Autism Speaks Official Blog

RESEARCH

Neuroscientist Steers Research Into Neurological Disorders (Medical News Today)
Scientists at the Queensland Brain Institute have uncovered a vital clue into how the brain is wired, which could eventually steer research into nervous system disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and cognitive disorders including autism. Read more.

EDUCATION

SCSU special education program gets boost (New Haven, Conn.)
Southern Connecticut State University’s special education teacher training program will be bolstered by a new venture, the Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Read more.

Parents: Bullying policy will not work (Md.)
Matthew Kneisler just wanted to ride the school bus with the other students. Read more.

Special needs board serves more than 500 families in Darlington County (Hartsville, S.C.)
Executive Director Ruth Thomas gave the Hartsville Kiwanis Club an overview of the Darlington County Disabilities & Special Needs Board’s history and services on Thursday at the Hartsville Country Club in preparation for Disability Advocacy Day at the Statehouse grounds in Columbia, which is today.Read more.

Bus assault case puts school on trial (Nashville, Tenn.)
A federal trial stemming from the sexual assault of a 9-year-old boy with autism by a 19-year-old student on a school bus centers on whether the special-needs school knew the risks of having the attacker on the bus. Read more.

High-needs students make connections (Canada)
Bells trilled as 15-year-old Gabriel Pacheco rocked nervously from side to side. Slight shifts in his movement changed the pitch and rhythm of the music – he was standing in front of his school’s sound-beam machine, a therapy tool used for children with autism. Read more.

PUBLIC POLICY

Lawmakers address autism at forum (Lower Salford, Penn.)
Dozens of area residents whose lives have been touched by autism, or who just wanted to find out a little more about it, are now more informed. Read more.

Autism strategy aims to help more adults into work (U.K.)
Adults with autism who wish to live independently are set to benefit from the launch of the first national strategy to help them live fulfilling and rewarding lives. Read more.

SC may gut programs for 26,000 disabled residents (Columbia, S.C.)
Lawmakers are considering cutting all services for nearly 26,000 people with disabilities as South Carolina tries to plug a $560 million budget hole. Read more.

Southwest Riverside County established autism task force (Temecula, Calif.)
Temecula officials are organizing a task force to tackle the needs of autistic children and their families in southwest Riverside County. Read more.

RESOURCES

Group Helping Disabled Kids Now in Need of Help (Houston, Texas)
Child rearing dreams shredded by a wrenching diagnosis and the hard realities that come on it’s tail. Read more.

PEOPLE

Campaign aims to raise awareness, sensitivity (Toledo, Ohio)
Words can hurt. Donald Brunion and Darryl Robinson will tell you that. Read more.

Mom: Teen Killed In Ambulance Jump Denied Help (Greenville, S.C.)
New allegations are surfacing after an autistic teenager jumped out a moving ambulance and died over the weekend. Read more.

Buddies, pals score big in E.B. (East Brunswick, N.J.)
In this game, everyone wins. That is, everyone who takes part in the Fast Break Basketball Association’s Buddy Division. This winter marked the sixth year of the league and saw 60 “buddies,” or children and young adults with special needs, and 70 “pals,” or teenagers who volunteer as assistants, team up to play basketball and have fun. Read more.