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From Parent to Advocate: My Mission to Help Other Families
When my son Oliver was about nine months old, I noticed some milestone delays. I also realized that he had a tic. He would get very excited - wailing - when he saw something that caught his attention. It was also around that time that I knew I had to quickly become his advocate. Naturally, I...
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The Power and Potential of the IEP
To address the inequity of limiting special needs children from obtaining an appropriate public education, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) was implemented in 1975 across the United States school systems. The IEP is an educational road map for children with disabilities. It is required by...
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Autism Spectrum News Spotlight on Excellence: An Interview with Rita Gardner, President & CEO of Melmark
Overview David Minot, Executive Director of Mental Health News Education, the non-profit organization that publishes Autism Spectrum News, interviewed Rita Gardner, President and CEO of Melmark, a multi-state, non-profit human service provider with premier private special education schools,...
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Getting Ready for Summer Camp: Tips for Parents
While kids prepare and look forward to the fun of summer break, as a parent you may be feeling stressed about months of hectic schedules, impromptu events, and later bedtimes. Let’s face it, for parents, summer’s promise of fun can quickly become a difficult and stressful time. For...
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Autism’s Growing Problem
As kids with autism become teenagers and adults, fewer and fewer services are available to help them and their families In March 2020, my wife and I dropped our teenage son off at a residential school for kids with autism in Boston. It was the day after Purim - just before the world seemed to...
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Next Steps After an Autism Diagnosis: Acceptance, Advocacy, and Treatment Options
The road to diagnosis can be long and uncertain. For some, the news of diagnosis brings validation and hope. For others, it can lead to even more uncertainty. In either situation, it is important to seek support and guidance to navigate a path forward. It can be difficult to muddle through all of...
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An Interview with Elaine Hall, Founder of “The Miracle Project” and Mother of a Non-Speaking Autistic Adult, On the Concept of “Profound Autism”
This interview article was originally published on the Neurodiversity Press Blog and has been republished with permission. Michael John Carley: Elaine, tell me about your son, Neal. Elaine Hall: Neal Katz is a 28-year-old autistic multi-modality communicator who uses gestures,...
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Honoring My Limitations as an Autistic Entrepreneur
I am an autistic entrepreneur. That is a sentence I couldn’t have uttered that long ago. As far as the entrepreneurship part goes, I’ve run a business that I founded in 2013 called Autism Personal Coach. With the help of so many others, my company has turned into a business that is stable and...
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How to Advocate for Your Nonspeaking or Minimally Verbal Child or Adult
Over the last decade, there has been an increase in autistic self-advocates coming into the public eye through their incredible means to advocate for themselves - and others like them. These individuals have become a powerful voice for boards, committees, research and quality improvement...
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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...
