Author: MontereyBayForum

BUMP update 9-29-09 re Florence Drive

To: Homes on 200 block of Florence Dr.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 29, 2009

From: Cameron Jackson, 202 Florence Drive, 831 688-6002,
DrCameronJackson@gmail.com web site: Monterey Bay Forum www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

At the end of this there is a REPLY box and you are encouraged to post what you think.

Recently my email was compromised (identity theft) so I don’t know what you got from me. Or me from you. I have a new gmail account which is listed above.

BUMPS:
I was the person who agreed at the meeting we had to get the money to put in two bumps paid for by those who supported bumps. I have received enough money from 5 homes on Florence Drive to pay for one bump. The homes that have paid so far are largely at the Cliff / Florence end of the block. We will go ahead with one bump. I cannot promise two as I have not received the money.

As was discussed at the meeting at Peter’s driveway, the kind of bump put in ( by Earth Works) will be the same as on Martin Drive. Martin Drive is a County maintained road and thus the bump will meet County and Fire Dept standards. The bump will be wide and cover the entire road. Easy on shocks. And it will be marked bump and have stripes. Just like the one on Martin. The bump will be placed where recommended by Earth Works — between the May’s and Barron’s homes and not interfering with any drive ways. That is what will happen.

I have not heard from families at the other end of Florence Dr. Eleven homes said there that they were pro bump. A week ago, I put a flyer in all the 11 mailboxes stating how much ($153), to make a check out to “Jackson” and to put “for 2 bumps” on the check. And for security I asked people to call & let us know they had dropped off a check.

I respect people’s silence. For clarity as to what bumps cost, , $1680 was the bid from Earth Works for 2 bumps. With $680 for each additional bump. Their number is 475-1173. Jim Cumming, the owner, came to our meeting. Earth Works put in the wide bump on Martin Dr.

If homes at the other end of Florence want to go ahead with their own bump, I say go for it!

The good thing about all this is that as neighbors we are communicating. We do not have to agree!

This was said at the meeting & coincides with my view: Since the County put in the wide bumps on Martin Dr. all the traffic that used to speed down Martin to go to the freeway now speeds up and down Cliff Drive. There are 3 other privately maintained streets close to us that in last couple years put in bumps (not the County recommended wide ones). Bumps on these streets also changes how people drive.

Interestingly, almost all of the homes that support bumps (there were 11 that said yes) are on the right hand side of the street. That fits with my view that the worst speeders jam up and down Cliff Dr. and speed down Florence. Also the worst damage on the road (the big section in front of our house on corner) is right where they have to slam on their brakes as they come around the corner.

I will send this out to the emails that I have. And I will put it in all mail boxes. And on the website.

Cameron Jackson

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Fire Dept opposed bumps & ignored by Santa Cruz County

9-29-09
To: homes along Florence Dr.

Jim Jackson spoke this afternoon with Aptos/La Selva Fire Marshall Jim Dias today, 9-29-09. Fire Marshall Dias said that the Fire Dept opposed bumps on Martin Drive. The Fire Dept advised the County of Santa Cruz that bumps on Martin Dr. posed a safety hazard. The County ignored the Fire Dept and the County put bumps on Martin. So the County caused the problem.

The Fire Dept now has to take a different route to get to the end of Cliff Dr. The County bumps have caused drivers to use Cliff Dr. and other streets including Florence. We are as he said in a “catch 22” situation. The Fire Marshall advised Florence residents to use our judgment. And we have. We have opted for safety of persons & animals on Florence Dr.

Our bump is the kind that recommended by the Fire Dept. unlike those on Kenneth and Kingsbury.

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Is Florence Drive an “association”? No. We are a group willing to fix a road.

Thank you for your quick response.

There is nothing that occurred at our meeting at Peter’s house that made us an association. The Jackson check to pay for paving street was left blank re name. Baker never held meetings and we never years ago established an association. The Minutes have to be ratified to be legal. There has not been any meeting ratifying the Minutes. Thus , nothing has occurred that makes us an “association”.

We do have a good lawyer on the block. Why not ask Jim Jackson, Esq. He can be reached at jaj48@aol.com 688-6002 How about a phone call?

Thank goodness that email (my new email account) is now working!! Take care, Your neighbor, Cameron Jackson

The above was written in response to the following:

“The account at the bank is the Florence Drive Association. We made our checks out the Florence Drive Association. It is also documented in the minutes which were filed at the bank as the Florence Drive Association.”

– Show quoted text –

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$200 price tag to sample vocalizations for autism too high

$200 price tag for an autism screen that samples the child’s vocalizations to assess for autistic spectrum disorder. Is such a tool necessary? Differences in vocalization is just part of the problem, probably not the central problem.

Children with autism spectrum symptoms have non-verbal problems — not following a point, not looking at mommy’s face, not establishing joint attention with their caregivers. Vocalization is just part of the problem.

The real issue is what can be done early on to assess and correct the problems with attachment and non-verbal communication.

See the article below:

“LENA Foundation has increased the accuracy of the LENA Autism Screen (LAS) to 91 percent for children 24 to 48 months. LAS – the first automatic and totally objective autism screen is now as accurate or more accurate than other autism screens currently available to parents and clinicians.

“We’re thrilled with this leap in accuracy, especially on the eve of the launch of LAS for parents of young children who want to screen their child for autism spectrum disorders (ASD),” said Terrance (Terry) D. Paul, president of the foundation. “LAS is truly revolutionary because the analysis is based on the child’s vocalizations in the natural home environment. It will allow parents to quickly and inexpensively screen children as young as 24 months, enabling earlier interventions while reducing the anxiety of ‘not knowing.'”

The LAS, scheduled for release in mid-September, will also include an automatic screen for language delays; the LAS is priced at $200. LAS is expected to be warmly embraced by parents and clinicians in the United States, where 1 in 150 children has ASD and more than 5 percent of children have language delay. Despite the “autism epidemic” and the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians screen children twice for autism by the age of two, the average age of diagnosis is 5.7 years. This diagnostic lapse adds up considerably in financial and societal costs. The estimated cost of treating a person with ASD over a lifetime ranges from $3.5 to $5 million; however, with early detection, such as that enabled by the LAS, it is estimated that costs can be reined in by up to two thirds, reducing that range to $1.2 to $1.7 million. Of course, the improvement in the quality of life enabled through earlier intervention for both autism and language delay is unquantifiable.

The new technique, which generated a significant boost in accuracy compared to the previously announced phone model, incorporates a data-driven cluster approach that utilizes k-means clustering to partition the acoustic feature space of child vocalizations. It has been known for many years that children with ASD have aberrations of voice and prosody. These differences between the vocalizations of typically developing children and children with ASD, though extremely difficult to identify with the human ear, can be identified statistically using advanced computer technology. The new technique was developed based on naturalistic full-day recordings from children diagnosed with ASD and children without ASD.

“Child vocalization decomposition could be done using either a phone model or clusters derived directly from child vocalizations,” explained Dongxin Xu, Ph.D., manager of software and language engineering at the foundation. “The performances of the two methods are similar when applied individually. When combined together, the performance is significantly improved. This suggests that the two approaches capture different discriminant information for autism detection.”

The LENA System comprises advanced processing software and specially designed children’s clothing fitted with a lightweight LENA Digital Language Processor (DLP), a small, unobtrusive digital recorder. Designed for use in the natural home environment, the DLP can save up to 16 hours of high-quality audio, capturing all of a child’s vocalizations as well as adult speech and other sounds.

About LENA Foundation

Established in 2009, the LENA Foundation develops advanced technology for the early screening, diagnosis, research, and treatment of language delays and disorders in children and adults. Philanthropists Terry and Judi Paul formed the not-for-profit organization through a multimillion-dollar gift and the donation of assets from Infoture Inc. Over a five-year period, Infoture created the LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) System, the world’s first automatic language collection and analysis tool and the foundation’s principal product. The foundation employs a team of scientists and engineers skilled in computerized speech and speaker recognition, microelectronics, statistical research, and children’s language acquisition and development; they are passionately devoted to helping the foundation enhance language development worldwide.

Source: LENA Foundation

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How create competition in health care? free enterprise not government run health care

Paul Krugman in Baucus and the threshold (Santa Cruz Sentinel 9-20-09) writes that the Baucus plan doesn’t create “real competition in the insurance market. The right way to create competition is to offer a public option, a government run insurance plan individuals can buy into as an alternative to private insurance…”

That boggles the mind. Paul, we already have a public option — it is called Medicare. Everyone age 65 is forced to use the public option plan. Whether they like it or not. Medicare is a single payer, government run plan. And it runs hugely in the red. Reform Medicare instead of creating another government run bureaucracy.

How reform health care? Here’s how:

One, let the over 65 population opt out of Medicare in favor of privately run insurance plans of their choice. Create an Exchange that allows private insurance plans to compete with Medicare Over 65 people who are healthy and only want catastrophic care can get what they want. People over 65 may not want to and should not have to to pay for cosmetic surgery, abortions or AIDS care. Let the over 65 choose the level and kind of care they want. This is a way to create real competition with the existing single payer system – Medicare.What was that cry in the wilderness — Let my people go! Today let the people go out of Medicare if they choose.

Two, get serious about tort reform. Cap the amount of money people can get for non-economic losses at $400,000. Get rid of joint and several liability. That is serious tort reform. One state has already made these reforms. Make tort reform applicable in all states.

Use the carrot instead of a stick. Give incentives for people to either buy health care or set aside money in an account to pay for their cost. Don’t use penalties for not buying insurance

.

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Parents need to say to infants what they mean and mean what they say.

Topic: Why infants don’t sleep as they used to when left with babysitters & what to do about it. written by Dr. Cameron Jackson, licensed psychologist PSY14762 cameronjacks@gmail.com

I take care of a grandchild 2 mornings a week. He is 3 months old. This last week he did not sleep much as he used to do. His mother said that happened also this past week when left with the babysitter that comes the other 3 mornings.

I think the 3 month old knows mommy is gone and he is staying awake until she gets back. The child is vigilant concerning the loss of the most important object in his young life — mommy’s presence and mommy’s milk.

What might reduce this infant’s vigilance and mild anxiety? Knowing that she will return soon and that she will do what she says. Can this be taught to an infant? Certainly worth trying.

This infant and all infants need to hear a simple explanation ahead of time: Tomorrow, Mommy goes to work. Mommy comes back in 5 hours. While Mommy is gone, Grand-ma takes care of you. This is a picture of grand-ma. When gone you have a picture of me. I will do what I say. I come back soon.”

Parents need to say what they mean to infants and clearly and simply say what goes on. And then do it. The KISS principal.

Puppets are a wonderful way to teach the stories that infants need to hear. Use a simple, repetitive song to sing the story. It is not too young — in fact it is never too young — to tell infants ahead of time important things that affect their lives. Say clearly and simply, “tomorrow ma-ma goes and grand-ma comes….I come back soon….and fun things will happen while grand-ma cares for you…

Parents need to mean what they say and say what they mean in simple, clear terms talking to their infants. Tell them the important things that are happening in their young lives. And sing it as a simple song.

For example, Old MacDonald Had a Farm can be changed to “Mommy & Daddy have a House… eeeiiii eeeiiii eeeeiiii ooooo. And in that House there lives a boy…. eeeiiii….eeeiiii….eeeeiiiii…oooo. And Grand-ma comes to care for (name of child)….eeeiii…eeeiiii…eeeiiii ooooo. And Grand-ma brings fun things to do…. eeeiiii….eeeiii…eeiiii oooo.

Long before a child can look at a book he or she can hear stories sung in simple rhymes telling them the important events in their lives.

Here is an example: The child’s father wants a BOB stroller so he and mom can jog with their child. Ahead of time, They could improvise Yankee Doodle: The real tune goes like this: “Yankee Doodle went to town Riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle fa, so, la, Yankee Doodle dandy, Yankee Doodle fa, so, la, Buttermilk and brandy.”

Instead, sing the tune to different words:
“Yankee (baby L) goes to town, A riding in his Bob-Bob. Dad sticks a flower in (name of baby) hat and calls it macaroni…..” And then Dad in fact puts a flower, or feather or whatever in Baby’s hat and off they go on their jog to town.

Done repetitively the child will connect the song with the coming ride in the stroller ahead of time. Knowing what is coming down the line can reduce anxiety about the future. This is a wonderful, easy way to teach language to infants. Use simple, repetitive rhymes sung to simple tunes. Sing the words slowly and clearly sometimes and sometimes quickly. Children need to hear the words clearly and distinctly and see the words illustrated by actions.

For just a few dollars you can get a used nursery rhyme book full of the old classics. Get the old rhymes and improvise. Teach your children your stories about the important events in your lifes. At Logos in Santa Cruz, for $4.00 I got Stories and Rhymes for Every Bedtime. It is full of all the classics.

Here is one I’m going to do next week using puppets to illustrate:

Ding Dong Bell
” Ding Dong bell, Pussy’s in the well. Who put her in? Little Tommy Green. Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Trout. What a naughty boy was that, to try and drown poor pussy cat. Who never did him any harm, and killed the mice in his Father’s barn.”

I have some small bells that I will ring. Ding, dong Bell (ring the bells). Ba-ba (bottle’s) in the Well (glass container to warm the milk) Who put it in? Ma-ma put it in. Who takes it out? Grand-ma takes it out (when nice and warm). Who gets it NOW? (name of child) gets in NOW!

This is one way that young infants hear stories ahead of events using language and song to talk about important events about to happen. Getting a warm bottle is a very important event in the life of a 3 month old. The old stories and rhymes are still useful today.

Let me know your favorite rhymes and stories that might be improvised in new ways with young infants.

written by Cameron S. Jackson, Ph.D., J.D. licensed psychologist DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

831 688-6002

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Florence Drive, Aptos will be slurry sealed Oct. 19

from Peter Wardon on Sept. 14, 2009:

“In response to my last letter dated September 3, several people initiated communication with each Florence Drive Association homeowner. Ninety-three percent of the households surveyed support moving forward with the patch and slurry seal procedure.

“Asphalt patching will occur on Monday, September 28 by Earth Works. The street will remain open but be sure not to park near the white painted areas. The street will be slurry sealed on Monday, October 19, and will be closed for 24 hours. Prior to the October 19 slurry seal, I will be more specific with exact times. Call Earth Works (475-1223) if you want work done at your house.

“For more efficient communication we are in the process of setting up a website. email the Smith’s for further information. ibsmith317@bcglobal.net from Peter Wardon 9-14-09

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How reduce autism? Teach ALL first time parents how to socialize infants. Cheap and easily done.

Undoubtedly Nancy Marks means well by establishing a new 30 million foundation at Mass General Hospital to reduce autism. However, sometimes it is not money that is needed. Nor another Chair established at Harvard.

What is needed? Put on the Internet simple ways for ALL first time parents how to socialize infants and young children. And put those tools in the hands of pediatricians who can follow up with contacts with appropriate professionals. Think of it like strengthening muscles. See the following article and my comments:

“A recent donation from a foundation will help establish an autism center at Mass General Hospital.

The $29 million donation is been given by Nancy Lurie Marks and her foundation, and will help establish the Lurie Family Autism Center at the hospital. The center will base itself on the hospital’s LADDERS program, which helps deal with autism in young people.

Lurie Marks said that it has been a “lifelong dream” to help establish a center that can treat people with autism with compassion and dignity.

“I believe it is so important to address their many lifelong needs, from the medical care of the child or adult, to learning to find an effective way to communicate, to planning lifetime living and learning opportunities, to advocating for families,” Marks said.

Founded by Dr Margaret Bauman in 1981, the LADDERS program covers a variety of disciplines, including neurology, developmental pediatrics and gastroenterology. Many of the children helped by the program are grown up now, which is where the Lurie Family Autism Center will come into play.

The center will provide for a number of areas, including occupational and physical therapy. Furthermore, it will help create a two-year fellowship program for physicians and researchers who deal with autism. The fellowship will give young physicians the chance to work more closely with patients who have autism.

The hunt is on for a director for the new center, who will hold an endowed chair at the Harvard Medical School. The director will be responsible with guiding the center toward providing new treatments for people with autism.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average ratio of children with autistic disorders is one of every 150. That ration can be as much as one in every 100, to one in every 300 children.

Licensed psychologist Dr. Cameron Jackson says:

Why not spend very little money and ask licensed professionals for their views re “new treatments for autism”?

I have spent 8 years assessing children of all ages for autism. I am a psychologist not a medical doctor.

My view: teach ALL first time parents how to socialize infants, how to get early and regular eye contact, how to create “joint attention” (focus on breast or bottle or toy) how to teach eye gaze that follows a point, how to teach imitating.Etc.

Teach the skills that when not present get labeled under “autistic spectrum disorders” This is better done by psychologists — not by medical MD type people.

If we teach for ALL children we will also pick up those who are late in developing skills that eventually get labeled “autistic”.

This does not take 30 million and a chair at Harvard. It does take collaboration by professionals trained in speech, occupational therapy, sensory issues, psychology and medicine.

Too bad to spend so much on so little.

Dr. Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com
Licensed Psychologist PSY14762
Monterey Bay Forum www.freedomOK.net/wordpress


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How much time is sufficeint notice when parents move child to private school?

Four hours a week of school during the summer for a 4 year old autistic child is NOT sufficient. Understandably the parents sought another solution. But the parents did not NOTIFY the school when they sought private school solution. See below story. Lesson to be learned: put it in writing. give sufficient notice before seeking other solutions. How much time sufficient notice? Enough to get the accounting department to operate — so 30 days should be sufficient notice.

Parents of autistic boy got only $2,957 compared to 20 K they sought

BY SADIA LATIFI,
“A state review officer awarded partial reimbursement to an Orange County family who enrolled their 4-year-old special-needs son in a private preschool.

“Both parents and the Orange County Schools system made procedural errors in providing services for Owen McWhirter, who has autism, according to review officer Joe Walters.

“The school system’s errors deprived Owen of educational services for months, the decision said. Because of this, they failed to provide him with the “free, appropriate public education” required by law.

The school system did provide an adequate Individualized Education Program for Owen at the time, however, according to the decision.

Families work with the school district to create an IEP. While Owen’s IEP team agreed on goals last summer, the family thought the services prescribed — about four hours a week of special instruction — were inadequate.

“When the family and school reached an impasse, Owen’s parents enrolled him in a private preschool that let him have specialists on hand. Even after they enrolled him, they continued to request services from Orange County and filed for due process last fall.

Owen’s parents, Nicole and Arran McWhirter, took the matter to an administrative court in Raleigh where a state judge agreed.

The original decision, which the school system appealed, said the school system should reimburse the McWhirters for their educational expenses.

The new decision awards the McWhirters $2,956.60, which is about $20,000 less than the reimbursement they sought. Review officer Walters said this was partly because the McWhirters failed to give the school system adequate prior notice when they enrolled Owen in a private preschool.

The school district and the McWhirters now have 30 days to file an appeal in state or federal court.

Note the legal time both sides have to file an appeal: 30 days. Had the parents given the school district 30 days more than likely award would have been larger.

Cameron Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com 831 688-6002
sadia.latifi@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2002

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