Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently struggle to fit into a world that does not understand them, and aid is often more difficult find for adults than for children. SIMmersion LLC is hoping to help adults with ASD; the company recently completed a prototype of its simulation software catered to practicing and strengthening communication skills.
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The News-Press is reporting that a bill in the Florida legislature is being reviewed that would provide enhanced funding to Florida children with autism. Parents in Florida are pushing for mandated autism coverage by insurance companies (like the parents who helped push through the Arizona autism insurance bill) and while this isn’t the inclusive plan that parents had hoped for, it is a step in the right direction.

From the News-Press article:

The proposed bill removes caps on full-pay KidCare participants so that any Florida family can buy health insurance that includes coverage for enhanced services for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. It also expands KidCare benefits to include physical, speech and occupational therapy — and expands the age eligibility — so that younger children can get enhanced benefits.

Read the entire article here: New Florida Package Proposed to Enhance Coverage for Children with Autism

The Interactive Autism Network (IAN), a project of the Kennedy Krieger Institute sponsored by Autism Speaks, has released the February 2008 research report.  Parents of children with autism were asked to join the project and voluntarily supply information about their entire family.  As time passes numbers are crunched and research reports are released.  The February 2008 report focused on autism treatments.  Parents were asked how many different treatments their children were receiving at a given time.  The results from the survey were astounding.  Some children were only receiving one type of intervention while another parent reported that her child was receiving 56 different treatments…at the same time.  The numbers seemed to peak at five simultaneous treatments.

The top five treatments were speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, applied behavior analysis (ABA), social skills groups, and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).  The survey then broke down the treatments into types of treatment with prescription medications being the most popular.  The report goes on to discuss the lengths that parents have gone through in order to receive adequate services with 5% reporting a move to a new state and 18% either had one parent quit a job or reduce hours in order to meet the child’s therapy schedules.   

Read the entire report at Ian Research Report #5 - February 2008.