Tom Brady's Big Commitment to Best Buddies

Tom Brady started volunteering with Best Buddies when he was 23, still driving an ugly yellow Jeep and able to go to Red Sox games regularly without being recognized.
He's 34 now. Stuff's changed.
But his commitment to Best Buddies has not.

After DOJ Ruling, a Struggle to Find Homes

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Local governments across Virginia are struggling to cope with a settlement agreement that will change how the state handles people with intellectual disabilities.
Ever since a federal judge issued a ruling earlier this year to close what Virginia calls "training centers" -- essentially, institutions -- members of the Arlington Community Services Board have been struggling to figure out what's next. Right now, there are more questions than answers, and time is running out.
The Department of Justice determined that the state was essentially warehousing people in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is forcing most of the training centers to close. Local governments across Virginia will have to pick up the slack. In Arlington, that means the county will have to have to create new group homes for three dozen individuals who are currently living at the Northern Virginia and Central Virginia training centers.

Relating to Children on the Spectrum

According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one child in 88 has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That’s a 23-percent increase since the organization’s last report in 2009. That ratio is even higher in New Jersey, which reported one child in 49 diagnosed with an ASD.

In spite of his autism spectrum disorder, Daniel Stefanski wrote 'How to Talk to an Autistic Kid' at the age of 14.

While it may seem like an epidemic is underway, the CDC attributes a lot of this increase to improvements in identifying, diagnosing, and treating children with ASDs. It has absolutely nothing to do with vaccines, according to the Institute of Medicine, and the CDC agrees.
Some experts believe that New Jersey ranks so high simply because its medical and educational personnel are particularly adept at identification and diagnosis—and because parents in New Jersey are more aware of ASDs as well.

New Drugs, Fresh Hope Children with Autism

Lynn and Neil Balter always dreaded stage productions at their son Jack's elementary school.

Jack Balter with his toys at home.

When Jack was up there with the other performers, the noise, the lights, the crowd almost always got to him, and he would "start spinning," wandering around the stage or turning in circles, Lynn says. "It usually turned into an embarrassing situation," she adds.
But at a dance performance at Jack's Scottsdale, Arizona, school last December, something was different. "He was half a beat behind in the dance, but he did the whole thing," Neil says. "He participated and took the bow with his class."
Afterward, Jack's teacher greeted the Balters in tears. "I don't know what is going on with this kid, but there is this miracle happening and I have a different kid at school," she told the Balters.

Military Family Fights for Autism Coverage

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A retired airman who dedicated 21 years to the United States Air Force is denied medical coverage for his autisitc five-year-old daughter.
Sara Bryan was diagnosed with autism at age four. The news was devastating to her parents, Jeff Bryan and his wife, Lisa.

Judge Rules Asperger's Prevents Woman From Holding Job and Repaying Student Loans

A bankruptcy judge has ruled in favor of a Maryland resident who claimed she could not repay her student loans because her Asperger’s syndrome prevents her from holding a job.
Carol Todd, who attended the University of Baltimore School of Law in the 1990s before dropping out, successfully made the case that her disability prevented her from repaying the nearly $340,000 she owed in student loans.

Antioxidant Therapy Holds Promise for Autism

A new pilot study suggests a specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism.
Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital studied 31 children with the disorder.
The antioxidant, called N-Acetylcysteine, or NAC, effectively reduced irritability in children with autism and moderated repetitive behaviors. The researchers emphasized that the findings must be confirmed in a larger trial before NAC can be recommended for children with autism.