The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of course affected premiums and insurance purchasing in the United States. It guaranteed people with pre-existing conditions could buy health coverage and allowed children to stay on parents’ plans until age 26. But the roughly 2,000-page bill also included a host of ot…

By Maverick L. Crawford III Maverick talks candidly about being diagnosed with an intellectual disability and autism. His is an inspirational story of rising above his abuse and homelessness to find his personal strength and triumph. I remembered how awkward I appeared to be compared to my other si…

This month’s ASAT feature comes to us from Ennio Cipani, Ph.D. To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment, and like them on Facebook! I am a new teacher who will have a stu…

Our autism anchors, Raphael Bernier and James Mancini, nominate candidates for the hottest topic in autism research in 2017. Runners-up include biological markers in the brain, adults with autism, genetics and its counterpart — the environment. In the end, Mancini and Bernier cede to their guest, Li…

This month’s ASAT feature comes to us from Alan Schnee, PhD, BCBA-D.To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment, and like them on Facebook! I’ve been teaching children …

Do you want work-life balance? Good luck. It's a mythical beast based on one hugely erroneous assumption - that you have control over the world.  The reality (and you probably don't need me to tell you this) is that you DON'T have control over the world. You don't even have real control over your li…

Every child, every family situation and every parent is different but we can connect to autism through authentic stories like the indie film, A Boy Called Po. Inspired by one family’s journey with autism, we glimpse into the life of Po, an autistic boy and his father. In 2016, the film made its debu…

Mutations in an autism-linked gene called AUTS2 do not cause the condition’s core social features, according to the most comprehensive clinical portrait to date1. However, the mutations almost always lead to intellectual disability. Deletions in AUTS2 trigger a constellation of symptoms, including s…

“I was existing, floating, drifting in my own bubble and couldn’t get out. Sometimes it felt like everybody else was in a bubble and I couldn’t get in. Those moments I ‘knew’ everybody knew what was going on . . . and I didn’t.”  By Eva Angvert Harren Throughout my life I have not been a…

Autism is usually identified by doctors during childhood, but a growing number of people are now being diagnosed with the condition in adulthood. A later diagnosis can be challenging because many intellectually able adults have developed ‘compensatory’ psychological strategies for coping with their …

The Art of Autism prefers Autism Acceptance Month The month of April is Autism Awareness Month. April 2 has been designated by the United Nations as World Autism Awareness Day. This year their focus is on “assistive technologies, active participation.” Here are some suggestions for incre…

Hearing people always assume that there is only one way to enjoy music, and that is by listening/ hearing to it. In a world dominated and driven by able bodied privilege, that assumption is prevalent, and when a deaf person shows up at a concert, heads turn. However, deaf people can enjoy music in w…

Autism is significantly more common in boys than in girls. This skewed sex ratio has been recognized since the first cases of autism were described in the 1940s. The exact reasons for the ratio remain unclear. It could be rooted in biological differences between the sexes. Or, some experts say, it m…

John R. Miller has written and illustrated two children’s books based on the imaginary world he created on his two little hands when he was 5 years old. “When I was a little boy, I was diagnosed with autism and one of my stims or tics was to play and wrestle with my hands where I created Handom. Ha…