Autism advocacy groups across the country are celebrating after a decade-long battle with state legislatures now that the nation’s leading health care provider plans to insure coverage for applied behavior analysis (ABA) for individuals on the autism spectrum. Starting in January 2017, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) will be modifying its standardized benefits package to offer coverage of…
In 2013, OAR funded a one-year study of the Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) intervention. Intended to improve the social-communication and engagement skills of elementary school-age children who are severely affected by ASD, the program was tested in four elementary school classrooms in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro, N.C. school district. Four children who ranged from kindergarten…
By Robert L. Koegel, Lynn Kern Koegel, and Kelsey Oliver In spite of the noted importance of having programs for developing socialization in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many children with ASD receive no support while they are in school, most notably during times like recess and lunch when there should be many opportunities…
When individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their family members, and educational professionals think about the term “inclusion” and its meaning, different ideas, expectations, and concerns often result. For some, “inclusion” is synonymous with fully inclusive education alongside peers throughout the day; others may think of “inclusion” as participation with peers in some educational activities…
Deficits in speech, language, and communication are common in children with autism. The range of these challenges varies widely from failing to develop speech at all to having a large expressive vocabulary but not communicating effectively. While it is important to seek out the support of a speech-language pathologist, it is even more important to…
When you have a child with autism or other developmental disability, it’s easy to feel you don’t have a free moment. Between your child’s medical appointments, IEPs, household tasks, therapy, community activities, and work, your days are full. Not only that, but when you are witnessing worrisome or extreme behaviors or emotions in your child…
Although there are strong support organizations and programs for college students with autism, such as the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Project (GRASP) and Drexel University’s program for students (DASP), professors do not necessarily have access to similar resources for teaching students with autism. Yet they are responsible for accommodating a student’s academic plan and…
The Harvard Review of Psychiatry recently highlighted a significant upsurge in the number of people with autism spectrum disorders attending college in its summaries of the latest findings in ASD research. As a result of that upsurge, more and more colleges and universities are offering programs that support college students with autism. Even so, academic…
The 15th annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) took place from May 11 to 14 in Baltimore, Md. More than 1,000 attendees from over 40 countries across the globe, including several of OAR’s Scientific Council members, research grantees, and friends, convened to exchange and disseminate the latest findings in autism research. This four-day conference…
