Category: Autism

Friday, April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day. Established by the United Nations in 2007, World Autism Day is observed around the globe every year on April 2.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in 54 children has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given those sky-high ratios, it’s no wonder that scientists are hard at work seeking answers to the many questions surrounding this mysterious condition. While they’re far from having all the answers, new research about ASD is emerging all the time.

We’ve searched the internet to compile a list of some of the latest and most compelling research studies to come out in the past year. Here’s what we discovered.

1. There’s a possible link between repetitive behaviors and gastrointestinal upset
Many children with autism exhibit repetitive behaviors such as hand flapping and rocking. A new study by researchers at Ohio State University College of Public Health published in the journal Autism, found a positive relationship between these behaviors and GI symptoms.  According to Payal Chakraborty, a graduate student at The Ohio State University College of Public Health who led the study: “After accounting for each associated behavioral symptom domain, repetitive behaviors and stereotypies were positively associated with gastrointestinal symptom severity.” Significantly, the same study found that GI symptoms did not correlate with the social and emotional problems typically associated with autism.

2. Treatment Intensity and styles showed little difference in outcomes
A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry looked at whether toddlers with autism assessed in four areas —autism symptom severity, expressive communication, receptive language, and nonverbal ability — responded more favorably to naturalistic developmental/behavioral treatment or discrete trial teaching. The study also tested whether symptoms responded better to 15 vs. 25 hours of intervention per week. The study found that “neither treatment style nor intensity had overall effects on child outcomes in the 4 domains examined.”

3. Black children wait longer for autism diagnoses
According to an article in the journal Pediatrics, after African American parents express concern about their child’s development, it takes an average of more than three years for them to receive an autism diagnosis. Based on their findings about the disparity between white and Black families seeking diagnoses for their children, study authors called for additional research to be an “immediate public health and research priority.” They said there is an urgent need to “explore the extent to which resolution of health disparities that compromise timely access to effective intervention, can reduce deleterious effects on cognition that disproportionately accompany autism among African American youth.”

4. Certain prerequisites predict positive outcomes for adults with autism
A study in Autism Research found that the trajectory of “more or less” cognitively able adults with autism depends on factors such as “daily living skills, fewer mental health problems, family demographics, and subjective measures of happiness.” These results have important implications for parents of children with autism as they consider their children’s transition from childhood to adulthood.

5. Genetic mutations can provide clues to autism treatment
A study conducted by Dr. Professor Sagiv Shifman from the Life Sciences Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for Autism Research, examined how the Pogz gene, a gene widely linked to autism, affected the brains of mice. The study team focused most of its attention on the cerebellum, the part of the brain associated with motor functioning and more recently, with social and cognitive functions. Said the professor: “Our work with this specific gene that we know is connected to autism and significantly impacts on the functioning of the brain provide us with considerable hope that we will be able to develop medicines to assist children with autism.”

October 2020 marks the 75^th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This year’s theme is “Increasing Opportunity and Access.” Given the employment statistics for individuals with disabilities in the United States, it’s a theme that requires immediate action.

For example, according to nonprofit Autism Speaks, the vast majority of adults with autism are either unemployed or underemployed, with estimates ranging to as high as 85%.”

On Oct. 4, CBS TV’s “60 Minutes” presented “Recruiting on the Autism Spectrum,” a segment hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

The segment reported on the growing trend among large corporations such as Ernst & Young, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Ford, toward hiring people on the autism spectrum.

Contrary to what one might expect, these corporations aren’t hiring people with autism because it’s good PR. As Kelly Grier, Ernst & Young’s United States chairwoman told Cooper, “this is absolutely a business imperative, and it makes great sense from a business perspective.”

That’s because many individuals on the autism spectrum have valuable skills that neuro-typical individuals don’t have.

Grier told Cooper that people with autism “have saved [Ernst & Young] millions of dollars by looking at problems in a different way, and creating algorithms to shortcut and automate processes.” People on the spectrum make great employees for many reasons. Here’s a rundown of some of these.

They’re smart

Sixty percent of individuals with autism spectrum disorders are of average or above average intelligence. The fact that so many are underemployed or unemployed is a shame both for individuals with autism and employers. This is particularly true since many corporations struggle to find talent in the areas of IT and data analytics, areas in which people with autism tend to excel. For example, at Autocon, a global IT consultant firm, two-thirds of its workforce are individuals with autism. In a recent opinion piece for CNBC, Autocon’s CEO, David Aspinall, said that these individuals “often excel at business intelligence, quality-assurance test automation and complex software development projects. … Hiring more people with autism could be the answer to the tech skills shortage while diversifying a company’s workforce.”

They’re super-focused

Many people with autism have great powers of concentration especially when they are interested in a topic. While neuro-typical employees may find repetitive tasks boring and lose focus as a result, many employees with autism thrive on repetition and are able to maintain their focus for long periods of time.

They’re detail-oriented

People on the autism spectrum are known for their attention to detail. A 2020 article in Wired reported that people with autism consistently score “faster and more accurately” than neuro-typical people  on the “ Embedded Figures Test, in which subjects have to find a target shape within a larger design…” They also score higher on “visual-search tests, where subjects have to find a target stimulus in a large display of close imposters (such as finding a letter T among a sea of letter Is).”

They’re loyal employees

Many people with autism do well with routine and struggle with change. Therefore, they are likely to remain in their jobs over long periods of time. This saves employers time and money since they don’t need to contend with constant staff turnover and onboarding of new employees.

Neurodiversity is good for business

In recent years, corporations have begun to recognize that diversity benefits the bottom line. Just as businesses benefit from having an ethnically, racially, religious and culturally diverse workforce, they also benefit from having a neuro-diverse workforce.

According to an article on the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s website, “Research on collective intelligence released several years ago by Carnegie Mellon University demonstrates that diverse teams perform better. Other research shows that some conditions, including autism and dyslexia, can bestow special skills in memory, mathematics or pattern recognition. And a recent Harvard Business Review article explained how neurodiversity can provide a competitive advantage.”

April is National Autism Awareness Month! In recognition of people with autism and their families, this month, Enabling Devices’ weekly blog posts will focus on topics of interest to the autism community.

People with autism commonly experience behavioral, social and sensory challenges that may place them at increased risk of injury. In fact, the statistics are heart-breaking.  A 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health  found that in the United States, the life expectancy of individuals with autism spectrum disorders is only 36 years old — half the life expectancy of an individual in the general population.” Additionally, the study found that “those with ASD are 40 times more likely to die from various injuries.” The most common causes of death in people with autism are “suffocation, asphyxiation, and drowning.”

Fortunately, there are steps families and caregivers can take to prevent such tragedies. Here’s what safety experts recommend:

1. Protect wanderers
It is common for some individuals with autism to wander off, putting them at risk for a variety of dangerous situations. Consider putting alarms on the doors leading to the outside of your home so you are alerted if your child leaves without your knowledge. Make sure your child always carries identification in case she becomes lost. You can also purchase a GPS tracking device that monitors her whereabouts. There are many types of GPS devices. Here are some of the options.

2. Safety-proof your home
Accidents can happen even in the relative safety of your home. According to Safety.com, children with autism may require the same types of safety precautions commonly taken with much younger children who are typically developing. For example, families should make sure furniture is secured to the walls with brackets or safety straps to prevent heavy furniture from toppling over and causing injuries. In addition, parents should keep cleaning products and freezers locked so that nothing dangerous can be ingested.

3. Maintain strict pool safety
Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children with autism. If you have a swimming pool, be sure it is fenced, that gates are securely locked and that your child is not able to reach and/or open gates leading to the pool. Teaching children to swim and to observe pool safety rules at an early age will also help to prevent accidents. Regardless of your child’s swimming ability, never leave a child unsupervised in a swimming pool, even for a second.

4. Protect against burns
As Safety.com notes, “sometimes children with autism struggle with sensory challenges, so they may be more at risk for getting burned by hot water simply because they cannot feel hot and cold.”  Adds Safety.com: turning down the temperature of your home water heater, putting warning stickers on faucets, and teaching your child how to adjust water temperature when using faucets are all ways to prevent injuries caused by hot water burns.

5. Prevent victimization
Children with autism are at increased risk for bullying, abduction and physical and sexual abuse. One way to teach them to avoid being victimized is with social stories and role play. In collaboration with Autism Speaks, TwigTale has created teaching stories on a variety of safety topics for children on the spectrum including “Police Officer, My Friend,” “Learning to Stand Tall and Be Brave,”  and “I’m the Boss of My Body.” Read and discuss them with your child frequently.

6. Have a safety plan
Though we can’t prepare for every eventuality, there’s a great deal that can be done to prevent accidents before they happen. On its website, Autism Speaks offers a comprehensive package of printable resources including a Safety & Wandering Checklist; Family Wandering Emergency Plan; Autism Alert Elopement Form; and Neighbor Alert Letter.

7. Make others aware of the safety plan
We’ve all heard the sayings “It takes a village to raise a child.” This is especially true when it comes to children with special needs who need additional help and supervision. Autism Speaks stresses the fact that your family safety plan “should include key participants – school personnel, daycare providers, neighbors, caretakers, and extended family; anyone involved in your network that has daily contact with the person at risk.”

 

If you caught the Academy Awards earlier this month, you probably saw actor Zack Gottsagen make history. Gottsagen, who presented the Oscar for best live action short to filmmaker/director Marshall Curry for “The Neighbors’ Window,” was the first person with Down syndrome to be an Oscar presenter in the award ceremony’s 92-year history. The 35-year-old Florida resident  presented the award along with his friend Shia LaBeouf.

According to various news sources, the two actors met while filming the 2019 independent film “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” in which Gottsagen plays a man with Down syndrome who runs away from a nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. LaBeouf plays a fugitive fisherman who meets and teams up with Gottsagen. “The Peanut Butter Falcon” also stars Dakota Johnson and Oscar nominees Bruce Dern and Thomas Haden Church.

Written by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, the film was actually inspired by Gottsagen after the writers met him at an acting camp for people with disabilities. Reportedly, Gottsagen begged the young filmmakers to make a movie about him.  Naysayers said a film about a protagonist with Down syndrome would never get financing but Nilson and Schwarz persisted. It took five years, but the film was eventually brought to the screen.

Since appearing in “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” Gottsagen has become an instant celebrity, appearing on talk shows including “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and even receiving the Rising Star award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival last year.

Gottsagen has been shattering expectations ever since he was born. According to the Los Angeles Times, at the time of his birth, doctors told Gottsagen’s mother that he would never walk or talk and recommended that she institutionalize him. But Zack’s mother Shelley Gottsagen wasn’t having any of that. Instead, she advocated on her son’s behalf, making him the first student with Down syndrome to be mainstreamed in the Palm Beach County public school system.

Nowadays, Gottsagen, whose longtime dream was to become an actor, also teaches theater and is part of a local dance troupe.

After Gottsagen presented the Oscar, the milestone  was hailed by disability advocates and organizations including the Ruderman Family Foundation. The Foundation has made the inclusion of people with disabilities in the film and television industries a cornerstone of its philanthropic work.

“For nearly a century, disability has been glaringly left out of the conversation on diversity in Hollywood. Tonight’s award presentation marks a substantive step forward for both the Academy and the entertainment industry as a whole,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation.

Yet Ruderman didn’t leave it at that. Hollywood continues to draw criticism for the fact that actors with disabilities are rarely cast, even when films and television shows include characters with disabilities. Wrote Ruderman: “It is our sincere hope that this milestone serves as a springboard for greater inclusion in Hollywood, including through increased authentic casting of actors with disabilities in disability-based roles, and able-bodied based roles.”

Studies find that teens and adults with autism can benefit from the social interactions they experience through their Facebook connections. A 2018 study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking by Deborah M. Ward and colleagues at the School of Psychology of Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California revealed “adults with autism spectrum disorder who use Facebook in moderation tend to be happier than those who do not.”

Likewise, a 2017 study by the Yale Department of Psychiatry and Yale Child Study Center, researchers found that “adolescents with autism spectrum disorder derive high friendship quality through their use of social media.”

The studies’ findings aren’t surprising.  Many individuals with autism desire friendships, but struggle with face-to-face interactions that require them to read body language and facial cues, understand jokes, irony and sarcasm and respond quickly, verbally and appropriately in real time. Online communication diminishes the need for many of these social skills, and significantly reduces the social anxiety of people with autism.

Yet, just as social media use comes with a level of risk for neuro-typical adolescents and adults, it can be detrimental to individuals with autism if not used responsibly.

A group of researchers at University College of London studied the use of social media in teens with autism and created the “Rough Guide to Using Social Media for Teens with Autism” and the “Rough Guide to Using Social Media for Parents of Teens with Autism.”

The guide for teens acknowledges that social media provides great opportunities for staying in touch and meeting new friends; finding communities of people with similar interests; and learning and sharing information and opinions — while also providing advice on how to avoid the safety risks of interacting with strangers online. For example, the guide advises young social media users not to give out personal information such as addresses, phone numbers or passwords; not to arrange meetings with people on the internet without checking with an adult first; blocking people whose comments are offensive; and taking a break before responding to comments or questions that make the teen feel uncomfortable, upset or confused.

Similarly, the guide for parents points out the ways in which social media can help teens with autism learn to navigate social situations and meet other teens with autism who share their interests. Parents are encouraged to talk with their teens about their social media use on a regular basis and to set clear guidelines about what can be shared online. “Agree what your child can share on their own and what needs to be approved by you first,” says the guide, which also “discourages engagement with trolls or cyber-bullies…” and advises parents to help their children “to understand jokes, sarcasm, lies or irony” they will likely encounter online.

Technology and the internet can open doors for children with autism and other conditions that limit their ability to communicate and form relationships. Enabling Devices offers a range of communicators, iPad accessories, mounts and switches that help people with disabilities to connect to others and to access the world.

Browse Sensory Products

With the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders on the rise — the Centers for Disease and Prevention Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network now estimates that 1 in 59 children have ASD — declaring only one month per year Autism Awareness Month seems insufficient. In 2019, we need to be aware that individuals with autism, their families, teachers and therapists are coping with the challenges associated with ASD on a daily basis.

As we near the end of April and the close of Autism Awareness Month 2019, Enabling Devices offers these recommendations to support the autism community throughout the year.

Learn about Autism
Educate yourself and others about autism — its symptoms, treatments, and diagnoses — by reading about ASD, checking out realistic depictions of people with autism on TV and in movies. Yet, keep in mind that all people with autism are different, just like the rest of us.

Appreciate Difference
Human beings have a tendency to gravitate to people, places and activities that are familiar. We may be uncomfortable and even fearful about those who seem unfamiliar. Go out of your way to meet and get to know people with autism. You’ll undoubtedly be impressed with their unique strengths and talents.

Empathize
Individuals with autism may behave differently than neurotypical people. Flapping, tantrums, and strong reactions to sensory stimuli may draw unwanted attention to families when they venture out of their homes with a child with autism. Dealing with the reactions of others in the form of staring, teasing, unkind comments or unsolicited advice, all add to the stress of caring for a child with autism. Advises the American College of Pediatricians: “Avoid being judgmental of a family dealing with these behaviors, and realize that they are not caused by a lack of appropriate parenting.”

Help out
No matter how you slice it, parenting is hard work. Parenting a child with autism is even harder. According to the ACPEDS, “Parents caring for an autistic child appreciate hands-on help. Offering to trade baby-sitting or watching their other children so they can take their child with autism to therapy are great ways to lend a hand.”

Accommodate Friends and Family
Not sure how best to accommodate friends and family members with autism? Ask! Before hosting a party of holiday event, check with guests to find out what gifts an autistic child might prefer, what she might like to eat, or what game or TV show he might enjoy. Sensitive inquiries will go a long way toward helping a guest with autism and his family members to feel more at ease.

Volunteer Your Time
Whether you volunteer for a local autism organization, support autism fundraising events or attend educational programs that promote autism awareness, you’ll be doing your part to help people with autism and their families in a variety of ways.

Donate to autism organizations
If you have the ability, make a financial contribution to a reputable autism organization. Your dollars can help to fund autism research or help nonprofits such as schools, job training or extracurricular programs that serve the autism community.

Encourage inclusion
Whether it’s in your child’s classroom, your workplace, your local theater or place of worship, advocating for inclusion goes a long way toward encouraging your community to embrace people with autism and their families.

 

Statistics show that 85% of college graduates with autism spectrum disorder are unemployed. Compare those numbers to the current national unemployment rate of 4.5%, and it’s easy see why adults with autism and their advocates are deeply discouraged. Yet, the news isn’t all bad.

Though people with autism continue to experience high rates of unemployment and underemployment, employers are beginning to recognize that hiring people with autism isn’t only a moral imperative, it’s also good business. That’s why companies such as Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Freddie Mac, and Ford are developing programs to train and recruit job candidates with autism spectrum diagnoses.

Writing for Very Well Health, Lisa Jo Rudy notes, “There is an increasing need for workers with the skills, thought patterns, and work ethic that are common among people on the autism spectrum. Autistic adults are, in general, dependable, routinized, focused, detail-oriented, and passionate about their work.” In addition, writes Rudy: “Many have outstanding technical and/or math skills. And quite a few are able to find unique solutions to problems that have eluded their more conventional colleagues.”

Accounting firm Ernst and Young is just one of many large firms that has come to believe that having a neuro-diverse workforce positively impacts the company’s “bottom line.”

Meanwhile, executive director and head of Autism at Work at JP Morgan Chase, James Mahoney, told Fortune that “autistic employees achieve, on average, 48% to 140% more work than their typical colleagues, depending on the roles… They are highly focused and less distracted by social interactions.”

At Dell, people with autism can take part in a 12-week summer internship program that may lead to full-time employment. Originating at the company’s Hopkinton, Mass. headquarters, Dell recently expanded the internship program to a new site in Central Texas. According to Disability Scoop, Dell “plans to bring on roughly a dozen adults for two weeks of training at its Round Rock [Texas] headquarters. Four candidates will be selected for summer internships after the training.”

While corporations such as JP Morgan Chase have in-house programs to recruit, train and support their employees, others partner with nonprofit organizations such as Integrate Autism Employment Advisors (formerly the Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership) to help them “identify, recruit and retain qualified professionals on the autism spectrum.”

Integrate provides employers with resources such as “An Employer’s Guide to Managing Professionals on the Autism Spectrum,” by Integrate founder Marcia Scheiner. At the same time, Integrate provides job coaching and networking opportunities for job-seekers with autism. Once placed in a job, Integrate staff provides support for the employee and employer for three months. “After we work with employers to develop management strategies to work with someone on the spectrum, most ultimately find that it didn’t require that much more management time,” Scheiner told Nicole Lyn Pesce at Market Watch. “In fact, they find that they become better managers of all of their employees by becoming clearer and more effective communicators.”

 

 

It’s been four years since Sesame Street Workshop, the nonprofit media and educational organization behind the beloved children’s television show “Sesame Street,” premiered Julia, a 4-year-old Muppet with autism in its storybooks and on its website. Part of the organization’s Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children initiative,  Sesame Street Workshop introduced TV audiences to Julia in 2017.

On April 1, 2019, in commemoration of Autism Awareness Month 2019, Sesame Street Workshop announced it will launch new videos and other materials that feature Julia’s family including her parents, brother and companion dog.

“We’re thrilled to expand Julia’s world with her parents, big brother and her adorable dog, Rose, in our new resources” said Sherrie Westin, President of Global Impact and Philanthropy, Sesame Workshop in a press release. “Children with autism often face unique challenges, as do their parents and siblings. But every family faces challenges of some sort, which is why we are focusing on what all families have in common. In a family, everyone has different roles, challenges and strengths, and everyone can learn from one another.”

Among the new materials now available are several new videos that celebrate Julia’s family life; the “Circle of Friends” storybook; the “Playground Pals” digital interactive; and assorted articles and activities for families and caregivers. The materials are designed to prevent bullying by encouraging kindness and empathy; and to teach coping strategies for children with and without disabilities. Online viewers will also be able to view a video about the creation of Julia’s Muppet family members.

On our blog, we at Enabling Devices have been following Julia for the past several years. Given the latest statistics on the prevalence of autism from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — 1 in 59 American children are affected by autism spectrum disorders — it is extremely gratifying to see children with autism and their families depicted on TV, in books and in online programming. Enabling Devices offers a variety of products including communicators and sensory tools to enrich the lives of people with autism. We also provide free advice and design services for those interested in creating sensory rooms for people with autism and others. Sensory rooms have many benefits to people with autism including increasing concentration and focus; providing mental and physical relaxation; decreasing aggressive behaviors; promoting cognitive development; and increasing coordination and gross motor skills. For more information and to see our informational video, visit enablingdevices.com/sensory-room/.

 

Though every person with autism is different, many people on the autism spectrum struggle with social skills. In recent years, the idea of using “social robots” to teach social skills to children with ASD has gained traction.

“Social robots are designed to interact with us,” writes Callum Brodie for Digital Empowers.com. “They are essentially mobile machines that exhibit social behaviours, such as recognizing, following and assisting their owners and even engaging in conversation.”

A new study by researchers at Yale University found that social robots are an effective treatment for children with communication challenges. The study, led by Brian Scassellati, a professor of computer science, found that children with ASD showed marked improvement in their social skills after working with robots 30 minutes a day over a 30 day period. What’s more, the children wanted their work with the robots to continue beyond the timeframe of the study.

According to Yale News, the robots in the study modeled eye contact and other social skills for the 12 children who participated. They also “guided the children … through storytelling and interactive games designed to promote social skills such as emotional understanding, taking turns, and seeing things from others’ perspectives.” Said Scassellati: “The children showed improved performance across the board… This was more than we had hoped; not only did the children and parents still enjoy working with the robot after a month, but the children were showing improvements that persisted even when the robots were not around.”

Scassellati explained that in earlier studies, children who worked with robots made short-term improvements. However, after several days, most lost interest in the robots, and subsequently, their social skills regressed. Yet the robots in the Yale study, which were specially designed to engage the children, held their interests and they steadily improved. As Scassellati told Yale News, “The study represents a significant advance in the lab’s work with social robots….Future studies will aim to give the robots an even more prominent role.”

Scassellati pointed out that children with autism often feel more comfortable interacting with robots than they do with humans. “These are kids who have years of experience with the idea that social interaction is challenging and something they don’t understand,” he said. “When they interact with the robot, though, it triggers social responses but it doesn’t trigger a lot of the other baggage they’ve come to associate with social interaction.”

 

 

We’ve all heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Maybe that explains why more and more clinicians are recommending improvisational comedy (improv) as a therapeutic modality for people with mental health disorders such as social anxiety, and more recently, for developmental disabilities like autism. In response, some theater and comedy schools now offer courses in improv for children and adults with anxiety, autism and other special needs.

One of the first venues to offer such courses is The Second City. Founded in Chicago in 1959, The Second City, a sketch comedy club and school that launched the careers of comedy legends like Tina Fey, Chris Farley, Bill Murray and Keegan-Michael Key, now has additional locations in Hollywood and Toronto. In partnership with trained mental health therapists, The Second City began offering classes for people with anxiety in 2011 and ASD in 2013. The classes have proven both popular and successful.

“The early research in this area has shown that improvisation has a discernible positive effect in improving communication and prosocial behaviors in individuals with autism,” says Kelly Leonard, Executive Director of Insight on The Second City’s website.

Though clinicians, improv teachers and parents of children with autism vouch for the value of improv as a treatment modality, research studies such as an NIH-funded study at SENSE Theater Research Program of Vanderbilt University are currently underway to prove its efficacy.

So, how does participation in improv help individuals with anxiety and ASD? Believers say that improv can help to decrease anxiety in a variety of ways. The Mighty contributor Samuel Dunsiger says improv has taught him to remain present and improve his focus. “A constant struggle for people with anxiety is staying in the moment,” says Dunsiger. “I mean, it’s hard to keep your focus when you’re constantly worrying about something.”

Improv also helps participants become comfortable with the unexpected, something that’s challenging for anxious people to manage. “When you struggle with anxiety, this [the unexpected] might be your worst nightmare,” Dunsiger admits. “But trust me: it teaches you to tolerate and even welcome uncertainty. Uncertainty keeps things interesting and improv teaches you to have fun with it,” he says.

Finally, it’s impossible to fail improv, says Dunsiger, because it’s virtually impossible to make a mistake. That makes improv class a judgment-free zone, which builds confidence and reduces anxiety.

Since social anxiety is extremely common in people with autism, many of the same things that make improv therapeutic for people with social anxiety — becoming more comfortable with the unexpected, feeling accepted by a group, and staying present — makes it a great outlet for people with autism. Typically, individuals with ASD have difficulty with communication and social skills. Improv helps people improve these skills by teaching them to read social cues such as facial expressions and body language.

In a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, Blythe Corbett, a pediatric neuropsychologist who heads up the SENSE Theater, told reporter Kate Thayer, “Improv teaches one to think more broadly about different situations. …A lot of our children with autism have very rigid, concrete patterns of thinking. So, the idea of engaging in improvisational exercises allows a child to think more expansively.”

In addition, says Corbett, theater, including improv, helps children and teens who have difficulty empathizing with others develop “the ability to look at the world from another person’s perspective.”

As neuropsychologist Kristin Krueger told the Tribune, “Further study of improv is needed, but if the benefits she’s seen are shown through more research, access could expand for those who might not be receiving adequate mental health treatment.”

As Autism Awareness Month 2017 comes to an end, we were heartened to learn of a new study which found that wandering, a common behavior among people with autism and other developmental disabilities, may be treatable with behavioral interventions.

The study, “Clinical Outcomes of Behavioral Treatments for Elopement in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities,” provides hope in the face of the deeply disturbing conclusions of another more recent study, “Injury Mortality in Individuals with Autism,” that found children and teens with autism are 40 times as likely to die from injuries as those without ASDs. Additionally, and equally as shocking, the study found the average age of death for those with ASDs was only 36 years old as opposed to 72 in the non-autistic population. Clearly, it is imperative that we find effective ways of preventing senseless injuries and deaths that result from wandering. Here are some tips and resources that will help keep more people with autism safe.

1. Swimming lessons
According to Guohua Li, MD, DrPH, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and the senior author of the study on injury mortality, “Once a child is diagnosed with autism, usually between two years and three years of age, pediatricians and parents should immediately help enroll the child in swimming classes, before any behavioral therapy, speech therapy, or occupational therapy. Swimming ability for kids with autism is an imperative survival skill,” Dr Li said. In addition to their tendency for wandering, Li also noted that children and teens with autism often gravitate toward water. “With impaired communication and social skills, autistic kids tend to seek relief of their heightened anxiety from the serenity of water bodies. Unfortunately, this behavior too often leads to tragedies,” said Li.

2. Wander-proof your home or school
People who wander may require the use of locks and alarms on doors and windows to keep them from eloping or from getting into cabinets or drawers with products that could be dangerous to them. Outdoors keep individuals with autism away from unsupervised swimming pools or busy streets by installing alarms and fences with heavy duty locks.

The Autism Society says “door and window alarms can be a key investment” in keeping children with autism safe. The Society urges parents to consult with a professional who “can advise [them] of the legal and larger safety implications of the security measure [they] are considering.” For example, when installing locks, be sure to “have immediate access to any locked room in the event of fire or other emergency.”

3. Safety resources
In an effort to prevent tragedies caused by wandering, the National Autism Awareness Association created the digital, downloadable Big Red Safety Toolkits. Available free of charge to parents, teachers and first responders, the kits include resources such as caregiver checklists, stop sign prompts, samples of physician’s and IEP letters and recommended social stories to help children and teens learn about the dangers of wandering. There is also information about affordable safety tools, a family wandering emergency plan and first responder alert forms.

4. Tracking devices
Devices such as the AngelSense, a GPS and voice-monitoring system especially designed for people with special needs allows caregivers to keep track of their child’s whereabouts and to receive alerts when the child deviates from his schedule or leaves the premises. If a caregiver determines the child has eloped, the device provides (among other things) location updates every 10 seconds, enables caregivers to hear background noise at the child’s location, and helps to determine the location of the missing child and how far it is from the caregiver’s location.

5. Educate children and others
According to Stages of Learning, many children with autism lack knowledge of what to do in the event that they become lost. If your child or a child you care for has the cognitive and comprehension skills to understand safety precautions, teach her some strategies. Children can be taught to speak with an adult such as a police officer or store-owner; tools such as books, educational videos and social stories can be helpful in teaching children about the dangers of traffic and water.

Also be sure that first responders and all school personnel are aware of a child’s tendency to wander. Along with school administrators, come up with a plan to prevent wandering. One remedy is for the child to have a full-time aide; another is to install locks, fences, etc.

6. Make sure children carry identification
A 2012 study found that “Approximately 35 percent of children who wander are rarely able to communicate their name, home address or phone number.” Try ordering an Alert Me band or visit National Autism Association’s Big Red Safety Shop for a variety of identification options.