The stimulus plan: what’s in it for people with autism?


Posted by Beth Finke on February 23rd, 2009

Here’s an understatement for you: that stimulus package President Obama signed into law last week is huge. It’s a bit daunting, too. To help sort through all the changes, the Disability Policy Collaboration (The Arc of the United States, combined with United Cerebral Palsy) lists the amount of increased spending disability specific programs will receive from the time the …Read More » »

Autism, adulthood … and love


Posted by Patricia Wright on February 20th, 2009

Autism, adulthood, and love. Those are three words I rarely hear spoken together in my work providing service and support to individuals with autism. So it was great to read a story called They’re Autistic — and They’re in Love in this month’s Glamour Magazine. The article shows how two young adults can work together to compensate for their …Read More » »

Accessing autism services after age 21


Posted by Patricia Wright on January 28th, 2009

A parent commented to the Easter Seals autism blog last week — she was asking for help for her son. He is an adult with autism, and he has aggressive tendencies.

The needs for services and supports for adults with autism is a growing crisis. Entitlement services typically end at age 21. The parent who commented has a son who …Read More » »

A special home for a special son with autism


Posted by Beth Finke on January 26th, 2009

Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune featured a story about a house that was rehabbed especially for a young adult with autism.

Larry and Beth Markin have a 22-year-old son, Eric, who is autistic. Two years ago, because of his aggressive behavior and the problems involved in caring for him, Eric was declared a crisis case by the state. The Markins knew …Read More » »

Living with Autism Study reveals parents’ fears for their children with autism


Posted by Patricia Wright on December 16th, 2008

The one consistent message Easter Seals hears from families — after the initial apprehension and anxiety of learning their child has autism – is an overwhelming concern about the life-long supports their child with autism may need to be independent.

Until today, we have had no data to quantify what we’ve heard anecdotally over the years. So Easter Seals worked with …Read More » »

Sleepless on the spectrum


Posted by Beth Finke on July 17th, 2008

Our son has never slept well. At home he always had problems falling asleep, then had problems staying asleep. As a result, so did we.

I used to think, “well, that’s just Gus. It’s part of his personality.” But after reading a post on Autism Research Blog: Translating Autism I realize Gus isn’t the only kid with a disability who …Read More » »

Try a symbol-based web browser for free


Posted by Patricia Wright on June 26th, 2008

A comment to my blog about web accessibility for people with autism and other disabilities offered a 30-day trial of Webwide. I wanted to let you know about this offer, in case you missed the comment.

If any readers are interested, you can try Webwide for free for 30 days by …Read More » »

What do autism assistance dogs do?


Posted by Beth Finke on April 17th, 2008

I’m blind. I use a Seeing Eye dog to guide me safely to work each day. I literally couldn’t get around without her.

I know how valuable a service dog can be. In some cases, though, I don’t understand what specific things the service dog does to help with the disability.

A recent story in …Read More » »

Working with undiagnosed autism


Posted by Debbie Smith on March 28th, 2008

The media does a fantastic job on reporting the benefits of early diagnosis and treatment of autism, but the needs of older individuals have to be addressed too.

I’ve been working with individuals with disabilities for many years. About 10 years ago we had a huge increase of children being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder …Read More » »

Governor awarded for autism advocacy


Posted by Bob Glowacki on March 26th, 2008

Well, we had plenty of excitement yesterday with a visit from Jim Doyle — he’s the governor of Wisconsin. He came to our adult day services center in Wauwatosa to receive the National Easter Seals Outstanding Advocate of the Year award. Governor Doyle received the award for his work towards improving access to services and his support in …Read More » »