Current Research

Respecting Autism: An Interview with Dr. Gil Tippy

Dr. Gil Tippy is the clinical director of Rebecca School and the co-author of the book “Respecting Autism: The Rebecca School DIR Casebook for Parents and Professionals”. The book, which I recently read, details the cases of 16 students who attended the Rebecca School. The core of the work they do at the school is based on the Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-Based model otherwise known as DIR/Floortime which was developed by the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan who is also the co-author of this book. Each case study details... [Read more]

Getting Organized: Preparing for the Transition to Adulthood

If you’re a parent of an adolescent with autism who is 14 or older, it’s time to start thinking about the transition to adulthood. I know 14 may sound early, but it’s really not. The more time you take to prepare and get organized, the easier the transition will be for all parties involved. Autism Speaks has done and excellent job putting together a toolkit to help parents and teens during this transition planning process. An entire section of the toolkit is called “Getting Organized” which has tips for parents on... [Read more]

How are States Addressing Autism?

The article below was written by Nirvi Shah on December 12, 2011, and originally published at Education Week. The article is a review of the Education Commission of the States Report which looked at how individual states are addressing the specific needs of students with autism. This is an interesting report. I’m interested to see if and when other states get on board and develop specific funding and/or training programs to address the special needs to students with autism in public schools. What are your thoughts? What are you seeing in... [Read more]

Teaching Leisure Skills

Of all the things we work on with individuals with autism and other developmental delays, some times teaching leisure skills is left out of the equation. When leisure skills are taught, many times the people teaching skills rely too much on verbal cues and prompts which leads to dependence on cues rather than independence. In the study below, Gregory MacDuff, Patricia Krantz and Lynn McClannahan studied the efficacy of using activity schedules to teach independent work, self-help and leisure skills. They showed that the use of picture schedules... [Read more]

Learning by Imitation for Individuals with Autism

Brooke Ingersoll does some great research. The article below is about her research on imitation skills in individuals with autism. If you get a chance, read some of her other research: Teaching Reciprocal Imitation The Collateral Effects of Joint Attention The Effect of a Parent-Implemented Imitation Intervention Teaching the Imitation and Spontaneous Use of Descriptive Gestures By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on December 13, 2011 Article originally posted on PsychCentral Learning by imitation appears to... [Read more]

Autism Speaks Transition Toolkit – Health Related Issues

Autism Speaks published a toolkit for families of individuals with autism who are in the transitional period between adolescence and adulthood. In this toolkit there is a section on Health, which has a lot of good information and resources for families. They focus on three core areas: physical health, mental health and sexuality. Physical Health Individuals with autism, just like everyone else, need to visit their doctors and dentists for regular check-ups for preventative care. Similarly to when you were choosing a pediatrician for your child,... [Read more]

Health Problem Prevention for Individuals with Autism

We’ve been discussing how to make medical appointments more successful for individuals with autism, but today we want to take a step back and talk about prevention. Individuals with disabilities, like any one else, need to learn how to care for themselves as independently as possible. Self care includes skills such as: Washing (washing body parts, washing whole body, drying self) Body Care (skin, teeth, hair, fingernails, toe nails) Toileting (regular urination, regular defecation, menstrual care, wiping, privacy) Dressing (picking out clothes,... [Read more]

Brain-Immune Connections in Autism, Schizophrenia, and Depression

Article written by Abby Twyman, M.Ed., BCBA This new book bodes to be an interesting read for those of you interested in the most current research exploring the origins of autism. Paul Patterson is a researcher and professor at California Institute of Technology and is exploring the connections between immune responses during pregnancy and the development of Autism as well as Schizophrenia and Depression. This line of research is starting to elucidate potential mechanisms behind the community-wide belief that autism is caused by a combination of... [Read more]