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Supporting Teens and Adults in Becoming the Best Self-Advocate They Can
The creation of self-advocacy is a story that is one of pioneering and revolution dating back as far as 1968 (Glumbić et al., 2022). Today, many self-advocacy organizations target elevating neurodiverse voices and providing space for neurodiverse individuals to advocate for themselves. The current...
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Autism and Adolescence: For Many, the Most Challenging Time of Life
It is a well-known conventional wisdom that adolescence, or the teenage years, are a difficult time of life for everybody and that this has probably been the case since time immemorial. It is equally well known in the autism community that middle school (or, as it was known in my day, junior high...
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Supporting the Transition to Employment for Adolescents with Autism
Graduating from high school and transitioning to the world of work is an extremely important and exciting milestone. However, for many young adults with autism obtaining and maintaining employment can present some unique challenges. Unfortunately, despite the vastly increasing numbers of...
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Guiding Your Child with Autism Through Puberty
The early changes of puberty usually occur between the ages of 9 to 13 years (Odel, 1989). They are noticeable in girls by the budding of breasts and then pubic hair, with menstrual periods starting between 11 to 14 years of age. Boys usually develop testicular enlargement and then pubic hair...
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How to Navigate The Topic Of Driving with Autism
How you ever thought of your loved one with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) having the ability to drive? Are you worried about how one can drive, despite being on the autism spectrum? I am writing as someone with ASD who has had their license for over a year, and I want to light a path for...
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Parent and Adolescent Outcomes Following Participation in the PEERS© Program
As youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) navigate the complex social world of adolescence, they frequently have difficulty forming and maintaining friendships. Past research indicates that adolescents with ASD report lower quality friendships than their typically-developing peers (Bauminger...
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Early Start: Preparing Adolescents for the Transition Years
The transition years prepare adolescents for life as an adult, including living as independently as possible, securing and maintaining employment and effectively interacting in the community. Children with autism spectrum disorders approaching adolescence and their families are faced with great...
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Finding David’s Space
I want to share a story from my recent experience or, more accurately, a story about the long journey leading to the experience. As I’m sure many of you know, the job of a speech-language pathologist is hard sometimes, but those challenging days also make the work overwhelmingly worthwhile. I’m...
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The Importance of Self-Advocacy Skills for Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum
Self-advocacy is the ability of an individual to speak on behalf of oneself, and is a critical skill to acquire when it comes to moving towards independence. Self-advocacy includes the quest for finding information, the process of making decisions, seeking help in times of need, understanding...
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The Soft Skills – A Call to Remember the (Not so Easy) Steps to Success
As we prepare our students for transitions from school to work, we put much emphasis on academics and trade skills. However, more and more, the employers are putting an emphasis on hiring individuals with the right soft skill set. For our students to be successful, we need to assist them in making...
