Appeals Court Revives Tylenol Suits

 A number of posts have discussed Trump's support for discredited notions about autism The Sept 22 White House news conference was a firehose of lies. The next month, he posted an unfounded warning about Tylenol.  RFK then tiptoed away from the idea that it definitely causes autism.  A BMJ lit review debunked the idea. A Lancet review did likewise.

Jonathan Stempel at Reuters:

A federal appeals court on Monday revived more than 500 private lawsuits against Tylenol maker Kenvue (KVUE.N), opens new tab over ‌the painkiller's alleged link to autism.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a district court judge improperly excluded expert testimony from three doctors offered by parents and guardians who tied Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

There is no firm scientific ​evidence of such a link. The issue drew greater attention after President Donald Trump and top U.S. health officials in ​September suggested a link to autism.

In a 64-page decision for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi ⁠said the testimony from the three doctors, including the dean of Harvard University's School of Public Health, reflected methodologies used by ​other scientists, and "constitute acceptable interpretations of scientific evidence where scientists may, and in fact do, disagree."

Calabresi stressed that the appeals court ​was not deciding whether using acetaminophen causes autism or ADHD, or whether elected officials should do more to protect public health.

 

Trial Lawyers and Vaccines

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

He has now hijacked the CDC website -- and the CDC itself.

Amanda Chu at Politico:

Signs of a new legal opportunity emerged earlier this month when Kennedy removed four childhood vaccines from the routine schedule – a move lawyers say could increase litigation against drugmakers. While patients can still receive the vaccines, they are no longer routinely recommended, giving the secretary a legal pathway to exclude them from the table of vaccines covered in the government-run vaccine-injury compensation program without needing congressional approval. That, in turn, would force vaccine-injured patients to sue drugmakers directly for compensation.

“If they remove various vaccines from the vaccine injury table, that would permit consumers to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable in instances where the company failed to warn that the vaccine causes a harm or where the company could have made the vaccine safer but didn’t,” said Aaron Siri, a trial lawyer who has worked with Kennedy.

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was created by Congress in 1986 after a series of lawsuits against vaccine makers prompted many of them to pull out of the market. The no-fault program provided an immunity shield to vaccine makers while also lowering the burden of proof for people seeking compensation through the program compared to what they’d face in court.
...

The golden age of tort suits, when attorneys had asbestos and tobacco companies to go after, may be over. Tort cases have remained low over the past decade, representing only 6 percent of incoming state trial court civil caseloads in 2024, compared to 7 percent in 2014, according to the Center for Justice and Democracy’s comparison of data from the National Center for State Courts. “The arc of American civil litigation bends not toward expansion but toward contraction,” said Nora Freeman Engstrom, an expert on tort law at Stanford University.

When it comes to vaccines, personal injury lawyers who specialize in using the existing compensation system say most plaintiffs alleging they were hurt by a vaccine are likely to do worse in court. Courts will require a higher burden of proof than the compensation program and damages may be too small for a trial lawyer to be interested in pursuing a case, they said.

“The focus on vaccine injury has been dulled and blurred and politicized,” said Robert Krakow, a vaccine injury lawyer who has worked with Kennedy on past litigation, including suits against Merck over the Gardasil vaccine.

Vaccine Schedule Changes Could Severely Reduce Vaccine Availability

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

He has now hijacked the CDC website -- and the CDC itself.

Caitlin Owens at Axios:

The Department of Health and Human Services is planning to propose a new childhood vaccine schedule. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came close to promoting Denmark's slimmed-down recommendations before pulling back on Friday, Politico reported. But the change is still likely to happen — a risky political gamble, but one seemingly in sync with President Trump's recent directive to top health officials to "align U.S. core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries."
...
[Antivax physician Robert] Malone wrote a Substack post on the U.S. adoption of the Danish schedule on Thursday, concluding that "this could be ... the biggest Christmas present ever for Children's Health Defense, The Informed Consent Action Network, a wide array of smaller organizations representing vaccine injured, and the trial lawyers of America."

The change could lead directly to fewer vaccinations and more vaccine-preventable diseases.  It could also effectively gut the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which provides compensation to the relatively small number of people who actually have vaccine injuries while shielding manufacturers from lawsuits.  Without the program, companies would simply stop making vaccines, which are not very profitable to begin with.

Kennedy has said he wants to "fix" the program. And anti-vaccine activists who've long made it a target contend it removes the incentive for drug companies to put out safe products. (These same activists also make claims about widespread vaccine harms without reliable evidence and contrary to the findings of the scientific establishment.)

Getting rid of it altogether would require an act of Congress, which is highly unlikely at this point.

But in a video he posted on X, anti-vaccine lawyer and past Kennedy ally Aaron Siri claimed that "there is a way to get rid of the [manufacturers'] immunity without Congress," saying that to be covered a vaccine needs to be "routinely recommended." Siri worked with Kennedy for years on vaccine-related lawsuits. He recently gave a presentation on the childhood vaccine schedule at a meeting of the CDC advisory committee. Siri noted that COVID vaccine, which is no longer recommended for children, is as a result no longer protected by the federal liability shield and that "if you took the other vaccines ... and you made them non-routine, they would be out."

 

Wrongful Death

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people.  When cops encounter autistic people, they may not respond in the same way as NT people, and things can get out of hand. Among other things, they may misinterpret autistic behavior as aggressive or defiant. Training could help.

Hannah Fry at LAT:

The family of Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old boy with autism who was shot and killed by San Bernardino County sheriff‘s deputies outside his Apple Valley home this month, has filed a wrongful death claim against the county, attorneys announced during a news conference on Thursday.

The claim, which signals that the family plans to sue the county, says legal action could focus on allegations of assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Under no circumstances should a 15-year-old autistic boy with a gardening hoe be shot and killed without taking the time to calm the boy down before using deadly force,” John Burris, a civil rights attorney who is among those representing the family, said in a prepared statement. “The police conduct was unreasonable.”

Cristy Fajardo at Fox Local:

"They have blood on their hands because they shot and killed and slaughtered a young boy who really wasn't fully capable of appreciating what the police were trying to do to him," said family attorney John Burris.

Burris says the body cam footage shows a series of mistakes.

At first, the deputy yells out, which is known to agitate people with autism. When Gainer appears with a hoe in his hand, the deputy pulls out his gun, which they say would also scare a person on the spectrum.

"They had options. They had tasers, they had pepper spray," he explained.

The family's attorney said just before the shooting, a cousin made a second call to 911 to say that the situation had resolved itself and that Ryan had settled down. They want to know if that information was passed along to the deputies, and if the deputy who fired had been to the home before. They say they're hoping to get those answers as part of the lawsuit.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department wouldn't comment, citing pending litigation. But Sheriff Shannon Dicus did address the media following the shooting.

"Yes, our deputies do carry tasers. So you actually hear, Ryan's family say, why didn't you use a taser? Those techniques don't always work. And when you're talking time and distance and making these critical, life-threatening decisions, particularly with somebody coming down with the deadly weapon on you," Dicus said at a press conference.

Judge Nixes Tylenol Cases

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies.

 Jeff Feeley at Bloomberg:

Kenvue Inc., a Johnson & Johnson spinoff, won’t have to face lawsuits alleging prenatal exposure to over-the-counter painkiller Tylenol caused autism after a judge rejected the scientific evidence behind the cases.

US District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan concluded Monday that plaintiffs in more than 400 suits accusing Kenvue and other makers and sellers of acetaminophen relied on flawed science in seeking to prove an increased risk of developmental issues in babies. The ruling effectively kills a consolidation of the cases before Cote.

Kenvue shares were up nearly 5% in Tuesday morning trading.

In her pretrial ruling, Cote found that plaintiffs’ scientific experts couldn’t show legitimate links between Tylenol and autism attention-deficit problems or hyperactivity, making the cases legally unsustainable. The experts didn’t use a “reliable application of scientific methods” in accessing the causal links between the drug and the ailments, Cote concluded in a 148-page ruling.

From the ruling: "the plaintiffs do not have admissible evidence to demonstrate that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen causes either ASD or ADHD in offspring."

The Pennsylvania Cliff

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:

When disabled people reach their 22d birthday, they no longer qualify for services under IDEA. ... People in the disability community refer to this point in life as “the cliff.” Once autistic people go over the cliff, they have a hard time getting services such as job placement, vocational training, and assistive technology. IDEA entitles students to transition planning services during high school, but afterwards, they have to apply as adults and establish eligibility for state and federal help. One study found that 39 percent of young autistic adults received no service at all, and most of the rest got severely limited services.

From the Public Interest Law Center:

Pennsylvania’s students with disabilities can now receive a free and appropriate public education until they turn 22—a policy change that will provide months of additional support to young adults across the commonwealth at a crucial juncture in their lives. Today, as part of a settlement reached in a federal class action lawsuit, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced a change to their previous eligibility policy, which aged students out of special education services at the end of the school term in which they turned 21.

The policy change follows a lawsuit filed by A.P., a 19-year-old student with multiple disabilities, and his family. The case challenged PDE’s previous age out policy for failing to comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees students with disabilities the right to receive individualized support services until they either earn a regular high school diploma or turn 22. The Public Interest Law Center and Berney & Sang represented A.P. and his family in the case.

As part of the settlement, Pennsylvania updated its age-out policy—effective immediately—allowing eligible students with disabilities to continue to receive a free and appropriate public education until their 22nd birthday. The policy change also applies to eligible students who turned 21 during the 2022-23 school year and were prematurely exited from school under PDE’s old policy. These students will have the option to re-enroll in public school this school year.

The updated policy will have a significant impact for hundreds of students like A.P., who works with personal care assistants and receives occupational therapy, speech therapy, and transition services to help him prepare to successfully transition to adult life. His 21st birthday is in February 2025, and under the old policy, he would have lost access to these services in summer 2025 at the end of the school year. Now, under the new policy, he will be able to continue to receive services until his 22nd birthday in February 2026—more than six months later.

As part of the settlement, PDE has sent a letter to all families with 21-year-old students with disabilities who may be eligible to continue to receive services, and posted an FAQ on their website about the new policy. PDE has also sent a notice to the superintendents and special education directors of all school districts, charter schools, and intermediate units in Pennsylvania telling them to contact students and provide them with the option to re-enroll.

The Public Interest Law Center and Berney & Sang, attorneys representing A.P. and his family, released the following statement:

“The PA Department of Education’s new policy complies with federal law and allows students to receive the support they are entitled to until they turn 22. This is a significant step forward for young adults with disabilities in Pennsylvania. We commend PDE for acting promptly and meaningfully in response to our class action lawsuit, and we look forward to working with them to ensure that students with disabilities are able to receive the support they deserve to prepare for the next stage in their lives.”

Baby Food

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.  There is a similar ad about baby food.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies.

Susan Goldhaber at the American Council on Science and Health

I almost drove off the road listening to an ad from a law firm urging parents with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be part of a lawsuit suing baby food manufacturers for causing their child’s condition. According to the ad, the question of what causes ASD has been settled and what remains is for parents to get what is owed them from baby food manufacturers that have been hiding the truth from the public for years

...

Let us look at a review article that examined the available studies on this topic:

A 2019 review examined 14 studies that investigated the association between arsenic and 37 studies that examined the association between lead and ASD. The studies:

• Divided children into two groups – those diagnosed with and those without an ASD diagnosis
• Determined whether there was a statistically significant difference in the measured arsenic or lead levels in the hair, blood, or urine of the two groups of children.

The studies did not determine causality; they identified a correlation.

• Out of the 14 studies on arsenic exposure, 8 (53.3%) reported a positive association.
• Out of the 37 studies on lead exposure, 19 (51.3%) reported a positive association.

...

Class action lawsuits are not new in the U.S., but their scientific basis has weakened over the years. The current lawsuits over ASD and baby foods are based on weak scientific evidence of an association, where even the researchers cannot show a consistent association and no evidence that baby foods cause ASD. 

Lawsuits Over Noncompete and Nonsolicitation Contracts

The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of autism service providers.

At The Salt Lake Tribune, Taylor Stevens reports on a lawsuit in Saratoga Springs, Utah:

The lawsuit, filed in July by Utah Behavior Services, alleges several of the company’s former employees violated the noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in their employment contracts when they left and went to work with PBJ & Friends, which opened its doors in June.

A judge in September declined to enforce a temporary restraining order sought by Utah Behavior Services that would have barred the plaintiffs from working while the lawsuit progresses. But PBJ & Friends says a future ruling in favor of Utah Behavior Services could prevent many of its employees from working and force the new company to reduce its hours.

That outcome, the defendants say, would further limit access to autism services amid growing need and a lack of qualified providers.

“We’re hurting people here.... A lot,” if the lawsuit is successful, argued Austin Hepworth, an attorney who’s representing the defendants. “And to us from a societal perspective, that isn’t warranted when the company is not losing clients because they have a waitlist that’s, to our knowledge, longer than the noncompete period.”

The complaint against PBJ & Friends is one of similar lawsuits Utah Behavior Services has filed against a total of 14 former employees in the last seven years, the Utah Investigative Journalism Project has found. The other suits have been either dismissed or settled.

Supreme Courrt Case on Medicaid

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss health care issues and state Medicaid services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A case before the Supreme Court today could have implications for people with disabilities such as autism. A September 30 release from the Arc:

Six leading disability advocacy organizations, with the support of Kellogg Hansen, have filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the estate of Gorgi Talevski, who alleges that the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana (HHC) abused and neglected him while in a nursing home. The amicus brief explains why it is important that individuals, particularly those with disabilities, have the ability to sue state and local governments when their civil rights are violated under Medicaid and other public programs. The case, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana v. Talevski, is scheduled to be heard on November 8, 2022.

The amicus brief focuses focuses on the harmful impact the case will have on people with disabilities, who have long faced pervasive discriminatory treatment within American society. People with disabilities and their families have relied on lawsuits to enforce Medicaid’s antidiscrimination protections, including the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. case. If providers of Medicaid services abuse or mistreat beneficiaries or take away or deny their benefits, private lawsuits – regularly brought by The Arc and its partners – are often the only way to hold government entities accountable and ensure people get the life-saving therapies and everyday living support services they need. Many of these lawsuits will no longer be possible if the Court rules in favor of HHC. Full access to Medicaid services and the right to enforce these services are crucial to achieving community integration for people with disabilities. The brief urges the Court to reaffirm the private right of action to enforce Medicaid guarantees and disability rights.

“This case is a large-scale assault on disability rights around the country,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc of the United States. “Medicaid is the primary source of healthcare for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the vast majority of whom want to live with dignity in their homes and communities. Protecting their right to private action when such rights are violated would ensure they aren’t unnecessarily institutionalized and prevent the unraveling of antidiscrimination progress set forth by the ADA for over 30 years.”

“The Supreme Court has signaled that it may strike another blow against civil rights in this case,” said Ira Burnim, Legal Director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. “An expansive ruling could put at risk the ability of individuals to seek relief in federal court for violations of key civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination based on sex, race, national origin, or disability.”

“Medicaid covers personal attendants and other in-home services and supports that disabled people need to live in the community and participate in society. Enforcement is a critical right,” said Claudia Center, Legal Director of Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

“Congress intended that people with disabilities have the right to enforce Medicaid, just as they do Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The disability community has used this private right of action to enforce vital civil rights protections repeatedly,” said Maria Town, American Association of People with Disabilities President and CEO. “Any decision from the Supreme Court that does not recognize this right would go against Congress’ wishes, decades of legal precedent, and ultimately, put at serious risk the healthcare, community integration, and civil rights that people with disabilities have long fought to secure.”

In Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana v. Talevski, HHC is appealing a ruling by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that Mr. Talevski and his family could sue to enforce his rights under the Nursing Home Reform Act provisions of Medicaid. For 50 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that people can sue if their rights are violated under safety net programs. The inability to pursue legal recourse will affect millions of people who rely on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and more.

The amici are also concerned that a broad ruling in favor of HHC may undercut individuals’ rights to sue to enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination based on sex), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, or national origin), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (prohibiting disability discrimination).

Major health organizations, legal experts, and scholars also uphold the importance of private suits under Medicaid and other federal statutes. Over twenty other amicus briefs have been submitted in support of the defendant, Gorgi Talevski, who is being represented by Ivanka Talevski in his death.

 

Acetaminophen Mass Tort Litigation

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies.

Brendan Pierson at Reuters:

A federal judicial panel has created a new mass tort litigation for claims accusing Costco Wholesale Corp, Walmart Inc and other major retailers of failing to warn that using acetaminophen, a popular pain and fever-reduction medication, during pregnancy can cause autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in St. Louis on Wednesday consolidated 18 lawsuits for pretrial proceedings before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan. The panel sent an additional 48 cases to the newly created multidistrict litigation on Thursday, saying the same scientific and legal questions underlie all of the cases.

The lawsuits target retailers that sell the over-the-counter drug, also sold by Johnson & Johnson under the brand name Tylenol.

They also name CVS Pharmacy Inc, Rite Aid Corp, Safeway Inc, Target Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc as defendants, but not manufacturers of the drug.

Acetaminophen Litigation

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies:

Reuters:

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will meet today in St. Louis to consider creating nationwide MDLs for three fast-growing areas of product-liability litigation: social media addiction lawsuits, primarily against Facebook and Instagram’s parent Meta Platforms Inc; claims that acetaminophen use during pregnancy increases the child’s risk of autism-spectrum disorders and ADHD; and cases spurred by Exactech Inc’s recent recalls of many of its knee, ankle and hip-replacement products.

...

MDL No. 3043 − IN RE: ACETAMINOPHEN − ASD/ADHD PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in the past year, quoting recent studies that link pregnant women’s use of acetaminophen to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and ADHD in their children. In June, plaintiff Aujenai Thompson sought to consolidate 19 actions against the sellers of “store-brand” acetaminophen products for pretrial coordination or consolidation. Since then, more than 30 related actions have been filed, naming Costco Wholesale Corp, CVS Pharmacy Inc, Rite Aid Corp, Safeway, Target Corp, Walgreen Co and Walmart Inc as defendants.

Acetaminophen

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies:

Inflammatory bowel disease;

Pesticides;

Air pollution and proximity to freeways;

Maternal thyroid issues;

Autoimmune disorders;

Induced labor;

Preterm birth;

Fever;  

Birth by cesarean section;

Anesthesia during cesarean sections;

Maternal and paternal obesity;

Maternal diabetes;

Maternal and paternal age;

Grandparental age;

Maternal post-traumatic stress disorder;

Maternal anorexia;

Smoking during pregnancy;

Cannabis use during pregnancy;

Antidepressant use during pregnancy;

Polycystic ovary syndrome;

Infant opioid withdrawal;

Zinc deficiency;

Sulfate deficiency;

Processed foods;

Maternal occupational exposure to solvents;

Congenital heart disease;

Insufficient placental allopregnanolone.

Estrogen in the womb;

Morning sickness;

Paternal family history;

Parental preterm birth;

Antiseizure meds

Lawsuit in Salt Lake Shooting

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people.  Police officers need training to respond appropriately.  When they do not, things get out of hand. A recent incident in Salt Lake City is getting national attention.

 Leia Larsen at The Salt Lake Tribune:

The parents of a 13-year-old boy with autism have filed a federal lawsuit against the Salt Lake City Police Department and the officer believed to have shot and injured the teen.

On Sept. 4, Linden Cameron’s mother, Golda Barton, called police for help while her son was having a mental health episode. The responding officers opened fire on the unarmed teenager instead, severely injuring him. Linden’s family has sought justice in the months since, and his story has rallied groups seeking police reform in Utah.

A complaint filed in Utah District Court on Monday alleges police shot Linden 11 times.

The civil lawsuit also claims the responding officers should have known Linden had mental health issues because Barton had told dispatchers about his autism and that he needed a “mental health worker, because he’s sick.” At least four officers responded, according to the complaint, which “were not trained as mental health workers” and “were not trained as crisis intervention team officers.” At least one officer allegedly acknowledged Linden has a “sensory disorder.”

Distance Learning Is Problematic

 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.

Kristen A. Graham at The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The behaviors started a few days after COVID-19 closed schools indefinitely in March: Eleven-year-old Ronan Strouse would bite one arm, issue frequent short, high-pitched yells, bang his leg hard.

Ronan, who is intellectually disabled, has autism and other complicated conditions, can’t carry on a conversation, but he had words enough to ask his mother: “School sick?” “Yes,” Celine Nace would tell her son. “School is sick.”

... 

Ronan’s is one of 500 families across the country who have signed onto a federal class-action lawsuit filed in New York in July; the number grows daily, said Patrick Donahue, the lawyer who filed the action, which seeks to either force schools to reopen or offer parents vouchers to obtain the services their children need, plus compensatory education and punitive damages for missed months of education.

“There’s no pandemic pass,” said Donahue, who also runs a private school for special-needs students. His school sent workers to offer in-person services in students’ homes when the coronavirus first shut schools; it fully reopened in May. “These are the most vulnerable of our population, and most schools have abandoned these families.”

Dan Albano at The Orange County Register:

 Jessica Postil, co-owner and executive director of Autism Spectrum Consultants, said agencies such as hers have helped students be more successful with distance learning through in-person support. She recommends parents discuss support options for academics with their district as well as the Regional Center of Orange County or even their private insurance.

“With in-person assistance, we have a higher ability to manage behavior and keep the client online and working on their educational goals because we are addressing their behavior,” said Postil, whose company serves Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego.

“Some of our kids don’t like looking at faces or eyes (on the computer screen) and it causes them anxiety,” she said. “Other kids with autism have high distractibility. If they are given a device, they are minimizing that classroom screen if they’re not managed and they are on a game immediately.”