Advocates For Children

Information may not be reliable

The Rimland Center for Integrative Medicine Advocates for Children and Families provides individualized biomedical evaluations, therapies, and pediatric care in a nurturing atmosphere and teaches the model of recognizing and addressing the uniqueness of every patient and family.

Advocates for Children Pediatrics A Place of Healing Pediatric practice - accepts reimbursement
Virginia Integrative Hyperbaric Center A Place of Grace Mild hyperbaric treatment in hard or soft chambers

Sue Warrens Autism Study of Moms of Children with Autism
Please participate in a study of moms of children with autism. If you are interested, please take a survey. If you have any problems, please email Sue.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Study
The Virginia Tech Autism Clinic is looking for potential families to be involved in their program Campus/Community Outreach for ABA with Children (COACH), beginning this Fall. This program involves providing intensive ABA to young children with autism. The child must be under age 5 years old, can be any functioning level, and must live in the Blacksburg area. If you are interested in learning more about this program, including the fee and structure, please contact Angela Scarpa by August 16, 2010.
Nutrition For Your Healthy Pregnancy - Webinar starting September 15th
We have many families who ask what they can do to have a very healthy pregnancy. You may be interested in signing up for a 6 week webinar about Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy
Free, Weekly Seminars on Autism Diet and Nutrition
Each week Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant and Autism Diet Specialist, will conduct FREE educational webinars for parents and caregivers to learn and become more effective with their dietary strategies. Topics will range from beginner GFCF implementation to advanced diet discussions focused on other special autism diets, as well as entire Q&A sessions dedicated to having your questions answered. Julie is a leading specialist in "nutrition intervention" for ASDs which comprises deep understanding of biochemistry and the role of food, nutrition, and supplementation in the restoration of health and well being. She understands, applies, and customizes the varied dietary strategies - as there is no "one size fits all" approach, nor one particular "autism diet." Take just one hour each week for nutrition learning, guidance, advice and at-home support.

Information about Gardisil
See the link below for an important message from the Principal Investigator in the Gardasil trials.
An Interview with Dr. Diane M. Harper, HPV Expert
Which Sunscreen is Right for My Child?
Now that we are in the heat of summer, check out the site below from the Environmental Working Group on sunscreen recommendations. Our practice recommends 20 minutes a day of sun exposure without sunscreen in order to maintain good Vitamin D levels.

Why is My Child on a Special Diet?
Of the thousands of parents who filled in the Autism Research Institute's survey concerning dietary intervention, 66% said their child improved on a gluten- and casein-free (GF/CF) diet. Please understand that this diet must be followed carefully because even a few crumbs of a cookie is a very big deal...
Help for special diets...
When to Call the Doctor
Wondering whether your child's symptoms are serious? Should you call the doctor, treat your child at home, or go to the emergency room? HealthyChildren.org now has an exciting new interactive tool to help parents evaluate their child's symptoms.
Try the HealthChildren.org KidsDoc Symptom Checker...
McNeil Consumer Healthcare Announces Voluntary Recall of Certain OTC Infants' and Children's Products
Affected products include Children's and Infants' Tylenol, Motrin, and Zyrtec. See this message from McNeil about the recall.
What Can Be Done to Prevent Autism Now?
By Maureen H. McDonnell, RN
Although the entire mystery of what has caused the autism epidemic has not yet been solved, based on emerging science and parents reporting what specific treatment have improved (or in some cases recovered) their children...

After Hours Care
Our telephone is answered 24 hours a day. All after hours or weekend calls will be returned by the physician or nurse on call, however if your child requires medical care between 11:00PM and 6:00AM you will be referred to the emergency room. This telephone service is available for our primary care patients only. All other patients will need to call for assistance during regular office hours.
Hope Chest Keepsakes
We like to highlight artists who have been inspired by the hope of treatment for children with autism. Another such artist is Vicki Sotack and her creations - Hope Chest Keepsakes. Vicki has a line of products specifically inspired by her son's autism and the hope of treatment called the Autism Journey.

Funding Options for Biomedical Treatments - Vital Interventions Accessible
The VIA Family Assistance Program is designed to help families of children with autism to receive financial assistance to pay for biomedical treatments for their child. All money awarded to families will be sent directly to the VIA Participating Physician working with that family. Qualified applicants will be thoroughly screened. Approval will be based individually, with an emphasis on financial need of the applicant. Upon approval, each family must agree to follow the guidelines designed for the program, or will risk losing financial assistance.

Vital Interventions Accessible
The non-profit Vital Interventions Accessible, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of the Beacon of Light Program. Without incurring any expense, parents of children with autism and other special needs can now set up individual websites and blogs providing updates on their child's condition and progress. These sites also offer a means for friends and family members to donate on behalf of the individual child.

is an easy and innovative way to keep everyone in your life connected and involved with your child's progress
is a place where you can tell your child's story complete with photos
is a discreet way for others to donate money on behalf of your child for approved therapies and interventions
provides a way to maintain your own blog giving updates on how your child is doing
allows parents to submit receipts for approved therapies and interventions for reimbursement

Housing options for out of town patients
Some of our out of town patients stay in Lynchburg for long periods of time. Within one block of the Rimland Center, there are furnished townhomes available with flex terms

See the "Link Road Furnished Townhomes & Apartments / Flex terms" entry on Craigslist

Also, some of our patients stay at the Acorn Hill Lodge, which is just minutes from our offices.

New Fees for Email Consultations
At The RIMLAND Center, we make every effort to be available and to answer questions regarding your child during your office and/or telephone visit. We realize that additional questions and/or problems will arise and that you will want to seek counsel directly from us. We have recently started to receive an enormous amount of email requesting very child-specific counsel. This requires research and preparation on the part of Dr. Mumper and the staff in order to provide you with the appropriate answers to your questions and the best quality of care. Therefore, all email communications requiring this level of care will incur a charge. The amount of the charge will be determined by the complexity of your issues. As always, we aim to provide you and your children with the highest quality of care and we appreciate your prompt payment for these services.

Welcome our New Nurse Practitioner - Sue Warren
A graduate of both UVA and MCV, Sue has a impressive background in pediatrics and nursing education. Sue has worked at Virginia Baptist Hospital here in Lynchburg as well as at hospitals in Richmond and San Diego. Her previous experience includes time at F. Read Hopkins and with the Health Departments in Chesterfield, Petersburg, and Lynchburg. Sue has also taught nursing at the Lynchburg College School of Nursing for over twenty years.

We hope you will join us in welcoming our new colleague into the RIMLAND Center family!
ARI Releases New Autism.tv Site

The Autism Research Institute is pleased to announce the release of its Autism.tv website featuring links to stories of intervention and recovery. The website is intended to demonstrate to parents, physicians, and research scientists that recovery is a reality for a significant percentage of children with autism. Autism.tv links to caregiver stories about treatment and recovery. Please send us existing story links to:

At ARI, we are very careful about giving false hope to parents; but it is a far greater error to offer no hope, when recovery or near-recovery is possible. ARI strives to give realistic hope, by stating: "Autism Is Treatable, and Recovery is Possible."

Dr. Bernard Rimland, ARI's Founder, worked exhaustively to identify effective biomedical and behavioral treatments for autism. Decades ago, when most believed children would progress only as far as their innate potential permitted, Dr. Rimland spoke of recovery. And, in Dr. Rimland's lifetime, we went from "no hope" to "hope for many." With hard work and luck, we will meet our ultimate goal: "prevention and recovery for all."

In the final months of his life, Dr. Rimland often talked about the recovered children whose overjoyed parents shared their stories with ARI. His face clearly showed how proud he was to know that increasing numbers of children are improving dramatically from a disorder that, only a few decades ago, was considered hopeless.

Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) Consensus Statement on Environmental Factors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Steve G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT (206) 527-0926; sgilbert@innd.org
CONSENSUS STATEMENT: http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.htmlLEARNING AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES INITIATIVE (LDDI)
PUBLISHES SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS STATEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORSFebruary 20, 2008, Seattle, WA. The Collaborative on Health and the Environments Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative published today the Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (available at http://www.iceh.org/LDDI.html). This statement, signed by more than 50 scientists and health professionals nationally and internationally, summarizes the latest science about environmental contaminants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disabilities and developmental delays.The statement, which has a glossary and over 200 references, was drafted and reviewed by a prestigious committee of scientists and health professionals based in North America. They concluded:Given the established knowledge, protecting children from neurotoxic environmental exposures from the earliest stages of fetal development through adolescence is clearly an essential public health measure if we are to help reduce the growing numbers of those with learning and developmental disorders and create an environment in which children can reach and maintain their full potential.We know enough now to move on with taking steps to protect our children. This document pulls that knowledge together to further this vital effort," said reviewer Martha Herbert, PhD, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric neurologist with subspecialty certification in neurodevelopmental disabilities at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.Other researchers on the review committee underscored the cost-savings, policy-related and ethical implications of this consensus statement. We could cut the health costs of childhood disabilities and disease by billions of dollars every year by minimizing contaminants in the environment, said Phil Landrigan, MD, MSc, of the Childrens Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Investing in our childrens health is both cost-effective and the right thing to do.The overwhelming evidence shows that certain environmental exposures can contribute to life-long learning and developmental disorders, noted Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, with the Science and Environmental Health Network. We should eliminate childrens exposures to substances that we know can have these impacts by implementing stronger health-based policies requiring safer alternatives. Further, we must urgently examine other environmental contaminants of concern for which safety data are lacking. The proportion of environmentally induced learning and developmental disabilities is a question of profound human, scientific and public policy significance, said lead author Steven G. Gilbert, PhD, DABT, of the Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders, and has implications for individuals, families, school systems, communities and the future of our society. The bottom line is it is our ethical responsibility to ensure all children have a healthy future.This document is designed for researchers, health professionals, health-affected groups, environmental health and justice organizations, policymakers and journalists to use as a resource for understanding and addressing concerns about links between environmental factors and neurodevelopmental disorders.Elise Miller, M.Ed.

Our Italian Colleagues
The Rimland Center is delighted to have an ongoing collaboration with clinicians and families in Italy. Dr. Mumper has consulted on patients at Dr. Franco Verzella's clinic in Bologna on several occasions. She lectured in Rome for the first European Defeat Autism Now! conference in May 2007. In November, six Italian families came to the Rimland Center for three weeks to receive consultations, assessments and therapies. They were accompanied by Dr. Nicola Antonucci, who is establishing a practice in Bari, Italy to care for children with autism. Dr. Antonucci will be returning to the Rimland Center four more times in the coming year, bringing four Italian families with him each time. We thoroughly enjoy our time with our Italian colleagues whenever we are together.

See this Italian translation of an article Dr. Mumper has authored and the website of our colleagues in Italy
Hope For You To Heal
A friend of the practice, Hugo Hanson, has allowed us to make the song "Hope For You To Heal" available on our website. This song was inspired by the vision we share.