Political Experiences of Autistic Adults

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

Alison U. Tassone, Kaitlyn E. Breitenfeldt, Elizabeth A. DeLucia, Jordan Albright, and Christina G. McDonnell.A Pilot Study of Political Experiences and Barriers to Voting Among Autistic Adults Participating in Online Survey Research in the United States.Autism in Adulthood.ahead of print

Abstract:

Background: Political participation is an important and meaningful aspect of civic engagement for adults. Existing research suggests that disabled people face barriers to political engagement. However, very little is known regarding how Autistic adults engage in politics in the United States.

Methods: Participants included 276 self-consenting Autistic adults (including those with a diagnosis and self-identified) and 361 non-autistic adults. Participants completed an online survey regarding political attitudes, barriers to voting, engagement methods, and affective experiences between December 2020 and January 2021.

Results: The majority of self-consenting Autistic adults in this online sample were registered to vote and identified themselves as part of the Democratic party and as very liberal. On average, Autistic adults most strongly supported policies surrounding disability rights and education. Overall, Autistic adults experienced greater barriers to voting than non-autistic adults. When adjusting for demographic differences across groups, the strongest group differences were that Autistic adults reported greater barriers to voting due to mental health difficulties, fear of crowds, and fear of leaving the house. Autistic adults engaged in politics more through social media outlets and through signing petitions relative to non-autistic adults, but reported engaging less through watching political debates, watching the news, and reading about politics in print newspapers, although effects were not maintained after adjusting for demographic differences. When asked about the current political climate, Autistic adults reported higher negative emotions (feeling upset, nervous, and afraid) than non-autistic adults. Demographic factors (age, gender, and income) related to political experiences.

Conclusion: Results of this study suggest self-consenting Autistic adults face significant barriers to voting and have unique experiences related to political participation. Future research to improve and support political participation among Autistic adults is a critical research priority.

Section 504 Trainings

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities. 

Karen M. Tani, "After 504: Training the Citizen-Enforcers of Disability Rights,:" Disability Studies Quarterly  Vol. 42 No. 3-4 (2023): Summer 2023

Who made disability civil rights law? And how did disability civil rights law, in turn, shape its subjects? This article is about what followed from the enactment of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 3 which disability rights advocates understood as their inaugural civil rights law and which became a template for the better-known Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) ("ADA"). 4 Specifically, this article recounts the history of the "Section 504 trainings," a series of government-funded convenings held all over the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Berkeley-based Center for Independent Living ("CIL") ran many of them, through a legal arm that eventually became the Disability Rights Education and Law Center ("DREDF"). In doing so, the organization taught thousands of disabled people to think about Section 504 in a capacious, affirmative way. CIL trainers also used these convenings to try to affect participants' understanding of disability and its role in their lives.

...

One consequence, according to some people involved with the trainings, was the creation of a nationwide, grassroots network for DLRC, which during this period became the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and formally separated from CIL. Over the next decade, DREDF would famously combat executive branch efforts to defang Section 504 and also help spur the enactment of the ADA.

Vaccination, Politics and COVID-19

 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.

At BMC Public Health, Don Albrecht has an article titled "Vaccination, politics and COVID-19 impacts."  The abstract:

The development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines provides a clear path to bring the pandemic to an end. Vaccination rates, however, have been insufficient to prevent disease spread. A critical factor in so many people choosing not to be vaccinated is their political views. In this study, a path model is developed and tested to explore the impacts of political views on vaccination rates and COVID-19 cases and deaths per 100,000 residents in U.S. counties. The data strongly supported the model. In counties with a high percentage of Republican voters, vaccination rates were significantly lower and COVID-19 cases and deaths per 100,000 residents were much higher. Moving forward, it is critical to find ways to overcome political division and rebuild trust in science and health professionals.

From the article:

Despite the obvious fact that vaccines save lives and reduce human suffering [34], there has been opposition to vaccination since the time of Jenner [35]. This opposition has become more organized and vibrant in recent years, with help from the Internet and social media [30, 36]. A critical event was an article published in 1998 that purported a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. Later it was found that the research was faulty and the article was retracted in 2010. The damage, however, had been done and a strong “anti-vax” movement was growing throughout the world. The movement was greatly enhanced by tweets from Donald Trump both before his election and after he became president [31]. The consequences are profound, and vaccination rates have been declining around the world [37].

...

Conservative opposition to vaccines was enhanced by the support of Donald Trump. Over the years, Trump has sent many tweets with anti-vax and pro-conspiracy theory themes. For example, in 2014 he tweeted, “Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn’t feel good and changes – AUTISM. Many such cases.” On September 2, 2015 he tweeted, “I am being proven right about massive vaccinations – the doctors lied. Save our children and their futures!” A study by Hornsey et al. [31] found that these statements had an effect and that Trump voters were more likely to express vaccine hesitancy, distrust medical authorities, and believe conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.

Beyond the president, other political leaders and media outlets sent divergent messages on COVID-19. Again, Republicans and the right-wing media tended to downplay the threat of the disease and express opposition to steps intended to prevent spread [93]. Fridman et al. [94] found a critical factor in vaccine resistance was exposure to right-wing media. With support from Republican leaders and the right-wing media, protests were held throughout the country in opposition to mask mandates, business and school closures, and vaccination mandates. In many communities, wearing a mask or getting a vaccine became a political statement, with many Republicans arguing that these actions violated their individual freedoms and were unnecessary anyway. The consequence was increased levels of virus spread in Republican-dominated counties. A study from early in the pandemic found that counties where Trump received a higher proportion of the vote were initially safer from the virus, but this changed as the pandemic progressed, and these counties then experienced severe impacts [95]. Research shows that a likely reason for the initial safety of Trump-leaning counties from the disease is that they tend to be more rural where people are naturally social distanced and less likely to be reliant on mass transit, conditions which enhance virus spread [61]. This same study found a positive relationship between the percent voting for Trump in a county and the severity of the pandemic in that county. In this study, we expect an inverse relationship between the percent voting for Trump and vaccination rates. Lower vaccination rates are expected to lead to higher rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Special Education Legislative Advocacy

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

Meghan Burke, Zachary Rossetti & Chak Li have an article at The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders titled "The Efficacy and Impact of a Special Education Legislative Advocacy Program Among Parents of Children with Disabilities."  The abstract:

With the looming reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it is important for parent input to inform legislative changes. Unfortunately, parent input has been limited in past IDEA reauthorizations. Thus, it is critical to develop and test interventions to improve parent legislative advocacy. With 37 parents of children with disabilities, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy and impact of an advocacy program. Results indicate significant increases in special education knowledge and special education legislative advocacy activities for the intervention (versus waitlist-control) group. However, there were no significant changes in civic engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

From the article:

First, participants demonstrated significant increases in special education knowledge and legislative advocacy activities. Regarding special education knowledge, these results are consistent with prior studies showing that parent advocacy programs increase participants’ special education knowledge (Burke & Sandman, 2017; Burke et al., 2016). Notably, this study was the frst to do so with an RCT. Knowledge of special education policy refects a strong foundation for potential legislative advocacy as prior studies indicate that parents report insufcient knowledge as a barrier to legislative advocacy (Burke et al., 2018; Trainor, 2010). Regarding special education legislative activities, our results are consistent with prior research showing that an advocacy program increased legislative advocacy activities (Burke & Sandman, 2017). Again, the current study was the frst to do so with an RCT. Prior research has shown that parents of children with disabilities perceived legislative advocacy as less efective than individual advocacy for their own child (Wright & Taylor, 2014). Our results suggest the efcacy of a legislative advocacy programs, which may help enable parents in overcoming barriers to advocacy.

Second, the program did have a signifcant impact on legislative advocacy activities. In addition, intervention group participants specifcally engaged in advocacy that reached over 300 individuals. This is consistent with prior research demonstrating that advocacy programs resulted in increased engagement in legislative advocacy (Burke & Sandman, 2017). With a shorter 3-month follow-up period of legislative advocacy activities compared to a 6-month follow-up in the pilot study (Burke & Sandman, 2017), this study’s results show a more immediate impact. Additionally, participants provided written responses describing other advocacy activities, such as fundraising and volunteering for important causes, belonging to school or disability committees and parent special education advocacy groups, and soliciting media involvement for important causes. These data refect types of engagement in legislative advocacy that may be more desirable and/or possible for parents compared to directly contacting or meeting with legislators, which they engaged in less and may seem intimidating (Burke & Sandman, 2017)

National Disability Voter Registration Week

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists"

Why NDVRW? 

Every year, the REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This year, NDVRW is July 13-17. With an estimated 35 million people with disabilities eligible to vote in 2020, we invite state and local organizations to participate in NDVRW in order to raise the disability voice and civic participation across the country!

COVID-19 Update: Although some states are slowly opening up, we are focusing on supporting the disability vote through digital organizing techniques throughout NDVRW!

Getting Involved in NDVRW

Share our Online Voter Registration Portal! Direct folks to AAPD’s custom registration portal at weall.vote/aapd, powered by When We All Vote, where they can register to vote in just a few minutes.

Host a Virtual Event! Host a virtual event to help voters in your state understand the rules, disability voting rights, voting options, safety-protocols, and key dates for the 2020 elections.

Organizing Virtual Text-banking! AAPD has partnered with When We All Vote to use OutVote, an app that helps individuals to use texting to get out the vote among their friends and family. Check out instructions for using OutVote in our NDVRW 2020 toolkit.

Activate your Social Media! Use the power and reach of social media to share our online voter registration portal weall.vote/aapd, motivate your network to register and vote, and inform voters on your state’s election rules and dates.
Use our NDVRW 2020 Toolkit! Our Toolkit provides key resources and info to help you engage with NDVRW!

Access the NDVRW 2020 Materials

NDVRW Resources & Tools

Getting people with disabilities registered to vote is the first step to increasing the political power of people with disabilities. Below are links to tools and resources to help you get involved in NDVRW 2020:

NDVRW Signup Form If you are planning voter registration events or other activities, please keep the REV UP Campaign updated on your efforts!
NDVRW 2020 Toolkit The NDVRW Toolkit includes a guide on how to organize virtual voter registration events, sample social media posts and graphics, and more.
NDVRW Digital Organizing Training On June 10th, AAPD and When We All Vote hosted a training on how to get folks registered through digital organizing strategies.
Online Voter Registration Portal (weall.vote/aapd) Share this online voter registration on social media, on your websites, in your email signature, in newsletters, and more.
NDVRW Press Release Template Use this press release template to share your involvement in NDVRW 2020 in your state and communities.
NDVRW Social Media Graphics Especially during COVID-19, Social Media is an incredibly powerful tool for encouraging people to register and vote.
NDVRW Partners Supporting Organizations will have their name and logo listed on the REV UP website to show the vast support behind the Campaign.
NDVRW Flyer Use this flyer to share information about NDVRW with your partners.
NDVRW Spanish Materials*

*Special thanks to María Vicky Díaz, Dr. Sara M. Acevedo, and Dr. Federico Waitoller with the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities/Coalición Nacional para Latinxs con Discapacidades (CNLD), and Laura Marquez from Paso Del Norte Children’s Development Center for providing Spanish translation.

Additional Ways to Participate in National Disability Voter Registration Week
Write letters to the editor or Op-Eds and engage local radio or TV stations on the growing efforts by the disability community. Check out The Op-Ed Project for tips on writing a compelling Op-Ed!

Organize a candidate town hall event or distribute candidate questionnaires to engage candidates with people with disabilities in your community. As a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization you must send an invitation to all candidates. Nonprofit VOTE offers additional resources and guides on staying nonpartisan.

Connect with other disability rights and voting rights organizations in your area to partner on events and initiatives during NDVRW.

Ask your Governor, Mayor, City Council, County Commissioner, or State Representative to issue a proclamation declaring July 13-17, 2020, National Disability Voter Registration Week. Find a draft Proclamation here and send any Proclamations you receive to programs@aapd.com!

Find out how other organizations are engaging in NDVRW on our State Resources and Events Page.

Resources from Previous NDVRW’s

2019 REV UP National Organizing Call Recap2018 REV UP National Organizing Call Recap2018 Joint Statement of Support from Senators Dole and Harkin2018 REV UP Graphics

ASD on Twitter

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue.

Monica L Bellon-Harn, Jianyuan Ni, Vinaya Manchaiah have an article at Autism titled "Twitter Usage about Autism Spectrum Disorder."

Stakeholders within autism spectrum disorder communities use Twitter for specific purposes. The goal of this study was to characterize patterns and themes of tweet content and sentiment and intercommunications between users sending and retweeting content to their respective user networks. The study used cross-sectional analysis of data generated from Twitter. Twitter content, sentiment, users, and community networks were examined from a sample of tweets with the highest Twitter reach and the lowest Twitter reach. Results indicate that Twitter content from both samples was primarily related to empowerment and support. Differences between the number of tweets originating from an individual in the lowest reach sample (i.e. 41%) as compared to the individuals in the highest reach sample (i.e. 18%) were noted. The number of users belonging to an advocacy subcommunity was substantially larger than a clinical and research subcommunity. Results provide insight into the presuppositions of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, their families and significant others, and other stakeholders.

From the article:

The second most frequently identified category from the highest reach sample emphasized the fact that vaccines do not cause autism. This content comprised the most tweets in a given hour on a given day. Please note that the >5000 and >3000 retweets were not excluded and could influence these results. Fewer tweets included misinformation about vaccines.

A big limitation here:  many antivax tweets do not use the autism or the other keywords employed in this study. They often link to material that propounds the discredited notion of a vaccine-autism link but the tweets themselves speak in more general terms, using terms such as "informed consent," "vaccine safety" or "vaccine choice."  (See this post about "entryism.")

Shutdown Protests and Antivaxxers

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing disease to spread.  Trump has helped spread misinformation.

The antivaxxers are joining up with protests against the coronavirus shutdown.

Craig Timberg,  Elizabeth Dwoskin and Moriah Balingit at WP:

Protests against coronavirus-related government restrictions continued to spread on Friday as a coalition of gun activists, vaccine opponents and anxious business owners used the organizing power of social media to build increasingly visible and vocal opposition movements in several states.
...
In many cases the protests, which have been supported by conservative megadonors, have ties to a host of darker Internet subcultures — people who oppose vaccination, the self-identified Western-chauvinist Proud Boys group, anti-government conspiracy theorists known as QAnon, and people touting a coming civil war.
...

Erica Pettinaro, 28, who works part-time as a medical assistant and doula near Flint, Mich., said she is suspicious of the death toll reported from covid-19 and does not believe the government should be counting people who contract the virus and die of pneumonia, even though the term describes any infection that invades the lungs

Pettinaro, a mother of five, co-founded Michigan United for Liberty with a woman she met through her work as an anti-vaccination activist. The group has sued Whitmer over the restrictions imposed during the pandemic and urged businesses to open Friday in defiance of the state order. It organized Thursday’s protest at the state capitol.
...
Earlier this month, a video of an Idaho mother who was arrested after letting her kids play on a playground that was surrounded by police tape went viral in far-right circles, pushed out by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

The mother, Sara Walton Brady, is an anti-vaccine activist with connections to a number of conservative groups, said [researcher Joan] Donovan. The video was live-streamed on Facebook by supporters, and the incident followed an earlier anti-quarantine

demonstration in Idaho organized by anti-vaccine activists, the gun rights group Second Amendment Alliance, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a politically prominent conservative group in the state.

Sam Stanton and colleagues at The Sacramento Bee:

In the most intense protest yet against California’s stay-at-home order, demonstrators crowded the Capitol on Friday and scuffled with California Highway Patrol officers who had ordered them to disperse.

Authorities said late Friday 32 people were arrested, most of being cited and released, during the middle of the four-hour rally when tensions boiled over on the west steps of downtown Sacramento landmark.

The protest by roughly 1,000 people – some holding American flags and signs calling for the economy to reopen – started peacefully but quickly escalated when CHP officers ordered them to leave the steps of the landmark downtown Sacramento building or face arrest.

...
At least three people who tried to cross police lines were pulled away and detained. Several other people were pulled from the crowd as well. Among them was Heidi Munoz Gleisner of the group Freedom Angels; Gleisner is a familiar figure at the Capitol for participating in anti-vaccination protests.

Scenes from the Capitol now. There are thousands here to protest. So many Trump and anti-vax signs, American flags and very few masks. pic.twitter.com/LlCi424MPL

— Hannah Wiley (@hannahcwiley) May 1, 2020

IDEA Autism Data

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

From Department of Education, 41st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2019:

Between 2008 and 2016, the percentage of the resident population ages 6 through 21 served under IDEA, Part B, that was reported under the category of autism increased gradually from 0.4 percent to 0.9 percent, where it remained in 2017. Between 2008 and 2017, the percentages of the populations ages 6 through 11, 12 through 17, and 18 through 21 served under IDEA, Part B, that were reported under the category of autism all increased. Specifically, the percentages of these three age groups that were reported under the category of autism were 86.1 percent, 147.8 percent, and 163.2 percent larger in 2017 than in 2008, respectively 

Iowa Caucuses

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."

But the Iowa caucuses, the first event in the presidential nomination season, create barriers for people with autism and other disabilities.

Maggie Astor at NYT:

Talk to Iowans with disabilities and you will hear the same story over and over: a nightmarish experience in 2016, and repeated pleas that bring only vague assurances that 2020 will be better.

The state Democratic and Republican Parties say they have worked hard to make it so. The Democrats have an online form for people to request accommodations by Monday; the Republicans list a phone number, an email address and a Friday deadline. But they have publicized the processes perfunctorily if at all.

The Democrats released their form just this month, with a tweet saying they were “excited to announce” that they were offering an accommodation request process “for the first time ever.” Asked whether the Republicans had advertised theirs, a spokesman, Aaron Britt, put the onus on advocates.

“The disabilities groups are really good about making sure they get out our process,” he said. “If an Iowan has a disability but they want to be able to caucus, it’s pretty easy for them to find out what exactly they need to do.”

Yet in a state where some 300,000 registered voters have disabilities, the Republicans had received one accommodation request as of Friday, according to Mr. Britt. Ms. Koski said the Democrats had received about 160. Some additional requests have gone to local officials: Judy Downs, the executive director of the Polk County Democrats, estimated that she had fielded two dozen.

Caucusgoers said they had struggled to navigate the request processes, or hadn’t known they existed until recent days. Even those seeking simple accommodations — a chair, for instance — described a mass of red tape and unreturned calls.

Although this article does not mention autism, caucuses can be extremely stressful for many people on the spectrum.   They can be noisy, crowded, chaotic, and they require intense social interactions with strangers.

Autistic Congressional Candidate

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists"

Zack Budryk at The Hill:

A Washington state candidate running to succeed retiring Rep. Denny Heck revealed he is autistic Wednesday, citing teen climate activist Greta Thunberg as inspiration.

I've spent a long time thinking about whether I would talk publicly about this. I'm running for Congress & I know people will judge me for it. But I've seen how much @GretaThunberg has helped the conversation around it & I've decided to be open about it too. I'm autistic.

— Joshua 4 Congress (@Joshua4Congress) December 17, 2019

Collins, a 26-year-old truck driver, is currently the only declared Democratic candidate in the race for the state’s 10th District. The Democratic primary is set for Aug. 4, 2020.
Collins, a self-identified socialist, says on his campaign site that his experience as a trucker and navigating a complex, insufficient safety net shaped his views.

“[A] decade in the workforce has made the truth clear: our lives are made difficult on purpose. This system has been created and maintained by the people who own basically everything to protect their power,” he writes. “If we’re well-paid, secure in our housing, and educated, we demand a far bigger share.”

Although speculation abounds that historical statespeople who predate the modern understanding of autism, such as Thomas Jefferson, may have been on the spectrum, Collins would be the first openly autistic member of Congress.

HCBS: The Need to Hear from Autistic Adults

The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of insurance and  Medicaid services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) are particularly important.

Lindsay Shea, Whitney Schott, Julia Bascom, Amy R. Pettit at Health Affairs:

The US spends more than $80 billion per year on Medicaid-funded home and community-based services (HCBS). This investment provides vital support to adults with disabilities, who typically do not have access to these resources through private insurance. Over the next several years, states will be mandated to implement new federal requirements that will, for the first time, establish a federal minimum standard for HCBS and modernize and shape delivery of these services for years to come. As part of this process, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) called for states to offer meaningful and repeated opportunities for stakeholders to provide input into their transition plan and processes. Autistic adults make up a growing portion of these stakeholders, as a result of an increase in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses and an aging population of autistic people diagnosed in childhood who will need services through adolescence and adulthood. Autistic voices and perspectives will be critical to shape a service system that can effectively meet their needs, but it remains unclear whether states’ public comment periods and feedback processes have included effective mechanisms for this group to be heard.

Disability Voter Turnout

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the political participation of people with autism and other disabilities.

Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse of Rutgers: Fact sheet: Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2018 Elections

Key points:

• Voter turnout surged by 8.5 points in 2018 among citizens with disabilities relative to the 2014 midterm elections. The surge, though, was slightly larger among citizens without disabilities (11.9 points), resulting in a 4.7 point gap in voter turnout between citizens with and without disabilities in 2018.
• The increased turnout among people with disabilities occurred across all disability types and demographic categories—gender, race/ethnicity, age group, and region.
• 14.3 million citizens with disabilities reported voting in the November 2018 elections.
• Employed people with disabilities were just as likely as employed people without
• disabilities to vote, suggesting that employment helps bring people with disabilities into mainstream political life.
• If people with disabilities voted at the same rate as people without disabilities who have the same demographic characteristics, there would be about 2.35 million more voters. 

These figures are based on analysis of data from the federal government’s Current
Population Survey Voting Supplement for November 2018, which has a sample size of 88,749. The computations were made using six disability questions introduced on the Current Population Survey in 2008.

Partisanship and Participation Among Disabled People

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists"

At the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Sierra Powell and April A. Johnson have a paper titled "Partisanship and Political Participation Among People with Disabilities."

The abstract:

Scholars have found that having a disability significantly decreases the likelihood one will vote. Here we explore several mechanisms that may be behind the low voter turnout of disabled Americans. Commensurate with the pattern of low turnout among people with disabilities, we ask whether people with disabilities also exhibit weak partisanship, moderate ideological preferences, and inconsistent patterns of vote choice. Analyzing data from the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study and the 2012 and 2016 American National Election Studies, we conclude that having a disability is positively related to identifying as a Democrat, to identifying with liberal ideological orientations, and to Democratic vote choice. Curiously, we also find strong partisan attachments among people with physical disabilities, despite their history of low voting levels. We speculate about the differential effect of partisan attachment on voting behavior among those with and without disabilities. Practical strategies for greater incorporation of those with disabilities into the political process are considered.

Mediation in Bay Area Nuisance Suit

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families.

Tracy Seipel reports at The San Jose Mercury News:

In a quickly dispatched hearing on Tuesday in a case that has riled Bay Area parents of developmentally disabled children, a Santa Clara County judge sent an autistic boy's parents and two Sunnyvale couples who claim the boy is a public nuisance back to mediation.

In the Civil Court hearing where Sunnyvale neighbors sought the boy's medical and school records, Superior Court Judge Maureen Folan admonished them, asking the two couples and the parents their ultimate goal: To find a solution or continue with litigation?

All the families said they wanted a solution so all agreed to the judge's suggestion that they arrange mediation with another judge, which is expected to happen in October.

...
Jill Escher, president of the San Francisco Bay Area Autism Society, and a parent of two autistic children, has called the lawsuit an outrage.

She and other parents say they fear that it the suit is successful, families with autistic children could be run out of neighborhoods everywhere, based on a "public nuisance'' claim.

In a blog post on the society's website Monday, Escher said that despite what the plaintiffs say, this case is very much about autism -- and discrimination.

"We all have a right to be protected from harm, I could not agree more,'' Escher wrote.

"But given that the family left the neighborhood a year ago, that no adverse events are alleged to have occurred for more than a year and a half, and that no actual injuries are even alleged as to the plaintiffs, this case is no longer about reasonable steps to ensure protection from a developmentally disabled child.

"By seeking draconian forms relief including a "public nuisance" declaration, the case has moved squarely into the realm of disability eviction and discrimination. This case is very much about autism.''

Trends in Childhood Disability

A release from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center:

The percentage of children with disabilities due to neurodevelopmental or mental health conditions continues to rise, particularly among children in more socially advantaged households, according to a Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC analysis that appears in the September issue of Pediatrics.

Results of the study, led by Amy Houtrow, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., chief, Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at Children’s Hospital, found that while there has been a decline in physical health-related disabilities by approximately 12 percent, there was a large, nearly 21 percent rise in disabilities classified as neurodevelopmental or mental health in nature.

The researchers studied data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2001 and 2011, evaluating each child’s ability to perform activities at home and school.

Although children living in poverty have the highest rates of disability, children living in families at or above 400 percent of the federal poverty level reported a 28.4 percent increase in disabilities over the past 10-year period.

Dr. Houtrow and the researchers offered four reasons that may explain the increased rates of disability related to neurodevelopmental or mental health conditions:

• shifts in diagnostic criteria
• overall increases in rates of certain problems including autism
• increased awareness of these conditions
• the need for a specific diagnosis to receive services such as early intervention 

“This study demonstrates what a lot of pediatricians have been noticing for several years – that they are seeing more neurodevelopmental and mental health problems in their clinical practices,” said Dr. Houtrow, who also is an associate professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pediatrics and vice chair in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “As we look toward the future, the pediatric health care workforce and system needs to adapt to assure the best possible health and functional outcomes for children with disabilities related to neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions.”

Driver Licenses

In Fitchburg, MA, the Sentinel & Enterprise reports:

Having dealt with special-needs student in the Narragansett Regional School District for years, Carla Charter knows that being diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder shouldn't be a proverbial death sentence.

With a bill being presented to Statehouse lawmakers Tuesday, Charter and Rep. Denise Andrews, D-Orange, hope to make the roadways safer for drivers on the autism spectrum and police officers who may pull them over.

"Most people, even those educated on the subject, can't tell if someone is autistic or has Asperger's syndrome right away," Charter said Sunday. "Even an officer educated on the topic couldn't tell if someone was on the autistic spectrum if they pulled them over at 3 in the morning. If something comes across as odd to an officer, things could escalate."

Charter noted that people dealing with autism-spectrum disorders often can have a tough time with social interactions. Some may answer questions with an honesty not seen as disarming, some may not be able to make eye contact and others may have issues with people -- including police officers -- getting in their personal space.

"Someone with social-interaction issues might do something that would cause a police officer to think something was wrong," Charter said. "We're hoping to lower the chances of something bad coming out of it. The bill would increase safety for everyone involved."

The bill would put into effect a special designation on a license that would alert dispatchers that the carrier has an autism-spectrum diagnosis. The placing of such a designation would be completely voluntary, Charter said.

Autism and Voting

A British website mentions that people on the spectrum have difficulty with voting:

In fact one of the main reasons people with autism and learning disabilities, in particular, are unable to vote is due to a lack of accessible information and material. The National Autistic Society has also heard from people with Asperger syndrome who have experienced a great deal of anxiety and difficulty with managing the paperwork required. These issues affect everything from how they join the electoral register, and the practicalities of how they cast their vote, to their ability to make an informed choice about who to vote for. People with learning disabilities say they do not understand information on policies or what candidates and parties stand for - and they are not the only ones. A recent survey by Mencap showed that 90% of the voting population does not understand phrases in political literature.

This article is specifically about Britain but points to some similar problems in the United States.