Frasier Cox, a boy with autism, recently won best overall bedtime story in the Our Bedtime Story Competition. The annual U.K. competition for children between the ages of 5 and 11 offers winners the opportunity to collaborate with an illustrator and have their book published. Based on the 2017 theme of friendship, Frasier’s story, “There’s…
Two years ago, I decided it was time to talk to my son’s classmates about autism. Matthew was at a school that included kindergarten through third grade. My goal was likely the same as yours or any parent of a child with autism: I wanted my child to be understood and liked by his classmates.…
When an acquaintance from my childhood showed up on my Facebook Messenger app, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that back then she had never gone out of her way to treat me with kindness. Now that we were in our thirties, I thought it would be hypocritical to judge…
In 2014, OAR awarded two research scientists, Nicole Matthews, Ph.D., and Christopher Smith, Ph.D., both from the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, a two-year $30,000 grant for their study comparing the effectiveness of a peer-mediated social skills intervention to a traditional one. The intervention they used was the Program for the Education and Enrichment…
Christine Christensen is on the autism spectrum and is a self-advocate. In this blog post, she discusses how being diagnosed with autism changed her, and the early warning signs that showed she has autism. This was originally posted on The Mighty. My previous therapist suggested I go in for autism testing. Being nervous about this,…
Erin Clemens is a self-advocate who has Asperger’s Syndrome. In this post, she writes about how Direct Support Services help her attain the skills she needs to live a happy, successful, and independent life. This was originally posted on The Mighty. I’m on the autism spectrum. Sometimes this means I can use my amazing memory…
Rhi, a self-advocate, discusses being on the spectrum and how that relates to motherhood. She writes how motherhood, especially with children on the spectrum, has changed her for the better. This was originally posted on Rhi’s website. NOTE: Rhi prefers to describe people with autism as “autistic people;” OAR prefers to describe people with ASD as…
In 2016 OAR awarded an applied grant to researchers Anne Roux, M.P.H., M.A., and Paul Shattuck, Ph.D., both from the Life Course Outcomes Program at A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University. They used the grant to study state-level variation in vocational rehabilitation services and employment outcomes for transition-age youth with autism. Their goals were to:…
School is not only the place children go to learn math and reading, among other subjects, it’s also a place where they make friends, often friends whose friendship spans a lifetime. That ability to make friends is a struggle for many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who find it difficult to master the necessary…
The next time you’re at the grocery store, spend a few extra minutes in the bread aisle and take note of the seemingly infinite selection. As kids some 50 years ago, our choices were pretty limited: white, cinnamon raisin, rye, and wheat. Each had its own special appeal. White smothered with peanut butter and jelly…
