I’d like to take a moment to offer some thoughts on the written public comment submitted to this November 2015 meeting of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.  Prior to this meeting we received 71 comments, which are available online at the IACC site, iacc.hhs.gov. This reflects the l…

This is copied directly from the IACC announcement.  The meeting will be open to any who wish to attend, though registration is required if you want to comment.  You can also mail in comments, and you can watch the proceedings by NIH webcast or listen on conference call:I hope to…

It has been a sobering two years for studies on children at a national scale. Ambitious projects that follow children from birth to adulthood can be the best way to identify environmental factors that affect health. In practice, however, they can be extremely tricky to carry out. In December 2014, F…

Picking up a paint brush does not mean I’m super human. I’m not an alien hybrid nor am I a gift from God. I’m not special and I’m not a saint. I am a person. We are all people and no one can speak for everyone. By April Dawn Griffin There are 200 million Autistics alive today…

In 2010, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) director Thomas Insel proposed an overhaul in the way scientists think about conditions that affect the mind and brain: Instead of putting people into diagnostic boxes — autism, say, or schizophrenia — based on their symptoms, Insel lobbied for a c…

A Letter to My Little Self By Keri Bowers Circa 1965… The yellow bus squealed to a halt. As the doors flung open, the angry man yelled “I’ve been searching for you; get on this bus right now, Keri!” I do not know why I chose to walk home from kindergarten to my house faraway on Franklin Avenue in Ho…

The atypical schedules, new foods, and people-packed homes on Thanksgiving can be a little overwhelming for kids on the spectrum. Here are some ideas for helping your child get through the day.Source: The Autism Site

"Why do you take your child outside the house?" This question is all too familiar for many autism parents. Here are some ways to reply calmly and respectfully.Source: The Autism Site

I look down at my hands and they look like fragile crepe paper. There are lines all around my eyes and silver streaks of hair on my head that contrast to the dark brown that once was dominant. I am tired much of the time. I am weaker than I was before. I feel my limited time for life and I am okay w…

If you walk a lot to get from one place to another, you probably appreciate a good pair of shoes that make your walk comfortable. What if that same shoe could tell you where to go?Lechal shoes and insoles, that connect to a phone app via bluetooth do exactly that. All one has to do is enter their de…

It is imperative to understand that we live in a world where nothing is impossible. If we don't have a solution yet, we can build it ourselves, thanks to the knowledge and resources available in abundance.9 year old Aidan Robinson was born with a left limb that ended just below his elbow. Having tri…

This past Friday, November 13, the CDC released the results of a 2014 survey that talked to 13,000 parents about autism diagnoses. Here's what they found.Source: The Autism Site

A new study suggests that what your kid's food vegetables are paired with is way more important than you might think. Source: The Autism Site

So stop wondering what you did wrong and how you can fix him. He’s not broken. He’s a gift from God. You just don’t see it yet. Open your eyes and see the good that you have passed on to him and focus on passing on to him the other good things that you have learned in life.  By Jen Dubois Dear rattl…