ALS. Short for “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.” Also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” for the baseball player who died from it in 1941. By any name, it’s a nightmare to be diagnosed with: it eats away the brain’s motor neurons, progressively…
Category: Special Needs Family (page 10)
10 Popular Misconceptions about Autism
We wind up April as Autism Acceptance Month with another “Popular Misconceptions” article. (After you read it, take time to brush up on what actually works with autism, through our earlier posts on autism app lists, autism assistive technology, and…
Preparing Kids for Adulthood with Autism
Society is well rid of the days when “special education” meant sequestering kids in classes that rarely taught anything above kindergarten level, and post-graduation employment was limited to “sheltered workshops.” Still, autism and intellectual disorders mean extra challenges navigating the…
Turning Down the Volume for Everyone’s Health
April 26 is International Noise Awareness Day. Whatever constitutes everyday “background noise” in your neighborhood or community, your conscious brain has probably learned to tune it out—but never giving it a thought may be costing you. Noise and Health The…
Autism Assistive Technology: Items of Interest
Many people find apps, smart devices, and other assistive technology a big help in managing autism—but there’s so much assistive tech out there, sometimes you have no idea where to start looking for the right item. Even where the tech…
Achieving True Inclusiveness in Schools
Students with autism have the legal right to attend public schools and to receive accommodations appropriate to their specific learning needs. However, there’s much more to “fitting in” than being able to function in a “typical” classroom. If students are…
High School Students with Unaddressed Autism
The hardest part of living with autism may be convincing others to live (in harmony) with it. Ask any parent whose child uses an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for autism: you’ll likely hear at least one story about school representatives…
4 Perspectives on Getting the Most from IEP Annual Reviews
As the 2022–23 school year winds down, many parents’ thoughts are turning to family vacations, or to heading off the dreaded “summer slide” (the problem of kids forgetting what they’ve learned before school resumes). If your child has a disability…
Autism Awareness: How Do People with Autism Want to Be Seen?
Understanding of autism has come a long way since doctors began researching it in the 1940s. However, it’s still easier to get a job without autism; there are still schools that refuse needed accommodations; and there are still too few…
Autism Awareness: How It Started, How It’s Grown
April is Autism Awareness Month—also known as Autism Acceptance Month, Autism Advancement Month, or World Autism Month. Official name and focus are still evolving half a century after the observation was founded, but few would disagree with the goal of…