ACT-Autism Community Training
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"Dick Hoyt first pushed his son, who is quadriplegic and has cerebral palsy, in the Boston Marathon in 1980. Dick and Rick, in a specialized wheelchair, completed 32 Boston Marathons together, until Dick, citing health issues, retired in 2014."

"Exposing people to examples of real autistic people, who have a range of abilities and support needs, can help to dismantle stereotypes about autism, which is what we found in our study." Using videos that were created by Simon Fraser University of autistic people talking about their own experiences and challenges, researchers in Texas found that those who watched the videos showed more favorable attitudes toward autistic people, and had fewer misconceptions about autism.

"The study is just the latest to illustrate the outsized effect just a few actors can have on the information ecosystem online. [...] The Facebook study also found there may be significant overlap between users who exhibit anti-vaccination behavior on Facebook and supporters of QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory surrounding a deep state cabal of Democrats and Hollywood celebrities engaging in pedophilia and sex trafficking."

"The review found some of the benefits of social media for autistic people include more control over how they talk and engage with others online and a greater sense of calm during interactions. Social media provides opportunities for autistic people to find others on the autism spectrum and form a stronger identity as part of the autism community. However, findings also suggest that some autistic people continue to be lonely and desire in-person relationships despite cultivat...ing social media friendships." After combing through 32 previous studies that looked at how autistic youth and adults communicated online, researchers at Drexel University. concluded that more research in this area is needed. One finding: there was little research about how autistic women, transgender people, racial or ethnic minorities, or autistic people from lower socioeconomic groups communicate using the internet. See more

An overview of some recent Twitter threads about autism research, including criticism of the widespread use of the AQ survey by researchers.

"What do I think? The truth is, I don’t know if it helped me. An Australian man writes about the role horseback riding played in his childhood and the emotions associated with the experience of riding.

If you are looking for resources to train respite providers this specialized sitter training program may interest you! The online program is funded by MCFD and the next course starts February 22nd.

We have just learned that Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth, British Columbia's Representative for Children and Youth, will be presenting her recent report on the impact the pandemic has had on disabled children to the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth of the BC Legislature starting at 10 AM Pacific Time today. This link will take you to the live feed: https://www.leg.bc.ca/documents-data/broadcasts-and-webcasts Alternatively, the Legislature Hansard services will record and transcribe the meeting so you will be able to listen in at a later date. If you are interested in reading Dr. Charlesworth's report, you will find it here: https://rcybc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CYSN_Report.pdf

Just knowing that I don’t have to worry anymore, I can’t express that into words. A mother in Surrey was alarmed when her autistic son's staple food, a frozen waffle brand, was discontinued. But when the company heard about the problem they donated six cases of the frozen waffles. And they are working on converting the commercial recipe so the mother will be able to duplicate the discontinued product in her own kitchen.

Not everyone understands children like Evan and as a mother that is so heartbreaking. Kids used to run away from him at playgrounds and call him weird. Those moments shattered me. But at Disney he’s just another happy child where he’s shown nothing but genuine kindness.

"The spread of COVID-19 in congregate living facilities must make governments move toward the de-institutionalization of people living with intellectual disabilities, and into more community-based housing that facilitates the inclusion of our most vulnerable in communities. The new normal must include financial support that allows a person with a disability to access opportunities in the community, like everyone else." A Manitoba support worker and advocate writes about the changes he wants to see in supports for the disabled after the pandemic.

An advocate who served as special advisor on disability to Barack Obama, a post which was not filled during the Trump presidency, is hopeful that the Biden administration will bring positive change.

"The transition to adulthood is a time of trial and error for any young person. Stepping away from your adolescent support system and into adulthood is hard work that takes many years and many helping hands to get right, and every young person can expect to stumble now and again while navigating through those years. But for far too many of the 850 or so young people who transition out of government care or a youth agreement in B.C. every year, turning 19 can be the start of a... frightening solo journey into the unknown one that their experiences in government care have left them particularly poorly prepared for." This report from BC's Representative for Children and Youth is the 10th major report in six years done on the issue of youth transitioning out of care into adulthood. Despite those reports, much work remains to be done in order to meet the needs of these young adults.

New Jersey lawmakers are considering a provision, which would be voluntary, to add a symbol on the driver's license of autistic people and others who might have communication issues if they were pulled over by the police. What are your thoughts?

A survey from UBC and BCEdAccess about the effects of the pandemic on inclusive education in British Columbia. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is open until December 20th. If you can, please consider giving your input!

"Before he went out on his last fishing trip, Cogswell went to do his Christmas shopping, taking his nephew along and wrapping his gifts in preparation for the holidays." Aaron Cogswell, one of the six Nova Scotia men who lost their lives this week while fishing in the Bay of Fundy, was autistic. According to his mother, Cogswell loved fishing and had a captain who had taken him under his wing.

New research about the link between alexithymia, or difficulties identifying one's emotions, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

"I was happy that I finally knew what was going on." A look at the experiences of several people in the UK who were diagnosed as adults, one of whom was 70 years old when he finally got a diagnosis.

I’m very tired of hearing autism getting blamed for people’s bad behavior. Alek Minassian’s lawyer is seeking to prove that his client, who is charged with ten counts of first degree murder, is not criminally responsible for his actions because he is autistic. Many advocates are worried that this line of argument will perpetrate harmful myths about autism. What are your thoughts?

"Most of the large, spontaneous genetic mutations tied to autism are passed down from fathers. But, unlike with smaller mutations, a man’s age is unlikely to significantly up the rate at which they occur."

"MacPhail recounts the most frightening time her daughter ran away. A couple of years ago, she was staying at her father's house in Cornwall but escaped in the middle of the night out a patio door, wearing just her pyjamas. (The teen's father said he now blocks her access to that patio door.) She walked about a kilometre to a nearby Tim Hortons coffee shop, where she was found. MacPhail received a phone call at 5 a.m. from RCMP officers, asking her to come get her daughter."

An autistic teen riding his bike with his dog off leash led to a telephone complaint by a member of the public, and it all went downhill from there. Sadly, this story illustrates how dangerous encounters between police officers and people on the autism spectrum can be, even when the reason police become involved is quite innocuous.

"My dreams are going to win." A 21-year-old man who had open-heart surgery as a baby, didn't walk until he was four, and attended seven different elementary schools as his parents tried to find the right environment for him, recently became the first person with Down syndrome to complete the grueling Ironman endurance race.

Very disturbing data from the UK shows that people who have intellectual disabilities (often referred to as "learning disabilities" in the UK) have much higher rates of death from COVID-19 than the general population. The article looks at some of the causes of this appallingly high fatality rate among a vulnerable population.

This just in: after years of lobbying by Canadians, the federal government has agreed to develop a national autism strategy. Because this will be a complex and politically fraught process, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences will be given responsibility for leading consultations to develop the strategy.

A free webinar series starting Wednesday October 28th for those interested in learning ways to support students on the autism spectrum in their school and home environments. Please note that the webinars begin on Wednesdays at 3:30 PM Eastern Time (12:30 PM Pacific).

"When people are left behind, I don't really like it." A story from Missouri, where a young boy on the spectrum went to city hall to lobby for a inclusive playground so his friend who has spina bifida could also play.

This looks like a great upcoming series of Zoom conversations with BCEdAccess!

Everyone has been quite stressed and my son can pick up on people’s stress levels. It’s unbearable for him. Two Victoria parents describe how their child's service dog is helping them get through the pandemic.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do. In junior high, I got beat up by him. Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life." We don't usually post stories about hockey, but this report looks at the disturbing past conduct of a recently-drafted NHL player, who chose as his victim a developmentally disabled Black classmate. What are your thoughts? Should this athlete still be criticized for actions that occurred when he was 14?

"With a minimal amount of creativity and good sense, trick-or-treating could look exactly like adults queuing up to grab takeout." This opinion piece by an Ottawa parent is not related to disability, but argues that Halloween is important to kids and that it should be possible to trick or treat with little risk of spreading COVID-19. What are your thoughts? Do you have plans for celebrating Halloween?

"School has at many times absolutely been a hostile environment that did not understand who I was. In every school there are good teachers and bad teachers and I've had some horrendous teachers." Seventeen-year-old Maria Scharnke recently gave evidence to a royal commission in Australia, describing one teacher who refused to believe that she was autistic, instead insisting that she simply needed to be disciplined. Have you ever encountered similar attitudes?

"Though preliminary, that finding suggests that better communicators are more likely to become 'experts' at faces over time, and therefore are more likely to devote attention to faces as they age." A recent eye-tracking study examined where autistic and typical people turn their attention, when they are shown photographs of people.