Adults with Autism: becoming the directors of their own treatment teams and treatment plans

Michelle Garcia Winner

Many of our students/clients received some level of support through school based 504 plans, IEPs and/or from counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists in their community as children and into their high school years.

Turning 18 years old in the United States results in a person being referred to as an “adult” or “young adult.” This means they are legally responsible for their actions and based on their parents’ decision, they are potentially responsible financially for all of their costs of living, education, etc. However, many parents continue to financially support their young adult/adult children while they pursue post-secondary education as well as assist with living costs if their “children” are unable support themselves. To parents this may feel like their adult-children continue to require extra educational, psychological, social skills and/or life-skills counseling to help them learn to live more independently as an adult. While parents may fund these extra educational/therapeutic adult services, parents are not typically permitted the same direct access to their adult-children’s service providers. Instead it is expected adult-children can independently understand how to utilize the information they are gaining from these treatment services and then directly apply strategies learned as needed across their school, vocational, community or home experiences. Read more >>


Becoming the Director of Your Own Treatment Team
The following are some ideas we are exploring to help our students take on more responsibility for guiding their treatment professionals (even parents) and using what they are learning more effectively.
Download the full worksheet here as a PDF

  

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Nobody Knows Anything: Autism Edition

The novelist and screenwriter William Goldman famously wrote that until a movie opens, "nobody knows anything" about how well it will do at the box office.

This quotation came to mind as I read two recent stories about possible causes of autism in the New York Times. The first, published on the front page Aug. 23, reported on a study that suggested the older a man is when he becomes a father, the more likely his child is to have autism.

Three days later, on the front page of its Sunday Review section, the Times published an article by Moises Velasquez-Manoff that declared autism is an inflammatory disease caused by a faulty immune system. Theorizing that the lack of parasites in the developed world has thrown the human immune system out of whack, Velasquez-Manoff suggests that autism has become more common because the parasites that used to limit inflammation no longer regulate our immune systems. He approvingly mentions a new trial in which autistic adults are being treated withtrichuris suis, a type of worm meant to help put the immune system back in balance.

My point in bringing up Goldman's "nobody knows anything" quote is not necessarily to criticize... MORE >>

Strengthening Support for Adults with Autism

 Researchers and service providers must explore innovative solutions if we are to improve outcomes for adults with autism. This is the central message of today’s keynote address at Autism Speaks 2012 conference for families and professionals – Treating the Whole Person with Autism: Providing Comprehensive Care for Children and Adolescents with ASD.

Today’s keynote speaker, Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., is the educational director of the McCarton Upper School and has over 30 years experience working with adolescents and adults with autism.

Recent reports indicate unemployment and underemployment together hover around 90 percent for adults with autism. In addition, most continue to live with parents or other caretakers. The guiding goal, Dr. Gerhardt says, should be to help all adults on the spectrum to live more fulfilling and, to the extent possible, more independent lives.

Yet relatively few programs exist to help adults with autism tackle such essential life skills as personal safety, community integration, transportation, health and wellness, sexuality and aging, Dr. Gerhardt notes. Our research community must prioritize... READ MORE >>