April Spotlight: Celebrating Autism Acceptance
We know there are learners of all kinds—and at Presence, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with and learn from many students with unique needs and learning styles. That’s why throughout April, we are proud to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month. This month is a time to not only understand and accept neurological […]
3 Signs That Your Child’s Speech or Language Delay Could Be Autism
Is Delayed Speech a Sign of Autism? Early intervention with online speech therapy can be key to helping any child with a speech or language delay, regardless of the child’s diagnosis. Clinical research has consistently indicated that early intervention is essential to helping a child catch up to peers and become capable of better self-expression. […]
Reversing the 3 Lifelong Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences
The Study that Shook the World of Mental Health A pivotal study conducted at Kaiser Permanente between 1995 and 1997 under the direction of Dr. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda shook the world of Mental Health. That study, in which more than 17,000 people answered questions about their adverse childhood experiences, came to be […]
5 Ways to Help a Child Navigate The Intersection of Autism & Bullying
In a 2018 review of studies, Daniel Hoover, a child and adolescent psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and a colleague found that 40 to 90 percent of children with autism are bullied, compared with 10 to 40 percent of typical children. Why are Autistic Kids More Vulnerable to Bullying? “There’s a […]
The Einstein Syndrome: Sometimes Language Delay Isn’t What you Think
The Concern Surrounding Language Delay Most parents are concerned when their children don’t reach critical developmental milestones concurrently with their peers. But if there’s one milestone in particular that makes parents nervous when it isn’t reached, it’s learning to speak. Delays in speech can range in severity from not talking at all to finding it difficult to pronounce certain […]
ABA Therapy for Autism: Why is it so Popular and Controversial?
What is ABA Therapy? Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA as it is commonly known, is considered by most as the “gold standard” for treating autism. It is a system based on behaviorist theories. Simply put, the presumption is that desired behaviors can be imparted to the child by way of a system of rewards and […]
Dr. Barry Prizant in Conversation with Clay Whitehead
Our fifth and final Special Agents of Change webinar “Uniquely Human: A Different Way to See Autism and Create Pathways to Success” with one of the world’s leading authorities on autism, Dr. Barry Prizant, covered a new perspective and approach to understanding and treating students with autism. After the webinar, our co-founder and co-CEO Clay […]
From boredom to a newfound passion: Creating a Flexroom for Students on the Autism Spectrum
The teachers in Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Decatur Township were concerned about a select group of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These students were struggling to be successful in the general education classrooms and needed specific programming and strategies to increase their skills and success. In 2010, Ben Moore, a special education teacher, […]