In 2014, OAR’s Board of Directors and Scientific Council decided to make every effort to schedule their annual meetings in conjunction with autism conferences around the country whenever possible. This led to meetings in Boston and sponsorship of the Current Trends in Autism conference in November 2015, followed by meeting in Columbus, Ohio, and a…
The Autism Society Conference is a safe place to be around people who genuinely want the best outcomes for autistic individuals at every stage of their lives. The people who organize it do a great job at being inclusive — all voices are welcome and everyone has an opportunity to be heard. More autistic voices…
If you are a parent of a child with autism or a disability, you know the tug-of-war between the school and the parent is real and can be stressful. The IEP meeting every year is something many of us dread. You might attend seminars, ask for ideas in autism groups online, read various tips and tricks, try…
This piece originally appeared on the Huffington Post and is re-posted here with permission. My oldest son came home one day with an excellent idea. Little did we know how it would shape all our lives to come. In Grade 4, Liam handed me an application to attend Montreal’s Mackay Centre Schoolwhere he, as a typically…
Next in our back to school series, self-advocate Ron Sandison shares his tips for educators teaching children on the autism spectrum. My sister-in-law is a two time teacher of the year winner for her county with sixteen years of experience. Her first teaching assignment lasted just two weeks. She was hired as assistant teacher of…
Young people with autism often have differences in their flexibility skills. Sometimes these are called “problems with flexibility” or “cognitive and behavioral rigidity.” Certainly these differences can get in the way of many day-to-day situations such as social interactions, transitioning to less preferred activities, managing differences/change, and flexible thinking (“big picture” thinking). But these differences…
In 2013, OAR funded a research study that evaluated a social skills group intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Principal investigators Robert Koegel, Ph.D., and Ty Vernon, Ph.D., from the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, set out to examine if the program could improve adolescents’ social skills in…
Two people with longstanding ties to OAR and well known on their own as experts on educating students with autism have co-authored a new book aimed to help school administrators foster a positive learning environment for students with HF-ASD. Diane Adreon, Ed.D., associate director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism &…
When a child with autism enters a new classroom, there are many worries. First and foremost, the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be anxious about the year, the teacher, and the work expectations. The child’s parents may worry about how the child will manage the work, the social demands, and the change in…
As back to school season is underway, a mom shares her thoughts on her son’s progress over the years. This post was originally published on Lauren’s blog, Laughing… Like It’s My Job. 1. I am always learning something new about my 16 year old. We typically begin our school prep about 2 weeks before the…
