By Michelle Damiata Autism is not just a disability; Autism is something that requires understanding and empathy. Autism is a mental disability that affects a child’s social skills and learning skills as well. It can also affect the way a child’s thinking and it can make it difficult to comprehend …

We saw a couple of months ago how Amazon Echo, or Alexa, can be such a huge help to people with disabilities. With very simple commands, Alexa can read us a book, control lights in our house, and also order a pizza for us! However, how about we take things a step further, and make a combination of t…

In his December 13, 2016 Forbes blog post Michael Bernick, former California labor department director gives a good overview of the employment situation for those on the autism spectrum. At Autistry we have been working on employment for our students for many years and know how difficult it is to fi…

Robert Watkins (center) By Scott Kramer Robert Watkins passed away on Saturday, March 31 from health complications. This arrived as a great shock to family, friends and the larger Atlanta, Georgia community (and beyond) who came to know Robert as a compassionate, friendly and charming self-advocate …

By Amy Highland Those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often well acquainted with sleep problems. Though statistics vary, it’s estimated that anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of people with ASD struggle to get a full night’s sleep. The problems include difficulty falling asleep, frequent night …

How an accidental brush by an autistic savant with a silent movie classic has changed one of the world’s most recognizable films into Hollywood’s first 3D motion picture. By Carl Hernz For those not familiar with the ways of children with autism, a toy in our hands can all too often serve its …

Men with autism respond differently to human odors — and the social signals that they contain — than do their neurotypical peers, according to a new study1. The results suggest that men with autism misread social signals present in human odors — causing them to misinterpret others’ emotions. Human s…

By Helen Wallace-Iles When you have a child, there’s something nobody tells you: suddenly your first priority becomes another person’s needs instead of your own, and this can take a lot of getting used to. Then comes the twist: as soon as you’ve adjusted to them being totally dependent on you, you h…

A customizable Styrofoam head mold minimizes movements during brain scans, enabling researchers to produce clearer images1. During a typical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan, researchers take multiple pictures of a person’s brain and combine them. If the person’s head moves during t…

This article first appeared on harkla.co. SENSORY INTEGRATION Sensory Integration is the process your central nervous system goes through when it takes in information from your body’s senses, processes that information, and then responds accordingly. Our bodies take information in through eight diff…

By Allison Hill A few weeks ago Taylor Swift invited us to her concert and backstage to meet her.  We were so excited to get to thank her for Reid, Jacob’s service dog, in person.  Reid has changed Jacob’s life and our family life so so much.  I don’t think that she …

See is a science fiction drama show on Apple TV Plus. You might consider it to be just another show to land in our laps that tells a dramatic tale with flavors of action, suspense and intrigue, but one aspect that really sets it apart is that all characters in this show are blind. It is set in a tim…

In September, the Florida State University football team made a visit to a Tallahassee middle school that would become famous. At lunchtime, student-athlete Travis Rudolph noticed sixth grader Bo Paske eating alone, so he joined Bo for the meal. Bo, who has autism, often sat by himself in the lunchr…

“Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible.  High pitched notes make me feel like I could go  crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” By Jeremy Sicile-Kira Music makes my life feel normal sometimes because…