When Miss Montana, Alexis Wineman, sashays onstage at Saturday's 2013 Miss America Competition, she will be making history as the pageant's first-ever autistic competitor. She isn't alone in bringing awareness to the disorder: She joins the ranks of Daryl Hannah and other celebrities putting a face on Autism.

Miss Montana first AUTISM Contestant Miss America Pageant | Miss Montana Alexis Wineman Youngest

When the "2013 Miss America Competition" airs on ABC this Saturday, Miss Montana Alexis Wineman will be the first autistic competitor in the pageant's history.Wineman was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder and borderline Asperger's syndrome at age 11. She told Time in an interview that her foray into the world of beauty pageants started as a "last-minute way to pay for college." "Around high school graduation, I realized I was the fourth child in my family to go to college, and there was no money left for me," she said. "I asked my mom about different ways to get scholarships, and she mentioned the Miss Montana competition, thinking I’d never go for it. But I did, and I won."

Alexis Wineman has always been different. And her story of succeeding in spite of her differences needs no embellishment.Wineman, 18, is the first Miss America contestant to be diagnosed with autism. According to the National Institutes of Health, autism is a neurodevelopment disorder whose hallmark feature is impaired social interaction.

At work, it's what people CAN do that matters. That's the simple message behind the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), an ODEP-funded outreach effort to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities.

A new federal effort is encouraging young people with disabilities — and those who come into contact with them — to set high expectations. In a public service campaign that launched Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment is highlighting the experiences of seven Americans with varying disabilities who’ve excelled at work, sports and in life because of the support of others.

When Miss Montana Alexis Wineman puts on her evening gown and walks onto the Miss America competition stage on Saturday, she'll do so not just as this year's youngest contestant (she's 18), but also as its first-ever contestant with autism. Diagnosed at 11, Wineman says she has "very mild symptoms," including melting down in stressful situations, occasional difficulty communicating and taking things literally. But she says these things are now a part of who she is and hopes her pageant appearance will help raise awareness for others coping with autism. [Source]

Look for Alexis Wineman when she struts her stuff Saturday night in Las Vegas for the2013 Miss America Competition(ABC, 9 p.m.), because she'll be making history.

When Alexis Wineman, 18, takes the stage at the 2013 Miss America pageant this Saturday in Las Vegas, the reigning Miss Montana will become the first autistic contestant to compete for the crown. Diagnosed at the age of 11, Wineman’s platform is to raise awareness about the developmental disorder.

Raleigh County Schools Special Education Department is receiving national attention for its work providing new teachers with resources and mentorship. Special Education Programs Director Cindy Corley-Hicks explained that recruiting and retaining special education teachers is a problem nationwide because of the challenging aspects of the job, including feelings of isolation, legal liability and copious amounts of paperwork. In an effort to remedy this constant turnover, Raleigh County has partnered with the Department of Education and the federally funded National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP) to develop the New Teacher Induction and Support Project.

Freeland High School plans a new class this semester to provide peer support to students with autism. The pilot LINK course, inspired by Freeland Elementary School’s successful Peers Actively Learning Social Skills program, will include three students and their peer “links” who receive class credit for participation, Special Education Supervisor Erin Senkowski said. if(typeof oTNCMS_Ad.setRelative == 'function'){ oTNCMS_Ad.setRelative(); } oTNCMS_Ad.show(); “This came to be at the high school because we have a very good program at the elementary and as students moved up (we needed to continue),” Senkowski said. “We find kids learn social skills best from their peers.”

Jennifer MacDonald-Peltier shows us what she likes and does not like about some of the more creative AAC apps such as EZSpeech, TalkRocket, TalkforMe, Expressionist, Locabulary, Fat Cat Pirate Chat, and Fuctional Communication System Lite. (The recording starts a bit abruptly with EZSpeech.) A handout with products, prices, and links is at http://atcoalition.org/files/Unusual Apps.pdf.

Jennifer MacDonald-Peltier shows us what she likes and does not like about some of the more creative AAC apps such as EZSpeech, TalkRocket, TalkforMe, Expressionist, Locabulary, Fat Cat Pirate Chat, and Fuctional Communication System Lite. (The recording starts a bit abruptly with EZSpeech.) A handout with products, prices, and links is at http://atcoalition.org/files/Unusual Apps.pdf. Category Education License Standard YouTube License

Friends of Quinn is an online community that offers resources and support for young adults with learning differences, as well as for the people who love them. Founded by Quinn Bradlee, filmmaker and author of A Different Life, a book about growing up with LDs, our mission is to connect the LD world.

Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg recently admitted to having dyslexia -- the first time he has publicly talked about it. "It was the last puzzle part in a tremendous mystery that I've kept to myself all these years," says the director in an interview on friendsofquinn.com. Diagnosed five years ago, Spielberg learned to read two years later than his classmates, who bullied him so much that he dreaded going to school.

Whether or not a child with developmental delays qualifies for early intervention varies dramatically from one state to the next, but often researchers say far more kids are eligible than can be served. The finding comes from a new study analyzing early intervention services across the nation. Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine examined each state’s eligibility requirements for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, Part C program, which serves infants and toddlers with disabilities. Then they used data from a long-term government study tracking nearly 11,000 children to identify how many kids were likely to qualify or receive services in each state.

“Growing up, I never was really interested in pageants. I thought it would be something I was never able to do,” said the 18-year-old from Cut Bank, Mont. “But by the time I graduated, I kind of realized I’d done a lot of things I’d never thought I could do.”

She has plans to be an art therapist, and says winning the Miss America pageant would give her the opportunity to bring autism awareness to the national stage. "We cannot cure what is not a sickness," says Miss Montana. "But we can begin to understand autism, and help those with the condition to unlock the potential that lies within all of us."

There are many programs for kids with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). An expert panel recently created some best practice guidelines for these programs. The experts agreed that programs should cover all the core problem areas for kids with ASD, like language, social skills and behavior. They also suggested programs should start soon after diagnosis, involve family members and have an intensive weekly schedule.

Welcome to the most complete website designed to help people with disabilities, seniors and their families to find a cell phone and service! CTIA-The Wireless Association® and the wireless industry created AccessWireless.org to be your “first stop” to learn about the ever-changing world of cell phones and wireless services, and discover those that meet your specific needs.

Their study, known as the Autism Genome Project (AGP), was conducted in two stages. The first stage of consisted of a genome-wide association study using genetic data from 1400 families affected by autism; the second stage checked the associations discovered in the first stage using the genetic data from an additional 1301 ASD-affected families and included another new genome-wide association study which combined the study subjects from both stages. When all the analyses were said and done, no SNPs (common genetic variations) were significantly associated with ASD. Furthermore, when some of the SNPs that had been identified in the first study as possibly associated with ASD were tested in the second-stage families, the associations failed to hold up.  This lack of common SNPs associated with ASD is both disappointing and enlightening. Knowledge of what is not true, paradoxically, is knowledge of what is true.  For instance, if I tell you that my pet Tyger is not a dog, you are one step closer to knowing Tyger’s a cat.  Most of science progresses through “not trues” — the failed hypotheses that bring us closer to real understanding. A perfect example of this mode of scientific progress is this recent genetic study.  Their lack of findings was quite a finding.