Why JetBlue Started Autism Travel Program

Christina Mendez and her 16-year-old son Damian drove to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York on Saturday afternoon. But they didn't go anywhere. Mendez was helping Damian, who has autism, get acquainted with flying. He's never been on an airplane.Damian and his mother practiced checking in, walking through security and boarding a plane. Once on board, they fastened their seat belts; a flight attendant offered them snacks. Then the A320 aircraft pulled away from the gate for 20 minutes so Damian could experience the plane in motion.

Autistic Teen Placekicker Can Join Team

BRICK, N.J. — New Jersey’s high school sports governing body has unexpectedly granted an autistic teenager a fifth year of eligibility, just weeks after it won a key court ruling on a lawsuit brought by the teen’s parents.

Anthony Starego

The decision by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association meant 19-year-old Anthony Starego was able to play — exclusively as a kicker — in Brick High School’s 47-21 win over Toms River South on Friday night.

Parents Create Custom Jobs for Their Children with Autism

Lori Ireland and a handful of other parents in Chapel Hill, N.C., had a simple dream: They wanted their teenage children to be able to have jobs someday. Sitting around with nothing productive to do would be unsatisfying and frustrating for their kids, not to mention expensive.But they also knew the dismal truth: It's tough for someone with autism to get a job.So, like an increasing number of parents with children on the autism spectrum, Ireland and her peers set out to employ them themselves. Their non-profit Extraordinary Ventures businesses, including one cleaning city buses and another making candles and other gifts, now employs 40 people with developmental disabilities in the Chapel Hill area.

Iowa Teen With Cerebral Palsy Crowned Homecoming Queen

One very special young woman was crowned homecoming queen at Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High School in Waverly, Iowa, on Sept. 23.

“The student body enjoys Courtney being around,” Jeremy Langner, the school’s associate principal, told GoodMorningAmerica.com. “She really embodies the community as well, with her love for learning and the passion for being a Go-Hawk. On a daily basis she brings the right attitude.”

Those are typical characteristics for someone you’d expect to earn the coveted homecoming queen title, but for Courtney Tharp, 17, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was only nine months old, this shining moment meant more to her than the other members of the homecoming court.

Autism Therapy Under Affordable Care Act

Lisa Ferri has two autistic sons, Nicholas and Tyler.
 She credits the most common autism treatment, applied behavioral analysis or ABA, with their success.
"All the things that are instinctual for us and all the things that we kind of take for granted and come naturally, he had to learn absolutely everything." 
New York State is one of 37 states who require ABA to be covered by insurance plans, and it seems President Obama's Affordable Care Act will compliment that.

Daryl Hannah Reveals She Was Diagnosed with Autism as a Child

Here's some surprising news coming out of Hollywood today:Daryl Hannah revealed she was diagnosed with autism as a child. She also had struggles with "debilitating shyness" as a result of the disorder. Kind of unexpected, right?

Opinion: For People with Disabilities, One Size Just Doesn't Fit All

A well-intentioned plan to provide greater independence to people with disabilities is facing fallout from a surprising bunch:A small, but vocal group of families and caregivers of people with disabilities.At the final of four public listening sessions, this one in Rochester in August, parents of children with severe developmental disabilities shared their heightened concern about the state’s “Olmstead Plan.” The plan seeks to discourage institutional settings in favor of community-based living arrangements.