Children's Home using grant to help clients fight addiction CHRONICLE STAFF KEK?T The Children's Home has been awarded a state grant of $269,128 to provide substance abuse treatment for children in residential care. The agency offers foster care and adoption services in addition to its residential program that serves kids living at its Reynolda Road campus. The Children's Home will offer the substance abuse treatment in conjunction with CenterPoint Human Services and the State of North Carolina's Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Substance Abuse. The agency says experi mentation and use of drugs and alcohol has become a problem with not only the young people it serves but youths across the nation. State data from 2005 esti mates in North Carolina 34,000 adolescents between the age* of 12-17 needed but did not reeeive treatment for illegal drug use. while 42,000 between the ages of 12-17 needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol use. The grant will allow The Children's Home to treat an additional eight of its residents. ?"This service will help our children dealing with substance abuse get the treatment they need without having to send them to a residential program outside our community, and too far away from their natural support systems," said Betty Taylor, CEO of CenterPoint. Photo by Todd Luck Pastor Jefferson Caruthers Jr. stands overlooking the new Life Center's fellowship hall. Center from pai(r A J was between pastors. He retired from the Reynolds Health Center as an assistant administrator after 38 years of service and has served a number of organizations as a board member, including the the YMCA and United Way. Dulin was impressed with the fellowship hall that now bears his name. "1 think it's very nice for the church and the community." he said. Mayor Allen Joines helped with the indoor ribbon cutting at Sunday's dedica tion He called the church a ' wonderful bea con" that has helped many city residents through its diverse ministries. Churches, particularly in tough economic times, play key roles, the mayor said. "It's because of the strong churches that we have in our community that we are able to hold together during times of adversity," said Joines After the brief ceremony. 4(H) attendees dined in the new center. Carver Road Church, which now boasts 650 members, has grown greatly over the years. It first came into existence in 1945 in a storefront building on the corner of Wheeler and f-irst streets. It's moved several times since, settling on its current 7.5 acre campus on Carver School Road in 1983. when it assumed its current name In 1992. the church started an elementary school, which also has expanded over the years to become Quality Academic Schools, which now includes a charter scht>ol for kindergarten though 12th graders as well as a GED program and private pre-K program. The school is known for its stellar academics its and its high school basketball team, which recently claimed a national champi onship. In 2004. the church built a 42-unit living facility for senior citizens. Quality Independent Living, on Lansing Drive. Kuriakos House was started in 2007. The Carver Road facility hosts reading and other enrichment activities for youth every Saturday. "Our main emphasis is on the whole fam ily." said Jefferson Caruthers Jr., who has been the pastor at the church since 2005 Weddings, retirement parties and youth events have already been staged at the Family Life Center, Caruthers said Worship services were even held there when the main sanctuary experienced air conditioning prob lems last summer. Quality Education Elder Emeritus Frank Dulin. Mayor Allen Joints presents a proclama tion to Pastor Jefferson Caruthers in recog nition of all the church's good deeds. Schools students use the facility for classes and hand rehearsal. "Whether we're talking ahout infants or seniors, we conceptualised having a place that would compliment family opportuni ties. educational opportunities, recreational opportunities." said Caruthers. who said his church is not done with its expansion and outreach efforts. Autism from [Xl fie A7 Usually, this is a profes sional in child development or a clinical team that has experi ence in evaluation of children with autism spectrum disor ders. Examples of these pro fessionals include medical specialists in pediatrics, pedi atric development, child neu rology, and child and adoles cent psychiatry. Some child psychologists, teachers, and therapists may also be quali fied. However, the pool of people who are experienced in this type of diagnosis is rela tively small. As a result, there are usually waiting lists for specialized evaluations. What is the usual age of diagnosis? Subtle social deficits and unusual behaviors may be apparent as early as 14 months of age, and speech/language delays may be apparent by 1 8 24 months of age. So. the diagnosis of autism is often between 2 and 3 years of age. Diagnosis can be delayed if children are not referred for assessment in a timely man ' ner. This happens when the characteristic findings of autism spectrum disorders arc denied or not acknowledged by parents, teachers, and child health and developmental providers. Another reason is that milder forms of autism spectrum disorders such as Asberger syndrome may not be definitively diagnosed until school-age. Is early diagnosis important? Yes. it is. Research in the autism spectrum field supports the fact that early diagnosis leading to early developmen tal treatment services can improve the overall outcome of a child with any of the autism spectrum conditions. Are there associated conditions? It is currently estimated that about half of individuals with autism spectrum disor ders function with some degree of intellectual deficit. Learning disorders are also related. Many individuals have unusual responses or reactions to stimulus of their senses (sensory integration disorders). Behavior disorders frequently co-occur and there . are disorders of eating and sleeping. Finally, individuals on the autism spectrum have a 25% chance of having a seizure during their lifetime. What causes autism spec trum disorders? The basic cause of these disorders is not known, but a lot of research is being done. There are some exciting developments in the fields of genetics and neurology. It has been long known that there is an increased risk for autism spectrum disorders in families when one child is already diagnosed. In addition, there are several genetic conditions and syndromes associated with autism, and it is becom ing better known that very premature babies may be at greater risk as they age into toddler and preschool years. There are also other influences that are more pewrly under stood: however, research is ongoing in these areas. Are vaccines to blame? There are no credible research studies that link autism spectrum to vaccina tions or any other environ mental exposure, but this does not stop some people from believing that children devel op autism spectrum conditions for these reasons. The contro versy occurs, in part, because more children are being diag nosed with autism spectrum disorders now than in the past, but also, the diagnostic criteria for these disorders are much more broadly considered now than before. Since there is still no definitive cause known for autism spectrum disorders, there are many theories and speculation that is passed off as fact w ithout being tested or proven. It is hard, but neces sary, for parents and profes sionals in the field to critically analyze any claims of cause, ask specific questions, and look for the evidence that sup ports the claim. What kinds of treatment are available? In the same way that there is no known cause for the autism spectrum disorders, there is no definitive treatment for these conditions. Nevertheless, it is strongly felt and proven by research that children who are treated in educational and therapy set tings (infant/toddler programs, preschool, school, special pro grams, and specialized thera pies) will have improved out comes. Family involvement is crucial. There is no research at this time that proves the effec tiveness of specialized diets, supplements, and other com plementary-alternative treat ments, but many parents and family members of children on the autism spectrum pursue these therapies in the hopes of achieving successful out comes. There is no medication treatment, although individu als on the autism spectrum may be treated with certain types of medicines for associ ated behavioral and neurolog ic complications. - Contribution by Kurt Klinepeter, MP Do you need further infor mation or have questions or comments about this article'.' Please call toll-free I-S77 530-1X24 Or. for more infor mation about the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, please visit our web s i t e http://wwwMfubmc.eJu/MAC III UKKHPTCr Legal Help For Your Debt Problems DONALD R. BUIE, Attorney At Law Duniiid k. Kuir www.donaldrbuie.com * Km' Initial Consultation * Stop Repossession & l-omlosun The l.aw Office of Donald K. Buie is a KederalU designated Debt Relief Vgeni^ under Title II I nited , States Code Section 528