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.

After Losing Autism Diagnosis, Study Finds Need for Educational Support

A study examining children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder whose social and cognitive symptoms had resolved 4 years later has found that most continued to have emotional and behavioral symptoms that required special educational support.
The research, presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in San Diego, CA, aimed to investigate whether any deficits remained after the resolution of early symptoms to the extent that children no longer met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

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.

Chance Encounter Eases Mom's Fears

Stumbled upon this article this morning on Pittsburgh Post Gazette by Jennifer Eddings-Morrill of Verona, who is entering nursing school this fall, can be reached at imdagrl1972@comcast.net.

HARMARVILLE, Penn. -- I went to Target in Harmarville in June to get a gift for Conner's teacher.
I also needed some new cheap shoes for the kids. Their crocs and such from last year were looking a bit on the ragged side. So I found myself in the shoe aisle and I heard:
"Shoes. ... Shoes."
I didn't even have to look up to know that this young person had autism.

With Support System and Determination, Autistic Man Leads Full Life

Seventy million people - 1 percent of the world’s population - have some form of autism, a neurologic disorder that affects their ability to interact with other people and to care for themselves. Although treatment is available in developed nations, advocates say the outlook for those with severe autism is poor, and many spend their lives in sheltered environments. Those with milder forms of the disorder, however, can have more success integrating into society.
26-year-old Kevin Gibson is one of those success stories. He loves living in his own apartment. “It’s a great feeling, to like, be able to live on your own,” he said.

Supporting Adults with Autism

Over the last decade, there's been a general increase in awareness of the need to provide tailored services, support and education to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. But there's been less talk about the needs of those children when they reach adulthood.
In short, what do families do to help their adult children to maximize their quality of life and independence?

'Like Running Hurdles and Not Jumping'

ST. LOUIS — Aaron Likens says living with a form of autism "is like running hurdles and not jumping."

The St. Louis-area man has written a book about his life with Asperger's syndrome, "Finding Kansas." He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( ) that he was almost grateful nine years ago when he was diagnosed, finally getting an answer as to why his life had been hampered by blurred confusion.

Services Go to Those Who Fight Hardest

Part 2 of the Los Angeles Times' autism series.

LOS ANGELES -- From the day her son was diagnosed with autism nine years ago, Stacie Funk has made it her full-time job to find him the best possible help. Hiring lawyers and experts to press her case, she established herself as a mother whose demands could not easily be dismissed.
The result has been a bounty of assistance for Jonah: A behavioral therapist who works with him at home and comes along on family outings, a personal aide at school and specialists to design his curriculum, improve his speech and refine his motor skills.
So far, the state of California and the Los Angeles Unified School District have spent at least $300,000 on specialized services for Jonah.
Now 13, he bites his hands, pinches his younger siblings and is easily flustered by changes in routine. But his mother is proud of the progress he's made — his ability to express his needs, read aloud and surf the Internet for movie trivia.
The outside support, she said, helps hold the family together.

'What Happens When They Become Adults?'

Like most teenagers, 18-year-old Ryan Wall enjoys playing sports, attending high school football games and dances, and socializing with friends. But as Ryan nears the end of his senior year at Naperville Central, his parents face an unsettling question … now what?
Theirs is not the usual anxiety of parents whose children must choose between college and work. Ryan is autistic. Although Naperville has a transitional program after high school to help prepare him for adulthood, those services will end the day before he turns 22.
For his mother and father, Jama and Bob Wall, thinking about the decisions that have to be made can be overwhelming. Where is he going to live and work? Who is going to take care of him when they are gone?

As Jama Wall said, “With more and more kids being diagnosed, what happens when they become adults?”

Autism Hits Home Amid Funding Cuts

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Barbara and Billy D’Amora have three children, but their oldest son, Nicholas, 13, takes up a lot of their attention. Nick has autism.
“Everyone needs a piece of me,” Mrs. D’Amora said. “But Nick needs the most.”
The D’Amoras are one of the thousands of families affected by autism on Staten Island who depend on services funded through Medicaid and other programs to make life a little easier — and Nick is one of the many people with autism here who depend on those services to make his life brighter.
But as more and more children here and nationwide are diagnosed, wait lists for these services are only growing — and funding for programs like Medicaid are continually under threat of cuts or administrative changes.

Parents Battle School District for Supports

In October, after months of anxiety, Caroline Barwick and her husband, Russell Huerta, celebrated the arrival of their son Sebastian’s third birthday.
It was the day the San Francisco Unified School District became legally responsible for addressing Sebastian's severe autism.
Ms. Barwick and Mr. Huerta met with school clinicians to discuss their son;s education and treatment. But the meeting did not go as they had hoped — the district offered Sebastian fewer than half of the therapeutic services recommended by three private doctors and did not offer a choice of schools.