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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...
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Examining the Impact of H.R. 3054: The Global Autism Assistance Act of 2013
The Global Autism Assistance Act of 2013, known as H.R. 3054, is designed to provide training and education to teachers in developing countries with intervention and prevention treatment plans for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (GovTrack, 2014). It was introduced by Republican...
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Advocating for Awareness of Wandering and How Avonte’s Law Can Help
Imagine celebrating a birthday party in your home. You have friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues over for a joyous occasion filled with laughter, celebration, and a relaxing evening of catching up with those you care about the most. The evening is going smoothly when all of a sudden you hear...
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Blurred Lines – In Support of a Broader Interdisciplinary Model
It’s 6:00 PM on a Tuesday and Lindsey is taking her kids to swim practice. In the back seat they’re talking excitedly about whatever the new game is while struggling to share an iPad, worn out from the day of school but excited for the evening ahead. Meanwhile, Lindsey is thinking about RSVPs...
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Tips on Advocating for Your Child’s Education
Your child has just received an ASD diagnosis. Now what? In addition to all your other roles, you are now your child’s Education Advocate. Because of the wide spectrum of what autism can look like, a diagnosis doesn’t always happen during the early years. You could get there early when your...
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ASD and the Local School District: How Parents Can Best Advocate for an Appropriate School Setting
Parents who have children with ASD can find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to determining the right school setting for their child. As a special education attorney representing families in New York City, I have found that determining an appropriate school program and placement...
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Who Should Take the Blame for Autism?
Last week, I saw yet another article that claimed to solve the mystery of autism. This time, it was gestational diabetes in the mother. It’s always something, isn’t it? Either autism is because of advanced paternal or maternal age, or the dot-com era, or people who eat gluten. the article...
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Autism and Science: A View from Across the Neural Divide
I am writing this because I am in the somewhat unusual position of not only being on the autism spectrum and fairly involved in the autism community, but also of coming from a scientific background, even if not in the field of autism (I am a retired electronics engineer with degrees in physics,...
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President Obama Signs ABLE Act
On December 19, 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law the Achieving Better Life Expectancy (ABLE) Act. First introduced in 2006, and subsequent sessions of Congress, the ABLE Act will allow people with disabilities (with an age of onset up to 26 years old) and their families the opportunity...
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The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation Announces Groundbreaking Initiatives at Yale School of Medicine and University of Miami CARD
The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation (DJFF), the nation’s first not-for-profit organization to focus exclusively on adults living with autism, has launched two groundbreaking initiatives designed to enrich the lives of autistic individuals throughout their lifespan. With endowment gifts of...
