The Humanity of Autism; Military Children with Autism; Conference News & Upcoming Events

"Autism itself is not the enemy...the barriers to development that are included with autism are the enemy...These things are not part of who a child is...they are barriers to who the child is meant to be..." Frank Klein, an individual with autism.

I've had the pleasure of supporting and serving individuals with autism and developmental disabilities for over 35 years. In all that time, I've learned a significant lesson: individuals with autism and developmental disabilities are no different than anyone else--only the specifics differ. Allow me to explain.

Parents: We Can Help You-- Now; Review of the Literature & More Puzzle Pieces Are Starting To Fit

"The difference between high-functioning and low-functioning is that high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low-functioning means your assets are ignored." Laura Tisoncik.

Information For Parents:

I often get emails from parents asking me for help, information and resources.
As a result, I would like to alert all parents to the plethora of information on this blog devoted to resources and information for parents. For example, in addition to the many resources, providers and schools listed, there's a special section entitled, "Resources 4 Parents."

In this section, parents will find parent and family friendly web sites such as Child Parent Autism Cafe, practical ways to help manage and plan daily living with autism. Parent 2 Parent USA which offers emotional and informational support for parents of children with special needs. Another very useful web site is Families for Early Autism Treatment. FEAT, as it's well known, provides best outcome Education, Advocacy and Support for the Northern California Autism Community. Any parent will find useful information on this outstanding web site. Parents Helping Parents offers a multitude of services for families and children with special needs. Autism Inspiration is an online resource for parents and teachers of children with autism.

The bottom line is Autism News and Views can assist parents in finding answers to their questions. It can also assist parents in finding appropriate services. I suggest parents spend some time and navigate Autism News and Views. I'm confident it can be a valuable resource to all of you.

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/

Help For Military Families; Toolkit for Clinicians; Summer Fun Helps Improve Social Performance

Editorial Note:

Autism News and Views has been publishing for about two months now. And I'm very proud of the product and our service. We've received an exceptionally good response. I want everyone to know that Autism News and Views provides the best information on autism resources that one can find right now on the internet. If you're a parent, we have links to many of the best resources for you including a whole host of providers and schools. These include, but are not limited to, sites such as Parent to Parent, Parent Education Network, Moms Fighting Autism, Child Parent Autism Cafe, and many more. If you're in the profession of serving individuals with autism, you don't have to go much further than navigating and exploring this page for important information. Almost anything you need on autism, you will find here. The same goes for researches, students and medical personnel. And if you happen to be someone who is looking for employment in this profession, many of the providers linked here are looking for good employees. In other words, you can start you job search with Autism News and Views. I ask all of you to consider this publication your on-line virtual consultant. Please mark it to your "favorites," visit often and share. You'll find your entire library devoted to the autism spectrum right here.

Thanks for your time.

Jerry Komar, M.Ed.
Editor


"...people with AS and their families are not alone and can help one another as well as be helped by people who make the effort to understand their difference. And that AS is not just about needing help; it is also about being given the space to be different. In the right environment, people with AS can make remarkably valuable contributions."--Simon Baron-Choen, Ph.D.

With Memorial Day almost upon us, I wanted to take the opportunity to list some of the web sites that help military families who have children with autism.

• American Military Families Autism Support {AMFAS} is by military families and for military families. They provide information, support, news and many other options for military families dealing with autism. http://update.amfas.org/
• Operation Autism: A Resource Guide For Military Families is a web-based resource specifically designed to support military families that have children with autism. The web site also provides information on autism and military health care, educating children with autism and additional important resources. I've personally took some time to navigate this site, and it offers a lot of good information. www.operationautismonline.org/
• Act Today (Autism Care and Treatment Today) For Military Families is a national non-profit whose mission is to raise awareness and provide treatment services to families that cannot afford the treatments and services their children require. www.acttodayformilitaryfamilies.org/

Summer Fun Has A Great Outcome:

A recent treatment program at Canisius College found that "...an innovate multi-component summer social development program to be effective in improving social performance of children with high-functioning autism." The program lasted 5 weeks. 35 children, ages 7-12 years, participated in the clinical trial. 18 children were randomly assigned to receive the summer program and 18 to a wait-list control condition. Treatments included direct instruction, modeling, role-playing and performance feedback. The general findings suggest "that children in the treatment group improved significantly in their understanding of what social skills to use in a range of social situations..." {Source: Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College, Christopher Lopata, PsyD and Marcus Thomeer, PhD}

African-American Children With Autism; News For Siblings; Year-Round Recreation Now Available; The Value of Music

"It is important to emphasize the enormous range of autism spectrum disorders and the many differences that exist between children on the spectrum. It is important that we not lose sight of the individual in our search to treat autism...The goal is to help children enter adulthood with capacities for social and personal self-sufficiency." Fred R. Volkmar, M.Ed., Yale University School of Medicine.

Did you know that African-American children are frequently diagnosed too late? In addition, African-American children are also misdiagnosed too often. That's why it's with great pleasure we put a spotlight on three organizations devoted to African-American individuals with autism.

• African American Autism Support Services of Arizona was founded "to connect, support, educate and equip the African American community in becoming involved in the advocacy, education and research efforts pertaining to Autism and the Autism Spectrum locally and nationally." (from their Mission Statement). Anyone interested can contact them at:  http://www.africanamericanautismofaz.org/.
• The Color of Autism Foundation, located in Mableton, GA, is committed in raising autism awareness in minorities. They point out correctly that not only are African American children with autism misdiagnosed more frequently, but there are very few clinical studies involving African American children with autism. We urge you also support this foundation. They can be reached at: http://www.thecolorofautism.org/
• Autism in Black focuses on the cultural, medical, and educational issues facing African American children with autism. Visit them at: http://www.autisminblack.com/

In 2010, Washington University School of Medicine published, "Brief Report: Under-repesentation of African Americans in autism genetic research: A rationale for inclusion of subjects representing diverse family structures." They reported, "African American children with autism are seriously under-respresented in existing genetic registries and biomedical research studies of autism...Comprehensive efforts-including expansion of eligibility to families of diverse structure--are warranted to facilitate the inclusion of African American children in biomedical research." (NIH)

New Study Finds Higher Rates of Autism; Bullying: How To Respond?; Actors for Autism

"I didn't get to where I am today by not being autistic."--Larry Arnold

A new study out of South Korea suggests that 1 in 38 children have traits of autism. This finding is higher than previous estimates of 1 in about 100. The researches do not believe South Korea has higher rates of autism. They believe that autism often goes undiagnosed in many countries. The study was published this week in the Jounral of Psychiatry. 55,000 school children were screened, ages 7-12, in one district in South Korea. It must be pointed out that only two-thirds of mainstream children participated in the study. The study took five years to complete.
Note: I would be cautious of this study at this point. We would need to see if other studies show the same or similar outcomes.

In my last post, I remarked that we've made great strides in human dignity in terms of serving and supporting individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. However, we have a long way to go. And one of those areas that needs attention is the bullying of children with autism and developmental disabilities, especially in our schools.  A study out of Massachusetts in 2009 found that 9 in 10 children with autism have been victims of bullying in school. The study surveyed 400 parents of children with autism. "Children with autism spectrum disorder are especially vulnerable targets because of the nature of their disability, " said Julia Landau, director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children. So how do we attack this problem? One way is to legally start addressing the problems in the child's IEP. This will give the power of law behind our advocacy. It will also give the child the tools and skills he or she needs handle those children who bully (after all, the reality is teachers, administrators and parents can't be everywhere).While I'm sure many school administrations and faculties have started programs regarding bullying; they must also start creating climates of acceptance of individuals with special needs at their schools. This can be done by initiating social curriculums which would teach children how to recognize bullying as well as how to react to bullies. And it is imperative that administrators, teachers, students and parents respond promptly to any reports of bullying. Those events should be documented on incident reports so timely "after action" responses are completed and appropriate actions are taken. This is a problem that can be solved if we all treat it more seriously.


4 Your Bookshelf:

• Since We're Friends: An Autism Picture Book by Lisa Jo Rudy. This book offers practical ideas for supporting friendships.
• Rules by Cynthia Lord. This is a book for families with children with autism. It's a great book for siblings. Great conversation starter.

Importance of Art Therapy, Biomedical Treatments, First 100 Days Kit, Non-English Resources for Autism, Autism Resource for Military Families

"I see people with Asperger's Syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life."

Short Note From The Editor:

I've had the honor of serving and supporting individuals with autism and developmental disabilities for almost 40 years now. I came into the profession at the tail end of deinstitutionalization and the beginning of community support services. As I've been doing research for this blog, I've been impressed by all of the services, supports, resources and information available on autism. Just as important, I've been impressed by the great strides that have been made in human dignity. We still have more work to do. But one thing is certain: this is a profession that should hold its head high---it's done a remarkable job in a very short period of time.

Art and Autism:

For those of us familiar with supporting and serving individuals with autism, it's apparent people with autism exhibit a high degree of creative ability as well as excellence in many areas.  It's one of the many reasons why art therapy helps people with autism be more creative. It also helps individuals address some of the other difficulties such as the emotional expressions of frustration and anger. Art therapy, like academics, requires individualized attention. It's imperative to find the right kind of art therapy for each individual. In short, this means developing a plan of treatment  specific to an individual. Art therapists usually set goals to target the following areas:Tony Attwood.

• Imagination/Abstract Thinking Deficits
• Sensory Regulation and Integration
• Emotions/Self-Expression
• Developmental Growth
• Recreation/Leisure Skills
• Visual-Spacial Deficits

For more information on art therapy, visit http://arttherapyandaustim.com/

4 Your Bookshelf: 

• The Art of Autism: Shattering Myths about People Living on the Autism Spectrum by Debbi Hosseini.
• Reaching the Child with Autism through Art: Creative Activities that Improve Sensory, Social and Language Skills by Toni Flowers.
• The Girl Who Spoke with Pictures by Eileen Miller.