Family vacations that involve a road trip can often excite more anxiety than anticipation. And that may be particularly true for families with a child who has autism. An inability to adapt to change and new things can make road trips harder for children with autism, but it doesn’t have to be that way. These…
Kirsten Lindsmith, writer, developer, artist, and autism advocate, discusses the importance of the interpretation of physical touch, and how discrepancies in understanding — specifically for people on the spectrum — can lead to confusing and potentially unsafe situations. This piece was originally posted on Kirsten’s website on April 8. It is re-posted here with permission. It’s well documented that…
Rhi, a self-advocate, discusses caring for her mental health as someone on the spectrum. This piece was originally posted on Rhi’s website on May 14. It is re-posted here with permission. I take my mental health very seriously; I’m an autistic perfectionist whose favourite pastime is self-criticism, so I have to. I have the additional issue that…
In this piece, a self-advocate reflects on how social anxiety and stress can often be a result of underlying issues or worries. I’m not exactly sure why, but recently I’ve noticed that my social skills haven’t been on point. They’ve never been fantastic, however, right now I feel that my interactions have been more bumpy…
The idea of ignoring dysfunctional behaviour was one of the hardest concepts I had to wrap my head around when I first entered the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis. I remember playing peek-a-boo with a client on my first day working in a clinic. When I paused the game to ask his instructor therapist a…
Today’s blog post is written by Garret Mathews, a self-advocate, and includes an excerpt of his two-act play, “Make Me A Perfect (Asperger’s) Match”. There’s this (mostly) cheerful guy named Max, who has Asperger’s. He’d like to go on a date with the (always) overwhelmed Victoria, who also has Asperger’s. Finally, Max summons the courage…
The transition from adolescence to young adulthood can create both anxiety and excitement for young people. For students with autism, anxiety may outweigh excitement as they may face greater challenges than their typical peers in attending college, navigating social situations, or figuring out a potential career path. To help reduce the stress and anxiety that…
My journey to the United Kingdom for graduate school at Oxford University was an ocean away from any of my prior experiences, a forced opening to a new set of environments, people, and cultures. I like routines so moving to a new country was difficult, to say the least. I’d never been anywhere so different…
From May 1 to May 4, 2019, the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting convened in Montreal, Québec with the purpose of supporting aspiring researchers, showcasing autism studies that address the diverse needs of autism, and providing a space for researchers to discuss and collaborate on their research efforts. The four-day conference attracted…
In 2017, OAR launched Hire Autism, its employment initiative focused on helping individuals on the spectrum find jobs. OAR seeks to expand its work in the employment realm by developing an online resource center for individuals on the spectrum, parents, employers, and job coaches/educators. While Hire Autism is currently only available within Northern Virginia, we…
