Clinton Outlines Autism Plan

This week in Iowa, Hillary Clinton announced a detailed plan to address autism, including additional resources and research. NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Ron Fournier, a columnist for National Journal and father of a child with Asperger's syndrome, about the plan and the significance of a presidential campaign taking on the issue.

Opinion: Need to Fill Service Gaps for Young Adults with Autism

An important read by Valerie Paradiz, Executive Director, Autistic Global Initiative, on the importance of measuring outcomes as our field evolves. She has presented at YAI's conference in the past. We need to ensure there's a better transition for young adults and it needs to start earlier.

I am the mother of Elijah, a 25-year-old young man on the autism spectrum. When he received his diagnosis at age 4, following two years of terrifying seizures, I was teaching German literature at Bard College in New York. I loved being a professor, but when Elijah’s struggles began to have a greater impact on his and my daily life, I chose to switch careers and concentrate on education and advocacy — for him, and also for other children with autism.

During Elijah’s time in school, I saw gaps in knowledge and help for those on the spectrum. Although my focus at the time was on children, the lack of services has persisted, undermining a whole generation of youth with autism through their school years and into young adulthood.This topic is of urgent importance: An estimated half million young Americans with autism will make the transition to adulthood over the next decade. A report released in April captures the story of this overlooked generation in hard numbers.

Business Grows Job Opportunities for Individuals with Autism

Like other parents of autistic teenagers, Esther Brody began to wonder about her son's future.

Noah Quick on the job.

Evan, 22, was preparing to graduate from Oakstone Academy, a Westerville charter school that allows children with autism spectrum disorders to participate in the classroom with students who do not have disabilities."I didn't know what was to become of him," Brody said. "Most kids his age are ready to go to college, but I knew that wasn't going to be for him."

Teaching Karate and Respect

Matt Hosokawa has been in love with karate since he saw his first Jackie Chan movie as a kid.
Hosokawa, 30, always dreamed of getting a black belt and teaching his own class but he struggled in school and needed special education. He eventually learned why he was different.

When Children with Autism Grow Up

In the public consciousness, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder that affects only children. In truth, ASD is a lifelong condition. But how it affects older adults is a gaping unknown in autism research. Now, a new and significant grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help researchers at San Diego State University understand how the disorder plays out across the lifespan.

Ralph-Axel Müller and Ruth Carper

“Developmental disorders do not end after childhood,” said Ruth Carper, a neuroscientist at SDSU and a co-investigator on the project. “Development is a lifelong process, and there is a real need to know what happens later in life for people with autism.”

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.

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."  

Open Letter to Journalists on Eve of Autism Awareness Month

From Age of Autism's Media Editor Anne Dachel.

Dear Fellow Members of the Media: (That includes all of you at CBS, NBC, CNN, Forbes, New York Times, Chicago Trib, LA Times, et al.)

April is coming up and I wanted to say a few words about the month dedicated to autism awareness.  Many of us in the autism community are tired of stories about lighting the world up in blue and celebrating autism as if parents should be happy about a diagnosis.  We've endured years of feel-good coverage about awareness, fund-raising walks, and no explanation for the mystery of autism.  

Most of all, we want you to do your jobs. 

Social Skills, Contentment Evade Adults with Autism, According to Studies

The social lives of people with autism remain poor well into adulthood, and they struggle to find the sense of well-being and the fulfillment that comes from meeting one’s own goals and expectations, conclude two new reviews of long-term studies in people with the disorder.As the number of autism diagnoses grows, researchers are increasingly examining long-term trajectories of the disorder. One group of people that has been little studied, however, is adults with autism, especially the elderly. Despite estimates that the prevalence of autism in adults approaches that in children, there is little research on how they fare.The two new reports begin to fill in the gap, using systematic and quantitative analyses to assess adult life with autism.

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.

Former NFL Star Curt Warner Understands Challenges of Autism

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— Legendary Penn State running back Curt Warner and his wife struggle with their twin sons’ autism diagnosis.

Curt Warner with his wife, Ana,
and oldest son, Jonathan.

One son started a fire that burned down their house in 2008. They’ve felt discrimination among other parents and teachers. And now that the twins are 19, the Warners are facing the reality that their sons aren’t going to do the typical young adult things, such as go to college.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/08/02/3716872/warners-relate-challenges-of-autism.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/08/02/3716872/warners-relate-challenges-of-autism.html#storylink=cpOne son started a fire that burned down their house in 2008. They’ve felt discrimination among other parents and teachers. And now that the twins are 19, the Warners are facing the reality that their sons aren’t going to do the typical young adult things, such as go to college.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/08/02/3716872/warners-relate-challenges-of-autism.html#storylink=cpy

Opinion: Will Government Restrict Autism Housing Options?

From Age of Autism, post by Nancy Bernotaitis, parent of three children, her youngest, 15, diagnosed on the autism spectrum.  Nancy has been involved in the autism community for over 13 years serving as president of the Autism Society of America-Dayton Chapter, Goodwill/Easter Seals Assistive Technology Specialist, and webinar moderator for Moms Fighting Autism.  She is the Executive Director of Good Works Farm, Inc., a future farm community for adults with autism. 

As is typical of our government, a ruling meant to protect Americans with disabilities (Olmstead v. L.C. 1999) is being misconstrued to the detriment of this population.  In Olmstead v. L.C., a ruling requires states to “eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and to ensure that persons with disabilities receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate for their needs.” 

In 2009, President Obama issued a proclamation launching the “Year of Community Living” and directed his Administration to redouble enforcement efforts.

The U.S. Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) lead by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is charged with this enforcement. 

In May of 2013, Jeff Rosen, Chairperson of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency charged with advising Congress and the executive branch on disability policy, wrote a letter to Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), interpreted the ruling to mean that individuals with disabilities move from provider-owned housing into their own homes or scattered-site housing and apartments, and urged HUD to issue “guidance to recipients of HUD funds on meeting the obligations of Olmstead and the integration mandate of the ADA.”  In his letter, Mr. Rosen seeks to define community living as “utilizing a definition that excludes gated communities, segregated farmsteads, clusters of group homes, settings that restrict personal choice and control, and other settings with the characteristics of an institution.”

Young Adults with Autism Struggle with Isolation, Study Finds

Tossing a high school graduation cap into the air typically signals the launch of a bigger life. But for many young adults with autism, summer after senior year is when the world begins to narrow.

Lacking the structure high school provides, they too often fall into isolation. Too much unscheduled time can produce anxiety, leading to reclusive routines, according to Sharon Spurlock, who’s worked with people with developmental disabilities for more than 30 years.

Growing Up Autistic: My Story

Editor's note: Trevor Pacelli was diagnosed with autism at age 5 and has had to deal with many of life's complexities in an entirely different light. Now 20, Pacelli attends college and has written a book. "Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic" was published in May 2012 and talks about the daily struggles of living with autism and raising an autistic child. Pacelli lives outside Seattle.

(CNN) -- Growing up as an autistic has never been easy.

Trevor Pacelli

At 5, I was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, or PDD-NOS, one of the five autism spectrum disorders. Those with PDD-NOS have difficulties in areas of social interaction and communication.

Start-Up Learns From Its Autistic Staff

Matt Sabady of Einstein Productions.

It's all about living, loving and working -- our new mission at YAI. And it's stories like this which are so reaffirming.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Renee Graber graduated from Marquette University nearly two years ago with a major in broadcast and electronic communication and a minor in film studies. After trying to find her footing in Los Angeles, she returned to Milwaukee where she found herself working with Matt Sabady, a 23-year-old with high-functioning autism, at a local Milwaukee start-up company - Einstein Productions - that is breaking the stigma regarding young adults with autism.
Einstein Productions, a nonprofit that opened its doors in September in The Shops of Grand Avenue, aims at assisting two sets of individuals in achieving their future careers in communication: recent graduates of Marquette University's Diederich College of Communication and high-functioning young adults with autism spectrum disorders.

Adutls with Autism Need Help, Too

From the Toronto Star's recent series "The Autism Project."


They are called the lost generation, adults with autism who are heading inevitably toward the uncharted territory of old age.
It is a perilous destination. When they were children, no one knew how to treat autistic brains and now that they’re getting old, no one knows how autism and aging interact. Mostly abandoned by science, they are now being left behind by elderly parents who are dying or can no longer care for them.

Hurricane Autism Has Made Landfall

From our friends at the Age of Autism. Something we've been talking about for years . . . autism isn't just about children; there are thousands of adults on the spectrum.

Looking back over the last several weeks I’ve noticed a steadily increasing trend in the news — more and more stories are coming around the country talking about the aging out ofthe autism generation.  It’s not surprising that this isn’t a cause for alarm.  Mounting numbers of children with autism have been calmly accepted for the last several decades by doctors, health officials, and the media.  And of course, children grow up, so this is only to be expected

Young Autistic Aduts Seek White-Collar Careers for the First Time

A few weeks ago, Matthew Koenig, 24, was doing data entry for below minimum wage at a supervised employment center for people with disabilities in St. Paul, Minn.
Koenig, who has autism, was happy to have a job in a tough economy, but soon realized the workplace wasn't well suited to him. His co-workers "had too broad of a range of [disabilities]," he said. "Some people had really serious problems."
Moreover, employees were graded using "a time study to measure efficiency," he said, "but the nature of my disability means I lack certain kinds of motor skills, so I can't type as quickly as other people." 

Province Provides Housing for Autistic Teen

Miles Kirsh

There's hope in Canada.

Miles Kirsh will not be homeless next week.
The provincial ombudsman’s office has assured Donna Kirsh that Ontario’s social services ministry is working to find a way to keep her 19-year-old autistic son in respite care until funding for permanent group home care is available.

Adults Facing Challenge to Find Work, Home

ST. LOUIS -- Sam Lyss is an ideal employee.

Sam Lyss at his volunteer
job in a library.

He never misses a day at work, has an eye for detail, loves what he does and is easy to train.
“He’s a whiz at mailings,” said his mother, Jane. “If you lay it out for him and show him one time, he watches you do it once and then just turns around and starts working.”
Then there’s his work ethic.
If you give him too much work, he actually won’t leave,” she said. “They have to take half of it and hide it.”