A Visit with Santa Minus Fanfare

There was little fanfare at this meeting with Santa Claus.

There was no music playing, no lights twinkling and, perhaps most importantly, no crowds gathering. But the sober staging belied the excitement felt by the parents who brought their children, hoping this visit with St. Nick would be a successful one.

Study May Offer Peek Into Autistic Mind

"Imagine you have the experience that your world is completely unreliable," said New York University psychologist David Heeger. "Every time you look at something it looks slightly different, or every time you hear something you hear it slightly differently."
That's what the environment may be like for people with autism, based on a study that he and researchers in Pittsburgh and Israel published today in the journal Neuron.

The study found that the brains of people with autism responded erratically to sights, sounds and touch, compared with those of typical people.

California Clinic Fills Gap in Dental Care

For most adults, a cavity calls for a quick prick of Novocain and a 20-minute filling. But for 40-year-old Tina Lumbley of Moreno Valley, Calif., the routine procedure was a day-long ordeal.
Lumbley has autism, a developmental disorder that makes the sounds, smells, tastes and bright lights of the dentist's office overwhelming.

Adapting Show for Children with Autism

When Lisa E. Cooney, director of education for the Paper Mill Playhouse, called a meeting last November to discuss the particulars of "Stone Soup and Other Stories," a children's show to be presented June 11, there was crying at the conference table.
The attendees moved to tears were two Maplewood mothers who had contacted Paper Mill, in Millburn, last spring about adapting a show for autistic children, said Ms. Cooney, 45, of Woodbridge.
"Just the idea that we were asking, 'What can we do to help prepare your kids for this performance? How can we be helpful?' meant so much to them that they got very emotional," she said. "These are people who would love to bring their children out, but they hold back."

Vacation Dreams Take Flight

BOSTON -- The Littlejohn family's much-anticipated trip together to Walt Disney World last fall never made it past Logan International Airport.
Henry was spooked by the glass elevator. Ambient airport noise — the unexpected beeps, the loudspeaker announcements — almost proved too much for a 6-year-old with autism.
"We thought we had him settled" on the plane, said Erik Littlejohn. "But then a guy behind him opened his window shade."
Henry melted. He cried and kicked, and takeoff was delayed when his parents could not buckle his seat belt. The family made a wrenching decision: Mom and Henry got off the plane and went home to Holliston; Dad and Henry’s 7-year-old brother went on to Disney World.
The Littlejohns knew there had to be a better way

Making Haircuts Easy for Kids on Spectrum

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Some parents of children with autism say getting their child a haircut is such a traumatic experience that they often just cut their kid's hair in their sleep. But it doesn't have to be that way. A new haircutting guide gives parents the tools they need to help guide their children through the experience.