A Wider World for kids with autism

Posted by Matt McAlear on September 2nd, 2009

Earlier this year Easter Seals Bay Area was contacted by the PBS show A Wider World. Roger McCarville, the show’s host, had heard about Easter Seals Read More » »

Book review: Bruce Shapiro & Pasquale Accardo’s “Autism Frontiers”

Posted by Matt McAlear on July 7th, 2009

In Autism Frontiers: Clinical Issues and Innovations, authors Bruce Shapiro and Pasquale Accardo (along with their multiple collaborators) do a great job of covering a variety of topics in a concise 200+ pages.

Many of the topics — early intervention, labels & diagnosis, Read More » »

Call me a dork, but I love autism conferences

Posted by Matt McAlear on September 22nd, 2008

Call me a dork, but one of the favorite parts of my work is going to trainings and conferences on autism treatment. We are very lucky to have really exciting research happening within our university system here in California — two conferences I’ve been to lately highlighted pioneering treatments in the field.

The first was through the U.C. Davis M.I.N.D. Read More » »

Diagnosing autism before age 3

Posted by Matt McAlear on April 8th, 2008

Lisa Tate’s recent blog wondered about the myth that children can’t be diagnosed with autism before age three. In the past, doctors were hesitant to diagnose autism in children less than 2 years of age, mostly because of the relatively limited amount of research showing stability of such early diagnoses. Doctors were more likely to provide a Pervasive Read More » »

Tyra and Twiggy and… autism?

Posted by Matt McAlear on December 18th, 2007

Never in a million years did I think I would ever read the names Tyra Banks, Twiggy, Enrique Iglesias and autism in the same article. But then I read a recent New York Times piece that focused on a 21-year-old art student from Valparaiso, Indiana named Heather Kuzmich.

Kuzmich has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Read More » »