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Cheryl Chafos honors her late son, Zachary, by advocating for autism training among healthcare professionals… His younger brothers were now so scared they often locked themselves in the bathroom. Cheryl and Tim were looking into group homes but none would take him while he exhibited aggressive behavior. But they couldn’t handle him on their own … away.  For 19 years Cheryl spent countless hours advocating on Zach’s behalf with school staffs, doctors, therapists, support agencies and others-as well as driving to therapies, consultations and events. She had spent the last 59 days up … is needed to better recognize and address mental health issues in those like Zach with challenging behaviors and high support needs. Research and clinical programs supported by Autism CARES Act could help develop more personalized treatment …
Bullying Facts & Figures… The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  defines it as any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, that involves an observed or perceived imbalance of power, and either is or likely to be repeated. Common … and bullying. Note:  If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States. It is free and confidential. …
Autism and drooling… socially stigmatizing when it continues beyond infancy. It’s also unhygienic – an important issue as your son enters group settings such as preschool. That said, drooling in some situations – for instance, while sleeping – is generally … spill from parted lips. The therapist can help you position your child in ways that encourage proper trunk control and head support. Build oral muscle strength and control.  Therapists use a variety of playful oral-motor exercises to help children …
Teacher seeks advice: Student with autism intimidates others … to get the materials he needs – demonstrating polite behavior toward the other students in the process. Use words or visual supports (picture cards) to remind the student of rules (waiting turns, no pushing, no grabbing, etc.) before starting an … firmly ask him to put the item down and give him a brief time out (set a timer for, say, a minute) before he can rejoin the group and try again at appropriate behavior.  If his behavior is more challenging or longer lasting, work with his … he needs to wait for his turn. Keep it simple. We suggest offering two alternate activities that you know he enjoys. Visual supports can be particularly helpful for this strategy. For instance, you can offer him two cards with pictures of the …
Real world autism interventions… appropriate, with a qualified healthcare professional and/or behavioral therapist. For the last decade, Autism Speaks has supported the highly successful research of psychologist Connie Kasari, of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. … Autism Speaks’ public health team to develop and deliver the World Health Organization Parent Skills Training program to support the development of children with autism in underserved communities worldwide, including the United States. In this … physically touching the device’s buttons to communicate. We have published several studies from our work with this first group of children. The successful results led to an Autism Center of Excellence grant that enabled us to enroll an …
Improving autism therapies by exploring the roots of social avoidance… brain activity while anticipating the social cue (smiling face) that they’d guessed correctly. And within the autism group, the children with severe symptoms showed greater brain activity when anticipating the non-social cue (upward arrow) than they did the smiling face cue. Support for the social-motivation hypothesis We see these findings as confirming and extending the social motivation …
Wandering prevention… and Education Coalition The Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education (AWAARE) Collaboration is a working group of six national non-profit autism organizations whose mission is to prevent autism-related wandering incidents and … for Caregivers     The Big Red Safety Tool Kit from the National Autism Association is designed to provide direct aid and support to families of children with autism at risk.The kit contains the following resources: Caregiver Checklist Tool …
International Autism Organizations… your child may have autism, you may also have an autism organization in your country that could provide additional support (listed alphabetically by country). If you would like to have your organization added to this list, please email  … (Quebec) H2R 2W3 Canada Phone: (514) 270-7386 Fax: (514) 270-9261 Email:  secretariatfqa@contact.net   Autism Working Group Yukon 508 F Main Street Whitehorse, Yukon Canada Y1A 2B9 Phone:  867-667-6406 Fax: 867-667-6408 Email:  …
Autism and Exercise: Special Benefits… and Nutrition, at the University of Delaware. He conducts research on physical activity adapted to the needs of special groups. The phrase “exercise is medicine” is a common refrain among fitness experts and health practitioners. A wealth … even be a “peer tutor” – another child who understands how to communicate with your child and can provide some one-on-one support. Routine.  Most of us need routine, and this appears to be especially true for many people on the spectrum. I … the physical activity program.  Create a visual schedule   to help reinforce the routine.  (See the Autism Speaks Visual Supports Tool Kit link above for instructions on making a visual schedule.) Get visual.  Many people with autism are visual …
Benefits of Exercise for People with Autism… and Nutrition, at the University of Delaware. He conducts research on physical activity adapted to the needs of special groups. The phrase “exercise is medicine” is a common refrain among fitness experts and health practitioners. A wealth … even be a “peer tutor” – another child who understands how to communicate with your child and can provide some one-on-one support. Get Visual:  Many people with autism are visual learners. Visual supports such as task cards, physical demonstrations and video modelling often prove very helpful. Routine:  Most of us need …