Autism-related Links

Autism Therapy More Successful When Peers Involved Too
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/11/29/autism-therapy-peers/14528/

Kids with autism fare significantly better socially when their typically developing classmates are taught how to interact with them, new research suggests. Often students with autism are targeted for social skills training. But that alone may not be the best approach, according to a study published this week in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Autism Moms Have Stress Similar To Combat Soldiers
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/10/autism-moms-stress/6121/

Mothers of adolescents and adults with autism experience chronic stress comparable to combat soldiers and struggle with frequent fatigue and work interruptions, new research finds. These moms also spend significantly more time caregiving than moms of those without disabilities. Researchers followed a group of moms of adolescents and adults with autism for eight days in a row. Moms were interviewed at the end of each day about their experiences and on four of the days researchers measured the moms’ hormone levels to assess their stress. They found that a hormone associated with stress was extremely low, consistent with people experiencing chronic stress such as soldiers in combat, the researchers report in one of two studies published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Ricky Stuart opens up about autism and his daughter Emma
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/a-fathers-love-knows-no-bounds/story-e6frfgbo-1226256006863?sv=c0f8fb8dbba7da08688387547830350c

NOT so long ago Ricky Stuart was in McDonald's with his daughter, who is 14, waiting for her to finish her thickshake. It was time to go and even though she still had a little of the shake left, he told her it was time and got up to leave, and this is where life takes a left-hand turn. Emma Stuart was nowhere near ready to go so, in protest, she picked up her shake and threw it all over her dad. Imagine the looks the people gave. Milk everywhere, the daughter of a high-profile footballer who is now a high-profile coach. Rather than go crook on her or discipline her, Stuart spoke quietly and then he walked his little girl out with all those stares in his back. What he couldn't say, what he wouldn't say, because it has never been his way to explain, was the reason why.

Congratulations to Gay von Ess, who recently won an Australia Day Award!
Life devoted to children with special needs
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/education/life-devoted-to-children-with-special-needs/2433422.aspx

When Gay von Ess completed her training and started as a preschool teacher in the late 1960s, she felt an instant attraction to the two special needs children in her care. ''I really felt they were more interesting than the mainstream children,'' she said. She quickly moved into the area of special education and has been helping Canberra families with children with autism and Aspergers syndrome ever since. Today she receives a Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division for service to people with autism spectrum disorders and their families, as an advocate and educator.

Man with Autism stuns an entire crowd
http://www.godvine.com/Man-With-Autism-Absolutely-Stuns-an-Entire-Crowd-881.html