Teaching kids with autism the art of conversation

Posted by Beth Finke on January 17th, 2009

A National Public Radio story I heard the other day talked about a program at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute that teaches social skills to kids with autism.

For children like Alex with autism, social interactions are a struggle. But Freedman is part of a team of researchers at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute that has developed a course to …Read More » »

Do social skills define autism?

Posted by Beth Finke on August 21st, 2008

I just read a blog post questioning the emphasis put on “social skills” when defining autism.

Yes, autism affects how autistic people socialize. We don’t do it like neurotypicals. But that isn’t the root or sole effect of autism, nor is it even enough for a diagnosis. Having a hard time socially is something many, if not most, of us …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 » »