There has been much talk about the potential changes to the Autism Diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) when the updated, fifth version is published (the projected date of publication is May of 2013). One of the expected changes is to combine several disorders including, Autism,Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) into one category called Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although this change concerns some people, most people in the fields of medicine, community services and education already lump these diagnoses together.The major concern is over the potential changes to the specific criteria that people will have to meet to receive the official diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In the current manual, a person can qualify for the diagnosis by exhibiting six or more of 12 specified behaviors. The proposed changes to the criteria narrow the field; a person would have to exhibit three or more deficits in social interaction and communication and exhibit at least two repetitive behaviors. The fear is that this will leave out a large group of people who are considered high functioning (including a huge portion of children with the current diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD-NOS). Currently, scientific, trial testing of the new criteria is under way and this data will be used to make final recommendations.Although changes to the diagnosis will likely affect service delivery in the medical field and the community services field they are not projected to make significant changes in the education field because qualification for special education is not based on a particular diagnosis but on educational needs. Currently the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines the educational category of Autism as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.” Each state has their own interpretation of this law so it is worthwhile to search for your state’s educational definition of Autism.Some people fear that a change to the official DSM diagnosis will give school districts a way to stop or decrease services for certain students who currently qualify for services. If schools attempt to do this, many experts believe that children who are on the higher functioning end of the Autism spectrum may still qualify for special education under the category of Other Health Impaired. It is also important to note that a school district cannot discontinue providing a service such as Speech Therapy or Occupational Therapy unless the child exhibits significant improvement and there is no longer a need for remediation in that area.
What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime
What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.
As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.
That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.
Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.
Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.
Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.
Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.
That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.
Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.
Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.
My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.
Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.
And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.
All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:
• Farm eggs
• Fresh vegetables
• Cow’s milk
• Freshly baked bread
• Coal for our open fires
Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.
Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.
Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.
Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.
My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.
The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.
Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.
Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.
People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.
In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.
Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.
• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.
• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.
• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.
On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.
Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.
We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.
Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.
My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.
Get a Payday Loan If You Do Not Qualify For Your Bad Credit Car Loan
Say you need transportation – a car, and you do not have any cash to make the down payment. Transportation is essential, and so you need to avail it. Getting a guaranteed car loan with little or no cash, and poor credit ratings as well as low credit scores might make you feel buying your car might be next to impossible. Well, the fact is if your financial conditions are not good, you can still avail your car finance and buy your vehicle. One of the options available is the payday loan. It is not that difficult to get such a loan. You need to prepare for the loan by getting some information as to how the loan works, and what the credit facility is all about. The following tries to provide some information regarding payday loans.What are Payday loans?As the name implies, payday loans are temporary credit facilities, which can be availed against your monthly pay. The process includes three easy steps, before you can get the cash. Individuals having poor credit ratings can also apply for payday loans. The main processes involved are:o First of all, it is required to fill up the online application form. Information like the applicants address, contact number, present employment details, monthly income, and bank details need to be mentioned within the online application. Once the form is filled up, it is important to submit it in the proper way as specified by the company.o Once the form is submitted, the system tries to match your application details with appropriate loan providers and credit lenders, who usually support car loan for bad credit. The system also determines the probability of you getting the loan based upon your current credit ratings and scores, and prepares a list of probable moneylenders.o It is recommended you check out the list for what kind of interest rates lenders offer to the applicants. The rates keep on varying up to a certain extent depending upon the creditor, and the same happens with the terms and conditions associated with the loan. So it is advisable to choose your lender wisely, by working out the net payable interest using the online calculators generally provided by the lenders website. The information specific to the loan, its rate of interest and the clauses included within the terms and conditions can be obtained from the creditors portal. Once you decide upon your creditor, you might be asked to provide some additional information by your creditor for verification purposes. Some lenders call the bank or the employer to verify the authenticity of the application.Loan approval, disbursement, and turnaround timeOnce the loan is approved, the money gets electronically deposited in the bank account specified in the form. The process can take from a couple of hours to 48 hours depending on the creditor. Usually lenders supporting bad credit auto loan also support payday loans as a car buying option and generally deposit the credit within 24 hours. However, it is important to work out the specifics associated with the credit facility provided before giving the final confirmation to the loan provider. On your next payday after the loan disbursement, the actual loan amount and the interest charged will be debited from your bank account – the same account in which the loan credit is deposited. The process occurs in a predefined manner, and so manual activity is required on the part of the borrower to redeem the loan. Upon successful redemption, it is possible to again avail the payday loan from the same lender.Using payday loans to buy your carGetting bad credit car loans can be difficult. Availing a car loan in the form of a payday loan can be a good option. Even though one can buy a new car, it turns out to be more beneficial to avail a used car, since used cars cost less and are easily afforded. Majority of the lenders support payday loans to buying second hand or used cars because the loan amount required is less. The main advantages of payday loans are:o They are easy to avail.o The processing time involved is very less.o The credit ratings and credit scores do not play such an important part in deciding the loan disbursement.o The interest charged is less compared to traditional auto loans since the turnaround time of the loan is very less.o Almost all lenders will provide a free quotation that does need any commitment from the applicant to proceed ahead with the loan once the application is approved. The applicant has the option to reject the application if he or she happens to find a better loan provided. However, the loan application needs to be canceled before the disbursement is carried out.