The Autistic Place

This email just crossed my desk, inviting members of the autism community to communicate with the IACC regarding its draft Strategic Plan and its priorities. I can't vouch for...

Today I received an email from Dr. John Cannell, a psychiatrist and the Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council. According to his email, he has a theory about...

Recently, Harvard researchers reported that children with autism have a wide range of genetic defects, making it nearly impossible to develop a simple genetic test to identify the disorder. Now, University of Missouri researchers are studying 3-D imaging to reveal correlations in the facial features and brain structures of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which will enable them to develop a formula for earlier detection of the disorder.

A few weeks ago, my son Tom was in band camp. He did a fabulous job playing his clarinet in a challenging setting, and I expressed my pride to...

It all started because of failure, a missing person who couldn't be located in time. It was and still is a story that happens monthly, if not weekly all across our nation. For families and caregivers exploring options of how to protect a loved one who wanders away from the safety of their home due to Alzheimer's, Dementia, Autism, Intellectual Disabilities or other wandering conditions, there is hope.

It's said over and over again: "if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism." That's because, thanks to the most recent version of the...

The San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday profiled the Fremont, Calif.-based Dream Center, which is "believed to be the nation's only Chinese-centric autistic-focused center." The center was founded in 1996 by a few Chinese-American families to "help fellow Asians who were raised to feel ashamed of disabilities," according to the Mercury News.

Disability blogs have been filled to overflowing this week with commentary on Ben Stiller's new movie Tropic Thunder. I haven't seen the film, so can't give a first-person report,...

Who knew it was possible to get coverage for autism treatments through ordinary insurance? The answer is Christina Peck, the author of Blessed with Autism - A Parents' Guide...

Is it okay to take a child or teen with autism into the grocery store, the library, the mall, the theater - if he or she is prone to shouting,...

If our goal in the autism community is to raise public awareness that autism exists, it seems to me that we've succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Today, I received...

In response to my earlier blog about my son Tom's success with inclusion in a band camp, Sherri made this comment: Recently I read some older books on education, we...

Tommy Cook and His Clarinet I almost never write about my own children in this blog, but in this case I just have to make an exception. Today,...

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have embarked on one of the first double-blind, clinical studies to determine whether gluten and dairy products play a role in autistic behavior as parents have anecdotally claimed. The pilot study is one of seven current studies on autism in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

The costs of autism treatment can be overwhelming. Insurance companies are beginning to cover certain treatments, but their coverage is often very limited. Part of the reason for the limits...

Yesterday, I posted a blog asking readers to offer insights on choosing a dog for a child with autism. Among other great responses, I was delighted to receive a...

Bambu Productions/Getty Images A reader writes: My boyfriend's son, Zach, has ADD & Autism. We are looking to get him a dog. I was wondering if you had...

While I'm thrilled to hear from readers of this blog, and am always glad to receive comments, it occurred to me that some readers may not know that the blog...

The Autism Blog at Autism.About.com is just a small part of what's available here at Autism.About.Com. And,while I'm thrilled that the autism community is reading and commenting on the...

Dear Readers, A prior post entitled "Philosophy and Autism - Why We Disagree" was creating some real issues among individual members of this community. And much though I encourage and...