AAIDD F.Y.I.

November 2009, Vol.9, No.11

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Dear AAIDD Friends and Colleagues:

The New Definition and Classification Manual of Intellectual Disability by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is now available.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issues latest statistics on newborns with low and very low birth weights.

AAIDD's Environmental Health Initiative (EHI) to present teleconferences dealing with autism and the environment. Also, EHI has produced a new pamphlet on environmental health risks and pregnancy.

Report on the state of health care for persons with disabilities spotlights the effectiveness of the Rosebud Reservation Developmental Clinic in South Dakota.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards more than 50 autism research grants, totaling more than $65 million

Study on cardiovascular risk factors in older people with intellectual disability finds all had unhealthy diet; most lacked exercise and were overweight.

THE NEW DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION MANUAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IS NOW AVAILABLE.

Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports, the new 11th edition of the definition and classification system by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is now available. This is the first official AAIDD definition manual with the terminology "Intellectual Disability" (formerly mental retardation). Learn more about this progressive system of diagnosing and classifying the condition of intellectual disability. To purchase the Manual, please visit the bookstore.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issues latest statistics on newborns with low and very low birth weights.

Child Health USA 2008-2009, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, includes updated statistics on newborns with low birth weight an d very low birth weight, populations that are more likely than normal-birth-weight children to experience developmental disabilities. The figures also include a breakdown by maternal race/ethnicity. Read the full report.

AAIDD's Environmental Health Initiative (EHI) to present teleconferences dealing with autism and the environment. Also, EHI has produced a new pamphlet on environmental health Risks and pregnancy.

Cindy Schneider, M.D., of the Center for Autism will speak at an AAIDD Environmental Health Initiative teleconference on "Environmental Toxins and Potentiation," Tuesday, November 10 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. Next month, the teleconference will be on "Autism and Environment: What do we know? What don't we know?" The speaker will be Irva Hertz-Picciotto, professor and chief at the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis. That conference is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. There is no charge. Find out how to tune in. Also, listen to audio archives of past teleconferences dating back to 2007. Read more abo ut AAIDD's Environmental Health Initiative.

Also, EHI has produced Environmental Health Risks and Your Pregnancy, a new pamphlet that can be given to women during OB/GYN visits. Download the pamphlet.

Report on the state of health care for persons with disabilities spotlights the effectiveness of the Rosebud Reservation Developmental Clinic in South Dakota.

A new report from the National Council on Disabilities, The Current State of Healthcare for People with Disabilities, cites a clinic serving the South Dakota Rosebud Reservation as an example of an effective program for children with developmental disabilities. The report's general findings concerning persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities point to disparities in health status, poor dental care, lack of needed health services, inadequate health care transition from childhood to adult care, and lack of adequate health care provider awareness and communication. Read the full report.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards more than 50 autism research grants, totaling more than $65 million.

The 50 grants are the result of the largest-ever funding opportunity for research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which was announced in March 2009 and supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The studies receiving awards "hold the best promise of revealing what causes autism, how it might be prevented, what treatments are effective, and how service needs change across the lifespan," said Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health and chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. Selected studies range from discovering the specific genes underlying autism to developing a new tool to reduce screening costs to examining possible links between traffic-related pollution and ASD risk. Read the news release with more examples of selected projects.

Study on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Older People with Intellectual Disability Finds All Had Unhealthy Diet; Most Lacked Exercise and Were Overweight.

In a Dutch study published in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the authors evaluated the cardiovascular health of 470 individuals with intellectual disability ages 50-90 years old. Almost 100 percent of the participants had an unhealthy diet, and close to 70 percent lacked exercise and were overweight. Secondary conditions related to these factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, afflicted a significant percentage of these individuals. The authors endorse campaigns to promote health, which are focused on education, and the introduction of preventive screening programs in this population. Read the final article.

AAIDD F.Y.I. is compiled by Anu Prabhala, Editor and is published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Formerly AAMR). Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to anu@aaidd.org. To learn about AAIDD products, visit http://bookstore.aaidd.org. For more information on becoming an AAIDD member, visit http://www.aaidd.org/Membership/index.shtml.

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