• Advocacy group says police shooting of autistic teen reveals shortfalls in mental health crisis response

    Advocacy group says police shooting of autistic teen reveals shortfalls in mental health crisis response

    Sep 09, 2020 08:50 PM EST

    ... 911 call records have not been released. The boy's mother, meanwhile, told Salt Lake City's KUTV that she informed police her son has autism, was unarmed and did not know how to regulate his behavior. Barton hoped they would help deescalate the situation and calm him down. Instead ...

  • Students have their own demands for school reopening

    Students have their own demands for school reopening

    Aug 21, 2020 10:22 PM EST

    ... concerned about how vulnerable groups will fare with remote learning. Jonathan Fratz, a rising ninth grader at San Pedro High School in Los Angeles, has autism; he struggled with distance learning in the spring, even though he was able to receive the accommodations for students with disabilities outlined in his ...

  • Rent and other monthly anxieties deepen as aid falls off

    Rent and other monthly anxieties deepen as aid falls off

    Jul 31, 2020 03:55 PM EST

    ... Michael Kunzelman, Silver Spring, Maryland ___ Ruqayyah Bailey has lost much of her independence and wants to get her life back on track. Bailey, 31, has autism. Until March, she lived in her own apartment, worked part time as a cashier at a St. Louis cafe, and attended college. The coronavirus ...

  • 30 years after ADA's passage, what it means to these Americans with disabilities

    30 years after ADA's passage, what it means to these Americans with disabilities

    Jul 27, 2020 10:40 PM EST

    ... is Alice Wong. And I'm a disabled activist in San Francisco. Max Barrows: My name is Max Barrows. I am a person on the autism spectrum. I speak up for people with disabilities throughout the state. Britney Wilson: I think it's safe to say that my life wouldn ...

  • WATCH: Minnesota governor signs police accountability bill into law

    WATCH: Minnesota governor signs police accountability bill into law

    Jul 23, 2020 07:46 PM EST

    ... board that licenses officers, makes changes in arbitration rules affecting police unions and requires more training on dealing with people with mental health issues and autism. The bill passed after nearly two months of difficult negotiations that followed Floyd's death on May 25 and the ensuing unrest that spread ...

  • Minnesota lawmakers pass police accountability package

    Minnesota lawmakers pass police accountability package

    Jul 21, 2020 05:45 PM EST

    ... of life. It makes changes in arbitration rules affecting police unions. Officers will get more training on dealing with people with mental health issues and autism. The measure also creates a new advisory council for the state board that licenses officers. “This is a really a great bill, but it ...

  • Remembering 5 people lost to coronavirus

    Remembering 5 people lost to coronavirus

    Jul 10, 2020 10:25 PM EST

    ... was fiercely devoted to his wife of 57 years, Peg, their four children and two grandsons. The family proudly marched in the city's annual Autism Speaks walk, in support of his grandson James. John was 80 years old. Vanee Sykes believed in the potential of every formerly incarcerated woman ...

  • Analysis: Retractions and controversies over coronavirus research show the scientific process is working

    Analysis: Retractions and controversies over coronavirus research show the scientific process is working

    Jul 09, 2020 05:01 PM EST

    ... 13 days after it was published. By contrast, it took 12 years for the Lancet to retract the fraudulent article that incorrectly claimed vaccinations cause autism. It is not yet known whether these papers involved deliberate scientific misconduct, but mistakes and corrections are common, even for top scientists. For example ...

  • How distance learning illuminates disparities among students and teachers

    How distance learning illuminates disparities among students and teachers

    Jun 23, 2020 10:25 PM EST

    ... like. Elizabeth Wayland Seal: I live in Rhode Island. I have four kids. The youngest is 7. The oldest is 14. Two of them have autism spectrum. Distance learning in the fall, if my 7-year-old has distance learning in the fall, I can't. He can't. I ...

  • Americans with disabilities need more support during pandemic, say advocates

    Americans with disabilities need more support during pandemic, say advocates

    Jun 10, 2020 10:25 PM EST

    ... the community of the disabled. About two years ago, the National Organization on Disability, which is basically agnostic with regard to the disability -- could be autism, could be blindness, could be Down syndrome -- I mean, there's a range of disabilities. We basically say, as part of our advocacy platform ...