Articles, News and Research about Autism and related disorders

Autism News - Articles

Autism Awareness Centre Inc. frequently has guest speakers post articles, news or research pertaining to their specific autism related topics on our site.

The Role of Exercise in Stress Reduction

The following extract is from a recent practitioner article on the role of exercise in reducing stress, written by Assistant Psychologist Matt Cotterill at WALK, UK. The full article can be accessed here. Providing care and support to people in the caring professions is often fraught with stressful interactions. The stress-induced cascade of hormonal and molecular responses can, if left…

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How Compliance-Based Approaches Damage Interoceptive Awareness & Self-Regulation

Kelly Mahler, regular speaker/presenter at Autism Awareness Centre Inc., is our guest writer for this post. In this post, Kelly talks about interoception, self-regulation and the detrimental impact that compliance-based approaches can have on the development of these critical areas. Compliance often teaches someone to ignore their own body signals/needs in order to comply with a demand and receive a…

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What is Trauma? A Simple Guide

This article was written by Aylish McFarlane, Studio 3 Assistant Psychologist. It was reprinted with permission from Studio 3 UK. ‘Trauma-informed practice’ is a phrase we hear more and more in our work, but what really is trauma, and how can we learn to recognize it? This simple guide illustrates how trauma can affect the body, and how to support…

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Introduction to the Low Arousal Approach Online Training

Low Arousal Approach training, developed over 30 years ago in the UK, has been offered in Canada through Autism Awareness Centre Inc./Studio 3 Canada for 6 years. This training is for professionals, support workers and EAs, carers and family members. The Low Arousal Approach emphasizes a range of behaviour management strategies that focus on the reduction of stress, fear and…

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What I Have Learned From Individuals on the Spectrum

Brenda Smith Myles has been a long-time presenter for Autism Awareness Centre Inc. for the past 17 years. This article that she wrote has been reprinted with her permission from the The Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine. If you want to learn more about autism from Brenda, she will be presenting a webinar for us on The Brain and Autism February…

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How important are relationships in the lives of people with autism?

Studio 3 clinician Dr. John McDermott discusses relationships and autism, and the role played by the emotional and relational world when supporting clients. The importance of relationship in the lives of people who have an autism diagnosis is a crucial part of our practice at Studio 3. When working therapeutically with clients, parents or caregivers, we aim to capture individual…

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Definition of Autism

Autism is a lifelong, nonprogressive neurological disorder typically appearing before the age of three years. The word “autism” means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction.

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Small Talk Can Loom Large: Teaching your child the flow of conversation

At a holiday gathering, your 8-year-old son is telling his aunt exactly how he went about constructing a complicated Lego spaceship. He spares no detail as Aunt Ann smiles and nods, eyes glazing over. You walk over to join them and try to help him become aware of her nonverbal clues and wrap up his one-sided conversation.  With no success,…

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Autism Europe Conference Highlights, News, and More

This fall I had the opportunity to attend to the Autism Europe Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland from September 16-18 . This conference happens once every 3 years and is hosted by a European country (2019 will be in Paris, France). This sold out event had 1750 delegates from 60 countries attending. There were 300 speakers from across the world sharing advances…

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The Positive Effects of Dogs on ASD: Ms. Claire’s Excellent Adventure

A Canine Assisted Educational Initiative

I think the ‘Claire Buron Project’, as we have come to call it, began years ago when I read about the positive effects of dog ownership. I began thinking that if owning a dog could lower a person’s stress level, and if just petting the dog could release pleasurable hormones, then maybe a dog could help calm highly anxious students with autism in a school setting.

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“Sucking It Up” To Pass as Non-Autistic

Happy Autism Awareness Day! This year’s theme is inclusion and neurodiversity. This post was originally published on Judy Endow’s site, and is reposted here in honour of Autism Awareness Day. French Translation: Se faire violence pour « passer sous le radar » de l’autisme http://www.judyendow.com/french-blogs/se-faire/  ‎ It is a lot of work to look non-autistic …and yet, looking non-autistic is the ticket to…

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Tips To Teach Whole Body Listening: It’s a Tool Not a Rule

Adapted from an article by: Elizabeth Sautter, MA, CCC-SLP Phrases like “pay attention” and “listen carefully” ring out in classrooms across the country. Moms, dads, and other caregivers can be heard saying some version of these same words to children everywhere. Paying attention and listening to others are not only considered essential for social communication, but also for learning to be…

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