Search

The Hatching Hope Foundation brings advocacy and support to Dallas-Fort Worth families… triplets, was diagnosed with autism in 2012 at age 2.5, she struggled to find much-needed information, services and social supports in her area. This struggle motivated Sabrina to commit her life to helping underserved families in Ft. Worth, Texas … she founded the Hatching Hope Foundation, an organization that provides parent training about autism, individual and family support services, and special education advocacy. In 2019, Keshawn tragically passed away from Osteosarcoma, a rare form of … someone who really understands what it’s like to be a parent living with a child with severe autism. Our Facebook support group, Autism Mocha Moms , has been another great way to connect with parents in the community. The group was created to …
Can brain scans help personalize autism therapies and supports? … Institute at George Washington University. An Autism Speaks Meixner Postdoctoral Fellowship in Translational Research supported the research Dr. Yang describes here. Autism brain scans I’m glad to tell you about the promising findings of the … he or she would benefit from a given behavioral therapy or social training program. We did this with two very different groups of people affected by autism: young children and young adults. And each group completed a very different intervention … – at least at the current time. In theory, this might suggest that the person would do better with a treatment that supports and enhances key brain responses to social information. Already, various research teams are exploring ways to do …
Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating Severe Behaviors in Autism … of life for autistic people and their families.  To improve systems of care for this population, Autism Speaks convened a group of multi-disciplinary experts to develop the Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating … The goal of this guide is to help providers:  Expand their understanding of intense challenging behaviors in autism  Support individuals experiencing significant behavior challenges who may harm themselves or those around them  Develop …
CST information for parents and caregivers… about your child’s development or behavior and are looking for strategies you can implement at home Desire a stronger local support system of trained community members and other families Are looking to build your confidence and develop parenting skills to better support your child and your own well-being What can you expect? The CST program consists of 12 sessions, including nine group sessions and three home visits. Small groups of caregivers get together with a trained group leader weekly or biweekly …
Relationship Development Intervention… its effectiveness and identify which individuals are most likely to benefit from it. I think that this lack of scientific support is the reason why you don’t hear more about RDI. Health and science journalists, for example, typically report on … inflate its benefits. So how do we control for bias in studies? For starters, it’s important to have a control group. The participants in this group receive a comparison treatment. They should be similar in age, behavior and other aspects to the “active treatment” …
Newly diagnosed adult with autism seeks therapy advice… adults with autism.  Finding adult autism programs in your community While we have few scientifically tested therapy and support programs for adults with autism, many clinicians, parents, community providers and adults with ASD are developing such programs in their communities. One place to look for therapy and support programs is in the Autism Speaks Resource Library for Adults . Another way to search for these programs is through … I recommend seeing a psychiatrist for a medical consultation and a psychologist or social worker for individual therapy or group counseling. Ideally you want someone experienced in helping adults who have autism. So ask for such expertise when you …
Social skills classes produce lasting benefits for adults with autism… or other caregivers received training on how to coach the participants outside of class. Conversation, humor and more The group classes focused on conversational skills, appropriate use of humor and electronic communication, identifying sources … in the study, the researchers propose. “Our study offers encouraging findings that, through an evidence-based, caregiver-supported intervention, adults with autism can improve in ways that may help them be more successful in these aspects of … exist for young adults on the spectrum. “It’s exciting to see a community-based treatment model using caregiver support to help improve social skills,” comments Kara Reagon, Autism Speaks associate director of dissemination science. …
CST information for professionals… with lack of access to quality care and interventions. In response to this need, the World Health Organization (WHO), with support from Autism Speaks, developed the Caregiver Skills Training (CST) for Families of Children with Developmental Delays … and teachers to deliver parent training with supervision from skilled trainers. Consisting of 12 sessions, including nine group training sessions and three home visits, the CST program aims to help parents and caregivers of children with autism …
Family in Remote Area Seeks Autism Treatment Guidance… and playing with your child. It will help your child if you all try to be consistent in the way you teach skills. Create a support and advocacy group.  Find other parents of children with autism in your area. We’ve watched communities in remote locations around the world develop parent networks to assist and support each other. Your local parent network can also advocate for better services in your region! There is no easy answer …
Autism and ‘optimal outcomes’… to rethink what we mean by “optimal outcomes” For years, we’ve been using this term to describe a relatively small group of people with autism who, with therapy and support, experience such a marked decrease in autism symptoms that they no longer meet the criteria we use to diagnose the … re-defining “optimal outcome” as the best possible outcome based on each child’s personal characteristics and available supports . We find this as a much more suitable concept for developing autism services and setting goals for each child, …