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In the U.S., 1 in 150 children born today will be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders.. ASA’s helpful tips for interacting with someone who has Autism People on the autism spectrum may: not understand what you say appear deaf be unable to speak or speak with difficulty engage in repetitive behaviors act upset for no apparent reason appear insensitive to pain appear anxious or nervous dart away from you unexpectedly engage in self-stimulating behaviors (i.e. Hand flapping or rocking) www.autism-society.org Helpful hints for interaction: Speak slowly and use simple language Use concrete terms Repeat simple questions Allow time for responses Give lots of praise Do not attempt to physically block self-stimulating behavior Remember that each person is unique and may act differently than another 1-800-3-AUTISM www.autism-society.org
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Celtic Nations Autism Partnership Celebrates World Autism Awareness Day
Awareness initiatives are taking place across the globe for the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.
The Celtic Nations Autism Partnership between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales has undertaken an effort
to raise awareness of autism and to campaign for autism-specific legislation across the Celtic Nations, with the support of the Autism Society of America.
Their objective is to have the European Charter of Rights for Persons with Autism enshrined in legislation. Read more …
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ADVOCACY
Urge Your Representative to Support 2010 Autism Appropriations
As the fiscal year 2010 budget works its way through Congress, it is vital that appropriations are included for autism spectrum disorders.
Please take a minute to ask your member of the U.S. House of Representatives to sign on to the Coalition for Autism Research and Education (CARE)
appropriations requests for $211 million for autism in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education budget,
and $15 million for autism in the Department of Defense budget. Read more …
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Brookes Publishing Autism Library Giveaway In recognition of National Autism Awareness Month, Brookes Publishing is giving away an autism library worth nearly $500 each week in April. Drawings will be held April 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2009. Preview the library or enter at http://www.brookespublishing.com/autism/giveaway/.
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Software Helps Children with Autism Recognize Facial Expressions
Don Johnston recently announced the release of Faceland, a software program to help children with autism, Asperger’s and developmental deficiencies
learn how to recognize facial expressions that display the emotions of surprise, fear, disgust, anger, sadness and happiness. Read more …
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New Service Dogs Placed with Children on the Spectrum
As America begins to gear up for Autism Awareness Month this April, the North Star Foundation,
a non-profit organization specializing in the placement of assistance dogs with special-needs children,
will have already welcomed a new litter of golden retrievers into its assistance dog program.
To date, the North Star Foundation has placed over 100 dogs in support positions,
and six pups from the new litter have already been assigned to six children on the autism spectrum across the U.S. Read more …
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Hygiene Tutorials for the Developmentally Disabled
Hygien-e is a series of hygiene coaching products designed for individuals with special needs. Read more …
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New Book on Nutrition for Special-Needs Children
In a new book, Special-Needs Kids Eat Right: Strategies to Help Kids on the Autism Spectrum Focus, Learn, and Thrive (Perigee, 2009),
pediatric nutritionist Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD, has synthesized more than a decade of clinical practice into a seven-step program,
along with comprehensive tools, tips and resources, to help parents of special-needs children customize a diet that could change their child’s life. Read more …
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Back-to-Back Workshops from the Autism Society of the Philippines
The Autism Society of the Philippines will host two back-to-back seminars on March 28:
Aquatic Therapy at 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and Sensory Integration at 1:30-4:30 p.m. Read more …
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USAAA/CoMed Regional Conference
The U.S. Autism Asperger Association will present the Whole Health and Wellness Conference April 30-May 3, 2009,
in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Read more …
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Model Me Conversation Cues® Teaching Manual & Student Workbook
Children with autism face significant challenges in reading social cues.
A child with autism might talk about a favorite interest, not reading the cues that his audience is bored by the topic.
This can interfere in the child's ability to engage successfully with peers.
Video modeling has been found to be an effective teaching tool to help children with autism acquire appropriate social skills. Read more …
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Half of Utahns with Autism Lead Fulfilling Lives, Follow-up Study Shows
Twenty years after first being assessed in a long-term autism study,
41 Utahns with the disorder had a higher social outcome than those in similar studies,
University of Utah psychiatry researchers have reported in the Journal of Autism Research online. Read more …
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Ohio Fights for Autism Insurance Coverage
The Autism Society of America joins with the Autism Society of America-Ohio Chapter and the nine local chapters in Ohio,
the Ohio Alliance for Autism Insurance Reform and other groups in support of House Bill 8 "to prohibit health insurers from excluding coverage
for specified services for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder."
This bill will require private health-care policies to provide coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
HB 8 will cover Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and other medically necessary treatments prescribed by an insured's treating physician or psychologist. Read more …
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With Autism Awareness Month beginning next week, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
reintroduced his legislation yesterday that would support families dealing with autism spectrum disorders.
The Helping HANDS for Autism Act, which is supported by the Autism Society of America,
is a three-part legislative package that includes a program to guide families seeking services and care,
increased awareness among first-responders and housing for adults with ASD. Read more …
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The National Institutes of Health will commit roughly $60 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
to support autism research and meet objectives set forth earlier this year by a federal advisory committee.
The Request for Applications is the largest funding opportunity for research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
to date and, combined with other ARRA initiatives, represents a surge in NIH’s commitment to finding the causes of and treatments for autism. Read more …
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The Alliance for Full Participation (AFP), of which the Autism Society of America is a member,
has announced a national effort to increase employment in the U.S. for people with developmental disabilities.
Individuals with developmental disabilities want and need real jobs like everyone else.
About 10% of the U.S. population has disabilities, but, within that group, only 37% are employed.
And it’s worse for Americans with developmental disabilities, where only 22% of the group is employed. Read more …
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Researchers at the University of Washington have discovered an increased pattern of brain activity in the amygdalas of adults with autism
that may be linked to the social deficits typically associated with the disorder.
Previous research at UW and elsewhere has shown that abnormal growth patterns in the amygdala are commonly found
among young children diagnosed with autism. Read more …
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ASA applauds the recent introduction of two bills to mark World Autism Awareness Day by U.S. Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ).
The first bill is a House concurrent resolution observing World Autism Awareness Day and calling for greater federal action to address the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, this resolution recognizes the importance of autism awareness and expresses the House of Representatives’ commitment to increase funding for research into the causes and treatment of autism and to improve training and support for individuals who care for those with autism.
The second bill would fund programs addressing autism in the developing world.
This legislation, the Global Autism Assistance Act, would authorize $10 million over three years for service providers and advocacy groups for children with autism specifically in countries with weak healthcare infrastructure and help America regain its leadership position around the world.
The Global Autism Assistance Act would fund small grants to raise autism awareness and create new ways to share American expertise and advancements in the diagnoses and treatment of autism with families and medical professionals in countries that have yet to focus on the worldwide increase in the prevalence of autism.
The Global Autism Assistance Act would also establish a "teach the teachers" program in which qualified U.S. specialists would train education and health professionals working with children with autism in the developing world.
The program would host multiple workshops to enable American education, medical, and psychological specialists to share their expertise with parents and health and education professionals in the program's pilot regions.
This is designed to help create a new corps of professionals in the pilot regions who can then fan out and help others further their autism assistance programs on their own.
Help support these important bills by writing to your U.S. representative.
Use this link to write in support of the World Autism Awareness Day Resolution, and use this link to write in support of the Global Autism Assistance Act.
Together, we can improve the quality of live for individuals with autism around the world.
Sincerely,
Lee Grossman
President & CEO
Autism Society of America
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