M'ville event to offer special needs resources

MERRILLVILLE | An upcoming event will help take the guesswork out of finding resources for people with disabilities.

Team O'Connor supports Autism Awareness Month

CHESTERTON | With April being Autism Awareness month, James O'Connor Martial Arts O'Connor is doing whatever we can to spread awareness and raise funds. We are sponsoring a "Paper Flower Garden" that is displayed in our front window. Students, parents, families, and friends can make a donati…

Team O'Connor Supports Autism Awareness Month

CHESTERTON | With April being Autism Awareness month, James O'Connor Martial Arts O'Connor is doing whatever we can to spread awareness and raise funds.

Raising awareness of autism

Mental diagnostic manual drops Asperger's syndrome as a separate mental disorder

"Asperger's syndrome" is dropped as a separate diagnosis in the first major rewrite in almost two decades of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Local bands help raise money to benefit adults with disabilities

MUNSTER | Joel Ratajack turned his passion for rock ’n’ roll and his friendship with neighbor Eric Neiner into a music fest Saturday to benefit adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Local bands help raise money to benefit adults with disabilities

Cody Hudnall of To the Future! performs Saturday at the Rockopelli benefit concert in Munster.

Local bands help raise money to benefit adults with disabilities

Danny Nichols of To the Future! performs during the Rockopelli benefit concert Saturday at the St. Thomas More School gym in Munster. The music fest was organized to raise money for Planting Possibilities, a group that is planning a project to provide job opportunities for adults with develo…

Lincoln Elementary Walks for Autism

CEDAR LAKE | On Saturday, May 12, 2012 Lincoln Elementary principal, teachers and students walk in support of students with Autism. The team walked along the Chicago lake front 3 miles and was able to raise $2,170.00 in support of autism.

Region parents struggle to get help for children with mental illness, disabilities

No one can hear Jennifer Smith's screams. The South Haven resident keeps them buried — locked behind the facade of a woman who has it all together. Smith's 11-year-old son, Jacob, screams for her.

Region parents struggle to get help for children with mental illness, disabilities

Photos of 11-year-old Jacob Smith adorn a post at his home April 20 in South Haven. Jacob was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months old.

Region parents struggle to get help for children with mental illness, disabilities

South Haven resident Jennifer Smith says her autistic 11-year-old son, Jacob, has become increasingly violent, kicking holes in walls at their home and breaking windows.

School honors Watts with computer lab in his name

TINLEY PARK | The Easter Seals Autism Therapeutic School that attracts students from across the south suburbs has a new computer lab with giant charts on the walls explaining how to log on to a computer, find specific information or solve a system crash.

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Brandon Carter, a 12-year-old who has autism, gets a piano lesson Tuesday from instructor Kyle Ludovice at Broadway Music in Merrillville.

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Brandon Carter gets a piano lesson Tuesday at Broadway Music in Merrillville.

Autism photo project shines light on local boys

HAMMOND | Nine local boys are featured in a national photo campaign designed to raise autism awareness.

Merrillville autistic boy blossoms through music

MERRILLVILLE | It was easy for Tracy and Virgil Carter to see that the praise and worship services at Unity AME Zion Church moved their 12-year-old son.

Highland fourth-grader battles autism with grace

In summer or winter, you might find Nathaniel Graegin in the backyard digging up dirt in search of bugs. The Highland 9-year-old likes beetles, centipedes and earthworms. He examines them and puts them in a plastic jar or an old coffee cup.

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Brandon Carter plays piano during his lesson Tuesday at Broadway Music in Merrillville.

Region parents struggle to get help for children with mental illness, disabilities

South Haven resident Jennifer Smith holds a 2009 photo of her son Jacob, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months old. Smith says her son has become increasingly violent but no one will place him in a group home where he would receive better care.