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ASN Fall 2013 Issue
"Managing the Financial Needs of Autism" Articles in This...
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The Massachusetts Autism Commission’s Report: Recommendations to Create a Comprehensive Autism Service System
The bill creating the Massachusetts Autism Commission was signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in April 2010. Membership was required by law to consist of four members of the Massachusetts state legislature, fourteen representatives from state agencies, and fourteen citizen members including...
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Funding Home Programs and Private Schools – Possible, Yes! Easy? Not Exactly
You have learned that your child requires intensive intervention and educational services. A school district may provide your child with the services your child requires on the IEP. To help support your request for an intensive (and what is oftentimes, costly) educational program, provide your...
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The Power of Dialogue: Small Business and Career Mentoring
As a small business owner and non-profit administrator, I have had exposure to a variety of work experiences. The most difficult experiences ultimately taught me new strategies I didn’t know I needed to learn. For example, in a job interview several years ago, I disclosed my diagnosis of autism....
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Creating Innovative Housing Models Using Medicaid State Plan Services
Approximately 90% of adults with autism are not employed full-time or are underemployed, and more than 80% of young adults with autism live in the family home (1). Nationally, the cost of a studio apartment is 90% of the federal SSI payment rate (2). Finding workable housing solutions for...
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How to Improve the Public Special Education System: Empowering Parents, Educators and Treatment Providers
The Special Education system in New York City is an ever-evolving work in progress, and any shortcomings of the current system might be excused by the difficulty of the task at hand and/or the relatively short time-frame the system has had to evolve. Other challenges include changes in the...
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Affordable Housing Advocacy: An Approach to Success
The question that keeps ASD parents awake at night: “Where will he/she live when I am no longer able to provide a home?” Questions and emotions swirl around whenever housing is the topic of any discussion: “It’s scary.” “It’s complicated.” “There are so many factors to...
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What is Normal?
Nearly every day someone asks me something like, “When did you know that Jack wasn’t normal?” And then they stop themselves, stammer a bit, and apologize for saying normal. Their faces turn all red and they look away and stare at their feet. “I mean, you know, what’s normal, there is no...
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The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation’s Latest Signature Programs Focus on Supporting by Educating Adults Living with Autism
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle (DJF) Foundation has entered its second decade of developing, advocating for and funding unique and groundbreaking initiatives that benefit the lives of adults living with autism spectrum. Exciting new collaborations with the nation’s leading advocacy organizations and...
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Sensory Scanning for Self-Advocacy
Many individuals with autism, like myself, have challenges with the sensory world. Sometimes these challenges are difficult for us to identify, and quite often it’s even harder for those around us to see or understand them. Our senses provide our brains with information about the environment,...
