Autism Speaks' Grants for Swim Lessons

"Ian, Ian, Ian," squeals 8-year-old Anna as she spots her friend across a pool in the South Bronx. She splashes with excitement until he gingerly joins her in the water.

Five years ago, Anna wouldn't even utter "Mama."
Anna and Ian, 7, are on the autism spectrum. Among their challenges is learning how to swim. With 1 in 68 American children falling on the spectrum, many with a penchant for wandering near water, parents and advocates believe swim safety is crucial.

Not Everyone Seeks a Cure to Autism

Race, walk, skip, hop, dump ice water over your head for the cure? No thanks, say some with autism.

“Neurodiversity” advocates are not interested in finding a cure for autism. Rather than changing autistic people so that they fit into a narrow stripe of acceptable behavior in the world, they’d like to see the world expand its concept of acceptable behavior to include people with autism.

Autism Speaks Urges Vaccinations

A well-known autism advocacy group, Autism Speaks, is urging parents to vaccinate their children amid a measles outbreak that has already reached 14 states and infected 102 people last month. 

Rob Ring, chief science officer of Autism Speaks, released a statement today stressing that vaccines do not cause autism, and parents should vaccinate.

Autism Speaks Shifts Focus to Adults

After prioritizing the needs of children for years, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization is turning its attention to expanding housing options and supports for adults.

Starting as a pilot project in three states — Florida, New Jersey and Illinois — Autism Speaks is working with locally-based disability advocacy groups and policymakers to identify legislative goals and mobilize its own network to push for expanded home and community-based services.

Report Cites Behavioral and Genetic Differences Among Siblings with Autism

Most siblings with a diagnosis of autism do not share the same genetic risk factors for the disorder and are as distinct in their behaviors as any brothers and sisters, scientists reported on Monday in a study that came as a surprise to many doctors, if not to parents.

Scientists analyzed genetic material from 85 families, using a technology called whole-genome sequencing. Unlike other approaches, which illuminate a sample of a person’s genetic material, the whole-genome technique maps out the entire voluminous recipe, every biological typo, every misplaced comma or transposed letter. Each of the families had two children with a diagnosis of autism.

U.S. Unprepared for 'Autism Tsunami' as Children Transition to Adults Services

Autism is on the rise: More than 1.5 million people have the condition in the United States alone. But because the majority of these people are younger than 22, the country is on the verge of an “autism tsunami” that could leave thousands without the support they need as they become adults, according to Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organization. 

“The current system we have right now is woefully inadequate,” says Angela Lello, director of housing and community living at Autism Speaks. "There are lots of long waiting lists. In some states, it can take as long as 10 years to gain access to [these support] services."  

Can Google Find Cure for Autism?

Over the past 10 years, no disease has become so familiar to Americans, yet remained so mysterious, as autism.

Now affecting 1 in every 68 children born in the United States—up from 1 in 166 a decade ago—the condition has so far resisted nearly all efforts to cure it, curb it or even precisely define it. As a result, speculation and controversy surrounding the disease has mounted, leaving parents unsure what to believe and doctors frustrated with a lack of options.

Nets' Williams Plans Autism-Friendly Game

NEW YORK  — D.J. Williams' biggest issue with NBA games is he'd rather be playing with dad than watching him.

"He wants me the whole game, so he just wants to get out on the court," said his father, Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams.For many more autistic children, there are other challenges at the arena.

Findings Raise Concerns About Path to Autism Early Intervention

A new study from researchers at Autism Speaks shows improvement towards universal early screening for autism. The report, published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, also found that few approaches to early detection, such as screening during well-child visits, were evaluated to understand their impact on early diagnosis and access to services.

More Support Needed for Adults with Autism, Survey Finds

PHILADELPHIA — Within the next 10 years, nearly half a million young people diagnosed with autism grow into adulthood. A new survey says there will be a big need for supportive services and housing for these autistic adults.

The housing and residential supports survey was conducted over the course of four weeks and included responses from 10,000 caregivers and 400 people with autism spectrum disorder.“There’s no national plan or effort to really strategically deal with so many adults with autism coming into the system,” says Leslie Long, director of adult services for Autism Speaks, which conducted the survey.

Autism Speaks Launches National Housing and Support Survey

Within the next decade, a minimum of 500,000 individuals with autism will enter adulthood. Many of these individuals will require access to the adult services system — a system that can have exceedingly long waiting lists and few autism-specific supports for adults on the autism spectrum.

Autism Speaks is responding to this dilemma with a first-of-its-kind national survey to identify the current and future housing and residential support needs of the autism community. The survey will poll individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) ages 14 and older and their families/caregivers to identify the type of home and support services that they may need both now and in the future.

Autism Focus of New Legal Center

With autism prevalence on the rise, a new legal resource center is launching that will focus specifically on issues facing those with the developmental disorder across the country.

Autism Speaks plans to announce Tuesday that it will form the new center with an eye toward helping establish key legal precedents for this growing population.

First on the agenda will be ensuring that autism insurance laws passed in many states in recent years are implemented appropriately, organizers said. Ultimately, however, plans call for the center to address everything from housing to employment to criminal and family law issues as they relate to autism.

Troubling Sandy Hook Legacy May Be Backlash Against Children with Autism

On the first day back to school after 20 first-graders and six adults died at a Connecticut elementary school, students at a Utah middle school gathered to discuss the massacre.

A boy raised his hand. "The reason why this man shot little kids is because he has autism," he said.

Tricia Nelson's seventh-grade son was at the assembly. He's shy, not the kind of child apt to speak in public, but his hand darted up in response. "Autism doesn't make people shoot other people," he said.

Sandy Hook Victim with Special Needs Died in Aide's Arms

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Staring down the barrel of a rifle, Anne Marie Murphy pulled Dylan Hockley close to her, trying to shield him from the hail of bullets that would kill them both.
Dylan, 6, had special needs, his family said Monday. And Murphy was his "amazing" aide, they said. He loved her, pointing happily to her photo on the Hockley's refrigerator every day.
"We take great comfort in knowing that Dylan was not alone when he died," said his parents, Ian and Nicole Hockley.

Mets Gear 'Quiet' Section Toward Autistic Kids

NEW YORK -- For some New York Mets fans, a designated quiet area without loud music or cheering in their home stadium of Citi Field would be nothing short of blasphemy.
But in an email to their fans Wednesday, the baseball team introduced the proposal, before revealing the section's motive: to accommodate autistic children.

Tommy Hilfiger Opens Up on Daughter's Autism

Designer Tommy Hilfiger is featured
in a public service announcement
for Autism Speaks.

Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee have more in common than just design success -- they both have children affected with autism.
Hilfiger said that one of the reasons he chose to appear in a public service announcement for the philanthropy Autism Speaks was to honor his16 year-old daughter, Kathleen.
He said that she when was five years old, she was given the diagnosis of being “developmentally delayed.”

Candidate Has Personal Reason to Run

Elizabeth Emken and her son, Alex.

DANVILLE, Calif. -- Elizabeth Emken lives on a leafy cul-de-sac in Danville with her husband of 26 years, their two daughters, their English springer spaniel, and their son, Alex.
"What's your birthday?" Alex asked. I gave him the date. He thought for an instant and put it into context that has meaning to him: " 'Mickey Mouse Club, Circus Day.' 'Up a Tree.' 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.' "
They're all Walt Disney productions, vintage 1955, the year I was born. Done with me, he asked two other visitors for the dates of their birth. "Old Yeller," he said of one. "Sign of Zorro," he said of the other.
He is why Elizabeth Emken has embarked on a quixotic campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Many of Emken's positions come from the Republican playbook, and that places her at odds with other parents who similarly are enmeshed in the issue. On this point, they agree: "We're not addressing autism as the public health emergency it is."

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/22/4430762/candidate-has-a-personal-reason.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/22/4430762/candidate-has-a-personal-reason.html#storylink=cpy

Autism Speaks Executive Named to President's Committee

The White House has announced that the President intends to appoint Autism Speaks Executive Vice President of Programs and Services Peter Bell to serve on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, which advises the President and Secretary of Health and Human Services on issues that impact people with intellectual disabilities and their quality of life. The Committee consists of 21 citizen members appointed by the President and 13 ex officio (Federal Government) members designated by the President.

Farm Provides a 'Life's Work' for Adults

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- When Wendy Kaplan gathered her 26-year-old daughter Rachel's circle of support to discuss options for living independently, she thought they would talk about moving to an apartment. But Rachel, who has autism and communicates through typing, had a different idea. She wanted to live on a farm.
Thus began SustainAbility, a one-acre farm is in the height of its inaugural season at the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Park Trains Staff on Autism Sensitivity

BRISTOL, Conn. — A day at a theme park offers a day of thrills and fun for families. But for someone with autism, the sights and sounds of such a fast-paced environment can become highly stressful, possibly leading to anxious behavior.
Lake Compounce theme park became aware of the challenges and special needs of people with autism about five years ago and has since been teaming up with the New England chapter of the Autism Speaks organization to help autistic children and adults feel welcome and comfortable at the park.