March 5, 2010
KC Autism Alliance Calls Off Walk

By Toni Lapp

An estimated 1,000 people braved rain and sleet to participate in the Autism Alliance of Greater Kansas City's walk at Unity Village in 2009. The walk will not be held this year.

An estimated 1,000 people braved rain and sleet to participate in the Autism Alliance of Greater Kansas City's walk at Unity Village in 2009. The walk will not be held this year.


After years of facing sleet, snow, freezing rains and other elements wrought by Mother Nature, the Autism Alliance of Greater Kansas City will not be organizing a fundraising walk this year at Unity Village in April — Autism Awareness Month.

The event, which had been held since 2003, had drawn over a thousand participants in recent years despite wintry conditions that inevitably developed on walk day. A Unity Village staffer said they were all set to hold the walk this April and had talked with the Alliance about possibilities.
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January 16, 2010
YMCA Challenger Program Wins Grant from Autism Speaks

By Toni Lapp
Thanks to a grant from Autism Speaks, a YMCA program that benefits children on the autism spectrum will be expanding.

The YMCA of Greater Kansas City Challenger Athletics program already provides year-round opportunities for children with disabilities to participate in sports, recreation and social integration activities. Activities that have paired children with disabilities with role model peers have included bowling (see story here), basketball, baseball and soccer.

Bolstered by $18,500 from Autism Speaks, the program will improve and expand these opportunities in a way that specifically benefits children with ASDs, through specialized materials, targeted marketing, program equipment, additional sites and staff/volunteer training.
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July 8, 2009
Autism Leaders Urge Action on Health-Care Reform

AutismVotes

By Toni Lapp

Leaders in the autism community are urging voters to speak up on the health-care debate — specifically, to contact lawmakers who will be key to crafting health-care reform legislation.

“Autism insurance reform can and should be included in the final health care reform bill that President Obama has stated he will sign by the end of October,” writes Elizabeth Emken, vice president of government relations for Autism Speaks, in a blast e-mail to members. “This is the time to end autism insurance discrimination once and for all. Our children have a medical condition which deserves appropriate treatment, therapy and care. Congress needs to know that health care ‘reform’ that fails to stop autism insurance discrimination is unacceptable.”
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ASK AN AUTISM SPECTRUM SPECIALIST

Games to Enhance Turn-Taking, Sportsmanship, Social Skills

By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.

Q. I read that when Temple Grandin was a young girl, her mother hired a nanny to play turn-taking games with her to improve social skills. What sort of games do you recommend? Are there any that you don’t recommend?

A. After every holiday meal, my family would gather around the dining room table with a game purposefully selected by my mother for this occasion. I remember Taboo, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst. No matter the age of the player, the expectations were the same: follow the rules, win with humility, lose with grace, do your best, and never, ever complain. Games make up the fabric of a childhood and, perhaps, a lifetime, and appropriate game play opens doors to respect, friendship, and fun.

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DEVELOPING TALENTS

Intervene, Intervene, Intervene

By Kate Duffy

A while back, Toni, the SpectrumConnection editor, asked me to write about how far parents should go to help their teens on the spectrum land a job. Since then, several of our Hot Topics parents have shared their kids’ job search stories with me, and I realized there was no easy answer to her question. For the most part, though, their stories revolved around the kids’ inability to accurately read situations, to remember instructions and to multitask to make a deadline. Looking at that list, it sounds like business as usual on the job for most of us — which is why it is so very important that our kids start learning about the world of work as soon as they can.

That’s why the short answer to Toni’s question is this: do what you need to do.

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