DJ Savarese is the first nonspeaking student with autism to live on campus and graduate from Oberlin College. Despite facing many challenges, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Anthropology and Creative Writing. This documentary, “Deej,” chronicles his journey through high school and college and depicts his family’s tireless fight for his inclusion in the education system. DJ is a successful poet and prose writer, and the film uses mostly his own words. The film was shown on PBS last fall and continues to be screened around the country at schools and other community spaces. To learn more about Deej and to find a screening near you, click here!

Reece Arnold is a musician, writer, and game inventor who happens to have autism. He serves as an inspiration to others through his music and his game company, which is called Reece-Cycled Fun! Reece describes how he discovered his talents in a fascinating blog post on the Autism Speaks website (click here). In this blog, Reece also discusses his early challenges with verbal communication and how he adapted using music. He has since earned a Master Certificate for Orchestration for Film and TV from Berklee College of Music and provides music therapy for various day habilitation programs—impressive! To find out more about Reece and his game company, visit his website!

Subway Sleuths is an after-school program run by the New York Subway Museum for children with autism who share a passion for trains. Participants meet weekly and complete various train-related activities led by a speech-language pathologist and a special education teacher. The program unites children with autism who share the love of trains while helping them develop social skills and leadership abilities through games that require them to communicate and problem-solve with peers. This article from Spectrum News follows a boy named Alistair, who was shy and timid before joining the Subway Sleuths. However, after only three sessions, Alistair took on a leadership role for the first time and now uses his newfound confidence to tutor his peers in math. What an excellent way to use a child’s passion to expand social skills! To read the full article, click here.

Spectrum News reporters asked several researchers to share memorable stories about what they learned from a person with autism. Some of them were funny, others were surprising, but they all share very inspiring experiences about their encounters. They learned about how motivation matters, received fresh perspectives, and got to know a lot more about what’s going on inside a person’s head. Check out the full article (click here) and read their heartwarming stories!

The Exceptional Minds Studio is a non-profit animation and visual effects vocational school and studio for young adults on the autism spectrum. Since opening in Sherman Oaks, CA four years ago, the studio has created visual effects and animations for over 50 titles. Credited for movies such as ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ ‘Doctor Strange,’ and most recently, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ the artists at Exceptional Minds Studio describe this work as being something that they “never thought [they] would get a chance to work on.” Exceptional Minds offers a three-year program with a curriculum that focuses on technical training, job readiness, teamwork, and acquiring paid projects. Exceptional Minds’ vision is to help people on the spectrum achieve their full potential in the work force and become leaders in transforming public awareness of their capabilities. For more information about their recent work on the latest Star Wars movie, click here! To check out the Exceptional Minds Studio, click here!

 

As part of our new PATHWAYS Study, we are recruiting parents who have a young child with autism (under age 6) to participate in a 2-hour focus group. The purpose of the focus group is to learn directly from parents about your experiences communicating with health care providers (and other service providers) about autism.  Your ideas, insights, and suggestions will be used to develop specific training activities and materials for improving autism-related conversations between families and health care providers, and to help families make decisions about next steps.

We are conducting separate focus groups for families who speak English and those who are Spanish-speaking only.  Participating families will be compensated $100 for their time. Check out our flyers for more information: English version and Spanish version!  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched an app designed to help parents track their child’s development. The app was developed by CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” Program for children between 2 months and 5 years of age. The app provides interactive checklists, photos, and videos that illustrate important developmental milestones, as well as tips and activities designed to help children learn and grow. The app provides information on when and how to get in contact with a provider if you have concerns, and creates a personalized summary of your child’s milestone achievements to share with your provider. This app makes tracking early developmental milestones fun, interactive, and easy! The app is now available, for free, on Google Play and the App Store. Click here for more information!

On the third Saturday of each month, the Pacific Science Center in downtown Seattle presents a special event, “Exploration for All: Autism Early Open.”  On these days, families affected by autism are invited for a free morning visit from 8am-10am (before the public opening), when they can engage in fun, sensory-friendly learning. On their website (click here), you can also find autism-specific resources to help prepare for your visit including adventure planners, picture schedules, sensory guides, and tips and tools for parents. Upcoming event dates include: January 20, February 17, and March 17.

If you’ve ever been asked this question, then this article is for you!

Autism Speaks has just announced its selection of the top 10 studies published in 2017 that have advanced our understanding of autism. The studies are described briefly and annotated by members of their leadership and advisory board. The research presented covers topics including the benefits of early intervention and the contributions of genetics and specific biomarkers to the development of autism. Read the article here!

An article posted recently in ParentMap magazine highlighted 16-year-old Alex Lubbers for the amazing light show he created to decorate his home for the holidays this year. A tradition spanning nearly 4 years, Alex never disappoints with these epic light shows, and this year is rumored to be the best one yet. According to his parents, Alex has always had a fascination with lights and programming them to music, and loves this annual tradition because it brings his family close together. In the article, he states, “My mom always had the dream of doing something like this, lights set to music… when we bought our first controller and it came with the software I was like, ‘Okay, time to make mom’s dreams come true.’” Want to check it out yourself? Shows run daily from around 4:30-10:00pm until January 1st. For more information on Alex or visiting the light show, click here! 

 

 

A new study conducted by researchers at the UW READi Lab, Vanderbilt, and the Center for Telepsychology found that an interactive, web-based parenting tutorial was effective in improving children’s participation in home routines, such as bed time and bath time.  The study is currently “in press” in the journal, Autism Research. The “Enhancing Interactions” tutorial was developed by our team and evaluated through a randomized clinical trial of 104 parents of children with ASD between 18 and 60 months.

Results revealed that parents assigned to the Tutorial condition learned new strategies for engaging their children in routines, and reported less parenting stress, felt better about their parenting skills, and reported better child social interactions compared to parents in the No Tutorial condition. This tutorial may be especially helpful for families who have limited access to services, as it can be completed at home.

This study was funded by an NIMH Small Business Innovation Research grant to Kenneth Kobak, and Lisa Ibanez and Wendy Stone are authors on this paper. To view an interactive demo of tutorial, click here!

As you probably know from the topics of our current grants, the READi Lab is a strong proponent of conducting universal autism-specific screening for children at 18 and 24 months. The word “universal” is used to denote the process of screening ALL children at a specific age, in contrast to “selective” screening, in which only a subset of children receive the screening. Research has shown that selective screening fails to identify many children at autism risk, especially those in minority groups. Recently, Slate published an article discussing the benefits of early screening, which include earlier access to specialized intervention and lowering the age of diagnosis of children from minority groups, who are diagnosed much later than white children. Universal autism screening would help providers better identify all children at risk, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, and connect children and families to needed services at younger ages. The article, which can be accessed here, describes other structural inequalities that families may face when accessing autism-specific services, and the ways community organizations are attempting to overcome these disparities.

 

Have you checked out the “Tips and Resources” tab on our website yet? There, we have provided helpful tips and strategies for families with children with autism and the providers that work with them. Particularly relevant for this time of year, we have a tip sheet centered around preparing for the holiday season. While it can be a wonderful time for family gatherings and celebration, it can also present challenges for children with autism who have difficulty adapting to changes in their daily routines and navigating new social situations. Click here to download our holiday tips and resources PDF for helping your family make the most out of the season!

In case anyone has not heard of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” it is a best-selling novel — and Tony Award-winning play — that features a teenager with ASD. A recent New York Times article highlighted Mickey Rowe, who is the first actor with an ASD diagnosis to play the leading role of Christopher, a 15-year-old with ASD who tries to solve a “curious” murder-mystery. Rowe is a graduate of University of Washington, and believes that his role in the play sends an important message: “I think it’s theater’s job to change the world… it has a lot more power than it knows it has. And with that power comes great responsibility.” The play is no longer running at the Syracuse Theater in New York, but you can check out the full article here for more information about Mickey and his amazing journey to stardom.

This Thursday, Seattle Children’s Autism Center is hosting a panel discussion on “Autism from a Sibling’s Perspective,” as part of their Autism 200 series. During the event, attendees will hear stories from the brothers and sisters of individuals with autism. They will answer questions, offer their unique perspectives and experiences, and provide a platform for open and positive communication about the challenging and rewarding aspects of having a sibling with autism. The discussion will be held at Seattle Children’s Wright Auditorium on Thursday, November 16^th from 7:00-8:30pm. If you can’t attend the event, the discussion will be available through video teleconferencing and posted on the Seattle Children’s website for later viewing. For more information about the event, click here.

Its that time of year again…FEAT of WA is bringing back the Family Pack Giveaway raffle! Thanks to a generous donation from the Schneider family, FEAT families can enter this giveaway for a chance to win game tickets, food vouchers, and a parking pass for a Seahawks home game at Century Link Field. Hurry, the raffle closes at 9:00pm on Thursday, November 9th! Click here to enter for your chance to win tickets to the Seahawks vs. Falcons game on Sunday, November 20th!

Research assistants Taylor Renno and John Hershberger represented our lab at the 7^th annual Autism Conference in Centralia. Lewis County is one of the communities participating in the SRT grant, and we are happy to support their efforts to improve autism services through information and advocacy.

Last week, READi Lab research assistant Roya Baharloo presented a poster about infant social attention at the Cognitive Development Society Biennial Conference in Portland Oregon. In this photo, she is flanked by two fellow research assistants, Elyanah Posner and Katie Coddington, who took a road trip to Portland to support their buddy.

The Guardian recently posted a video about a fictional character named Layla, a teenager with ASD, who offers us a first-person perspective of her experience navigating a stressful social situation: a surprise birthday party.

“Look at all that food, touching other food…can the biscuits really be friends with the pasta salad? This is why I don’t fit in. I am the biscuit, they are the salad…you don’t belong on the same plate” her internal dialogue runs.

The video is based on a concept by the author Lucy Hawking and is written by Sumita Majumadar, an adult with ASD. Producers at The Guardian also conducted extensive interviews and focus groups with individuals with ASD and gathered information from the National Autistic Society, the Autism Research Trust, and the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre in order to create a film to illustrate how an individual with ASD might perceive the world. Check out the full video below: