Dana's View - Information for AS Adults

Information for AS Adults Links preceded by ** are my original writings and submissions I have received from others
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Adult Issues -- University, Employment, Support

OASIS -- Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support
This is one of the most comprehensive sites for children and adults with Asperger Syndrome.
ASPIRES -- Asperger Syndrome Partners & Individuals Resources, Encouragement & Support
From the site: "ASPIRES is an on-line resource for spouses and family members of adults diagnosed or suspected to be on the autistic spectrum. Our approach to one another and towards our "significant others" is directed towards solving problems in our relationship with a spectrum-sitting spouse."
Book: Preparing for Life: The Complete Guide for Transitioning to Adulthood for Those With Autism And Asperger's Syndrome (Paperback)
A new book about transition issues. This is the page from Amazon.com. The page also gives book references for other books regarding transition and adult life.
University Students With Autism And Asperger's Syndrome
If you are currently, or planning to be, a university student, this site has good information on the university experience, including how to succeed during your years in attendance, life in the dormitories, extracurriculars, support services, moving from university to work, and many other subjects.
Teaching College Students with Disabilities
From the site: "A Selection of Online Resources for Faculty and Staff." Includes extensive ADA information.
The Civil Rights of Students with Hidden Disabilities Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
From the site: "If you are a student with a hidden disability or would like to know more about how students with hidden disabilities are protected against discrimination by Federal law, this pamphlet is for you."
Taking Responsibility: Good practice guidelines for services
Practical ideas to support adults with Asperger Sydrome. Includes medical, education, employment, and other information.
Book: Employment for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome or Non-Verbal Learning Disability: Stories and Strategies
From the site: "Most people with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD) or Asperger Syndrome (AS) are underemployed. This book sets out to change this. With practical and technical advice on everything from job hunting to interview techniques, from ‘fitting in’ in the workplace to whether or not to disclose a diagnosis, this book guides people with NLD or AS successfully through the employment field. There is also information for employers, agencies and careers counsellors on AS and NLD as ‘invisible’ disabilities, including an analysis of the typical strengths of somebody with NLD or AS, and how to use these positively in the workplace. Practical information and lists of career resources are supported by numerous case studies to inspire and advise."
Vocational Supports for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome
From the site: "Meeting the Vocational Support Needs of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and Other Autism Spectrum Disabilities"
Disability Benefits in CA
From the site: "Meeting the Vocational Support Needs of Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and Other Autism Spectrum Disabilities"
Department of Education Information
From the site: "Guidelines for assessing the functional capacities of an individual with specific learning disabilities to determine significance of disability for order of selection purposes."
Partners in Employment
From the site: "Welcome to Partners in Employment, a self-study course designed to help people with developmental disabilities find meaningful jobs and jumpstart their careers."
National Resources for Adults with Learning Disabilities
From the site: "This guide contains a selection of national resources to assist individuals who suspect they may have a learning disability. It is not a comprehensive list of resources, but rather a collection of organizations, publications, and programs. Only organizations that operate on a national level and can put inquirers in contact with regional or local resources have been selected. A short description of each organization's activities is provided to help readers identify which resources are best suited to their needs and concerns. Publications listed in this guide provide general information for adults with learning disabilities. Programs listed not only provide the learning component, but also offer residential housing."
Federation of Invisible Disabilities [Canada]
From the site: "The purpose of FIDS is to: [1] ensure children with invisible disabilities have access to education, recreation, and other services that help them to reach their potential as members of society, [2] regularly address the needs of children, youth and adults with invisible disabilities with governments, communities and others, [3] educate and increase awareness of invisible disabilities at service, funding and policy levels, [4] create partnerships with government in providing services to children with invisible disabilities, [5] educate the public regarding invisible disabilities, [6] provide information and support to parents and caregivers, [7] in furtherance of the above charitable objects, establish a broad-based organization to work to improve the lives of children, youth and adults with invisible disabilities."
TRI -- Transition Research Institute -- transition from school to work
From the site: "Identifies effective practices, conducts intervention and evaluation research, and provides technical assistance activities that promote the successful transition of youth with disabilities from school to adult life."
Police and Autism: Avoiding Unfortunate Situations
Information for persons with autism, their families, and law enforcement personnel, regarding the unique issues presented by persons with autism and law enforcement concerns.
Autism and Law Enforcement Video
From the site: "The video merges documentary techniques and vignettes to explore and explain critical issues for first responders, including: sensory over-stimulation; wandering; communications and behaviors; responding to the call; restraint and arrest; interview; constitutional rights; and street crime. With guidance from professional law enforcement and first response advisors, this video offers tips and options for communications and responses designed to successfully resolve a call involving a person with autism."
Bully OnLine
This site includes advice on individual rights and how to handle "bullies" in different environments, including work and school, plus advice on stress, medical issues, legal issues, and books that may provide further assistance.
Disabled Sports USA
From the site: "Established in 1967 by disabled Vietnam veterans to serve the war injured. DS/USA now offers nationwide sports rehabilitation programs to anyone with a permanent physical disability. Activities include winter skiing, water sports, summer and winter competitions, fitness and special sports events. Participants include those with visual impairments, amputations, spinal cord injury, dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, head injury, cerebral palsy, and other neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions."
Auties.org
From the site: "Auties.org is for people on the Autistic Spectrum who are ready to dare reach out to occupation and employment, open the doors to the community and market their abilities directly to the public and for those interested in supporting these pioneers."
Asperger/Autism: Independent Living
From the site: "We are an online support group for people with Autism or related conditions, including but not limited to Asperger Syndrome. We come together here to make friends, support each other, and share practical experiences and tips relevant to independent living with our condition. Our members live all over the world."
Fair Housing Law
From the site: "Housing discrimination doesn't always mean having a door slammed in your face or a bigoted remark directed your way. Unsuspecting renters or home buyers may be politely turned away from the housing of their choice, even though they are qualified."
Career Paths for Disabled Youths
This site is a Maryland program for high school youth with disabilities, primarily cerebral palsy. It is specifically for "Promoting science, engineering, and technology careers for students with disabilities", but gives some very good information and links for all people with disabilities.
Job Accommodation Network
This site is by West Virginia University, and provides an "international toll-free consulting service that provides information about job accommodations and the employability of people with disabilities. JAN also provides information regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)."
Parents with Disabilities Online!
From the site: "For too long, people with disabilities had been told that having families of our own was not an option. The truth is, though, that we have always been parents, and as our society evolves, more and more of us will have access to that opportunity. If you are a parent with a disability, a person with a disability who is planning to become a parent, or a nondisabled partner of a disabled parent, this page is for you. We hope that this page is a good place to start on your own journey toward independent parenting."
The National Autistic Society - people with autism and Asperger syndrome in the UK
From the site: "Welcome to The National Autistic Society (NAS) website! The site includes information about autism and Asperger syndrome, and about the support and services available in the UK."
Autistics.org
From the site: "The purpose of the autistics.org project is to connect autistic people with the services we need to live whole and happy lives. The immediate goal of autistics.org is to build a global database of information and resources by and for persons on the autistic spectrum."

Adult Personal Issues

** Seasonal Affective Disorder [SAD]
Information on causes and help to reduce seasonal depression which often occurs in autumn/winter months.
** Classmates of AS Adult
Question: I am a college student. There is an autistic man in my biology class. What can I expect?
** Transition of AS Adult to new living arrangement
Question: My brother is an AS adult. He lives with my mother but she is getting older and will be passing on soon. What would be the best living arrangement for my brother who hates transitions, and how do I transition him the best I can?
** Transition for End of Personal Relationship
Question: My significant other has left me after 10 years, saying a counselor told him that he needed to be completely separate.
** Organizing Life During Major Time of Stress and Transition
Question: I am experiencing a major time of stress and transition in my life and everything is very overwhelming for me.
** Adult Restroom Difficulty
Question: I don’t like to use the bathroom until I am almost bursting and then sometimes I don’t get there in time.
Coping: A Survival Guide for People with Asperger Syndrome
From the site: "Marc knows from the inside what people with Asperger Syndrome need to understand, and much of his knowledge has been acquired through bitter experience. His expressed wish is that others should not have to learn by such a hard route, and that some of his own short term disasters should be avoided by others coming after him."
Managing Grief
From the site: "People with disabilities have a right to participate fully in the grief and mourning process and in all of society's support systems and rituals associated with these losses. Concerted effort is needed to offer death education to professionals and to parent organizations so that they may become familiar with normal grief reactions and provide proper supports. Death education can be introduced into the school and adult education curriculum for people with developmental disabilities. Advice is needed to construct guidelines for special agencies to follow when a death does occur. This might include helping professional caregivers rehearse breaking the news of a death. Practical plans to avoid immediate admission to residential care are required. The importance of ensuring that the bereaved person has some mementos of their deceased relative must be remembered and advice on the importance of nonverbal rituals at the funeral may be helpful. Bereavement counseling for persons with a developmental disability should be made available routinely and not just when a maladaptive reaction has been recognized as grief. Both individual and group work with bereaved individuals may be helpful, particularly if nonverbal approaches, such as the use of counseling picture books, are available."
Shattered innocents -- self-injury links
This is a comprehensive site of links for self-injury. It lists links of other sites and gives a commentary on whether those sites are helpful for people who self-injure, whether they are primarily advertisements for paid services, whether they include triggering information or visuals without buffer warnings, etc. Very good site to help determine whether a self-injury site is helpful or just self-serving.
Self-injury information and support
This is the best self-injury site on the internet [my not-so-humble opinion]. From the site: "If you cause physical harm to your body in order to deal with overwhelming feelings, know that you are doing nothing shameful. It's likely that you're keeping yourself alive and maintaining psychological integrity with the only tool you have right now. It's a crude and ultimately self-destructive tool, but it works; you get relief from the overwhelming pain/fear/anxiety in your life. For some, though, there comes a breakthrough moment when they realize that change is possible, that they can escape, that things can be different. They begin to believe that other tools exist and begin figuring out what non-destructive ways of coping work for them. I hope that when you leave this site, you will have come closer to that moment."
Self-stimulation -- I'm Okay, You Have a Mannerism
This is from a deaf/blind site, but it is a really good description of what are self-stimulation activities and how all people do them, just for some people they look different from the "normal" self-stimulation activities of the majority of the population. Discusses ways to use self-stimulation activities to learn how each of us as individuals best deal with stressful situations, idleness/boredom, how we learn best, etc. Very good descriptions of what is self-stimulation activity and how to put it to good use.
Alliance for Technology Access for the Disabled
From the site: "The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) is a network of community-based Resource Centers, Developers and Vendors, Affiliates, and Associates dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults with disabilities, and increasing their use of standard, assistive, and information technologies. These ATA Members can be found all across the country. We hope that this web site will let you get to know us a little better, make use of our resources, contact one of our members and perhaps consider joining us in achieving our mission of "connecting children and adults with disabilities to technology tools."
Tools for Coping with a Variety of Life's Stressors
This site includes very good information on a variety of life stressors. Parent/child issues including raising responsible children, study skills, children with disabilities, etc. Adult issues include self-esteem, 12-step guide, handling loss, personal growth, relationships, communication, anger, control, and other self-understanding and improvement.
Find Counseling
From the site: "Welcome to Find Counseling.com - where you can search with confidence. We realize that finding a therapist is a private and personal matter. You want to find someone who not only has the expertise you need but also makes you feel comfortable. Find Counseling.com's search technology will help you make that first step with ease. Using our advanced search process, you can sort for a professional by location, expertise, language spoken, gender, HMO or PPO, and more. And with just a few clicks, you can learn about each therapist's education and training and hear first-hand from them about how they approach the therapy process."

Entitlements and Insurance

NHeLP Managed Care Advocacy for People with Disabilities
Site includes links for managed care advocacy, Medicaid, Medicare, industry links, consumer assistance and involvement, disabilities and special needs, contracts, litigation, and updates on managed care issues.
The Managed Care Clearinghouse Home Page
From the site: "MCARE is the National Clearinghouse on Managed Care and Long-Term Services and Support for Adults with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, which is funded through a grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The MCARE website seeks to provide the most current information available on managed care, long-term services and supports, self-determination, and other related areas. MCARE will provide the latest news articles, upcoming conferences and events, government documents, research and policy papers, and individual perspectives."
Resources on Managed Care for People with Disabilities
Understanding Managed Care, How to Pick a Plan, How to Evaluate Your Current Plan, Strategies for Managing Your Health Care, What to Look for in Health Care Providers, Resources for Choosing Health Care Providers, Medicare and Medicaid, Medication, Disability-related Issues, Advocacy Issues, Advocacy Resources, Medical Information, Research Projects, and Other Resources.
Social Security Administration Office of Disability - Disability Programs
From the site: "Did You Know... Social Security has two programs that pay benefits to people with disabilities? Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are "insured" meaning that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes. Supplemental Security Income pays benefits based on financial need. When you apply for either program, we will collect medical and other information from you and make a decision about whether or not you meet Social Security's definition of disability."
Exploratory Study of Health Care Coverage and Employment of People with Disabilities
From the site: "This literature review examines empirical evidence on health care coverage, employment, and public program participation among people with disabilities. The review is part of a larger project investigating the relationship between health care coverage and the employment of people with disabilities."

Disability Information and Advocacy

Tony Attwood
Tony Attwood's site, an expert on Asperger Syndrome.
United Nations Charter for People with Autism
From the site: "Points out that people with autism should have the same rights enjoyed by all EU citizens (where such are appropriate and in the best interest of the person with autism) ; these should be enhanced and enforced by appropriate legislation in each Member State and include : (a) the right to live independently ; (b) the right to representation and involvement as far as possible in decisions affecting their future ; (c) the right to accessible and appropriate education, housing, assistance and support services; (d) the right to freedom from fear, threat and from abusive treatment."
The Council for Disability Rights
From the site: "Advancing rights and enhancing lives of people with disabilities." Site includes information on news items, ADA, special education, structural barriers, and voting.
Disability Resources on the Internet
From the site: "Information is power! Most people with disabilities can live, learn, love, work and play independently and in the mainstream of society, but they often need information to achieve their goals: information about legal rights, financial resources, assistive technology, employment opportunities, housing modifications, childrearing and educational options, transportation and mobility services, and more. This information is available from a wide variety of resources - nonprofit organizations, government agencies, books, pamphlets, magazines, videotapes, and online - often at little or no cost. Finding it, however, isn't always so easy. Disability Resources is a nonprofit organization that monitors, reviews, and reports on these resources every day. We disseminate information about them to libraries, disability organizations, health and social service professionals, consumers and family members."
June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant
Site includes information for people with disabilities, including advocacy, disaster preparedness, health and wellness, independent living, and managed care.
The DRM WebWatcher: Abuse of People with Disabilities
A list of sites with information on the abuse and neglect of people with disabilities, including domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual abuse.
Through the Looking Glass
From the site: "Through the Looking Glass (TLG) is a community non-profit organization which emerged from the disability independent living movement in 1982. TLG has pioneered clinical and supportive services, training and research serving families in which one or more members--whether parent or child--has a disability or medical issue. TLG's mission has been to create, demonstrate and encourage resources and model early intervention services which are non-pathological and empowering."
Disability Rights Advocates
From the site: "Founded in 1993, Disability Rights Advocates is a national and international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities. Operated by and established for people with disabilities, DRA pursues its mission through research, education, and legal advocacy. DRA's mission is to ensure dignity, equality, and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities throughout the United States and worldwide." Site includes non-litigation, litigation, and class action litigation, with descriptions of representative cases.
Mainstream -- News and Advocacy in Disability Rights
From the site: "For over 25 years, MAINSTREAM has been advocating for disability rights. Produced by, for and about people with disabilities, MAINSTREAM covers news & current affairs, new products & technology, profiles of movers & shakers, education, employment, sexuality & relationships, housing, transportation, travel & recreation."
Ragged Edge Magazine Online
From the site: "WHO WE ARE: Ragged Edge magazine is successor to the award-winning periodical, The Disability Rag. In Ragged Edge, and on this website, you'll find the best in today's writing about society's "ragged edge" issues: medical rationing, genetic discrimination, assisted suicide, long-term care, attendant services. We cover the disability experience in America -- what it means to be a crip living at the start of the 21st century."
Freedom Clearinghouse -- Keep People Out of Nursing Homes and other Institutions
From the site: "As of June 22, 1999, when the Supreme Court handed down the Olmstead decision, the "most integrated setting" provision of the ADA is the law of the land. States which provide long-term care services to people with disabilities must now offer choice to each person: Where do you want those services to be delivered? Our MISSION . . . 1. To recruit and organize grassroots advocates who will press states to obey the law and free our people. 2. To furnish tools to those advocates so that they can succeed in their mission. 3. To communicate to states and advocates information about the best methods for delivering services at home."
Speaking for Ourselves
From the site: "We are an award winning self-advocacy organization run by and for people with developmental disabilities. We empower members to speak up, find real jobs, and help themselves become more independent. We have 500 members across Pennsylvania."
Not Dead Yet
From the site: "The targets of legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia have come together to oppose the political movement that would sacrifice our lives for their idea of dignity and "the greater good" - and the profits of the health care industry .... What we oppose is a public policy that singles out individuals for legalized killing based on their health status. This violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, denies us the equal protection of the law, and health professionals decide who is "eligible."

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