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Autism/flourescent lighting

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Expert: - 1/20/2008


Question
i have been asked to research and see if there is a way to fight the florescent lighting issues for our local school district.  is there a florescent tube guard or cover or lens that will help? i am not a doctor or teacher, i sell electric parts so any layman term input you might have would be greatly appreciated. i have talked to the GE lamp engineers and the light fixture manufacturers engineer and they have no input or ideas?  any info you might have would be greatly appreciated.  thanks for you're valuable time.  Ed hooper

Answer
I'm sorry Ed. Anything I'd have to offer would be pure speculation on my part; likely you know more about this than I.

I do appreciate the effort you and the school district are going to as florescent lighting (or at least it's subtle flickering or sound) does seem to bother some kids with autism (as well as people with seizure disorders, attention deficit, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, etc.)

Here are some links to why there can be a problem with florescent lights. Perhaps by following them you can find someone to help with a cover or guard:

http://www.autism.org/quickfix.html

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u41471301u488463/

http://www.asw4autism.org/aswnews/news0602.htm

http://blog.donnawilliams.net/2007/02/20/heres-looking-at-you-kid/

http://prerainmanautism.blogspot.com/2005/03/florescent-lighting.html

You might consider posing your question to the Industry (http://www.allexperts.com/cl1/25/Industry/) section of AllExperts.com

If you do discover a solution and wouldn't mind sharing, I'd appreciate hearing how you solved the problem. Thanks.

Best of luck in your search,

Sharon A. Mitchell
www.autismsite.ca

Autism

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Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell

Expertise

Sharon can help with parenting and educational concerns. She has worked in teaching, special education, counseling and consultingfor over thirty years and gives workshops to educators and parents on working with kids with autism spectrum disorders. Sharon speaks from both the education and parent points of view, having a son with Asperger's.

Experience

Sharon is a special education consultant with a school district and autism consult for the province's Department of Education, giving workshops and individual consults. She is also the parent of a son with Asperger's who is away at university. Together they have a website at http://www.autismsite.ca that offers strategies for home and school. Sharon's Master's thesis looked at the long-term outlook for persons with high functioning autism and Asperger's. Her Doctorate focused on strategies to help those with autism spectrum disorders

Organizations
Website at http://www.autismsite.ca and sits on Autism Today's Panel of Experts (www.autismtoday.com)

Publications
Author of "School Daze" ebook - a novel about autism, available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/School-Daze-ebook/dp/B0085HN9HQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337999263&sr=8-1). Download a free sample at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/156913. Co-author of Amazon.com bestseller, The Official Autism 101 Manual (http://autism101manual.com/).

Education/Credentials
B.A. in Psychology, B.Ed. in Special Education, M.A. in Educational Leadership PhD. in Psychology Management, specializing in autism.

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