May 2013
09/05/13 12:45
Learn loads! Load2Learn is a website stuffed with learning resources in downloadable, accessible formats for students who have difficulty reading standard printed books. That’s why it is our website of the month! More
Boring Rainman No of course the film isn’t boring. it is brilliant and it changed levels of awareness unlike anything else. However it has kinda led to everyone thinking that all people on the spectrum are great with the maths! More
Girl talk Check out this archived online chat from the National Autistic Society. It covers all things relating to the female side of autism More
Unconscious gesture Take a look at this article on gestures and how they relate to what we are feeling and thinking. It might really help a person with autism to feel calmer and more in control. More
Good news it’s blue! We are always keenly aware of the levels of misunderstanding and discrimination faced by families affected by disability. Sometimes it’s worse than either of those things and we know that the non-disabled community are capable of ‘hate behaviour’ (more than 1,700 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in England and Wales in 2011-12). So it’s great to see examples of really positive community action - when ordinary people connect to a lives different from their own More
Old news The original MMR and autism story is now so old that there are young folk who are unaware of the origins of how people ever got the idea that autism had anything to do with the jab. For them this BBC report might be really helpful More
Seeing too well? Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study More
Friendless Young adults with an autism spectrum condition are more likely to never see friends, never get called by friends, never be invited to activities and be socially isolated More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
Boring Rainman No of course the film isn’t boring. it is brilliant and it changed levels of awareness unlike anything else. However it has kinda led to everyone thinking that all people on the spectrum are great with the maths! More
Girl talk Check out this archived online chat from the National Autistic Society. It covers all things relating to the female side of autism More
Unconscious gesture Take a look at this article on gestures and how they relate to what we are feeling and thinking. It might really help a person with autism to feel calmer and more in control. More
Good news it’s blue! We are always keenly aware of the levels of misunderstanding and discrimination faced by families affected by disability. Sometimes it’s worse than either of those things and we know that the non-disabled community are capable of ‘hate behaviour’ (more than 1,700 disability hate crimes were recorded by police in England and Wales in 2011-12). So it’s great to see examples of really positive community action - when ordinary people connect to a lives different from their own More
Old news The original MMR and autism story is now so old that there are young folk who are unaware of the origins of how people ever got the idea that autism had anything to do with the jab. For them this BBC report might be really helpful More
Seeing too well? Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study More
Friendless Young adults with an autism spectrum condition are more likely to never see friends, never get called by friends, never be invited to activities and be socially isolated More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
April 2013
12/04/13 13:05
Fancy a chat sometime? The Autism Science Foundation has a regular series of live online chats with the big science types each month. Why not explore? You can replay old chats too. More
Award winning words At last - you can now buy the amazing (and award winning) visual reading resource A Busy Day from our online shop
Measles and more mayhem What with a serious outbreak of measles in South Wales, MMR is back in the news. Dr Wakefield and colleagues are still at it. Does anything ever change? More
What does the future hold? Families affected by autism are still fearful of the future. That’s the message in a new report from the Autistica charity. One father describes the lack of awareness and the “stigmatism and the embarrassment and the social pressure that you find yourself under when you’ve got a child with autism” Report
How many SENCOs does it take to... What do parents think about SENCOs? Interested? Take a look at a recent SEN Magazine article More
Teasing troubles It’s thought that as many as half of all children with ASC get bullied. Take a look at this video that gives youngsters some strategies that might help. More
Include me don't exclude me! Looks like you are way more likely to be excluded if you have special needs. Explore some recent findings More
You can download the Children’s Commissioners report They Go The Extra Mile
Teach me social Is it possible to teach social skills to children with ASC? Of course it is! Teaching is the missing bridge between autism and success, happiness, independence - you name it! It’s hard work of course and not a quick fix. The ‘hard yards’ I guess. Now I am not normally a massive ABA fan but Michael Friga has some good ideas here More
More robots We haven’t had a “robots can teach kids with ASC” story for a while so here’s one! Children are given robot help to learn how to coordinate their attention with other people and objects in their environment. More
Thanks for the prank here is a great story from the blogger Flappiness is that is sure to make you smile. Proves that “Navigating the World of Early Childhood Autism With One Special Little Boy” makes for a diverse and different life. Let’s call it fun. More
Just accept it Did you know that April is Autism Acceptance Month? No? Well here you go - find out More
Archive Jive There are lots of old newsletters here on our site for you to enjoy. They are a searchable database too - you can use the word cloud near the bottom of the page to focus in on the topics of most interest to you. Try this one for instance Dr Seuss
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
Award winning words At last - you can now buy the amazing (and award winning) visual reading resource A Busy Day from our online shop
Measles and more mayhem What with a serious outbreak of measles in South Wales, MMR is back in the news. Dr Wakefield and colleagues are still at it. Does anything ever change? More
What does the future hold? Families affected by autism are still fearful of the future. That’s the message in a new report from the Autistica charity. One father describes the lack of awareness and the “stigmatism and the embarrassment and the social pressure that you find yourself under when you’ve got a child with autism” Report
How many SENCOs does it take to... What do parents think about SENCOs? Interested? Take a look at a recent SEN Magazine article More
Teasing troubles It’s thought that as many as half of all children with ASC get bullied. Take a look at this video that gives youngsters some strategies that might help. More
Include me don't exclude me! Looks like you are way more likely to be excluded if you have special needs. Explore some recent findings More
You can download the Children’s Commissioners report They Go The Extra Mile
Teach me social Is it possible to teach social skills to children with ASC? Of course it is! Teaching is the missing bridge between autism and success, happiness, independence - you name it! It’s hard work of course and not a quick fix. The ‘hard yards’ I guess. Now I am not normally a massive ABA fan but Michael Friga has some good ideas here More
More robots We haven’t had a “robots can teach kids with ASC” story for a while so here’s one! Children are given robot help to learn how to coordinate their attention with other people and objects in their environment. More
Thanks for the prank here is a great story from the blogger Flappiness is that is sure to make you smile. Proves that “Navigating the World of Early Childhood Autism With One Special Little Boy” makes for a diverse and different life. Let’s call it fun. More
Just accept it Did you know that April is Autism Acceptance Month? No? Well here you go - find out More
Archive Jive There are lots of old newsletters here on our site for you to enjoy. They are a searchable database too - you can use the word cloud near the bottom of the page to focus in on the topics of most interest to you. Try this one for instance Dr Seuss
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
March 2013
06/03/13 12:00
Will they ever speak? It’s one of the most asked questions and of course always the most impossible to answer. Take a look at this study which investigates the predictors of language ability in children with autism. More
What future? Transition to adult services is fraught with difficulty and provokes anxiety all round. It’s still not working properly. Here’s a recent report into the current state of transitions in the UK. More
...and on the theme of ‘what the future holds’ for our unique young people, here’s our website of the month More
Animal attraction What’s your take on using animals as ‘therapy’ for people with ASC? I’m pretty sure for some people with autism there is a special ‘connection’ with animals, but I’m equally sure that it needs scientific exploration as to ‘why’. Have a read of this research paper. More
Force out of order Here’s an update on a story we have covered before. How much trouble can a police officer get into when you combine a pair of handcuffs, a boy with autism and a swimming pool? More
... we have to wake up to the fact that physical force, isolation and punishment are out of order. Read this BBC report about Neylands pupil referral unit in Wales. More
The concept of a cure is offensive That’s the passionate opinion of a parent from Ireland who gives voice to her feelings in a recent Guardian article. The story brings in other parents and gets their take on what does ‘cure’ mean in the context of autism and family life. More
Look what’s in the Nest! The ASD ‘Nest’ Support Project is one of several community-focused programs serving special populations hosted by New York University. The project supports kids with autism in fully inclusive classrooms and provides specialized curricula and instructional strategies to foster relationship development, adaptive skills, language and communication development and sensory/motor development. Sounds good to me! More
What’s the mechanism that supports lying and deception? Well that’s the question that Uta Frith addresses in this great video about ‘de-coupling’ and ‘attribution of mental states’. The video is part of a series on the development of ideas about autism. More
Probably the best autism training in all the world Well of course there’s no such thing. All trainers in the autism field feel like they don’t know enough and are always striving to do better. That’s where our Training for Autism Trainers course comes in. Join other trainers (experienced and new) for two development days in the beautiful Cotswolds. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
What future? Transition to adult services is fraught with difficulty and provokes anxiety all round. It’s still not working properly. Here’s a recent report into the current state of transitions in the UK. More
...and on the theme of ‘what the future holds’ for our unique young people, here’s our website of the month More
Animal attraction What’s your take on using animals as ‘therapy’ for people with ASC? I’m pretty sure for some people with autism there is a special ‘connection’ with animals, but I’m equally sure that it needs scientific exploration as to ‘why’. Have a read of this research paper. More
Force out of order Here’s an update on a story we have covered before. How much trouble can a police officer get into when you combine a pair of handcuffs, a boy with autism and a swimming pool? More
... we have to wake up to the fact that physical force, isolation and punishment are out of order. Read this BBC report about Neylands pupil referral unit in Wales. More
The concept of a cure is offensive That’s the passionate opinion of a parent from Ireland who gives voice to her feelings in a recent Guardian article. The story brings in other parents and gets their take on what does ‘cure’ mean in the context of autism and family life. More
Look what’s in the Nest! The ASD ‘Nest’ Support Project is one of several community-focused programs serving special populations hosted by New York University. The project supports kids with autism in fully inclusive classrooms and provides specialized curricula and instructional strategies to foster relationship development, adaptive skills, language and communication development and sensory/motor development. Sounds good to me! More
What’s the mechanism that supports lying and deception? Well that’s the question that Uta Frith addresses in this great video about ‘de-coupling’ and ‘attribution of mental states’. The video is part of a series on the development of ideas about autism. More
Probably the best autism training in all the world Well of course there’s no such thing. All trainers in the autism field feel like they don’t know enough and are always striving to do better. That’s where our Training for Autism Trainers course comes in. Join other trainers (experienced and new) for two development days in the beautiful Cotswolds. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
February 2013
11/02/13 11:00
Quest for calm How do we help our kids find the calmness that seems to escape them (and us!)? The SPARK* programme uses the simple act of breathing and paying attention to our breath coming in and out of our body to help reach a state of calm. Take a look at the programme More
Why not book on our Introducing SPARK* course? More
Learning preference We have spent a good part of the week running workshops with for Trainee Teachers. I came across this and it seemed to support the idea that there exists a pattern of learning strengths and preferences in autism. More
Maximum support ‘Summer Max’ is a programme of intensive support for learning social communication skills and it seems to work. More
In or out Researchers at the University of Connecticut have been looking at the development path for a small group of youngsters with autism. Do they ‘grow into’ or ‘out of’ their autism? Not surprisingly there is a wide range of possible outcomes. More
Happy 70th birthday Autism celebrates it’s 70th birthday this year. Over the past seventy years, the concept of autism has undergone several changes in line with the concurrent professional and scientific milieu. Take a look at things past, present and future. More
Making a big deal with small talk The PEERS programme, an acronym for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills got its start in 2006 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It appears to be getting some great results. More
United tackle anxiety Asperger United has been around for ages. It is a great magazine published by and for people who have autism spectrum conditions. The magazine aims to put people with the condition in touch with each other and to share information so that they can lead more independent lives. Issue number 73 is all about anxiety. More
And for something completely new... Easy News is the first newspaper designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities. More
Toolbox for Scottish schools The Autism Toolbox is getting a facelift soon. It’s always been a great resource and worth paying a visit. Can’t wait to see the new version! More
New lineup We have a choice of eight new workshops which we would be delighted to run in-house for you. Take a look and see how we can help your organisation. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
Why not book on our Introducing SPARK* course? More
Learning preference We have spent a good part of the week running workshops with for Trainee Teachers. I came across this and it seemed to support the idea that there exists a pattern of learning strengths and preferences in autism. More
Maximum support ‘Summer Max’ is a programme of intensive support for learning social communication skills and it seems to work. More
In or out Researchers at the University of Connecticut have been looking at the development path for a small group of youngsters with autism. Do they ‘grow into’ or ‘out of’ their autism? Not surprisingly there is a wide range of possible outcomes. More
Happy 70th birthday Autism celebrates it’s 70th birthday this year. Over the past seventy years, the concept of autism has undergone several changes in line with the concurrent professional and scientific milieu. Take a look at things past, present and future. More
Making a big deal with small talk The PEERS programme, an acronym for Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills got its start in 2006 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It appears to be getting some great results. More
United tackle anxiety Asperger United has been around for ages. It is a great magazine published by and for people who have autism spectrum conditions. The magazine aims to put people with the condition in touch with each other and to share information so that they can lead more independent lives. Issue number 73 is all about anxiety. More
And for something completely new... Easy News is the first newspaper designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities. More
Toolbox for Scottish schools The Autism Toolbox is getting a facelift soon. It’s always been a great resource and worth paying a visit. Can’t wait to see the new version! More
New lineup We have a choice of eight new workshops which we would be delighted to run in-house for you. Take a look and see how we can help your organisation. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
January 2013
08/01/13 18:41
Classroom behaviour You’ll learn loads about putting kids in control of their own behaviour - and getting great results - on our Introducing Spark* event. It’s a new, practical approach from Canada that’s all about self-regulation. Like how to get benefit from things like classroom yoga sessions. They work! Take a look. More
There’s more about great outcomes with self-regulation in this interesting article. More
Excluded? The charity which runs the SEN National Advice Service, is responding to a number of enquiries it receives each month from parents whose children are not allowed to attend school or are out of school activities, despite not being formally excluded. More
What can an App do (and not do)? There is something approaching a revolution in Alternative or Augmentative Communication and at the revolutions heart is the iPad technology. Apple announced in November it sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad. But whilst there is emerging evidence that tablet technology can replace ‘meltdowns’ and ‘tantrums’ with more socially ‘appropriate’ communication, questions remain. What about speech and language? Are they good for getting kids talking? What about ‘emotionally connected’ communication? Watch this video for some background. More
More on the pros and cons of iPads in the classroom. More
Bad air day The University of Southern California published a study last month linking air pollution to autism. But before you set up camp on a mountain top you might want to think about the limitations of the study. More
New Year ‘news’ It seems like every magazine, newspaper and TV channel has a whole chunk of ‘let’s look back at the events of 2012’ content. Well if you can’t beat them... take a look at this research retrospective. More
What can a scan show us? fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) has shaped what we know autism to be. Although there is no unifying account of brain differences that explain all the core features of ASCs the technique is moving our understanding forward. Take a look at an overview of findings so far. More
Losing Asperger syndrome There’ll shortly be a new Diagnostic Manual from the American Psychiatric Association. We have had lots of questions about what exactly do the changes to the psychiatrists ‘handbook’ for diagnosing ‘Mental Disorders’ mean for autism and Asperger syndrome. take a look at this helpful explanation. More
Autism shines Is the name of a new project and website to spotlight the real stories of autism. We like it. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.
There’s more about great outcomes with self-regulation in this interesting article. More
Excluded? The charity which runs the SEN National Advice Service, is responding to a number of enquiries it receives each month from parents whose children are not allowed to attend school or are out of school activities, despite not being formally excluded. More
What can an App do (and not do)? There is something approaching a revolution in Alternative or Augmentative Communication and at the revolutions heart is the iPad technology. Apple announced in November it sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad. But whilst there is emerging evidence that tablet technology can replace ‘meltdowns’ and ‘tantrums’ with more socially ‘appropriate’ communication, questions remain. What about speech and language? Are they good for getting kids talking? What about ‘emotionally connected’ communication? Watch this video for some background. More
More on the pros and cons of iPads in the classroom. More
Bad air day The University of Southern California published a study last month linking air pollution to autism. But before you set up camp on a mountain top you might want to think about the limitations of the study. More
New Year ‘news’ It seems like every magazine, newspaper and TV channel has a whole chunk of ‘let’s look back at the events of 2012’ content. Well if you can’t beat them... take a look at this research retrospective. More
What can a scan show us? fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) has shaped what we know autism to be. Although there is no unifying account of brain differences that explain all the core features of ASCs the technique is moving our understanding forward. Take a look at an overview of findings so far. More
Losing Asperger syndrome There’ll shortly be a new Diagnostic Manual from the American Psychiatric Association. We have had lots of questions about what exactly do the changes to the psychiatrists ‘handbook’ for diagnosing ‘Mental Disorders’ mean for autism and Asperger syndrome. take a look at this helpful explanation. More
Autism shines Is the name of a new project and website to spotlight the real stories of autism. We like it. More
Sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletter. It's full of positive news about autism, events, research and helpful advice.