A gene for dyslexia

At last. If this holds up the implications are vast. We will be able to clearly identify one subtype of a common learning disorder. We'll be able to identify variations in the associated phenotype, and match therapies to the gene. We will gain vast insights into the bizarre miracle of reading (note to intelligent design folks -- the evolution of reading is much more interesting than the evolution of the retina).

This gene modulates the "migration of neurons", it is presumably one of a class of genes that determines the very structure of the human brain. Alter these genes, alter that which makes a human.

Wonderful news.

Less wonderful if it becomes part of a prenatal profile that may lead to abortions. This is a future we knew was coming.

BBC NEWS | Health | Scientists discover dyslexia gene

Up to a fifth of dyslexia cases could be caused by a faulty version of a gene called DCDC2, scientists believe.

In the mutant form, DCDC2 leads to a disruption in the formation of brain circuits that make it possible to read, say the Yale team.

Their finding could lead to earlier diagnosis of dyslexia, meaning educational programmes for dyslexic children could be started earlier.

The work is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

The gene is located on chromosome six and Dr Jeffrey Gruen and his team at Yale School of Medicine believe it causes as many as 20% of dyslexia cases.

Dyslexia covers a range of types of learning difficulty where someone of normal intelligence has persistent and significant problems with reading, writing, spelling.

Up to six million Britons are believed to have dyslexia - 4% of the population is severely dyslexic and a further 6% have limited problems.

Other genes have already been linked to dyslexia.

... Dr Gruen said; "The gene itself is expressed in reading centres of the brain where it modulates migration of neurons. This very architecture of brain circuitry is necessary for normal reading...

Reading disabilities workshop 10/26 at Groves Academy

Grove Academy is doing more community outreach. First is a series of workshops is one on reading disabilities:

Groves Academy announces the first community workshop in a six-part series of workshops focused on topics specific to learning disabilities.


Workshop: Reading Disabilities: Identification and Intervention
Speaker: John Alexander, Groves Academy Head of School, M.Ed., Harvard University
When: Wednesday, October 26, 2005, 7pm – 8:30pm
Where: Groves Academy, 3200 Highway 100 South, St. Louis Park
Admission: Free and open to the public
Registration: Reservations required. Call 952-920-6377

Workshops will be approximately one hour long with 30 minutes of questions and answers afterward. Other workshop dates are 11/29/05, 1/31/06, 2/23/06, 4/20/06 and 5/16/06.

The evolution of attention-deficit disorder (ADHD)

ADHD trait is very common in north america. It is logical to assume that this trait has some adaptive advantages in some settings. The genetics of that advantage is being actively studied:

John Hawks Anthropology Weblog : Recent human brain evolution and population differences:

Geneticists are increasingly finding genetic variants that affect behavior. Several of these variants are now known to vary in frequency in different human populations. These alleles are two; the 7r allele of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene is another that influences ADD/ADHD susceptibility (Harpending and Cochran 2002). The selective structure underlying DRD4 variation may be frequency-dependent, with different alleles correlating with alternative behavioral strategies that pose greater or lesser advantages in some populations.

A trait which is a disability in some educational and employment settings may be an advantage in other times and places.

A successful behavioral intervention in two siblings with autism spectrum disorder

Autism Forum and Chat

When Child A called his sibling, Child B, names, child B received a dime. The name calling crisis resolved with remarkable speed.

Autism Forum and Chat: The number one Google ranking

When you search Google on autism and forum, this comes up first: Autism Forum and Chat

There are parts of the UK which are yet 19th century -- criminalizing the defective

BBC NEWS | Health | Tourette's children 'given asbos'

This is not the first time I've come across examples of this. The UK's legal system has some curious aspects to it; in particular certain legacies of the 19th century. One of those legacies is a very backwards approach to children with cognitive disabilities. They seem to be fairly readily shunted into the a kind of 19th century, or perhaps medieval, justice system:

In one case, a 12-year-old autistic boy was punished for staring over his neighbour's fence; another boy with Tourette's Syndrome was given his order for constantly swearing.

Because Asbos are regarded as civil matters, they are dealt with by an adult court, rather than by a justice panel especially designed for children.

This means that if the children breach their Asbos they do not have the same rights to social and mental health reports as 'criminal' juveniles (aged up to 17)...

... Julie Spencer-Cingoz, chief executive of Bibic and a trained psychiatric nurse, said children were being criminalised because of their medical conditions.

"It is a little like saying to somebody who has epilepsy 'do not fit'. And then when they do fit saying that they have broken their contract.

"You would not do that, and yet we are applying the same conditions to children with other medical conditions.

I'm not used to thinking of the US as being at all 'progressive', but in matters of disability we made such enormous progress under Bush I and Clinton that not even Bush II has been quite able to utterly undo it.

Autism gene - at least one of them?

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Gene test' for autism in sight

This sounds like it could be extremely helpful for ongoing research. I suspect it won't have clinical implications for some time -- if ever. The relatsionship to the cerebellum is interesting; I've long been interested in the remarkable problems some children with autism have at hitting a baseball. It seems almost a pathognomic feature.

By analysing the DNA from these individuals they found a region on chromosome 16 - PRKCB1 - appeared to be linked with autism.

PRKCB1 is expressed in granule cells in the cerebellum of the brain. Its associated protein is involved in transmitting signals from the granule cells to the Purkinje cells. Both these cells help relay messages in and out of the brain.

Researchers have already found a decreased number of both granule and Purkinje cells in the brains of people with autism.

A thoughtful defense of 'No Child Left Behind' in the suburbs

School Reform Moves to the Suburbs - New York Times

Salon and the Thimerosal conspiracy

Salon.com News | Deadly immunity

Salon has a long article alleging a widespread conspiracy on the part of clinicians, government agencies, and scientists to conceal a link between Thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, and autism.

The author lost me at when he claimed a heroic researcher who'd uncovered this connection had switched to the dark side and buried the data:

By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism.

Scientists and researchers aren't always trustworthy. The risks of mad cow disease were underestimated by UK scientists, but so were the estimates of activists. Even so, this article reads like it's straight from the tin hat brigade. Physicians are notorious blabber-mouths; there's no way they could keep such a conspiracy going.

As best as I can tell, the Institute of Medicine is reasonably trustworthy. They felt we should look elsewhere to explain autism. I wouldn't say a connection to Thimerosal is impossible, but we have only so much time and money. Let's try looking at terrain that's not been so well walked.

When would I consider looking at Thimerosal again? I don't believed it's used much anymore. If the incidence of autism nosedives in areas where Thimeraosal is no longer used, then I'd say reverse course and resume the conspiracy investigation. If not, then forget about it.

PS. Someone has done a rather good job of dissecting the Salon article. He thinks it's nonsense and shows why. I'm adding skeptico to my bloglines!

Faxing and special needs children

Parents of special needs children are essentially running a small home business. Fax is a particularly annoying problem -- faxes to educators, clinicians, agencies, government, etc. This article reviews various Fax approaches, including MaxEmail (favored) and Innoport (good): Gordon's Notes: Fax and Voicemail to email: MaxEmail and more.

One advantage to Internet fax to email is that it's a cheap way to file and retain documents that are faxed, though MaxEmail does not store the faxes sent from their service.