Monterey Bay Forum

You had an idea on January 1, 2009. A year later that concept is turned into reality? Is that a miracle?

Why to GET a Montorola BackFlip. And why to MOVE on to some other cellphone:

Reasons to get a Motorola BackFlip:
1) After my German Shepard pup chomped a hole in my Blackberry — and I needed a quick replacement — I got a Back Flip through AT&T. Since AT&T already is my carrier going from a Blackberry to the BackFlip was a snap. Pull out the SIM card and get the new phone working. Ah, little did I know what was in store for me… (more…)

Like designer jeans, Asperger’s Disorder has become a “hot” diagnosis.

Asperger’s is much more preferred by parents as a diagnosis than a diagnosis of Mental Retardation. Or Autistic Disorder. It’s easy to see why: In Asperger’s Disorder the person’s cognitive I.Q and functional abilities (self care abilities, ability to work) are in the normal range.

In Asperger’s Disorder, only the social abilities are in the Borderline or Deficient range.

One young woman I recently had the opportunity to assess (a young 18 year old with Asperger’s) said that she preferred to learn over the Internet — with her lap top on her bed — so she did not have to interact with people. She views her mother as her best and only friend. She tries to stay “with it” by not showering and having dirty hair — as that is socially acceptable here in Santa Cruz, California. She is right — in Santa Cruz, California dirty hair and rarely washing hair or taking showers is “in”. In certain circles.

written by Dr. Cameron Jackson DrCameronJackson@gmail.com Monterey Bay Forum www.FreedomOK.net (more…)

Someone wrote me that because they have Asperger’s Disorder they cannot get health care coverage.

Curious, I went online to see what I could find. What I learned is that YES there can be an exclusionary period (up to a year typically) wherein you pay premiums and the conditions for which you received care during the six months before joining are excluded. So if you sought treatment for Asperger’s Disorder and received care in the six months before then you could not get costs incurred for that condition for the first 12 months of coverage. (more…)

Tell your congress person to vote OUT Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. Scrub the Senate bill. Start fresh on real health care reform.

Start all over with a fresh slate. Get health care reform right.

Sam Farr supports single payer & government option. Farr is too far to the left for me. Vote him out of office in Nov 2010

40 votes can go yes or no on the House bill. email everyone NO on Health care “reform”

AT&T has put out an andorid. Below you can see what they think are cool things about it. Of note — it uses Yahoo search and not Google. You can get to Google with a little effort.

An excellent guide to local resources is the Perinatal Resource Guide, Santa Cruz County 2010. It is developed and revised by Family Health Unit and Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Unit, Health Services Agency. For more information call (831) 454-4331 or email nancy.diehl@health.co.santa-cruz.ca.us

To see how to use it, I put myself in the shoes of a parent who is concerned about possible developmental delays. But not exactly sure as to what kind of delay.

In the Index at the back Under Special Needs (Children With) is listed San Andreas Regional Center. In that same category are: California Children’s Services, Special Education Local Plan Agency (SELPA) and Special Parents Information Network (SPIN).

It would be helpful if San Andreas Regional Center was also cross listed under Children Services — where SPIN and CCS are also cross listed. Through the Early Start services many, many children with suspected delays receive services from age 0 to age three.

Another appropriate cross listing for San Andreas Regional Center is Parent Education/ Support Services. For over age two children who do not have a 50 percent delay in one area there is parent education and support through the Prevention Program.

Perhaps in the 2011 edition of Perinatal Resource Guide a new listing could be included: Internet resources and blogs that provide useful information for Santa Cruz County. On that list might be this blog — Monterey Bay Forum — http://www.FreedomOK.net which provides free screening for autism and discussion of local health and other issues.

written by Cameron Jackson, Ph.D., J.D. DrCameronJackson@gmail.com