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Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Unique People Services Creating Community Connections
On a sunny day in August, on a typical tree lined suburban street in Queens, NY, a knock opens a neighbor’s door. “Are you coming?” asked a client of Unique People Services (UPS). UPS was holding an open house to introduce the community to their newest neighbors: six women with varying...
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21st Century Sexuality Teaching Resources for Youth with Autism
The twenty first century brought a long-awaited focus to sexuality and ASD. Although a paucity of data still exists regarding sexuality education and ASD (Loftin & Hartlage, 2015), most publications do provide recommendations for the who, what and when components of teaching about sexuality....
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Sexual Misconduct on Campus: A Brief Introduction to Title IX Guidelines and Policies for Parents and Caregivers
A young woman waits in line with friends at the counter of a college cafeteria, discussing topics from a class they attended earlier. Nearby, a young man who also attends the class watches the young woman intently, looking for an opportunity to catch her attention. He calls her name a few times,...
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Special Challenges and Creative Solutions When Providing Services to Females with Autism
The majority of individuals with autism are male, and females with autism are often overlooked in discussions of needs and program planning. Special challenges exist in serving individuals with autism who are female. In addition, females may be vulnerable in ways that are often not acknowledged or...
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What Parents of Children with Autism Should Know About Abuse
It is true that parents of children and adults with ASD, if asked, will admit to having long-held fears that their child may become a victim of abuse. However, it is also true that when I have provided classes for parents of young and adult children with autism at Los Angeles-based Regional Centers...
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Autism and Hospitals: A Difficult Match
As a resident, you always have that one patient who sticks out in your mind—the one who had some profound impact on your practice of medicine and your life outside of medicine. For me, though, it wasn’t just one patient. It was one patient after another with the same challenge: autism. Having...
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The Dangers of Social Media for Individuals with Autism
The Disability and Abuse Project publishes a weekly news feed of all articles that have been published in the past week on abuse of people with disabilities. These focus on intellectual and developmental disabilities. Recently there has been an increase of articles describing solicitation by...
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The Importance of Community Involvement in Preventing a Wandering Incident
Approximately 48% of children diagnosed with autism have been reported to elope at some point in their lives, frequently from places that are considered the safest environments for them to be in, such as homes and schools. People who elope place themselves in harm’s way and increase their risk of...
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Keeping Kids with ASD Safe – Understanding the Creep Factor and the Hidden Curriculum
It was Middle School Day at Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ and I was the chaperone for my son’s “self-contained” autism class. Christopher’s entire school went to the show - including the two autism classes. During intermission, I was asked if I could take the eight teenage boys, all on...
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Interacting Safely with Police: Crucial Skills for Individuals Across the Spectrum
Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have a long list of safety concerns, no matter the age of their children. Parents need to focus on creating a secure home environment, preventing wandering and teaching water safety. Yet there is another critical area of need that...
