Housing for Developmentally Disabled Adults — Think Tiny
http://www.houselogic.com/blog/
See Lisa Kaplan-Gordon Interview Karen Kaye-Beall, Executive Director of the Foundation for Autism Support and Training for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® HOUSE LOGIC online magazine article on tiny houses for adults with autism and similar developmental disabilities.
Find more info at www.foundationforautismsupportandtraining.org

”What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” ~Pericles
For the past two years it has been a tremendous pleasure to share, learn and grow alongside this wonderful AutismSpot community; first as a Feature Blogger, later as Assistant Editor and finally as Editor in Charge of AutismSpot. I have sincerely valued the countless connections I have made with our readers, fans, and friends here on the website and via our Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is with utmost respect and gratitude that I am resigning from my Editorial duties. As I take the next step forward on my journey, I thank you for the kind and thoughtful words of encouragement, notes of thanks and cherished validation I have received over the past couple of years. I wish each and every one of you (and your sweet children) the very best in your lives and endeavors.
In a fond farewell, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes – an Irish Blessing:
“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”
♥

Over the past couple years as Ethan has made progress, we have slowly scaled back on our weekly therapies (think: Speech, OT, Neurotherapy, Craniosacral, social groups, etc.) and gradually added in some activities and sports that Ethan has shown interest in (think: soccer, basketball, piano lessons and cub scouts; things Ethan’s neurotypical neighbors and classmates are often interested in, too.
Don’t get me wrong…we haven’t just thrown him out into open water with no life vest! Each of these more “typical” activities he’s chosen have been carefully crafted with supports and surroundings that would give him the best chance at success.

I attended the AutismOne/Generation Rescue 2012 Conference over Memorial Day weekend, so I’ve been home for a full week now. Many people have asked me (in person and via private messages) how the event was…it was…in one word – INTENSE. With so many tremendous presenters, vendors, and opportunities to network and connect with other registrants; both years I have attended A1, I’ve left feeling completely exhausted. Good exhausted, though!
Traveling with a dear friend (made along this journey) made the time spent en-route and in the conference hotel that much sweeter. We found countless reasons to laugh, several reasons to cry and many reasons to celebrate as we reconnected with old friends and met new ones along the way. We arrived after the culinary day had already taken place, but dove in head first the next morning ready to learn, learn and learn some more!

Last year I attended my first AutismOne/Generation Rescue conference in Chicago. It. Was. Amazing. So much great information…so many amazing speakers…so many tremendous vendors – all in one place. That’s why I’m looking forward to attending this year’s AutismOne/Generation Rescue conference again this year being held May 23-27th.
The line up of speakers is nothing short of stellar. (Think: Jenny McCarthy, Virgina Breen, Dan Burns, Andrew Wakefiled, Jeff Bradstreet, Mayer Eisenstein, Martha Herbert, Kerri Rivera, Michael Linden, Mark Blaxill & Dan Olmstead and so, so many more.)
Now, if you’re unable to take off of work or leave your child(ren) at home with someone else, fear not – the entire conference will be streamed live HERE!

Summer Camp for My Son and Yours: New Beginning for Teens and Adults with Autism
By Angela Day
”Unteachable.” That’s the label our school district put on my son, Mason Day, when he was three years old. They anchored him behind a desk and had him do the same task over and over…then wondered why, halfway through the year, he stopped doing it correctly.
Possibly because he was bored?
That never occurred to the school. When he was four years old, I started teaching him at home using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a teaching style targeted to children with autism. Within three months he went from completely non-verbal to a vocabulary of 123 words. By age seven he was promoted, with supports, to a regular classroom.
Speed forward a decade. Mason is in 11th grade and is 18 years old. He has worked at Hobby Lobby, the Lutheran Church, and TJ Max. He also volunteers at the Recycling Plant, one of the best unpaid helpers they’ve had. Mason works hard, stays on task, and strives for perfection, but recycling is not really satisfying to him. He feels unchallenged because he’s not working in his field of interest.

In her second guest blog post for us, Stacy Baugh tackles the topic of shopping for new clothes with her precious daughter who lives with Sensory Processing Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. How many parents out there raising kids with ASD and/or SPD can relate to this?
NEW SEASON, NEW CLOTHES
By Stacy Baugh
Each year I enjoy looking forward to Spring – new leaves on the trees, flowers blooming, weather just right for leaving the windows open. Unfortunately this change of season also brings a need for new clothes for my daughter, Emily. Time to put away the blue jeans & long sleeve shirts and bring out the shorts & t-shirts. Not only that, but it usually means getting an entire wardrobe of brand new clothes since she’s usually grown a couple inches since the previous year. For some people this might be something to look forward to, but for my daughter this twice-a-year excursion is something we dread and try to put off as long as possible.

Have you ever been on a hike or a run when you get on such a pace that you lose track of your surroundings, what you are passing and how far you have come? Eventually, you snap back to reality, maybe you stop to rest, and you look back at the road behind you. Looking back, you realize that you have traveled quite a long distance and maybe through some hurdles and you take in the accomplishment. That is where I am standing at this very moment.