-
Howard A. Savin, PhD, Joins Autism Spectrum News Editorial Board
Mental Health News Education, Inc. (MHNE), publisher of Autism Spectrum News (ASN), is proud to announce that Howard A. Savin, PhD, Senior Vice President of Autism Quality and Outcomes at Beacon Health Options has become the newest member of the ASN Editorial Board. Howard Savin, PhD, is a...
-
Employment Opportunities for People with disABILITIES
Sitting in the parking lot of Blue Star Recyclers, I watched as employees arrived by bus and on foot. They ran and skipped into work; each of them 10 – 15 minutes early for their shift. The words of Leigh Schilling, Recycling Technician echoed in my head: “I have the honor of working.” The...
-
Screening for Autism in an Adult Psychiatric Facility
Three years ago, the CEO of Oglethorpe, Inc., John Picciano, LCSW, sat snoozing in the back of the room while listening to a presentation at a National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Conference called, “Autism, Asperger’s and the Culture of Neurodiversity.” Somewhere in the middle of...
-
Autism and Hospitals: A Difficult Match
As a resident, you always have that one patient who sticks out in your mind—the one who had some profound impact on your practice of medicine and your life outside of medicine. For me, though, it wasn’t just one patient. It was one patient after another with the same challenge: autism. Having...
-
Next Stop, Adulthood: A Framework for Effective Transition Planning for Students with Severe Disabilities
It is imperative for school professionals such as special education teachers, general education teachers, guidance counselors, and other school personnel to be knowledgeable of the secondary-transition planning process for students with severe disabilities to better meet the needs of their students...
-
8 Things I Wish I Knew Before My Autism Diagnosis at 22
At the age of twenty-two, I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, commonly known as “Asperger’s Syndrome.” On the autism spectrum, high-functioning individuals with autism generally don’t have developmental delays that are common in other parts of the spectrum. High-functioning autism...
-
Accommodating Communication Difficulties
Communication issues are common because most on the spectrum have difficulty reading body language and interpreting facial expressions or tone of voice – and 90% of interpersonal communication is nonverbal. Words can have different meanings depending upon tone and emphasis. This means the person...
-
Adults on the Autism Spectrum: An Unidentified and Forgotten Population
Among all those on the autism spectrum, adults get the least media attention and receive the fewest services, supports, and resources of any kind. This is ironic when one considers that adulthood constitutes most of the human lifespan, so that the vast majority of individuals with autism clearly...
-
Community Autism Socials at Yale (Project CASY): Developing Group Intervention for Adults Living with Autism
Recommending a “social skills” group is a very common intervention seen in treatment plans of both children and adults living with autism. Despite their popularity, the evidence supporting the effectiveness of social skills groups in children is limited and the situation is more serious in...
-
The Unique Interpersonal Demands for Women with ASD: Implications for Gender-Specific Supports for Adults
Over the past several years, there has been increased interest in gender differences within autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and how these differences impact initial diagnosis as well as treatment across the lifespan. According to recent research conducted by Kreiser and White (2014), females...
