Health Care, Therapy and Rehabilitation Resources: Autism Spectrum Disorder/Neurodiversity

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National
State Listings:   NJ / NC / TX    (Official USPS State Abbreviations)

National

New Sign Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Sleep from Tuck Sleep. This is a look at some of the most common sleep issues among adults and children with ASD, as well as some suitable treatment options and tips for managing ASD and sleep on a regular basis. They also look at how the medical and psychiatric communities currently define ASD.

Homewatch CareGivers offers quality in-home care for people of all ages to give you the peace of mind you need � relieving your stress and preserving your loved one�s dignity while bringing your family together. The professional caregivers employed through their network of home care agencies are highly trained so you can trust the care they provide, and you can rely on our care coordination with doctors and home health care agencies to create a circle of support. The people hired for caregiver jobs go through extensive background checks, and the custom home care plan created for your loved one makes sure the caregiver�s personality is the right match. You can search by postal code on their website for the Home Care Team nearest you.

In the Swim Blog: Health and You: Autism and Swimming Learn about Autism. Also learn the benefits of swimming. Autistic children can benefit greatly from physical activity. Some of these benefits include reducing the risk of heart disease as an adult, increasing attention span, giving an opportunity for social interaction with others, and easing behaviors that are repetitive. How does swimming ease repetitive behaviors as well as help in the long run? It is believed that swimming � using your arms and legs and focusing on using your body to float can distract from repetitive behaviors, while providing exercise. A child with autism can really concentrate and enjoy the fun of swimming around the water, and if with friends or others, can also ease into social situations and become more open to others.

Mayo Clinic - Diseases and Conditions - Autism spectrum disorders. Mayo Clinic offers symptoms and causes, diagnosis and treatments, doctors and departments for people with Autism spectrum Disorders.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research provides the guide Practical Oral Care for People with Autism offers a background to Autism and the various oral problems and disease that can be prevalent with a person with autism, how this can vary depending on the severity of autism and tips on dental care for the person with autism and tips for the caregiver.

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) strives to advance the health and well-being of our nation�s most vulnerable populations. Although our efforts are broad and far-reaching, we have identified four critical Center-level thematic areas:

  • Saving babies through birth defects prevention and research
  • Helping children live to the fullest by understanding developmental disabilities
  • Protecting people by preventing the complications of blood disorders
  • Improving the health of people living with disabilities

Rogers Behavioral Health - Care for kids with autism spectrum disorder A unique program focused on treating anxiety, mood, and related disorders among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is available in Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago. Kids with ASD often also deal with behavioral health disorders that co-occur with their autism. Due to the social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties that can result from this combination of disorders, parents can often feel overwhelmed. It can be difficult to know where to go for help, particularly given how challenging it is to find specialists who understand the unique needs of kids with ASD and co-occurring mental health conditions. Rogers� offers a free screening, call 800-727-4411.

New Sign Sleep Problems and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) from Mattress 1000, a mattress review company. Even though sleep disorder is a common issue among people with autism that even plays a role in worsening the symptoms and behavior, yet sleep management is never discussed as a supportive treatment option for autism. Therefore, it�s necessary to address the issue of sleep disorder in autism to promote healthy growth, control certain symptoms, improve the learning abilities, and promote a better quality of life. This article is comprehensive, covering symptoms of sleep problems, sleep duration recommendations, causes of sleep disorders, assessing sleep problems, 10 ideas to assist sleep and conditions that might interfere with sleep.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Autism: on healthfinder.gov offers a list of helpful resources on Autism and health.

State Listings

New Jersey

New Sign Social Skills Training Project is a fee for service company that utilizes a primarily cognitive-behavioral approach to teach social skills to children, adolescents, and adults who have social-communication difficulties. These difficulties may include autistic spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorders, and other psychiatric conditions or learning disabilities that may be associated with social difficulties. Their goals are to provide relevant social skill instruction that will generalize into daily routines, to make socializing fun so that students want to socialize and to help "typical" peers and professionals become more understanding, accepting, and engaging of those with social difficulties. For more information on the locations of their clinics, visit their website above or send mail to Jed Baker, Ph.D., 29 Collinwood Road, Maplewood, New Jersey 07040 or send e-mail to: jandbbaker@aol.com.

North Carolina

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) is located at the University of North Carolina. The TEACCH approach includes a focus on the person with autism and the development of a program around this person's skills, interests, and needs. The major priorities include centering on the individual, understanding autism, adopting appropriate adaptations, and a broadly-based intervention strategy building on existing skills and interests. By focusing on the individual they mean that the person is the priority, rather than any philosophical notion like inclusion, discrete trial training, facilitated communication, etc. We emphasize individualized assessment to understand the individual better and also "the culture of autism," suggesting that people with autism are part of a distinctive group with common characteristics that are different, but not necessarily inferior, to the rest of us. The TEACCH mission is to:
  • To enable individuals with autism to function as meaningfully and as independently as possible in the community.
  • To provide exemplary services throughout North Carolina to individuals with autism and their families and those who serve and support them.
  • As a member of the University community, to generate knowledge; to integrate clinical services with relevant theory and research; and to disseminate information about theory, practice, and research on autism through training and publications locally, nationally and internationally.

TEACCH provides Supported Employment Services: contact - Mike Chapman at 919-966-8194 and Early Intervention Services: contact - Susan Boswell at 919-966-7003 or Beth Reynolds at 919-966-4885. TEACH has Regional Centers throughout North Carolina. For general information about the TEACCH program, please call them at (919) 966-2174, fax at (919) 966-4127, or send email to TEACCH@unc.edu

Texas

New Sign Spectrum social and Recreation Services is a fee based service. It is their goal to give their clients the tools they need to be successful, fulfilled, members of their community who participate in a variety of social activities. At Spectrum, they teach social skills combined with recreation activities to build skill acquisition, fluency and generalization within the types of activities that clients want to access but often cannot due to their misunderstanding of the social nuances of group interactions. Everything done is underlined by their belief that social interaction must be fun to be motivating enough for students to do the work involved in applying and practicing the skills necessary to be successful in a social world.Austin Office: Spectrum Social & Recreation Services, 8105 Shoal Creek Blvd. Suite B, Austin, TX 78757, or Spectrum Services Cedar Park, 901 Cypress Creek Road Ste 101, Cedar Park, TX 78613,or Phone: (512) 524-5482, Fax: (512) 524-1177 or send email via their form on their website.

Washington

New Sign Healthy Homeopathy offers homeopathic and naturopathic care of children with Autism. Drs. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman is Board certified with 25 years experience and authors of seven books including "A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger's Syndrome: Exceptional Medicine for Exceptional Kids" with forward by Dr. Bernanrd Rimland. The Northwest Center for Homeopathic Medicine, is located in Edmonds, Washington. Phone and video consultation appointments are also available. Also, they sponsor the monthly Autism One radio show, phone: (425) 774-5599, email: nchmclinic@gmail.com

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