Election Day Thoughts on Trump and Autism

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.   In this campaign, a number of posts have discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.  He also has a bad record on disability issues more generally.

Mary Elizabeth Williams writes at Salon:

It’s hard to keep track of the deluge of reasons why Donald Trump is massively, historically unqualified to our nation’s commander-in-chief. But while you’re running down the lengthy list of his horrifying previous actions and his chilling vows for the future, remember to save a little bit of shock for his scientific ignorance. This is a man who, unlike even his running mate, doesn’t believe in climate change. Who thinks light bulbs cause cancer. And this is a man who has aligned himself with one of the mostly willfully, dangerously stupid populations in our nation: the anti-vaxxers.

Matt Carey writes at LBRB:

Now back to Donald Trump: missing the fact that he would be terrible president is like missing a train wreck. Let’s leave out the fact for now that he’s proved himself to be completely unfit for the main duties the president would take on with his childish outbursts and lack of self control, let’s just consider this fact:

He has no disability policy. Further, we can expect nothing from him. He has shown himself to be an arrogant ableist; a man who mocks the disabled.

Trump has no backbone. No guts. It takes guts to admit a mistake and apologize. Trump never will. Sounds a lot (LOT) like the proponents of the idea that vaccines cause autism (looking at you, Andrew Wakefield). When called out for his attack on a disabled reporter, Trump responded that the reporter should apologize (no, seriously, he did!), and further stated:

Mr. Trump stated, “Serge Kovaleski must think a lot of himself if he thinks I remember him from decades ago – if I ever met him at all, which I doubt I did. He should stop using his disability to grandstand and get back to reporting for a paper that is rapidly going down the tubes.”

That press release on Trump demanding an apology was one of the 10–ten!–hits on his website for the search term “disability”. None of those hits are relevant to a better life for my kid.

This is the guy you “vaccines-cause-autism” people want making policies on disability?

Autism Moms Weigh In on the Campaign

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the role of the autism issue, along with broader concerns about disability, in presidential campaigns

At The Huffington Post, Hannah Brown writes:

It’s pretty frightening to think that if Trump is elected, he will be able to appoint the head of the National Institutes of Health. And the Surgeon General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Who knows to whom President Trump would hand those jobs? Who can imagine the billions of dollars in research grants that would go to beating the dead horse of the vaccine-autism connection (about as plausible as saying that atheism causes cancer) rather than significant research, research that could potentially bring real change to the lives of people with autism?

I can’t help thinking back to when Trump mocked Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who happens to have a physical disability, at a rally last November. It was appalling then, but not worrisome — no one thought then that Trump would get the nomination. It didn’t really surprise me that Trump would act like a lowlife bully and it wasn’t keeping me up at night.

It is now.

I have a 20-year-old son with autism, and the fact that we may be days away from electing a president who thinks vaccines cause the condition and that disabled people are losers to be laughed at is terrifying.

Also at The Huffington Post, Liane Kupferberg Carter writes:

Whether it’s dismissing vets with PTSD, mocking a deaf actressor a New York Times reporter with arthrogryposis, vengefully withholding health care coverage for his nephew’s disabled infant, or making fun of Senator Harry Reid’s blinding eye injury, Trump treats people with disabilities as a punch line.

My son’s future is nothing to joke about.

It’s clear who will advocate for him. Hillary Clinton’s concern for the rights of the disabled has bracketed her entire career. Her first job out of law school was to go door to door for the Children’s Defense Fund to find out why so many children were missing school. She discovered that schools weren’t accommodating kids with disabilities. The documentation she compiled was pivotal in pushing forward the special education law that eventually became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.), the most important piece of civil rights legislation for children with disabilities ever passed in this country.

Disability and the 2016 Election

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the role of the autism issue, along with broader concerns about disability, in presidential campaigns

Sarah Blahovec writes at The Huffington Post:

Everybody should have a clear understanding of their voting rights. However, voting is one of those civic duties that we sometimes neglect to educate ourselves on until close to Election Day. Have no fear! There are a number of resources available to you in simple, clear language that can help you understand the laws surrounding voting and answer questions you have on issues ranging from voter identification laws and requirements, to who can assist you with casting your ballot, to challenges of voter competence.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has a “Your Federal Voting Rights” braille brochure and card in large-print PDF that provides a very simple overview of your rights as a voter with a disability. You can access other EAC voting accessibility resources here.

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has published a plain-language voting rights guide entitled “VOTE. It’s Your Right: A Know-Your-Rights Guide for Voters with Mental Disabilities and Advocates.” This free guide provides a plain-language overview of the applicable voting laws and your rights and provides guidance on responding to voting challenges, getting or getting back your voting rights, and asking for assistance with voting. You can access the guide here.

Jacqueline Alemany writes at CBS:

Trump has not mentioned a plan for research or improved care for the disabled, and there is nothing on his website on this issue. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has a history of relationships with people with disabilities; she has incorporated people with disabilities into her campaign and given them featured speaking spots during her nominating convention. Clinton also has a detailed plan to help families struggling with autism. Her campaign also points out that there are ASL (American Sign Language) signers at every event, and it has even made its campaign buttons in Braille.

Overall, though, there has been little actual discussion on the campaign trail, or in the press, about what either of the candidates would actually do to help disabled Americans.

 What issues matter in the election? David Perry writes at Pacific Standard:

Without financial means, too many people with disabilities waver between institutionalization and homelessness, trapped in shelters, hospitals, prisons, or on the streets. Those institutions play a crucial role in seeing that fewer people starve, but they siphon away resources that could go toward integrated, community-based living options that offer better long-term outcomes.

One tool for integration is the Olmstead decision, a 1999 Supreme Court ruling that strengthened the requirement for public agencies to provide the “most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.” After Olmstead, agencies legally must make “reasonable modifications” to avoid discrimination.

“Olmstead helps people with disabilities advocate for their rights to be able to live in the community with the supports they need,” says Tia Nelis, president of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, a disability-rights organization. Under the law, “states need to come up with a plan to help make this possible,” Nelis says, but those plans are not consistent across the country. In fact, eight states have been forced to sign agreements with the federal government to start complying with the law. This is just the start of a new battle for disability rights.

Trump and Employment for Autistic Adults: He Lied

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.   In this campaign, a number of posts have discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.  He also has a bad record on disability issues more generally.

On January 11, Justin Chappell reported at The Respectability Report:

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he’ll be working on a plan to provide more opportunities for autistic adults to work.

Jane, a self-described autistic woman, asked Trump for a plan to help “autistic adults like myself get employed.”

“We’re going to work on it,” he replied on Saturday in Clear Lake, Iowa. “You’ll be happy. Just watch.”

As of November 5,he has no such plan.

At the same site on November 2, Jennifer Bohlman reported:

As part of the #PwDsVote Disability Questionnaire, the nonpartisan, nonprofit disability organization RespectAbility asked candidates running for president, senate or governor about their plans for promoting employment among people with disabilities. Every candidate was given an equal opportunity to respond and if they are not listed, it is because they declined to answer.

Clinton responded in detail.  But as for Trump....

 NOTE: Donald Trump declined to respond to the survey.

On Trump's website, the issues page has nothing about autism.  At PBS, Judy Woodruff reports: "Trump doesn’t address disability issues in detail on his Web site. He discusses the issue mostly through the lens of military veterans and PTSD." ( And he has suggested that vets with PTSD are not "strong.")

Autism Parents on Trump

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.   In this campaign, a number of posts have discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.  He also has a bad record on disability issues more generally.

Nicole Jankowsky writes at Upworthy:

If Donald Trump becomes president, I believe my family has so much to lose. And I’m scared.

Now, as a family, we have made peace with autism. My son is part of autism, and autism is a part of him. I do not think we would change it — it’s been part of us so long.

But I'm worried because you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat those who need help: the temporarily infirm, the disabled and the elderly, the sick and the poor.

Those who have a path harder to walk than most. It’s an idea that goes beyond Republican and Democrat and floats in the soft space of humanity: taking care of those people in our country that cannot, through no fault of their own, care for themselves.
As Trump laughs at disabled reporters, mocks a deaf actress, and questions essential foundations of national health, I worry about the future — my future, my son’s future, your future. Trump's lack of empathy is what truly makes me afraid.

I worry that if Trump is our president, there will be a dangerous shift in tolerance toward children and adults like my son.

If the president of the United States makes fun of disabled persons, who will stop the children on the playground? Will my son be the victim of taunts and harassment from kids or even grown adults who are just modeling the behavior of the most powerful man in the country?

I can’t vote for the school-yard bully. So, world, I have a simple request: Think about your own children. And if you can, think about mine.

Electing Donald Trump will speak dangerous loud volumes — far more than a parent’s words could ever say. That kind of president is not one I want.

WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, NC reports:

North Carolina voters are divided nearly down the middle this presidential election and we asked you why you were supporting your candidate. Here's what viewers had to say about their support of Hillary Clinton.

Burnette Brown's response on our Facebook page was the most liked out of nearly 600 comments. Her response read in part:

"Hillary is the lesser of the two evils sometimes bad experience is better than no experience, this is one of those cases."

Amy Hodges, had the second most liked response, and her reasons for voting Clinton were very personal.

"I'm voting for Hillary because I have twin 7 year olds with Autism: I don't think that they have a place in Donald Trump's America," she said. "I need a president that will stand up for their rights and show the world that they are different, not less. Not a president who will mock and bully them."

The Integration Mandate

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

The US Department of Justice has issued a statement: "Application of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C. to State and Local Governments' Employment Service Systems for Individuals with Disabilities."

Nationally, millions of individuals with disabilities spend the majority of their daytime hours receiving employment and day services in segregated sheltered workshops and segregated day settings (including day treatment programs or facility-based day habilitation centers) where they are segregated from non-disabled persons. Many of these individuals are capable of working competitively and earning minimum wage or above in integrated employment and are not opposed to doing so, but they have been unable to access the services and supports that would allow them to find, obtain, and succeed in competitive integrated employment. In the approximately seventeen years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring, 527 U.S. 581 (1999), regarding the integration mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), some state and local service systems have begun to provide a greater number of integrated community alternatives to individuals in or at risk of segregation in institutions or other segregated settings; yet, despite these advances, many individuals with disabilities who receive employment and day services that are planned, funded, and administered by state and local governments continue unnecessarily to receive services, and spend the majority of their daytime hours, in segregated settings.

A core purpose of the ADA is to “assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency” for individuals with disabilities.1 The integration mandate of Title II of the ADA is intended to allow individuals with disabilities to live integrated lives like individuals without disabilities, including by working, earning a living, and paying taxes. The civil rights of persons with disabilities, including individuals with mental illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, or physical disabilities, are violated by unnecessary segregation in a wide variety of settings, including in segregated employment, vocational, and day programs.

Since the passage of the ADA and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead, the ADA’s Title II integration mandate has been applied in a variety of contexts. The ADA’s integration mandate applies to all the services, programs, and activities of state and local governments, including their employment service systems.2 This guide discusses and explains the requirements of the ADA integration mandate and Olmstead as applied to employment service systems for individuals with disabilities. It complements and supplements, but does not supersede, the “Statement of the Department of Justice on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C.” (June 22, 2011).3

Wakefield for Trump

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.   In this campaign, a number of posts have discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.  He also has a bad record on disability issues more generally.

Orac writes at Respectful Insolence:

If there’s one thing you might not realize, it’s that antivaccinationists (at least many of them) love Donald Trump. Love him. For example, our good buddy and antivaccine conspiracy theorist, Jake Crosby, whom I like to refer to as Young Master Crosby (or, if I’m on Twitter, The Gnat), has been posting Hillary for Prison graphics, urging people to donate to the Trump campaign, and generally worshiping the ground Donald Trump walks on. Elsewhere, a man every bit as deranged as The Gnat, Mike Adams, has been delivering a steady stream of pro-Trump propaganda, along with his other pseudoscience, quackery, and lies, for several months now. More recently, the Grand Poobah of the Antivaccine Movement himself, the man who almost singlehandedly brought measles back to the UK by using a crappy fraudulent case report to frighten parents with the lie that the MMR vaccine causes autism, Andrew Wakefield, has stated that this is a “one issue” election:

To be honest, I have a hard time believing that Andrew Wakefield is so stupid that he’d be repeating the utterly risible claim that by 2032 one out of two children will have autism and that the pharmaceutical industry and government somehow want this? Does Wakefield have any self-awareness? Does he have a clue just how stupid that sounds? He probably does, but it’s all about the con, and the antivaccine activists he’s addressing actually believe such flagrant nonsense. In any case, Wakefield strongly endorsed Donald Trump because Trump believes that vaccines cause autism. In fact, he claims to have met with Donald Trump and that Trump told him he’s on Wakefield’s (and, by extension, the antivaccinationists’) side. He then lays down an even bigger whopper, claiming that, if Hillary Clinton is elected President, within two years there will be mandatory vaccination nationwide. Clearly, either Wakefield doesn’t know how our federalist system operates and that it is the states, not the federal government, that determine school vaccination requirements, or he doesn’t care. I suspect the latter. Again, Wakefield is not stupid. He is a liar. But who knows? To be able to make such ridiculously over-the-top claims, he must be, in my opinion, either stupid or lying. Take your pick.

Either way, that Andrew Wakefield supports Donald Trump (even though, as a British citizen, he can’t vote in our election) is not surprising. Donald Trump has been spouting antivaccine tropes, pseudoscience, and nonsense for a long time now. What was far more disturbing to me is that in the video Wakefield claimed to have met with Trump a couple of days before to discuss vaccines and autism. That’s right. If Wakefield is to be believed, the foremost antivaccine conspiracy theorist in the world, who made what is currently the most paranoid conspiracy theory “documentary” right now, met with a major party candidate for President, who told him he shares his views. That frightens me, and it should frighten you, too.

Bleach "Cure"

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss autism quackery.  One particularly dangerous "cure" involves bleach.

At KABC-TV, David Ono and Lisa Bartley report:

Eyewitness News teamed up with ABC News to conduct a year-long investigation into a supposed "miracle cure" that's peddled by the so-called "Church of Bleach," which has a chapter in Southern California.

The "miracle cure" is really a form of industrial bleach, but that doesn't stop believers from pushing the potion on the sick, the desperate, and perhaps most alarmingly, the parents of children with autism.
...
Dr. Paul Wang, a pediatrician and the senior vice president of Autism Speaks, a nationally recognized advocacy and support group, said parasites do not cause autism.

"No, parasites do not cause autism," Wang said. "She says that MMS is not a bleach, but it is."

"And frankly, it's a poison. It should not be given to anybody with autism or cancer or diabetes or any other condition that they claim it can treat," he continued.

Reversing TRICARE Rate Cuts

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families.  As many posts have discussed, the challenges are especially great for military families.

Tom Philpott reports at The Military Advantage Blog:

Language in both the House and Senate versions of the defense bill orders the Department of Defense to restore TRICARE reimbursement rates for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder to the higher levels paid until last April.

The rate cuts were significant enough that some groups of ABA providers stopped caring for military children, telling affected families they can’t properly pay staff or sustain their businesses with such low fees.
...
With the new rates TRICARE reimbursements fell sharply, but TRICARE capped the cut to no more than 15 percent the first year. Complaints from families and providers spurred the armed services committees to insert rollback language to their defense bills but then delayed final passage.

Despite the complaints, [Navy Capt. Edward Simmer, deputy director of the TRICARE Health Plan] said TRICARE has more than 28,000 ABA providers in its networks, more than two for every one of 13,000 military children receiving or seeking autism therapy.

“We’ve actually added providers under the new rates,” he said. “And everywhere we did have a provider drop because of the rates, we were able to place those patients with other very well qualified providers…So by and large we don’t believe the rates have had any significant impact on access.”

[Military autism advocate Karen] Driscoll said she the provider lists TRICARE touts are unreliable. She said she queried two clients, both of them large, multi-state ABA providers, to compare employee lists to what TRICARE posted. The results showed only 17 percent of providers listed for one company and 28 percent for the other were serving TRICARE beneficiaries. [emphasis added]

Vaccines, Autism, and the Amish: Snopes Weighs In

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism.   Antivaccine activists claim that the Amish do not vaccinate, and that there is no autism among them.  At Snopes, Alex Kasprak debunks both assumptions:

A 2011 study published in the journal Pediatrics surveyed 1,000 Amish parents about their vaccination habits. Of the 359 people who responded:

68% stated that all of their children had received at least 1 immunization, and 17% reported that some of their children had received at least 1 immunization.

These rates are lower than the national average, but to claim that the Amish do not vaccinate their children is false, as a majority of them do vaccinate to some degree.

Furthermore, researchers have documented many cases of autism amongst the Amish populations. Researchers from the University of Miami and Vanderbilt University interviewed 1,899 Amish children from two prominent Amish communities in Holmes County, Ohio and Elkhart-Lagrange County, Indiana. In a 2010 presentation to the International Society of Autism Research, they stated:

Preliminary data have identified the presence of ASD in the Amish community at a rate of approximately 1 in 271 children using standard ASD screening and diagnostic tools although some modifications may be in order. Further studies are underway to address the cultural norms and customs that may be playing a role in the reporting style of caregivers, as observed by the ADI. Accurate determination of the ASD phenotype in the Amish is a first step in the design of genetic studies of ASD in this population.

A Great Program: Exceptional Minds

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

One such program is Exceptional Minds, a visual effects animation studio in Hollywood.

Marsha James reports at Voice of America:

Exceptional Minds is a full-time, 3-year vocational program where students learn to do visual effects, animation and title work specifically for the entertainment industry.

"The program would teach them not only the technical skills that they needed but the work readiness skills that they needed in order to get a job," said Ernie Merlan, EM program director. "So we focus on how they look and what their attitude is and organizing themselves and problem solving on their own and then work place conflict, which is something I think we all have but learning how to deal with it is a little tough."

Exceptional Minds also has part time and summer programs for younger children.
...

It is costly to run a program like Exceptional Minds. Most families can only pay partial tuition. The program provides financial assistance to every student at the school.

Some students find jobs immediately after finishing the three year Exceptional Minds program. Other students work first at the Exceptional Minds studio. There, students gain connections to Hollywood’s major entertainment studios, like Marvel, Fox and Sony. They get to work on movies and television.

Ernie Merlan says the exacting, creative nature of animation seems to fit for some people with ASD. But, he hopes that Exceptional Minds can serve as a model program for teaching other vocations to those on the spectrum.

“Our dream is that we can show other people how to do what we’re doing. That they can in their own towns can figure out ways that these individuals can be useful to the town to the local industry and have them be a part of society.”

Link to Exceptional Minds here. 

Antivax People AWOL in CA Disability Battles

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

Matt Carey writes at LeftBrain/RightBrain:

This past year we have been fighting a big battle here in California. We were fighting to restore some of the services funding we’ve lost over the preceding years. We were trying to get a 10% increase in services funding, which wouldn’t make up for what we’ve lost over the years, but would be a big step forward.

This was a long fight, and one that we didn’t initially win. Even though we fought hard from the start, the budget did not include any increase for disability services. We could have used some help, more voices from the advocacy community. Even though we lost at first, advocates kept trying and finally got a 7.5% increase. And that’s a victory. The Arc of California/United Cerebral Palsy were working hard organizing the effort, organizing call in campaigns, fax campaigns and in-person activism in the state capital. Other groups, such as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network were also helping, as were others.

But here’s the thing: you wouldn’t know any of that if you were only following the vaccines-cause-autism focused groups and people.
...
Yes, instead of doing anything, anything at all, to work towards restoring lost services funding, they were lobbying against a vaccine bill. Not “lobbying against a vaccine bill and working for a restoration of services.” Just lobbying against a vaccine bill.

Carey goes on to name names.

A number of posts on this blog have discussed the antivax effort in California.

Epilepsy and ASD

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss dangers facing autistic people, including co-occurring conditions such as epilepsy.

At The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, "Shiny Thomas, Mary E. Hovinga, Dheeraj Rai and Brian K. Lee have an article title "Brief Report: Prevalence of Co-occurring Epilepsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: The U.S. National Survey of Children’s Health 2011–2012."

The abstract:

Epilepsy is reported to co-occur in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies across the world have found prevalence estimates ranging from 4 to 38 %. We examined parent-reported prevalence of co-occurring epilepsy and ASD in the most recent U.S. National Survey of Children’s Health, 2011–2012. All analyses accounted for survey weights to account for the complex sampling design. In the overall analytic sample of 85,248 children ages 2–17, there were 1604 children with ASD (prevalence of 1.8 %) and 1083 children with epilepsy (prevalence of 1.2 %). Epilepsy was reported to co-occur in 8.6 % of ASD cases. In children with ASD, the co-occurrence of epilepsy was associated with increasing child age, female gender, intellectual disability, speech problems and lower socioeconomic status.

From the article:

Finally, epilepsy was more common in ASD children with lower family income, consistent with what has been observed in the general, non-ASD population. The relationship between low socioeconomic status and incidence of epilepsy and ASD is not well-understood. However, low socioeconomic status is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as intrauterine growth restriction or preterm birth that may increase risk of epilepsy or neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD. The complex relationship between socioeconomic status, epilepsy, and ASD deserve further investigation.