<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=utf-8 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<STYLE type=text/css><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></STYLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16490"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV><FONT color=#150e00 size=4 face=Calibri>interesting. Over the past
few years teachers have been getting some good information regarding the
education of children diagnosed with Asperger's, which we do recognize is a mild
form of autism, but the distinction has been important educationally because the
the teaching strategies are markedly different for children with Asperger's than
for those with classic "autism." </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#150e00 size=4 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#150e00 size=4 face=Calibri>The term "retarded" is an
anachronism with no real educational value. The term is not descriptive of
specific disabilities, in fact the word means "to slow down" leading to an
inference that the person was once working at a greater intellectual level
than currently. It has been a number of years since I've seen it used
at all in education circles. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#150e00 size=4 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#150e00 size=4 face=Calibri>Sue H. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma">
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title="mailto:rforce2003@yahoo.com CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:rforce2003@yahoo.com">Ron Force</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 10, 2010 9:01 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A
title="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Outdated Language
Targeted</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV
style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">You'll
have to change your vocabulary to communicate in the future:<BR><A
id=hn-news-link onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/google_news')"
href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en-US"><BR></A>
<DIV class="g-unit g-first">
<DIV class=hn-copy>
<DIV class=g-section><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=article) -->
<DIV id=hn-headline>Changes proposed in how psychiatrists diagnose</DIV>
<P class=hn-byline>By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP) – <SPAN class=hn-date>13 hours
ago</SPAN></P>
<P><BR></P>
<P>WASHINGTON — Don't say "mental retardation" — the new term is "intellectual
disability." No more diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome — call it a mild version
of autism instead. And while "behavioral addictions" will be new to doctors'
dictionaries, "Internet addiction" didn't make the cut.</P>
<P>The American Psychiatric Association is proposing major changes Wednesday to
its diagnostic bible, the manual that doctors, insurers and scientists use in
deciding what's officially a mental disorder and what symptoms to treat. In a
new twist, it is seeking feedback via the Internet from both psychiatrists and
the general public about whether the changes will be helpful before finalizing
them.</P>
<P>The manual suggests some new diagnoses. Gambling so far is the lone
identified behavioral addiction, but in the new category of learning
disabilities are problems with both reading and math. Also new is binge eating,
distinct from bulimia because the binge eaters don't purge.</P>
<P>Sure to generate debate, the draft also proposes diagnosing people as being
at high risk of developing some serious mental disorders — such as dementia or
schizophrenia — based on early symptoms, even though there's no way to know who
will worsen into full-blown illness. It's a category the psychiatrist group's
own leaders say must be used with caution, as scientists don't yet have
treatments to lower that risk but also don't want to miss people on the cusp of
needing care.</P>
<P>Another change: The draft sets scales to estimate both adults and teens most
at risk of suicide, stressing that suicide occurs with numerous mental
illnesses, not just depression.</P>
<P>But overall the manual's biggest changes eliminate diagnoses that it contends
are essentially subtypes of broader illnesses — and urge doctors to concentrate
more on the severity of their patients' symptoms. Thus the draft sets "autism
spectrum disorders" as the diagnosis that encompasses a full range of autistic
brain conditions — from mild social impairment to more severe autism's lack of
eye contact, repetitive behavior and poor communication — instead of
differentiating between the terms autism, Asperger's or "pervasive developmental
disorder" as doctors do today.</P>
<P>The psychiatric group expects that overarching change could actually lower
the numbers of people thought to suffer from mental disorders.</P>
<P>"Is someone really a patient, or just meets some criteria like trouble
sleeping?" APA President Dr. Alan Schatzberg, a Stanford University psychiatry
professor, told The Associated Press. "It's really important for us as a field
to try not to overdiagnose."</P>
<P>Psychiatry has been accused of overdiagnosis in recent years as prescriptions
for antidepressants, stimulants and other medications have soared. So the update
of this manual called the DSM-5 — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, fifth edition — has been anxiously awaited. It's the first
update since 1994, and brain research during that time period has soared. That
work is key to give scientists new insight into mental disorders with underlying
causes that often are a mystery and that cannot be diagnosed with, say, a blood
test or X-ray.</P>
<P>"The field is still trying to organize valid diagnostic categories. It's
honest to re-look at what the science says and doesn't say periodically," said
Ken Duckworth, medical director for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill,
which was gearing up to evaluate the draft.</P>
<P>The draft manual, posted at <A
href="http://www.dsm5.org/">http://www.DSM5.org</A>, is up for public debate
through April, and it's expected to be lively. Among the autism community
especially, terminology is considered key to describing a set of poorly
understood conditions. People with Asperger's syndrome, for instance, tend to
function poorly socially but be high-achieving academically and verbally, while
verbal problems are often a feature of other forms of autism.</P>
<P>"It's really important to recognize that diagnostic labels very much can be a
part of one's identity," said Geri Dawson of the advocacy group Autism Speaks,
which plans to take no stand on the autism revisions. "People will have an
emotional reaction to this."</P>
<P>Liane Holliday Willey, an author of books about Asperger's who also has the
condition, said in an e-mail that school autism services often are geared to
help lower-functioning children.</P>
<P>"I cannot fathom how anyone could even imagine they are one and the same,"
she wrote. "If I had put my daughter who has a high IQ and solid verbal skills
in the autism program, her self-esteem, intelligence and academic progress would
have shut down."</P>
<P>Terminology also reflects cultural sensitivities. Most patient-advocacy
groups already have adopted the term "intellectual disability" in place of
"mental retardation." Just this month, the White House chief of staff, Rahm
Emanuel, drew criticism from former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin
and others for using the word "retarded" to describe some activists whose
tactics he questioned. He later apologized.</P><!-- google_ad_section_end(name=article) -->
<P><EM>AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner in Chicago contributed to this
report.</EM></P>
<P id=hn-distributor-copyright><SPAN>Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All
rights reserved. </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=g-section><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<DIV
style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT
size=2 face=Tahoma>
<HR SIZE=1>
<B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Donovan Arnold
<donovanjarnold2008@yahoo.com><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Moscow Vision 2020
<vision2020@moscow.com>; Tom Hansen <thansen@moscow.com><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Tue, February 9, 2010 2:31:16
PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [Vision2020]
Outdated Language Targeted<BR></FONT><BR>
<META content=off http-equiv=x-dns-prefetch-control>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top>
<DIV>People use the term "retarded" in a derogatory manner. I think that
is wrong, and what this bill is about. However, "mental retardation" is a
medical term which means something specific to people in the
medical field. If you change that, it will alter their level of
needed care.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Using the term "people with intellectual disabilities" doesn't tell
me what I need to know to help that person. It doesn't communicate
anything meaningful from medical staff to medical staff. Severe, moderate,
or mild mental retardation tell me a great deal. I can use that term
universally with a doctor in New Zeland, or a staff member in my own
facility, and communicate a great deal of information about the kind of
care they need instantly. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>This would be like eliminating grades K-5 and just using the term
primary school not to offend K-5 graders. It would be confusing and
frustrating to people in the education field. You would not where to put
what teachers where and what kind of books or help the students needed,
how to budget, or what lesson plans were needed. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Trying to switch medical terms that are used universally for
identifying the needs of persons in Idaho Statues could hurt the
people they are trying to help by confusing federal and state
agencies as to where resources, funding, and which kinds of
medical staff need to go where. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think of instead of coming up with new words every ten years that
mean the same thing to not offend people, we should not use words in a
derogatory, improper, or negative manner. If we want to make up new
words, lets make up words to label the people that make fun of people.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And BTW, I don't think they should use African American to define
people that happen to have black skin, because not all people with black
skin are African Americans, as I had Jamaican point out me, who was
neither African, nor an American. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Your Friend,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donovan Arnold</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Tue, 2/9/10, Tom Hansen
<I><thansen@moscow.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Tom Hansen <thansen@moscow.com><BR>Subject: [Vision2020] Outdated
Language Targeted<BR>To: "Moscow Vision 2020"
<vision2020@moscow.com><BR>Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 5:27
PM<BR><BR>
<DIV class=plainMail>Courtesy of today's (February 9, 2010)
Spokesman-Review.<BR><BR>----------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Outdated
language targeted<BR>Bill would cut ‘idiot,’ ‘retarded’ from
laws<BR>Betsy Z. Russell, The Spokesman-Review<BR><BR>BOISE – After
Idaho hosted the Special Olympics World Winter Games last<BR>year, state
Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, said he was startled when reading<BR>through
Idaho statutes to see outmoded terminology like “mentally<BR>retarded,”
“mentally deficient” and even “lunatic” and “idiot.”<BR><BR>Hosting
athletes from around the world with mental disabilities, Bock<BR>said,
“I think … made all of us a little more sensitive with respect
to<BR>some of the language we use.”<BR><BR>So the Boise attorney began
working with state officials to search through<BR>state laws and found
lots of that kind of wording. A half-dozen meetings<BR>followed with
state Health and Welfare officials, the Idaho Council
on<BR>Developmental Disabilities, the courts, the state Department of
Insurance<BR>and more.<BR><BR>In the end, Bock came up with an 84-page
bill to update the wording in<BR>several sections of Idaho state law,
from the probate code (which referred<BR>to “a decedent, an infant,
lunatic or insolvent”) to the death penalty<BR>(which included a section
headed, “Imposition of death penalty upon<BR>mentally retarded person
prohibited”).<BR><BR>As the bill took shape, a section about “Contracts
of Idiots” became<BR>“Contracts of Persons Without Understanding.” A
clause about vocational<BR>education programs that said “handicapped
students” was switched to<BR>“students with disabilities.”<BR><BR>When
Bock presented the bill Monday to the Idaho Senate Judiciary
and<BR>Rules Committee, state Sen. Shirley <SPAN>McKague</SPAN>,
R-Meridian, asked if it would<BR>penalize people who use the outdated
terms. Bock said no. “That’s not in<BR>the bill,” he said.. “It’s not
about requiring people to speak in a certain<BR>way. It’s about the
language in the statute.”<BR><BR>Bock said the Special Olympics, which
drew international attention to<BR>Idaho and brought hundreds of
Idahoans out as volunteers to help with the<BR>games, opened his eyes
about language referring to people with<BR>disabilities.<BR><BR>“We
<SPAN>shouldn</SPAN>’t be labeling them in a way that’s disrespectful,”
he said.<BR><BR>State Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, noted that the
long bill also,<BR>in one instance, changes the term “Afro-American” to
“African-American.”<BR>Bock said that was simply a matter of updating a
term that’s no longer in<BR>use.<BR><BR>The bill also, in several
instances, changes the word “handicapped” to<BR>“impaired,” and removes
the term “the mentally retarded” in favor of<BR>“people with
intellectual disabilities.” In all cases, Bock said, “the<BR>goal was
absolutely no change in the substance of the law.”<BR><BR>The Senate
committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill. To become<BR>law, it
still needs to survive full committee hearings and votes in
both<BR>houses, plus receive the governor’s
signature.<BR><BR>----------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The
Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
change<BR>and the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR><BR>-
Unknown<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR><SPAN>
<A
href="http://www.fsr.net/" target=_blank>http://www.fsr.net/</A>
</SPAN><BR>
mailto:<A
href="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Vision2020@moscow.com"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
<META content=on http-equiv=x-dns-prefetch-control></DIV></DIV><!-- cg31.c3.mail.sp2.yahoo.com compressed/chunked Wed Feb 10 10:48:14 PST 2010 --></DIV><BR>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<BR>
http://www.fsr.net
<BR>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================</BODY></HTML>