In a session originally recorded for our 2024 Neurodiversity Conference: Adults Across the Autism Spectrum, yet never before released to the general public, this  ⁨@USAutism⁩  Feature Video covers a topic that is especially relevant in today's world for individuals of all ages across the autism spectrum. Having seen over 20,000 patients in his years of Biomedical Practice, Dr. Phillip C. Demio, advisory board member for US Autism discusses autism from the perspective of its all-to-often, co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions. While this session is not in any way intended to serve as medical advice, the topics covered in this session can serve as a good starting place for individuals and family members of those who are affected to initiate conversations with their doctors and/or mental health practitioners whenever mind-body wellness isn't what it should be.

Join us in watching Dr. Marlo Thurman, US Autism President, speak with Advisory Board Member Dr. Robin Brewer on the topic of preparing teens with more significant support needs for their transition from high school to adult life. Using an approach that begins with person-centered planning, Dr. Brewer shares her wealth of expertise on the importance of recognizing individual strengths, interests, and needs to drive services, supports, and transition plans for all individuals, irrespective of their degree of impairment. Designed for those within Special Education programs, the topic of Person-Centered Planning should apply to all individuals across the broad autism spectrum.

In an @USAutism Feature Video, Raun K. Kaufman shares with US Autism President Dr. Marlo Payne Thurman some of the most surprising triggers for the extreme behaviors, melt-downs, and what Raun refers to as "neuro-crashes" in individuals across the autism spectrum. As a child, Raun was diagnosed with severe autism. In this interview Raun brings to this topic both his expertise as a world-renowned leader in the field of autism, and his own deeply personal experience as an autistic self-advocate.

In this week's  @USAutism  Feature Video, Yasmine White, our newest US Autism Board of Directors Member offers a deep dive into the topic of using music therapy to enhance language and communication, self-efficacy, and ultimately to improve the quality-of-life for individuals across the autism spectrum. In a very in-depth discussion about the ways that music therapy can be used to address treatment goals, this session gives viewers a new way to think about music as a " neural connector" in the brains of those who may be "wired differently." For more information about his topic and others, please visit us at: www.usautism.org. For additional details about the work of Yasmine White please see her website at: https://voicestogether.org/

In a very personal @US Autism Featured interview, Ron Sandison shares details about his journey with autism and mental health. In this interview Ron offers insight into how he personally overcame his own mental health challenges which then allowed him to build a career in the mental health field, marry and have a family, and create a national platform where he has been able to share his story.

In this @US Autism Featured Interview, Dr. Rebecca Knowles shares her deep understanding about the nervous system to give viewers insight into the ways that bottom-up therapies, including listening therapy, occupational therapy, and breath awareness training, can give those who are prone to meltdown increased ability to understand and control their responses.

Drawn from our Approaches to Autism Series with Advisory Board Members Rob Bernstein and Dr. Stephen Shore as co-hosts, this  @USAutism  Featured Video explores the intervention of Occupational Therapy for both children and adults across the autism with one of the world's leading experts on the subject, Dr. Winnie Dunn. Addressing both sensory differences as well as some of the challenges with gross and fine skills that are common for many autistic individuals, Dr. Dunn gives practical advice to anyone wanting to explore the principled of this intervention method for real-world application.

In this week's @USAutism Featured Video Dr. Patrick Rydell shares his life work on relationship-based therapy to help children diagnosed with autism do more than simply learn one isolated skill after another in a never-ending series. In Dr. Rydell's model, children are taught how to recognize and use "social glue" to decrease anxiety, build confidence, and learn how to think and learn independently through their positive interactions and relationships with others. As one of the world's leading experts on relationship development in autism and its effects on learning, Dr. Rydell's deep insight gives us much to consider about how we all learn best and how we can then use this information to improve learning for children across the spectrum.

Fierce Love and Art with the Film’s Creator Dr. Laurence A. Becker and Cinematographer Ron Zimmerman

Love is in the Air! In this @USAutism Feature Video we are pleased to share a discussion recorded in 2022 with the late Dr. Laurence A. Becker and his friend, world renowned cinematographer Ron Zimmerman as they discuss their film Fierce Love and Art. Their story details how Dr. Becker became inspired by several autistic savants who, with the support and "fierce love" of dedicated parents, accomplished truly amazing things.The video highlights how Dr. Becker found and recruited Zimmerman and shares some of the original artistic works featured in the film. We chose to share this film during this season of love with our appreciation and tribute to the amazing life and work of Dr. Laurence A. Becker.