PeerKnect: A game-changing app developed to solve the social gap for neurodivergent kids and improve their development, play skills, and quality of life. Social interactions are essential for young children as they learn how to connect through parallel or imaginary play. These interactions are an important key to developing play, social, and communication skills—skills like cooperating and collaborating, verbal behavior, picking up on social cues, greeting each other, etc. For children with autism, learning play and social skills is just as essential, but it can be a more difficult and longer ..read more

Grapevine Minds is a website that provides literary resources for autistic children and their caregivers. Founded by Jean Chun, a high school senior from Deerfield, Massachusetts, the site consists of an interactive online book and a metaphor-learning program geared toward elementary-aged children. The book, It’s My Birthday!, contains various interactive features that target general cognitive challenges for children on the spectrum, including recognizing main ideas, comprehending anaphoric relationships, and reading emotional cues. The metaphor-learning program is an interactive experience du ..read more

Transitioning, employment, and personal happiness Autism spectrum disorder is not specifically a pediatric issue. Statistics show that in the United States, 1 in 45, or 2.21% of adults over the age of 18, have autism. This is higher than the 1.85% prevalence rate of children in the US with ASD. Despite these numbers, until recently, research and support for adults on the spectrum was limited and many had to navigate the transition to employment and independent living on their own. Today, the database of helpful information has grown substantially and includes books, blogs, research, and more o ..read more

What you need to know Many children on the spectrum have difficulty with language development and understanding. Beyond speaking and grammar, language difficulties can include trouble with communicative hand gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions.1 Because these language barriers exist for autistic individuals, multilingual parents are often wary of teaching multiple languages to their child(ren) on the spectrum. Parents often worry that learning two languages will make the learning and communication process more difficult and that language impairment will worsen and keep their children ..read more

JUN 08, 2021 | Russ Nelson UAH alumna Brittnie Granville and daughter Brailynn.Courtesy Alexis Blue, BPO + Digital Media Brittnie Granville, an alumna of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The University of Alabama System, has been named Ms. Black Alabama USA 2021 and is using her platform to advocate for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) awareness. Granville earned her B.S. in Acquisition Management from UAH in 2011. After a stint with the federal government as an Operations Research Analyst, the alumna turned entrepreneur, partnering with her daughter, Brailynn Ca ..read more

By Yolande Loftus, BA, LLB | June 7, 2021 Empathy asks us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone else. In the autistic child’s shoes, what would it feel like to type the word “autism” into a search engine and see how you are defined in terms of deficits, impairments, and challenges…? The first words that popped up on my screen when I searched the term were “serious”, “disorder”, “impairment”, and “significant challenges”. While it would be unfair to dismiss these descriptions, especially as it may be the reality of many parents with children needing high support, perhaps it’s time to m ..read more

The grants will fund studies that focus on using telehealth to improve care management and access for families of children with autism. Source: Think Stock  By Victoria Bailey June 08, 2021 – The Autism Science Foundation’s (ASF) recently announced fourth round of COVID-19 Research Grants will fund projects that focus on telehealth use during the coronavirus pandemic. The grant program was launched during the early stages of the pandemic to support researchers who were struggling to continue their work when their institutions shut down. It eventually expanded to fund resea ..read more

What they are and what they look like Comorbidity occurs when two or more conditions or disorders are present in the same individual. On average, around three quarters of individuals diagnosed with ASD have at least one comorbid condition. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), anxiety, and depression are the most prevalent comorbidities among individuals on the spectrum.1,2 Gastrointestinal issues and epilepsy, among others, are also frequently identified.3 Comorbidities can be difficult to diagnose and can make diagnosing ASD equally as challenging. Therefore, it is important to u ..read more

by: Anna KingPosted: Apr 24, 2021 / 07:13 PM EDT / Updated: Apr 24, 2021 / 07:13 PM EDTjavascript:false CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — The University of Virginia Health released a study saying males and females should not be measured on the same autistic spectrum. WV governor signs bill to require autism awareness training for officers  According to this study, prior research done primarily on males, meant to represent both males and females, has led to a lack of information on females on the spectrum.  A tri-state resident, Annie Galloway and her old ..read more

Posted April 25, 2021 To Susan Silvestri, director of QSAC School for Students with Autism in the Bronx, autism advocacy goes beyond students, needing to represent teachers as well. Access to necessary resources isn’t as easy for QSAC as it might be for public schools.HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁNBy ROSE BRENNAN “If you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, a birthday party, a public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain. I will fight to take away your hope.” These are ..read more