The IACC is meeting today in Washington

I'm here in Washington for the first meeting of the reconstituted IACC - the interagency autism coordinating committee of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Over the past two weeks I've put up several invitations on Facebook and Twitter, and it's looking like this will be a crowded event.


...,  and I hope to see a few of you in person today.
We should have better supports for autistic adults. We should have more aggressive early detection and intervention. We should educate society and make it more accommodating.

Unfortunately, we in the iacc cannot make those things happen. We can recommend more supports - and we do. But in the end, it is your (and my) elected officials who must vote the budgets and directives to make these things happen.

You might say iacc provides the plan, and they implement it.

Be assured that I am keenly aware of the burden autistic disability places on those of us who live with it daily, at all levels. Development of tools treatments and therapies to remediate disability is a top priority for me. At the same time, I celebrate the remarkable gifts we bring to the world, and making that world a more accommodating and caption place for us is no less vital.

I hope we take a few more steps in that direction today.
Look Me In The Eye: The IACC is meeting today in Washington

Twitter Updates

• Sue Swedo is telling about DSM 5 autism changes. about an hour ago
• We are hearing about the current state of restraint and seclusion in the #autism world about an hour ago
• @LindseyScheibe Look on the iacc website. The video is archived about 2 hours ago
• Alexa Posny from Dept of Education is talking about the state of special Ed, accomplishments and challengesabout 4 hours ago

"Life on the Autism Spectrum can be ENJOYable."

Look Me In The Eye: UMass Autism Study Looking for Volunteers

A Umass researcher is developing a screening tool for motor difficulties leading to language challenges in kids with autism. Do you have a child, 4-11, who might join the study? It's in Amherst, Massachusetts.  John Elder Robison 
Look Me In The Eye   http://jerobison.blogspot.com/2012/06/umass-autism-study-looking-for.html

From time to time I've posted calls for volunteers for research studies in the New England area. Here's one from my home town school: UMass: A doctoral student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst is completing her research in the area of speech differences in children with autism spectrum disorders. Part of her dissertation work is the development of a screening tool that Speech and Language Pathologists can use to identify potential motor difficulties that lead to language problems in children with autism. That knowl... more »  (John Elder Robison) at Look Me In The Eye

She is seeking two groups of volunteers: children with an autism spectrum diagnosis (this means autism, Asperger’s, or PDD-NOS), plus neurotypical children for her control group.

Volunteers must be 4-11 years old, with a vocabulary of at least 50 words. Children should have no cranio-facial or other structural differences, such as cleft palate, or uncorrected visual or hearing deficits (hearing aids and glasses are acceptable).

[For more info.]

Look Me In The Eye: UMass Autism Study Looking for Volunteers


via

"Life on the Autism Spectrum can be ENJOYable."