Families use medical marijuana to treat autism

Some families are calling medical marijuana a miracle drug, after they've seen positive results when using it to treat autism in children.

New York has a strict list of qualifying conditions for a doctor to prescribe medical marijuana, and autism is not on the list.

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California teachers can pin students face down. Does the danger outweigh the benefit?

It’s a scenario that sounds more likely in jails than schools: Arms pulled behind their back, a person is forced into a “prone restraint,” pinned face down on the floor with limbs held immobile by at least two people.

But prone restraints are regularly used in California schools, often on students with special needs such as those on the autism spectrum — and at a higher rate on black students, an analysis of federal data by The Sacramento Bee found.

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If parents refuse to vaccinate their kids, should the state do it for them?

A leading ethicist says every child has a right to be vaccinated and protected against measles and other childhood infections

The Vaccine Information Network, an online community of like-minded parents who believe children are being “poisoned” by vaccines, recently posted a message describing measles as a mild and harmless disease that leaves a “stronger, healthier child in its wake.”

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Mental Wellness Month: Millions of U.S. Children on Dangerous Psychiatric Drugs

With millions of U.S.children on psychiatric drugs it is imperative that families know that many of these drugs are known to result in suicidal ideation.

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Critics Call Wisconsin’s Medicaid Fraud Crackdown 'Bullying'

Nurse Debra Zuhse-Green was stunned to learn the state of Wisconsin wanted her to repay $57,000 she had received for providing home care to children with significant medical needs.

An audit conducted in 2013 concluded Zuhse-Green should repay the state for six months of care to the children, who had complex health needs. The audit found she had not submitted claims for reimbursement to the family’s employer-based health plans — even though, Zuhse-Green said, "it had previously been established that the employer-based health plans would not cover the private duty nursing services."

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Siblings of children with autism or ADHD are at elevated risk for both disorders

Later-born siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at elevated risk for both disorders, a new study led by Meghan Miller, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and at the UC Davis MIND Institute, has concluded. The findings appear today in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study suggests that families who already have a child diagnosed with ASD or ADHD may wish to monitor younger siblings for symptoms of both conditions.

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Probe into death of student with autism finds school violated rules

A preliminary investigation into the death of a 13-year-old student with autism at a Northern California private school has found the school violated state rules when its staff put him in a face-down restraint position for nearly an hour. The California Department of Education found "sufficient evidence" that staffers at Guiding Hands School in El Dorado Hills violated multiple state rules governing how and when physical restraints can be used on students, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The boy, identified as Max Benson, became unresponsive while being held in a "prone restraint" for nearly an hour at the school on Nov. 28 and died a day later at UC Davis Medical Center.

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Number of Kentucky Kids Not Vaccinated Grows

Doctors are warning parents of the Hepatitis A outbreak across the state, and of measles. They are urging parents to have their children vaccinated, especially since more vaccines are required for children to go to school in the Commonwealth. However, there is an increasing number of children whose parents exempt them from immunizations, for medical and religious reasons. Doctors worry the number could be growing because of misinformation circulating online.

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Family to sue over autism aid wait

A High Court judge has given the family of a four-year-old boy with autism leave to pursue aggravated damages against the HSE over its failure to deliver an assessment of need for him within the required timeframe.

The ex parte application for judicial review was made last Monday, seeking aggravated damages on behalf of the boy, and claiming that without the proper resources, there is a “serious risk that his development may be permanently affected”. It also hit out at the “futile” complaints mechanism and claims the HSE uses it as a “delaying tactic”.

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Kelly unhappy with lack of psychiatric beds for children

Incoming Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she is "stunned" by a state agency's lack of response to a shortage of residential psychiatric beds for children needing care in the state.

During a meeting Tuesday of a task force studying the state's child welfare system, Kelly suggested she wants significant changes after she takes office in January, The Wichita Eagle reported .

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