Autism.org.uk Reviews
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Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Charity, Information, Support, UK
The National Autistic Society (NAS) is the leading UK charity for people with Autism and Asperger syndrome.
The website, http://www.autism.org.uk covers definition, diagnosis, explanations, therapies, support strategies and resources, etc.
There are sections aimed at adults with autism, parents, relatives and carers, and information for professional health carers.
While details on available support services are specific to the UK, the more general information is relevant to anyone, anywhere in the world that is working in this area on a personal or professional basis.
The website is well laid out and is easy to navigate. A lot of other charities could benefit from looking at the structure of this website.
Four stars.
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K D. Also, an interesting Guardian article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2011/mar/09/autistic-teens-can-blossom-with-support
T N. it's always interesting to me to see how autism is treated differently in europe vs. the U.S. - everything from language to treatment. the website doesn't mention the intervention DIR /Floortime, a relationship-based treatment for individuals with autism. our work at my school is based in that - it was developed not shortly after applied behavioral analysis and the two schools of thought are at odds quite often. ABA targets specific behaviors while DIR/Floortime works through relationships to advance children through emotional levels of development. however, since DIR/Floortime is difficult to research (isolating pieces of the intervention is nearly impossible), it hardly receives the attention / promotion it needs. it's only when parents do their own investigatory work that they find out that DIR/Floortime is the thing that helps children with autism to become whole individuals rather than automatons (but don't tell the ABA people I said that).
K D. It sounds like a PhD opportunity - comparing approaches and effectiveness - no doubt someone has done it already?
T N. there was a recent article in the journal Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), but it was more of a review rather than a comparison. the foundation of Floortime/DIR is based in a lot of well-researched work, yet organizations and schools are still hesitant to endorse a product which hasn't directly been proven effective (even though we know that scientific research isn't all it's cut out to be -- when something is too hard to measure, let's not measure it at all). in the U.S. at least now, we have schools that use Floortime as the primary intervention, including my own. our children are happy, reflective, independent, flexible and sensitive to those around them (the list goes on) - isn't that enough proof? (insert smiley face)