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As autism diagnoses keep increasing, so too do the number of blogs about autism. Self-advocates, parents with autism who have kids with autism, and non-autistic parents all bring their own viewpoints, and all need to be heard. Babble's 2013 Top 30 Autism Blogs brings you voices from a range of viewpoints: some familiar, some fresh. We're excited that this year's picks include several blogs that are new to our list, including Asperkids, Stimeyland, Just a Lil Blog, The Third Glance, and The Domestic Goddess.

This post is part Seven of the Special Needs iPad & App Series. Almost from the day the iPad was launched there was an immediate buzz about the special needs apps that were available in the iPad app store. Apple quickly realized that the iPad was perfectly suited to enhancing the lives of individuals with special needs and created a special education section of the app store. Websites and blogs sprung up dedicated to reviewing apps for Assistive Communication, Social Skills, Life Skills,Scheduling and more. The need for the iPad is an obvious one for children with special needs. But what if you can’t afford one for your child, what do you do?

13 iPad cases for your child with special needs | Friendship Circle -- Special Needs Blog 13 iPad cases for your child with special needs | Friendship Circle -- Special Needs Blog tags: iPad You just invested in a shiny new iPad for you child with special needs. Next, you lay out some more money to purchase a few communication apps, install them and your child is off and running with a $500 piece of equipment. Minutes later  you see the iPad less bounce its way down those beautiful wooden stairs of yours… And then you woke up from your nightmare. You were smart enough to purchase a protective case for the iPad. Your child gets to develop communication and social skills while dad becomes an Angry Birds champion. Make sure you don’t have an iPad nightmare… here are 13 great cases that will protect your iPad investment!

No one wants the words “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “children” to appear in the same sentence. But recent events like the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting are reminders that children as well as adults can be exposed to events that cause this debilitating but highly treatable mental illness. Previous posts in this series explained why I advocate for children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), explored 5 myths and misconceptions about PTSD in children, and defined both trauma and PTSD from a child’s point of view.

Most of my articles were born from my personal experience – sometimes from anger at obstacles that I encountered, sometimes from an “aha” moment, but usually from my excitement about my children’s little achievements.  Friends also started asking me questions that I had to look up, and I often overheard things that I could turn into a blog. So here’s a list of my 15 favorite essays for the Friendship Circle:

This is Part Three of a series of posts that will concentrate on the inherent benefits of play for children with special needs. In this post we focus on how toys and the experience of play help with emotional development. Part Two of the series was related to physical development and the growth of fine motor skills. Part One was devoted to toys and the development of gross motor skills.

With the summer just a month away parents are starting to feel the heat. Kids will be out of school and the challenge of providing a structured and fun summer are weighing heavily on the minds of parents. To make you a little less worried Netbuddy has collected 19 tips from parents of children with special needs on who to get through the summer break.

You just invested in a shiny new iPad for you child with special needs. Next, you lay out some more money to purchase a few communication apps, install them and your child is off and running with a $500 piece of equipment. Minutes later  you see the iPad less bounce its way down those beautiful wooden stairs of yours… And then you woke up from your nightmare. You were smart enough to purchase a protective case for the iPad. Your child gets to develop communication and social skills while dad becomes an Angry Birds champion. Make sure you don’t have an iPad nightmare… here are 13 great cases that will protect your iPad investment!

My children and I just finished reading a new book titled, “My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Martin Luther King III.  It’s a warm, intimate biography that explains a turning point in American history from the perspective of a child.  At the heart of the book are the lessons that Dr. King modeled for us in his lifetime regarding nonviolence, personal excellence, interdependence and justice.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Diagnosing ADHD can be tough and once a diagnosis is discovered, the next steps are crucial. For this reason we have compiled an eight part series on that will provide you with over 100 ADD/ADHD resources in a series of weekly blog posts. This post is part six:

Hi, I am "Mom" to Lauren, who is a 24 year-old young woman with severe, multiple disabilities. Lauren requires care in every aspect of her life. This blog will be a journal of the struggles and joys of providing care for Lauren. Since she self-directs the services she receives and requires my help in order to make that possible, this blog will also point out the issues, promise, and problems inherent in self-direction from the perspective of a primary caregiver. I will provide information and advice to others who care for or about someone with developmental disabilities as well as offer insights into participating in self-direction. Hopefully my efforts will be helpful, enlightening, and thought provoking. And, I hope that you will share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions with me. Someone wise once said, "Life is a journey not a destination." I invite you to share part of my journey with me

I once received an e-mail from a woman, a reader of my blog, wanting to know what sort of advice I could give to her nine-year-old daughter recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. She gave me a very thoughtful suggestion, which was to write a blog entry in the form of a letter to my younger self, which could then also serve as advice for current parents of children with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

In his new book “The Panic Virus,” out today, journalist Seth Mnookin digs into the claims about the link between childhood vaccines and autism — and why people believe them. (Here’s a WSJ review of the book.)

Do you know someone who isn’t sure whether or not to pursue a medical diagnosis for a developmentally delayed son or daughter? According to the Centers for Disease Control, most children with autism are diagnosed after age 4.  Certain other developmental and learning disabilities are usually not diagnosed until a child enters elementary school.  These facts are puzzling, since it is well-established that early intervention leads to better outcomes for children with special needs. But there are many reasons why parents and physicians choose to delay diagnosis, even when a young child is delayed and has difficulty adapting to everyday life:

March 21st marks World Down Syndrome Day on the Special Needs Calendar. World Down Syndrome Day is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The day is is focused on raising awareness for individuals with Down Syndrome. In preperation for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day we gathered together 42 Down Syndrome resources.

Parenting or teaching a child with autism spectrum disorder is both challenging and rewarding. The adults in the lives of children with autism have to organize their home or classroom environment to make it a pleasant place where these kids can thrive. Caregivers have to understand the characteristics of kids on the spectrum and know what the children are trying to communicate by their unexpected or different behaviors.  Knowing all this is a tall order and there is no better place to start than with a good book.

“Just because a person can’t speak doesn’t mean they have nothing to say.” A very important reminder from a parent of a non-verbal child. Communication is a basic human need, allowing people to connect with others, make decisions that affect their lives, express feelings and feel part of the community they live in. People with little or no speech still have the same communication needs as the rest of us.  We may just have to work a bit harder to find a communication strategy that works. The following tips have been contributed to Netbuddy by parents of children and adults with special needs. We hope you will find them useful, and please do share your own!

Whether they’re looking to find practical advice on therapies, filter out misinformation, or just vent about a rough day, many parents of children with autism have found support in the Facebook community. Babble’s trusted panel has once again been tasked with narrowing down this year’s Top 30 Autism Facebook Fan Pages. This list includes pages created by advocacy organizations, autism professionals, bloggers (some of whom also appear on our Top 30 Autism Blogs), and much more. We’re confident you’ll see some of your favorites here (if not, be sure to nominate them in the comments for consideration on next year’s list!), but we also hope you’ll find new sources of information and advice. — Barbara Spindel

Since 2011, the Twitter party with the hashtag #youmightbeanautismparentif has been alive and kicking.  Every comment offers a little snapshot of the inner lives of families who love someone with autism.  At times the conversation is poignant, but in the last few weeks it’s been mostly humorous.  Here are 16 recent highlights from the party that never ends.