This week’s art challenge is brought to you by Keri Bowers (learn more about Keri in her bio below!) Puppet Art Suggested materials: Glue, scissors, yarn, beads, paint – anything goes! 1. Gather recycled items from around your home 2. Create a puppet(s) using an old sock(s) 3. Take a picture or vi…

We need to decide, are we going to continue to spend time debating semantics, or are we going to fight with a unified message? By Carly Fulgham My autism diagnosis didn’t enlighten my life until age 28, but of course the signs were always there when it came to the exchange of thoughts, feeling…

Teaching can be incredibly overwhelming, especially in a special education classroom. Between paperwork, lesson planning, updating bulletin boards, and actually teaching, the day can get pretty hairy. Sometimes, that stress leads to a short temper, which can lead to a punitive classroom environment.…

Is your elderly loved one bored? Unmotivated? Lonely? Fight these common afflictions of getting older with . . . technology! Make the most out of your elderly loved one’s taste for tech with these 4 senior activities and entertainment ideas. Reading & Education Tech-savvy seniors will find it ea…

A large array of electrodes can record the activity of neurons across a wide swath of a monkey brain1. Monitoring neuronal activity in many brain regions simultaneously could reveal how that activity is altered in autism. Typical electrode arrays for recording brain activity must be fixed in place t…

Folic acid, a B vitamin, may lower autism risk and ease features of the condition, according to findings from five unrelated studies published over the past few months. Three of the studies suggest that prenatal supplements of folic acid offset autism risk associated with in utero exposure to epilep…

Stephen has been married twice. Two wedding days. Two “I do”s. Yet Stephen has no happy memories from either — or, in fact, from the marriages or any of his relationships. He met his first wife on a pre-nursing course when he was just 16. Six years later, they were married. Three years after t…

In a world where technology reigns supreme, there is a rising force that is transforming the landscape of accessibility and inclusivity. It’s a force driven by the remarkable advancements of artificial intelligence (AI) and its integration into assistive technology. From augmenting human capab…

Reposted with permission from Action Behavior Centers Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, most commonly known as ABA therapy, has grown to become the leading therapy for children with autism. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) primarily work with children on the autism spectrum and their fa…

A tribute to Remo Belli who made the “heart drum.” By James Billington, Hidden Wings The drum is tuned to approximate the frequency of the heart. As you drum closer to the center of these wide circular table drums you come closer to the common frequency of the heartbeat. The note is c#. …

The Art of Autism ends Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month with a message from Samantha Craft. By Samantha Craft If you are a voice for a marginalized minority of autistic people, who has faced continual discrimination, bullying, and isolation, spread kindness, acceptance, and tolerance. Be patient. …

For two weeks in September 2010, I sat with a team of Ethiopian mental health experts inside a hotel in Addis Ababa, drafting materials for a new health and education training program for rural community health workers. The program would provide community health workers with an additional year of tr…

This year, I have seen the continuation of some troubling trends from autism advocacy groups.  One major group booked me to speak at their conference (for which they will pay me) even as they assembled sessions with autistic panelists who are not getting paid.Another organization – involved in …

By Katherine Valdoria I have always had a hard time “owning” labels. You know when you’re taking a class or participating in a workshop and they sit you in a circle and ask you to say your name and “something interesting” about yourself, to break the ice? I hate that. I get overwhelmed with…