The Future of the Education Department

In The Politics of Autism, I write about social services, special education and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 7.5 million children 3 to 21 years old received services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in AY 2022-23.

About 980,000 of them were autistic, up from 498,000 in 2012-13.

The only reason school districts comply with IDEA is that the state could lose federal funding if they don't.  But if you cut off federal funding, there is no enforcement mechanism.

Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press:

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act is federal law. Funding for it, and the law itself, would not be eliminated through an executive action eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, according to the School Superintendents Association. Michigan schools received about $460 million in federal funding for special education in 2024, about 15% of the funding for special education services, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy.

Molly Macek, director of education policy for The Mackinac Center For Public Policy, a research organization in favor of limited government, said funding for special education programs currently funded through the federal department could just be moved elsewhere.

"The funds for the programs that are currently funded through the federal Department of Education, those may still be available," she said. "We are thinking that those might be allocated through different departments, through a restructuring. So the impact might not be as great as some are predicting."

But advocates like Lipsitt have also expressed concern around the future of the Office For Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education, which investigates allegations of civil rights violations, including violations of rights entitled to students with disabilities, in publicly funded schools. In Michigan alone, the Office for Civil Rights shows multiple pending cases under a range of complaints such as denial of benefits, restraint and seclusion, discipline, service animal violations and more.

In fact, a major Office For Civil Rights investigation over a state failure to educate students with disabilities during the pandemic has yet to be resolved. Eckner said that case is particularly important for students with disabilities and advocates were hoping to get clarity — and possibly services to help students with disabilities who struggled in the pandemic — soon.

"Now it's a black hole," she wrote.

According to a recent report from The New York Times, employees in the civil rights office of the Department of Education were warned of potential cuts pushed by Trump's administration.

OCR can enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act but not IDEA. 

 

Measles and Polio: Back to the Future

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.

Michael Hiltzik at LAT:

We’ve already seen that the embrace of pernicious anti-vaccination claptrap by unscrupulous politicians and government officials has had detectable impacts on public health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now reporting 41 cases of measles, for which a vaccine has been available since 1963, in 16 states.
...
At a campaign rally in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 2, [Trump] said this, referring to the policy he would implement as president: “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.”

...

Now let’s turn to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose campaign for president has allowed his dangerous anti-vaccine hogwash to be mainstreamed into the body politic like an IV drip of strychnine. His pitch so bristles with disinformation and pseudoscience that it’s been disavowed by virtually his entire family, whose name has been synonymous with progressive politics and policy for generations.

Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization Kennedy founded and chairs, last week platformed a fatuously inaccurate 2013 book claiming that polio isn’t caused by a virus and that the polio vaccine “doesn’t work.”

The book was conclusively debunked long ago. But last Tuesday, the organization published an interview with its co-author Suzanne Humphries, in which she repeated her claim that polio is caused by toxins, not the virus.

“According to Humphries, there are no worthwhile vaccines, not even smallpox or tetanus, and certainly not the polio vaccine,” the interview read.

Helen Branswell at STAT:

On Sunday, public health officials in two Michigan counties warned their residents that they may have been exposed to measles. In Wayne County, an adult who had contracted the virus abroad had been in health-related settings in Dearborn on two days last week — two urgent care clinics, a CVS pharmacy, and a hospital emergency department. Health officials in neighboring Washtenaw County issued a similar alert about a different case — also an adult, also infected abroad — who was in the emergency department of a hospital in Ypsilanti on March 1.

Both counties urged unvaccinated people who had been in the listed locations at the listed times to contact public health or their health care provider, warning them to phone ahead if they needed to seek in-person care.

These kinds of notices are standard public health practice during measles outbreaks. Alerts of this sort may also warn that someone with measles had been in a crowded public location — an airport, a shopping mall, a theme park.

But in Florida, where 10 residents and at least four non-residents have been diagnosed with measles in the past month or so, the Department of Health has released scant information about those cases. The seeming reticence to speak openly about measles leaves in the dark anyone in the public who might be concerned about whether they may have had an exposure. Likewise, people considering spring break vacations to Florida who want to avoid measles exposures have almost no information on which to plan their trips.

Waiting in Michigan

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families.  One is a shortage of qualified professionals.

Andrea M. Stephens and colleagues have an article at Behavior Analysis in Practice titled
Delays to Behavioral Therapy in Michigan for Children Diagnosed with Autism: A Summary of Needs Assessment Outcomes to Inform Public Policy Advocacy Initiatives

Abstract

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are eligible to receive behavioral health services in Michigan, including those based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Demand for these specific services far outpaces the number of qualified professionals in the state (Yingling et al., 2022), thus resulting in delayed access to a much-needed service. The purpose of our survey was twofold. First, we surveyed families throughout Michigan (N = 78) to identify the types of barriers encountered and the extent to which families of autistic individuals experience them when pursuing ABA services. Second, our survey assessed the needs of these families during service delays in an attempt to understand how to best support them during this time. Results indicated that 73% of children spent time on a waitlist, varying in duration from 1 month to over 1 year. Further, most caregivers indicated they were concerned about their children’s behavior while awaiting services and would have been interested in training to help them manage behavioral concerns and teach new skills to their children. We conclude by reviewing recommendations for addressing child and caregiver needs during this time and discussing implications for public policy advocacy initiatives.

Antivaxxers Gain Ground in State Legislatures

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Before his presidency, Trump pushed the idea, hard and repeatedly.

Unfortunately, other Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers.   Even before COVID, they were fighting vaccine mandates and other public health measures. 

Lauren Weber at WP:

A wave of lawmakers who oppose vaccine requirements are winning elections for state legislatures amid a national drop in childhood vaccination rates and a resurfacing of preventable deadly diseases.

The victories come as part of a political backlash to pandemic restrictions and the proliferation of misinformation about the safety of vaccines introduced to fight the coronavirus.

In Louisiana, 29 candidates endorsed by Stand for Health Freedom, a national group that works to defeat mandatory vaccinations, won in the state’s off-year elections this fall.

...

Louisiana’s shift is a sign of the growing clout of the anti-vaccine movement in the nation’s statehouses as bills that once died in committee make it onto the legislative floor for a vote.

Since spring, Tennessee lawmakers dropped all vaccine requirements for home-schooled children. Iowa Republicans passed a bill eliminating the requirement that schools educate students about the HPV vaccine. And the Florida legislature passed a law preemptively barring school districts from requiring coronavirus vaccines, a move health advocates fear opens the door to further vaccine limitations.

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In Michigan, the normalization of anti-vaccine views is also unfolding. Eleven lawmakers recently honored discredited anti-vaccine activist and former physician Andrew Wakefield, who is responsible for the retracted research falsely linking autism to vaccines. Nine of those legislators were elected after the pandemic began, including Angela Rigas, a hairdresser ticketed for protesting pandemic mandates at the state capitol.

...

At a November conference held by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Michigan legislative aide cheered Rigas and her colleagues for taking a stand.

Calley on Restraint and Seclusion

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the use of restraint and seclusion, along with cases of abuse.

Brian Calley served as lieutenant governor of Michigan and has long been an advocate for people on the spectrum.   At WP, he writes about restraint and seclusion:

I have a daughter with autism. When I first heard about this practice, I thought it must be rare. But it is shockingly common, having been used against tens of thousands of U.S. students in recent years.

In Michigan alone, where my family resides, restraint and seclusion was used in schools more than 94,000 times from 2017 to 2022. Because there are no penalties issued to schools for failing to report, this number is undoubtedly an undercount. An Education Department analysis covering the 2017-2018 school year (based on self-reporting) showed that more than 100,000 children across the United States had been subjected to these inhumane practices.

...

It was clear this was a major problem. So, my office developed a proposal to ban restraint and seclusion in non-emergency situations. In 2016, I signed legislation that did just that, and that required schools to report to parents and the Michigan Department of Education when the practice was used, so we could track its prevalence. The resulting data revealed a situation that was even worse than I feared.

At the Detroit Free Press, however, Dave Boucher and Lily Altavena report that implementation has not been entirely successful:

While Michigan lawmakers tried to ban the tactics in 2016, a Free Press investigation found educators across the state secluded or restrained students nearly 94,000 times in the last five school years. The state began collecting data in the 2017-18 school year following the passage of new laws.

That means on average, more than 100 times a day, Michigan educators used what experts say are psychologically damaging practices on children. Considering most schools limited or canceled in-person classes for weeks or months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the daily usage of both seclusion and restraint are likely much higher.

Dingell and Fitzpatrick Co-Chair Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the congressional role in the issue.

A July 26 release from Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI):

Today, founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus (BDC), Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI-02), named Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12) a new co-chair of the BDC, alongside Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01). The announcement comes on the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Rep. Langevin, the first quadriplegic ever elected to Congress, founded the Caucus in 2001 shortly after being elected to the House of Representatives. For over 20 years, the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus has served as a space to inform, educate, and raise awareness in Congress on the many issues that affect people with disabilities. Boasting more than 50 members, the Caucus has helped Congressmen and women on both sides of the aisle find common ground in pursuit of moving the needle on disability issues.

“It is an honor to be named a co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, and I thank my friend and colleague Rep. Langevin for the opportunity to continue to build on his efforts to promote equality and remove barriers for Americans with disabilities. Rep. Langevin has made monumental progress advancing disability rights and bringing attention to these issues with graciousness and candor, and his leadership in Congress will be missed,” said Rep. Dingell. “Living with my husband who experienced mobility problems later in his life gave me a better understanding of just how far we still must go to ensure Americans with disabilities have access to the same experiences and opportunities as everyone else. I look forward to working with the Caucus to advance policies that promote equity and address barriers to inclusion in years ahead.”

“22 years ago, I founded the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus to raise awareness among members of Congress in both parties about the challenges facing Americans with disabilities. Since then, our caucus has brought Republicans and Democrats together to deliver countless wins for the disability community,” said Rep. Jim Langevin, founder of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus. “As my tenure in Congress begins to wind down, I am so proud to welcome Representatives Debbie Dingell and Brian Fitzpatrick as my two, new co-chairs of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus. I know that they share my fierce commitment to creating a society that is fully inclusive and accessible for all Americans, and I am confident that the Caucus will be in strong, capable hands after I am no longer in Congress.”

“I am honored to be the new co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus and I look forward to working across the aisle to help the 61 million Americans living with a disability,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “During my time in Congress, I have been committed and will remain committed to ensuring those living with a disability have the access and coverage they not only need but deserve. As we celebrate the 32nd Anniversary of the ADA, we must recognize that there is more we can do to address the challenges that our disabled community is facing.”

“A sincere thanks to all the advocates and the members of Congress, including Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer, and members of the Disability Caucus, led by Congressman Langevin. Jim, thank you for your 22 years of service in Congress. And I know Reps. Debbie Dingell and Brian Fitzpatrick will follow your tremendous leadership in the Caucus,” President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said in his pre-recorded remarks. “We know there’s more that needs to be done, and I’m committed getting more done with you… Together, let’s keep fulfilling ADA’s promise: building a nation that truly is for all of us.”

“It was my privilege to join the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act – a transformative legislative achievement and a pillar of civil rights,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “Guided by Rep. Jim Langevin, the Congress’s support for the disability community has remained bipartisan and steadfast. Twelve years ago today, Rep. Langevin made history presiding over the House, making clear that every American deserves an equal voice in our society. Now, as he prepares for his next chapter, the Congress will proudly carry on his fight for justice – drawing strength from the leadership of Rep. Debbie Dingell and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, two devoted advocates for America’s disability community.”

“Without the ADA, I would not be in Congress. Today is a day to celebrate the tremendous progress that we’ve made for Americans with disabilities, while also recognizing how much further we have to go until all people with disabilities can enjoy fulfilling, independent lives,” Langevin continued. “Although this will be my last ADA anniversary celebration as a member of Congress, you can count on me to continue fighting for the disability community until my last day in office, and beyond. I want to thank President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Senator Casey, Representatives Dingell and Fitzpatrick, Undersecretary of Transportation Monje, and Jim Brett and for joining me tonight in commemoration of such a special day.”

Reps. Langevin, Dingell, and Fitzpatrick were joined for a celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Senator Bob Casey, White House Domestic Policy Council Disability Policy Director, Day Al-Mohamed, former Senator Tom Harkin, and Vice-Chair of the National Council on Disability, Jim Brett.

Autism History Museum

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss autism history.

Al Urbanski at Chain Store Age:

Albert Einstein and Andy Warhol are familiar names in science and art museums, but both now appear in a museum you’d not expect to find them—especially since this museum is seen to be unique.

The Autism History Museum at Meridian Mall in Okemos, Mich., was the idea of Xavier DeGroat, a former White House intern who started a foundation to increase opportunities for people with autism. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of four, DeGroat, now 31, studied politics and communications in college and set out on a mission to help unite people on the spectrum with mainstream society. And vice versa.

“My museum is meant to educate families and children with autism about their history on the spectrum,” DeGroat said. “People learn about the culture and social history of autism going back to the early 20th Century when it was thought to be overlapping with schizophrenia.”

But the 1,400-sq-ft. space is also designed as a haven for autistic visitors to the mall. Autistic children can get anxious in public places, and DeGroat’s museum contains a sensory room with dimmer lighting, a fish tank, and stress-reducing toys like squeezy balls to help them get re-oriented.

The launch event for the museum at Meridian Mall, which is owned and operated by CBL Properties, was sponsored by fellow tenants Dick’s Sporting Goods and Launch Trampoline Park-- where the Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation held a fundraising event last year.

“I met Xavier at the party and, while talking with him about the foundation, he told me about his idea for a museum and asked if we thought the mall would be a good place for it,” said Dan Irvin, general manager of Meridian Mall. “I have never met an individual as motivated and as passionate about his cause as Xavier. He stops at nothing to raise awareness of autism.”

DeGroat has been busy promoting his museum in the media. Fox News host and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee hailed him on his show as one of “Huck’s Heroes.” Michigan native and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz visited and made a donation to the museum. And on July 8, DeGroat will be back at the Launch Trampoline Park for a dinner featuring speaker Temple Grandin, a noted animal behaviorist with Asperger’s who was played by Claire Danes in the HBO movie, “Temple Grandin.”

Autism Museum

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss autism history.

Bryce Airgood at The Lansing State Journal:

When he was younger Xavier DeGroat wanted to work at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, but now the Delta Township man is opening his own museum in Meridian Mall.

DeGroat, founder and CEO of nonprofit Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation, will host a ribbon-cutting event at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 4 for the foundation’s museum near Schuler Books.

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The museum will have a timeline of the history of autism from early in the 20th century to present day and will highlight prominent figures on the spectrum like Elon Musk, he said.

The museum will have a sensory friendly educational program and DeGroat will take inspiration from "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" as Mister Rogers was a role model growing up, he said.

...

The Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation will also host a dinner and gala with VIP pre-reception starting at 6 p.m. at LAUNCH Trampoline Park. Tickets for the dinner/gala are $50 and VIP tickets are $100. People can contact info@xavierdegroatfoundation.org and visit Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation’s website for more information.

Another Offensive Autism Defense

In The Politics of Autism, I write that there is no evidence linking autism to planned violence.  Such suggestions reflect prejudice.  But it is equally offensive to suggest that autistic people are mentally incapable of planning a crime.  Lawyers for domestic terrorists have attempted to play to this prejudice.

 Tresa Baldas at The Detroit Free Press:

He was referred to as "Captain Autism," the accused ringleader in the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

But with a nickname like that, the defense argues, it's clear the man's codefendants didn't take him seriously, or believe that he could commit a crime — like hatch a plan to snatch and kill the governor.

That was entirely the FBI's doing, the defense maintains, not Adam Fox's.

"No one would have conspired with Adam Fox because no one believed he had any ability to form, much less carry out, a plan," the defense argues in a new court filing that outlines how it plans to fight the government in the upcoming trial that highlights the growth of extremism in America.
...

The defense also wants jurors to hear a comment from one of Fox's codefendants, Ty Garbin, who in July 2020 allegedly said, “Captain Autism can't make up his mind.”

Garbin, who previously pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme and is serving a six-year prison sentence, was referring to Fox.

"(W)ith the “Captain Autism” remark ... The meaning of it lies in the defendants’ recognition that Adam Fox had no actual disposition toward truly committing wrongdoing . . . with a true plan and viability," the defense states.

Another Antivaxxer Gets COVID

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

Antivaxxers are sometimes violent, often abusive, and always wrong.  

Unfortunately, Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers.  There is a great deal of overlap between MAGA World and the antivax movement.

Steve Neavling at Detroit Metro Times:

A Trump-adoring Wayne County Republican who spread misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine has been hospitalized in intensive care after contracting the virus.

William Hartmann, former vice-chairman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, has been on a ventilator since about Nov. 6, according to his sister Elizabeth Hartmann.

Two sources confirmed to Metro Times that Hartmann has been in intensive care since early November.

The status of his health is unclear.

Hartmann, who refused to certify the county’s election in November 2020 after Joe Biden won, downplayed the coronavirus in a February 2020 Facebook post and questioned “all the hullabaloo in the media about” COVID-19. He suggested it was “about the money.”

Special Education Teacher Shortages 2021

In The Politics of Autism, I write about special education and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

 Scott MacFarlane, Katie Leslie and Jeff Piper at WRC-TV:

Washington, D.C.-area public schools are suffering a “critical shortage” of special education teachers as students return from the long year of virtual learning, according to a review by the News4 I-Team.

A lack of available special ed instructors has dogged school systems across the country for yearsbut now risks being exacerbated by resignations, retirements and workload increases caused by the pandemic.

A Virginia Department of Education report reviewed by the I-Team lists special education instructors at the top of its list of teacher shortages statewide.A 2018 Maryland State Department of Education report also cites a “critical shortage” of special education teachers. And just last year, the U.S. Department of Education described the shortage of special education teachers as “among the most pressing and chronic problems facing the field.”

Virginia Gordan at Michigan Radio:

The Michigan Department of Education is offering an option to help school districts deal with what State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice calls a "critical shortage of special education teachers in many Michigan school districts."

The MDE will allow a time limited waiver that enables a district to temporarily fill a vacancy in a special education classroom with a special education teacher whose specialty area - formally called an endorsement - differs from the classroom with an open slot.

The goal is to reduce reliance on substitute teachers in special education programs.

"Allowing for some flexibility will help districts better staff their classrooms and meet the needs of our students with disabilities," said Rice in a written statement.

"We're being given the flexibility to really put people in positions who are a right fit for the position and can support our students' needs," said Abby Cypher, executive director of the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education.

"We had a criticial shortage of special education teachers before COVID, but now we have an even more significant shortage," said Cypher. "And this is a short term solution that allows us to utilize other special education teachers in special education classrooms, instead of substitute teachers."

In January, Diana Lambert reported at EdSource:

Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California’s approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven’t completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.

There were more special education teachers with substandard credentials than in any other subject area in 2017-18, the most recent year for which data is available. About 60 percent of first-year special education teachers were working without a full special education teaching credential, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

That year, the number of first-year special education teachers without full credentials totaled 5,196. That is the highest number in a decade, said Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher with the Learning Policy Institute, a research and policy organization based in Palo Alto.

 

 

TSA Screening for Autistic Travelers

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families.  One challenge is that autism is an "invisible disability," which does not have obvious physical markers.  

A release from Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI):

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, has secured a commitment from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to conduct new training and implement new procedures to better serve individuals with disabilities.

Several states, including Michigan, Texas and Arkansas, have recently passed legislation allowing individuals with autism, hearing loss, or other disabilities to choose to have a “communication impediment designation” on their driver’s licenses. This designation is meant to alert law enforcement officers to potential communication barriers, if an individual is pulled over or otherwise interacts with an officer.

In December 2020, Kildee, along with 11 Members of Congress, sent a letter urging the TSA to require training to ensure that their agents can recognize and incorporate “communication impediment designations” on state identification cards into travel screening procedures. In a February 2021 response letter from the TSA, the agency committed to utilizing state-level communication impediment designations as another tool to continuously improve the travel screening process for individuals with disabilities.

“We are updating applicable trainings to ensure that all TSOs [Transportation Security Officers] are aware of communication impediment designations and expect to deliver the updated training to the TSOs as early as May 2021,” the letter read.

Currently, TSA offers accommodations to individuals with disabilities, such as Passenger Support Specialists, who act as advocates to help individuals with disabilities through the travel screening process. However, more can be done to ensure a safe and smooth travel screening process for individuals with disabilities.

This effort comes after Congressman Kildee met with Xavier DeGroat from the Xavier DeGroat Foundation. The Xavier DeGroat Foundation was instrumental in the passage of Michigan’s state communication impediment designation law. The letter is endorsed by the Xavier DeGroat Foundation and the Association on Higher Education and Disability

Detroit Gives Autistic People Priority for COVID Vaccination

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. Those challenges get far more intense during disasters.  And coronavirus is proving to be the biggest disaster of all. 

On February 11, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan expanded eligibility for COVID vaccination to include several additional groups, including adults with autism. Sarah Rahal of the Detroit News quoted him: "Individuals with autism have behavioral issues that are going to make it very difficult to socially distance and wear a mask... and so we believe that it makes sense to move forward with this group."

Erin Einhorn at NBC reports:

“People with disabilities are being left out of Covid vaccine rollouts and being left out of data collection when somebody contracts Covid, and that leads to disparities,” said Dessa Cosma, the executive director of Detroit Disability Power, a social justice organization that led the letter-writing campaign.

When Cosma heard that Duggan planned to announce, on Feb. 11, that adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, along with their caregivers, would be added to the city’s vaccination list, she thought perhaps the mayor would narrow eligibility to people with conditions such as Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. Those disorders have been more conclusively linked to higher Covid-19 rates or deaths.

Instead, she was thrilled — and proud — to see that [Detroit mayor Mike] Duggan went broad, including all intellectual and developmental disabilities and specifically naming six conditions, in addition to Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. Among them were autism, Tourette syndrome, hearing and vision impairment, and ADHD, a neurological condition that affects nearly 5 percent of U.S. adults, causing impulsivity, hyperactivity and difficulty focusing.

Autism, Unemployment, and COVID

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the employment of adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Many posts have discussed programs to provide them with training and experience. The pandemic is a huge challenge.

Candice Williams at The Detroit News:

“In February and March, the COVID pandemic really knocked the legs from underneath us,” said Brent Mikulski, president and CEO of Dearborn Heights-based Services to Enhance Potential, a non-profit that offers training to people with developmental disabilities and connects them with internships and jobs. “We had businesses that were sincere in their interest in working to hire individuals. We were in the process of placing somebody there. They were forced to shut and lay off staff, shutter staff that used to be working. Our folks were part of that layoff.”
...
Statistically, people with developmental disabilities have had a tougher time finding employment. Prior to the pandemic in Michigan, 81% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were unemployed, compared to 9% of individuals without disabilities, according to statistics released by Michigan Developmental Disabilities Network in 2014.

Developmental disabilities include autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and learning disorders.

Concerns about training and employment for individuals with developmental disabilities amid the pandemic exist across the country, said Donna Meltzer, CEO of nonprofit National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities.

One fear is that with millions of Americans out of work due to the pandemic, people with disabilities may be the last group of people to find jobs, she said.

“It may take years for our employment infrastructure to rebound,” she said. “Jobs will be scarce and many who had jobs may find that job is no longer open to them. Education that leads to work is also greatly impacted and a cohort of students who were moving forward from school to work or on to higher ed may lose those opportunities permanently. Until there is a vaccine, many will not feel safe navigating the community and choose instead to stay home – our challenge is to find ways to balance safety, health and community.”

Another report from Williams at McClatchy:

“Employment is a struggle right now, and if you have a disability, it’s even harder,” said Holly Ewing, a program manager for the Center for People with Disabilities, a nonprofit that seeks to help people of all disabilities live independently through support and services. “The more help you need, the harder it is.”

Ewing, who is based in Thornton, helps to manage the nonprofit disability service’s programs in Boulder County, as well as the programs in offices across northern Colorado.

Of the 12 people from Boulder County who are working with the Center for People with Disabilities, three lost work because of the pandemic. According to Ewing, one lost their job as a direct result of the virus, while two others initially decreased their hours, but then resigned due to health concerns. Several others have chosen to wait to search for work. In late July and early August, three of those 12 were able to start working again.

Many people with disabilities work front-line jobs in grocery stores, retail operations and at medical facilities.

“For the individuals that are working part time, they’ve really taken a hit. A lot of people have been laid off, furloughed or those positions closed,” Ewing said. “Other people with disabilities are also struggling because maybe their health issue puts them at high risk, so they need to be very careful. There are a number of people whose physicians told them, ‘You should not be going out into the community.’”

COVID and Autism Services in Michigan

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. Those challenges get far more intense during disasters.  And coronavirus is proving to be the biggest disaster of all. Providing services is proving to be very difficult.

Anna Clark at Michigan Health Watch:

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, affirming that all people have the right to participate in civil society. But that’s especially difficult in the era of coronavirus and social distancing. In addition to thwarted school and caregiving, it’s more difficult for children and teens with autism to access therapeutic services or even get a diagnosis. Also, because sensory issues make it hard to wear a mask, it’s tough for families to leave the home.

“This is the busiest I can ever remember being,” said Colleen Allen, president and CEO of the Autism Alliance of Michigan. The Alliance, which offers a free navigator program that answers questions and connects resources, ordinarily receives up to 2,000 calls a year. This year, it expects many more, especially for complex cases that involve crisis and safety.“I think it is going to get much worse before it gets much better,” she added.
The COVID cataclysm challenged a statewide network of autism services that already had gaps, leading to long waiting lists for diagnoses and programs.

It’s been less than a decade since private and public health insurers have been required to cover people with autism. Early on, there weren’t nearly enough providers to meet the need. This has improved somewhat in the years since, as, for example, colleges launched training programs.

But access still depends on geography. Care is far more available in southeast Michigan than the Upper Peninsula. There are also service gaps, including a lack of support for psychiatric crises. And in a city like Detroit, many families entitled to services backed by Medicaid have no idea it’s available. “They’re not getting there,” Allen said about outreach efforts.

This year changed care in ways that nobody could have predicted. Henry Ford Health System offered ABA and integrated speech therapy at three Detroit-area centers, and comprehensive in-person evaluations at the Henry Ford Autism Center in Hamtramck.

“With the COVID, everything came to a blinding halt,” said Dr. Tisa Johnson, medical director of Henry Ford’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Autism ID in Michigan and Iowa

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

[M]any police departments have trained officers and other first responders how to spot signs of autism and respond accordingly. Some organizations have also published identification cards that ASD adults can carry in order to defuse potential conflicts. Virginia provides for an autism designation on driver licenses and other state-issued identification cards. Once again, however, the dilemma of difference comes into play. One autistic Virginian worries: “Great, so if I get into an accident, who’s the cop going to believe, the guy with the autistic label or the guy without it?” Clinical psychologist Michael Oberschneider is concerned about the understanding level of first responders: “I think many people still think of Rain Man or, more recently, the Sandy Hook Shooter, when they think of autism even though very few people on the autistic spectrum are savants or are homicidal and dangerous.”

On June 11, Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett issued this release.  Yesterday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation.

The Michigan Senate on Thursday unanimously approved Sen. Tom Barrett’s legislation to help bridge the communications gap between law enforcement and drivers with autism.

“Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to work with autism advocates across the state — including, and perhaps most importantly, my constituent, Xavier DeGroat — on an initiative to help improve law enforcement’s approach when dealing with people on the autism spectrum,” said Barrett, R-Charlotte. “The result was a bipartisan, bicameral package of bills to provide officers with vital information regarding potential communication hurdles during traffic stops, and to equip them to have positive interactions with drivers with autism or other communication impediments.”

Senate Bill 278 would allow a vehicle owner or their family member who is on the autism spectrum, is deaf, or has hearing loss or other health condition that could impede communication with a law enforcement officer to choose to put a “Communication Impediment” designation on a vehicle registration, driver’s license or both. This voluntary designation would be visible to law enforcement when reviewing the vehicle’s registration or license through the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) — signaling to the officer that the owner or a family member has a health condition that may impede communication.

LEIN is a secured system not accessible to members of the public, which will protect the privacy of those who volunteer this information about themselves or their family members. Police officers routinely access the system during traffic stops.

SB 279, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., would also allow the same eligible applicants to add the designation to their enhanced driver license or enhanced state ID card application.

House Bill 5541, sponsored by Rep. Frank Liberati, would allow an individual to elect a communication impediment designation on their state ID.

Xavier DeGroat of Delta Township is the founder of the Xavier DeGroat Autism Foundation and was diagnosed with autism at age 4. He has been a tireless advocate for those with autism to improve their quality of life and opportunities.

The bills were part of ideas highlighted at a “Policing Autism” event in April 2019 attended by Barrett and hosted by DeGroat’s foundation and Lansing area local law enforcement leaders.

 Kathie Obradovich at the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports on Tyler Leech, 27, an autistic person who had a stressful encounter with a police officer.

In January, he had an opportunity to visit the State Capitol with a friend, who introduced him to state Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines. He told the senator his story.

On Thursday, the rest of the Iowa Senate heard it. Bisignano encouraged senators to pass legislation to allow drivers who have an autism spectrum disorder to request a designation on their driver’s license.

Bisignano said the measure would alert police officers that the driver has a disability that could account for a demeanor or behaviors that might otherwise be misinterpreted. “This symbol will be up front, when they ask for a license, they’ll know they’re dealing with someone on the spectrum,” Bisignano said in an interview.

Bisignano, who is in the minority party, needed to bypass the normal legislative process to attach the measure to an unrelated bill dealing with farm vehicles. He gained the cooperation of Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman, to move the legislation.

The bill provided a rare feel-good moment in the Iowa Senate.

“I’m so darn happy right now,” Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale said. “This is what is right about Iowa.”

The Senate approved the amendment on a voice vote and passed the final bill, House File 2372, unanimously. The House still needs to approve the bill with the Senate changes. Sheri Leech thinks the timing is perfect.