Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

After Flight Diverted, Teen With Special Needs Goes Missing

Excerpt from: Disability Scoop (click for full article)

 

While flying from Idaho to Florida, a teen with an Asperger’s-like condition found his plane unexpectedly diverted to an unfamiliar city and wound up wandering the streets all alone.

Joshua Arvin, 15, was on his way home from his boarding school when his flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. instead stopped in Tampa. Rather than follow the rest of the passengers to a bus for the remainder of the journey, the teen attempted to make his own way.

Arvin’s mother, Tracy, frantically called the airline and airport police with no luck tracking down her son. She later learned that the teen tried to charter a bus before taking a cab to a local bus station. He was ultimately found on a downtown street corner after 11 p.m by a good Samaritan who called police.

The airline — US Airways — says it does not accept responsibility for unaccompanied minors on connecting flights, reports WTSP, the Tampa CBS affiliate.

NBC’s ‘Parenthood’ Readies For New Season

Excerpt from: Disability Scoop (click for full article)

 

Max Braverman and family will be returning to television for a fifth season of NBC’s “Parenthood,” a fan-favorite among many affected by autism.

NBC has renewed the family drama for an additional 22 episodes to air over the 2013-2014 television season.

The one-hour show chronicles the ups and downs of three generations of the Braverman family, tackling hot-button issues ranging from breast cancer to teen pregnancy, adoption and the challenges facing veterans.

A central theme of the series from day one has been the impact of autism on the family dynamic. Early on, young Max Braverman, played by Max Burkholder, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and the drama follows the family’s efforts to help him navigate the world.

7 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Special-Needs Students

Excerpt from: Education Week Teacher (click for full article)

 

Recently, a former music teacher told me about a 1st grade student with Asperger's syndrome who, on their first encounter, announced in no uncertain terms: "I hate music!" Over the next two years, the student used abusive language, had meltdowns, and was physically aggressive toward his peers. Finally, the teacher scheduled some individual time with him and discovered that he believed he was terrible at music and couldn't sing. She let him play some of the instruments in her room and then showed him the music composition software program GarageBand on her Mac. It turned out that he was fascinated with computers and quickly figured out how to compose a song.

The next week, the teacher shared his song with the class and from that time on things began to change. He still struggled with his behavior, but over the next two years, she explained, "he played instruments in our concerts, joined the choir, had several solos, was in the musical. ... [He] gave his heart and soul to music and continued to compose and mix music at home. He told his mother that whenever he was having a bad day, he would 'go into his music' and there he would find peace and calm." This story illustrates how important it is to find out as much as possible about the strengths and abilities of students with special needs.

Books of Hope, Found in Newtown Gunman’s Home

Excerpt from: New York Times (click for full article)

 

Words of comfort, encouragement and empathy had been available to Nancy Lanza and her son, Adam, within a pair of books that were found by the police during a search of their home in Newtown, Conn., after Mr. Lanza’s murderous rampage on Dec. 14.

It is all but impossible to know if mother or son were helped by the books, “Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s” and “Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant,” or whether either opened, or even had use for, them. While those familiar with Mr. Lanza and his family have said he had an autism variant known as Asperger’s syndrome, investigators have not confirmed the diagnosis.

“Look Me in the Eye” (2007), by John Elder Robison, and “Born on a Blue Day” (2006), by Daniel Tammet, are both memoirs that chronicle the painful chasm of misunderstanding that separates people with Asperger’s from the world around them. Both accounts turn hopeful as their writers grow comfortable in their own skins and more successful in communicating with others.

Asperger Love: Searching for Romance When You're Not Wired to Connect 9

Excerpt from: Wrong Planet (click for full article)

 

At the link above, you will find an excerpt from Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times reporter Amy Harmon's new ebook, "Asperger Love" that profiles Wrong Planet's "Autism Talk TV" co-hosts Jack Robison and Kirsten Lindsmith.

Why people with Aspergers seem so awkward around others

Excerpt from: Autism Support Network (click for full article)

 

Non-autistic people or neurotypicals see safety in numbers. We see threat. Unless we are shipwrecked and have been floating at sea in a dinghy for four days with no food we don't see safety in other people. They stimulate the amygdala in our brains, causing adrenalin overload and a fight or flight reaction. So we may feel testy, want to flee, or, because we've trained ourselves to do neither, we simply become awkward--stiff, jerky, even suffer from a temporary inability to speak. Some of us, because of the adrenalin rush, switch into performance mode, and we can seem both witty and charming for a short period of time. This tricks people into thinking we are socially adept. It's a smoke screen. Performances are tiring and we can't keep it up for long-certainly not an entire work day, or any other lengthy gathering. Eventually, we become exhausted and depleted and must retreat mentally or physically.

Woman with Autism Gets Student Loans Discharged

Excerpt from: Law Offices of Matthew Stoloff (click for full article)

 

Recently, a Maryland court considered whether a person on the autism spectrum could get her student loans discharged. See In re Todd. The debtor, Carol Todd, has a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome, in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and osteoporosis. Ms. Todd had a total of about $340,000 in student loan debt and sought to get these loans discharged.

Right away, we know this case is different because the judge quotes the Webster’s dictionary definitions of “undue” and “hardship,” adding that these terms do not suggest a standard that “no debtor can ever meet.” The court went on to describe how Ms. Todd was unable to function normally due to her diagnoses of Asperger’s, PTSD, and osteoporosis – but the court focused primarily on Asperger’s.

In its analysis, the court determined that Ms. Todd’s situation met the “certainty of hopelessness” test due primarily to her autism/Asperger’s. Persuading the court was a doctor’s testimony showing that Ms. Todd could be a successful student, even be able to earn a Ph.D., but that she could not be a “productive” employee in the working world as we know it.

Sex: what do people with Aspergers need to know?

Excerpt from: Autism Support Network (click for full article)

 

Asperger syndrome is by its nature an isolating condition. I have spoken on this in my books and in this blog. Because of social isolation, we may not have the frequent, recurring contact with potential partners that neurotypicals might enjoy. We are not even adept at flirting, the most basic step in the romance dance. I have spent much of my adult life single. While I have often chosen partners out of convenience, desperation and extreme loneliness, I have now finally achieved a healthy relationship with someone who is both good for me and as far as I can tell, compatible. But it was not easy getting here. My teenage years were fraught with sexual mistakes including statutory rape and other dating fiascos...if you could call it dating. From what I know of my peers, dating is not something we with Aspergers like to do. We tend to meet and mate too quickly or not at all. We want to have good relationships, we just don't know how to go about getting one.

Parents' suit claims Big Beaver school ignored disabilities

Excerpt from: post-gazette.com (click for full article)

 

Efforts by the parents to have J.P. evaluated for special services met with resistance from the district, according to the suit. A teacher later "testified credibly that she feared outright reprimand by the principal if she voiced support for investigating or evaluating a student's need for special education services," it said.

The parents got an independent evaluation done, and it found that J.P. had Asperger's syndrome, which is a social impairment on the autism spectrum disorder. J.P. later left the district.

The complaint by attorney Jeffrey J. Ruder seeks to be a class action representing victims of what it calls "a building-level practice of prohibiting the evaluation and identification of students" with disabilities.

The lawsuit seeks damages for J.P.'s family, and measures by the district to improve staff training and practices in regards to students with special needs.

I have Asperger's; I am just like you

Excerpt from: CNN (click for full article)

 

I am not an expert on Asperger's syndrome. But I am an expert on me, and I have Asperger's.

And attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Having all three disorders together is not unusual, my doctor says.

Like you, I get angry sometimes. And, like you, I would never think of channeling that emotion into violence.

There is no direct connection between violence and autism. None. I don't break things. I don't hit my dogs. I keep a small Tupperware container in the house to catch insects so I can transport them safely outside before my cats or wife see them. I don't disparage hunters, but I could never kill another creature. I just don't have it in me.