More Developmental Disability News for Week Ending April 6

NYS Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright comes out swinging for DSPs, a study finds that autism in young girls is often misdiagnosed or overlooked, and more developmental disability news for the week ending April 6, 2024.

Spotlight

Well, I found my weekend read! The Hechinger Report just published a year-long investigation on suspensions and expulsions given for “vague, subjective categories like defiance, disruption and disorderly conduct.” It’s a topic of great importance to those in special education as students with disabilities, especially Black students with disabilities, are more likely than their peers to be disciplined.

The articles, found here, include a detailed main report, Vague school rules at the root of millions of student suspensions and a dive into issues including racial disparity.

New York

Op-Ed | Don’t leave our most vulnerable New Yorkers behind in budget negotiations NYS Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright on why a 3.2% COLA for DSPs must be in the new budget. (amnewyork.com)

Lawsuit seeking makeup services for NYC students with disabilities survives another legal challenge The lawsuit, filed in 2020, argued that thousands missed out on key services after a switch to virtual instruction. (Chalkbeat.org)

Outside of New York

New center aims to help people with an intellectual disability get college degrees in Minnesota A growing number of states have invested in inclusive higher education in the last decade. Kentucky passed legislation in 2020 establishing a similar center to Minnesota’s at the University of Kentucky. There are now over 300 postsecondary programs for students with an intellectual disability nationwide. (MPRnews.com)

Fully-Accessible Theme Park Reopens in Texas Following Major Expansion Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio had a $6.5 million overhaul, such as a “first-of-its-kind” 4-seat zip line that can accommodate riders in wheelchairs as well as those who need extra restraints. (Disability Scoop)

Disability rights advocates call on Portland, Ore., Schools to spare special ed jobs in budget cuts The layoffs would affect students with disabilities. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Education

Teaching disability history in schools is ‘long overdue,’ advocates say  “You can’t find a period in history or a place in geography or time where there aren’t people with disabilities. And yet somehow, we’ve barely scratched the surface of that history.” While a handful of states, says the report, including New Jersey, have laws on the books about including disability history in their curriculum standards, but “those standards aren’t always enforced.” (wgbh.org)

SSI

Biden Administration Reducing Penalties In Supplemental Security Income Program Disability benefits for people whose friends, family or roommates help them out with food will no longer be docked. (Huffpost.com)

Autism

Nonspeaking People With Autism May Know More Than Previously Thought A study finds that five times more nonspeaking teens and adults with autism have knowledge of written language than was expected. (Disability Scoop)

Autism in young girls is often misdiagnosed or overlooked. A doctor explains why. “We see higher rates of diagnoses of anxiety or depression and the autism really gets missed.” (CBSnews.com)

Employment

US Dept. of Labor to award up to $67.1M to help people with disabilities overcome obstacles to employment Among the first states receiving the awards is New York. (U.S. Dept. of Labor)

Healthcare

School-based Medicaid billing concerns delay proposed rule Concerns over negative impacts to students’ out-of-school benefits are delaying the release of a rule that would ease the process of obtaining parental consent for Medicare school-based health services. (K12dive.com)

Across the Pond Things Are Not Good

Parents offered class photo with no ‘complex needs’ pupils Parents at a school in Scotland were offered a choice of class photos with or without children with complex needs in them. (BBC) An opinion piece in The Guardian, Cropped out, banned, airbrushed: the school photos that show the ugly face of Britain today, offers a thoughtful take on the news.

Neurodivergent-Friendly Caramoor Concerts for Little Ones: Fridays, July-August

Movement and musical discovery are the focus in this series for children ages 2-6 and their caregivers. It features “world-class” artists who will invite children to sing, wiggle, and dance to diverse styles of music.

The performances welcome children who are neurodivergent, have sensory sensitivities, or just need a bit more space to enjoy the music. Modifications include relaxed house rules and extra space for movement.

Details

Schedule:

• July 5, 2024: Trombonist Mariel Bildsten’s music was called “irrepressibly spontaneous” by Downbeat Magazine. Bildstein is an educator and frequent jazz headliner.
• July 12, 2024: Grammy-award winner Lucy Kalantari and her jazz age-inspired music. Songs will be sung in English and Spanish.
• Aug. 2, 2024: Percussionist and eductaor Gabriel Globus–Hoenich, who works across genres. He has performed with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O’Farrill, and Yuja Wang, and is a committed  teacher.

Time: 11 a.m.

Where: Caramoor Education Center, 149 Girdle Rd., Katonah, N.Y., 10536

Introduction to Gardening at Shames JCC on the Hudson: April – May

Join Shames JCC on the Hudson for an inclusive introduction class to gardening basics led by resident JCC gardener Amy Payne. Learn about seasonal plants, practice preparing a garden bed and help plant in the JCC garden for the upcoming season.

Details

When: Thursdays, April 11, April 25, May 16, May 30 (total of four classes)

Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Where: Shames JCC, 425 South Broadway, Tarrytown, N.Y., 10591

Cost: $80 members/ $100 non-members

Register here

What You Need to Know about Least Restrictive Environment: April 4

Part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), presumes that “students with disabilities will attend the same schools they would have attended if they did not have disabilities,” according to the NYS Education Dept. “Removal or restriction from their regular schools and classrooms can only occur for reasons related to the student’s disability when the student’s individualized education program (IEP) cannot be satisfactorily implemented in that setting, even with the use of supplementary aids and services.”

This webinar from Parent to Parent of NYS will walk you through the law, and what it means for you and your child.

Details

When: Thursday, April 4, 2024 (there will also be one in July and one in November; see registration to choose)

Time: 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Register here

Photo: RDNE Stock Project

Learn About Special Education Quality Assurance: April 10

NYS Budget Is Down to the Wire: How to Have Your Voice Heard

In unsurprising news, the April 1 deadline for the 2025 New York State budget will be coming and going without a final budget. This means it’s not too late to keep pushing for the legislation needed to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and caregivers.

NYC Fair has shared talking points and easy ways to advocate. Most needed: a 3.2% COLA for direct support professionals (DSPs); a $4,000 wage enhancement to DSPs via the Direct Support Wage Enhancement bill; and restoring the drastic cuts Gov. Hochul has proposed to the Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program (CDPAP).

RELATED NEWS: Why We Need the New York Complex Care Assistant Act

Below are the tips shared by NYC Fair (Family, Advocacy, Information & Resources for People with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities), as well as other organizations NYC Fair is amplifying.

One-click ways to advocate

https://cpstate.org/advocacy/

https://www.ancor.org/advocacy/

https://thearcny.org/budget-advocacy/

https://nyalliance.org/Advocacy

Write and call your legislators

• To find your Senator click here
• To find your Assembly Member click here

Talking points

NYDA: New York Disabilities Advocates’ suggests these talking points when reaching out to Senators and Assembly Members.

NYDA has has supplied a call script, found here.

And here is NYC FAIR’s response to the governor’s budget.

Developmental Disability News to Know for Week Ending March 30

States work to eliminate the subminimum wage, “noisy” autistic brains seem better at certain tasks and more developmental disability news for the week ending March 30, 2024.

New York

The Looming Home Care Disaster In New York State More on the proposed budget cuts to the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP). (homehealthcarenews.com)

“Hear my daughter’s voice through me”: Disability advocates plea state avoid program cuts This article focuses on the proposed cutting of designated representatives from CDPAP from the budget. (cbs6albany.com)

Katonah-Lewisboro NY schools sue state over extension of special education eligibility age State officials told the district it had to continue educating a 21-year-old student with autism for an additional year, so the school district sued. (a lohud article, as seen on aol.com)

Outside of New York

Advocates call foul for Illinois lack of disability funding The governor’s budget proposal doesn’t include a pay increase for the people who care for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Sound familiar? (ourquadcities.com)

WA state spending to rise tenfold on housing for people with developmental disabilities The new funding, which will flow through grants to mostly nonprofit developers, will likely help build about 80 affordable housing units. (spokanepublicradio.org)

Healthcare

For patients with disabilities, this doctor prioritizes independence — and fun A family physician and University of California, San Francisco professor has been reshaping care for adults with complex disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. (npr.org)

Shock Devices

FDA Proposes New Ban On Shock Devices For Those With Developmental Disabilities More than two years after a ban was blocked in court, federal regulators are seeking to stop the use of devices that administer electric shocks to address behavior issues in people with developmental disabilities. (Disability Scoop)

Autism

‘Noisy’ autistic brains seem better at certain tasks. Here’s why neuroaffirmative research matters (theconversation.com)

Info on Accessing Dental Care for Medicaid Recipients: Aug. 13

This one-hour drop-in session with LIFEPlan CCO NY Member Relations Liaisons and Belkys Garcia, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, will discuss access to dental care for Medicaid recipients.

The discussion will include appealing unfavorable decisions, and how to get Medicaid/Medicaid Managed Care to pay for out-of-network providers if there are not adequate in-network providers on their list of participating providers.

There will be time to ask questions.

Real-time written translations in Spanish, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and other languages will be provided.

Traducción escrita en tiempo real disponible en Español.

This webinar is being organized by LIFEPlan CCO NY.

Details

When: Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Time: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Register here

Museum of Moving Image in Queens’ Marvels of Media Festival 

Mark your calendars — and get your tickets. The 3rd annual Marvels of Media Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Queens, which celebrates work created by media-makers on the autism spectrum, takes place March 28 to March 30, 2024.

The festival includes a selection of 17 new films and one virtual reality project, and offers an opportunity to learn from professional filmmakers on the spectrum through two media workshops, one on puppetry, the other collage animation (see more about them below).

“It’s great that there’s now a conversation in the mainstream media about how autistic people are represented in front of the camera, but we also want the conversation to be about the stories made by autistic people,” says Miranda Lee, museum educator, access educator, and Marvels of Media co-leader at MoMI, of the festival’s radical nature.

What’s especially exciting about this year’s selection, Lee adds, “is the variety. There’s not one way people tell stories and there’s not one way people who are autistic, like me, tell a story. Some [of the films] are about being autistic, some aren’t, there are some media makers who are queer and autistic, and people of color and autistic. The focus is more on the styles and genre.”

The films include six shorts on opening night that fall under the theme “Unique Romances”; Flying Lessons, a dramatic feature that follows two estranged sisters forced together by their mother’s sudden death (Beatrice, an autistic teenager who wants to learn to fly, and Talia, a queer musician with no interest in teaching her); “Magnificently Awesome Animations,” animated shorts perfect for the whole family, which include the short The Kazuki Toons Babysitting an Egg; Wilmington Escaped, a new VR work by returning artist Carrie Hawks; and Tree’s Blood from Reel Start and Exceptional Minds, an academy and studio dedicated to preparing artists on the autism spectrum for careers in animation and the digital arts.

The festival was founded by media veteran Josh Sapan, former executive vice chair of AMC Networks & a MoMI trustee. Like many who become involved in the world of special needs, Sapan has a family member with autism. His autistic son, who is now 30 and a prolific writer of fan fiction, grew up going to MoMI with his father, where the video games helped him connect with the world.

“Stories were and are very important to him,” says Sapan. “They can be educational and emancipating. For him, for all of us, it connects him to a particular universe. [But we both] liked to go to the museum, it bridged our interests and has an orientation toward neurodiverse people. I would encourage anyone with special needs kids to check it out.”

The Marvels of Media festival expands the museum’s accessibility efforts for autistic visitors through the creation of a sensory-friendly space in the Media Lab and sensory kits, which are available at the front desk. It’s part of the museum’s year-round Marvels of Media initiative, which showcases, celebrates, and supports autistic media-makers of all ages and skill sets. 

Festival Workshops

This will take place at the Museum; space is limited.    

Free with RSVP   

Collage Animation Workshop

Instructed by artist David Karasow, this two-hour media workshop focuses on creating collage art with paper, which is then animated to create a stop-motion animation short (between 10 and 20 seconds). 

New Initiative Aims to Bridge Gap Between Law Enforcement and People with I/DD

A new initiative to bridge the gap between law enforcement and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), “Just Policing: Disability Inclusion Training,” has been announced by The Arc and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).

The training, which will provide disability awareness training to police officers across the country, comes in the wake of the recent police killing of Ryan Gainer, a Black autistic teenager in California who reportedly had run toward a police officer with a garden tool and was fatally shot.

RELATED NEWS: When the Police Respond to People with I/DD: How to Make It Safer for Everyone

Just Policing will provide officers with comprehensive knowledge and tools to understand and better serve people with I/DD. The training will focus on enhancing bias, effective communication, recognizing I/DD, de-escalation techniques, and legal obligations to ensure effective and respectful interactions. far from the first such deadly encounter.

It adds to ongoing efforts already being made The Arc to improve relationships and outcomes between the police and people with I/DD, mostly notably its Pathways to Justice program. That community-based program works with law enforcement, victim service providers, the legal system and communities to establish disability response teams, and also helps to train those teams.

“We are creating the Just Policing training specifically for law enforcement only,” says Leigh Anne McKingsley, director of The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability, who notes that Pathways is a more comprehensive program.

And because the  new training can be placed in the COPS Office online training portal, McKingsley adds, it gives ARC “a chance to reach more officers through a different avenue.”