Why Holly Robinson Peete Believes Autistic Lives Matter, Too (NBC News) – There is a reality show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network that is in its second season. “For Peete’s Sake” deals with autism.
[Holly Robinson] Peete hosts a town hall discussion, bringing together law enforcement and the special-needs community for a heartfelt and provocative discussion inspired mostly by Charles Kinsey — a black mental health therapist shot by North Miami police officers last year while trying to help his autistic patient. As the mother of a black son with autism, Peete says the case hit way too close to home.
“I am working on putting forth legislation [Peete says] getting autism training for law enforcement and things like having autism added to driver’s licenses. We’re calling it ‘RJ’s Law’ … in honor of my son.”
Here’s how Glasgow plans to be the first autism-friendly city centre in the UK (GlasgowLive) – Glasgow welcomes approximately fifty-five million visitors a year, including people with autism. So, the Glasgow City Council, the city’s business community, and Autism Network Scotland decided to make Glasgow’s city center a welcoming destination for everyone, including people with autism, who make up 1% of the United Kingdoms total population. Their plan has five objectives: customer experience, customer information, staff training, physical environment, and promoting understanding. All of these objectives have one common goal – to raise awareness of autism and the challenges it presents to individuals in busy areas.
Lynsey Stewart, network advisor at Autism Network Scotland says the organization is really happy about working on this project.
“We believe this worthwhile project will make a real difference enabling those on the autism spectrum to confidently access community infrastructure such as shopping centres, tourist attractions and public transport.”
How States Are Trying to End the Disability Unemployment Crisis (In These Times) – The 2016 Disability Statistics Compendium data supports what many in the disability community (especially in the Asperger adult community) already know: the unemployment rate for the disabled is much higher than that of others. This report also shows that it matters where the disabled person lives. For instance, a disabled person has a higher chance of being employed in a meaning job in Wyoming (over 60%) than in West Virginia (25%). Demographics also plays a part. The more populous the state is, the more people are disabled. Consequently, there is a larger percentage of unemployment within the disabled community.
Students With Disabilities Suspended More Often At Charters (disabilityscoop.com) – Finally, there is a definitive study that supports what many of us already knew: charter schools are not supportive of their disabled students. They have various school-wide policies that do not tolerate any “deviant” behavior.
In an analysis of discipline records for nearly 5,000 charter schools, researchers identified deep disparities no matter which grades charters served even though fewer children with disabilities attend such schools, according to the report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“It’s disturbing to see so many of these schools still reporting such high suspension rates because that indicates charter leaders continue to pursue ‘broken windows,’ ‘no excuses’ and other forms of ‘zero tolerance’ discipline,” said Daniel Losen, the study’s lead author. “And we know from decades of research that frequently suspending children from school is counterproductive.”
Where will my adult child work? (Madison House Autism Foundation) – This site provides some important employment resources, such as various toolkits that are resource manuals broken down into helpful sections; articles, studies, and guides that cover a variety of topics related to employment; and Websites that “offer comprehensive support and/or information for a variety of issues related to navigating employment issues and the workforce.”
3 Chemicals That Children with Autism Struggle to Make on their Own (embracingthespectrum.com) – According to Casey Ames, there are three main chemicals in the human body that cause problems for children on the Autism Spectrum (and by extension for adults as well): serotonin, melatonin, and glutathione. The blog post describes the problems and how to conteract their effects, including a recommended list of foods to add to an Aspie’s diet.
Asperger’s plus ADD: 50 Tips for Adults on the Autism Spectrum (adultaspergerschat.com) – “If you have Asperger’s (high functioning autism) and ADD, everything from paying the bills on time to keeping up with family and work can be super stressful. Your symptoms may lead to trouble making deadlines, extreme procrastination, and impulsive behavior. Also, you may feel that family and friends don’t understand how difficult you have it.” So starts this interesting article about self-help techniques Aspies can use to make their lives easier. And according to Dave Angel, you don’t have to be an Aspie to find these tips helpful. We agree.
Girls and women on the Autism Spectrum (amaze) – This post traces the history of Autism as it relates to girls and women. Today it is assumed that 1 in 4 of all people with Autism is female. ASD women are continually under-diagnosed, as a result, much of the research and findings relate to men rather than women.
Some of the characteristics that Autistic women and girls exhibit are the following according to Lori Ernsperger, Ph. D, BCBA-D, a US expert on Autism Spectrum Disorder in girls and women:
- Increased social imitation skills,
- A desire to interact directly with others,
- A tendency to be shy or passive,
- Better imagination,
- Better linguistic abilities developmentally, and
- Interests that focus on animals or people.
The article also deals with gender disparity, bias in diagnostic protocol and tools, socialization, and more.
