Families need guidance before buying a communication app for autism

By bobb |

Cathy Binger

Many children with autism have little to no functional speech, and their families are often desperate to help them communicate.

In today’s connected society, these families are likely to hear about a variety of communication apps — some specifically targeted at children with autism — available for mobile devices, including iPads. Often the advertisement includes a video of a child who starts communicating using the app’s voice output, effortlessly asking for a cup of juice or saying, for the first time, “I love you.”

New autism prevalence stats spotlight challenge of early diagnosis

By bobb |

Alla Katsnelson

The prevalence of autism in 4-year-old children in the United States has increased — from about 1 in 75 children in 2010 to 1 in 59 in 2014 — to match a previously reported rise in 8-year-old children, according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)1.

Toxic parenting myths make life harder for people with autism. That must change.

By bobb |

Sara Luterman

This summer, my parents celebrated their 33rd anniversary at Chef’s Restaurant in Buffalo with pasta doused in marinara sauce. Over a plastic gingham tablecloth, they quietly reaffirmed their commitment. Their relationship is remarkable and inspiring by any standard. But according to many in the autism world, including professionals who should know better, its endurance marks it as some sort of mythical unicorn, made all the more inspiring by the fact that it survived me. 

Wandering Off: Understand Elopement In Autistic Individuals

By bobb |

Ronit Molko, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Elopement, or wandering, as it is often called, is an important safety issue for individuals with autism or other disabilities, their families, and communities. This term describes the tendency for an individual to leave the safety of a known environment and caregiver. That might mean leaving the home when no one is looking or running away from school.

What defines ‘success’ for autism treatments?

By bobb |

What makes a successful autism treatment depends on whom you ask. A researcher may judge a treatment based on the results of a clinical trial or on the outcome measure chosen. For an autistic person, the best measure of success might be an improvement in quality of life. To others, no ‘treatment’ makes sense for autism’s core features.

To get a glimpse of such disparate perspectives, we asked three researchers and two autistic people to tell us what a successful autism therapy looks like to them.

The Experts:

Subscribe to USA