“I am on the higher functioning end and have had people comment on walking slow, not being flexible enough, etc.  I would be glad to share how I got disability with a lot of patience, a lawyer, and the effects of our condition such as anxiety, depression, and fatigue. You have to have some detailed notes etc.  Once you get turned down you can get a lawyer at no cost up front -  comes out of lump sum disability payment.

I volunteer right now and would like to have a job but after years of not being able to hold on and my age, now it will be hard.  I am a dedicated and committed employee. It is just on the high functioning end.  People want to ask what is wrong and instead I get fired.  I got social security so I can have the disability protection that at the time could help me keep a job, due to past harassment from employers.  You have to stay the course.

Texas is not the best place for help.  I went to the re-hab folks and was told I was too old.  They cannot help.  I would be glad to share my process more,  that started when I was a kid.”

photo from www.autismparents.net

Autism is a life-long Social and developmental disorder. However I have never let it hinder me from pursuing my obsession for photography.

Although I have problems doing the most simple of tasks like crossing the road, tying my shoe laces and dealing with social situations I find photography very uncomplicated and I love it.

I used to go for walks down the fields near my mum and dads house. I found this was my place to escape the social world as it was miles of deserted farmland. This was a regular thing for me to do from the age of 8. I spent most of my life in and around nature.

Around the age of 19 I figured I would start taking pictures of the wildlife and sights I found in the fields near my house. I had fun trying to sneak up on them and get pictures.

I started experimenting with photography as a hobby at the age of 19 where I got my first camera which was a totally manual vivitar v3800N SLR film camera. Later I got a Nikon D40 digital SLR.

I have been passionate about it ever since. I am now 25 and mainly focus on wildlife and landscape photography.

Due to my condition I have “Sensory sensitivity” so I see the world around me differently than others, I hope that my pictures reflect how a person with autism see’s the world around them.

Now I want to turn my hobby into a profession I’d love to be a professional photographer.

I recently posted a video about wanting to be a professional photographer on you tube and I’ve had a lot of response from it so far. Here it is…

As part of the “Get a Life” program, the Emory Autism Resource Center (EARC) pairs adults with autism with volunteers from the community matched by age and interest.  The volunteers, many of whom are Emory students, commit to spending at least 2 hours a week for a minimum of six months with their participant playing sports, watching movies, volunteering with a community organization or just hanging out.

To read more about Andrew, the “Get a Life” program, and other Adult Community Assistance programs sponsored by the center, click here: Emory Autism Resource Center.

The mother of a teenage son with autism, it was while documentary producer JJ Hanley was  working on “Refrigerator Mothers”, an award-winner about mothers of children with autism, that she became aware of the difficulties and barriers people with disabilities face upon completion of high school.  Concerned about the longterm economic and social futures of all people with disabilities, Hanley started JJ’s List.

The site rates how well businesses in the Chicago area accomodate consumers with disabilities by offering a chance for consumers, or their families, to write reviews about their experiences. The user-generated platform also allows business to communicate directly with patrons.

JJ’s List is a volunteer-driven organization funded by donors. Hanley hopes to raise enough to create a national service eventually.

To go to JJ’s List, click here. To read more about the program, click here and here for the original articles.

When I was born, not only was I born with a talented gift of drawing, I was born with autism and I am a slow learner at things. I like playing video games, surf around on YouTube, and spend time with family and friends. I don’t play video games as much because I like to stick with my artwork.
About The Book

An amusing pack of comic strips, Dustin and his dog, Darling, will bring us flashes of laughter and fun as they introduce more exciting and lovable characters that would surely amuse us with their unique characteristics.

Let us meet some of them now like Speed Phreak, the speedy superhero who can run as fast as the speed of sound. He has an evil twin brother, Evil Phreak, who will later escape from cartoon world to the real world. Will he be sent back to his sketchbook world?

Whenever there is a crime, Speed Phreak magically comes out of a sketchbook and saves the day. But he is not the only superhero in this comic book, you will also come to get to know a pirate, a biker, a secret agent, and a sniper. These four other heroes will help Speed Phreak in his battles against the villains. These characters can come out of the sketchbook whenever they want.

But, how did the speedy superhero get his name Speed Phreak? It was when he saved the day for the first time. The people in the town of Marietta, Ohio were stunned by his super-fast speed and fighting moves. What will happen after the crimes are over? Where will they go?

Dustin & Darling are definitely cool, fun and witty and they are inviting us to join Speed Phreak, S.A.M., Mystery Rider, “Dinghy” the Pirate, and the Marietta Sniper as they fight crime, evil and save Marietta from Evil Phreak and his men.

http://www.dustinanddarling.com/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441512535/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

I’m asking for help in reaching my goal of selling 2000 books. Please help.

Mostly they provide advice and continuing education to counselors and service providers at agencies in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, but thanks to a new guide designed to help disability service providers do a better job and to Autism Works, an upcoming national conference on autism & employment, the rest of the country is now able to benefit from their studies.

Adult Autism & Employment: A guide for vocational rehabilitation professionals, written by MU School of Health Professions clinical associate professor Scott Standifer, suggests how to accommodate  adults on the autism spectrum during employment services and in the workplace.

“Until now, there hasn’t been a resource available to employment service providers that is specific to autism and provides recommendations to help with the features of this growing population,” Standifer says. “This guide provides specific advice on a variety of employment issues for adults with ASD and, ultimately, helps the counselors find jobs for their clients.”

Autism Works will be Thursday & Friday, March 3 & 4, 2011, at the Sheraton Westport Hotel in St. Louis, MO.  The conference will bring together the disability employment services community (vocational rehabilitation) and autism community to learn from each other and improve employment options for adults with autism. Topics will include: understanding the vocational rehabilitation (VR) process, what VR counselors need to know about autism, job development and work-place supports, funding possibilities for employment supports, and insights from working youth with autism.

Besides bridging the gap between vocational rehabilitation,  one of the goals of the conference is to bring new voices into the discussion. Speakers will include Dan Tedesco, father of a child with autism and software developer who is busy building autism-specific iPhone applications; Joan Kester who provides technical assistance for voc rehab agencies and who is busy working on her dissertation on building communities of practice at George Washington University; Paul Andrew, who works for an agency that certifies disability employment service providers internationally, to assure they are doing person-centered, professional work; and Zosia Zaks via video link, a trained vocational rehabilitation counselor who has autism. As Standifer says, “She embodies the very connection we are trying to make with this conference.”

For more information on the Autism Works conference, go here: http://dps.missouri.edu/Autism/Announcement01.html