Autism Speaks Official Blog

Santa Cruz Police search for missing autistic man (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Santa Cruz Police are searching for a missing, at-risk autistic man who has not been seen since 2 a.m. Wednesday. Read more.

Cops make arrest in break-in at Elm Park’s Eden II School for autistic children (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Police say they have one piece of the puzzle in the March break-in at the Eden II School for autistic children in which heartless thieves made off with video games, toys — even Star, the kids’ pet hamster. Read more.

Workers with Asperger Syndrome or autism can fill workplace needs (Kansas City, Kan.)
Do you need a worker who pays attention to detail? Who will do tedious data entry job? Who won’t waste time gossiping? Read more.

Autism Speaks helps parents through first 100 days on the spectrum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Autism Speaks, a national organization, raises money and awareness for families with autistic children. Bob and Suzanne Wright founded the program in New York five years ago after their grandson was diagnosed. It has quickly spread nationwide and now raises money to fund research, develop advocacy and help families. Read more.

Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete tell story of autistic son and their journey together (Los Angeles, Calif.)
He played football, quarterbacking games in the NFL. She starred on a couple of popular TV series and has films to her credit. Read more.

Akron: Mother of dragged autistic student demands better training (Akron, Ohio)
The mother of a high school student with autism says her son’s ordeal points to the need for better training in Ohio for school employees who deal with special needs students. Read more.

Parents criticize autism insurance coverage (Richmond, Va.)
A group of 30 parents is complaining to Virginia insurance regulators that health plans are deceiving consumers about coverage for autistic children. Read more.

Cuts hurt programs for disabled (Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
Announcements of school closings and teacher layoffs have resounded across the state as Indiana continues to deal with tax revenue losses and an ongoing recession. Other state-funded services, including those for people with developmental disabilities, are taking substantial hits as well. Read more.

New Research Raises Hope That Autism Effects May Be Reversible (Medical News Today)
A new study by researchers at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. Researchers have identified potentially removable chemical tags (called “methyl groups”) on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing. They also observed these changes in cells derived from blood, opening the way to molecular screening for autism using a blood test. Read more.

Ups and downs make ‘Fashion Speaks’ a catwalk to remember (The Daily Princetonian)
If the standing-room-only crowd that packed into the Rockefeller College Common Room last Friday night came to glimpse some of the hottest bodies in Princeton, it certainly found them. The student models’ chiseled abs and exposed cleavage has always attracted an audience to “Fashion Speaks,” Service in Style’s annual charity fashion show, just as much (if not more than) the clothes they are wearing – and this year was no exception. Read more.

Psychiatrist says teen was anxious on day of killing (Woburn, Mass.)
A child psychiatrist testified in the murder trial of John Odgren yesterday that the mentally disturbed teenager had an obsession with violence and viewed the date he killed a fellow student, Jan. 19, 2007, as ominous because the number 19 was a recurring sign in a Stephen King thriller series. Read more.