July
Doctors vs. Families, Part 2
Abraham Cherrix, a Virginia 16-year-old with Hodgkin's disease, started a series of legal battles when he chose not to continue radiation and chemotherapy as his doctors had recommended. The doctors called in social services, who took joint custody of the teen and asked a court to order treatment. One judge did, but the family got that order reversed on appeal.
Hope for the Future
Time Magazine featured a sweet story about the
wedding of a couple with Down syndrome -- or weddings, one Hindu, one Protestant. The pair met at a meeting of a Down's organization.
The Sign Said WHAT?!
A neighborhood dispute over the behavior of a child with autism took a nasty turn when a neighbor put up a sign reading "Caution Retard's in Area."
August
'Til Surgeons Do Them Part
Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, conjoined twin girls, were successfully separated by surgeons in Utah. The four-year-olds had been joined at the torso and shared a kidney and a pair of legs.
Standing Ovation
Josh Blue, a comedian with cerebral palsy, was the big winner on the TV reality show Last Comic Standing.
September
Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Part 2
T-ball coach Mark Downs was found guilty of offering a young player money to bean an autistic teammate. Though the coach claimed it was all a misunderstanding, the jury bought the prosecution's claim that he wanted to incapacitate a kid he thought was a detriment to the team, and the judge sentenced him to one to six years in prison.
Damage Done
A research study indicated that as much as a third of all cases of ADHD could be attributed to exposure to cigarette smoke and lead.
Autism in the House
An episode of the Fox medical series House took on autism, with Hugh Laurie's medical wizard puzzling out a diagnosis for a severely autistic boy, and other members of the medical staff wondering if the doctor himself might be on the spectrum.
October
CDC Starts Study
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced plans to study 2,700 children with autism to learn more about the interrelationships of autistic spectrum disorders, developmental delays, genetics and the environment.
Ritalin Goes Younger
A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry gave a tentative OK to using Ritalin on preschoolers, with appropriate monitoring and caution.
Celeb vs. Celeb
Outspoken celebrities got into a dust-up over stem-cell research, with Michael J. Fox advocating for it, Patricia Heaton and Jim Caviezel going against, and Rush Limbaugh accusing Fox of playing up his Parkinson's for effect.
Little People, Big World, Dangerous Trebuchet
An accident on the Roloff family farm -- featured on the series Little People, Big World, about a family with parents and one teen son who are Little People and three kids who are normal sized -- injured youngest son Jacob and caused some to question whether the Roloffs take good enough care of their kids, while others rallied to the family's support.
November
Keeping a Child Child-Sized
Doctors reported on a treatment designed to keep a severely disabled girl child-sized, including removing her uterus and giving her large doses of estrogen. The article was designed to spur debate on the ethics of the treatment, and it did, with many around the Web criticizing the parents for seeking to keep their daughter small. The parents subsequently started a Web site to explain their decision and encourage others who might benefit from the procedure.
No Flash Bulbs, Please
Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham revealed that her four-year-old son, Romeo, has epilepsy when she warned photographers away from him by yelling "He's got epilepsy. All that flashing will start an epileptic fit. You can't do that!"
Too Sick to Live?
Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called for open discussion on the topic of whether euthanasia should be allowed for infants with severe mental retardation, spina bifida, and prematurity.
From Star to Special-Needs Mom
Actress Joely Richardson left the TV series Nip/Tuck to spend more time with her 15-year-old daughter, who requires surgery for a circulatory problem diagnosed when she was a baby.
December
Not Lovin' It
The presence of McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants in children's hospitals were the focus of a study in which researchers found that the chains offered poor nutrition for the families of patients and were a bad choice for hospital food.
Selecting For Disabilities
Parents who are deaf or have dwarfism added to the debate on PGD, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, by using the procedure -- usually employed to avoid implanting embryos with disabilities -- to specifically select embryos that would allow them to have children who are deaf or Little People like themelves.
