Going to college can be an exciting opportunity for students to discover new interests, live independently, and develop self-advocacy skills. All college students deserve to have a fun and fulfilling experience, and that includes those who are autistics. OAR’s Finding Your Way: A College Guide for Students on the Spectrum was created to help autistic…
In 2021, Vanessa Bal, Ph.D., an associate professor and the Karmazin & Lillard Chair in Adult Autism at Rutgers, and Evan Kleiman, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the psychology department, led a one-year OAR-funded study, Developing Supports to Address Mental Health Needs of Autistic Students in Postsecondary Education, that examined an intervention to help autistic…
Academic settings can be turbulent environments for autistic learners, especially in collegiate settings. For many, it’s their first time living away from home and being solely responsible for many small but important things, like eating in the cafeteria, using a calendar, getting from one place to the next, and setting and maintaining deadlines. There’s a…
Today, I am awestruck as I watch two of my sons laugh, roughhouse, and play soccer in the backyard. For most families, joyful moments like these between siblings are frequent, everyday experiences. But for some families with autistic children, positive interactions between siblings can seem out of the norm or even rare. In our case,…
The word “autistic” has always been stigmatized, its meaning is eclipsed by ideas of screaming children and socially unacceptable behaviors. But autism affects every person differently and is often not seen by the public eye. For me, autism has always played a large role in my life. Although I am not autistic, my younger brother…
Autistic individuals and their families have an expanding number of vacation destinations and activities available to them. What makes Myrtle Beach, N.C., unique is its unified, community-wide approach. According to a Toronto Star article, Myrtle Beach and its neighbor Surfside Beach were the first vacation destinations in the United States to be certified as autism-friendly,…
After two years of being virtual, the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is back to an in-person race this October. The MCM is consistently one of OAR’s biggest events with 2022 marking the 17th year of OAR’s participation as a charity partner for the MCM and MCM 10K. For the first time, OAR also has entries…
Communication boards are a form of augmentative and alternate communication that can be used in households, schools, and other community settings. Through the use of graphics and visuals, these boards can help bridge the communication gap between nonspeaking or minimally speaking individuals and their caregivers, teachers, and peers. The boards display photos, symbols, or illustrations…
Because communication is integral to people’s ability to participate in their communities, the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities identifies it as a right. For autistic children and adults with significant communication needs who use less familiar forms of communication, such as sign language, gestures, and voice output communication…
In November, OAR’s Board of Directors authorized funding for five applied autism research studies in 2022. These new grants, totaling $196,272, bring OAR’s total research funding to more than $4.4 million since 2002. This article is the last of five previews to be featured in The OARacle this year. Almost all (93.7% according to one study) autistic…
