31 March 2017

Ahead of World Autism Awareness Day, the United Nations today called for recognizing the rights of people with the spectrum neurological condition, which is believed to affect 70 million people around the world.

Let us ensure that we make available the necessary accommodations and support to persons with autism, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the Day.

With access to the support they need and choose, they will be empowered to face the key milestones in every person’s life, he added, making decisions such as where and with whom to live, what type of work to pursue and how to manage their personal finances.

UN Calls for Recognizing the Rights of People with Autism to Make Their Own Decisions full article

Issue date: 16 November 2015

Virtual reality technologies (VRTs) using head-mounted displays (HMDs) could help people with autism develop social skills and confidence according to a researcher from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).

Dr Nigel Newbutt, Associate Head of Media and Digital Cultures at UWE Bristol, said, With as many as 1 in 68 reported as being diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition, there is the potential for technologies to be used and applied to many affected people. The National Autistic Society, for example, report that around 700,000 people in the UK are affected by an autism condition – a lifelong development disability affecting how a person communicates and relates to other people.

Head-Mounted Virtual Reality Could Help People With Autism Learn Social Skills and Develop Employment Opportunities full article

By Elisabeth Geier

A boy walks through the crowded halls of his school tethered to a dog who helps him remain calm in the crowd, find the correct classroom, and get settled in his seat before class starts.

A family enjoys dinner at a busy restaurant with a dog laying patiently at their childs feet.

A young woman sits in a chair with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth; her dog puts his front paws on her lap and applies deep pressure until her body releases tension and she is able to carry on with her day. These are autism assistance dogs in action.

The Life-Changing Impact of Autism Service Dogs full article

While federal law protects a blind person’s right to be accompanied in any public place by a service animal, the rights of children with autism who rely on trained dogs to keep them safe, regulate unruly behaviour and help them develop socially are not so clear.

National service dog agencies estimate nearly 1,500 children with autism have been paired with an animal. The Toronto Star spoke with families across Canada with the animals, several of whom described drawn-out, draining meetings where “standoff-ish” board officials debated the dog’s value and raised concerns about potential allergies, cultural sensitivities (can a child who is prohibited by religion from drawing an animal be in the same room as one?), strained resources (who would fill the dog’s water bowl?) and liability insurance.

Parents of Kids With Autism Fight to Get Service Dogs in Schools full article

by Craig Boerner | Posted on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014 ­ 4:00 PM

Like watching a foreign movie that was badly dubbed, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have trouble integrating simultaneous information from their eyes and their ears, according to a Vanderbilt study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Vanderbilt Study Reveals Senses of Sight and Sound Separated in Children With Autism full article

by Joan Brasher
Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013 — 11:44 AM

The iPad you use to check email, watch episodes of Mad Men and play Words with Friends may hold the key to enabling children with autism spectrum disorders to express themselves through speech.

New research indicates that children with autism who are minimally verbal can learn to speak later than previously thought, and iPads are playing an increasing role in making that happen, according to Ann Kaiser, a researcher at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development.

iPads Help Late-Speaking Children With Autism Develop Language full article

Published: Oct. 17, 2013

Video-based teaching helps teens with autism learn important social skills, and the method eventually could be used widely by schools with limited resources, a Michigan State University researcher says.

The diagnosis rate for Autism Spectrum Disorder for 14- to 17-year-olds has more than doubled in the past five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet previous research has found very few strategies for helping adolescents with autism develop skills needed to be successful, especially in group settings.

“Teaching social skills to adolescents with ASD has to be effective and practical,” said Joshua Plavnick, assistant professor of special education at MSU. “Using video-based group instruction regularly could promote far-reaching gains for students with ASD across many social behaviors.”

Video Could Transform How Schools Serve Teens With Autism full article

The transition from youth to adulthood is the weakest link in the country’s already fractured approach to caring for children with autism
By Pauline Tam, Ottawa Citizen February 18, 2013

Two years ago, when Ashley Corbett of Arnprior turned 18, she entered Ontario’s Byzantine world of autism services for adults.

At best, the system treated her with benign neglect. At worst, she was invisible to it. Knowing that the wait was long for a coveted place at a provincially funded group home, Linda Murphy put her daughter’s name on the list when Corbett was just 13.

Six years later, she’s still waiting — one of 6,000 Ontarians with developmental disabilities who are on hold for residential care.

Autism’s New Frontiers PART 2: ‘The bridge to nowhere’ full article

By ERIN ANDERSEN / Lincoln Journal Star JournalStar.com
January 16, 2013

If you have a child with autism, now there is an app for that.

This new smartphone/tablet application is designed for parents, with the goal of helping them teach their primarily non-speaking children to communicate.

The app, “MySocius,” was developed by Keith Allen, professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute in Omaha. It was created by the behavior app division of Sector Now, LLC, a Lincoln-based smartphone development company.

Think beyond the apps that let us play games like “Bubbles” and “Jewel Quest.” Beyond apps that track our phones, map our routes or provide a handy flashlight when the lights go out.

Nebraska Doctor Develops Smartphone App for Parents of Autistic Children full article

The Associated Press
Posted April 27, 2012

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Teachers hurled insults like “bastard,” ”tard,” ”damn dumb” and “a hippo in a ballerina suit.” A bus driver threatened to slap one child, while a bus monitor told another, “Shut up, you little dog.”

Stuart Chaifetz, was told that his son Akian was acting violently at his New Jersey school he decided to investigate. Akian has autism, as do the rest of the students in the class. This prevented him from being able to explain to his father if anything had been happening to him at school.

Parents Wire Kids to Prove Teachers’ Verbal Abuse full article

Updated: Fri Jan. 20 2012 20:55:34
Angela Mulholland, CTVNews.ca Staff

Autism advocates are worrying that proposed changes to the way that autism is defined could affect the way that children and adults with the condition access treatment and services.

An expert panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association is considering narrowing the definition of autism as it completes its fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM V, as it’s known.

The DSM is the standard reference book for mental health disorders and hasn’t been revised in 17 years. Most expect the new edition will narrow the criteria for autism to make it more stringent.

Plan to Change Autism Definition Has Some Worried full article

By Emma Graney, Leader-Post November 28, 2011

Levi Tetlock is a nine-year-old boy who likes playing with toy planes, watching films and eating popcorn.

He’s skinny for his age and his thick-lashed brown eyes are usually focused on the wall, small clues to the fact he has autism.

Until a few months ago, he didn’t really talk and simple interactions were beyond his grasp. But in September, he started Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) – an intensive, one-on-one form of therapy.

Now, when his mother asks him questions in the living room of their Regina home, he giggles as he answers; he knows his name, age, address, names of his family members, where he went on vacation.

Families Push for Autism Funds full article

August 15, 2011

Chloé Fedio
STAFF REPORTER

Susan Roque finds her son’s torn-up socks all over their Sudbury home. It’s an expensive habit she knows 13-year-old Marcus cannot control because he has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism characterized by emotional outbursts and obsessive behaviour.

“If there’s a tear in his sock he’ll start pulling at it. I have socks all over the place with holes everywhere. He just picks at it. He’s very sensory
sensitive. I’m always buying that boy clothes,” said Roque, a single mother of two.

Boy ‘Not Disabled Enough’ to Receive Tax Credit full article