Therapy for Healthy

On July 18, 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) approved vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic depression. On August 18th, I was a part of a conference call hosted by the manufacturer of the vagus nerve stimulator.

According to Company officials, it is going to take a long time for reimbursement to reach universal coverage by third party payers at the overall policy level. The procedure was just approved by the FDA. Insurance companies are giant bureaucracies with many layers of people whose only job is to say “NO”. It is just a fact of life that reimbursement will take time to “grind” through the system.

That is why I devoted an entire eighteen page chapter of my book to insurance codes and the reimbursement process. The Patient Advocate Foundation gave me permission to reprint its guide to the insurance reimbursement and appeal process. The Patient Advocate Foundation is a national non-profit organization that serves as an active liaison between the patient and their insurer.

The manufacturer of the stimulator reiterated on its conference call on August 18th, that insurance coverage will be on a case-by-case basis. In the first two weeks of the official launch, there has been a wide variance by third party reimbursers for VNS Therapy and depression. On a case by case basis, some patients have able to obtain to get pre- approval by Medicare, the VA and private insurance companies. At the other extreme, some reimburers have said absolutely not, maybe, we need to think about it, etc. The Company indicated that the more that patient’s fight for reimbursement, the better chance they have to obtain approval.

Charles Donovan was a patient in the FDA investigational trial of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic or recurrent treatment-resistant depression. He was implanted with the vagus nerve stimulator in April of 2001. The treatment completely changed his life. He chronicles his journey from the grips of depression thanks to vagus nerve stimulation therapy in his book:

Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression

The book was exhibited at the American Psychiatric Association’s Annual Meeting in late May. It is available on his web site, 24 hours a day/7 days a week through the toll free number 1-888-VAGUS-88, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. He is founder of the http://www.VagusNerveStimulator.com Web Site.

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In attempting to provide adequate and effective interventions for indivduals with Autism and other developmenetal disorders a functional analysis is imperative to getting started.

Firstly, before doing any type of behavior management therapy a functional analysis needs to be done. This requires finding the ABCs of an indivdual. The A in this acronym stands for the “antecedent” or triggereing agent in the environment. This is some stimuli that is present before some behavior occurs. For example, Johnny will likely hit his sister when she turns off the television.

The B is the “behavior” that is emitted from an indivdual. When determining a behavior it is very imporatnt that a specific and measurable behavioral definition is provided. As an example, Johnny will raise his hand over his shoulder with a closed fist striking his sister as he comes down with his fist 3 times a day.

The C is the “consequence” that follows the behavior emitted from an indivdual. This is the positive or negative consequence given by others in the environment to increase or decrease a behavior. Comsequences can take the form of a verbal response, edible, tangible or textual. In the above example, when Johnny engages in this behavior his give Johnny instructions as to what to say to get what he wants and then give him what hes desires.

In addition to knowing the ABCs of an indivdual it is imporatant to find out the function of the behavior. There are four functions that need to be accounted for in analyzing an indivdual. The first is that an indivdual might engage in behavior for access to an item. Most indivduals will display negative behaviors such as crying or whining to get acces to something that they desire. Secondly, esacpe/ avoidance of something in the environment. With escape, an indivdualis attempting to escape from a novel event that has occured. in avoidance it is done because of a past aversive history with a stimuli. Thirdly, is attention seeking for something in the environment. This could be negative or postive but something done overtly. Lastly is self stimulatory behavior in which and indivdual does a behavior due to being understimulated or overstimulated.

In summary, all the items discussed in the article are essentail to getiing started with facilitating postive behavior chnage. When anaylzing for th ABCs of behavior it is imporatnt to get as deatailed as possible to eliminate the need to guess at what is occuring in an indivdual. Also, finding out the functions of an indivdual put you ina better position to determine why an indivdual displays a behavior and how to intervene.

Mike Magana is a Behavior Consualtant that worked with indivduals with Autism and other developmental disorders and has the goal of opening a resource center for parents of these indivduals.

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Do you have aches and pains in the joints of your hands? Do you have rough, dry or cracked hands or feet? If you have either condition, a “Hot Wax Bath” may be the ideal answer for you. It is relaxing, soothing and conditioning.

What is a “Hot Wax Bath”? It is simply a heated container of specially formulated wax. The vessel automatically melts the wax when you turn it on. It keeps the wax at a safe temperature for your sensitive skin. Once the wax (paraffin) is melted, you dip your hand or foot into the container of melted wax. Then you pull your hand out and let it dry a moment and repeat this process five to ten times.

After this process has been repeated you will have a hand coated in layers of warm wax. You then put your hand into a plastic bag that comes with the wax. This protects against oils in the wax getting on clothing or furniture. Next, you put your hand into a terry cloth mitt or wrap it in a towel. You can do two hands or just one at a time.

How many ways can you relax for fifteen minutes? Put on some soft music. Light a few candles. Start heating your aromatherapy dish of fragrance. Step into a soothing hot bath. Just relax in your favorite chair with your eyes closed while the wax works its wonders.

A daily treatment of hot paraffin on your hands and feet will do you a world of good physically and emotionally. It really is a treatment that can soothe the skin and calm the soul.

Once you are done, peel the wax off of your hands and put it back into the wax container to melt and use again. If this was in a therapy or salon situation, you might want to discard the used wax. But, since this is your personal wax unit, why not reuse the wax each time? You did wash your hands before starting, didn’t you? Discard or reuse, it is up to you.

You can get the wax melting pot and wax at major department stores such as Wal-Mart or even your local pharmacy store. They come in different sizes and price ranges. Different companies make them. Two brands are Dr. Scholl’s and Homedics. You can get a home unit that holds 3 pounds or 6 pounds of wax. The larger unit is easier to put hands and feet into or even an elbow.

You can get scented waxes to go into your wax tub. Pick your favorite fragrance, tangerine, rose, lavender, citrus, peach, wintergreen and more. If you can’t fine them at your local medical supply store or beauty store, they are available online.

Scott Morris manages the site on healthbeauty shop.

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