Texas Medicaid

The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of insurance and  Medicaid services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

From Autism Speaks:

This month, Texas became the 50th state to implement its autism services benefit which provides coverage for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy when medically appropriate for autistic children enrolled in Medicaid. Texas follows New York’s 2021 implementation and Illinois’s 2020 implementation, making it one of the last three states to make available this often life-changing therapy, which is widely covered within commercial insurance.

ABA is a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior and is provided by a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) or state-licensed behavior analyst (LBA) and members of their team. It applies our understanding of how behavior works to real situations, to increase behaviors that are helpful and decrease behaviors that are harmful or negatively affect learning. ABA programs can help increase language and communication skills; improve attention, focus, social skills, memory and academics; and decrease problem behaviors. It is a flexible therapy that can be adapted to meet the needs of each unique person. For more information: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) | Autism Speaks.

This behavioral health therapy is provided under the federal EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment) requirement, which mandates a variety of medically necessary services for children under the age of 21. These services include baby and child well check visits at specific ages and stages of development, physical and mental health screenings and evaluations, as well as other preventative services and treatments. The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) describes the goal of EPSDT: “to assure that children get the right health care they need, when they need it – the right care to the right child at the right time in the right setting.” While there has been progress toward this goal—as evidenced by the rollout of the new ABA benefit—there is still considerable work needed to ensure that children with autism get the “health care they need, when they need it.” Specific to children accessing ABA, many states have an inadequate network of providers due to low reimbursement rates, structural/credentialing issues or other factors.

Some parents and self-advocates criticize ABA.   See here for autistic people describing distress as a result of ABA.

Public Knowledge of Autism

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people.

At Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Megan E. Golson and colleagues have an article titled "Current state of autism knowledge in the general population of the United States."  The abstract:

Background

The increasing prevalence of autism warrants increased knowledge for laypersons who engage with autistic individuals . However, limited research has been conducted on the general population’s knowledge of autism.

Method

The present study describes the current level of autism knowledge among a general population sample in the United States (N = 318) using the Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale, General Population version (ASKSG; McClain et al., 2019).

Results

Participants in our study were more knowledgeable about the symptoms and behaviors associated with autism than the etiology, prevalence, and assessment procedures.

Conclusions

The lack of knowledge in the general population surrounding autism necessitates further efforts to increase public awareness.

From the study:

Overall, participants answered an average proportion of .643 (SD = .186) of items correctly on the ASKSG. Participant knowledge was evaluated in terms of content area. Regarding knowledge of autism etiology and prevalence, most participants correctly identified that a lack of motherly warmth was not a cause of autism (.858). However, few participants knew that there are racial/ethnic disparities in autism identification (.362). Concerningly, nearly a third (.296) endorsed the myth that vaccines cause autism. Related to autism services, most participants correctly identified that social skills interventions were an evidence-based service (.830). Less than half of participants knew that restrictive diets are not an evidence-based intervention for autism (.481).

...

The results of this study have multiple implications related to autism identification, services, advocacy, and public policy. These findings highlight multiple areas of need within the general population. First, many participants endorsed misconceptions about the causes (e.g., vaccine etiology) and research-supported services (e.g., restrictive diets) for autism. Continued belief in the vaccine myth is concerning as it directs research resources toward redundant research affirming the lack of connection between vaccinations and autism (Dudley et al., 2018) and may contribute to lower rates of vaccination, which threatens personal and public health (Żuk et al., 2019). Misconceptions about autism services are also concerning. This may result in families wasting money on ineffective interventions instead of available, efficacious services. Lack of knowledge about autism diagnosis and identification may contribute to delays in age of diagnosis (Maenner et al., 2020). Increased autism screening, parent psychoeducation, and communication between primary care providers and parents are crucial to addressing this knowledge gap and decreasing age of diagnosis.

Second, while the general population exhibits adequate knowledge of common symptoms associated with autism, knowledge of assessment and diagnostic procedures is limited. Increased public knowledge regarding this process could increase access to early identification services. Public institutions (e.g., schools, community centers) and clinics should prioritize public awareness campaigns to address knowledge gaps. Including fliers in central locations, holding informational sessions, and playing autism knowledge videos (e.g., Ha et al., 2021) can help toward this effort. Efforts to increase the accessibility of autism services (e.g., regular autism screening, training of rural providers in autism) may also increase the awareness of these processes in the general population.

 

Primary Care and Autism

The Politics of Autism discusses health care, and explains that autism services can be complicated, creating difficulties for autistic people and their families. 

Noam Levey at KHN/NPR:

Primary care physicians — a convenient option for many families — could fill some of those gaps if the doctors had better training, said Kristin Sohl, a pediatrician who teaches these skills at the University of Missouri. "We've got to make this accessible so that people can have access to what they need when and where they need it," Sohl said.

But many physicians feel ill-equipped to provide this care.

In one survey, just 40% said they were very confident that their care for patients with disabilities was as good as their care for other patients. Only about half strongly agreed that they welcome patients with disabilities.

Training remains one barrier. Even though as many as 16 million Americans have autism or another intellectual or developmental disability, the subject is a small part of the curriculum at most medical schools.

Another obstacle, Sohl and others say, is a tendency in American health care to simply refer patients to specialists. "It's so hierarchical," Sohl said.

Changing that has become [Dr. Mai] Pham's life's work.

She quit her job at a major health insurer in 2020 to start the Institute for Exceptional Care. The nonprofit aims to overhaul the way doctors are trained and paid so they can spend more time with patients with disabilities, instead of rushing through visits because of billing pressures.

"We've made huge investments in the science and in some ways the clinical aspects of care," Pham said. "But we haven't thought about how to make any of that sustainable.

Nebraska Bill to Require Screening

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the evaluation and diagnosis of young children.  Screening is an important part of the process.

From the Nebraska Legislature:

School boards would require children to be screened for autism spectrum disorder under a bill heard Feb. 8 by the Education Committee.

The screening would be in addition to the physical examination and visual evaluation required before a child enters kindergarten or enrolls in school after transferring from another state.

Omaha Sen. Jen Day, sponsor of LB997, said many young children are not screened for ASD, resulting in late diagnosis and lack of autism-specific treatments and services during a crucial developmental period. A universal screening requirement would help improve the quality of life for this small number of children each year, she said.

A physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, school nurse, school psychiatrist or other trained individual could conduct the screening using an evidence-based developmental screening tool appropriate to the age of the child.

The screening would not be required if a child’s parent or guardian objects in writing.

Katy Menousek, a behavioral analyst at Boys Town National Research Hospital, testified in support of LB997. Although many parents can identify the signs and symptoms of ASD, she said, universal screening would be “greatly beneficial” to children whose parents are not aware of ASD.

Westin Miller also testified in support, saying the bill could address a “critical diagnosis gap.” Miller said, however, that lawmakers also should consider how an early ASD diagnosis in Nebraska can lead to applied behavioral analysis, one of the most commonly prescribed interventions for autistic children.

He said ABA is an “inherently harmful framework” that he and many other autistic people believe devalues their predispositions, disregards their consent and does not assume their competence.

“What I’m asking is that you please engage with me and other autistic people about this conversation, that you don’t have conversations about caring for autistic people without autistic people in the room,” Miller said.

No one testified in opposition to LB997 and the committee took no immediate action on it.

Deinstitutionalization, Insurance, and Prevalance

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss evaluation, diagnosis, and the uncertainty of prevalence estimates.

Rachel Burr Gerrard at STAT:

As the deinstitutionalization movement took off, many children who would have been diagnosed with mental retardation were instead diagnosed with autism, not because the diagnosis was more accurate but because its treatment was preferable. As autism diagnoses increased, diagnoses of mental retardation and other learning disabilities decreased. More diagnoses and more patient advocacy led to more money dedicated to autism therapy and research, which in turn led to even more diagnoses. This trend has continued today as the number of psychiatric beds continues to decrease and parent advocacy groups successfully lobby to raise billions for autism research.

Another powerful factor behind the rise in autism rates is the passing of insurance mandates. Since 2001, all 50 states have instituted mandates requiring non-self-funded private insurance plans to cover behavioral therapies for autism. These mandates can save families up to $50,000 a year on treatment. The prevalence of autism increased an average of 10% directly following a state’s mandate implementation and 18% after a mandate had been place for a few years.

Insurance mandates increase autism rates because, in borderline cases, practitioners and parents push for a diagnosis that ensures a child receives coverage for the help the child and family need. The families of children with developmental disorders other than autism must often rely on broad laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which vaguely states that each child must receive a “free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.” IDEA’s implementation is underfunded by Congress and largely depends on each state’s interpretation of it. With such limited options for children with special needs, it makes sense that caring practitioners might push for a diagnosis that guarantees children receive the help they need.

Media Dissemination of Autism Research

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue.  Social media can spread vaccine disinformation, but they can also provide autistic people and their families with a way to access peer-reviewed research.

At The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Anne Longo & Brittany N. Hand have a brief report titled  "The Impact of Social and News Media Coverage on the Dissemination of Autism Research." 

In the past decade, there has been more research on social media use and its effects on article dissemination, including the effects on article downloads and citations (Palamar & Strain, 2021). Our paper provides the first analysis of the relationship between autism research dissemination on social and news media and downloads and citations. Even after controlling for open access, which is known to greatly increase the chance of article downloads and citations, we found that social media shares and news media coverage were significantly associated with more article downloads and citations. Specifically, our analyses showed that article downloads increased significantly with every 10 Twitter shares, at least one Facebook share, and any news media coverage (Table 2). Articles citations increased significantly with every 10 Twitter shares and any news media coverage.

Our findings also provide the first description, to our knowledge, of characteristics of autism research articles with most downloads, citations, social media shares, and news coverage. Interestingly, despite being the largest area of funding for autism research, studies on the biology of autism were not among the most downloaded, cited, or shared articles (Harris et al., 2021). In contrast, most of the highly downloaded, cited and shared articles focused on high-priority research areas identified by the IACC like treatments and interventions and services (IACC, 2018).

Autism is a popular topic of online discussion among researchers and the autism community. The autism community is incredibly active on social media, as autistic individuals spend more time using the internet and computer-mediated communication than non-autistic individuals (Kim, 2019; MacMullin et al., 2015). Widespread sharing of an article increases visibility among autism community members who, if interested, may download the article to learn more. Additionally, sharing an article via social media allows for engagement and opportunity for discussion with the autism community and researchers. Articles in this study tended to be shared most on Twitter, which is not surprising as it is the most used researcher posting cite (Dol et al., 2019) and is used by the autism community more than Facebook (van Schalkwyk et al., 2017).

Our results showed that having news media cover a research article had a large positive association with downloads and citations. However, relatively few articles in our study (< 10%) were covered in news media. The five articles that were most covered in news media (Supplemental Table) tended to be open access (80%), focus on autistic children and adolescents (100%), and cover topics like: (a) outcomes as a function of race or ethnicity (40%), or (b) novel treatments and interventions (40%). This result shows that despite increased focus on social media, news media still plays an important role in widespread reach of research findings and provides insights as to the types of articles most likely to receive media coverage.

Another Potential Risk Factor: Anorexia During Pregnancy

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

At JAMA Network Open, Angla Matel and colleagues have an article titled "Analysis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Offspring of Mothers With Eating Disorders in Sweden."  From the abstract: "These findings suggest that children born to mothers with eating disorders, in particular disorders that were active during pregnancy, were at increased risk of developing ADHD and ASD. "

Anorexia thus joins a growing list of correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies:

• Acetaminophen;
• 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;
• 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.

Hijacking the Language of Civil Rights

 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.

Unfortunately, Republican politicians and conservative media figures are increasingly joining up with the anti-vaxxers. 

Some antivaxxers try to hijack the language of civil rights.

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. at WP:

Other Trump allies have wrapped themselves in the rhetoric and symbolism of equality movements to make political points, specifically when it comes to vaccine and mask mandates. Robert Kennedy Jr., a former Trump adviser who has long spread misinformation about vaccines, recently invoked Anne Frank in suggesting that Jews had more freedoms during the Holocaust than unvaccinated Americans do now, comments for which he later apologized. Lynne Patton, a Trump adviser, posted a picture on Instagram of a Black man sitting at a lunch counter, surrounded by jeering White men, one of whom says “We don’t allow unvaccinated folk in here.”

Patton, who is Black, wrote in the caption: “[T]hose who support racist and unconstitutional mandates in 2022 WILL BE JUDGED BY HISTORY just as those who supported them 60 YEARS AGO are judged today.”

"Demonic Autism" Pastor is also a Book Burner

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. Many posts have discussed the potential correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies.  Genetics tops the list.  One thing that is NOT on the list is demonic possession.  

Morgan Sung at NBC:

A far-right pastor hosted a book burning event, encouraging parishioners to toss books like "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" into a fire to denounce what he described as "demonic" materials.

Greg Locke, head pastor at Global Vision Bible Church, held a book burning event Wednesday night, and urged followers to burn "evil garbage" like young adult fantasy books, tarot cards, "voodoo dolls and crystals."

"Bring all your Harry Potter stuff. Laugh all you want haters. I don't care. IT'S WITCHCRAFT 100 PERCENT," Locke said in an Instagram post Monday. "All you 'Twilight' books and movies. That mess is full of spells, demonism, shape-shifting and occultism."

In a video livestreamed on Facebook, churchgoers hurl books and other items deemed associated with "witchcraft" into a massive bonfire on the church's parking lot in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The burning begins about an hour into the livestream.

...

This is not the first time Locke has made headlines. The pastor has been permanently banned from Twitter for spreading Covid vaccine misinformation. He previously described the vaccine as "sugar water" and said that he'd turn away churchgoers if they wore masks to his services. He also criticized Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee as a "coward...noodle...waffler" for signing an executive order that would allow the National Guard to assist overwhelmed hospitals during a Covid outbreak. Locke claimed that children with autism are possessed by demons, insisting that the diagnosis doesn’t exist in the Bible.

Big Bucks in the Antivax Racket

 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. 

Brandy Zadrozny at NBC:

Del Bigtree ended his closing speech at last week’s anti-vaccine mandate rally in Washington with a message, bellowed to a few thousand rallygoers and the news organizations assembled on a riser in front of him.

“We are no longer a fringe group,” he proclaimed.

The pandemic has been a boon for the anti-vaccine community, with Bigtree’s Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), one of the country’s best-funded anti-vaccine organizations, among the biggest beneficiaries, according to newly filed tax records.

ICAN reported $5.5 million in revenue in 2020, a 60 percent increase over the previous year. The funding underscores how lucrative the pandemic has been for a handful of groups that spread health misinformation and undermine public faith in vaccines. Those donations primarily come from private donors, including through Facebook fundraisers.

Other large anti-vaccine organizations have similarly thrived during the pandemic. As an Associated Press investigation reported, the Children’s Health Defense, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., more than doubled its revenue in 2020, to $6.8 million.

At The NY Post, Isabel Vincent notes that RFK is taking a big salary.  

But those figures could be dwarfed from the massive earnings of “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” in which Kennedy slams the infectious disease expert for allegedly committing “a historic coup d’etat against western democracy.”

The diatribe is amassing millions in revenue, selling nearly 390,000 hardback copies at $32.50 each, according to NPD BookScan, plus 185,000 e-books and 142,000 audio books since its Nov. 17 release, said Tony Lyons, who heads Skyhorse Publishing Inc., the book’s publisher. Skyhorse just ordered another 150,000 print copies. 

And that's only part of the story.  Some antivaxxers are profiting by selling dietary supplements as treatments for COVID, autism, and other things.  (They do not work.) 

Chicago Takes on the 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.

A release from the City Colleges of Chicago:

Recently, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, 19th Ward Alderman Matt O’Shea, City Colleges of Chicago, the Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center, and Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities are joining forces to ensure young people with different developmental abilities can continue to pursue education, employment and enrichment after they have maxed out their eligibility for special education transition services at the age of 22.

The After 22 Project will be recognized as a Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) that will help transition participants into meaningful postsecondary activities by providing flexible learning opportunities, leadership, and job skills training. In addition, students will be able to access and participate in special recreation opportunities, and internship and job placement opportunities. The Occupational, Life and Academic Skills (OLAS) Program at Daley College will provide a support system to students, in addition to access to the educational experiences they need to continue their life-long learning journey.

The OLAS program is an innovative inclusive pathway to engage students who otherwise will have to wait an average of seven years to access funding for these services after they reach age 22, leaving a gap in their progress to meaningful engagement, employment and further education. The project will flexibly and deliberately map out a plan for participants based on interest and skill level.

“Far too often, people with disabilities fall through the cracks in our system and are left without access to opportunities to achieve upward mobility,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “With the After 22 Project, we will be able to create the social safety net they deserve, as well as move Chicago one step closer to becoming the most accessible city in the country. I commend Alderman O’Shea, City Colleges of Chicago and the rest of our community partners for launching this new continuum of support for our residents with disabilities to ensure they are able to thrive both before and well after they turn 22.”

“The idea of the After 22 program was presented to me when I was president of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities, and we immediately embraced the idea of providing for our athletes in a meaningful way that includes continuing education and job training skills,” said Matt O’Shea, past president of SOC/SCC. “Through the support of our Board of Directors, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Anixter Center, Chancellor Salgado, and President Janosky, our athletes now have the unprecedented opportunity to continue to advance their skills and education after the age of 22. Our athletes are passionate, hard-working and fully embrace any opportunity they are given. This program is a win-win for everyone involved.”

“After 22 is the missing piece that equalizes the pathway for young adults with developmental disabilities to access college and thrive,” said Rebecca Clark, President and CEO at Anixter Center. “This historic step bridges the gap, creating opportunities for students to secure meaningful work, and positively engage in, and contribute to their communities. I believe After 22 will change the lives of the people we serve and our Chicago neighbors for years to come.”

“As Chicago’s community college system, City Colleges is responsive to the needs of our community,” said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado. “After 22 is a unique opportunity that will allow us to prepare developmentally disabled Chicagoans to contribute their abundant talents to our neighborhoods and economy.”

Chancellor Salgado added that Daley College President Janine Janosky will lead the After 22 program at City Colleges of Chicago. “One of the greatest strengths of Daley College is our students’ diversity,” said President Janosky. “We welcome all students and look forward to the vibrancy these new students will bring to our campus life.”

The first year of the program will serve up to 20 students through non-credit job skill development courses at Daley College. Daley College and Anixter Center team members will collaborate to implement customized educational plans to include competency-based, student-centered curricula to introduce and reinforce workplace soft skills, such as communication strategies, self-advocacy skills, professionalism, and navigating institutions. Additionally, students will practice occupational skills through an internship on campus, such as at the Daley food pantry and professional clothing closet, and other service areas, and will offer them the chance to participate in campus activities. Daley College and the Anixter Center will assemble an advisory council composed of business leaders, students, parents, faculty, and special education experts and advocates to provide guidance and advice on program development, additional partnership connections, and possible funding sources.

The Anixter Center will match 10 participants to jobs or internships at a community employer partner, ensuring students have integrated, competitive job opportunities. In conjunction, employers will get the support they need to ensure success and retention for these employees.

Longer-term, Daley College will develop a certificate program for students with disabilities as part of a larger City Colleges goal of creating greater access to education for community members. The Anixter Center will work with broad-scale commitment from Chicago businesses to hire and retain this untapped talent pool.

The program aims to build an integrated system of opportunities, weaving together public and private partners to support adults with disabilities as they get access to meaningful opportunities throughout Chicago.

“The After 22 program opens new doors of opportunity for our athletes by empowering them with continuing education, important life and job skills, and a readiness for the future,” said Carolyn Daley, president of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities. “Our organization has a mission of inclusiveness for all, and the After 22 program provides just that. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Anixter and City Colleges of Chicago on this amazing program. It is my hope that the After 22 program is an incredible success, and continues to grow through the years to come.”

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Creates Autism in the Courts Taskforce

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between the justice system and autistic people.

From the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts: 

Focused on making justice accessible for all Pennsylvanians, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has created a taskforce focused on issues affecting justice-involved individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities.

Partnering with the Pennsylvania Courts’ Office of Children and Families in the Courts and ledby Justice Kevin M. Dougherty on behalf of the Supreme Court, the taskforce is focused on providing increased training opportunities for judges, helping further identify gaps in thesystem for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities and creating a local roadmap to resources and services.

A full list of the taskforce members is available here.

“We learned so much from our listening tour – identified challenges, discussed experiences and committed to working together to find solutions but what we really learned is how much work there is to be done,” said Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dougherty. “By creating a taskforce and partnering with our Office of Children and Families in the Courts who work primarily with children and families in the dependency court system, we’re positioning ourselves to better assist those who need it before they enter the court system.

“If we can provide support to a child before they are court involved and put a plan in place to help that child and their family before they continue down a challenging path – that’s a life changed, and a family saved. The momentum created by the regional tours, amplified by the work of the taskforce will allow us to replicate what we learned within the entire court system.”

With one in 46 children and one in 59 Pennsylvanians diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder*, judges hearing juvenile, orphans, and family court cases are sure to have individuals living with autism come before them. The new partnership with the Office of Children and Families in the Courts will allow the court to start with children, their families and bring together, judges, legal advocates and social service professionals all working to provide assistance.

“This taskforce brings together top thought leaders, advocates and practitioners from the courts, autism and intellectual disabilities communities, advocates and children and youthprofessionals so that we can continue working to develop a framework within the courts to assist those in need,” Dougherty said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled about this new partnership and our path for moving forward, but this is just the beginning. While we are starting with children and families in our dependency system to build a foundation, we will look to replicate this framework across the court system once the taskforce completes its work.”

In 2020, the Supreme Court signaled its commitment to Pennsylvanians with autism by forming a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS) to heighten the focus on helping judges better understand the necessary evaluations required for diagnosis, treatment and services for individuals with an ASD. Through the listening tour, the Court and DHS heard first-hand about challenges faced in the system from medical professionals, service providers and individuals with autism alike as they sought access to justice.

As part of this effort, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the courts have added information and resources for families supporting an individual with autism on the Pennsylvania Courts frequently asked questions page. For more information about the Autism and the Courts effort visit https://www.pacourts.us/learn/autism-and-the-courts.

Trump Goes Quiet on Booster Shots

 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.

Meredith McGraw at Politico:

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump decried politicians who did not share their Covid-19 vaccine booster status as “gutless”—a seeming swipe at other Republicans with presidential ambitions, mainly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who were keeping mum on the matter.

Days later, Trump took the stage in Arizona and didn’t mention his vaccination status or encourage others to get it, as he had at past rallies. He has not talked about booster shots since.

The silence from the former president is not coincidental. Within Trump’s circles, there is a growing sense that encouraging vaccines too aggressively could carry political risks. Like much of the rest of the GOP, the current calculation has been to rail against vaccine mandates but keep quiet on the push for the vaccines themselves.

“I think there was a course correction there and it was pretty apparent,” said a former Trump adviser and campaign strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are working with candidates on different sides of the issue. “He probably has to balance the position of whether he wants to separate himself against DeSantis but also do no harm. So there was a course correction, where being against mandates is a very safe position and leaving it to personal choice and personal freedom is the best course.”