Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and education reformer Horace Mann. In 1977, the college network was re-incorporated as Antioch University to reflect its growth across the country into numerous graduate education programs. It operates five campuses located in four states, as well as an online division and the Graduate School of Leadership and Change. All campuses of the university are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique, which claims to allow non-verbal people, such as those with autism, to communicate. The technique involves a facilitator guiding the disabled person's arm or hand in an attempt to help them type on a keyboard or other such device that they are unable to properly use if unfacilitated.
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
The McMartin preschool trial was a day care sexual abuse case in the 1980s, prosecuted by the Los Angeles District Attorney, Ira Reiner. Members of the McMartin family, who operated a preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, were charged with hundreds of acts of sexual abuse of children in their care. Accusations were made in 1983, with arrests and the pretrial investigation taking place from 1984 to 1987 and trials running from 1987 to 1990. The case lasted seven years but resulted in no convictions, and all charges were dropped in 1990. By the case's end, it had become the longest and most expensive series of criminal trials in American history.
The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that considers the diversity within sensory processing, motor abilities, social comfort, cognition, and focus as neurobiological differences. This diversity falls on a spectrum of neurocognitive differences. The neurodiversity paradigm argues that diversity in neurocognition is part of humanity and that some neurodivergences generally classified as disorders, such as autism, are differences and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological. Neurotypical individuals are those who fall within the average range of functioning and thinking.
Ole Ivar Løvaas was a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is most well known for his research on what is now called applied behavior analysis (ABA) to teach autistic children through prompts, modeling, and positive reinforcement. His application of the science was also noted for its use of aversives (punishment) to reduce undesired behavior, which are no longer supported as a part of most ABA treatment plans.
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.
Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.
Deer Valley High School in Antioch, California, is a public secondary school serving southeast Antioch in Contra Costa County, California. It opened in 1996.
Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the Antioch University system, a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution that includes campuses in Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and Santa Barbara, California. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The most well-known campus was Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, which is now independent of the Antioch University system.
Emotional and behavioral disorders refer to a disability classification used in educational settings that allows educational institutions to provide special education and related services to students who have displayed poor social and/or academic progress.
The Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) is a controversial institution in Canton, Massachusetts, United States, for people with developmental disabilities and emotional and behavioral disorders. The center has been condemned for torture by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, and is known for its use of the graduated electronic decelerator (GED), a device that administers electric shocks to residents as part of the institution's behavior modification program.
The Glenholme School, also known as Devereux Glenholme School, is an independent coeducational therapeutic boarding school situated over 110 acres (0.45 km2) in Washington, Connecticut, United States. The school aims to provide a highly structured environment for children between the ages 10 to 21 who face challenges from various conditions, including high functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and Asperger syndrome; ADHD, OCD, Tourette syndrome, depression, anxiety, and emotional and learning disabilities.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the second largest public school district in the United States, with only the New York City Department of Education having a larger student population. During the 2022–2023 school year, LAUSD served 565,479 students, including 11,795 early childhood education students and 27,740 adult students. During the same school year, it had 24,769 teachers and 49,231 other employees. It is the second largest employer in Los Angeles County after the county government. The school district's budget for the 2021–2022 school year was $10.7 billion, increasing to $12.6 billion for the 2022–2023 school year.
Exceptional Minds (EM) is an American computer animation studio and non-profit digital arts school. Established in 2011, it is the first animation studio and digital arts school for young autistic adults. It is located in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California.
Discrimination against autistic people involves any form of discrimination, persecution, or oppression against people who are autistic. Despite contention over its status as a disability, discrimination against autistic people is considered to be a form of ableism.
The rapid prompting method (RPM) is a pseudoscientific technique that attempts to aid people with autism or other disabilities to communicate through pointing, typing, or writing. Also known as Spelling to Communicate, it is closely related to the scientifically discredited technique facilitated communication (FC). Practitioners of RPM have failed to assess the issue of message agency using simple and direct scientific methodologies, saying that doing so would be stigmatizing and that allowing scientific criticisms of the technique robs people with autism of their right to communicate. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has issued a statement opposing the practice of RPM.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative and alternative communication system developed and produced by Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. PECS was developed in 1985 at the Delaware Autism Program by Andy Bondy, PhD, and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP. The developers of PECS noticed that traditional communication techniques, including speech imitation, sign language, and picture point systems, relied on the teacher to initiate social interactions and none focused on teaching students to initiate interactions. Based on these observations, Bondy and Frost created a functional means of communication for individuals with a variety of communication challenges. Although PECS was originally developed for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), its use has become much more widespread. Through the years, PECS has been successfully implemented with individuals with varying diagnoses across the aged span. PECS is an evidence-based practice that has been highly successful with regard to the development of functional communication skills.
Marian Diamond Sigman (1941–2012) was a developmental and child clinical psychologist known for her research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At the time of her death, she was Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
