NEW JERSEY MAN KILLED IN QUEBEC MAPLE SUGAR EXPLOSION – that is a headline you will never see, but tragedies like that happen every year. Yet the news is suppressed because no one wants to kill the cash cow.  The result: one unsuspecting innocent after another gives their life for tourism, as d…

What’s the most interesting difference between Indian autism and American autism?  I think it’s the way parents and others perceive it.Indian and American scientists both lament the low level of scientific understanding in their respective countries.  What’s interesting is how that affects…

We are still getting settled into the new studio. So many boxes to unpack and tools to find places for. The kitchen is looking good, the library shelves are going up, the digital arts studio is pretty much up and running, and the shop is back online. A lot of work but the move was a good one. The s…

Autistry has moved! We have found a fabulous place at 448 Du Bois in San Rafael, just 3 blocks away from the warehouse, that fits us to a T. We have dedicated rooms for the Shop, the Digital Arts Studios, the Fabrication Studio, the Library/Chill Room, and, of course, the kitchen! As well as offices…

The Autistry Support Network is pleased to invite you to attend a special panel discussion on Financial Planning for Special Needs to be held at Autistry Studios’ new location. Date: Thursday, August 27, 2015 Time: 7pm to 8:30 pm Where: Autistry Studios, 448 Du Bois Street, San Rafael (Directions) *…

He’s a young man with Autism and Intellectual Disability who has been incarcerated since August 2013 as a result of behavior that results from his disability.  He has been held in solitary confinement for most of that time and is presently at a Virginia state prison. You can learn more about th…

That is a very common and unfortunate objection to essays describing life on the autism spectrum.  I heard (or read) quite a bit of that in response to my recent column in the MIT Technology Review.  The words seemed to come most often from parents who felt their kids have more major chall…

Me, at age 2. Even then, I was #notmssng (c) John Elder RobisonYesterday a new hashtag campaign appeared in my Twitter feed – #MSSNG. It seemed to refer to autism, and a new research project. I had an immediate reaction, based on my interpretation of the letters in the context of the autism discussi…

TCS Auto Program in the Springfield Automotive Complex, Springfield, MA (c) J E RobisonWe are in our second year of the TCS Auto high school program and we’re starting to get questions about the program.  I’ve listed a few common questions and answers below.Who is behind the TCS Auto Progr…

“Don’t mollycoddle autistic kids”.* How many times have we sat in an audience with other parents, nodding our heads when Temple Grandin gives this advice? After she speaks, we applaud. We get our pictures taken with her, post them on the refrigerator and on our Facebook page. We even get our child…

Time flies when you’re so busy you can’t see the calendar! So much happened at Autistry in April and May that it is a bit of a blur but I will try to describe the clearest moments. Pour yourself a cup of coffee – this is a long one! APRIL The Scientists & Artists…Party!…

April is Autism Awareness Month: Well, for some of us every month is Autism Awareness Month. But I am all for people learning more about how ASD minds work and what programs work for ASD minds. Thursday, April 2nd, Nicole Hitchcock has organized Bay Area Autism Awareness Day. Temple Grandin and Cong…

Less than three years ago, two landmark publications in Science gave researchers a quick and easy recipe for tinkering with genes1,2. The papers described a new tool — a modified enzyme called CRISPR-CAS9 — that allows researchers to reach into the genome and snip, or substitute, DNA sequences with …

Every autism family knows the struggle for acceptance for their child with autism can be a painful and precarious one. What might look like naughty behavior to some is often just a kid with autism being themselves. Many people don’t understand how real autism is or how it can so profoundly shape our…