By Maureen Bennie

Director, Autism Awareness Centre Inc.

Parents and professionals will agree that toilet training an older child is a difficult task. Team toilet training with limited language skills and severe developmental delays and the task becomes monumental. The older child also has a lifetime habit of using diapers. My husband Ron and I have tried for the past three years to train our nine year old autistic son, Marc, with no success. This summer we were determined to make it happen.

A number of people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are involved in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as either victims, witnesses or offenders. There is no evidence of an association between ASD and criminal offending. In fact, due to the rigid way many people with ASD keep to rules and regulations, they are usually more law abiding than the general population.  People with ASD are more at risk as victims of crime rather than as offenders

By Ingrid M. Loos Miller and Hendricus G. Loos 

Part 1: Can shutdowns hurt your child?

What is a shutdown?

A shutdown is a particular sequence of behavior which we observed in a child diagnosed as high-functioning within the autistic spectrum. In academic settings when pressured by an adult to perform tasks that were difficult, she became unresponsive, sleepy, immobile, and limp to the touch for several minutes, and then fell asleep in a chair for as briefly as 10 min. and up to 2 hours. These “shutdown”  (SD) states were always triggered by social stress of a certain kind and they became more severe and frequent over a period of about a year.

By Kathie Harrington M.A. C.C.C. SLP

While driving on my way to an appointment I was cut in front of three times. I steered clear of a car that was edging over my way to avoid an accident. I saw a near miss when a car ran a stop sign. I pulled over for a siren but cars passed me who didn't bother to follow that law and I had cars honk at me for going the posted speed limit in a school zone. Were all of those drivers autistic?

By Paula Kluth - Author of You're Going to Love This Kid!

For many with autism, engaging in a social interaction is like playing a game without knowing the rules. Some individuals report that the social demands of making small talk or walking into a party can create stress, anxiety, and panic; they may feel as if everyone else knows the secrets necessary for success and they do not. Liane Holliday Willey (1999), a woman with Asperger's Syndrome, illustrates how stressful it can be when one does not understand certain social requirements:

Susan Sonders, M.Ed., E.I., L.D., A.I.

How do I reach you, sweet child? I have worked with you many times. Yet, I feel that we still have not met.  I get a glimpse of you now and then but you continue to hide behind the many faces of autism.

By Linda Hodgdon, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, Speech Pathologist

Students with autism, Asperger's Syndrome, PDD and other diagnoses that fall within the autism spectrum experience significant challenges in communication and social skills. In addition, they may demonstrate behavior challenges that can prevent successful participation in school and family activities. There are many other students with different diagnoses or different communication or behavior challenges whose educational needs may be similar. When we learn what types of communication supports and teaching techniques help students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, we discover that many other students benefit from these same strategies.