Woman with Asperger’s shot dead by police in Arizona

Woman with Asperger’s who touched millions with viral video shot dead by police in Arizona

BY CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Mesa police investigate officer-involved shooting

A woman with Asperger’s who posted a touching viral video with her service dog last summer has been shot dead by police.

Danielle Jacobs was killed by Mesa, Arizona, officers on Thursday after they arrived at her apartment for a suicide call around 11 a.m., her mother Stacia confirmed to the Daily News.

Police told local media that the 24-year-old came at them with a knife and they fired in self-defense.

Jacobs had garnered international attention last year for posting a courageous video where she sobs as her loving dog Samson provided comfort during a meltdown and used his paws to stop her hitting herself.

“This is what having Asperger's like,” she wrote alongside the clip, and told theHuffington Post, “When I have a meltdown, I often have self-injurious behavior and I often self-harm.”

The video has been made private, though up until three days before her death she posted videos of the canine comforting her during outbreaks of anxiety.

SEE IT: SERVICE DOG CALMS WOMAN WITH ASPERGER'S  

DANIELLE JACOBS/VIA YOUTUBE

“I talked to her last night and the night before and she seemed fine,” her mother, who now is taking care of the Rottweiler, told the News.

Danielle Jacobs, an Arizona woman with Asperger's who was in a touching viral video last year, was shot dead by police in Mesa.

Millions viewed a video that Jacobs 

courageously posted last year, showing her 

dog Samson comforting her during a 

meltdown. She added  that people who knew her were questioning whether police shooting the young woman in the stomach was necessary. “Before the police arrived she wasn’t posing a threat to the community at all,” Stacia said.

“And the police came into her own place. They shot and killed a 24-year-old autistic, mentally ill individual whom they had been familiar with and aware of her special needs.” Detective Esteban Flores told AZ Family that police had responded to a suicide call at the same residence two years ago. Jacobs lived in a “mother-in-law” apartment next to an older couple’s house.The Mesa Police Department said that two people in their 70s were at the home on Thursday.

Flores told the Daily News in a statement Thursday night that "This morning officers from the Mesa Police Department were involved in an officer involved shooting with a 24-year-old woman who was threatening suicide with a knife" and did not elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.  Police who responded to a suicide call on Thursday said that the 24-year-old came at police with a knife.

Jacobs’ openness about the struggles she faced as a person with Asperger’s, and her close relationship to Samson, warmed the hearts of more than 2 million people who viewed her video last summer.

Her mother said that Jacobs was caring young woman who would have given someone she’d just met the shirt off her back.

She added that after the holidays her daughter had — despite a limited income from her job at Target — bought two Christmas trees and ornaments on sale to give to low income families for this upcoming December.

Officers involved in the shooting, none of whom were hurt, have been placed on administrative leave, according to ABC 15.  They were not wearing body cameras.

Drowning Leading Cause of Death for Children With Autism

As a mom who lives in California, where there is seemingly a pool in every backyard, a key reason we purchased our home was it did not have a pool. I don't have a statistic on wandering compared to non-wandering related drowning’s, either way it’s clear we have to tackle both. My son is a wanderer, actually he's a seeker. He intentionally finds ways to escape our house in search of things he wants, and he has ZERO safety awareness. By zero I mean Nick has the safety awareness of a two year old. The difference is when we see a 2 year old alone we all stop and help. When people see my son alone they just stare.

The good news is I know this about him and I've put systems in place to protect him. My neighbors who have looked up to find Nick in their house UNINVITED, know it too. Their awareness creates a safety net.

If you have a pool I recommend a highly secured pool area, and I've asked my neighbors with pools to lock their gates.  

Articles like this are not new news to parents who have children with autism, it's just confirmation people are listening and getting the word out. 

Drowning Leading Cause of Death for Children With Autism

Researchers at the University of Sciences found that drowning is a major cause of death among children with autism.

Families with autistic children are most concerned about water safety. The study led by Varleisha Gibbs, occupational therapy professor at the University, found that autistic children get overstimulated in crowded areas and escape into unsafe environment.

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and forms of repetitive or restricted behavior. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 1 in 68 children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is five times more common in boys and costs at least $17,000 more every year to care for a child with ASD.

"Among the plethora of concerns for families dealing with autism, includes addressing water safety practices as early as possible in a child's life," said Dr. Gibbs. "Although water safety is a concern for all parents, children with autism are especially at a higher risk for drowning because they may seek isolation by fleeing to unfamiliar territories."

According to the National Autism Association, accidental drowning led to 90 percent of the total U.S. deaths reported in children with autism of age 14 and younger in 2009-2011.  Also, 50 percent of the children with autism try to escape into safe environment which is nearly four times more than children without autism.

Some of the safety tips researchers suggest are: enrolling children in swimming and water safety lessons as early as possible, using video narratives to discuss water safety and if they respond well to visual cues then signs like STOP or DO NOT ENTER on the doors that open to outside must be used.

Following this will help parents to relax and enjoy the summer with their children who are diagnosed with autism.

"Swimming and aquatic therapy is actually a wonderful sport for children with autism because it can address many of their body's sensory and motor needs," said Dr. Gibbs. "By preparing and communicating with your child with autism, family, and friends, summer trips and activities can be much less stressful and more enjoyable."

8 Inspiring People Will Change The Way You Think About Autism

I love it when we have an opportunity to focus on autism from the perspective of what is possible vs what’s not.  So many truly extraordinary people, Mozart, Gates, Einstein, Burton, Worhol with extraordinary talents and gifts expand our perspectives and our hearts!

These 8 Inspiring People Will Change The Way You Think About Autism And Asperger's 

The Huffington Post | By Laura Schocker Posted:12/12/2013 8:54 am EST  | 

connect to read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/autism-celebrities aspergers_n_4427196.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Susan Boyle In 2009, a shy, 47-year-old Scottish woman touched the world with her breathtaking rendition of Les Misérables' "I Dreamed A Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. After the performance, Susan Boyle catapulted into a singing sensation, selling more than 14 million records worldwide.

James Durbin
The American Idol alum (from season 10), who recently released his new single, "Parachute," was first diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and Tourette syndrome at age 10. "Right around the time when I was diagnosed, I got a hand-me-down guitar with a chord book and a cheap busted tuner," 

Daryl Hannah
Earlier this year, the actress opened up to People magazine about being diagnosed with autism as a child, and how it contributed to a fear of fame as an adult, HuffPost previously reported. 

Dan Aykroyd
The actor and writer told the Daily Mail earlier this week that, like Durbin, he has been diagnosed with both Tourette syndrome and Asperger syndrome. And he says the latter actually helped to inspire the movie Ghostbusters. 

Heather Kuzmich
When America's Next Top Model cycle nine began in 2007, the audience met 21-year-old Heather Kuzmich, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

Dan Harmon
The Community creator started learning more about Asperger syndrome while developing the character of Abed for the NBC show. "So, in a very naive way -- and I’ve never told anybody this before -- I started researching the disorder," 

Alexis Wineman
Earlier this year, Miss Montana became the first Miss America contestant with autism to compete in the pageant. At age 11, Wineman was diagnosed with pervasive development disorder, CNN reported.

Temple Grandin
A professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, the university calls her "the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world." According to her website, Grandin didn't speak until she was three and a half years old, "communicating her frustration instead by screaming, peeping and humming."

Asperger's disorder' being dropped from psychiatrists' diagnostic guide

DSM drops Asperger's. Here's the news, what do you think???? 

The American Psychiatric Association announced a revision to their diagnostic manual after almost two decades of consideration. TODAY contributor Dr. Gail Saltz discusses the changes, which include new guidelines for treating binge eaters and hoarders and the removal of Asperger's as a diagnosis.

By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association's new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide "defines what constellations of symptoms" doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it "shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care."

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association's board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger's disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger's families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services. But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say. The new manual adds the term "autism spectrum disorder," which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger's disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger's.

"To give it separate names never made sense to me," Gibson said. "To me, my children all had autism."  Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won't affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors' guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won't be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook "represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders," Dr. David Fassler, the group's treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization's fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won't be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.  Olfson said the manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders."

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don't provide services for children and adults with Asperger's, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don't lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids' who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

What is Aspergers Syndrome?

When Nicky was diagnosed I had to tell everyone what Autism was. Then as I got more involved and knew the difference between autism and other autism spectrum disorders I found myself explaining the differences.  So many more people know about ASD today, I don’t get asked the question so routinely.  But lately I’ve been asked “What is Aspergers”? alot. I’m thinking all those folks who may of wondered but never knew, are hearing so much about it in the news they now feel curious or comfortable enough to ask.  So for those of you who are still wondering here’s a definition:

 

What Is Asperger's Syndrome?

09 Mar 2012   

Asperger's syndrome is a form of autism - it is a developmental disorder that impacts on the individual's ability to communicate and socialize, among other things. It begins in childhood and persists through adulthood and affects the way the person reaches "common sense" perceptions, as well as the way they process information related to other individuals. People with Asperger's syndrome find human interaction challenging, and may interpret creative thought and use their imagination in different way from others.

Autism and Asperger's syndrome are both part of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). It is a range of related developmental disorders that affect people in many diverse ways and various degrees. However, people with Asperger's syndrome tend to have average or above-average vocabularies and reach speech milestones at the same time as children in the general population.

Unlike other children (and adults) with an ASD, those with AS (Asperger's syndrome) have average IQs and are pretty much just as likely to have learning disabilities as those without AS. However, their learning requirements may be different from other childrens'.

Asperger's syndrome was named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, who first described the disorder in 1944. However, the syndrome was not recognized as a unique disorder until later on.

According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, Asperger's syndrome is:

1. "a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe and enduring impairment in social skills and restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests, leading to impaired social and occupational functioning but without significant delays in language development; however, constructs of Asperger disorder other than those in DSM include the criteria of less social impairment than in autism and in impaired communications."

2. "a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specified criteria are met."

A child with AS may show signs of the disorder during the first year of life. Parents or caregivers may sense that there is something unusual about their infant - their motor skills may appear uncoordinated, the way they crawl or walk might be awkward or clumsy, or just slightly different. As the baby grows into a toddler, there may be a certain amount of clumsiness.

Experts say that Asperger's syndrome is much more common in males than females.

Asperger's syndrome is not a disease, it is a syndrome. A syndrome is a collection of symptoms that occur together with a condition. People with AS have the same life expectancy as in the general population, and are no more or less susceptible to diseases or infections as others. The likelihood of developing depression later on in life is higher for those with AS, but this is probably a consequence of years of living with the stresses and anxieties that come with coping with life in a "non-AS" world. 

What are the signs and symptoms of Asperger's syndrome

What is the difference between a sign and a symptom? A symptom only the patient feels and describes, such as a headache or blurry vision, while a sign can be detected by other people, such as inflammation, dilated pupils, or a rash.

 

Read more….. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/printerfriendlynews.php?newsid=7601