International Conference on Developmental and Learning Disabilities

YAI/NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES NETWORK
30TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
DEVELOPMENTAL AND LEARNING DISABILITIES: MAY 4-8, 2009

The YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network will hold its 30th Annual International Conference: "Building on Abilities: Promoting Person-Centered Programs and Policies in Developmental and Learning Disabilities" on May 4 through May 8, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Manhattan Hotel, 1605 Broadway, in New York City.

Keynote speaker will be Eustacia Cutler, mother of Dr. Temple Grandin and author of "A Thorn in My Pocket". Ms. Cutler will also conduct a seminar titled "The Five Big Stumbling Blocks of Autism: A Roadmap for Parents, Teachers and Friends".

Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D., will host a full-day post-conference workshop "Comprehensive Autism Planning System (CAPS) for Individuals with ASD Across the Lifespan".

For more information, visit yai.org/conference. The conference brochure is available on the website and online registration is available. Or contact Abbe Wittenberg of YAI/NIPD's Professional Information Department at awittenberg@yai.org, or 212-273-6193.

Dating Guide

Autistic's Guide to Dating: A Book by Autistics for Autistics and Those Who Love Them or Who Are In Love with Them by Emilia Murry Ramey and Jody John Ramey presents strategies for overcoming social skills deficits and sensory issues, to make for relationship success. The authors, who are both on the spectrum, reflect on their dating experiences and provide recommendations on how to conduct relationships in both the short and longer-term.

Indiana resident? Interested in this? Contact us.

Not an Indiana resident? Check out Worldcat to find this at your local library.

Connecting Emotions through Music DVD

Connecting through Music: Connecting Emotions is a wonderful DVD created by the mother of a child who has autism. This is the first volume in a series of high quality entertainment that engages children on the autism spectrum and related disorders. It shows how songs and activities can help children identify and coordinate basic emotions and to help explore body movements. In the Special Features section, the DVD discusses music therapy and its benefits and includes parents relating personal stories on raising their children with autism.

Interesting in checking it out? Contact CeDIR if you're an Indiana resident. Not an Indiana resident? Check worldcat.org to find it in a library near you!

Understanding Death and Illness and What They Teach About Life

Understanding Death and Illness and What They Teach About Life by Catherine Faherty provides an excellent way for parents and professionals alike to explain to children and adults with autism difficult moments in life like the death or illness of someone they know. In her book Faherty explains in depth about how to use the book and discusses in several chapters the who, what where,why and when of death and illness. The chapters cover areas such as illness and injury, recuperating and healing, death, communication, what happens when someone dies, putting your pet to sleep the rituals and traditions that people follow when someone has died, and much more. The issues in the book are explained in very simple ways making it easier for everyone to understand.


Interested in this? Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident? Click here to find this at your local library.

Dietary Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Dietary Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders by Kenneth J. Aitken provides information about how dietary interventions can lead to positive effects on the symptoms of children with autism. In his book Aitken provides information about autism spectrum disorders, things to leave out when considering a dietary intervention, digestives differences, information about toxic reactions, and immune responses. Aitken also includes eleven different diets that include information about what the diet is, what it claims to do explains different terms in each diet the reader may be unfamiliar with and much more. Included at the end of the book are resources for parents and teachers on food tables, background history forms, and food diaries, glossaries of terms and even helpful contacts and websites to learn more. Kenneth Aitken gives in depth information of how just changing your child's diet can bring around a positive effect in the child's life.

Interested in this? Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident? Click here to find this at your local library.

Asperger Couple's Workbook

Communication and the ability to empathize with others are two key aspects of making a relationship work. People with Asperger syndrome (AS) often have trouble with these concepts so creating and sustaining harmonious relationships with others can be difficult. In her book, The Asperger Couple's Workbook: Practical Advice and Activities for Couples and Counsellors, Maxine Aston offers advice, charts, and worksheets to help a family influenced by AS communicate and better understand each other.

Interested? Indiana residents can call us at 800-437-7924. Not an Indiana resident? No worries! Find this title at your local library!

Lost at School

Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross W. Greene offers a new conceptual framework for understanding the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges and explains why traditional discipline isn't effective. This book includes tools for identifying the triggers and lagging skills underlying challenging behavior, guidance on how to improve interactions, dialogues and questions and answers, and practical guidance for successful planning and collaboration among teachers, parents, administrations, and the kids themselves.

Interested in this? Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident? Click here to find this at your local library.

Matthew's Enigma

Matei Calinescu has created a beautiful, loving memoir to his adored son in the book, Matthew's Enigma: A Father's Portrait of His Autistic Son. From the joy of Matthew's birth to the confusion of his diagnosis and the suddenness of his death at an early age, Calinescu takes us on his own personal journey through Matthew's life in a way that only a father can. Written in a thoughtful and inspiring tone, mostly in the forty days after Matthew's death, this book is a wonderful glimpse into the world of a family living with a child with autism.

Indiana residents interested in checking out this book can contact us. Those outside of Indiana can use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Transition to Adulthood

Paul Wehman and Co. have produced a "can't live without" guide to transitioning to adulthood for the Autism community with their new book "Autism & the Transition to Adulthood: Success Beyond the Classroom. In this book readers will find "information on how specific social, behavioral, and cognitive characteristics of people with autism affect the transition to adulthood," as well as tips and tools to help teens identify and explore their strengths. Not only will readers find a practical guide for the transition process, but they will also find real life stories of 3 teens and their transition experience. For more information check out the publishers website.

Interested? Indiana residents can call us at 800-437-7924. Not an Indiana resident? No worries! Find this title at your local library!

Be a Social Detective!

You are a Social Detective! Explaining Social Thinking to Kids by Michelle Garica Winner and Pamela Crooke is a new tool to help introduce the reader to the social thinking curriculum "Think Social." This book is also considered an excellent prerequisite to the "Superflex" curriculum. Help your students become their own social detectives!

Interested in this book and an Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident? Click here to find this book at your local library!

One

One by Kathryn Otoshi is an excellent way for children ages 4-8 to learn about what happens when you are being bullied and discovering the courage to stand up for yourself. In the end everyone counts and can join in on the fun, including the bully. With easy to read sentences and colorful pictures, any child can easily follow the story.

Interested in this book and an Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not in Indiana? Click here to find this book in your local library.

Superflex

Superflex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum by Stephanie Madrigal and Michelle Garcia Winner provides "the social-thinking educator, teacher or parent with a fun, motivating, and non-threatening way for students to explore social thinking while increasing their knowledge of social expectations, their awareness of their own behavior and how to modify their behaviors with Superflexible strategies." Because what kid wouldn't love to pretend they had a Superhero's powers?

Interested in this book and an Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident, check out WorldCat to find this book at your local library!

The Boy Inside

Kaplan, M. (Producer). (2006). The boy inside [DVD]. Boston, MA : Fanlight Productions.

The Boy Inside gives viewers the opportunity to experience what life is really like for a child with Asperger's Syndrome. Filmmaker Marianne Kaplan chronicles her son's 7th grade year as he struggles with family tensions, bullying, social pressures and an overwhelming sense of isolation.

For more information visit www.theboyinside.com where you will find video clips, showing listing, a film synopsis as well as an online Asperger's Community where you can connect to other with Asperger's and their teachers and families. Are you interested in showing this film in your classroom? Visit Fanlight Productions for a viewers guide.

Indiana residents who would like to check out this film can call us at 800-437-7924. Not an Indiana resident? Find The Boy Inside at a library near you!

Contact Us

Welcome to the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community's Autism Resource Blog! Are you interested in checking out any of the resources mentioned here or do you have any questions? Contact Us! We'll be happy to help!


Center for Disability Information and Referral
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir
812-855-9396 (Voice/TTY)
800-437-7924 (Indiana only; Voice/TTY)
812-855-9630 (Fax)
cedir@indiana.edu

Indiana Resource Center on Autism
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca
812-855-6508
Pam Anderson
Outreach Coordinator
pamander@indiana.edu

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu
2853 E. 10th Street
Bloomington, IN 47408-2696