The Battle For The Future Of Autism Advocacy
The combined third/fourth grade classroom at Seattle’s Academy for Precision Learning (APL) is humming with activity. An inclusion-based private school created in 2007 to meet the needs of autistic children in grades K-12, APL boasts classrooms that accommodate a spectrum of behaviors and learning styles. Most children are seated at desks; one small group of students […]
Beautiful minds, wasted
IN AMERICA in 1970 one child in 14,000 was reckoned to be autistic. The current estimate is one in 68—or one in 42 among boys. Similarly high numbers can be found in other rich countries: a study in South Korea found that one in 38 children was affected. Autism is a brain condition associated with […]
Apple shares new short film on autism proves that accessibility features matter
Apple has released a new pair of videos on its YouTube channel highlighting the effect that technology has on people with disabilities. The video, called “Dillan’s Voice,” features a teenager named Dillan Barmache, a 16-year-old kid who is autistic, and shows how he uses Apple products to express his thoughts.
Mum Of Autistic Boys Creates Dolls That Seek To Encourage Acceptance Of Disabilities
A mother of two autistic boys has created empowering dolls to encourage acceptance of children with disabilities. Maria Kentley, from Melbourne, Australia, started the Hope Toys line last year in response to the perfect figures manufactured by the major toy companies. Her dolls represent a number of disabilities – some are amputees with prosthetic legs, […]
How To Design For Autism
Problem: many autistic kids are super sensitive to the sight, sound, and feel of their environment. So when New York-Presbyterian decided to build an early intervention center for autistic children, they needed it designed with their needs in mind. One in 68 American children have been diagnosed with autism, according to the Center for Disease […]
At Home with Autism: Designing Housing for the Spectrum
The University of Bristol, the Chicago University Press, has published a landmark book on designing homes for people on the Autism Spectrum, At Home with Autism. The authors, Kim Steele and Sherry Ahrentzen, have been exploring this issue with rare sensitivity and thoroughness for some years. This 320 page book is a tour-de-force with a thoroughgoing […]
The Early History of Autism in America
A surprising new historical analysis suggests that a pioneering doctor was examining people with autism before the Civil War.
For ‘Sesame Street,’ Character On The Spectrum Years In The Making
Meet Julia. As you might have heard, she’s Sesame Street’s newest muppet. She has bright orange hair, big green eyes and sometimes takes a long time to answer questions. She’s has autism. She’s also a girl.
Stanford researchers using Google Glass to help children with autism
Google Glass’ software learns to identify people’s faces and their emotional expressions — what project founder Catalin Voss calls “action units” — and then classifies them with specific words. This in turn helps the user recognize other people’s emotions. Autism, which affects one in 68 children, is characterized by the inability to recognize emotions in […]
The children who leave autism behind
Autism is usually thought to be a lifelong condition, but a small number of children lose the core symptoms and shed the diagnosis. Some researchers are beginning to explore how common this may be, and why some children outgrow autism.