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Special Needs > Autism Spectrum
Puberty and Autism: Supporting Your Child Through Physical and Emotional Changes
...adolescence, and you have a transition that requires intentional support. What Makes Puberty Different for Autistic Children. Autistic children often rely on masking behaviors to navigate social expectations. They memorize scripts, observe patterns, and create rules that help them function in environments designed...
Special Needs > Asperger Syndrome
Asperger Syndrome in Adults: Navigating a Late Diagnosis
...40s, maybe 50s. A therapist mentioned autism. Or your child was just diagnosed...the words: Asperger's syndrome, or autism spectrum disorder. Now you're here,...DSM-5 merged Asperger's syndrome into autism spectrum disorder in 2013. If you're...notice. You might have spent years masking, adapting your behavior to fit in,...
Special Needs > Asperger Syndrome
Employment and Asperger Syndrome: Workplace Rights, Accommodations, and Strategies for Success
...a second language you never fully learned, and you're burning out from masking eight hours a day. The work isn't the problem. The environment is. Adults...for you. Your Legal Rights Under the ADA. The ADA protects adults with autism spectrum disorder, including Asperger syndrome, from workplace discrimination....
Health > Diagnosis
Getting Diagnosed as an Adult: The Late Autism and ADHD Discovery
...one was looking. Late diagnosis of autism and ADHD is not rare. It's a documented...settings. Adults who were compliant, high-masking, academically capable, or supported...Childhood Diagnosis Misses So Many. Autism and ADHD are both diagnosed using...ADHD and during early development for autism. That requirement is meant to distinguish...
Research > Funding
Private Foundations Funding Disability Research: A Guide for Advocates and Families
When NIH autism research funding dropped 26% under...past decade, SFARI (Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative) has funded more...years in leadership training before making investment decisions on disability...Foundation SFARI remains the anchor for autism research. Their grants range from exploratory...
Therapies > Other
Alternative and Complementary Therapies for Special Needs Children: What the Research Says
...level, practitioner credentialing, and what research shows for children with autism, cerebral palsy, sensory processing challenges, and other developmental...and other developmental differences. It's not promotional. It's a decision-making framework. Understanding Evidence Levels. Not all research carries equal...
Research > Funding
Where Research Dollars Go: Understanding Funding Gaps Across Disability Conditions
...child's condition. The list is short. Then you search autism or diabetes and the volume is staggering. The gap...institute has its own budget, priorities, and decision-making process. Autism research receives approximately...budget, priorities, and decision-making process. Autism research receives approximately $296 million per...
Research > Drug Development
The Drug Development Pipeline for Special Needs: What Parents Need to Know About How Treatments Go from Lab to FDA Approval
You see a headline about a promising autism drug entering Phase 2 trials, and you wonder if this could be the treatment...Understanding where a drug sits in the development pipeline matters when you're making decisions about your child's care, evaluating whether to join a trial, or...
Parenting > School Years
What to Say When Strangers Stare at Your Child in Public
...moments where preparation matters because having a script ready means you're making a choice in the moment instead of freezing, not because you owe strangers...situation could easily knock you off balance. The parent who can say "She has autism. She's doing great." and keep moving is not performing for the stranger....
News > Research
How to Read Research About Special Needs: A Guide for Parents Who Aren't Scientists
...group and someone posts a study: "New research proves this therapy works for autism." The link goes to a blog summarizing a press release. The comments fill...scientist. You don't have time to read 40-page journal articles. But you're making decisions about your child's therapies, medications, and interventions based...
Lifestyle > Relationships
How to Help Your Child With Autism Build and Keep Friendships
...but what they are. For most of us, friendship was never explained. It unfolded. We absorbed it on playgrounds, through sleepovers and arguments and making up. We didn't learn it so much as catch it. Autistic children often don't catch it that way. The implicit rules, the unspoken turn-taking, the subtle...
Lifestyle > Recreation
Board Games That Build Skills: A Parent's Guide to Therapeutic Tabletop Play
...manage frustration when the dice don't cooperate, and celebrate wins without making someone else feel terrible. For kids with autism, board games provide clear...celebrate wins without making someone else feel terrible. For kids with autism, board games provide clear rules and predictable structure, the social equivalent...