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Gordon Penner, a boat captain with Splash Dash tours, helped rescue an autistic teenage boy after he apparently jumped into the Red River Tuesday morning.
By Jillian Austin | CNews
WINNIPEG – A teenage boy is recovering in hospital after being pulled from the Red River in a dramatic water rescue Tuesday morning.
Staff from Splash Dash boat tours noticed the boy in the water at The Forks near the main docks and called 911 before setting out on the water around 10:30 a.m.
“An autistic boy jumped into the water … off the walkway,” said Gord Cartwright, owner of Splash Dash tours. “Our staff noticed what had happened and they put a boat into the water to do a rescue.”
Captain Gordon Penner set out immediately to help the boy, along with Barry Horan who was out for a morning run along the Red River.
Witnesses estimated the boy looked to be 15 or 16 years old.
The boy did not take hold of the life preservers or hooks that rescuers were tossing to him.
Eventually Horan and a member of the Winnipeg Police Service jumped in the water and successfully pulled him onto the boat.
The entire ordeal took about 15 minutes. Police say the boy is doing fine and is in “good spirits.”
Thomas Mitchell’s parents were told their autistic son would never walk or talk. Now aged 14, Thomas told Clare Hutchinson how he exceeded all expectations…
The Autism News
By Clare Hutchinson | WalesOnline
FOR someone who was never supposed to be able to walk or talk, 14-year-old Thomas Mitchell is surprisingly eloquent.
Sitting in the front room of his family home in Caerphilly with his parents and three sisters by his side, Thomas explained what it is like to grow up with autism and his constant battle to stay in control.
“When I was younger I couldn’t control it at all,” said the Doctor Who fan, who is starting his GCSE courses next week.
“If there was a loud noise or I was in a crowded place I would hate it. Traffic jams were the worst.”
The term autism covers a wide range of conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism.
Autism is a lifelong disabling condition affecting one in 100 people in the UK, yet many have little idea what it is.
All forms of autism are characterised by difficulty in social communication, interaction and imagination – meaning someone with autism can find it hard to understand, for example, body language, sarcasm or the unwritten rules of personal space.
Thomas was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was three, after his parents Sally, 40, and Stephen, 45, noticed he was developing more slowly than his older sister Megan, now 16.
Sally, a former nurse who at the time of Thomas’ diagnosis was also struggling to cope with a spinal injury that left her having to use a wheelchair, said: “My brothers had some speech and language issues so I was a bit clued up and I already had half an eye open for it.
“When Thomas reached three and was still not speaking we took him to Ystrad Mynach Hospital, where he was diagnosed with autism.”
At the time autism was so misunderstood the doctors painted Sally and Stephen a picture of a child who would never walk or talk.
“We were told not to expect anything academically, but it was wrong of them to say that because, really, they had no idea what to expect,” said Sally.
“Every child with autism is different and you never know how it will affect them – that is the message I would like to get across to parents who might be in the same place as we were all those years ago.”
After his diagnosis, help for Thomas came quickly and, aged four, he was sent to a small specialist unit at a school in Newbridge, near Blackwood.
“They spent all the time in the first year teaching them how to sit still,” said Sally, who explained that her son was soon able to walk and talk with relative ease.
From there, Thomas went to secondary school at St Cenydd Comprehensive in Caerphilly, where, with the help of a one-to-one support worker, he soon began integrating with pupils from the main part of the school.
Having spent all his school life in specialist departments with other children with a variety of learning difficulties, going into mainstream classes was “totally alien” to him.
He learned to cope by knowing when to expect the bell so he would be prepared for the sudden noise and by going to the library to devour science fiction books during busy lunch breaks.
And despite his condition Thomas has made phenomenal progress.
The Cardiff Blues fan will begin his GCSE courses next month, having chosen leisure and tourism, geography and history for his subjects.
He now sits in mainstream classes for nine subjects, including English, science and his favourite, maths – for which he shot up from set six to set three in just one school year.
A keen sports fan, Thomas also plays in goal with Caerphilly-based disability football club the Pont Dragons.
His behaviour has improved so much he is now able to control his autism – catching himself if he is going to say something in anger and asking politely instead of being rude.
Thomas believes his behaviour has improved naturally as he gets older, while his mum, a devout Christian, sees it as a blessing.
She said: “A child with autism, by their nature, is the most selfish person in the world and it is very difficult for them to understand the needs of other people.
“But somehow last year he started realising that other people have the same needs as himself.
“Now when I come into the house he asks me how I am – that would have been unimaginable just 18 months ago.
“We thought he would have to live with us for the rest of his life, but now I’m confident he will have his own future – whatever he wants that future to be – and he will be happy.
“You have no idea how happy that makes us as parents – and hopefully it will give other parents hope too.”
She added: “It’s like there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is hope.
“I just feel it is criminal to tell any parent that their child’s future is dark because in every child’s life there is hope.”
Thomas harbours ambitions of one day becoming a sports reporter for Able Radio, a disability radio station based in Pontypool at which his mum volunteers.
After that, he hopes to raise enough money to travel the world.
Thomas added: “I just hope some of my hopes and dreams come true.
“People who have children with learning difficulties, especially those with autism, need to know that there is always hope.
“It doesn’t matter what you have got – if you work hard you will achieve your ambitions.”
Dr. Guy Rouleau, senior author of a breakthrough paper on schizophrenia. John Morstad for The Globe and Mail
The Autism News
By Physorg
An international study led by University of Montreal scientists suggests family history may not be a good predictor of the presence of mutations predisposing to autism or schizophrenia.
The findings show how new or de novo gene mutations – alterations of the cell’s DNA – play a role in these devastating conditions. Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, this study has implications for disease prevalence and severity.
“This study emphasizes the importance of de novo mutations as genetic factors predisposing to autism and schizophrenia. We found an increased frequency of severe de novo mutations in critical brain genes in both of these diseases,” says senior author and University of Montreal professor, Guy Rouleau.
“Harmful de novo mutations, as observed in this study, may in part explain the high global incidences of autism and schizophrenia,” adds Dr. Rouleau, who is also director of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and a scientist at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.
Investigating human mutation rate:
The team analyzed 400 genes that are turned on in nerve cells from patients with autism or schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Their results showed that there is an excess of de novo gene mutations associated with the two diseases.
Their study revealed that DNA taken directly from the patient’s blood was superior to that taken from patient-derived cell lines. “The source of biological material is crucial for these types of experiments,” says lead author Philip Awadalla, a University of Montreal pediatrics professor, scientist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and scientific director of the CARTaGENE project.
“In the process of confirming our findings, we were also able to provide one of the first direct estimates of the human mutation rate,” continues Dr. Awadalla. “The number of mutations per generation is extremely small but on the order of what was previously indirectly inferred for human-chimpanzee comparisons. We also discovered that mutations can be introduced when cell lines are produced, which creates false-positive results. This artefact can significantly bias results and therefore great care needs to taken when analyzing these samples.”
About de novo mutations:
Mutations are alterations of the cell’s DNA that can occur because of errors in the DNA replication, which happen prior to cell division. Once DNA is changed, this mutation is passed down to a next generation. A mutation that is newly formed and therefore not inherited from either parent is called a de novo mutation.
More information: The paper, “Direct Measure of the de novo Mutation Rate in Autism and Schizophrenia cohorts,” published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, was authored by Philip Awadalla, et al. http://www.cell.com/AJHG
Marina Biotech Inc., which used to be known as MDRNA, said it’s sold patent rights and technology related to its Carbetocin asset for $750,000 upfront in a deal that could be worth up to $27 million. The Bothell biotech (NASDAQ: MRNA) sold the asset to Cypress Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ: CYPB) of San Diego. Cypress will be responsible for the future development of Carbetocin, which Cypress describes as “a potential breakthrough treatment for the core symptoms of autism.” Cypress also could pay Marina Biotech royalties on commercial sales of Carbetocin. “The sale of our Carbetocin assets to Cypress is another example of our efforts to monetize the legacy assets of our predecessor company,” said J. Michael French, president and CEO of Marina Biotech, referring to the assets of Nastech Pharmaceuticals, the predecessor company to Marina.
Lynchburg, VA – Last Thursday, we brought you the heart-wrenching story of a girl with severe autism who was distraught over her missing cat. Now, Boots and 12-year-old Shyann are back under the same roof.
Boots can’t exactly say where he’s been for the past nine days. But he didn’t seem to go far. A nearby neighbor spotted him Wednesday night.
“I tried to get it and it got away and it ran over there in front of the house. We kept looking for it,” said neighbor John Keehan.
He called Jackie Paris, who rushed over.
“I started clanking my bowls and everything and the next thing you know, there he comes out of the woods, and I snatched him up, and I cried,” Paris said.
Shyann was asleep when Jackie arrived home. But in the morning, the child who had been so visibly upset was now content.
“No fussing, no nothing. She let me get her dressed. She was petting him and he was rubbing up against her, and I said are you happy your cat is home? She said [nods head] and I said, me too,” Paris said.
And he’s the real thing, not a replacement. But Jackie had plenty of offers. She got at least 50 calls since our first story aired.
“They’ve offered me animals, their own animals. Just people calling to know if I’d found the cat, that I was in their prayers.”
Shyann and Boots are now back to having a relationship that doesn’t require a conversation.
And Jackie, who is still taking in the kindness of the ABC 13 viewers, is speechless.
“Words can’t express how I feel right now, my heart is full, my soul is full, my daughter is happy, our cat is home,” Paris said.
Boots didn’t seem to be hurt, but he is a little thinner after his disappearance. He has an appointment with the vet Friday.
