Autism and Law Enforcement
istockphoto.com/wh1600All autism parents feel anxious about their children in the community, knowing they could be perpetrators, victims of crime, or wanderers. Far too often, criminal actions on the...
View ArticleAnimals Enhance Social Interaction for Children with Autism
istockphoto.com / AnneMS PhotographyScientists at the University of Queensland, Australia, have found that “the presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors in children...
View ArticleEight Year Old Girl Arrested, Shackled for Tantrum at School
In yet another horror story of schools and police criminalizing autism, an eight year old girl at Lovejoy Elementary School in Alton, Ill., was jailed for over two hours by Alton police because of...
View ArticleFollow Up to Shackled Child Story: Help is On the Way
In my recent article reporting the tragic story of a eight year old child with autism being arrested and shackled for throwing a tantrum at school, I cried out for a way to intervene in these...
View ArticleVideo Game Recreates the World of Autism
Courtesy: YouTube.comVancouver-based video game designer Taylan Kadayifcioglu, who goes more accessibly by Taylan Kay, has created "Auti-Sim," a video game that demonstrates what it is like living with...
View ArticleAutism-Related Depression in Mothers and Children
istockphoto.com/aldomurilloA pair of articles about autism and depression have captured my attention recently. The first involves a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in which researchers from the...
View ArticleiCan Shine Teaches Biking to Children With Disabilities
Photo Courtesy of: icanshine.orgSpring is in the air and with it, comes thoughts of summer. Parents know they have to plan well in advance to get their kids the best camps to meet their needs. A...
View ArticleRespite Care Vital to Autism Families
iStockphoto.com/AndreasREHDuring Autism Awareness Month and the other eleven months of the year, I am aware of the toll that autism takes on families. A key to alleviating this stress is respite care....
View ArticleTurkish Sociologist Declares Children With Autism Born Atheists
istockphoto.com/imaginegolfRecently, Turkish sociologist Fehmi Kaya declared in numerous Turkish media outlets that children with autism are “atheists due to a lack of a section for faith in their...
View ArticleChildren With Autism Detect Motion Twice as Fast
istockphoto.com/Henrik5000Recent studies at Vanderbilt University and the University of Rochester reveal a startling discovery about autism. In testing a common theory about autism that overwhelming...
View ArticleSeattle Area Hospital in Hot Water Over Autism Ads
Q13 FOX NewsSeattle Children’s Hospital was forced to pull its new ads from King County buses after complaints about its call to eradicate autism. The cherubic face of a young boy gazed out from the...
View ArticleAssistance for those on the Cusp of Adulthood
istockphoto.com/DNY59Autism strikes a family’s heart, soul and wallet. Estimates by The Autism Society puts a lifetime of care for an autistic child at $3.2 million. Autism parents know firsthand the...
View ArticleQuiet Santa Visits with Autism Spectrum Children
istockphoto.com/f9photosThere’s holiday cheer afoot this year as 140 malls across the country are providing “Quiet Santa” time for children with autism spectrum disorders. Trained by the...
View ArticleWhen Children with Autism Wander from School
istockphoto.com/mablacheThe heartbreaking ending to the case of Avonte Oquendo, a non-verbal 14 year old with autism who walked out of his Long Island high school on October 4th, never to return,...
View ArticleDeadly Rampages and The Rocky Road to Adulthood
istockphoto.com/imaginegolfOnce again, our nation has been rocked by another young adult conducting a murderous rampage that ends multiple lives, including his own. My heart sank when the shooter in...
View ArticlePioneers of Change: How Two Mothers are Making a Difference
istockphoto.com/amygdala_imageryOut of the enormous tragedy that is Sandy Hook, rays of light are shining forth. Scarlett Lewis is the mother of Jesse Lewis, a six year old victim of the massacre....
View ArticleSilver Linings of Sandy Hook: Teaching Compassion in Schools
istockphoto.com/veloraScarlett Lewis is the phenomenal mother of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, one of the young victims of Sandy Hook. Out of her unfathomable grief, she has started a foundation dedicated...
View Article‘Nothing About Us Without Us:’ The Rise of Neurodivergent Researchers...
James Charlton is an American disability rights activist who traced the slogan “Nothing about us without us” to South African disability rights advocates in the 1980’s. Eastern European labor...
View ArticleChurch and Children on the Autism Spectrum
America’s leading religious periodical, Christianity Today, found that US religious communities are failing children with autism, learning disabilities, depression and conduct disorders. And according...
View ArticleAutism and Gender Identity
We know autism exists on a spectrum. Gender does as well. And now research is demonstrating that these two spectrums strongly intersect. In the 1990’s, a growing number of children sought care for...
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