One Mom's Tips for Armchair Advocacy

Interesting article by Cathy Jameson, a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism. Great tips for anyone involved in advocacy.

We have questions.  Our Congressman should be able to us get answers.  In a perfect world, all of our question asking will have paid off and the truth revealed.  The truth, especially as how it relates to vaccines and autism, has been hard to get.  Many of us have gone round and round locally with our doctors, special education departments and state government agencies while working tirelessly to heal our children.  Yes, it’s been tiring; but, it’s time to think bigger.  It’s time to get the attention of our nation’s leaders—those people who have promised to work for us.  

With a few politicians at our disposal, especially those who attended the 2013 AutismOne Congressional Panel last weekend, keeping their attention is important now more than ever.  Before you shy away in a corner thinking you have no experience dabbling in politics, getting the attention of our government leaders isn’t as hard as it sounds.  It, just like so many things you’ve already done, is just a quick Google search away.  I’ll prove it.  

Autism Focus of New Legal Center

With autism prevalence on the rise, a new legal resource center is launching that will focus specifically on issues facing those with the developmental disorder across the country.

Autism Speaks plans to announce Tuesday that it will form the new center with an eye toward helping establish key legal precedents for this growing population.

First on the agenda will be ensuring that autism insurance laws passed in many states in recent years are implemented appropriately, organizers said. Ultimately, however, plans call for the center to address everything from housing to employment to criminal and family law issues as they relate to autism.

Hyperactive Brain Cells Linked to Autism

Hyperactive brain cells firing together could be an early indicator of autism and developmental disabilities, a team of UCLA researchers has found.

Networks of neurons were found to be firing in a highly synchronized and seemingly unrelenting fashion, even through sleep, in the brains of juvenile mice that have a genetic abnormality similar to one that causes mental retardation and autism symptoms in humans, according to the research published online Monday in Nature Neuroscience.

How a Special Ed Student Changed His Life and Found Success

Seven years ago, when I first wrote about Paula Lazor’s teenage son, John, his future was uncertain. The headline read: “Bright, But Falls Asleep in Class.”
Educators at public and private schools had helped John for years with his learning disabilities. But homework was still torture, and he had trouble following what teachers said. The nodding off in class had begun in eighth grade.John became interested in welding after watching the Jesse James reality show “Monster Garage.” The Arlington County school system’s career center had an automobile repair course that seemed perfect. Then he bumped into one of those inexplicable rules that special-education families know too well: Students with learning disabilities, he was told, were not eligible for the course.

The Global Plight of Disabled Children

From Sunday's edition of The New York Times.

A United Nations report, “The State of the World’s Children,”underscores the moral bankruptcy of Senate Republicans who blocked ratification of a treaty to help disabled people around the world. There is scant data on how many children have such disabilities or how their lives are affected. One outdated estimate is that some 93 million children, one in 20 of those 14 or younger, live with a moderate or severe disability of some kind. The issue is how they might be helped to overcome their disabilities and become productive members of their societies.

Definitions Change but Schools Not Expected to See Immediate Impact

The psychiatry profession's newly revised reference manual on mental disorders changes the definition and classification for many disabilities commonly seen in schools, but those changes—at times extensive—are unlikely to have an immediate impact on services for students with disabilities, special education experts say.

The reason: Schools are guided primarily by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which offers its own definitions for disabilities, such as specific learning disorder and autism spectrum disorder, that can trigger the provision of special education services.

N.J. Families Rush to Apply for Medicaid to Maintain Services

TRENTON — The letter started arriving in mailboxes in early February, and the panic has yet to subside.

“Our records indicate that you are not currently Medicaid eligible and thus, may be in jeopardy of losing your services,” according to the letter 4,400 parents and guardians of people with developmental disabilities received from the state Department of Human Services.

It said they must apply for Medicaid by March 23 if they wanted health care, housing, and vocational, therapeutic, respite and other services in the future.