As a youth education leader, you can help OAR tackle misconceptions about autism and encourage students to work with and befriend those with autism. The beginning of the year is an ideal time to launch the program in order to build a positive community of acceptance and diversity, all while fostering a more inclusive learning…
Young people with autism often have differences in their flexibility skills. Sometimes these are called “problems with flexibility” or “cognitive and behavioral rigidity.” Certainly these differences can get in the way of many day-to-day situations such as social interactions, transitioning to less preferred activities, managing differences/change, and flexible thinking (“big picture” thinking). But these differences…
According to “Business Insider,” Exceptional Minds in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is a “vocational school and animation studio that gives people with autism spectrum disorder a chance to learn animation and visual effects and put them to use in big-budget Hollywood films.” It started with a group of parents trying to figure out what would happen…
On September 18, OAR will invite graduate students to submit research proposals for its annual Graduate Research Grant Program. Since the program was established in 2004, OAR has awarded over $222,800 in grants to fund 127 graduate research studies. Last year, OAR made grants to 11 students with grant awards totaling $20,619. OAR hopes to build on…
In 2013, OAR funded a research study that evaluated a social skills group intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Principal investigators Robert Koegel, Ph.D., and Ty Vernon, Ph.D., from the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, set out to examine if the program could improve adolescents’ social skills in…
Two people with longstanding ties to OAR and well known on their own as experts on educating students with autism have co-authored a new book aimed to help school administrators foster a positive learning environment for students with HF-ASD. Diane Adreon, Ed.D., associate director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism &…
When a child with autism enters a new classroom, there are many worries. First and foremost, the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be anxious about the year, the teacher, and the work expectations. The child’s parents may worry about how the child will manage the work, the social demands, and the change in…
As back to school season is underway, a mom shares her thoughts on her son’s progress over the years. This post was originally published on Lauren’s blog, Laughing… Like It’s My Job. 1. I am always learning something new about my 16 year old. We typically begin our school prep about 2 weeks before the…
Elaina Fernandez is a 2016 Schwallie Family Scholar. Entering her second year at University of Montevallo, she shares her views on the ignorance and the lack of awareness about autism around her. As a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder, I believe that the main factor holding back autistic people today – as it has been for…
In this original blog, autism professional Elisse Bachman lays a humorous eye on traveling with a family member on the Spectrum. This blog is divided in two posts, the first of which was published last week, on August 2. And that’s what it’s like when you FINALLY get on the plane. Where do you sit?…
