From the BBC, coverage marking the kickoff of an autism awareness campaign in the UK:

Damaging misconceptions about autism in Wales mean 17% think children with the condition are “simply badly behaved,” new research has found. The National Autistic Society in Wales said 43% thought most people with autism had special ability in maths and art, for example.

Coverage from the (Edinburgh) Scotsman was more ominous, starting with the headline: Ignorance of autism is ruining lives.

Bullied by their classmates as children, shunned by neighbours as parents, and refused work as adults, the lives of thousands of Scots are being devastated by ignorance about autism.

New research reveals that people with the condition are seven times more likely to be caught up in the criminal-justice system – as suspects, rather than criminals – because of poor understanding of the way autism can cause unusual behaviour.

(more…)

Government and researchers seek to reduce false positives, improve physician education and followup for families

From the Wall Street Journal (registration required):

More screening of newborns for congenital health problems is saving many lives, but it is also bringing erroneous test results, misdiagnoses, and needless angst for parents. Health-care professionals are working to address glitches in a system that also may leave families of sick children with little followup.

Among the efforts currently under way:

• Creating a national standard for assessing screening, to cut down on false positives;
• Developing an online map of specialists to help families find help;
• Educating doctors about screening and about the rare and complex diseases they may diagnose; and
• Creating registries to track the long-term impact of early diagnosis.

From USA Today:

As the number of employees with elder and child care demands grows, more workers are filing lawsuits claiming they’ve been discriminated against on the job because of their family caregiving obligations.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which recently issued its first guidance for employers about the issue, reports an “upsurge” in cases – with many resulting in awards to plaintiffs. The guidance provides examples of how bias can occur so that employers are aware of the risk.

“The type of discrimination is growing so fast, it’s been dubbed “family responsibilities discrimination.” The Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, which tracks these lawsuits, says such cases have risen by 400% in the last decade.

… Cases usually involve an employee who must care for a child, elderly parent or disabled spouse.

From Time Magazine, the Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, and others.

The nation’s leading group of pediatricians is urging that all children be screened for autism twice by age two.

The advice is meant to help both parents and doctors spot autism sooner. There is no cure for the disorder, but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is releasing two reports that detail the call for early screening and the symptoms to watch for. They will appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics and on the group’s Web site – http://www.aap.org.

The two new reports say children with suspected autism should start treatment even before a formal diagnosis. They also warn parents about the special diets and alternative treatments endorsed by celebrities, saying there’s no proof those work.

Recommended treatment should include at least 25 hours a week of intensive behavior-based therapy, including educational activities and speech therapy, according to the reports. They list several specific approaches that have been shown to help

Deafened in Vietnam, Richard Pimentel came home to fight for workplace rights for the disabled. With a new movie depicting his life, he’s battling on.

From the New York Post, a feature on the man behind the film “The Music Within.”

Richard Pimentel’s political awakening came in the early 1970s, when he and a friend were arrested and convicted for resisting Oregon’s so-called “Ugly Law.” A waitress had demanded that his friend, who had cerebral palsy, leave a local restaurant because his appearance was disturbing the customers. “I thought people like you died at birth,” she told him.

Pimentel became a prime mover behind the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. Now he’s working to change employers’ attitudes. The key, he says, is not simply persuading employers to hire people with disabilities, but getting them to see those people as assets.

“… many who see people with disabilities feel sorry for them. It’s a very human reaction, but you have to realize that we feel pain for them because we don’t know them. And we tend to think their disability is most important thing in their life. Well, the most important thing in their life is exactly the most important thing in your life – work, family, their sports team, whatever.

“When you get to know them the person becomes more and more important, and the disability diminishes. You know what the problem is? Most people make employment decisions before they ever get to know who’s in there. “

Included is a Q&A on how to talk to employers about jobs for people with disabilities.

Related story here.

By including the disabled in the Matthew Shepard hate-crimes bill, the authors went from sensible to extreme

Editorial writers at the Los Angeles Times argue that efforts to expand the federal definition of hate crimes may assure the failure of the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

The editorial writers particularly object to including crimes based on disability in the definition of hate crimes.

Obviously, acts of violence or intimidation should be prosecuted aggressively regardless of the motive, and no doubt some are motivated by hatred of men or women or even (though this is hard to imagine) of disabled people. But such crimes are rare. According to the FBI, less than 1% of hate crimes in 2005 reflected a bias against the disabled.

(Emphasis added.)

See earlier stories:

Whether hate crime or bullying, it needs to stop

Disability abuse case called ‘tip of the iceberg’

Three wheelchair crimes

Three more wheelchair crimes

Elder abuse caught on tape

Man admits to urinating on ill woman

From the Detroit News:

The U.S. Department of Education issued a scathing report to the University of Michigan, chastising U-M for routinely violating federal accessibility laws and effectively shutting out wheelchair users from Michigan Stadium football games.

The federal department has threatened to terminate federal funds to the 39,700-student university if U-M doesn’t submit a plan within 10 days to correct the numerous violations outlined in the 42-page report dated Oct. 26.

“The university is discriminating against individuals with mobility impairments … because the stadium does not include a sufficient number of accessible seats; the accessible seating is not dispersed so as to provide persons with mobility impairments the same range of seating choices as is provided to persons without disabilities … and the routes, toilet rooms, and concession stands are inaccessible.”

See also reports in the Ann Arbor News and USA Today.