Resources/Links: Autism Related Links

Academic Resources

bridges4kids
a non-profit parent organization providing a comprehensive system of information and referrals for parents of children from birth through transition to adult life

Center for Evidence-Based Practice : http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/index.html Young Children with Challenging Behavior to raise awareness and implementation of positive, evidence-based practices and to build an enhanced and more accessible database to support those practices.

Collegeboard
Your inside source for connecting students to college opportunity and success.

Disability Resources
Links to several sites which offer popular software and hardware for children with disabilities.

First Words Project : http://firstwords.fsu.edu
A web site for parents who have concerns about their infants who are between 6 months to 24 months old; contains the Infant/toddler Checklist of Communication and Language Development

Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System (FDLRS)
Pronounced fiddlers, FDLRS is a network of nineteen state and federally funded associate centers that provide support services to educators, families of students with exceptionalities, and community agencies throughout Florida.

Florida Inclusion Network
The Florida Inclusion Network (FIN) consists of five regional facilitators serving five regional areas throughout the state. The FIN facilitators are available to provide technical assistance to schools and districts who wish to develop, implement, or refine educational practices which serve to further integrate students with diverse learning needs.

FYItransition.com
FYI Transition is a new website designed principally for families - parents and students - to teach them about transition and employment. there are links to stories about students and their jobs and information on transition planning. It also has a discussion board and the availability of on-line courses.

Help 4 Teachers
Dr. Kathie Nunley's website for educators. Based on current brain-imaging information, Layered Curriculum™ is a completely student-centered teaching method, which uses a triangular-shaped model of 3 layers, each requiring a higher level of understanding.

Homeschool World
The official site of Practical Homeschooling magazine and The Big Book of Home Learning.

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System (NEC*TAS)
General information about NEC*TAS; publications; information on IDEA; descriptions of the birth-3 early intervention program, the preschool program, and the Early Education Program for Children with Disabilities; information on the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council.

Online Academy
The Online Academy develops web-based modules and other technology innovations for moving validated educational interventions from research to practice. The resources are designed to empower teacher educators in the areas of Reading, Technology, and Positive Behavioral Support.

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assitance Network
The mission of PaTTAN is to support the efforts of the Bureau of Special Education and its initiatives and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to provide appropriate services to students who receive special education services.

SAT Task: http://www.autism.fm/sat.html
Help with the SAT from Yale Developmental Disabilities Clinic

Sibling Support Project: http://www.siblingsupport.org/
peer support and information for brothers and sisters of people with special needs.

Statewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities, Inc (STAND): http://www.standadvocates.org
Statewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities, Inc. (STAND) offers advocacy training and education of legal rights as provided by the Individuals with DisAbilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with DisAbilities Act (ADA).

Tinsnips
A special education resource that contains tools for teachers of individuals with autistic spectrum disorders, related developmental disabilities, and children with special needs. Quite a few of the activities are also appropriate for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

Tulare SELPA: http://www.tulareselpa.org/autism/
Autism Resources website for the Tulare County/District Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA); created by a dad to assist parents, professionals, and other members of the community by providing information on Autism Spectrum Disorders; includes free downloadable software.

http://helpingtogrow.com software and teaching tips for parents of children with learning delays and difficulties.

Advocacy

IDEA
Information on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Wrightslaw
Parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw for accurate, up-to-date information about special education law and advocacy for children with disabilities.

Asperger's Syndrome

On-line Asperger's Syndrome Information and Support (OASIS)
General information on AS, research papers and projects, related disorders, recommended reading, recent publicity, conferences, national and local support sources, centers for evaluation, education and legal resources, camps and schools, contributions from children and family members.

Tony Attwood's Website
This web site is a guide for parents, professionals, people with Asperger's Syndrome, and their partners.

Assistive Technology

Alphasmart, Inc.
AlphaSmart, Inc. is a leading provider of technology solutions for education and productivity, focused on reducing the cost and complexity of computing.

Apple's Disability Resources
A link to Apple's Disability Resources page where you can find software (freeware and shareware) for people with disabilities, read about what's on the cutting edge of disability technologies, and use a searchable database which catalogs hundreds of disability products for the Macintosh. Many of these products have Windows versions also.

Assistive Technology Educational Network (ATEN)
The mission of ATEN is to assist in the enhancement of student outcomes through the provision of information, training, and technical support in the area of assistive technology.

Autism and Computing
Autism and Computing is a not-for-profit group. Its aim is to explore ways of helping people with autism to lead fulfilling lives.

Do2Learn
...see, do and learn online. A web site providing learning activities to promote independence in children and adults with special learning needs.

E-Buddies
e-Buddies® creates e-mail friendships between people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Gaining Face
Our software helps people with Asperger's syndrome, high-functioning autism, and similar issues learn to recognize facial expressions.

Inspiration Software, Inc.
Inspiration Software®, Inc. is recognized as the leader in visual thinking and learning. They develop and publish innovative software tools that inspire learners of all ages to brainstorm, organize, plan and create.

Weighted Wearables
Since 1996 Weighted Wearables has provided the highest quality line of weighted adaptive products that facilitate proprioceptive feedback, increase postural stability and attention span, and organize arousal level for learning.

Biomedical and Dietary Intervention

Autism Research Institute: http://www.autism.com/
Read the 2005 Consensus Paper to get an overview of DAN Protocol

Cranial Sacral Therapy: http://cnri.edu/DrWilson/Craniosacraldefinition.htmCraniosacral therapy is a holistic healing practice that uses very light touching to balance the craniosacral system in the body, which includes the bones, nerves, fluids, and connective tissues of the cranium, the spine and the sacrum, and ultimately all tissues because "everything is connected to everything else."

Generation Rescue: http://www.generationrescue.org/
Believes that childhood neurological disorders such as autism, Asperger's, ADHD/ADD, speech delay, sensory integration disorder, and many other developmental delays are all misdiagnoses for mercury poisoning; links to ways to help your child by taking mercury out of their diet.

K.N.O.W. Vaccines- http://www.know-vaccines.org/
Florida Non-Profit organization that provides parents with information about vaccines, parents’ rights and how to get a vaccine exemption

Talk About Curing Autism (TACA): http://www.talkabouturingautism.org/index.htm
Contains links to medical information and health insurance

Unlocking Autism : http://www.unlockingautism.org/news.asp?action=5
Contains links to biological and biomedical treatment options

Books, Articles and Publications

Adapted Books:

DLTK's Crafts for Kids Educational Activities for Children

Prekindergarten Program for Children with Disabilities Miami-Dade County Public Schools

SymbolWorld.org

Teacher Created Resources

Future Horizons -World leader in Autism/Asperger's/PDD Publications.

John Maxwell Biasco Foundation
Foundation with large lending library located in Naples, FL. CARD is now a branch of the JMBF lending library.

Diet

Gluten-free/ Casien-free diet (GFCF): http://www.gfcfdiet.com/
The Official GFCF Diet Support Group website; Dietary intervention treatment for autistic spectrum disorders

Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD): http://www.scdiet.com/
Intestinal health through diet; includes description of Breaking the Vicious Cycle, written by biochemist and cell biologist, Elaine Gottschall.

Low Oxalate Diet: http://www.stillpointhealth.com/LowOxalateDiet-HelpandSuggestion.html
A compilation of advice for using the Low Oxalate Diet for Autism, by Susan Costen Owens, MAIS, RA- Autism Oxalate Project

Ketogenic Diet- http://www.epipro.com/k_diet.html
labor intensive metabolic therapy with rigidly calculated meal plans.

General Information

Autismconnect
Autismconnect is a new, free, non-commercial web site, which aims to be the first port of call for anyone interested in autism, providing news, events, world maps, and rapid access to other web sites with information on autism.

Autism-PDD Resources Network: http://www.autism-pdd.net
web site contains resources and tools as well as helpful links which include adults with disabilities, education, social security, and articles about autism.

Autism Resources
General information on autism, links to other websites, online discussions and mailing lists, conferences, book and article recommendations, information on various methods of treatment and programs, academic and research programs, worldwide list of autism-related organizations, posting of items for sale and services available.

Autism Society of Florida

Donna Williams Website
Donna Williams' official website.

Dr. David Koppenhaver's Website
Dr. David Koppenhaver, Chair of Education at Gustavus Adolphus College, did our recent literacy workshop.

Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA)
Information on the purpose and program activities, research projects, products, conferences, books available through the Center.

Institute for Remedial Intervention Services (IRIS)
A private resource center dedicated to the cause of autism and related disabilities in India.

MAAP Services
MAAP Services for the Autism and Asperger Syndrome is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information and advice to families of More advanced individuals with Autism, Asperger's syndrome, and Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD).

National Institute of Mental Health Information on Autism -
General information on autism, diagnosis, causes, and accompanying disorders; behavior and social skill improvement techniques; information on medication; educational options; adults with autism; information for families; sources of support.
Oops...Wrong Planet! Syndrome Website
Site by parent with lots of information.

Temple Grandin Web Site
Dr. Temple Grandin's website dealing with her work in livestock behavior, design of facilities and humane slaughter.

Zero To Three
Information for parents on child care, developmental milestones, resources, books that can be ordered; information for professionals on programs and services, resources, sponsorship opportunities, national training, books that can be ordered, and special professionals' listserv.

Autism Speaks
Family resources, raises public awareness, funds research about its causes, treatments and a cure. http://www.autismspeaks.org

Government Agencies

Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (FICC)
U.S. Department of Education sponsored site showcasing the government's efforts to help America's infants and pre-schoolers with disabilities and their families. The FICC facilitates federal, state and local activities related to serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, ages birth through 5.

Florida Department of Education's Information Clearinghouse new website: http://www.firn.edu/doe/commhome/
The Clearinghouse operates a resource center that provides parents, educators, and other Floridians with access to materials about people with exceptionalities, exceptional student education, school improvement, student outcomes, coordinated school health, parent and professional partnerships, and many other topics.

Florida Department of Education's ESE Publications new website: http://www.fldoe.org/ese/
An information series for the parents of exceptional students.

Florida Outreach Project
Florida Outreach Project for Children and Young Adults Who Are Deaf-Blind. A description of the deaf-blindness project, services provided, eligibility.

Social Security Administration Website
The official website of the Social Security Administration. Contains information on the eligibility requirements for Social Security disability benefits. This is the page specifically about disability benefits . This is the official SSA handbook that will answer most questions about SSA and benefits.

Florida Commission on Human Relations

http://fchr.state.fl.us

The Florida Commission on Human Relations is the state agency charged with enforcing state civil rights laws concerning the protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status and familial status. The Commission also serves as a resource on human relations for the people of Florida and investigates complaints in the areas of areas of employment, housing, public accommodations and state employee whistle-blower retaliation.

Methods, Treatments and Programs

Center for the Study of Autism
Information on related disorders, behaviors, different intervention techniques; information for siblings; interviews.

Families for Early Autism Treatment -Northern California
FEAT is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing world class Education, Advocacy, and Support for the Northern California Autism Community.

Families for Early Autism Treatment (North Texas)
North Texas website of FEAT.

The Gulfarium
Marine show aquarium with mission to provide both an educational and entertaining experience, while inspiring people of all ages to learn more about the marine world around them. Includes information on dolphin interaction and therapy.

Handwriting Without Tears
Handwriting Without Tears® (HWT) is the easy way to teach pre-printing, printing and cursive! It was developed by Jan Z. Olsen, OTR, an occupational therapist and handwriting specialist.

Healing Thresholds: www.HealingThresholds.com
Healing Thresholds is a Web site that integrates scientific knowledge with playground experience as we examine therapies and treatments for autism.

SCERTS: www.scerts.com
SCERTS is an educational approach and multidisciplinary framework and guide to directly address Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support as the core challenges faced by children with ASD and related disabilities, and their families.

Sensory Resources
From the Sensory Resources website: Make us your first choice for answers on sensory integration and sensory processing. We specialize in sensory issues and we are dedicated to providing you with: High quality, Excellent service, Reasonable prices, Practical, useful and accurate information.

Organizations

Local and State Autism Societies:

Autism Society of America

Autism Society of Florida

Autism Society of Alabama

Autism Society of Illinois

Autism Society of Michigan

Autism Society of North Carolina

South Carolina Autism Society

Autism Society of Oregon

Autism Society of Wisconsin

Autism Society of British Columbia

American Hyperlexia Association (AHA)
General information on hyperlexia, resource information listed by geographical region, links to online hyperlexia resources, meetings and lectures, available publications and other materials.

American Music Therapy Association
How to locate a music therapist in your area.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for over 110,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists.

The Arc Nature Coast
The Arc Nature Coast was established in 1972 as the Hernando Association for Retarded Citizens, Inc., by a small group of citizens concerned with the lack of services and activities for adults with developmental disabilities. At that time the organization acquired 30 acres of naturally wooded land on Neff Lake Road and has provided services from that location since. Presently The Arc Nature Coast serves more than 160 individuals and their families each year from six locations by utilizing a unique community support team approach The Arc Nature Coast is able to provide highly individualized supports to achieve optimum personal outcomes

AUTISM Independent UK
The Society exists to increase awareness of autism, together with well established and newly developed approaches in the diagnosis, assessment, education and treatment. The main goal is to improve the quality of life for persons with Autism.

Autism National Committee
States it is the only autism advocacy organization dedicated to "Social Justice for All Citizens with Autism" through a shared vision and a commitment to positive approaches.

Autism Network International
"An autistic-run self-help and advocacy organization for autistic people," includes information on services provided and how to join the organization.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website for the CDC.

New England Center for Children
The New England Center for Children is an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive educational services to children with autism and related disabilities from the initial diagnosis to adulthood.

TASH
"TASH is an international association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and professionals fighting for a society in which inclusion of all people in all aspects of society is the norm." General information on TASH and becoming a member.

World Autism Organization
The World Autism Organization (WAO) was created on November 1998 in Luxembourg to provide a world-wide support to autistic people.

Online Discussion

Family Village
A global community of disability related resources, including discussion and chat sections. Sponsored by the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Parent Support

Beyond Autism
Site by a parent with many links to resources. Good starting point for those who are just starting out.

Family Network on Disabilities
Contacts for different regions of Florida; nationwide parent groups; Florida directory of early childhood resources; government, state, disability, education, and law resources; conferences; services provided by FND; online chatroom.

Room5
Room 5 is a classroom web page dedicated to helping parents and teachers of students with autistic spectrum disorders. Here you will find classroom and home ideas as well as links to other site.

Research

Organization for Autism Research (OAR)
OAR is the only autism organization which focuses solely on applied research.

Oliver Sacks' Website
Web site of the well known physician.

University of Florida Brain Institute
Research programs, education events, local services.

Yale Autism/PDD Clinic Home Page
Information on the clinic and evaluation, research studies, PDD resources, conferences.

Visual Supports

Amazon
Amazon offers great pictures of any object they sell. Just enter the name in the search box and select go. Then right click on the image for PC users and select copy image then paste the image on to your document.

Do2learn
do2learn is specifically designed for individuals on the autism spectrum. This site has a collection of graphics, picture schedules and task analysis that parents have created for home and school use.

Google
When the “image” link is selected, google will search for pictures of the name in the search box. Either right click on the image or for Mac click while pressing the control key and select copy image, then paste image in to your document.

The Gray Center
The Gray Center: For Social Learning and Understanding. Dedicated to individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and those who work alongside them to improve mutual understanding.

Pics4learning
Pics4learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers. Unlike many Internet sites, permission has been granted for teachers and students to use all of the images donated to the Pics4Learning collection. (From pics4learning.com)

Picsearch
Picsearch is a search engine for pictures and images that is family friendly. It allows children to surf in safety as all offensive material is filtered out. The site is user friendly in that it is simple and accurate.

ASD Video Glossary launched