Subtle Barrier to Voting

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 WFPL-FM In Louisville, Lisa Gillespie reports that complaints about voting access can lead to change.

That’s what happened in the case of 26-year-old Lexington resident Amelia Mullins, who has severe autism and gave permission for her mother, Wendy Wheeler-Mullins, to speak on her behalf.

“When [Amelia] gets anxious, she tends to recite TV shows and movies, verbatim, kind of a self-calming mechanism,” Wheeler-Mullins said. “I think that’s what made the people look at us like, this person doesn’t have a brain in her head, she shouldn’t be voting.”

The two had a particularly bad voting experience in 2015, where they faced what Wheeler-Mullins called “judgmental, skeptical” looks from poll workers.

“I just got the impression that they thought like, I was trying to buy her vote or something,” Wheeler-Mullins said. “They didn’t stop her from voting, but their behavior would have been a discouragement to someone from voting.”

Wheeler-Mullins said she complained and was told poll workers would be spoken with and receive more training.

Autism Hype

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition and how to treat it.  I also write:  "If the science were not confusing enough, its coverage in the mass media has added another layer of murk.  News reports hype tentative findings and weak correlations as “breakthroughs” in the quest for autism answers. 

At Scientific American, Alycia Halladay writes:

In the worst scenarios, families inspired by media coverage may pursue treatments that are both ineffective and unsafe. This has been the case with MDMA, or 3,4-methyldioxymethamphetamine, otherwise known as ecstasy, to treat social anxiety in autistic adults. Much media coverage of this experimental treatment failed to report that the drug is neurotoxic in animal models and humans, and that a “safe” dose has not been established. As a result, the public received complete misinformation via mainstream media outlets. The false hope of MDMA might have led some in the autism community to pursue an illegal—and, more importantly, potentially lethal—intervention.
...
. In another case, the headline “Stem Cells Offer Hope for Autism” might have encouraged families to travel to international sites with unregulated medical practices to obtain this therapy, which is still unproven. Conversely, the media is largely missing the mark on the potential of medical marijuana, confusing different cannabinoids and mixing up indications in their headlines. This type of misinformation will only serve to stifle badly needed research into phytocannabinoids in marijuana that do, in fact, show promise for treating epilepsy, which commonly co-occurs in children with autism.

Vaccines, Autism, and a California State Senate Race

In The Politics of Autism, I look at the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.

In next week's election, California State Senator Richard Pan (D) faces antivax fringe candidate Eric Frame.  Sammy Caiola reports at Capital Public Radio:

The two candidates are vying for Pan’s Senate seat in district 6, which encompasses parts of Sacramento and Yolo counties. Pan is a pediatrician known for authoring a law banning the personal-belief exemptions that previously let parents opt out of vaccines for their kids. Now, those parents must get certain shots if they want their children to attend school. And Frame wants to see those exemptions put back in place.

...
Major health and science organizations have stated that vaccines given to children have only minor side effects. And theories about vaccines causing autism have been debunked.

But a small and active contingent of parents in California still believe in the link between vaccines and autism. Some groups are actively trying to overturn Pan’s law, which took effect in 2016.

Frame is aligned with those groups. “So, when parents are, at the moment, forced to choose to give another vaccine to a child that has already had an adverse reaction, or take them out of public school and figure out a way to homeschool them, I think that’s a terrible choice to have to make,” he said.

Pan received 66 percent of votes in the district’s primary election this past June, and Frame received 13 percent. While Frame is unlikely to beat the incumbent, his messaging is being shared by vaccine skeptics on social media.

Dr. Pan is virtually certain to win by a huge margin.  Two years ago, antivax people attempted a recall effort but could not even get enough signatures to get it on the ballot. 

Medical Exemptions in California

In The Politics of Autism, I look at the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.

At Pediatrics, Salini Mohanty and colleagues have an article titled "Experiences With Medical 
Exemptions After a Change in Vaccine Exemption Policy in California."  The abstract:

OBJECTIVES: In 2015, California passed Senate Bill 227 (SB277), eliminating nonmedical vaccine exemptions for school entry. Our objective for this study was to describe the experiences of health officers and immunization staff addressing medical exemption requests under SB277.

METHODS: We conducted semistructured telephone interviews between August 2017 and September 2017 with health officers and immunization staff from local health jurisdictions in California. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for key themes.

RESULTS: We conducted 34 interviews with 40 health officers and immunization staff representing 35 of the 61 local health jurisdictions in California. Four main themes emerged related to experiences with medical exemptions: (1) the role of stakeholders, (2) reviewing medical exemptions received by schools, (3) medical exemptions that were perceived as problematic, and (4) frustration and concern over medical exemptions. Generally, local health jurisdictions described a narrow role in providing support and technical assistance to schools. Only 5 jurisdictions actively tracked medical exemptions received by schools, with 1 jurisdiction facing a lawsuit as a result. Examples were provided of medical exemptions that listed family history of allergies and autoimmune diseases as contraindications for immunization and of physicians charging steep fees for medical exemptions. Participants also reported concerns about the increase in medical exemptions after the implementation of SB277.

CONCLUSIONS: Participants reported many challenges and concerns with medical exemptions under SB277. Without additional legal changes, including a standardized review of medical exemptions, some physicians may continue to write medical exemptions for vaccine-hesitant parents, potentially limiting the long-term impact of SB277

 .

Abuse of Children with Autism and other Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

People with disabilities are victims of violent crime three times as often as people without disabilities. The Bureau of Justice Statistics does not report separately on autistic victims, but it does note that the victimization rate is especially high among those whose disabilities are cognitive. A small-sample study of Americans and Canadians found that adults with autism face a greater risk of sexual victimization than their peers. Autistic respondents were more than twice as likely to say that had been the victim of rape and over three times as likely to report unwanted sexual contact.

The UN Population fund has a study titled Young Persons with Disabilities: Global Study on Ending Gender-Based Violence, and RealisingSexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 

Children who are deaf, blind, or autistic, have psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, or have multiple impairments are most vulnerable to all forms of violence. Studies have found that children with intellectual disabilities are five times more likely to be subjected to abuse than other children are and are far more vulnerable to bullying.

Jones, L., Bellis, M., Wood, S., Hughes, K. McCoy, E., Eckley, L., & Bates, G. (2013). The State of the World’s Children 2013, Children with Disabilities. Essays. Focus: Violence against Children with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/sowc2013/focus_violence.html; Lisa Jones, et al. (2012). Prevalence and Risk of Violence against Children with Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies, The Lancet 380, 899–907; United Nations (2017). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities, A/72/133; Meer, T. & Combrinck, H. (2015). Invisible Intersections: Understanding the complex stigmatisation of women with intellectual disabilities in their vulnerability to gender-based violence, Agenda 29(2), 14- 23; Braathen, A., Rohleder, P. & Azalde, G. (2017). Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Girls with Disabilities: A review of the literature. 18-19. 66 Jones, L., Bellis, M., Wood, S., Hughes, K. McCoy, E., Eckley, L., & Bates, G. (2013). The State of the World’s Children 2013, Children with Disabilities. Essays. Focus: Violence against Children with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/sowc2013/focus_violence.html; Spencer, N., Devereux, E., Wallace, A., Sundrum, R., Shenoy, M., Bacchus, C. & Logan, S. (2005). Disabling conditions and registration for child abuse and neglect: a population based study, Paediatrics 116: 609–613; and Sweden, The Swedish National Institute of Public Health (Folkhälsoinstitutet) (2012). Health and Welfare of children and young people with disabilities (Hälsa och välfärd hos barn och unga med funktionsnedsättning). 39 and 50; as cited in European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2015). Violence against children with disabilities: legislation, policies and programmes in the EU. Retrieved from http://fra.europa.eu/en/ publication/2015/children-disabilities-violence.

The Real Threat

In The Politics of Autism, I look at the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.

Immigrants don't spread disease. You know who spreads disease? People who tell parents to delay vaccinations. https://t.co/xZiNTWsmMX

— Jack Pitney (@jpitney) October 30, 2018

Dr. Peter Hotez at The Verge:

Though most parents in the United States do vaccinate their children, there are pockets where it has become increasingly common to refuse. For example, between 2003 and 2016, there was a 19-fold increase in vaccine refusal in Texas and a political action committee in the state is raising money to help parents apply for exemption. Vaccine skeptics have hosted an anti-vaccine march on Washington and Trump himself has falsely suggested that vaccines cause autism.

When enough people aren’t vaccinated, we lose “herd immunity” and the entire community is at risk. Using the examples of measles again, a single infected person can infect more than a dozen people who haven’t been vaccinated — many of whom are children or who have compromised immune systems. Last year, a JAMA Pediatrics study suggested that a 5 percent reduction in vaccination coverage is enough to risk a big outbreak. “This is a terrible self-inflicted wound and a lot of that is coming from the activities of political action committees using Tea Party language like ‘medical freedom’ and ‘vaccine choice,’’ says Hotez. “And so it’s incredibly disingenuous of those same individuals to worry about diseases that immigrants are bringing in.” Ultimately, the greater harm doesn’t come from refugees or asylum-seekers outside our borders, but from the anti-vaxxers, already right here in the US, who could make us all vulnerable.

Workplace Inclusion

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the employment of adults with autism and other disabilities.

Meera Jagannathan writes about workplace inclusion at Moneyish:

“It’s important to remember that people with disabilities are not a homogenous community,” said Sheehy, who experienced a spinal-cord injury more than two decades ago and uses a wheelchair. In addition to spanning every race, nationality and ethnicity, she said, people with disabilities may have blindness or be hard of hearing; have chronic conditions like lupus or multiple sclerosis; have intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorder; or have psychiatric disabilities like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder. (Consider that many disabilities are invisible to observers.)

...
Employees with disabilities “often get stuck in the assistant trap,” said Rebecca Cokley, the director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress and a little person. So provide pipelines for them to move up the corporate ladder: “As you start to see employees with disabilities move up the ladder in a corporate setting or even in a nonprofit setting, you start to see the culture shift around what it means to be a person with a disability,” she said.

Earlier this month, Paige Smith reported at BNA:

Federal contractors now have an incentive to make disability inclusion a workplace priority: two years of freedom from audits by the Labor Department’s enforcement agency.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs on Oct. 5 proposed an award to recognize federal contractors who facilitate opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

The agency’s regulations establish a 7 percent goal to “recruit, hire, promote, and retain” individuals with disabilities, under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

...
Award or not, most contractors won’t be scrambling to apply, Ogletree Deakins attorney T. Scott Kelly told Bloomberg Law.

Many contractors are too busy “trying to grapple with all of the other regulatory requirements OFCCP has out there,” Kelly said.

Special Education Teacher Shortages

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

In Honolulu, Manolo Morales reports at KHON:

Experts say a 12-year-old special education student allegedly choked by his teacher on Hawaii island brings to light a bigger problem: a severe shortage of properly trained teachers.

So what's causing that, and what can be done to fix the problem?

Officials at the University of Hawaii College of Education say there are enough graduates every year to fill the need. The problem is they don't stay in special education very long.

Diana Lambert at EdSource:

California has earmarked nearly $200 million over the last four years to address the state’s persistent teacher shortage, but it is not enough, according to new studies that are part of “Getting Down to Facts II,” a research project focused on a wide array of statewide education issues.

The teacher shortage has worsened in recent years as state funding for education improved and districts began lowering class sizes and bringing back programs like summer school and the arts, which were frequently eliminated during the recession, increasing the need for more teachers.

Declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs after the economic downturn and teacher attrition also have contributed to the shortage of educators. Teacher turnover currently accounts for 88 percent of the demand for new teachers, according to the research.

“The story is still bleak,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and the author of “Teacher Shortages in California: Evidence about Current Status, Sources, and Potential Solutions,” one of the research project’s 36 reports released this week. The reports were written by more than 100 authors, including many prominent researchers from California

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Quick Facts: Special Education Teachers
2017 Median Pay	$58,980 per year
Typical Entry-Level Education	Bachelor's degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2016	439,300
Job Outlook, 2016-26	8% (As fast as average)
Employment Change, 2016-26	33,300

What Special Education Teachers Do
Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. They adapt general education lessons and teach various subjects, such as reading, writing, and math, to students with mild and moderate disabilities. They also teach basic skills, such as literacy and communication techniques, to students with severe disabilities.
Work Environment
Most special education teachers work in public schools, teaching students from preschool to high school. Others work in private schools, childcare services, and other institutions. Many work the traditional 10-month school year, but some work year round.
How to Become a Special Education Teacher
Special education teachers in public schools are required to have a bachelor’s degree and a state-issued certification or license. Teachers in private schools typically need a bachelor’s degree, but may not be required to have a state license or certification.
Pay
The median annual wage for special education teachers was $58,980 in May 2017.
Job Outlook
Overall employment of special education teachers is projected to grow 8 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. School enrollment and the demand for special education services should drive employment growth.
State & Area Data
Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for special education teachers.
Similar Occupations
Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of special education teachers with similar occupations.
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn mo

Another Dragging Incident in Kentucky

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

In Lexington, Kentucky, Valerie Honeycutt Spears reports at The Herald-Leader:

A few days after school started in August, Ashley Horton said a state child protective service worker knocked on her door with some unsettling news about how Horton’s 6-year-old autistic son had been injured at Lexington’s Picadome Elementary School.

The details are similar to another recent dragging incident of a Fayette autistic student that drew national attention. A description was included in a Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services investigative report that state officials finished Oct. 19. Horton and her attorney shared the report with the Herald-Leader.

Picadome school staff identified as witnesses told state investigators that a teacher’s aide — found not to have completed re-certification in safe crisis management — dragged the boy by the ankles into a classroom “when he would not cooperate with her,” the report said.

She put him in a room by himself while standing outside and holding the door closed, the report stated. She also picked him up from behind and sat down with him in a rocking chair, causing him to bump his head. The techniques were not appropriate or approved, the report said, and the boy could have hurt himself when placed in isolation.

State officials found enough evidence to support the allegations, which the teacher’s aide denied, the report said.

Autism in a Wisconsin Senate Race

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in political campaigns.   The book also looks at the issue of insurance coverage.

An October 17 release from the Wisconsin Democratic Party:

Today, Wisconsin health care professionals gathered outside of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa to highlight Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir's record of repeatedly siding with insurance companies over Wisconsinites in need of health care coverage.

At the event, the health care professionals drew attention to Vukmir in 2007 blocking two separate bills that would have required insurance companies to cover Wisconsinites' autism treatments. First, Vukmir used her position as chair of the Assembly Committee on Health and Healthcare Reform to block and ultimately kill 2007 Assembly 417, a bill to require "health insurance coverage of treatment for autism spectrum disorders," without so much as holding a hearing a vote or hearing on the measure. Then, Vukmir worked to sabotage 2007 Senate Bill 178, a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate to expand autism treatment coverage, ultimately voting to table and kill it.

Former Wisconsin state Rep. Sandy Pasch:

"Vukmir talks about her record as a nurse but she's always voted against taking care of people [...] In 2007, Vukmir blocked two separate bills that would have required insurance companies to cover Wisconsinites' autism treatments. [...] How could anyone, let alone a nurse, oppose expanding coverage for Wisconsinites with autism? It's shocking. But, then again, this is the same Leah Vukmir who tried to block oral chemo coverage and voted against hearing aid coverage for kids."

ABLE Awareness

The Politics of Autism includes a discussion of the ABLE Act.

At The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Illinois state treasurer Michael Frerichs and Missouri state treasurer Eric Schmitt write:

Last December, Congress strengthened ABLE further by passing the ABLE to Work Act, which allows individuals with disabilities who are working to contribute even more to their ABLE accounts. In many cases, working individuals with disabilities can contribute up to $27,060 per year into their ABLE accounts, and earn tax-free on those contributions. Contributions are also eligible for the Saver’s Credit, a federal tax credit for retirement contributions that low and middle-income individuals can claim. Simply put, ABLE to Work provides valuable improvements to help individuals with disabilities achieve greater financial wellness.

Eligible Americans living with disabilities can open an account in almost any of the 39 states plus the District of Columbia that have created ABLE programs, including Missouri and Illinois. It’s advisable to look at your own state’s program first.

While ABLE accounts have already helped thousands better manage the costs of living with a disability, there are important ways to improve the program. As co-chairs of the National Association of State Treasurers’ (NAST) ABLE Committee, we work with other state treasurers to analyze ABLE’s success and advocate for improvements in Congress.

While we continue to lobby Congress for additional ABLE improvements, the most important way to ensure ABLE accounts continue to be a valuable resource for Americans with disabilities is to make sure that people know about it. Almost 500,000 individuals living with disabilities and their families in Illinois and Missouri are eligible to open ABLE accounts and take advantage of the opportunity to earn, save money and achieve greater financial wellness.

If you or a loved one is living with a disability, consider opening an ABLE account. Contact your state’s ABLE plan to learn more. By participating, individuals no longer live in fear that success in employment could jeopardize the benefits that they rely on to make ends meet.

Gubernatorial Candidates Abet the Antivax Movement

In The Politics of Autism, I look at the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.

Republican gubernatorial candidates are abetting the anti-vax movement.

Max Reiss at NBC Connecticut:

In a grainy video recorded over the summer at a campaign event, Bob Stefanowski, the Republican candidate for governor, shared some of his thoughts on childhood immunization laws.

NBC Connecticut obtained the video of Stefanowski from a source working for Democratic campaigns in Connecticut. The video is two minutes long, and it is unknown what is said before or after the two-minute portion on immunization policy.

Stefanowski was asked by an audience member at the event, which appears to have been hosted by the Quiet Corner Tea Party, about the state mandating certain immunizations in order for students to attend public school.

The member of the audience, who is off camera and cannot be identified, asked, “Do you think the state should dictate [immunizations] or should local [Boards of Education] handle that?”

Stefanowski responded by saying, “I think it depends on the vaccination. We shouldn’t be dumping a lot of drugs into kids for no reason.”

Reiss also reports:

More than three dozen doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are criticizing Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Stefanowski after NBC Connecticut aired exclusive video of the candidate expressing skepticism of childhood vaccines and the state law requiring kids get immunized in order to attend school.

The group of health professionals includes pediatricians, registered nurses, and other specialists.

"As pediatricians, it is deeply concerning to us that a candidate for governor would spread flagrant disinformation about childhood vaccinations," The group wrote of Stefanowski’s comments.

They went on to describe Stefanowski’s position as, "downright dangerous," and "irresponsible."

Jay Michaelson at The Daily Beast:

In Oregon, Dr. Knute Buehler—yes, a physician—said that “parents should have the right to opt out” of vaccinations “for personal beliefs, for religious beliefs or even if they have strong alternative medical beliefs.”

Buehler described the opt-out system as beneficial. “I think that gives people option and choice and that’s the policy I would continue to pursue as Oregon’s governor,” he said.

And in Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, the favorite in the governor’s race, said in February that “I believe in choice. And we’ve got six children and we don’t vaccinate, we don’t do vaccinations on all of our children. So we definitely pick and choose which ones we’re gonna do. It’s gotta be up to the parents, we can never mandate that. I think there’s legislation right now that are trying to mandate that to go to public schools, it’s absolutely wrong. My wife was home schooled, I went to public schools, our kids go to Christian school, and that’s back to a parent’s choice.”.”

Europe's Measles Outbreak: A Warning for the United States

In The Politics of Autism, I look at the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.

 Lauren Dunn and Linda Carroll report at NBC:

A raging measles outbreak in Europe may be a warning sign of what could occur in the U.S. if something doesn’t change soon, experts say.

So far this year, there have been 41,000 cases in Europe and 40 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The European experience may offer a window on how quickly things can go awry when parents choose not to vaccinate their children, doctors caution.

...

What has been happening in Europe is now happening in the U.S. — on a smaller scale at this point,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine and author of “Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad.”

The problem is the plethora of misinformation online, Hotez said. “The anti-vaccine groups have made very strategic use of the internet and social media,” he added. “It’s estimated that there are more than 400 anti-vaccine websites now, and when you put ‘vaccine’ into a search engine, it’s almost inevitable you’re going to get an anti-vaccine website popping up.”

And it’s not just the internet, Hotez said. “Now there are political action committees popping up in several states, including Texas,” he added.

It’s not clear what exactly is driving the anti-vaccine movement, Hotez said. But “there’s an element of the anti-vaccine movement that is peddling alternative therapies and making money off of phony treatments,” he said. “And there’s an element that have tied themselves to different political groups. In Texas the major anti-vaccine lobby likes to use libertarian garbage terms like ‘medical freedom’ or ‘medical choice.’ ”

The anti-vaxxers have had such a large impact that “now there is a terrific vulnerability in states like Texas and up in the Pacific Northwest,” Hotez said. “People forget that before kids were getting vaccinated we had between 400 and 700 deaths from measles annually in the U.S.”