(Raleigh, NC) August 4, 2008 - The local non-profit organization, Spare Some For Autism, is currently accepting grants from educators working with Children on the Autism Spectrum in the Wake County Public School System. These grants will benefit children with autism participating in the WCPSS’s special needs programs during the 2008-2009 school year. The deadline for grant applications is August 30th, and the grants will be distributed by September 30th, 2008.

“We understand how beneficial these grants are to the special needs programs in the Wake County Public School System,” said Beth Jarvis, Executive Director of Spare Some For Autism. “We want the recipients to get the most out of this grant towards their education.”

About Spare Some for Autism
Spare Some for Autism seeks to improve the quality of life for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We are dedicated to funding programs that will directly impact the individuals that suffer from ASD and allow them to achieve their highest level of independence within their home, school, and community, all while gaining respect and support for themselves.

Spare Some for Autism also seeks to support families affected by ASD by educating them on such topics as literacy and coping with disabilities so that families will be better prepared to support each other. Spare some time, spare some love, spare some hope. For more information about becoming a sponsor or how to take part in the 2009 Spare Some for Autism Bowling Challenge, visit www.sparesomeforautism.org.

Media Contact:
Graham Wilson
PRStreet, Inc.
gwilson@prstreet.com or
919.467.5567

US Autism & Asperger Association (USAAA) 2008 International Conference Scholarships Available

Due to a generous donation from CARE Clinics to the USAAA Conference Scholarship Fund, USAAA is offering partial and full conference registration scholarships to parents and family members of children affected by autism who would not otherwise be able to attend the USAAA 2008 conference September 4-7 in Austin, Texas. Full scholarships are considered for single moms or dads, grandparents, unemployed, on disability and financial constraints. Partial scholarships are considered for those who are in financial constraints and must travel to the conference.
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Hyperlexia: A Literary Journal Celebrating the Autistic Spectrum is looking for your fiction, poetry, and personal essays. Our inaugural issue is planned for October 2008. Send submissions to submissions@hyperlexiajournal.com and please include the full text of your writing in the email if you send a PDF or a Word file. Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2008.

Hyperlexia is interested in honest, thoughtful, well-written poetry and prose about being autistic, and loving someone with autism. Our journal is a celebration of real life with autism, both the good and the bad. We want genuine and truthful writing about autism. You can be serious, sad, or funny. We believe in respecting the diversity of the human mind and discriminatory writing or hatred of any kind will not be published. Submissions should be 1500 words or less.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. and WASHINGTON, DC - July 8, 2008 - The Autism Research Institute, a leading non-profit organization, has launched a mobile Internet Web site, http://autism.mobi, designed specifically for users of mobile devices and mobile phones, including the Apple iPhone.
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The Sage Graduate School’s Master of Science in ABA and Autism has been approved by the New York State Board of Regents and is the only one in the U.S. that offers the program online.

Albany and Troy, NY (Vocus/PRWEB ) May 20, 2008 — Only a handful of colleges and universities in the United States offer master’s degrees in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), a treatment for autism identified by the United States Centers for Disease Control as being effective in the education and treatment of individuals with autism, and The Sage Colleges’ Sage Graduate School is now among them.

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Wrightslaw.com has released a news alert, since I believe in the importance of this alert, I am posting it to Autism News Direct immediately.

On March 10, we sent an Alert about a new decision in Jarron Draper’s cases against the Atlanta Independent School District. (see background of case)

Within the last two weeks, there have been more important new developments in the case.

Violation of Civil Rights

In a companion case, Jarron Draper and his family are seeking damages for harassment and retaliation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Two weeks ago, the U. S. District Court of Georgia issued a decision in the civil rights companion case (Draper II).

This Alert describes the Court’s findings about harassment and retaliation under Section 504 and how they apply to Jarron’s case.

Wyner and Tiffany, lead counsel for Jarron and his family, explain that the District Court’s analysis includes important guidance for plaintiffs who file for due process for a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under IDEA, but who believe they may also have civil rights claims under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The alert goes on to provide much more detail and can be viewed in its entirety here: Alert! Civil Rights Case: Discrimination and Retaliation

Seeing as April is Autism Awareness Month, more media attention is being paid to the autism spectrum of disorders than at any other time.  As a result, many of these articles are about the rise of autism.  Is it an epidemic or simply a rise in diagnoses?  Today, Autism News Direct will provide you links to several different stories that address this question from a variety of viewpoints.
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I received this email today and am passing it on to the readers of Autism News Direct.

This email contains a link to a national survey about autism in Army families. You are invited to participate in this survey and to distribute this email and information about the survey to members of your group and other individuals or organizations you think might be interested in participating.

The survey is for Soldiers and spouses associated with the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, or Active Duty Army who have a family member on the autism spectrum. There may be military members within your organization that you may not know about. Please consider distributing information about this survey to your entire constituency.

The survey contains 25 questions and takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Individual responses will remain anonymous and will be combined with the responses of other families in considering what supports would be useful to Army families with a family member on the autism spectrum.

Both the Soldier and spouse, if applicable, can complete separate surveys. If a family has more than one member on the autism spectrum, a separate survey can be completed for each family member.

The survey has been reviewed by both civilian and military parents of children along the entire autism spectrum; military parents were affiliated with both the Active and Reserve Components.

Click here to take the Autism and Army Families survey.

–
Barbara Hall
Community Development Director
Citizen Soldier Support Program
Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
200 N. Greensboro St., Ste. D3
Carrboro, NC 27510
919.306.9336

If you know of a person or a support group that may find this information beneficial, please send them the following link:  Autism in Army Families Survey.

The following email was sent out by the Autism Society of America to help raise autism awareness.

The Autism Society of America is raising autism awareness around the nation during April for National Autism Awareness Month. What follows is our advocacy update prepared for our good friends like you, along with some suggestions on how you can help! Also, be sure to check out advocacy events this April.

Let Congress know you want more autism funding

The Autism Society of America hosted its Day on the Hill, with advocates from across the country storming Capitol Hill to support ASA’s legislative priorities.

The program included a rousing speech from the Chair of the Coalition for Autism Research and Education (Autism Caucus), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and legislative updates from Congressional staff, allies in the disability community and other supporters. Participants also received training on effective advocacy strategies, working with the media, and lobbying at the state and local levels. Armed with these tools, participants then took to Capitol Hill to build support for ASA’s legislative priorities.

Even if you weren’t able to travel to Washington for our Day on the Hill, you can still support ASA’s advocacy efforts by asking your legislators to cosponsor legislation to improve services for individuals with autism here at home, and around the world!

Support legislation to improve the lives of ALL individuals affected by autism.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to increase autism awareness, and promote early autism diagnosis and therapeutic research.

Sincerely,
Lee Grossman
President and CEO
ASA Member since 1991
Parent of a son with autism