Peggy: Paige will be there in time for that grand 70th birthday party you’re having.
Peggy’s Mom (via Skype): Oh, that’s great.
Paige: You’re going to be 70? You’ll be the same as Gus in dog years.

Before I pull out my Merry TubaChristmas scarf …

What is the difference between a government bond and a trumpet player? A government bond eventually matures and starts earning money.

This weekend the kids and I went to see the penultimate movie in the Harry Potter saga.

We are all big fans of the books. When Michael was young, he wanted to dress up like Harry Potter for Halloween — and some other days, too — long before the first movie ever came out. I went straight to our local costume shop, Rose’s Costume, where owner Judy Smith and her astute crew had already assembled Harry Potter costume kits from old graduation robes, round-framed glasses and brooms to go.

So, Michael, of course, had already seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 twice, including a midnight opener, by the time all four of us were able to take it in over the holiday.

Sam had warned me that he thought he might not be able to sit through the most challenging scenes. This was a first. I didn’t understand it, until the movie was underway. Even I had to close my eyes during some of those torture and fight scenes. I felt badly that we didn’t sit somewhere to make it easier for him to escape, or to have Michael help prepare him.

Sam didn’t feel like he could stay put and just look down. I understand that — the movie theater experience is about going all in with the story. Still, he said he was ok, and he stuck with it the entire film, just in and out for two hours. He said he ought to be able to tolerate it once we have it at home on DVD.

What is it about the big screen that just pushes the story’s emotional core right to your own?

Oh, and by the way, if you saw it at Northpark, along with those balony anti-vaccination ads that I’ve heard were running then, please do all of us in the autism world a favor and complain. What is with these anti-vaccination people?

Before anyone thinks you automatically get rich writing books, let’s just say my latest royalty check for “See Sam Run” would not quite cover the cost to fill the tank next time I’m at the gas station.

But I was thrilled to see it on the plus side, rather than the other way around (deficit for returns). The book is still selling, which says something.

Plus, I sleep well at night knowing this kind of royalty isn’t my take in a zero-sum game.

Members of the DFW Parent-to-Parent team are sharing their wisdom and information about support available through Texas Parent-to-Parent at these upcoming events

Oct. 7-9
Texas State Autism Conference
Corpus Christi
Both Julie Rahn and I speak about parenting issues
autism.esc2.net

Oct. 21
Third Annual Parent Conference
Education Service Center Region 7
1909 N. Longview Street, Kilgore
Julie Rahn speaks about parenting issues
www.esc7.net

Oct. 30
Resources For Parents Conference
Tarleton State University
Fort Worth Campus – Hickman Building
6777 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Julie Rahn and I are speaking about parenting issues … and we’ll have an info table
njoyfoundation.org

Nov. 6
Walk Now for Autism Speaks
Ballpark at Arlington
We’ll have an info table, but we’re also setting up a homemade play-doh play station for the kids …
We’re making play-doh the way Sam likes it: purple smells like grapes, red like strawberries, etc.
www.walknowforautismspeaks.org

Even more on Guidepost Three …

Sometimes it’s hard to judge the quality of social interactions. We aren’t very good listeners, even when we don’t bring a lot of emotional baggage into our conversations.

We make so many decisions on our child’s behalf that it’s critical they are the most effective and ethical that they can be. Shahla offers a couple of indicators — interim steps, if you will — to mark the way and ensure our social interactions are contributing positively to our decision-making:

— Our child’s progress is evident
— Any problems are addressed directly to the source
— There is general confidence and esprit de corp
— High levels of interactions and proximity
— Everyone – the child, the family, the staff – are generally happy
— Relationships are maintained

J.K. Rowling has a great mind, not just a great imagination. There is no antidote to a Confundus charm, only the strength of character that allows one to resist.

Or, as Epictetus said, “Only the educated are free.”

The little rooster crowing at the evening sunset.

He’s five months old.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Nov 9;96(23):13427-31

Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice.

van Praag H, Christie BR, Sejnowski TJ, Gage FH. Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

Abstract

Running increases neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, a brain structure that is important for memory function. Consequently, spatial learning and long-term potentiation (LTP) were tested in groups of mice housed either with a running wheel (runners) or under standard conditions (controls). Mice were injected with bromodeoxyuridine to label dividing cells and trained in the Morris water maze. LTP was studied in the dentate gyrus and area CA1 in hippocampal slices from these mice. Running improved water maze performance, increased bromodeoxyuridine-positive cell numbers, and selectively enhanced dentate gyrus LTP. Our results indicate that physical activity can regulate hippocampal neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and learning.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=link&linkname=pubmed_pubmed_reviews&uid=10557337

Supporting articles:

Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice. van Praag H, Christie BR, Sejnowski TJ, Gage FH. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Nov 9;96(23):13427-31.PMID:

Synaptic plasticity and learning and memory: LTP and beyond. Hölscher C. J Neurosci Res. 1999 Oct 1;58(1):62-75.

Long-term potentiation and glutamate release in the dentate gyrus: links to spatial learning. Richter-Levin G, Canevari L, Bliss TV. Behav Brain Res. 1995 Jan 23;66(1-2):37-40.

LTP, NMDA, genes and learning. Cain DP. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1997 Apr;7(2):235-42.

Memory mechanisms: the nociceptin connection. Goda Y, Mutneja M. Curr Biol. 1998 Dec 3;8(24):R889-91

Long-term potentiation and its relation to learning and memory Li YX, Mei ZT. Sheng Li Ke Xue Jin Zhan. 1993 Jul;24(3):278-80.

Mammalian learning and memory studied by gene targeting. Tonegawa S. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1995 Jun 30;758:213-7.

Cerebellar LTD: a molecular mechanism of behavioral learning? Lisberger SG. Cell. 1998 Mar 20;92(6):701-4.

New neurons in the adult brain: The role of sleep and consequences of sleep loss

Peter Meerloa,*, Ralph E. Mistlbergerb, Barry L. Jacobs, H. Craig Hellerd, Dennis McGinty

On Autism & Exercise

By Daniel Hawthorne

This past week, yet another reason became apparent to me: that of the connection between physical activity and the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus of the brain. A recent study at the Salk Institute involving four groups of mice confirmed just such a connection. The mice in group one were sedentary, being the control group. The mice in group two had regularly scheduled times for swimming; those in group three could swim at anytime. Group four had a running wheel; thus, the mice there were allowed to run freely at any time. At the end of the twelve days, it was not surprising that mental development occurred in all four groups; what was surprising, though, was the amount of difference found among the four. Group four differed by twice the number of new cells gained in group one. Keep in mind that this was only for twelve days, not a real significant amount of time in the total lifespan of a mouse, I would think, anyway. Groups two and three also fared much better than the control group. (1)
Other studies have shown that the human brain is plastic as well.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/autism_excercise.htm

If you are on Facebook, this link will take you right to the AutismOne Adult Issues Think Tank group, Dan says.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=123983444304753&ref=ts