Blog Stories

Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA), a group of autism advocacy organizations and service providers focused on addressing the need for effective services for adults with autism, held a national Town Hall meeting at 16 different sites throughout the United States on November 13 with the goal of developing a national policy agenda. The YAI Network co-sponsored the Town Hall meeting held in Newark, New Jersey. The National Town Hall took place at the University of Illinois at Chicago,...

Our 2010 International Conference will take place on April 26-29, 2010 at a fantastic new venue, The Hilton New York! The conference will have a new format, featuring more extended sessions and full-day workshops from some of the most prominent experts in the field of autism spectrum disorders. Among the world-class presenters are: • Carol Gray, Director of The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding, on social skills development • Dr. Vincent Carbone, Director of the Carbone Clinic,...

Asher is a 15-year-old with Asperger's syndrome. Like most teenagers, he wants to make friends at school. “I live a pretty normal life. I like music, art and museums, just like everyone else. But sometimes people tease me because I have a disability and that makes it hard,” Asher says. Determined to get advice from a trusted professional who could understand what he was going through, Asher, accompanied by his mother, Raizel, recently attended YAI's Full-Day Conference on Autism with Dr. Tony...

On November 5, around 1000 people with disabilities, family members, staff and other concerned citizens, including 200 representatives from YAI, joined together to protest Governor Paterson’s proposed 10 percent cut to services for people with developmental disabilities. The rally was held at 250 Broadway, where Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s New York City office is located. The huge turnout, organized in a very short amount of time by the InterAgency Council of MR and Developmental...

New York City Council Renews Autism Initiative YAI was one of 25 agencies that received the New York City Council’s Autism Initiative grant to help defray costs associated with outreach efforts, conferences and training to educate and empower families. It took parents, children, teachers and autism service providers advocating together on the steps of City Hall in support of the City Council to help make this happen. Become a Friend of YAI and learn more about how you can get more involved and...

Dedicated and effectively trained staff are vital for providing the highest quality of services to people with disabilities. To ensure that staff receive state-of-the-art instruction, YAI’s Education and Training Department produces award-winning DVDs, CD-ROMs, manuals and digital materials on a range of topics for direct staff, managers, families and people with disabilities. Thanks to the YAI Training Store , numerous organizations and agencies in various settings including residential, day...

Ismael Nunez is a contributor to YAI's newsletters and blogs. He attends YAI/NIPD’s Employment Initiatives program. As an person with a developmental disability, I have always been sensitive to the language used to refer to people with disabilities. Back in June, I joined the Self-Advocacy Association at YAI. At one of the first meetings, there was a discussion about the R-word and how we feel about it. Not one person in the room had anything positive to say about it. “The word is hurtful, and...

By David M. Kaufman, M.D., FAAP Medical Director, Premier HealthCare For centuries, seizures were one of the most mysterious and misunderstood medical conditions. Even today, some societies mistakenly view seizures as embarrassing or contagious. But it turns out that seizures are actually a lot like a fever. As a pediatric neurologist, I see many children with seizure disorders. I tell my patients and their families that, like a fever, a seizure is a symptom of an underlying condition. A fever...

Andrew Lindenberg is only 16 years old, but he has already learned to appreciate the joy of helping others. Andrew, whose uncle Danny lives in a YAI/NIPD residence, and whose father Lewis became a YAI/NIPD board member last year, enjoys raising money for the Central Park Challenge through family and friends. “It’s great spending time with my Uncle Danny,” Andrew said. “He takes me to museums and other places.” In honor of his bar mitzvah three years ago, Andrew organized a bike-a-thon with...