WHOLE CHILDREN (wholechildren.org): If you live in Western Massachusetts or neighboring communities in Vermont and Connecticut, check out website and schedule of after school classes in gymnastics, yoga, recess games, woodworking, music and art.   This year, we have launched a community-based recreation program with soccer, swimming, tennis, outdoor adventure and golf at various sites around Western Massachusetts.   We serve children of all abilities, including ones with no diagnosis who simply do better in smaller groups, with more structure and individual attention from coaches and teachers.   We also run vacation, weekend and summer camp programs, where the emphasis is always on celebrating each child's strengths, building skills in a structured and safe environment, and practicing the social skills to make and sustain the real friendships made here.   (For more about Whole Children, see essays “The Freedom to be Odd” and “Counting Our Blessings”.)

Other Autism-Related Websites:
Because my son is ten years old now, I do a bit less of the nightly web-scouring research than I used to.   These are the main websites I continually return to as a wealth of extraordinarily helpful information:

Autism Research Institute (autismwebsite.com):   Check out their compiled parent ratings for virtually all biomedical therapies including diets, supplements, medications, and more.   Though all children respond differently, it's incredibly useful to gage which supplements seem to be the most helpful to the most children.

sarnet.org:   A well-edited compilation of autism in the news around the country.

AutismInfo.com: Very comprehensive resource listing

Autism-society.org: National organization of linked parent support groups.

Autism-resources.com: Extensive listing of books relevant to autism

Nutritional/Dietary Websites
My son has had chronic and intractable gastrointestinal issues that have been greatly helped by altering his diet.

Autism Network Dietary Intervention (autismndi.com):   Assistance on gluten/casein free diet which is the most logical diet to begin for any child on the spectrum who seem to have gut issues (chronic constipation, diarrhea, etc.)

Specific Carbohydrate Diet (pecanbread.com):   Details and support for the SCD which is more extreme (no grains at all) but has been extraordinarily helpful for many children with chronic stomach problems. My son has been on SCD for two years and is finally digesting food better, absorbing nutrients and growing properly.