Autism: Missourians Deal with the Myths and Challenges

(St. Charles, MO) – It impacts an increasing number of Americans and not everyone understands it.

Autism.

It’s not a disease. It’s not a terminal illness. It does change the lives of those touched by it, though.

According to Jeanne Marshall of Touch Point Autism Services, the condition impacts more Missouri families than in other parts of the nation. “In Missouri now, it’s one in 72. The national numbers are one in 88 and that’s what you often see advertised but, in Missouri, it’s one in 72 and one in 46 for boys.”

So, what is it?

Marshall says it’s “a neurobiological disorder” that impacts how the brain works. That can affect learning, communication and social relationships. Autism can be detected in a child at as early as 18 months.

One of the challenges to understanding Autism results from the fact that there are no universal symptoms. While social abilities and communication abilities are often affected by Autism, that effect could look and sound different with each person.

That means parenting changes for families with an autistic child. “Typical parenting,” Marshall explains “what you and I learned from our parents, doesn’t necessarily work with children with autism.”

Learning how to work with the condition quickly is crucial to the rest of the child’s life. In some cases, Marshall says, autistic children who get early and intense help could end up going through school “undistinguishable from their peers.”

That’s a best-case scenario, of course. What about the majority of autistic children and their education?

Missouri’s public schools are still searching for all the answers to that. As research unveils more about the condition, education is still trying to adapt to what is known and the needs of these children who learn differently than others.

According to Dr. Julian Bukalski, the school system isn’t always getting the job done for children with Autism. “I think that there’s a lack of resource and a lack of education in a lot of schools. I think that most schools do the best they can…but, I think, a lot of times, they haven’t been put through, for example, an Autism therapy class that would educate them about the best way to handle some of these manifestations of Autism.

“There’s a need for more training. I think there’s also a need for more supplies, more therapy equipment, and what we know about these therapies is changing relatively quickly.”

Bukalski is the vice president of the Missouri-based International Coalition for Autism and All Abilities.

The organization’s president, Emily Malaby, is also concerned about other approaches some schools use to deal with autistic children. She says some schools dismiss them between an hour and a half-day earlier than their peers because of their special needs status.

To her, that’s a clear violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“Along with the training for educators and everything else, we also need to realize that these laws apply to students with Autism just as any other different ability.”

Malaby wants to see autistic children in the same class as other students their age, while having the extra help they need with them.

She and Dr. Bukalski point to research that indicates more effective learning by special needs students who are “mainstreamed” through placement in standard classes.

But what about the other children in the classroom? Would that harm their education in the process?

Malaby and Bukalski say no. Dr. Bukalski acknowledges that it may not be a typical approach of education, but he thinks it could be beneficial to everyone.

“It’s really important for other children to learn how to interact with the autistic. If your child grows up in a tolerant environment, in which there is somebody different in that classroom…that has a social benefit for those other 28 kids.

“That’s part of learning, too.”

Malaby adds that it’s good practice in a society with an increasing number of Autism diagnoses.

“They’re going to be working together someday…everyone is going to have to work with their differences.”

Their recipe for educational success: education of parents and teachers, empowerment for families and advocacy to set up an effective education plan for the children involved.

If that’s done well, they believe, future grownups may not be as different from each other as they were in grade school.

On the web:

Life Skills/Touch Point Autism Services: www.SoonerEqualsBetter.com

International Coalition for Autism and All Abilities:  www.ICAAonline.org

A War on Drugs or An Attack on Cheap Medicines?

Prescription Mandate for Some Cold Medicines Stirs Controversy

Note – This interview was recorded prior to the 2013 Legislative session. The proposal to require a statewide prescription mandate was, again, filed in this session.

(St. Charles, MO) – “Just Say No” is an easy encouragement to make when we’re talking about hard drugs like cocaine and heroin, but what’s the right answer when we’re talking about common, over-the-counter cold medicines?

Those aren’t “hard drugs” but some of them are used to make methamphetamine – one of the most-abused illegal drugs in Missouri. To combat the production of meth, some communities now require a doctor’s prescription to buy any medicine with pseudoephedrine in it, even though those medicines are legal, over-the-counter remedies for common symptoms of colds.

That means it costs more to get the medicines because you may have to go to the doctor and go through a pharmacy instead of simply tossing the medicine into your shopping cart along with the bread and soft drinks. Your purchase will also be tracked by law enforcement.

Supporters of the idea generally acknowledge the extra inconvenience and privacy implications but say it’s worth it and we should all be willing to compromise a little to help stop meth in Missouri.

Efforts to impose a statewide prescription requirement have not succeeded in the State Legislature in recent years, so Jason Grellner is taking that proposal local.

Sgt. Grellner is the President of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association. He is among the driving forces behind the local prescription requirements for pseudoephedrine.

“When you can talk to people, have time to explain the issue, they find the solution very easily and they’re willing to move on the solution very easily as over seventy communities around the state now have.”

That solution, though, could cause problems for other, law-abiding folks. Joy Kreiger is with the St. Louis chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. She’s also a nurse and says parts of Missouri ranks among the worst places in America when it comes to dealing with allergies.

That’s why she doesn’t want her patients having any additional hurdles to clear before buying what’s already legal.

“This medication should be accessible to anyone because of the high level of seasonal allergies.”

While law enforcement says the inconvenience of a prescription mandate is no big deal, Kreiger says it could cause problems especially for the poor and that could become something that impacts everyone.

“For those who don’t have insurance, they will then go to the emergency room. Our emergency rooms are already being abused as clinics. So, we’re overburdening them…”

The proposal to require a prescription statewide for pseudoephedrine-based medicines does not appear to have the support to pass this year.

On the web:

Missouri Narcotics Officers Association: http://www.mnoa.com/

Stop Meth Not Meds: http://stopmethnotmeds.com/

Missouri House Bill 991: http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills131/sumpdf/HB0991I.pdf

Have a Heart for Health Literacy

(St. Charles, MO) – The times they are a-changin’, especially when it comes to how our health care system affects us in the Show Me State.

That’s the focus of the latest “Missouri Viewpoints.”

Whether you like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – more commonly known as “ObamaCare” – or not, it’s likely here to stay and it’s changing how we interact with doctors, hospitals and insurance. That means we need to change our approach to being a health care customer.

Health Literacy Missouri’s Katina O’Leary explains why Missourians need to take more of a consumer mindset when it comes to going to the doctor.

“We all have a different set of choices, depending on our employment status, where we live and who we are and all kinds of things. People need to learn how to get informed about those choices.”

One of the reasons many people aren’t well-informed when it comes to managing their health care is the confusion often associated with it. From private insurance to government coverage to pharmaceutical benefits, the process and the benefits aren’t always easy to understand.

“Ask questions if you can’t understand those forms.” O’Leary adds “None of us really understand them clearly…but there are people around you who do also understand and there are people around who are paid to understand.”

While the dust continues to settle on the new health care system we have under the federal law and while some states continues to push back against the law in court, it’s more important than ever for Missourians to take control of their health care.

O’Leary says that means having the courage to ask questions, having the discipline to research your health care options and not giving up when you don’t understand or you disagree with the answers you’re getting – even from your doctor.

Of course, as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that staying healthy can save you time, money and headaches by avoiding the emergency room or surgery table.

Dr. Kimberly Perry from BJC Christian Hospital joined Mike Ferguson on the set to talk about one of the leading killers of Missourians: heart disease.

While genetics plays a major role in your heart health, Perry says we can control other factors like diet and fitness. Sometimes, we aren’t doing as well as we think we are.

“People say they’re active and they exercise a lot. Exercising twice a week is not being physically fit.”

While high-intensity exercise at the gym can be a help, Perry adds that you can build more activity into every day.

“Exercising is parking further from the door so you can walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.”

While you’re looking for ways to burn more calories, keep your nutrition in mind, too. Perry recommends avoiding processed foods and sticking with fresh foods that you prepare at home.

That will reduce specifically the amount of sodium in your diet, which is a contributor to heart problems.

The lack of fitness, which increasingly starts in childhood now, is adding to the frequency of heart problems in Missouri and throughout the nation. That’s part of our culture that Perry hopes will change. She hopes to see parents setting the example of getting out of the house and getting active.

Hopefully, that will reduce both our collective waistlines and, eventually, our cost of health care.

On the web:

Health Literacy Missouri http://www.healthliteracymissouri.org/

American Heart Association (St. Louis): http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Affiliate/St.Louis/Missouri/Home_UCM_MWA028_AffiliatePage.jsp

Business Groups Rate Missouri Legislators’ Efforts

(St. Charles, MO) – In football terms, the second half of the 2013 Missouri Legislative Session gets underway this week.

How are lawmakers doing in the eyes of Missouri’s business community?

Both Brad Jones from Missouri’s chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business and Associated Industries of Missouri President Ray McCarty weigh in on that.

As lawmakers return to the Capitol, Jones says they – and interest groups around the state – get back to work with a better idea of which issues to keep working on and which to think about pushing next year.

“If you haven’t had a bill heard in your own house committee by Spring Break, it probably isn’t going to have time to pass.”

The Legislative session ends May 17^th.

Jones calls the progress on a plan to change Missouri’s tax rates “exciting.” That proposal would lower the personal and business income taxes over the next five years while increasing the sales tax rate. That matters to small business in a way most people may not realize, according to Jones.

“From the small business standpoint, about 70% of them actually pay [taxes] as individuals.”

“Anything you do to the individual income tax, you’re doing to small business.”

Jones says that’s around 130,000 business owners in the state. He also believes lowering taxes would impact the entire state, saying business owners won’t pocket the extra money not spent on taxes; they’ll use it to increase business. In other words: he thinks that means more people being hired.

“The greatest economic development tool is lowered taxes on your businesses.”

In addition to tax policy, both Jones and McCarty want to see changes to the state’s workers’ compensation plan, especially the role of the Second Injury Fund.

Jones wants state officials to remember the impact state policy has on businesses in addition to the workers who rely on the claims. Workers’ compensation, for instance, is a cost that affects the rest of the budget.

While the workers’ comp system is improving, according to Jones, the Second Injury Fund and the costs associated with it still worry employers.

“…over the past 10 to 15 years, that fund has been tapped at an incredible rate and now it’s broke.

“We need to get it either solvent or gone…but, in its present form, we’re not too excited about the prospects.”

While NFIB is not saying much right now about the proposed Medicaid expansion in the state, Associated Industries of Missouri is on board.

“Because it’s become so politicized, you know, people associate this Medicaid expansion with ‘ObamaCare’ and, frankly, Missourians don’t like ‘ObamaCare’…regardless of where you stand on ‘ObamaCare”, one of the things the federal bill did is it cut payments to hospitals and providers to provide services to people who can’t pay.”

McCarty says expanding Medicaid, with mostly federal money, would help offset those costs that would otherwise be passed on to consumers through higher insurance rates or higher hospital costs.

AIM’s support for the plan, though, is somewhat conditional. McCarty says the current Medicaid system needs reformed if it’s going to be expanded. Specifically, McCarty says inefficiencies and fraud need to be eliminated right away.

Among the proposals AIM wants to see passed this year is so-called “Right To Work” legislation that would ban the requirement of union membership as a condition of employment. McCarty isn’t holding his breath on that one, though, as the Governor has promised a veto and even the Republican super-majorities don’t appear to have the votes needed to override that.

On the web:

NFIB Missouri  http://www.nfib.com/missouri

AIM: http://www.AIMO.com

Property and Privacy Rights in Missouri

Are We Giving Away Too Much To Government and Big Business?

(St. Charles, MO) – A man’s (or woman’s) home is our castle, so the old saying goes.

Are the castle walls crumbling at the hands of government and corporations? According to the guests on this week’s “Missouri Viewpoints”, the answer is “yes”.

Eapen Thampy is the founder of Americans for Forfeiture Reform. That’s an effort that started in Missouri and claims law enforcement is wrongly taking cash and other property from citizens through arrest and property seizure.

Calling the abuse of property seizure “policing for profit”, Thampy and other opponents of civil asset forfeiture say the practice is becoming more common and it could impact anyone at anytime. Their claim: law enforcement has figured out how to take property (including cash) even without a conviction and make it nearly impossible for the rightful owners to get it back.

It’s an issue you may not know about. Whether you agree with Thampy or not, you’ll probably agree that it’s a topic that deserves more attention.

Government isn’t the only entity looking in on us.

The Show Me Institute’s Kacie Galbraith joins us for a discussion about your privacy.

Are we allowing government to know too much about us? If we’ve got nothing to hide, what does it matter if government knows our private business?

Galbraith says it does matter and she explains why.

Government isn’t the only one collecting our data, though. From financial records to the medicines we use to the books we read, business also sees the profit in collecting information about us.

What do we need to know to make smart decisions and protect our privacy?

Find out by watching “Missouri Viewpoints.”

On the web:

Americans for Forfeiture Reform: www.ForfeitureReform.com

Show Me Institute: www.ShowMeInstitute.org