Our 10th Anniversary issue! Free digital edition available!

Authors contribute inspirational stories about "then and now" perspectives towards living with or teaching children with ASD.

Vision & Autism (Part 2 - strategies!)

Step-by-step teaching guidelines for parents of significantly impaired children with autism

Teaching stringed instruments to individuals with ASD
 
Read more... and link to your free digital copy! Our 10th Anniversary gift to you!


Inspired. Heartwarming. A testament of love and hope.

Read our holiday article, "An Unforgettable Christmas," by author and autism advocate, Ann Richard. Ann's son, King, has autism, graduated from high school last year, is a professional model and loves to sing...especially the National Anthem. Even on YouTube!
Read the article here.

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National Town Hall - November 13, 2009 

Chicago Town Hall Meeting (central hub)
   Check-In begins at 9:30AM CT
   Program 10:15AM-4:30PM CT

Americans will come together across at least 15 cities in the U.S. to create a policy agenda for addressing the needs of adults with autism. Over 1,000 people including caregivers, advocates, elected officials, family members, and adults with autism, will join the discussion to make recommendations on this important issue.

The National Town Hall will take place at the University of Illinois in Chicago, hosted by The Autism Program of Illinois (TAP). Fifteen satellite sites in major cities across the U.S., along with a virtual site, will be linked via technology and live webcast. The satellite sites will work in the same way as the main site in Chicago, with full participatory technology.

Pre-registration is required at all sites. Find locations and registration information at the Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA) website: www.afaa-us.org.

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A national survey of parents showed the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) among U.S. children aged 3 to 17 years is approximately 1 in 91 children. The study, “The Prevalence of Parent-Reported Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children in the United States, 2007,” was published in the Oct. 5, 2009, issue of Pediatrics. The study drew on data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, a telephone survey of 78,037 parents conducted jointly by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The odds for having a child with an ASD are four times higher for boys than for girls, resulting in the alarming statistic that 1 in every 58 boys will be diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

Find a Q&A prepared by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about the study here.

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In early October the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) launched the nation’s largest online research initiative to survey grandparents of children with autism. The new survey will explore many aspects of having a grandchild on the autism spectrum, including the impact that having a grandchild with ASD has on the grandparents themselves. Interested participants can learn more about the survey here...

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Meet Lindsey Biel, M.A., OTR/L, an occupational therapist specializing in pediatrics, with a private practice in Manhattan. Lindsey is coauthor of Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues, just released in its second edition, and will be authoring a new Sensory Smarts column in each issue of the AADigest starting in our January-February 2010 issue.

Read Lindsey Biel’s bio here.
Read the AADigest’s special interview with Lindsey! In it she talks about working with sensory sensitive kids with ASD, gives pointers to parents and educators, and talks about the latest edition of her fabulous book. Read the interview here.

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For the third consecutive year – a “first” in NAPPA history - the Autism Asperger’s Digest has been named a Gold Award winner in the annual National Parenting Publications Awards competition. This is NAPPA’s highest honor, and the prestigious award recognizes the AADigest as one of the most useful products geared to expectant, new or veteran parents today. Read more...

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“If I knew about this magazine five years ago, my child’s future would have been so much better.”
- Lyn, Parent