Autism - Sibling Relationship (Case Study)
An article in New York Times by Karen Olsson (February 18, 2007) depicted a real life story of a sister with her twin autistic brothers.
"Tarah Perry wishes her brothers would remember to put on deodorant. Other 16-year-olds, after all, don't need to be reminded of that by their 14-year-old sister. Other families don't keep a stick of Degree in the glove compartment to enforce deodorant compliance on the way to school in the morning. Granted, Justin and Jason are different from other brothers -- they are autistic twins -- and Tarah's family is therefore different from other families, and generally speaking she is perfectly O.K. with that. It's all she has ever known. But lately she has been fighting more with her brothers. They irritate her, she says. They stink. She tells them as much, and they squabble about it, as any siblings might -- only when you're 14 and your brothers are disabled and you don't know whether they'll ever make it on their own or whether you'll be responsible for taking care of them, then even the little things take on greater weight. Because what Tarah also wishes is that her brothers will one day manage to hold jobs and find friends and live the kind of life that regular deodorant-wearing people live, or some semblance of it. And in the meantime, it would be nice if they didn't smell up the car.
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FDA Proposed Definition for Gluten-Free
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Phoenix, AZ, United States, 01/23/2007 - The FDA has defined gluten free for the first time and this will give individuals with celiac disease greater confidence that specially labeled foods are in fact, safe for them to eat, according to the American Celiac Disease Alliance (ACDA).
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) passed by Congress in 2004, requires food manufacturers to clearly state if a product contains any of the eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy. It also required the FDA to develop and implement rules for using the term ‘gluten-free’ on food packaging.
There is no single, world-wide accepted definition of gluten-free labeling. The levels of acceptable gluten vary from country to country, as do the symbols and terminology, permissible in the labeling. Research establishing a safe threshold of gluten consumption for those with celiac disease was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study, referenced by the FDA, concludes that celiacs can safely tolerate up to 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten a day.
"The FDA listened to patients, food manufacturers, and members of the scientific community and came up with a well thought out proposal," said Andrea Levario, Executive Director of the ACDA.
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