When autism advocate Ari Ne’eman, Barack Obama’s appointee to the National Council on DisAbility, recently spoke locally, the discussion was not about autism, per se, but about civil rights. Specifically, Ne’eman discussed how the role of the disabled person relates to history and human rights, and what it means to be “different” in an America [...]
By Jenifer GoodwinHealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) — If a woman smokes during pregnancy, it may increase her child’s risk of high-functioning autism, a new study suggests. But the raised risk was slight, experts said. And researchers found no association between maternal smoking and more severe forms of autism. What the findings suggest [...]
UC Davis autism researcher and education specialist Peter Mundy has received a $ 1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to apply virtual-reality technology to evaluate social attention and its relation to academic achievement among school children with autism. He also is launching Educational Interventions for Students with Autism, a book for elementary [...]
LOS ANGELES, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The California Science Center’s Science Matters, a speaker’s program that explores science issues in the forefront of public concern, will present “Autism: An Epidemic or a Matter of Definition” May 5, 2012 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. The program is free to the public and will take place [...]
California lawmakers and advocates for children with autism assailed the state Department of Developmental Services during a hearing Monday over the deep racial and ethnic disparities in how it spends money on the disorder. “Families that are already the most disadvantaged get the least,” Martha Matthews, an attorney for the advocacy group Public Counsel, testified [...]
Broadway show ‘Mary Poppins’ autism-friendly afternoon performance was very popular for families with children who suffers from the disorder. The afternoon performance of “Mary Poppins” was marked by loud yips, shouts and moans – and that was just fine. It was the second autism-friendly performance of a Broadway show, and for many families with a [...]
MILWAUKEE, April 30 (UPI) – Children of women who smoked during pregnancy were more likely to have high-functioning autism, such as Asperger’s Disorder, U.S. researchers say. Lead author Amy Kalkbrenner, assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, said those with Asperger’s Disorder display significant difficulties in social interaction [...]
It’s Autism Awareness Month, and word is getting out about this disorder. New figures show it’s affecting more and more children, but do you know what it’s really like to live with it? Joanna Pasceri shared the story of a special Orchard Park family. Caring for two autistic children is a 24/7 job for the [...]
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — A teacher in southern New Jersey who oversees a classroom where a father says his autistic son was verbally abused by adults has been placed on paid leave, according to district officials. The father, Stuart Chaifetz, posted clips on YouTube days ago of secretly recorded audio that caught one adult calling [...]
When pediatricians started questioning Alex Arriaga about the development of her infant son, she struggled to understand why. “Some of the things that they told us were really kind of nutty,” Arriaga recalled. “At about 8 months: ‘Is he talking yet?’ Well, no, but he’s 8 months, and he was premature, so give him a break.” When [...]