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Internet and Social Media Skills Empower Individuals with DD to Increase Social Interactions and Improve Quality of Life
Many of us remember a time when paper and pencil were the only way of recording information and encyclopedias and journals were located in a library for research and review. Once the internet was invented our lives changed in many ways. We had access to an infinite amount of information across a...
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The Changing Times and Tools of Assistive Technology: One Man’s Story of College Success
Patrick Kelty is a 27-year-old adult with an autism spectrum disorder whose life was changed by multiple forms of assistive technology. From that first elementary school reading tool, his life has immensely improved. Elementary School In his elementary years, PK (as we call him) benefitted...
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Safety in Numbers – Traveling with Students on the Autism Spectrum
Traveling with students on the autism spectrum is a fun and rewarding experience provided that planning and forethought are engaged before going on a trip. Domestic local day trips differ from multi-day international excursions. However, some basic tenants pertain to the planning of each kind of...
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Tools for Transitions: Using Self-Management and Technology to Build Independence
Shifts from adolescence to adulthood, from high school to college or career, and from family home to independent living can be challenging for anyone. Many young adults struggle to manage their time appropriately and to make good choices that will help them to meet their long-term goals. Once past...
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Awake Challenged, Punctually Challenged, and Underground Thursday Challenged
One of the biggest hurdles that adolescents and young adults on the ASD or LD Spectrum face is having a reversed sleep schedule where they stay awake at night (often playing video games or surfing the internet) and sleeping during the day. This is especially so if students are living independently...
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Treating the Adolescent with ASD: The Quest To Establish Selfhood
In our society, adolescence is thought of as a time of self-discovery and identity formation. It is a time when the individual is not quite a child anymore, but is certainly not an adult; it is the transitionary period between the two. During the span of roughly seven to ten years, or in some cases...
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Smart Pens, Tablets, and Word Prediction Software: Utilizing Technology for High School and College Students
As we move through this digital age, students in high school and college are increasingly using technology as a mechanism to support learning. Technology can be used in a multitude of ways, ranging from electronic organizational systems and digital reminders to supporting more complex academic...
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My Journey to Independence
My name is Jay Mikush, and I am 23 years old. When I was first diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) at the age of six, I had many challenges interacting with other children. Over the years, I have learned how to be more social with all sorts of people. I am proud to have been born and...
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The Benefits and Challenges of Housing for People with ASD in a Post-Facility World
Group Homes, a housing model that began in the 1960s and ‘70s, were a tremendous improvement on the dismal institutional settings that they largely superseded. Created by a partnership between the state and “voluntary” agencies, the goal of the group home model was that people with autism and...
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Transforming Transitional Programs
Walking onto a college campus is the first step to adulthood and true independence. This step can cause excitement, fear and anxiety for most young people. For students with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum, these emotions are magnified. It is a new world of unchartered territory...
