Author: Autism Today News.
Hundreds took part in the Bike to the Beach event Sunday to raise money for Long Island groups that help people with autism and their families. The event supporting the autism and disability community has been taking place for over a decade. “We support thousands of individuals with autism on Long Island. We provide them with free social and recreational programs so that they can still have opportunities to go out to be part of the community,” said Michele Iallonardi of the Nassau/Suffolk Autism Society of America. Bicyclists had the option to participate in 25, 50 and a 100-mile courses…
A multi-university research team co-led by University of Virginia engineering professor Gustavo K. Rohde has developed a system that can spot genetic markers of autism in brain images with 89 to 95% accuracy. Their findings suggest doctors may one day see, classify and treat autism and related neurological conditions with this method, without having to rely on, or wait for, behavioral cues. And that means this truly personalized medicine could result in earlier interventions.“Autism is traditionally diagnosed behaviorally but has a strong genetic basis. A genetics-first approach could transform understanding and treatment of autism,” the researchers wrote in a paper published…
Danielle Dickinson, 31, a business owner from Morpeth, Northumberland, said she waited almost four and a half years for her now 11-year-old son Wyatt’s autism diagnosis in 2019, and is back on the waiting list for her youngest son, Zuri, aged three.He has been there since February and she said she will not send him to school until he has a diagnosis.She said: “Having that in place says, ‘actually, I’m not doing anything wrong, it’s not my parenting’, I have that stamp to say there is something neurodiverse with my child – it does add an extra layer of protection.”She…
Last year, Kristin Haseldine was the most tired she had ever been in her life.The 37-year-old quit her job and moved back in with her parents in Adelaide at the end of 2023.”The last couple of years have gotten progressively harder, and I just couldn’t work out why,” she said.After a recent diagnosis of autism and ADHD (AuDHD), Ms Haseldine felt like she had an answer for the challenges she had faced, and recognised she had been experiencing “autistic burnout”. “Without any support or knowledge of what’s going on, your life just kind of spirals and you don’t know what’s wrong,”…
Federal agencies create rules, called regulations, that implement laws. Last month, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on two combined cases, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce. We condemned this decision because it will change the way courts review regulations and decide if they should be overturned. The Court stopped using a decades-old legal principle known as Chevron deference. Chevron deference meant that, when a law was ambiguous, courts would accept what federal agencies said it meant in their regulations within reason. The legal standards that will be used going forward will likely mean more…
This month’s Conversation About Autism focuses on experiences with puberty and sexual health education. We asked Brett Niessen, senior health educator, University of Washington adjunct faculty and private consultant, to share his expertise and resources for helping children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn about their bodies; relationships; appropriate behaviors in private and public; and sexuality. Part 1 is about sexual health education. Part 2 of this series will address the topic of sexual assault and abuse. Brett Niessen: “Sexual health education can help your child stay safe, have rewarding relationships and get medical or behavioral help when…
Ronsisvalle: Autism isn’t something to fear; it’s a different way of being. With the right support, your child can lead a fulfilling life.By Dr. Mike Ronsisvalle | For FLORIDA TODAYMr. and Mrs. Johnson walked into my office with hope and hesitation, settling on the couch for an initial assessment of their six-year-old son, Timmy. While they were both incredibly kind and gracious, their anxiety was palpable. Mrs. Johnson spoke up.“Dr. Mike, we’ve seen so many professionals over the past few years, but none have given us a diagnosis that feels accurate. We’re starting to lose faith that we’ll ever find…
Verbal AUTISM has launched a new platform designed to help improve the communication abilities of nonverbal people. Dubbed Verbal AUTISM PLUS, the app utilizes visual aids, including pictures and symbols, and text-to-speech functionality, allowing nonverbal individuals to communicate verbally with people in real-time. Rates of autism are rising in the U.S. Approximately 1 in 36 children in the country have an autism diagnosis, according to the CDC. More than a quarter of people with autism are non-verbal. The service is offered at $6.99 per month. “We are thrilled to introduce Verbal AUTISM Plus, which represents a major step forward in…
**IMPORTANT** WAVE Rollover Update The WAVE is now online but will only receive your district data if your vendor is sending the new SIF version 2.7 with updated codes as defined in the published mapping document. SIS vendors are working to address WAVE errors. If you are not seeing data in WAVE beginning Wednesday afternoon, reach out to your vendor. There may be needed updates that you must schedule in order to send the updated codes to WAVE. On the WAVE homepage, you can see the number of objects your vendor is sending. You should expect to at least 8 objects sending…
Autism affects all people—regardless of race, ethnicity, income or nationality. Yet autism research rarely reflects that diversity. Study participants and autism researchers disproportionally come from Western, educated, industrialized, wealthy and democratic countries. Inclusivity efforts must also reckon with race when considering both study investigators and participants. A report in 2021 found little progress in improving the representation of Black researchers speaking at neuroscience conferences between October 2020 and May 2021, despite a push to improve diversity in the field. That said, consciousness of inequalities, complex power dynamics and the importance of engaging with a much wider range of communities has…