting "there is something in place if it is needed." The Ozark Center for Autism has marked its third anniversary with an expansion in programs. Now in addition to its preschool, where Jordan's daughter attends, the Special Education Center will provide therapy programs to people ages 3 to 21. "The need was very manifest in our community for this service," said Paula Baker, Freeman chief clinical officer and administrator for all autism programming, of the special education component. The new center will enable those who suffer from autism to undergo therapy all the way up through the high school level. The Special Education Center is accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Theoretically, Baker said, someone could graduate from the special education center. What children learn at the center can also be transferred to area school districts, she said. For many children, the new center is to be a bridge to transitional classrooms, or to special education classrooms inside local schools. It also provides follow-up care as long as the children need it. "It's really going to vary a lot depending on the child," Baker told the Globe on Friday. The Special Education Center opened in August and has already enrolled several children between the ages of 8 and 10. Children receive an autismspecific educational curriculum, which is open 12 months a year to prevent regression associated with extended time without treatment, according to Freeman. "Children are still enrolling," Baker said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 80 boys and one in 240 girls are affected by autism, according to Freeman. Baker said that averages to one child in every 110, and she said she thought local numbers likely would track with those national averages. The Ozark Center for Autism is to open a diagnostic clinic at the site next year. Baker said she hopes one day the Ozark Center for Autism could offer programs for adults, too. Jordan also has plans. "I want to be a grandpa," he said Friday, talking about longterm hopes for his daughter. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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