The post Tough decision; security check; building brains appeared first on Spectrum. Source: Spectrum News

By Debra Muzikar 2016 is starting out to be a very good year. Last week I received  the most comprehensive and practical book for those working with young adults with autism or learning differences aged 16 – 26. The book is called “Autism and Learning Differences: An Active Learning Teac…

“There’s this one thing a friend of the Dalai Lama said after being tortured and imprisoned: to solve his imprisonment, he had compassion for his torturers, not anger, but compassion. Replace anger with compassion and you get a happier person,” Ben By Nancy Lea Speer It is said that if a Great B…

There’s no single way to teach children with autism. Regardless of which method a school adopts, though, it’s no mystery what helps them to thrive: calm, not chaos, in the classroom; one-on-one attention from teachers, aides and therapists; lessons tailored to the individual child’s needs, whether t…

Clothing that incorporates self-soothing therapy is aimed at empowering patients to take charge of their symptoms.Source: The Autism Site

Two seemingly similar mutations in the SHANK3 gene have divergent effects on the brain and behavior, according to a mouse study published 6 January in Neuron1. The findings may help explain why one mutation is associated with autism, whereas the other has ties to schizophrenia. SHANK3 is on a growin…

I take a deep breath before reading any article, popular or scientific, about autism. I steel myself because most of these stories paint people like my curly-haired, autistic teenage son as burdens to their families — as changelings or enigmas. I love my son Leo fiercely and consider him none of tho…

“Life and death, energy and peace. If I stop today it was still worth it. Even the terrible mistakes that I made and would have unmade if I could. The pains that have burned me and scarred my soul, it was worth it, for having been allowed to walk where I’ve walked, which was to hell on E…

By Leanne Libas There are two different categories that people fall into: those who make New Year’s resolutions and those who don’t. Do I believe in resolutions? Yes, just as long as they are reasonable and attainable. The problem I usually encounter with New Year’s resolutions is how I utterly fail…

After this boy took a tumble, an employee did something awesome.Source: The Autism Site

They really went above and beyond for this girl with autism!Source: The Autism Site

Small plates studded with miniature electrodes can reveal firing patterns across large networks of cultured neurons. The ‘hot plates,’ described in the February issue of Molecular Psychiatry, could help researchers understand how autism-linked mutations affect brain circuits1. The plates are small c…

Monkeys engineered with multiple copies of a gene called MeCP2 show autism-like characteristics, including lack of social activity and repetitive behaviors. In a first for autism research, the monkeys pass the extra genes on to their offspring, which show social deficits too, according to a report p…

Eating out can be tricky for autism families. That’s why one dad came up with this solution.Source: The Autism Site