Julie Bowen: My Son Almost Died From an Allergic Reaction

What are the odds a child will be exposed to two powerful allergens at the same time? It happened to “Modern Family” actress Julie Bowen’s son. He was stung by a bee — at the same time he was eating a peanut butter sandwich.

The toddler immediately went into anaphylactic shock. His entire face swelled up, including his eyes and lips, and his breathing became labored.

“We took him to the ER, where he was treated with epinephrine, and ever since then we’ve been vigilant about keeping him safe,” the Emmy-winning Bowen told the Los Angeles Times.

Bowen told the paper she’s speaking about the experience publicly because one in 13 children have food allergies and she wants to educate parents about the dangers.

Read more of the ABC News article HERE.

Teen With Down Syndrome Turns Basketball Phenom

See Shaun Heasley's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Acting with autism

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- One in every 110 children is diagnosed with some level of autism. For many parents, this usually means problems with communication and little interest in interacting with others. But now a new program is changing how we look at autism by putting kids in the spotlight.


As a carefree 10-year-old Kerrick Coble doesn't hold back. But he wasn't always like this. When Kerrick was two, the Cobles' started noticing something was different about him.

"With a lot of kids you would give them something and they would play but with Kerrick there was never an 'I'm just going to play,'" Kurt Coble, Kerrick's dad told Action News.

At three, Kerrick was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder or PDD-NOS- a mild form of autism. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University are using the theater to help improve the lives of kids diagnosed with the disorder -- from mild to severe.

"We really want to understand whether these social experiences are really stressful for some of our children," Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Director of the Sense Theater at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, told Action News.

Dr. Corbett looks at social and communication skills before, during and after the camp and looks at stress levels by measuring one of the primary stress hormones -- cortisol. In three different studies, Dr. Corbett found acting improved the way kids expressed themselves and they also showed lower stress levels.

Read more of Margot Kim's, ABC 30, article HERE.

Asperger's Syndrome: High-Functioning Autism to Lose Its Name

The American Psychiatric Association formalized the diagnosis of Asperger's in 1994, 50 years after it was first described by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger. But the association plans to remove the term "Asperger's" from its new diagnostic manual, set for release in 2013 -- a decision that has sparked criticism from advocacy groups.

"When the term 'Asperger's' started to get used, it was a tremendous relief for families of children and adults with the syndrome. They finally had a name for what was going on; they could finally understand what the struggle in their lives was about," said Dania Jekel, executive director of the Asperger's Association of New England. "My worry is that we'll go back 16 years to a time when folks with Asperger's syndrome will not be recognized."

But members of the American Psychiatric Association's Neurodevelopment Disorders Workgroup, the group spearheading the change, said removing the term "Asperger's" from its manual and instead referring to it as an autism spectrum disorder will help focus the diagnosis on an individual's special skills and needs at that moment in time.

Read Katie Moisse's ABC News Health article HERE.

What to do if your student has a learning disability and is headed to college

Heading to college can be intimidating enough. Heading to college with a learning disability can cause a lot of anxiety. Fortunately most universities have programs available for students who are struggling with a learning disability. There are steps to take if you have a learning disability.

See Megan Pringle's, ABC 2 news:

House OKs "Rosa's Law"

The terms "mentally retarded" and "mental retardation" are to be replaced with “individual with an intellectual disability" and "intellectual disability."

Read Patricia E. Bauer's article HERE
View text of the law HERE
View ABC News presentation about Rosa Marcellino HERE

Autistic Student's inspirational Graduation Speech