Wonderful resource for parents/family members. 

Autism Speaks is an Autism advocacy charity. The website provides detailed information regarding autism spectrum disorders and various toolkits. Parents can find content specific to their child's age, needs and location by creating an account in Autism Speaks "My Autism Guide".

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Advantages: 

• Comprehensive resource

• Personalized support available

Disadvantage:​

• So much information can be overwhelming for parents

   

Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM) is a great online resource for educators working with children on the autism spectrum. It is a very useful website for professional development.

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Advantages:

• Modules and resources are free

• Modules for 27 EBPs are available

Disadvantage:

• With so many modules an educator with no prior knowledge of various EBPs will have difficulty in deciding where to start.

In this TED talk Steve Silberman explains the reason for the steep rise in the prevalence of autism. He goes back in time revisiting the history of autism. A must watch for anyone (parents/family members/educators/doctors) trying to understand the so-called "autism epidemic".

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Advantages:

• Engaging 

• Full of facts

Disadvantage:

• 13 mins 48 secs might seem long in an era of 2 min videos

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Foundations, Characteristics and Effective Strategies, 2nd Edition by E. Amanda Boutot, Texas State University is a perfect book for educators and other professionals working with children on the autism spectrum. Written in an easy to follow format it is intended for introductory courses on ASD.  

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Advantages:

• Comprehensive, research-based literature on ASD

• Easy to read

Disadvantage:

• Time consuming to read cover to cover ( but it is worth the time)​

Purchase on Amazon or

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Great place to start learning about Gestalt Language Processing and the Natural Language Acquisition framework. 

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Advantages:

• Free of cost learning resources including detailed videos and handouts.

• Blogs from parents.

Disadvantage:

• After going through all the free resources you may still feel unsure of how to support your GLP.