Elija School To Open in Long Island, NY, In September

The Elija School, a private school for children with autistic spectrum disorders, will begin classes in September of this year. The school will have a one-to-one student/teacher ratio and provide an individualized year-long program for autistic children of all ages. The school also plans for extensive interaction and cooperation with parents and for data monitoring to track child development. Enrollment has not yet begun, but interested parents can fill out an application. The school, which will be located in Levittown, currently has several fundraising efforts and is seeking ABA instructors. Website >

Service Dog Assists Child With Asperger’s

Aaron Smith, an 11-year old student with Asperger’s, often faces social difficulties and bullying in school. His mother recently applied for a service dog through a company called 4 Paws For Ability that provides trained dogs for people with disabilities, which she finally received after spending a year raising money. Aaron’s service dog has become his closest friend, and has helped prevent outbursts and repetitive behaviors, and has helped improve his willingness to interact with others. Read article >

Mother Of Child With Asperger’s Publishes Reference Book

Karra Barber, whose twelve year-old son Thomas was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of three, has written a book entitled Living Your Best Life with Asperger’s Syndrome, available through Paul Chapman Educational Publishing. In addition to writing, Karra also runs a local support group for parents of children with AS. Read article >

Adult With Asperger’s Discusses Condition In Autobiography

John Brine, a 38-year old Canadian resident with Asperger’s syndrome who was diagnosed at the age of thirty, has co-written two books about his condition along with his mother, Two-Stepping In A Waltz World and It’s The Only Dance I Know. Brine, who has a degree in psychology and lives independently, discusses his isolation and differences from the rest of the world in the books, which also contain parts written from his mother’s perspective. Read article >

Canadian Autism Group Makes Services Available Online

Outside of cities like Halifax, services for people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome in Canada’s maritime provinces are difficult to secure. The Provincial Autism Centre in Nova Scotia is researching an online version of sessions at the centre to allow for greater accessibility to those who live in the province’s small towns. The online sessions will consist of weekly chats for both teenagers and adults moderated by a trained volunteer. A local disabilities group has praised the project and is currently researching incidences of autism and AS in their area.

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Founder Of Asperger’s Support Group Discusses Life & Employment

Collette Morgan, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of fifty, recently discussed how her condition affects her life with Wales’ national newspaper. Despite suffering from severe sensory impairments and near-deafness, she has degrees in math and literature and has worked as a disability advocate, and has founded a support group for people with AS called Aspect. In the interview, she discusses her difficulties with social interaction and how people with AS can excel in the workplace. Read article >

Private School Distributes PDAs to Students With Asperger’s

The League School of Greater Boston, a private school specializing in autism, has given a group of students with Asperger’s handheld computers in order to help them organize schedules and assess their performance. The school believes that the students can use the devices to better monitor their behavior and determine how their emotional responses change between situations. The project has been funded by a local manufacturer of PDA software and the University of North Carolina.

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Film About Asperger’s Premieres At Tribeca Film Festival

Snow Cake, a film whose lead character, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, experiences complications caused by Asperger’s syndrome, will receive two public screenings during the Tribeca Film Festival this May. The showings, for which admission is $12 ($8 for students and lower Manhattan residents), will take place on May 4 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center and May 7 at Loews’ Lincoln Square location. Weaver recently attended a GRASP adult support group meeting in order to research her role.

Television Actress Promotes Autism Awareness

Cathy Cahlin Ryan, an actress on the police drama The Shield, has joined forces with Victoria Zepp, a mother of a child with Asperger’s syndrome who has raised nearly $100,000 for autism research through the sale of autism awareness wristbands, to help promote autism awareness. The show has also incorporated AS into its storyline as Ryan’s character, who has worn the wristbands onscreen, also has children with autism. Ryan has given out bands for the show’s cast and crew and recently appeared on the cover of Spectrum magazine. Read article >

Anonymous Princeton Student Discusses Asperger’s

An article written by an unidentified Princeton student dealing with how Asperger’s syndrome has affected his daily activities recently appeared in the school’s newspaper. In it, the student discusses how AS has affected his social interaction and how he has managed to channel his fixations into pursuits that facilitate personal contact, such as theater and music. He also relates overcoming symptoms of Asperger’s to his preoccupation with and daily ritual involving the rock group AC/DC, which is described in revealing detail in the article. Read article >

Asperger Syndrome Students In Acting Class Profiled

The Headlands School, a special education school in Wales operated by a children’s charity, has used the theater to help develop social skills in its students with autism and Asperger’s syndrome. One manager reported that the students showed great interest in a production of A Christmas Carol, largely because of the use of masks in the play, which he said reduced problems with eye contact and got students to show previously unseen expressions. The school’s head of drama also said that the autistic students have been creative and have helped in areas other than acting. Read article >

Computer Program For People With Asperger’s To Be Exhibited

This year’s Game Developers Conference, an important event in the video game community, will feature an event called the Serious Games Summit, spotlighting the growing use of technology normally associated with home gaming systems for business and medical purposes. One of these is Second Life, a virtual online social interaction tool that has attracted thousands of users, among them a private community called Brigadoon for the exclusive use of people with Asperger’s syndrome. Many of its residents have reported experienced improved social interaction in real life as a result. Read article >

Utah Autism School Set To Expand

The Spectrum School, a charter school for students with high functioning autism scheduled to begin classes in the next school year, received fifty percent more applications than initially expected, which at first denied placement to two-thirds of the students who applied. In response, the school’s backers requested an expansion, which was recently granted. The school, which is tuition-free and also accepts students without autism, will have multiple aides in each classroom and mild stimuli to prevent sensory overload. Read article > Website >