Kennedy Krieger

Tyquelle Washington is a wiry 8-year-old with an infectious smile, boundless energy - but not a single friend. During board games, he interrupts his cousins and won't take turns. At school, he rarely listens to other children's interests, choosing instead to chatter about his own. Like many autistic children, Tyquelle doesn't seem to know how to interact with people or form relationships. But he's learning skills that often come naturally to others through an experimental therapy in an unconventional setting - during trips to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

His mother suspected that there was something wrong, almost from the start. As an infant, Joshua Huffman kept to himself, didn't babble like most babies do, didn't respond to his name when called. Three years later, Joshua is a whirlwind of activity who can put together puzzles with ease, race around his Clarksville house with older brother Zachary and even tell his brother, in very clear language, to go to timeout. Joshua was part of a study at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute that revealed that half of children with autism can be diagnosed not long after the first birthday - nearly two years earlier than it has been reliably diagnosed before.

CLARIFICATION A headline for the obituary of Dr. Hugo Moser in Wednesday's editions of The Sun described him as a "Hopkins doctor." While Dr. Moser was on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, his principal work was with the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which is affiliated with Hopkins but independent of it. Dr. Hugo Wolfgang Moser, a renowned Baltimore neurologist whose work with a rare genetic disorder was depicted in the 1992 film Lorenzo's...

In April, seven developmentally disabled children planted a small sapling outside their East Baltimore school in honor of Earth Day and in memory of those killed at Columbine High School in Colorado.Yesterday, they discovered their 18-inch tree was gone, apparently ripped out by the roots.A small laminated tag with the names of the young gardeners also was missing.The apparent theft sent ripples through the Fairmount Avenue school, part of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which treats children with severe neurological disorders.

It's been five years since the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition began its east-side redevelopment efforts, and now it's time to show off a little.From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, HEBCAC is holding a "Celebrate Community!" festival in the 800 and 900 blocks of N. Broadway and the 1700 and 1800 blocks of Ashland Ave. The area will be blocked off and packed with employment service booths, informational and commercial vendors, performance stages and children's activities, such as face painting and a moon bounce.

The Kennedy Krieger Institute plans to open its new high school on the New Children's Hospital campus in North Baltimore, rather than at the former Eastern High School as originally planned.The institute will sign a lease to occupy the campus' Bennett Institute building for a year while negotiations continue on the purchase of a permanent location there. The Kennedy Krieger School will open Sept. 7 with about 45 students.Robin Church, the institute's assistant vice president for education, said Kennedy Krieger is seeking to buy 15 acres on the site and also occupy at least part of the hospital building, which would either be renovated or torn down.

In Baltimore CityKennedy Krieger gets grant to research lead contaminationKennedy Krieger Institute in East Baltimore has been awarded a $446,231 federal grant to research lead contamination of exterior soil and dust from flaking paint and leaded gasoline exhaust, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo announced yesterday.Children younger than age 6 are the most vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can result in reduced intelligence and attention span, hearing loss and other problems.

Judy Woodruff, the senior CNN correspondent, and Al Hunt, executive Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal, didn't know what to expect the summer day in 1998 when they brought their eldest son to Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. "We were so scared," Hunt recalled.Jeff, then 16, was semi-comatose, the result of a routine surgery gone awry. He couldn't walk, talk or eat, even blink his eyes; most of the day, he slept. Oddly, the therapist who arrived in his room within the first hour didn't seem to notice.

Two days remain for holiday shopping at the 10th annual Kennedy Krieger Institute Festival of Trees.The celebration continues through the weekend in the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, York Road in Timonium.In addition to more than 200 Christmas trees and wreaths created by area designers, artists, florist, Scout troops, schoolchildren and others, the event features 122 gingerbread houses.More than 130 vendors offer specialty gifts such as holiday decorations, jewelry, handmade crafts, blown glass, gourmet food items and children's clothes.

In Baltimore CityE. Baltimore teen dies after falling into swimming poolAn East Baltimore boy who fell into the public swimming pool at Patterson Park on Monday night died at Johns Hopkins Hospital early yesterday, police said.Police said Canvas Goods, 15, of the 2900 block of E. Baltimore St. and two other boys entered the pool about 7 p.m. by lifting a broken section of chain-link fence. Minutes later, Goods, who could not swim, fell into 8-foot-deep water and sank to the bottom, police said.

April Darchicourt wanted to do something to celebrate the care her daughter received at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. "They did not treat us like an assembly line," she said, recalling that her daughter, Kara, would be 15 this year had she survived cerebral palsy. She died of a seizure in 1999. Each year, Darchicourt, an Edgemere-area homemaker who describes herself as a "domestic goddess," and her husband, Tom, who runs a home improvement business, organize hundreds of motorcyclists for a charity event that brings some excitement to the children being treated at Kennedy Krieger.

Sitting in her car Tuesday night outside the Kennedy Krieger Institute as police investigated a shooting, Ana Matheus held up what may have spared her from serious injury: her Vera Bradley handbag. She reached in and pulled out her pocketbook. Inside was a checkbook, a credit card and a $20 bill - all pierced by a bullet that narrowly missed striking her as she left work at Kennedy Krieger. Matheus was not harmed, but a female co-worker was wounded when one of the stray bullets struck her in the hand about 6:30 p.m. Matheus said the woman was walking just a foot in front of her when the shots rang out. With the errant bullet piercing the bag that was slung over her shoulder, Mathus was inches away from being wounded herself.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Krieger Institute are joining in what is being called one of the largest studies to examine early causes of autism. Medical experts have been trying for years to unravel why children develop autism. Is it genes? Could it be their environment? While other studies have focused on one or the other, the four-year investigation announced yesterday will examine both questions about the puzzling neurobiological disorder that affects about 1 in 150 children nationwide.

The Western Tech football coaches will host a bull roast Saturday night to raise money for the family of Chris Mason-Hale, the Wolverines player who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in August. "We've been planning to do something for quite some time," said Wolverines defensive coordinator Matt Quayle. "I've been around football for a while and you just know this is one of the most severe injuries anyone can ever have. We just can't sit by. We want to do as much as possible for him."

CLARIFICATION A recent story about a therapy garden at the Kennedy Krieger Institute did not note the project's landscape architect, Mahan Rykiel Associates. The lush lawn, vibrant fuchsia roses and gentle sound of a cascading fountain create an oasis on an otherwise dingy East Baltimore corner. It's a brilliant spring day, and the grass is blanketed with giggling children. In one corner, cheers erupt from a group who set up bowling pins and a ball. Nearby, a toddler in a walker navigates a curved walkway, mischievously dipping her hands into a fountain's cool waters.

The entrance is marked by a block-long garden with outdoor "rooms" and a circular labyrinth where therapists can work with patients learning to use a wheelchair or walk with a cane. The main lobby features a mini-aquarium and lounge where teens can shoot pool or play Wii games. The top floor is a light-filled aquatic center containing swimming pools with underwater treadmills and hydraulic lifts. These are a few of the features of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building, a $35 million, state of the art outpatient center that the Kennedy Krieger Institute is opening this spring as part of an effort to improve and expand services to children and young adults with developmental disabilities and spinal cord injuries.

Tyquelle Washington is a wiry 8-year-old with an infectious smile, boundless energy - but not a single friend. During board games, he interrupts his cousins and won't take turns. At school, he rarely listens to other children's interests, choosing instead to chatter about his own. Like many autistic children, Tyquelle doesn't seem to know how to interact with people or form relationships. But he's learning skills that often come naturally to others through an experimental therapy in an unconventional setting - during trips to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

The mezzanine hall at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel had the look of a good cocktail hour. Lots of cocktail dresses and smiling faces. But, ask the right question, and you could immediately pick up on a certain undertone of trepidation ... a bit of fear about what was ahead. Welcome to "Dining in the Dark," a fundraising party for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After diners were seated at the usual round banquet tables, the lights would be turned off. For 30 minutes, they would eat in pitch darkness, and be served by a visually impaired wait staff.

EVA GINSBERG BROWN BLUM, 92, died on September 27, after a brief illness. Beloved mother of David Brown, MD, and Judith Brown Long, mother-in-law of Thomas Long, and grandmother of Matthew Brown and Coby Brown, she will be deeply missed. Eva grew up in Baltimore, MD, the youngest of seven children. She married Leon Brown in 1938, and they enjoyed their family and community in Baltimore, where Eva was active volunteering with the True Sisters service club in its programs for aphasic and deaf children.

Dr. Cristina Sadowsky thought she had already received birthday presents - a gorgeous dress and shoes - from her fiance, Kennedy Krieger Institute's Dr. John McDonald. She wore them during her birthday dinner at Kali's Court. While the 44-year-old rehab physician is the first to admit she loves fashion, the Canton resident says she's not great when it comes to accessorizing. How fortunate that McDonald surprised her at the end of dinner with some adornment she adores: a 4-month-old pug. Age: 44 Residence: Canton Job: Director of the Restoration Paralysis Clinic at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital Self-described style : "Eclectic, feminine" The look: Chartreuse, brown, tan and cream geometric-print silk dress by Michael Kors.