Robert MacNeil, a former anchor, returns to PBS this week for a six-part special series of reports about autism.

His Autism Now series will look at how autism ‘impacts families, schools, and communities.’ Since both he and the producer of the show have family members with autism, his 6-year-old grandson and the producer’s 16-year-old son, it is likely that Autism Now will provide us all with a unique perspective on autism.

The first part of the series introduces us to his grandson Nick and we get to see how autism affects their whole family, including his sister, who like many siblings of a child with a chronic illness, feels a little left out sometimes.

It seems like a powerful and provocative series that really delves into autism, we shall see what happens as the show progresses…

For more information click here–>http://pediatrics.about.com/b/2011/04/17/autism-now-on-pbs-newshour.htm

I found a nice article of another person making a point to help autism:

“Anthony Parascondola, a high school senior, was among those recently honored for his support, volunteering and fundraising efforts for Autism Speaks, and especially for his dedication to the children with autism whom he coaches on the ice-hockey team the New Jersey Dare Devils.

Luminaries from the hockey world, such as Rod Gilbert and Bobby Nystrom, attended Face-off for a Cure, a dinner gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan co-hosted by the National Hockey League, Autism Speaks — an organization that raises money to fight autism — and the Gillen Brewer School. Parascondola was recognized during the reception.”

For the rest of the story from www.mycentraljersey.com

The link is here for the rest of the story–>http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110414/NJNEWS/104140359/Piscataway-hockey-player-s-big-assist-is-helping-kids-with-autism

Please see a nice article from OK magazine with regards to James Durbin and his performance on American Idol 2011

Last night there seemed to be two themes on American Idol — choosing songs from the cinema and disregarding advice from Idol mentor/music producer powerhouse Jimmy Iovine. Rocker James Durbin did just that, as he was determined to bring authentic heavy metal to the Idol stage, even after Jimmy told him to change his song.

for more information please click here–>http://www.okmagazine.com/2011/04/watch-james-durbin-bring-heavy-metal-to-american-idol/

I agree that in James Durbin’s case the heavy metal performance was quite excellent. I do not know about Casey’s performance however, he is talented but he in this case the song choice could have been better.

Please check out James Durbin’s American Idol Performance 4/13/2011, he did a great job.
I feel that all of this years Idol’s are performing well. I did not like the fact that Pia was sent home, she was very good as well.

I do not know if it offers any special needs applications, yet, but I it seem like a nice, feature rich device with excellent features.

WEST CHESTER – When Tammy Andersson launched her web-based business, Got-Autism.com, she had a personal mission as well as a professional one.

Her son, Lucas, 13, had been diagnosed five years earlier with Asperger’s Disorder, a developmental disability that’s a form of autism. Having experience with the disorder, Andersson knew the difficulties of finding educational tools to help her son – and her family – cope with his challenges.

For more information click here–>http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110410/BIZ01/304100005/1071/SPT04/Executive-takes-autism?odyssey=nav|head

We are filing our non-profit paperwork this week, and are on our way to help with autism support.

According to the United States of Autism, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1159849552/united-states-of-autism-movie-post-production

They need support in their post production costs, so take a look at their movie trailer and their site.

About this project

We are excited to take the next step in our film release for the United States of Autism. Already winners of the Pepsi Refresh Project, we were able to travel 11,000 miles in 40 days around America filming families and individuals affected by autism. We have been able to generate a huge amount of interest in the film and we are looking forward to getting our message out there to the American people and abroad.

Currently, we are in need of funding to cover some of our post production expenses. As you can see from our trailer, we have many skilled individuals willing to give a lot of their time and effort to this project. However, we still need to travel the country to talk to the news media, hand out media kits, bring in and compensate animators, colorists, artists and editors to finish the film, and put together submission fees for our festival tour.

We really believe a movie like this can transcend the autism community. It is as much a story about America as it is about autism, and a lot of people have already expressed interest in moving it forward. We are already done filming and could almost finish the movie. However, we are here to make a great movie for the people of America about our families, friends, and individuals affected by autism.

This is why we’re putting together a kickstarter campaign to finish our project.

Here is the video trailer—>

I found an interesting article that talks about the brains of autistic people and how we process things differently. It totally makes sense, and from my perspective mine are definitely different.

Canadian-led research into the brain activity of autistic people could explain why they often have enhanced perceptive skills compared to the rest of the population.

Those behind the research say it highlights fundamental brain differences in those with autism and provides another reason to see autistics not as inferior, but simply as different.

A research team, consisting of individuals from the University of Montreal and Massachusetts General Hospital, conducted an analysis of more than two dozen studies done between 1995 and 2009.

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/health/Autistic+brain+processing+differs/4572921/story.html#ixzz1IsxasfbE

For the rest of the story–>http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Autistic%20brain%20processing%20differs/4572921/story.html