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How to Advocate Successfully at School for Your Child with Autism
You want what’s best for your child with autism, but you’re not a teacher or a speech and language pathologist. How do you get the school’s special education team to listen to your ideas? What do you do if you suspect your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) is failing...
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Autism Advocacy Advice for Families of Color
Autism occurs equally in people of different races, ethnicities, and income levels, but autism services are not distributed equally, according to research. As a group, children who are Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, or low-income often receive fewer therapies and services for autism.1-2 They...
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EarliTec Diagnostics Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for the EarliPoint Evaluation for Autism Spectrum Disorder
The EarliPoint Evaluation is the first FDA-cleared tool to assist clinicians in diagnosing and assessing autism in children as young as 16 months old. On June 10th, 2022, EarliTec Diagnostics, Inc. (EarliTec), a digital health company developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic products for...
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Early Screening Tool Leads to Earlier Diagnosis and Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Since it debuted in 2011, the Get SET Early program, which provides pediatricians and parents with a relatively simple process to screen for indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children as young as age 1, has steadily grown in use and validation. Early screening and identification of...
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Maintaining and Improving Skills During COVID-19 with Robot-Assisted Instruction
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are falling behind due to compromises in therapy and education services. Children with disabilities who previously had stable access to regular in-person therapy are losing that access, leading to regression (Jones, 2020). While tele-care and remote video...
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Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention Today
In the 1970s, O. Ivar Lovaas embarked on research that would change the way we think about trajectories for young children with autism. He went on to publish a pivotal study entitled “Behavioral Treatment and Normal Education and Intellectual Functioning in Young Autistic Children,” which...
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Considerations for Social Awareness as a Critical Domain in Autism Intervention
When I first meet parents whose young child was newly diagnosed with ASD, most suffer in saying the same thing: “It is very difficult to engage my child,” “I can’t get my child to pay attention to me.” And, if parents are able to “connect,” the connection is often fleeting. While...
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A Group-Format Parent Training Program to Improve Communication Skills in Young Children with ASD
The first few years of life are an important period for communication and language development. Even before the emergence of spoken language, typically-developing children engage in communicative interchanges with caregivers through gaze, directed facial expressions, gestures, and vocalizations....
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The Challenge of Early Intervention Law for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Families
In the contentious world surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), one issue bridges the gap among researchers, parents, advocates, health and educational professionals and policymakers -- Early Intervention (Part C of the IDEA) for infants and toddlers with ASD works and provides the best...
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Early Intervention Resources for Families with Young Children
Research shows that early intervention (birth - age three) improves outcomes for children with autism and other special needs. Two good resources for families are: NECTAC (National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center) with an overview of early intervention, data, and contacts...
