Throughout her 30-year career, Grandin - one of the most accomplished, well-known adults living with autism - has worked to learn the minds of various animals, including dogs, cats, horses, tigers, pigs and cattle. She has sought to find how emotions govern behaviors in animals.

Over time, she has learned that animals' thought process is more akin to a person with autism.

"The common link is that I'm a very visual thinker," she said. "Like animals don't think in language, neither do I. We're not literal thinkers, our thoughts come in pictures, sounds and touches."

Click on the newslink to read the entire article.

The Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) has voted to recommend earmarking millions of dollars in research funds from the Combating Autism Act of 2006 to study the possible role of vaccines in the causation of autism.

The panel also proposed spending an additional $75 million to study a wide variety of other environmental factors in autism, possibly including parental age, infections, heavy metals, neurotoxins, occupational exposures and "other biological agents."

The decision, made last month, received little or no attention in the media. The vaccine research provisions are now included in the official IACC Draft Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Research.

The IACC has 12 members from various health-related branches of the Federal Government, plus six "Public Members," including representatives from Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America and the Coalition for Safe Minds, as well as Stephen Shore, an adult on the autism spectrum.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article.

Autism Campaigners in the United States of America and around the world are calling on President Elect Barack Obama to to speak out on Autism Sunday - the International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome which falls on 8th February 2009. President Elect Obama takes over the Office of the President of the United States in January. Autism Sunday would be the first international date in connection with the serious educational health issues concerning autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Many parents, carers and people with autism are struggling to cope with life. In some countries in Africa and Asia there are hardly any public services.

Click on the newslink to read the full article.

It was Matthew Shumaker's strange obsession with wheels and drains that spurred the first nagging doubts. While other toddlers tumbled down the padded ramps at Gymboree, or giggled under a billowing parachute during the baby games, Matthew toddled away to examine the wheels on a small rolling cart.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article.

Hello, I want to ask shootingstar about her son Michael, who refused tylenol as a child but now likes it. I too was struck by Schultz's study linking acetaminophen to autism, and have found considerable corroborating evidence since. I would like to know when your son developed autism, was it soon after any vaccination, and do you give him aspirin at any time? 

Hi everyone, 

 I was wondering if you could check out my autism site, it's called www.autismrising.com. I'm learning more about autism as I grow. My family friend has a son who is autistic and has been improving in terms of abilities and survival skills. So I've made a Web page from what little I know about autism and why some people feel it's rising. I look forward to being a part of this group. 

 Winston 

Six-year-old Gina Incandela is defying the odds. Through music she has managed to overcome the negative effects often associated with Autism.

At 2, she couldn’t speak. On Sunday, she sings the National Anthem at the Tampa Bay Lightning game.

Click on the newslink below to read the article.

Who would have thought that Danielle Bell's Danville home might reveal clues for solving one of the biggest mysteries of modern medicine: the cause of a rapid rise in autistic children.

Epidemiologists at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute believe the Bell family, and others like them, may provide answers.

Click on the newslink below to read the article. 

There was a great article in the St Paul, Pioneer Press last weekend about a new web site called Autism Hangout .com.  http://www.twincities.com/life/ci_10934381 

Songwriter performs for children with autism
Releases CD with songs designed to help with social interaction
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

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<!-- ImageEnd -->WOODBRIDGE - Saying "hi" or making eye contact may be one of the struggles a child with autism may go through.

Cathy Bollinger, a singer, songwriter and music therapist, has made a CD, "My Turn Your Turn," for autistic children, to help them with different social interactions and learn how to engage with others.

Four years ago, Bollinger said a speech therapist came to her and asked if she could make a CD to help autism kids with their social skills.

Bollinger asked the son of her business partner Elly Tucker, Josh, who has autism, for help.

"Cathy asked my son about a song called "Look Into Their Eyes," and my son said he could never look into anyone's eyes, so the song's name was changed to "Look Towards Their Eyes," said Tucker.

The songs on the CD help make lessons fun to learn, and help children navigate the tricky territory of engaging with others, by using descriptive, social story-like phrases to talk about concrete situations. Bollinger breaks down common, everyday interactions into simpler and more understandable activities. Songs touch on empathy, saying "hi," asking for help, handling anger, and other daily social skills.  read more »

"Autism on the Seas" is dedicated to servicing the cruising needs of families and individuals faced with autism.  We provide Group Cruises for a vacationing experience that is unmatched, and an "Autism Cruise Package" for those individuals and families who wish to cruise on any date or ship of their choice. 

Some of our services/features include:

Professional Autism Staff,
Priority Boarding & Disembarkation,
Private Muster Drill Area,  
Special Dietary Accommodations,
Private Group Family Party's & Movies,
Private Children’s Program & Ship Facility Entertainment Sessions,
Special Adventure Ocean Child Grouping,
Pool (water sensory related) Activities,
Private Group Family Activities: Scavenger Hunts, Arts and Crafts, Bingo, Karaoke, ect, 
Adults with Autism Social Gatherings,
Teen Social Gatherings,
Sibling Activities,
Parent's Play Time,
Private Dining Room/Area for all meals,
SAME Dining Wait Staff for all meals,
Special Gifts,
Special Children's Program Grouping Rules & Potty Training Provisions,
All of the Royal Caribbean Cruise regular services and activities.  read more »

Looks like we have another Michael Savage on our hands .... http://autismparents.net/denis-leary-a-hole-extraordinaire/

 FJH

http://autismretort.blogspot.com

(see article link for The Sally Ann Test graphic)

Second in a Series

(from Wednesday September 17th)

Most of us do it without even thinking about it.

Whether we're looking at someone we know, or a person walking down the street, or even a photograph in a magazine, we often immediately try to figure out what the person is thinking or planning.

Is she looking at her watch because she wants to know the time, or is she trying to break off the conversation? Did he look up because something moved overhead, or because he's amazed by something I said?

Psychologists call this "theory of mind" -- that is, figuring out what is in someone else's mind -- and they say we start developing this skill as babies, before we learn how to talk.

But there is one group that is particularly poor at theory-of-mind cognition -- people with autism. And now, studies at Carnegie Mellon University have shed new light on what may be malfunctioning in autistic people's brains.

One of the hallmarks of autism is difficulty in social relationships. Children and adults with autism often have trouble making eye contact, interpreting facial expressions and behaving appropriately in social settings.

These behaviors can often embarrass parents and anger strangers. In his book "Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism," George Washington University anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker described how his autistic daughter had walked up to a female stranger and snapped her bra strap, and had once asked a rotund man, "Is there a baby in there?"

The Carnegie Mellon studies suggest that one of the key problems that underlie such behaviors is that the brain areas that do theory-of-mind processing are badly connected in people with autism.  read more »

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Educator Richard Errera, creates "The Asperger Syndrome Read Me Intensity Chart" as a simple, yet revolutionary aid to effectively teach those born with this disorder; to help thousands worldwide.

Miramar, Fla. (PRWEB) September 8, 2008 -- Richard Errera, esteemed educator and holder of a Master of Science Degree in School Psychology, has created and developed a simple, yet revolutionary aid to effectively teach those born with Asperger Syndrome; to help countless thousands worldwide.  read more »

Here is another article/editorial from the Valerie's List Newsletter that I think will be of particular interest to those parents of adults with autism:  read more »