Opening a window to the autistic brain: “A child with autism (three years old) pointing to the fish in an aquarium.” The photo demonstrates a controlled randomized test by Kasari, Stephanny Freeman and Tanya Paparella to determine whether intensive training in sharing attention (in this case, pointing at fish) and pretend playing can lay the groundwork for the acquisition of language skills and subsequent normal development.”
At Advancing Opportunities, we excel in providing residential and respite services to people of with all disabilities, along with advocacy and education services for parents and guardians and assistive technology support. As a leader in the field, we are pleased to share our experience, knowledge, and expertise with the disability community through our social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. In our Disability and Ability Highlights of the Week column, we will select the best of what we found and shared and present them. Please click on the titles with embedded links to find the full article.
Please stop by our website, https://advopps.org/, and find out all we have to offer. In addition, we are specialists in the area of assistive technology and offer a huge array of services; the Assistive Technology Center is New Jersey’s premier source of information and equipment.
Advancing Opportunities job announcement of the week:
We’re hiring!
Advancing Opportunities has immediate openings for part-time Direct-Support Professionals in residential care programs throughout New Jersey. Our next job fair:
- Tuesday, April 25. Marlboro Free Public Library, 1 Library Ct., Marlboro, NJ, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Advancing Opportunities provides supports to individuals with disabilities and their families, so they can live fully in the community.
Our team includes a diverse collection of men and women committed to treating the people and families we serve with dignity and respect and providing the highest quality services and supports.
Employees of the agency enjoy paid training and an excellent array of benefits, including health care and dental benefits for all eligible full-time staff and a 401(k) retirement plan for all eligible employees.
If you are unable to make it to one of the job fair open houses, you can also visit us online, at: https://advopps.org/careers/
Disability in the news (mostly in New Jersey, the population we serve):
The New Jersey DDD Supports Program Policies and Procedures Manual has just been revised and released. Advancing Opportunities is the leading agency in the state for serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For parents of a child with a disability (parenting):
Commentary from the Washington Post – What our children with autism have taught us: Love with abandon, and laugh at yourself .
Here are five tips to help your child with difficult emotions.
Assistive technology:
A brand-new app helps autistic students recognize facial expressions.
Power wheelchairs: one entrepreneur is revolutionizing the market.
“Pushing the limits of assistive technology during the Boston Marathon”: An article in Popular Science
University students make assistive devices for veterans.
College for students with a disability:
The Rutgers Center for Adults with Autism is off to a promising start.
Also in New Jersey this week: The AccessAbility Center at Princeton University is a brand-new effort for the university to accommodate students with disabilities.
Civil rights and accessibility:
Current website design trends may look sleek, but many do not consider the needs of people with various conditions and disabilities.
The new play “All Our Children” evokes the terrible lessons of the Nazis’ Aktion T4 program
Medical news – research:
An enigmatic chemical tag is altered in the brains of children with autism.
Mutations in a gene called TRIP12 — which is involved in tagging proteins for destruction — can lead to intellectual disability, language delay, and autism.
Research shows brain biomarkers help detect signs of autism in infancy.
Western University researchers identify a mechanism that regulates acoustic habituation.
Imbalances in neural pathways may contribute to repetitive behaviors in autism.
