BOOK EXCERPT BY SHARLENE HABERMEYER, MA “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh As a young child, Anthony suffered with severe language, social, and emotional issues. Socialization was a particular challenging issue. It was difficult for him to socialize with his peers, to work independently at school, and he was argumentative with his teachers. But music changed all that. Today, Anthony attends […]
BY LYDIE RASCHKA With a grant from the National Inclusion Project, the Marquis Studios Inclusion Program was launched in 2011. As the six year olds filled the sunny art studio, they chanted the teacher’s name, “Hiromi! Hiromi!” With her frizzy pigtails, crinkly-eyed smile, and blocky gray tunic, Hiromi Niizeki looked like a big first-grader herself. This was Ms. Niizeki’s second season teaching visual art in the Inclusion Program, a project designed by Marquis Studios. Marquis […]
BY JILL BARKER, DAVID HART AND TAMIE HOPP The Olmstead decision, which interprets the Americans with Disabilities Act, is so clear that persistent misinterpretation by federal agencies can only be described as purposeful. INTRODUCTION The 25th Anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 2015 offers an opportunity to set the record straight about what the landmark Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999)1, actually says about the ADA’s […]
Written by Honor Whiteman Though previous research has associated numerous different gene mutations with autism, exactly how these mutations contribute to the development of the condition has been unclear. Now, a new study published in the journal Cell has uncovered the workings behind one autism-related gene mutation. Conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, the study reveals how mutations in a gene called UBE3A drive it […]
Psychologists from Cardiff University have developed the first self-assessment test designed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults. Published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders the test measures the extent to which adults are affected by repetitive behaviours – one of the criteria used to diagnose autism. These behaviours include common habits and routines, such as lining up objects or arranging them in patterns, fiddling obsessively with objects, or insisting that aspects of […]
