For those families living anywhere on the east coast from Washington DC on up, it is (or was) one heck of a blizzard. For families with kids on the autism spectrum, snow days can be very tough. Not every kid with autism takes kindly to radical changes in schedules - or even to the prospects of sledding or snowballs.

How are you faring in the snow?

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Ari Ne'eman is the founder of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) and a well-known activist on behalf of the rights of individuals on the autism spectrum. He's also a controversial figure because of his views on "neurodiversity" - the perspective that autism is just one of many different ways of thinking, rather than a disability or disease to be cured.

According to its mission statement, ASAN's "...activities include public policy advocacy, community engagement to encourage inclusion and respect for neurodiversity, quality of life oriented research and the development of Autistic cultural activities and other opportunities for Autistic people to engage with others on the spectrum."

This perspective conflicts with those of other autism-related groups such as Autism Speaks, which specifically focus their missions on a search for a cure: "We are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder."

In pursuit of its mission, ASAN has occasionally butted heads with Autism Speaks and many other groups. But today, ASAN's director has received an invitation to represent the cause of autism on a national level: today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Ne'eman to an administration post on the Council on Disability.

By selecting Mr. Ne'eman, the administration has made a statement that may be unpopular within the autism community. Not only has he selected an individual on the autism spectrum (rather than a parent, researcher, or other representative of the autism community), but he has selected and autistic man with very specific views on the issue of autism-related policies.

How do you feel about this appointment? Glad? Frustrated? Angry? Or - ambivalent? Share your views!

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People with autism generally have a tough time with anything involving social communication. But what, precisely, IS social communication? Social rules, social skills and socializing are all grouped under that "social communication" umbrella - but they're not the same thing. And for people with autism, some are far tougher to learn than others.

Social rules are ... rules. Rules are relatively easy to codify, teach and learn - and by learning social rules, people with autism can make their lives much easier and pleasanter. Rules and scripts work beautifully in many ordinary situations: "say thank you when you're given a gift," "tell the waitress what you want," and "say hello when someone greets you" can smooth the road in an incredibly wide variety of settings. Social rules can be taught to most people, through a variety of means ranging from social stories to videos to actual rehearsal.

Social skills are much more complex. Non-verbal social cues can be very subtle (think eye-rolling or slight changes in posture that can mean "I'm not listening," or even "I scorn you"). And there are no hard and fast guidelines for how many questions to ask, how long an answer should be, or whether a particular group of kids is likely to welcome you as a friend. Social skills coaching is a specialized field, and only a few individuals have really managed to develop helpful tools for building subtle, culturally nuanced, age-and-setting-related skills.

Socializing - that is, successfully hanging out with and befriending others - is theoretically the outcome of developing solid social skills. In fact, however, socializing requires not only skills but also a desire to socialize. Not every person with autism WANTS to socialize in a typical manner - in large groups, with lots of noise, food and drink. Often, individuals with autism prefer a combination of solitude, one on one interactions, and family-only events.

In the long run, learning social rules is critical. Building social skills is tremendously helpful - though the process is extraordinarily difficult. But socializing is a matter of personal choice. And much though Mom or Dad may want to see their child with autism attend the Prom with a fabulous date and a terrific outfit, it's important to keep in mind that even the Prom isn' everyone's cup of tea.

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According to a new study, people with autism have a tough time building a vision of both themselves and of others. This difficulty can actually be visualized through brain scans which show that the autistic brain really does process such information differently. Says the NewScientist blog:

In a study published yesterday in the journal Brain, Michael Lombardo at the University of Cambridge reports scanning the brains of 66 males - half with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), half developmentally normal - while they thought and made judgements about themselves and, separately, Queen Elizabeth.

For the non-autistic subjects, two brain areas linked to self-reflection proved more active when they thought about themselves, compared with thinking about the queen.

Not so for those with ASD. One region, the ventralmedial prefrontal cortex, tended to respond similarly to regal and personal judgements, while the second region, the middle cingulate cortex, proved more active when ASD patients thought about the queen.

This finding adds to a growing collection of research which shows that the autistic brain looks and acts differently from the typical brain. In the long run, our understanding of the autistic brain may provide us with tools for improving autism education - both for people with ASD's and for "neurotypicals."

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