Boardash: Panel: Obese kids need intensive programs

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Panel: Obese kids need intensive programs

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Tuesday January 19, 2010

Families sue for return of autism program
Panel: Obese kids need intensive programs
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Families sue for return of autism program

LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A non-profit agency serving autistic children in Los Angeles illegally halted a therapy know as Floortime, said families suing for the program's return.

The families, in a class-action lawsuit, are suing the Eastern Los Angeles County Regional Center, a state-funded agency which halted use of the therapy for more than 100 children, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

The agency eliminated the program because of state budget cutbacks and because the program doesn't meet the "rigors of science," said agency head Gloria Wong, a defendant in the lawsuit.

Floortime, formally known as the DIR model for "developmental, individual difference, relationship-based," involves a therapist following a child's lead during play activities to help increase communication and social skills.

Eliminating the program "threatens to condemn our clients and this group of children to a bleak future under institutionalized care," said lawyer Laura Faer, who filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The program remains in use at 20 other state-funded regional centers in California, Faer said.

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Panel: Obese kids need intensive programs

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Children as young as 6 who show signs of obesity should enter intensive weight-loss programs that engage child and parent alike, a federal panel said Monday.

A review of 20 clinical trials of weight-loss programs showed the most intensive programs had the best results, the U.S. Preventative Task Force said.

Childhood obesity is an emerging national epidemic, yet many pediatricians rarely do more than tell parents of obese children to help them eat better and exercise more, said Dr. Ned Calonge, a task force member who is chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

"It really requires a program that we call moderate- to high-intensity," with a focus on diet, exercise and behavioral counseling, Calonge told The Baltimore Sun in a story published Monday.

The panel's guidelines are valuable, yet few intensive obesity prevention programs exist for children and insurance companies rarely cover the cost of all services, said Dr. Alan Lake, who heads the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

There's no insurance coverage at all for diagnosing obesity, unless a child has a related illness such as diabetes or high blood pressure, Lake said.

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