The Impressive Diversity in Autism Services, Supports and Resources; New Study: Genetic Mutations & Autism; Latinos and Autism

"...research demonstrates that autistic traits are distributed into the non-autistic population; some people have more of them, some have fewer. History suggests that many individuals whom we would diagnose today as autistic--some severely so--contributed profoundly to our art, our math, our science, and our literature."--Morton Gernsbacher, parent of a child with autism.

In doing extensive research on the resources found on this blog,  I'm often amazed and impressed with the diversity in services, supports and advocacy. Some examples:

• 4 Paws for Ability: This is an organization that provides service dogs to individuals with disabilities world-wide. These dogs enrich their lives. In addition, they provide companionship and help promote independent living. www.4pawsforability.org/
• Athletes Helping Athletes: Their mission is to connect local special needs athletes with mainstream student athletes in the spirit of friendship for their mutual benefit and inspiration. www.athleteshelpingathletesinc.com/
• Autism Siblings: This is a charity that helps the siblings of children with autism including adults. www.autismsiblings.org/
• Bullies2Buddies: The mission of Bullies2Buddies is dedicated to reducing bullying and agression by teaching wisdom. Their overall mission is to reduce hostility and promote peace in schools, the workplace, home and wherever people have to co-exist. www.bullies2buddies.com/
• Kid Power: They are a charitable educational non-profit that helps people create cultures of caring, respect and safety for all. They offer a variety of workshops in personal safety. www.kidpower.org/
• Grandparent Autism Network:  GAN informs grandparents about autism, and the medical, educational, legal and social issues that affect their families. www.ganinfo.org/
• Parent 2 Parent: Parent 2 Parent programs across the country provide emotional and informational support to families who have children with special needs. They do this by matching parents seeking support with an experienced and trained "support parent." www.p2pusa.org/
• Tin Snips: This is a special education resource that strives to share a variety of specialized teaching tools, techniques, worksheets and activities with teachers of students who have autistic spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities. www.tinsnips.org/
• The Fathers Network: Their mission is to celebrate and support fathers and families with special health care needs and developmental disabilities. www.fathersnetwork.org/
• Mom Fighting Autism: This is an online support group for families who have children with autism. They also provide teleseminars where experts speak on autism and answer questions for 2 hours from participants. www.momsfightingautism.com/