I recently had the opportunity to see a feature on 20/20 with regards to Stephen Wiltshire. Since I am asperger’s, and love art and music, and have a nonprofit to improve the quality of life for autistic people via the arts, music and tech, I loved the piece. I researched for more videos and information about him. According a bit of information on his website, he did not talk until he was 3 and became an artist at a young age.

I really like the following videos, especially the music and his art they appeal to my fellow autistic mind. I would love to meet Stephen see his art up close. If anyone wants to sponsor a trip to meet him for my Family and I let me know. I will continue to post anything that I can that relates to him.

People like Stephen are an inspiration to me and are part of why I started my nonprofit he is gifted at arts and music.

Here are some videos from Youtube with regards to Stephen’s amazing Skills.

He also helps with autism awareness. Some of us have autism for a reason to make a difference in the world.

People like Stephen bring a special light to the world, we also intend to bring light to our world, hopefully by allowing future Stephens to get a chance to reveal their special talents as well.

Here is the link to an amazing slide show with regards to Stephen as well–>
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/slideshow/extraordinary-artist-sees-cities-draws-detailed-panoramas-14084129

So far I ma impressed by the Toshiba Thrive. It has a nice selection of ports and it accepts an sd card.

This isn’t the first time Toshiba has showed up fashionably late to a party. Back in 2009, long after most every other consumer electronics maker big and small had jumped on the netbook bandwagon, the company belatedly released its first mini, the NB205. And it was fantastic. So we were optimistic when the outfit finally got around to releasing the Thrive, its first Android tablet for the US market. Surely, we thought, it’s learned a thing or two from everybody else’s mistakes.

And in that regard, at least, this 10-inch tablet doesn’t disappoint. It has full-sized USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a removable battery — all features you’d sooner find on a laptop. It comes with a raft of practical apps already installed, so that you don’t have to go hunting for them in Android Market. It’s one of the first out of the gate with Android 3.1, an undeniably improved version of Honeycomb. Oh, and it starts at $429, undercutting many of its competitors. Right there, in less than a paragraph, we’ve laid out why you might want this over any of the other umpteen tabs crowding the market. But should you get one? Well, folks, we’ll need more than a paragraph to tackle that. Join us after the break, won’t you?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/22/toshiba-thrive-review/

Toshiba Thrive–>A nice tablet worth considering!!!!

I would like to thank Jeff Civilicco for meeting for lunch with me today. He is a talented performer and has a nonprofit to help provide free entertainment for other nonprofits. We plan on working with them in the future once we have full 501c3 status.

Here is a link to their website–>http://www.jeffcivillico.com/

to follow them in Twitter–>http://twitter.com/jeffcivillico

Many typical children create imaginary friends, but what about kids on the autism spectrum? Do teens with Asperger’s have imaginary friends, or psychosis?
Invisible companions and playmates are common among preschool children. In fact, according to a study published by Marjorie Taylor and colleagues in Developmental Psychology, 65% of the young children they looked at had created friends at some point in their lives. While most children invent these characters to deal with a major life change, acquire a new skill, work through a problem, or overcome a fear, the need for them tends to disappear once the child enters school and enlarges his or her circle of real friends.

While typical kids use make-believe to cope with the stresses and anxieties of life, most children with special needs don’t have that option. However, the autism spectrum comes in different combinations of symptoms and some children and teens, especially those with Asperger’s Syndrome or high-functioning autism, do possess the capability to invent relatives, peers, and animals – someone they can relate too.

Since social interaction often remains limited throughout life, many in their late teens still use imaginary friends. But is this something to worry about? Are persistent, invisible companions and animals a creative way for a teen to deal with their problems? Or is it a sign that he or she has crossed over the line into delusion?

Read more at Suite101: Imaginary Friends: Can Autistic Kids and Teens Create Them? | Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/content/imaginary-friends-can-autistic-kids-and-teens-create-them-a379107#ixzz1SbNsmodK

Parents are learning about these apps by word of mouth and autism blogs, as well as from therapists, teachers and programs run by nonprofits like Santa Clara-based Via Services. Apple has also featured the apps in its iTunes store and some promotional materials. Apple CEO Steve Jobs told an interviewer last year that he hadn’t foreseen the appeal of Apple’s devices for the autism community, but he was pleased to hear that people found them beneficial. There are apps available, for example, to help children learn to spell by tracing letters with their fingertip. Others help sound out words. Another category lets parents use pictures to help a child understand tasks and schedules — such as getting dressed before eating breakfast and then boarding the bus for school. Dozens of apps have been created by independent developers and parents like Conley; others have been adapted by established educational software companies. But while they are thrilled by the proliferation, many advocates for children with autism and related conditions have wish lists for additional programs, such as software to help older children with disabilities, and apps for other devices besides Apple’s. “I think it’s always good to have more options and choices,” said Danielle Samson, a speech pathologist who has demonstrated iPad apps for families of autistic children, in seminars organized by Via Services. She said she’d like to see more apps for other devices and software platforms, including Android and Windows, and apps designed to help children with grammar and social skills. Rosa, a former video game producer who said Apple’s iPad has changed her son’s life, said she would prefer more choices, better quality and lower prices. “Right now it’s kind of a Wild West in terms of app development,” she explained. “A lot of people who have experience with kids with special needs are putting out apps. They have great ideas and great content, but unfortunately they sometimes have clunky designs and clunky interfaces.” The Hewlett-Packard project, called “Hacking Autism,” aims to combine the talents of Silicon Valley programmers with the expertise of groups like Autism Speaks, a national nonprofit that supports research and services for people with autism, said James Taylor, director of HP’s Innovation Program Office. Taylor said HP officials got the idea after learning that special-needs students at Palo Alto’s Hope Technology School were enthusiastic about using educational software on touch-screen computers that HP makes for desktop use. By some estimates, autism affects 1 out of 110 U.S. children and there are indications the rate is increasing; Taylor said many people in the tech community have encountered autism through friends or family members. HP recently launched a website, hackingautism.org, where anyone can submit ideas for touch-screen apps that could help people with autism. Programmers who visit the site can sign up to work on the ideas at a volunteer “hackathon” in October. The ideas will be reviewed and refined by a steering committee of autism experts, and the resulting apps may go through further rounds of improvement before they are released publicly, Taylor said. HP, of course, has an interest in promoting new apps for its own TouchPad tablet, which competes with Apple’s iPad and uses a rival software platform called webOS. But Taylor said the Hacking Autism apps will be made available at no cost, and the project won’t be limited to any tablet or operating system. “Although we love our platforms, what’s important is we get the solutions to families,” he said. Several software-makers have released Android versions of their autism-related apps. But others say they’re reluctant to work with other platforms, since Apple’s iPad was the first and continues to be the most popular model of tablet. Several parents applauded the HP project, including Rosa, who said she’s often frustrated that the iPad doesn’t play videos or animation based on Adobe’s (ADBE) widely used Flash software. Having apps for a variety of devices “will give parents and caregivers more choice to find something they are comfortable with, and have it be in their budget,” added Jeremy Robb, a technology instructor at the University of Utah who blogs about autism and his 6-year-old son, Jonathan. Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey

Please click here for the rest of the story:–>
http://www.theautismnewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx?newsID=633

I came upon this older, but relevant and great article from Time’s online site–>http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1698128,00.html

I have 3 autistic kids, 10, 15, and 15. They argue, they fight, but I think that they love one another and care for each other as well.

Here is a snippet of the time article please click on the link for the rest of the story.

A few months ago, I took my sons to buy shoes. Nate is 14 and autistic. Joey is 8 and “typical.” And I’m the parent — most of the time. Before we got to the store, Joey said to me, “If Nate has a tantrum, I can handle him. You just focus on buying shoes. I’m better at handling tantrums than you. Sometimes you just yell and it makes things worse. No offense.”
None taken. He’s absolutely right.
The “typically developing” siblings of autistic children are, in fact, the furthest thing from typical. Often, they are wiser and more mature than their age would suggest. And they have to be, given the myriad challenges they face: parental responsibility; a feeling of isolation from the rest of their family; confusion, fear, anger and embarrassment about their autistic sibling. And on top of all of it, guilt for having these feelings. (See six tips for traveling with an autistic child.)

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1698128,00.html#ixzz1SKUL3uAf

Here is an interesting chart from an article on a nice website, http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.com/2009/01/differences-between-aspie-and-nt.html

What the NT Gets
Voice
Facial Expression
Verbal Tone
Body Language and Posture
What the person is wearing
Any sufficiently loud or disruptive intrusions

What the Aspie Gets
The Voice
Non-verbals in a single swoop (discussed below)
The books on the bookshelf behind the talker
Other people in the room
The Flashing lights on their hard drive
Traffic outside the office
Nice (Groovy) Patterns on the person’s tie
The Logo on their glasses
Scuff marks on their shoes
The Screen Saver on the PC behind them.

Please take a look at the full article as well above.

If you have autistic kids or nt kids here is a nice song and video to improve your day.

I found this nice video that is very positive, the world needs more positive.Even though I am Jewish, I still think that it has a great message.

Have a great day.

Here is a nice video from a musical special needs program. It is an example of what we want to help provide. We want to give the gift of music, the arts and education to improve the quality of life for people on the autism spectrum.

A nice song about being a Special Needs parent and having special needs kids.

It is awesome, please tell everyone who you know who has special needs kids.