Articles that focus on standing up for people with autism; includes individuals, groups, non-profits, fundraisers, etc. who actively fight for and support spreading awareness and creating an understanding. Includes legal fights supporting people on the spectrum.
Autism Warrior: Sheletta Brundidge Mother, author, broadcaster, and podcaster, Sheletta Brunbridge does it all. She has four children; the youngest three have autism spectrum disorder. She is a radio talk show host, a public television commentator, and the creator of SHElettamakesmelaugh.com, a platform that produces and distributes podcasts by and for people of color. Three […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Carol Basile, PhD, who doctors told to put her six-year-old-son in an institution and move […]
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I was ecstatic when I found out I was going to be a father! When my son Gunnar was born in 2001, I was over the moon. I knew my life would be forever changed, but I didn’t know just how true that statement would be. I dreamed of getting my son into all types […]
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In the autism community, the prevailing idea is that boys significantly outnumber girls on the autism spectrum. Common estimates suggest that the boy: girl ratio is 4:1. Recent studies have found that, in fact, there are more girls on the spectrum than previously recognized, with current estimates of the boy:girl ratio ranging from 3:1 to […]
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Autism Warrior: Brian Lyons Eleven-year-old Brian, also known as Jr. Fire Chief Brian Lyons, is a vibrant youth leader with a heart of gold. Diagnosed with autism when he was three years old, Brian relied on sign language to communicate until he was around four. Brian’s world changed one day when he and his mother […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is Matt and Navah Asner, who both had children with autism before marrying and becoming the Brady […]
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Autism Warrior: Russell Lehmann Award-winning motivational speaker, poet, author, and advocate, who continues to overcome his personal struggles with autism to travel the world and share his knowledge, compassion, and hope. In 2003, eleven-year-old Russell was admitted to the psychiatric ward at his local city hospital and stayed for five weeks. Later that fall, he […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Jill Gambill is a Public Service faculty and Coastal Resilience Specialist for the UGA Marine […]
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Sometimes we get so caught up in the everyday tasks of living that we forget to dream. Along with dishes, carpools, piles of laundry, last minute school projects, and doctor appointments, we also get to ponder the future, create a bucket list of adventures, and imagine a mental utopia of what life could be. Join […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Lisa Satira Brozek, who is an autism parent and writer of “Differently Abled Man,” a […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Chelsi McFadden. She is a firefighter’s wife, the mother of three boys, and a couples […]
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Autism Warrior: Silvia Planas-Prats Founder of Miami Is Kind Foundation, an industrial bakery offering employment opportunities for all kinds of professionals with autism or other disabilities, including bakers, customer service representatives, and warehouse operators. For 20 years, Silvia was confident in the successful progression of her career as a businesswoman, but after the birth of […]
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There are many social groups in our society going on most days of the week, all organized around topics of interest or values that people share. One particular group that meets in Newport Beach, California is a remarkable one. It may be one of only a couple of its type in the United States and […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Chad R. MacDonald, who is a writer, speaker and autism advocate in New York who […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Nicole Sugrue. She is the co-founder of two nonprofits in Port Washington, New York that […]
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You’d think it would have been easier. I live in California, after all, the only state with an entitlement act for developmentally disabled children and adults. Enacted in 1977, a stated purpose of the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act is to provide “…an array of services and supports sufficiently complete to meet the needs and choices […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Rayni Anderson Brindley, Senior Vice President of Organizational Development with Devereux, who is responsible for […]
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Our son, Himal, was only two years old when he was diagnosed with profound, non-verbal autism. Fifteen years later, despite all the unknowns and challenges ahead, we have never felt more hopeful about his future. As the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), do you feel genuinely optimistic about your child’s future? […]
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Autism Warrior: Gemma Bryan Founder of Autism Aware Bears, a program that raises autism awareness through special stuffed bears found by or sent to families and kids, who are encouraged to share pictures of their adventures together on the AutismAwareBears Facebook page. Gemma is based in North Lincolnshire in the UK, where she lives with […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Kiedra Hinkle-Tyson, who is a single mother of a nine-year-old child with autism named Brandon. […]
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Autism Warrior: Jessica Kingsley Formerly Managing Director and owner of Jessica Kingsley Publishers Jessica Kingsley Publishers is a publishing house committed to social change. The autism list is foremost amongst its extensive publishing program across the social and behavioral sciences and is pre-eminent in this field. Specializing particularly in books on Asperger’s syndrome (autism level one), the focus has […]
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Isolation and engagement are two things on my heart and mind. I was a teacher for 25 years in a school that had a program for Autistic children. The children enrolled in the program at a very young age. One of the program’s goals was to thoughtfully integrate the Autistic children into the school’s academic […]
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Nadine and David Seback are the parents of an amazing 20-year-old young man on the autism spectrum named Noah. He is nonverbal but has learned along with his parents to point to letters on a letter board to communicate, so he now is a strong advocate for nonverbal individuals on the spectrum. I met […]
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Autism Warrior: Siena Castellon Creator of www.QLMentoring.com, a fun and engaging website designed by a teen to provide mentoring, support, resources and information specifically tailored for autistic youth and children with learning differences. Siena is autistic, dyslexic, and dyspraxic. She also has ADHD. When Siena was 13 years old, she searched online for information about […]
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What better time to initiate a conversation about encounters with the criminal justice system than during autism awareness month? As parents, we are all-too-familiar with the child who is bullied or victimized. But parents are surprised to learn that their child is at an increased risk of being detained in the back of a police […]
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Many parents have found in enormous benefit in Autism Support Groups for families. These have given much needed encouragement, comfort, and advice. In this article we discuss the benefits of joining one as well as helping you find one in your area. Benefits of autism support groups People on the spectrum and their […]
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The other day, I was reading a People Magazine article about actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her battle with breast cancer. Fortunately, she’s in recovery and getting back to her normal life. But what struck me most about her article were these comments: “I can’t say it’s a club I ever really wanted to be a […]
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Angeline Francis Khoo is the founder of Rosie On Fire, a fashion company dedicated to hiring people with autism into roles that play to their strengths. She said was inspired to provide these opportunities after seeing her siblings, who are on the autism spectrum, overlooked in the job market. “We do this by focusing on creating […]
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Over the past few decades, Dr. Temple Grandin has become a respected speaker, author, and prominent advocate for autistic populations. Diagnosed with autism at the age of two and nonverbal until she was four years old, Grandin’s childhood was enriched by one-on-one speech therapy and the extra assistance of a caregiver. With a degree in […]
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Encouragement speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers insightful perspectives from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Belinda Lerner who is the Executive Director for the NFL Player Care Foundation and Vice President of NFL Alumni Affairs […]
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Richie Smith is a managing director of Awesometistic, a unique autism training business. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 33 years old, Richie’s goal is to generate autism understanding and acceptance wherever he goes. Can you share with me what life was like growing up without an official autism diagnosis? Growing up without a diagnosis […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers insightful perspectives from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Luke Vincent who runs a YouTube channel called Vincentville where the family shares their autism story. They do their best […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM in order to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Luis Bayardo who is a father of four: two girls and two boys […]
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Encouragement speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Jennifer Thomas-Goering who is a full-time anesthesiologist, entrepreneur and autism advocate. She is married to Patrick with two small, […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Amy Kelly who is a mother to Danny, Annie and Ryan. Annie is diagnosed with […]
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Knowing and understanding your procedural safeguards (parental rights) is very important when seeking the appropriate special education services for your child. Since the majority of students with disabilities receive special education services in the general education setting, being aware of laws and regulations with inclusion will point you in the right direction. Federal law does […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word “autism” to give readers insightful perspectives from parents, experts, entrepreneurs, and other leaders in the field. “It is the strength that I see in my son every day that has kept me going.” Today’s AUTISM Interview is […]
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Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM interview is Stanley P. Jaskiewicz, Esq., who with his wife, Judy, are the proud parents of a 19-year-old […]
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When we think about autism awareness, we think about educating the community leaders; the teachers, caregivers, police officers, neighbors, family and friends. It’s so important to make sure as many people as possible are educated in autism and the challenges and beauty autism offers because awareness is key to acceptance and respect. The more people […]
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Autism Warrior: Dr. Frank Gaskill Dr. Gaskill is cofounder of Southeast Psych, one of the biggest psychology practices in the United States. The practice employs more than 50 clinicians who are always ready to provide the services needed by their patients. Dr. Gaskill specializes in the treatment of autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Accomplishments: Dr. Gaskill […]
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