Autism – Articles & Publications « Autism

Articles and Publications
Regarding Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

Articles:

• 3 Tips for Supporting Students With Autism (Video) (4/13/17)
  A clinical psychologist with the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children's National Health System, explains the top three ways teachers can support children with autism in the classroom.  
• A Helpful Online Safety Guide for People With Autism Spectrum Disorders (WizCase – 3/12/2020) 
  People from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds fall victim to online bullying and cybercrime, but studies have shown that those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more susceptible to online threats than others. 
• A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis (New York Times – 11/2/09)
  Children with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, are socially awkward and often physically clumsy, but many are verbal prodigies, speaking in complex sentences at early ages, reading newspapers fluently by age 5 or 6 and acquiring expertise in some preferred topic — stegosaurs, clipper ships, Interstate highways — that will astonish adults and bore their playmates to tears. In recent years, this once obscure diagnosis, given to more than four times as many boys as girls, has become increasingly common.
• Aging With Autism (The Atlantic – 9-19-10)
  The truth is that we often deny to adults with autism the kind of empathy and support we make readily available to children with the condition—or, for that matter, to people with white canes at crosswalks.
• An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke? (New York Times – 3/16/09)
  Autism is terrifying the community of Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, and some pediatricians and educators have joined parents in raising the alarm. But public health experts say it is hard to tell whether the apparent surge of cases is an actual outbreak, with a cause that can be addressed, or just a statistical fluke.
  Patti's Comment: What do you folks think about this??? It kind of surprises me!
• Asperger's Syndrome – the Highest Functioning End of the Autism Spectrum (About.com)
  Asperger's Syndrome exists at the highest end of the autism spectrum. Children with Asperger's have excellent language and often good academic behavior which may mask the very real difficulties they have in academic situations. Often they are not diagnosed, or diagnosed late in their academic career, because their difficulties in social situations haven't stopped them from succeeding academically.
• Ask the taxgirl: Autism & Special Needs Children
  Can tuition in a private preschool with a program specifically for children with autism be tax deductible?
• Autism Can Have Large Effects, Good and Bad, on a Disabled Child’s Siblings (Washington Post – 9/3/12)
  I know that people are warmed by stories of siblings who selflessly shower the disabled child with love, attention and support. I think that’s great, too. And it’s for real for some siblings. But for many of us, relating to a sibling who is on the autism spectrum can be complicated. The challenges to a warm, close relationship are many. Normal sibling rivalry doesn’t work, because it can never be a fair fight. Here’s what siblings often are up against, particularly when a brother or sister has more severe autism.  
• Autism, Head Banging and other Self Harming Behavior (Autism Parenting Magazine)
  Headbanging is an alarming issue for families with children on the spectrum. Caregivers and parents should get help before addressing headbanging and autism. Autism does not need to be synonymous with self-harm. Read on for tips and strategies to help your child reduce self-injurious behavior.
• Autism Surge Due To Diagnostic Changes, Analysis Finds (Disability Scoop – 6/29/12)
  A new study suggests that changes to autism diagnosis criteria may be more to blame for rising rates of the developmental disorder than anything else.
• Autism Linked to Multisensory Integration (Science Daily – 8/20/10)
  A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children.
• Autistic Adults Present a Growing Care Dilemma (KPBS – 11/12/09)
  People are typically diagnosed with autism when they're very young. But kids grow up, and kids with autism carry their disability into adult life. What happens when autistic kids become adults, and still need a lot of care?
• Best Autism Apps For iPad, iPhone and Android (Autism Parenting)
  This list of mobile autism apps has been compiled to help those living in the spectrum and their families to navigate daily challenges, enhance learning, and educate themselves on autism.
• Blasting Stereotypes in Autistic Females (Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network – 10/13/12)
  It's no secret that more males than females are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Evidence shows that there are differing behaviors between autistic males and females.
• Couple Lives with Autism, Comfort of Each Other (ABCNews.com – 2/25/09)
  David Hamrick, 29, and Lindsey Nebeker, 27, look like a typical couple in love, but what's not apparent is how hard they've worked to be together.
• Cyber Scout Puts Autism Studies on Faster Track (NPR – 4/8/09)
  Scientists researching autism are getting help from a friend in cyberspace.
  Patti's Comment: Great article about a network of families.
• Disability Models, Tragedy and Identity (Change.org – 3/2209)
  The social model of disability can be contrasted with the medical model. The medical model views disability as a flaw in a person that can be cured by some form of medical treatment; the social model views disability as a flaw in the way society treats a person that can be cured by some form of accommodation.
  Patti's Comment: This is a great summary of the support model rather than the medical model of support for people with disabilities.
• Don't Mourn For Us (Community Advocates – 7/26/10)
  Parents often report that learning their child is autistic was the most traumatic thing that ever happened to them. Non-autistic people see autism as a great tragedy, and parents experience continuing disappointment and grief at all stages of the child's and family's life cycle. But this grief does not stem from the child's autism in itself. It is grief over the loss of the normal child the parents had hoped and expected to have. Parents' attitudes and expectations, and the discrepancies between what parents expect of children at a particular age and their own child's actual development, cause more stress and anguish than the practical complexities of life with an autistic person.
• Drugs Hint at Potential Reversal of Autism (NPR – 8/23/08)
  A director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT has discovered a system in the brain that could change the lives of thousands of people with the genetic disorder known as Fragile X Syndrome, a mutation on the X chromosome that can cause mental retardation and autism. Until now, there has been no treatment.
• Federal Appeals Court OKs Class Action Lawsuit for Families Denied Autism Therapy (Juvenile Justice – 2/26/12))
  Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals refused a petition from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan that would have overturned an earlier ruling allowing families denied certain autism therapy coverage to push forward with a class action lawsuit.
• Health Advocate: Autism Spectrum Disorders (NHeLP – 10/20/15)
  Medicaid requires that children under age 21 receive a wide variety of health services under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program. However, states have struggled to keep up with new evidence-based treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This publication reviews the advocacy history that led up to guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that state EPSDT programs keep up with the evolving standard of care for children.  
• How can I help my autistic teen feel "cool"? (Autism Support Network)
  At age 16, my son with Asperger Syndrome is trying to develop a 'cool' persona, but he is not very adept. If he could just learn small talk, he would be miles ahead of where he is now.
• Hyperbaric Autism Treatment Shows Possible Promise (ABC News – 3/13/09)
  Info about treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, where pressure is increased in an attempt to boost the amount of oxygen in the child's brain.
• Inspirational Student with Autism: Haley Moss (MangoMon Blog – 7/26/10)
  Haley Moss is an autistic teenager from Parkland, Florida. She is also an artist and a writer. At 16 years old, she currently has her artwork being shown at various South Florida galleries and has published her first book. She is a student at the Pine Crest High School in Ft. Lauderdale and attributes part of her success to the great teachers at the schools she has attended. She attends regular classes, and until now, many of her fellow classmates didn’t even realize that she had autism; they just thought she was shy.
• iPod May Ease Transition For Those With Autism (Disability Scoop – 9/6/12)
  As more people with autism enter the work world, a new case study suggests that arming them with specially-programmed iPods may go a long way toward achieving independence on the job.
• Magic in the Water (Baltimore Sun – 1/5/09)
  Trips to the National Aquarium are key to a Kennedy Krieger program that helps autistic youngsters master social skills.   
• New Advocacy Group Seeks Realistic Solutions for Severely Disabled Autistics (1/10/19)
  Against a backdrop of increasing challenges for individuals with autism and their families nationwide, leading advocates have announced the formation of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA). The new organization is created to address pragmatically the many serious challenges in services, housing, and policy facing families, caregivers and individuals affected by severe forms of autism and related disorders. 
• PICA Disorder
  Many children that have sensory related issues /Autism deal with this disorder as well. Some are more severe then others.
• Seven Easy Ways to Help a Family Diagnosed with Autism (Autism Support Network)
  Today, almost everyone knows someone with autism. And yet, with all the talk about cures, causes and concerns, there is rarely any information on how we can support a family with this diagnosis.
• Siblings of Children with ASD (Autism Support Network – 1/11/11)
  The sibling of a special needs child often takes on the role of a secondary caretaker or are unintentionally slighted by the sheer volume of doctor's appointments and in-home care.  They may experience peer pressure, guilt, resentment, a feeling of being neglected, lack of one-on-one time with parents, feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and depression.
• Signs of Autism at 1 Month (Your Therapy Source – 8/2/10)
  The August issue of Pediatrics reports on a retrospective study over 11 years of over 2100 NICU newborns. The researchers discovered that the infants who later received a diagnosis of autism had a higher incidence of persistant neurobehavioral abnormalities such as increased upper extremity muscle tone and asymmetrical visual tracking at one month of age.
• Special Ed Teacher Develops Play Date Tool for Those With Autism  (Autism Support Network)
  Every parent with a child who has autism knows the pains of trying to schedule play dates with other children. We need the comfort of knowing that our child will not be teased by his or her “play date” and that the other parent will also understand our child’s unique behaviors. What is needed is a way for parents with children on the spectrum to be able to find and schedule safe, rewarding social encounters. SpecialPlaydate.com is just such a tool. Free to members, it’s a new online service that’s connecting parents with other parents seeking playdate opportunities for their children with special needs.
• Supreme Court to Consider Vaccine Case (NY Times – 10/11/10)
  The safety of vaccines is at the heart of a case expected to be heard on Tuesday by the United States Supreme Court, one that could have implications for hundreds of lawsuits that contend there is a link between vaccines and autism.
• Tax Planning for Parents of Children with Autism (Autism Support Network)
  Parents or other caregivers of loved ones with autism may qualify for valuable tax benefits, which may be overlooked by some tax preparers who are unfamiliar with the autism spectrum disorder. These unique tax benefits may entitle parents to additional refunds of thousands of dollars.
• Teaching Autistic Teens to Make Friends (Science Daily – 4/8/09)
  It's hard enough to be a teenager…but it's harder still for adolescents with autism because they typically lack the ability to pick up on all the social cues most of us take for granted.
• Teaching Kids with Autism the Art of Conversation
  A team of researchers at Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute has developed a course to help kids with autism improve their social skills.
• The Aurora Project was created as a long term project in the United Kingdom in 1998. It is a project supported by the University of Hertfordshire School of Computer Science with local schools. The program pairs autistic children with robots, a high-interest ‘toy’, to help them build educational and social skills.
• "Think" – Autism Speaks (YouTube video)
  A public service announcement featuring members of the Variety Youth Action Council.
• Tips for Teaching High Functioning People with Autism (Indiana Resource Center for Autism)
  People with autism have trouble with organizational skills , regardless of their intelligence and/or age. Even a "straight A" student with autism who has a photographic memory can be incapable of remembering to bring a pencil to class or of remembering a deadline for an assignment. 
• The Services Needed By Persons With Autism As They Transition to Adulthood (11/20/16)
  The Government Accountability Office issued a report on November 17, 2016 concerning the services needed by youth with autism while transitioning to adulthood. Although this report extends way beyond special education, a portion of the report deals with IDEA transition services. 
• Try Anything and Everything for Autism (New York Times – 1/19/09)
  If anything definitive can be said of the popular therapies for autism, it is that treatments have to be individualized.
• What Are the Different Types of Autism? (12/3/18)
  Autism is a "spectrum disorder," meaning that people with autism may have a wide range of mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. But do all people with an autism spectrum diagnosis have the same disorder, no matter what their symptoms?
• What Autistic Girls are Made of (New York Times – 8/5/07)
  It was a small, casual encounter and also an exceedingly rare one — a taste of teenage patter shared by two autistic girls.
• What Autism is Not (MentalHelp.net – 2/14/06)
  Autism is not Mental Retardation or a Lack of Intelligence. As intelligence is communicated through skillful use of language, autistic people's social and communication deficits can easily make them appear unintelligent. This is not necessarily the case, however. Autistic people vary in intelligence more or less as normal people do, only their language and social problems can make that intelligence harder to discover. Historically, autism was confused with Mental Retardation (MR). Today, MR and autism are considered to be distinct conditions.
• When It Hurts (TeenAutism.com)
  Sometimes, when you’re the parent of a teen with autism, you have to write letters like this… 
• Why model autism programs are rare in public schools (7/11/17)
  There’s no single way to teach children with autism. U.S. federal law requires that public schools educate all children, regardless of their intellectual or physical capabilities. But the law doesn’t spell out what schools must provide, which has made it possible for less ambitious school districts to provide little more than de minimis opportunities for children with developmental delays or behavioral issues.

Publications:

• Asperger's Syndrome Guide for Teachers
  Guide prepared so that families could have a short description of AS and its behaviors to share with their children's teachers.
• Autism and Autistic Symptoms Associated With Childhood Lead Poisoning (Journal of Applied Research)
  The paper presents two case histories of children who, during periods of severe lead poisoning, developed autism or autistic symptoms. 
• Autism & Safety Toolkit
  Autistic people have the right to be safe and live independently in our communities. We also face significant threats to our safety, including higher rates of abuse, institutionalization, suicide, and police violence. Too often, autistic voices have been erased from conversations about autism and safety. That’s why ASAN is proud to announce the release of our Autism & Safety Toolkit – the first toolkit made by autistic self-advocates, focusing on safety issues that affect us and the tools to deal with them.
• Big Red Safety Toolkit (National Autism Society – Fall 2012)
  If you are receiving this Big Red Safety Toolkit it means you are a caregiver for someone with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who is prone to wandering off from a safe environment, and whose diagnosis may interfere with their ability to recognize danger and/or stay safe.
• Children with Autism
  The Government Accountability Office conducted a study on educating children with autism and quotes information from the NRC study.
• DSM-5 Proposed Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder Designed to Provide More Accurate Diagnosis and Treatment (American Psychiatric Assn. – 1/20/12)
  Press release:  The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has proposed new diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for autism. While final decisions are still months away, the recommendations reflect the work of dozens of the nation’s top scientific and research minds and are supported by more than a decade of intensive study and analysis. The proposal by the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Work Group recommends a new category called autism spectrum disorder which would incorporate several previously separate diagnoses, including autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.
• Envisioning a Bright Future: Interventions That Work with Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders
  Patti's Comment: This is a book that's available for sale, but I still wanted to share what looks like a valuable resource.
• IGNITE! Public Policy and Advocacy Newsletter (Autism Society)
  The official public policy and advocacy newsletter for the Autism Society, for information and analysis on federal legislation and regulations impacting people with autism and other disabilities.
• One-to-One Aides for Students with Autism: A Practical and Legal Guide (LRP)
  What do you do when parents request one-on-one assistance for their child with autism, but the district thinks it's unnecessary? When parents insist on a particular aide? Or challenge an aide's qualifications?
• Pretending to Be Normal: Living With Asperger's Syndrome (1999)
  Autobiography of a woman and her child diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Author shares her daily struggles and challenges. Includes appendices providing coping strategies and guidance. For the general reader as well as professionals.
• The Voices and Choices of Autism
  Learning to exist with hope and joy in a world that's not always your "friend."