April is Autism awareness month, as we have created this infographic to help lay out the important issues and what you can do to help spread awareness.
From Visually.
Florida State University Autism Research
Kara Dingess of Florida Sate University, writes Understanding the impact perceptions of severity has on parents of children with ASD, aids professionals in finding meaningful coping mechanisms and interventions to benefit the individuals affected.
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of positive psychology coping mechanisms, such as humor, optimism, and spirituality, on the stress levels of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This study will contribute to an awareness of the effects of using these coping mechanisms on the stress levels of parents of children with ASD. The results of this study can be used in combination with other findings to promote the use of and increase awareness on positive psychology coping mechanisms.
In order to participate, you must be biological and stepparents over the age of 18 living with pre-adolescent children (ages four to twelve) with a self-reported diagnosis of ASD living in the United States. The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete and upon completion, you will have the opportunity to win a $25 VISA gift card. You will also be helping the researcher complete her dissertation for her Doctorate degree in Combined School and Counseling Psychology.
7-year-old boy with autism gets surprise party from community
Seven-year-old Gabe Manus loves tiny cars.
The Hot Wheels lover was the life of his birthday party, drawing in a packed crowd of more than 60 supporters Saturday afternoon.
His mother Stephanie Manus said Gabe, who has autism, didn’t think anyone would come.
She said last year, no one came to his birthday party.
So this year the Cherab Foundation decided to encourage the community to come to Gabe’s party.
Read the article here.
Autism and education
The instant I closed the front door behind him on the first day of fourth grade, James burst into tears as if I’d popped his cork. Just as I’d feared.
“My teacher said if I forget to write my name on my paper she’ll make me do it 800 times. Call her,” he begged. “Tell her she needs to treat me different.”
“Remember, James has autism,” I whispered to the teacher in the hallway the next day. “He takes everything literally. Plus, fear doesn’t motivate him. It paralyzes him.”
“I’ll talk to him,” she said. Then she lectured me for 15 minutes about the subtleties of scaring kids versus motivating them. I skulked home.
Although new for James, this teacher had been at his school for 17 years. She had a pet bearded dragon lizard and also coached the school’s Academic Games team. James would rather die than play Academic Games. All day his brain wages a tug-of-war between the intoxicating allure of sports and the more subtle charms of academics. Add a sluggish work speed, and James has to exert maximum effort to achieve an average result.
Read the full article here
Sensory aspects of speech linked to language issues in autism
Children with autism pay just as much attention to speech that doesn’t match lip movements as to speech in which sight and sound are coordinated, according to a new study1. Typical children prefer speech in which the sensory cues are in sync.
Some people with autism have trouble learning to speak and understand words. Some people with the condition have minimal verbal skills or don’t speak at all. The new work suggests that these problems may be partially rooted in an inability to integrate sight and sound when other people talk, and inattention to these cues.
“There are underlying mechanisms that bring about these sets of skills that then translate into language learning,” says lead researcher Giulia Righi, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. “We really need to understand from a mechanistic view how these abilities come about.”
Read the full article here