Fla. Pilot Program Breaks Down Barriers

What a great idea in so many ways. Raises autism awareness in the charter school, while promoting inclusion, and for the students a chance to develop social skills and begin focusing on a career.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - In a first of its kind program, two Palm Beach County charter schools are teaming up to help students on the autism spectrum become career-ready.

Starting this semester, students from Palm Beach School for Autism are taking courses at South Tech Academy.

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.

Oxytocin Found to Stimulate Social Brain Regions in Children with Autism

The hormone oxytocin has been generating excitement — and caution — among people who care about autism.

Scientists have been eager to see if oxytocin, which plays a role in emotional bonding, trust and many biological processes, can improve social behavior in people with autism. Some parents of children with autism have asked doctors to prescribe it, although it is not an approved treatment for autism, or have purchased lower-dose versions of the drug over the counter.

Scientifically, the jury is out, and experts say parents should wait until more is known. Some studies suggest that oxytocin, sometimes called the “love hormone,” improves the ability to empathize and connect socially, and may decrease repetitive behaviors. Others find little or no impact, and some research suggests that it can promote clannish and competitive feelings, or exacerbate symptoms in people already oversensitive to social cues. Importantly, nobody knows if oxytocin is safe or desirable to use regularly or long term.

Now, the first study of how oxytocin affects the brains of children with autism finds hints of promise — and also suggestions of what its limitations might be.

Preschool Autism Program Enlists Classmates to Help Teach Social Skills

A preschool classroom which mixes
 typically-developing children with
others on the autism spectrum.

Being polite, taking turns, and the like can be difficult for many preschoolers, but even more so for students with autistic spectrum disorders.

One fledgling early-childhood initiative is finding that getting classmates involved in helping autistic students can help boost the social skills of all children in the classroom.

Social/Language Therapy: A Must

Kathie Harrington is a Speech Language Pathologist and a mother of a son on the autism spectrum. This is her blog post from Advanceweb.com's blog.

 Social skills aren't really so hard. Most children glean them during play and with appropriate guidance. No, social/pragmatic skills aren't hard at all, not unless you have ASD (as well as other mental disorders)

Autistic Student Thrives at University of N. Florida

Chris Regan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In many ways Chris Regan is a typical college student.
The 19-year-old sophomore shares a suite in the Osprey Fountains dorm at the University of North Florida with three roommates. He carries a 3.35 grade point average and is a member of Delta Alpha Phi, an honor society, and of the Greenpeace Club. On weekends, he goes to his family’s Palm Valley home so he can work at the nearby Publix.
But Regan isn’t typical. He has a form of autism spectrum disorder.

Acting Classes Teach Autistic Children Social Skills

POTTSTOWN, Pa. -- “All the world’s a stage; and all the men and women merely players.” — from “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare
Just getting along with others can require a bit of acting: pretending to like something we aren’t; acting confident when we aren’t; or laughing when we don’t find something funny. But for some young people with Asperger’s Syndrome, the outside world might always seem a stage; a place where they mimic others’ actions to fit in.

Oxytocin Improves Brain Function in Autistic Kids

Preliminary results from an ongoing, large-scale study by Yale School of Medicine researchers shows that oxytocin -- a naturally occurring substance produced in the brain and throughout the body -- increased brain function in regions that are known to process social information in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Chef Aids Communication and Social Skills

WHITTIER, Calif. - A group of California High School special education students Thursday received a visit from a "Top Chef."
Celebrity chef Antonia Lofaso from Bravo's hit show, "Top Chef" joined special ed students in a fun, food-oriented class developed by United Cerebral Palsy's UCPlay Project as part of an eight-week program to help disabled students gain communication and social skills for the adult phase of their lives.
"I love using food as a way to build bridges with kids," Lofaso said during the event. "When you use food as a way to communicate and connect, build memories and gain new skills, it's fantastic. Food is universal."

Salon Turns Away Child with Autism

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Sebastian Walker-Sklanka seems like an average 4-year-old boy, but its what cant be seen that makes him different.
Any little change in his pattern will set him off, said Sebastian's mother, Cindy Walker-Sklanka.
Walker-Sklanka knew for the past few years that something was wrong with Sebastian, but it wasn't until last May that she found out he had autism, a developmental disorder that affects his social and communication skills.

College Is Possible for Students with Autism

Kerry Magro knew from day one that college wouldn't be easy.
On the first day of classes, Magro distributed cards to each of his professors letting them know he had autism.
"I pretty much had to be very vulnerable and say I have a disability," said Magro, 23, of New Jersey. "One of the big problems for an autistic individual is usually the communication and social issue. It's asking you to do something that your disability says you're going to have a problem with."

Business 101 for Students with Special Needs

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. -- Calculating the best-priced cookie dough may be a small challenge for the executives of Diamond Enterprises, but making eye contact while paying the cashier is an enormous one.

Diamond Enterprises is a sandwich, salad and snack business run by students with autism and severe learning disabilities at a New Jersey high school where this year 700 orders, most placed by teachers, were served.

The program at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, is among a wave of innovative programs in public schools throughout the nation that go beyond the traditional classroom to develop life skills among special-education students, many of whom were once bused out of their home district to far more costly programs.

Special-ed students can have difficulty with human interaction, so learning manners and acceptable behaviors such as eye contact is less of a social nicety and more of a survival skill.

"The social piece is at least as important as learning to read and do math," said Eugene Porta, a teacher who oversees the nine students running Diamond Enterprises. "We need to help them develop skills to function in the community."

Teen With Autism Hopes To Find His Voice

MIAMI -- Raquel Ferreiro has a simple wish for her 13-year-old son Anthony: ``I want him to someday talk too much.''
But for what most parents may take for granted, Ferreiro can only hope. Anthony has severe autism, and not only has problems communicating but also has problems making eye contact.
Anthony has a very limited vocabulary -- he uses some words for food, but struggles to be understood and gets angry when he can't get his message across.
His social worker Isabel Castano, a support coordinator for Unike Support Services who nominated Anthony for Wish Book, wants to buy him a device that can be used for teaching and also records audio. Anthony could use it as a tool to communicate.
``He can improve his social skills, which is not only important for him but for the family,'' Castano said. ``He's going to learn more words and most likely decrease his aggressive behaviors.''
The device, called ``Cheap Talk 8 -- 1-Level Communicators Direct,'' costs about $200. That's out of reach for Anthony's parents -- his father Armando works two jobs, as a valet and security guard, and his mother works part-time as a security guard. Their jobs don't have health insurance to help cover the costs, and the Medicaid benefits they receive to help with Anthony's care don't apply to such devices.

Teens With Autism Master Social Cues, Find Friends

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Thirteen-year-old Andrea Levy ticked off a mental list of rules to follow when her guest arrived: Greet her at the door. Introduce her to the family. Offer a cold drink.
Above all, make her feel welcome by letting her choose what to do.
''Do you want to make pizza now or do you want to make it later?'' the lanky, raven-haired teen rehearsed in the kitchen, as her mother spread out dough and toppings.
This was a pivotal moment for Andrea, a girl who invited just one acquaintance to her bat mitzvah.
Andrea has autism, and socializing doesn't come naturally. For the past several weeks, she's gone to classes that teach the delicate ins and outs of making friends -- an Emily Post rules of etiquette for autistic teens.
''A lot of our kids need a tune-up. They need new skills to help them survive in their new social world,'' said clinical psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson of the University of California, Los Angeles, who runs a 3 1/2-month friendship program for high-functioning autistic teens like Andrea.

Autism Affects Ability to Read Body Language

Problems processing visual information may stop those with autism from interpreting body language, harming their ability to gauge others' emotions, a study says.
Researchers from the University of Durham in England say people with autism have problems recognising physical displays of emotion, but also general difficulty perceiving certain sorts of motion.
With around half a million people in the UK affected by autism, the study suggests visual processing problems could be contributing to their day-to-day difficulties with social interaction.
The team studied 13 adults with autism and found the patients had difficulty identifying emotions such as anger or happiness when shown short animated video clips.

You can also learn more about the study from the University of Durham Web site