Category: Awareness
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What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is an annual awareness event created to honor the Earth and the concept of peace. It takes place on April 22 each year, and marks the emergence of modern-day environmentalism. As people became more aware that our everyday actions, like running our water excessively or guzzling gas in our cars, has an affect…
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Cancer: Managing Emotionally
Often people underestimate the emotional toll that cancer can have. Being diagnosed with cancer is a life-changing event – no matter which stage you are at. Dealing with these life changes as well as undergoing treatment and side effects can be just as hard on a person emotionally, as it is physically. From the time…
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What Are Special Needs?
As of the 2012-13 school year, 14 percent of all public school students were receiving special education services, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But what does it mean for a child to have special needs? Broadly speaking, “special needs” is used to describe children who require any kind of special support due…
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Take Action: Wear Your Cause
From ribbons to bracelets to t-shirts, it seems there is gear for every cause and every style these days. And sure, it’s great to join in when it comes to a cause you believe in, but does sporting your awareness swag really make a difference to researchers and patients? Sometimes it can feel like a…
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Are We in an Autism Epidemic?
One in every 68 children in America is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control. This is a much higher diagnosis rate than about 10-20 years ago. Scientific American cites the rate from 1993 to 2003 as one ASD diagnosis for every 2,500 individuals. That’s a…
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Can Diet Cure Autism?
The myth that diet can cure ASD may have stemmed from the belief some people hold that autism is linked to certain types of foods—particularly, gluten and casein. These are proteins found in foods such as wheat, barley and oats; and milk, cheese and yogurt, respectively. Many parents of autistic children have tried eliminating these…
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5 Reasons Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper is Thought to Be On the Spectrum
Is The Big Bang Theory’s starring character Sheldon Cooper on the autism spectrum? Co-creator of the show Bill Prady has side-stepped attempts to label the character. But the question keeps coming up, because a lot of fans of the show see startling commonalities. “On the Spectrum” To say someone is “on the spectrum” refers to…
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The Benefits of Playdates for Autistic Children
For children with autism, it can be a challenge to make social connections with peers. For their parents, helping these children learn to play with others well is a common challenge. But like most things in life, children with autism can improve their skills for playing and socializing with practice. Which is a wonderful thing,…
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How To Get People Involved
Are you inspired to join a cause or start one in your community? That’s great—there are so many different make a positive difference. Odds are, you don’t intend to do it all by yourself—not only can you make a bigger impact with others’ help, but it’s also more fun. But how do you get other…
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15 Tips for Teaching the Highly Functioning ASD Child
The needs of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the classroom can be very different from those of typical students in the class—even high-functioning ASD students require extra, and often, different kinds of support compared to typical students. ASD students have unique challenges including difficulty reading social situations and making friends; adapting to…