BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new book, "Intimate Relationships and Sexual Health," provides readers with an "all you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask/teach" curriculum on sexuality tailored to the unique characteristics of high-functioning adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum.

This comprehensive and extensively researched curriculum (with a companion CD), written by Indiana University Bloomington co-authors Catherine Davies and Melissa Dubie, provides 11 detailed lessons covering the complex topics of sex education and relationships. Subject matter includes fact-based content such as anatomy and reproduction along with lessons that teach aspects of social judgment such as dating, relationship building and decision making.

Read more: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/20532.html

Jane Thierfeld Brown, the co-director of Higher Education and Autism Spectrum Disorders, Inc at College Autism Spectrum said that time-management doesn’t come easy to most autistic college students.

“We have to help those students impose a structure on themselves,” she said.

There are currently programs in place at colleges and universities across the country to help autistic students adjust to both the academic and social spheres at college.

Read more: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/ccp/autistic-college-students-navigate-the-hidden-curriculum

Well-known animal-sciences professor Temple Grandin, who has autism, called for more hands-on learning and less emphasis on socialization skills in schools in a speech at a Colorado community college. Grandin said intervention and a focus on hands-on learning helped her. "I was making things all the time as a child," she said. "Things I got fixated on, I got motivated on. Teachers need to harness that fixation." Tribune (Greeley, Colo.), The (2/7)

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20110207/NEWS/702079978&parentprofile=search

The Centre for Autism, Middletown (Ireland and Northern Ireland), provides user-friendly information for parents and professionals. Among its many resources, the site features bulletins on transition, educational assessment, and managing anxiety in the classroom. Bulletins provide summaries of relevant peer-reviewed articles structured to provide teachers with easy access to the key points from the research as well as implications for practice to consider integrating into their daily work.

Each bulletin features AAPC authors: Diane Adreon (transition); Ruth Aspy, Barry G. Grossman, Shawn A. Henry, and Brenda Smith Myles (educational assessment); and Brenda Smith Myles and Scott Bellini (anxiety).

The bulletins may be viewed at: http://www.middletownautism/com.

In the film, Wretches & Jabberers, two nonverbal men with autism embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence. Determined to put a new face on autism, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland where they issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future.

http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org

The IDEA Partnership, dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities by joining state agencies and stakeholders through shared work and learning, has developed a series of free materials on autism spectrum disorders. Included in these materials are PowerPoint slides with presenter notes, facts sheets, vocabulary, resources, etc ... Materials address (a) characteristics, (b) interventions and supports, (c) assessment for eligibility, and d) assessment for program planning. Materials on social emotional learning and functional behavior assessment are under development. These materials feature many AAPC resources, including Judy Endow's compelling DVD, The Power of Words.

http://www.ideapartnership.org

The Ohio Center for Autism developed the Autism Internet Modules to make comprehensive, up-to-date, and usable information on autism accessible and applicable to educators, other professionals, and families who support individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Written by experts from across the U.S., all online modules are free, and are designed to promote understanding of, respect for, and equality of persons with ASD.

http://www.autisminternetmodules.org/

iTunes offers more than 175 iPod and iPad apps on autism spectrum disorders, including Autism: Advice for Parents, the M-CHAT (for screening), and AAPC's award-winning Hidden Curriculum apps.

Author of AAPC's Developing Talents and university professor Temple Grandin, who has autism, discussed the importance of early intervention for children with autism during a speech in Pasadena, Calif. "You gotta start working with them, don't wait," said Grandin, whose life was featured in an award-winning HBO movie.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_17221425