OAR is already on its way to meeting our goals for our annual National Autism Awareness Month Campaign: Educate youth about their peers with autism. Empower the autism community with information resources. Support autism siblings with resources for kids, teens, and parents. Support adults in the autism community through OAR’s Hire Autism Initiative. Raise money…
At a recent seminar, I was asked by several parents what they could do to best help their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the challenging classroom environment of today’s schools. Having worked on both sides of this issue as an educator and parent of a child with ASD, I know well the challenges…
Having a stable job can greatly contribute to a person’s sense of well-being, purpose, and independence. Historically, that stable job has eluded many young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with approximately one in five adults with ASD unemployed and nearly half in residence with a family member, according to a recent study detailed in…
OAR is proud to announce that it will be offering its first free webinar featuring Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., executive director of the EPIC School in Paramus, N.J., on April 3 at 2 p.m. ET. The webinar, Identifying Critical Skills to Promote More Positive Outcomes in the Transition to Adulthood for Young Adults with ASD, will…
Ann Wagner, Ph.D., former member of OAR’s Scientific Council, became the national autism coordinator at the end of February. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar named her to the post. Dr. Wagner’s responsibilities will include working alongside government agencies to oversee the implementation of autism activities and programs across the country. Dr. Wagner…
Since its debut last year during Autism Awareness Month, OAR’s employment initiative, Hire Autism, has grown with more than 100 applicants, 31 employers, and an average of 25 jobs weekly. Most important, since October, Hire Autism has helped 13 individuals with autism find jobs. The program continues to serve the Northern Virginia area, with plans to…
In October, OAR’s Board of Directors authorized funding for six new applied autism research studies in 2018. These new grants, totaling $176,090, bring OAR’s total research funding to over $3.6 million since 2002. This is the fourth of six previews to be featured in The OARacle this year. Pedestrian skills are necessary for successful independent…
Autism Awareness Month is a perfect time to foster peer acceptance and inclusion in schools. Widespread misunderstanding of autism is a common issue in schools across the country, which can in turn lead to a host of larger discriminatory issues like social isolation and even bullying. Last April, OAR released the interactive learning program, Autism…
Remember when tolerance was thought to be social progress, even though it emanated a clear subtext of “Oh, wellllllll, if I haaaave to…”? At the time, we thought the concept of racial tolerance or religious tolerance was revolutionary. And before “acceptance” we had “awareness,” which too often could imply that “we wanted to make you…
After being diagnosed with autism in her 30s, University of Tokyo student Satsuki Ayaya uses her personal experiences to help generate new theories that autism is a perceptual, rather than mainly social, disorder and its symptoms as resulting from differences in the way the brain processes information. In autism, the brain is said to emphasize discrepancies…
