Right now, in the midst of the pandemic, the autistic community is in a very vulnerable place. With former commitments and structures stripped away or altered in format, it can be difficult for us to cope, especially those of us who may face social isolation due to challenges with social skills or health issues. Social…
Whether your child struggles with nonverbal communication or has atypical speech patterns, therapy should not end when they leave school. While shadowing and participating in speech therapy in the school setting, I realized that there are numerous ways parents can reinforce the lessons learned in speech therapy at home. READ, READ, READ, AND THEN READ…
In a time like this where change is inevitable, some autistic children need constant support at home that many parents are not able to provide because of work or various home responsibilities. Whether it is a change of schooling, lack of a set schedule, or event cancellations, Autistic children are facing great challenges with their…
OAR invites graduate students to submit research proposals for its annual Graduate Research Grant Program. OAR accepts proposals from students pursuing graduate studies in the United States and abroad. The maximum award for master’s candidates is $1,000, while doctoral and post-doctoral candidates are eligible for a maximum award of $2,000. Interested students may apply online, and proposals…
In this unprecedented situation that COVID-19 and the associated lockdown have brought about, autistic people and their families are disproportionately affected. Increased Responsibilities and a Lack of Resources As noted in an article on the Disability Scoop website, a recent report done by the National Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support at…
For as long as the autism and disability communities have existed, they have engaged in a robust conversation about labels. This ongoing conversation has been tied to deeper conversations about disabled people’s worth, needs, and rights. When OAR was founded in 2001, person-first language, which places the personhood of the individual before their disability, was…
To commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Hire Autism has partnered with Uptimize to offer an online training program geared toward helping employers understand how to better attract, hire, and retain autistic employees. Featuring autistic voices and experiences, this on-demand training is broken down into short video modules and contains role-specific information for human resource…
OAR is pleased to announce the fall 2020 winners of the Autism Education Grant Program. Launched earlier this year, the Autism Education Grant Program supports projects that aim to promote autism awareness and acceptance among students in grades K-8 using OAR’s Kit for Kids Peer Education Program. OAR has helped educate more than 135,000 children…
For many autistic people, finding and keeping a job is still a major challenge. Research suggests that over 85 percent of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed. In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, OAR is hosting a free webinar event on the topic of employment on Thursday, October 8, at 11 a.m. ET.…
As the mother of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I empathize with other parents and understand their deep concern for their sons’ and daughters’ futures. We are vigilant throughout every one of their developmental stages. Our core focus is to lay the foundation from which they will build their lives. But we hold…
