By: Carol S. Weinman, Esq., C.A.S., Autism Expert and International Speaker

The question on the minds of so many people I encounter is: “So, how did this happen?”

Misunderstandings can Lead to Legal Consequences

When the facts of a given case are exposed, it is often difficult to imagine how an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could have landed in this predicament.  What occurred that resulted in their being arrested, handcuffed and charged with child pornography, sexual assault or terroristic threats? For those of us who understand ASD, we may be bewildered by the thought of what could have taken place that led to an arrest and possibly imprisonment. After all, we know that generally speaking, individuals with ASD are not violent nor of a criminal nature. Rarely do they intend to harm another person or intentionally pursue others with the purpose to harass or terrorize them.

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By: Kerry Magro – Self-Advocate, National Speaker, and Author

Growing up on the spectrum, one of the struggles I had to deal with the most revolved around communication. However, one area that I sometimes don’t bring up is some of my challenging behaviors. I was recently reading a tool kit from Autism Speaks called the Challenging Behavior Tool Kit that truly resonated with me. Often when I go out to speak at events, one of the main questions that comes up is, “How can I get my child to speak?” Challenging behavior questions often fall through the cracks.

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By: Carol S. Weinman, Esq., C.A.S., Autism Legal Expert and International Speaker

For parents or guardians of a child with special needs, the thought of how their child is faring at school is never far from their mind. This time of year is always of concern and often very anxiety producing.  Tweaking the IEP is often the focus of those concerns. What needs adding? What needs changing? What needs improving? What isn’t working? And, how do I go about getting the IEP revised? Most parents or guardians feel scattered and scramble for time to be sure it is all in place from day one of the new school term.

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By: Kerry Magro – Self-Advocate, National Speaker, and Author

“When should I tell my child my child about having an autism diagnosis?”

Oh, if I only had a nickel for every single time I’ve heard that question.

My conversation about my autism diagnosis came about when I was 11 and a half years old when I was playing celebrity disability bingo in one of my social skills classes. During the game, I learned about celebrities such as Michael Jordan had Attention Deficit Disorder and Magic Johnson had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity. After the game was over, our teacher said that each one of these individuals was “special” just like us. After the class period, I asked my teacher, “Why am I special?”

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