While autism awareness may appear to focus on teaching non-autistics about autism, it is also about us! The ones WITH the autism! It is very important for a non-autistic (a neurotypical) to treat another person with autism with patience and understanding. However, it is much more important for an autistic person to treat themselves with…
Legislative Committee Studying Supports for Transition to Adulthood
The NC General Assembly created a legislative research committee to look at the needs of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), including autism. The committee is collecting information and hearing from various stakeholders in order to make recommendations to the General Assembly about the quality and quantity of services available to those with IDD…
My Yellow Brick Road: A Journey Through a New Diagnosis
The Wizard of Oz has always been one of my favorite movies, but watching it this time, something seemed different and oddly familiar. As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I saw the movie through different glasses. We all know the story. Dorothy spins and twirls as her whole world is picked…
Funding Available for Students in Private K-12 and Home Schools
North Carolina offers three programs to provide funding for K-12 students who opt for a non-public education. In North Carolina, ānon-public educationā includes private schools and home schools, including home-school cooperatives. Each state funding program has different application processes and eligibility criteria. Two programs are specifically for students with a significant disability, as determined by…
Call US Senators Today about Housing Supports; Learn about ABLE updates
We have two national issues to update you on, and actions for you to take today and tomorrow! Money Follows the Person (MFP) is a federally funded demonstration program that helps people with disabilities move from institutional settings such as state-run developmental centers and nursing homes to live in community-based residential settings. North Carolina has…
Guardianship: Confessions of a Mother
I laugh now, but at the time it was terribly traumatic. My son, Daniel, was days away from turning age 18. Guardianship! The issue was here; there was no more time ā or so I thought. My husband and I had known for quite some time that our youngest son, diagnosed with autism, would need…
Transitioning to Competent Adulthood with Dr. Peter Gerhardt
Dr. Peter Gerhardt, who has worked in the autism field for 37 years, shared some of his expertise with parents and professionals last week at a one-day conference in Raleigh. His presentation was titled āTransitioning to Competent Adulthood for Individuals with Autism: Implications from Preschool to High School and Beyond.ā Dr. Gerhardt is the Executive…