This column is reprinted with permission from Emma’s Hope Book, a blog written by a teenager with autism and, occasionally, her parents. What would you do if the whimper in your heart could not find the right words to speak? What if you couldn’t control the things you felt compelled to say, even if you…
A young adult self-advocate explains the road to diagnosis for her and her brother, and shares a message to parents and educators on how their experiences could have been improved. There is a photo of me at 3 years old. I am standing in a meadow on the tips of my toes, arms scrunched up like…
Paul Corby, 27, requires a heart transplant for a rare genetic disease. Corby is also on the autism spectrum and has a number of psychological conditions, for which he takes 19 different medications. After applying for the University of Pennsylvania’s transplant program, he was turned down. The program cited “psychiatric issues, autism, the complexity of…
OAR will accept applications for the 2017 OAR Scholarship Program through Friday, May 5 at 11:59 pm EST. Applicants can apply to either the Schwallie Family Scholarship or the Lisa Hussman Scholarship. Each offers $3,000 scholarships to students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (DSM-IV or 5 criteria) pursuing full-time post-secondary, undergraduate education in the United…
Just in time for Autism Awareness Month, OAR is pleased to announce that its Hire Autism jobs portal is now open in Northern Virginia, the location selected for the new jobs portal’s first test before being expanded nationwide. Hire Autism has 14 active job openings. Since late last year, OAR’s Hire Autism staff has reached out…
As the parent of a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), you sit down each year with a group of professionals to craft the Individual Education Program (IEP), a document that focuses on the goals you would like your child to achieve over the next year. But it could and should do more than that.…
Since its introduction in April 2012, the Kit for Kids peer education program has reached more than 80,000 students. The goal of the Kit for Kids, which includes the story, “What’s up with Nick?” is to promote autism awareness and acceptance of classmates with autism among children (grades K-8) in a non-threatening and age-appropriate manner.…
I am a 42-year-old woman with a diagnosis of autism and atypical schizophrenia. I am an author, blogger, radio show host, mentor, advocate, public speaker, and ambassador for many autism organizations in Australia. Last month I celebrated 10 years in a professional role in government administration. When I applied for my job, many people —…
In December 2016, OAR’s Board of Directors authorized funding for six new applied autism research studies in 2017. These new grants, totaling $178,866, bring OAR’s total research funding to over $3.6 million since 2002. This is the third of six previews to be featured in “The OARacle” this year. Learning disabilities affect as many as…
This post was originally published on Respectfully Connected and is re-posted here with permission. A lot of the messages parents and disabled advocates send to families are about helping us deal with our misplaced grief after a child has a diagnosis. Messages that encourage and challenge us to accept our children and find ways to work with their unique…
