Antivaxxers Block Vaccination Site at Dodger Stadium

 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.

Marisa Gerber and Irfan Khan at LAT:

Dodger Stadium’s mass COVID-19 vaccination site was temporarily shut down Saturday afternoon when about 50 protesters gathered at the entrance, frustrating hundreds of motorists who had been waiting in line for hours.

The Los Angeles Fire Department closed the entrance to the stadium — one of the largest vaccination sites in the country — for about an hour starting just before 2 p.m. as a precaution, officials said. Several LAPD officers also responded to the scene; a spokeswoman for the department said no arrests were made.

Andrea Garcia, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, said that despite the 55-minute interruption, no appointments were canceled.

...

A post on social media described the demonstration as the “Scamdemic Protest/March.” It advised participants to “please refrain from wearing Trump/MAGA attire as we want our statement to resonate with the sheeple. No flags but informational signs only.

...

A livestreamed video of the gathering shows a group of protesters on a sidewalk as cars navigate cone-lined lanes toward the stadium, which served as a COVID-19 testing site for months. A Times photographer witnessed much of the incident.

Disability and Vaccine Priority

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. Those challenges get far more intense during disasters.  And coronavirus is proving to be the biggest disaster of all.

Tim Jin at LAT:

When Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the latest changes in the way California determines eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines, he chose an analogy that unintentionally revealed just how misguided the revised guidelines are.

It’s like boarding an airplane, Newsom said. The gate agents don’t wait for every first-class passenger to enter the plane before they let the business-class passengers on. And the customers traveling in economy don’t wait until every last business-class passenger boards before they head down the jetway.

The problem? The governor failed to include those who usually get to board the plane first: people with disabilities. Like me.

Unfortunately, that oversight is hardly surprising. Since the pandemic started, we have been largely confined to our homes without the support we are used to. Quarantine means many of our caregivers stayed away, causing our family members to quit their jobs so they could fill in. Many students with disabilities aren’t receiving the support they need to properly attend, and benefit from, virtual school. We feel so alone.

But now Newsom appears to have downgraded us — or overlooked us — in his vaccine distribution plan, which first gave priority to people by occupation and then by age. Neither approach accounts for the needs of the millions of Californians with disabilities.

Sammy Caiola at Capital Public Radio:

Judy Mark, president of a nonprofit called Disability Voices United and mother to a 23-year-old with autism spectrum disorder, says advocates are concerned that after seniors and frontline workers are vaccinated, the state will begin moving down the age categories without paying attention to underlying conditions. The state has not yet defined which medical conditions make someone eligible for early access to the vaccine.

“While that’s a straightforward process, it’s leaving a lot of people out,” she said. ”It just makes no sense … It doesn’t follow the science, either. Because we know that people with disabilities have significantly higher rates of hospitalization and death.”

An NPR analysis of data from New York and Pennsylvania found that people with intellectual disabilities who contract COVID-19 die at a higher rate than other residents.

Advocates say people with severe disabilities should be bumped up to the first tier of Phase 1B, alongside people age 65 and older, making them next in line for the vaccine. The state has not yet clarified exactly how Monday's announcement changes the current priority plan, and which groups will be eligible next after people older than 65 and certain frontline workers are vaccinated.

Young Autistic Drivers Crash Less

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people.  Sometimes they occur on the road.  A number of ASD people drive cars.

 A release from  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia:

A collaborative study from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) and the Center for Autism Research (CAR) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that compared with their non-autistic peers, young autistic drivers have lower rates of moving violations and license suspensions, as well as similar to lower crash rates.

The findings were recently published online by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Obtaining a driver's license is an important milestone for adolescents and young adults. One-third of autistic individuals without intellectual disability obtain their driver's license by the time they are 21 years old, increasing their mobility as they transition to adulthood.

Prior studies with driving simulators suggested that autistic drivers may be at higher risk for motor vehicle crashes, since autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can affect motor coordination and visual processing speed, both critical skills for safe driving. However, no previous research has objectively looked at the real-world risk of crashes and traffic violations among autistic adolescent and young adult drivers. This knowledge would help pinpoint specific skills instructors can build upon and inform tailored practice driving interventions and lessons to increase young autistic driver safety.

The researchers examined data from New Jersey residents born between 1987 and 2000 who were patients in the CHOP Care Network. Their electronic health records were linked with statewide driver licensing and crash databases. The data included 486 autistic and 70,990 non-autistic licensed drivers over their first four years of driving. The study team also examined the proportion of crashes that were attributed to specific driver actions and types of crashes.

"Our findings are noteworthy because they suggest newly-licensed autistic drivers may establish driving patterns that balance independent mobility and risk, bringing their crash risk in line with other young drivers," said Allison E. Curry, PhD, MPH, senior author of the study and a senior scientist and director of epidemiology at CIRP and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "By learning more about their driving patterns and how their crashes differ from those of their peers, we can develop tailored training to help autistic adolescents and young adults develop the range of skills needed to become safe, independent drivers."

The study also found that young autistic drivers involved in crashes were substantially more likely to crash while making left- or U-turns and also more likely to crash due to not yielding for another vehicle or pedestrian.

The authors suggest that weaknesses in processing speed among young autistic drivers may make identifying, processing, or prioritizing potential hazards more difficult. Their motor speed and visual scanning skills may also be slower.

"Our study suggests that autistic adolescents and young adults may benefit from more on-road training than their non-autistic peers," said Benjamin E. Yerys, PhD, a co-author of the study, a psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Data and Statistical Core at CAR. "They may need more tailored training in navigating turns and interacting safely with pedestrians and other vehicles."

###

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health Awards R01HD079398 and R01HD096221.

Curry et al, "Comparison of Motor Vehicle Crashes, Traffic Violations, and License Suspensions Between Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescent and Young Adult Drivers." J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, online January 13, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.01.001.

About

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 595-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

Survey Data on Autism and Vaccines

 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.

RJ Reinhart at Gallup:

Perhaps the most well-publicized and debunked claim of danger posed by vaccines is that they cause autism. Currently, 10% of U.S. adults believe vaccines cause autism in children, marking a modest increase from 6% in 2015. Nearly half, 45% do not think vaccines cause autism, up modestly from the 41% who said the same almost five years ago. And 46%, down from 52%, say they are unsure.

Bureau of Disability Rights

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

“Civil rights” usually referred to the fight against racial segregation.  In several ways, this struggle set the template for other civil rights issues, including disability rights. First, cases such as Brown v. Board of Education demonstrated that disadvantaged groups could gain protections in the courts.  Second, movement leaders found that nonviolent protests could gain public sympathy and put pressure on elected officials. Third, civil rights statutes that helped African Americans would also point to means by which the government could protect other excluded groups. 

President Biden has nominated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.  On his way out, Becerra has made an important announcement.

 From the California Department of Justice:

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced the establishment of the Bureau of Disability Rights (Bureau) within the Civil Rights Enforcement Section (Section) of the California Department of Justice. The Bureau will focus on matters that seek to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are advanced through specific investigations and litigation. The Bureau will also expand on the Section's work to vindicate the rights of persons with disabilities on issues including discrimination in education, healthcare, employment, access to public services, and with regard to law enforcement involvement.

“If we are going to make meaningful progress towards protecting the rights of Californians with disabilities, we must devote attorneys and resources to work specifically on these issues,” said Attorney General Becerra. “The establishment of the Bureau of Disability Rights marks an important step toward ensuring that the rights of persons with disabilities are considered in all of our work here at the California Department of Justice. I look forward to seeing all that the Bureau is able to accomplish.”

Already, Deputy Attorneys General in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section, who will be staffed to the Bureau, have secured relief for persons with disabilities through the inclusion of specific corrective measures in judgments which require reforms. These judgments, for example, advance the rights of students with disabilities, including students who are disciplined for behavior resulting from their disability, and mandate reforms of law enforcement practices relating to officer involvement with individuals experiencing mental health crises, those with disabilities, and the profiling of individuals perceived to have disabilities.

The California Department of Justice is committed to protecting the rights of Californians with disabilities. Since taking office, Attorney General Becerra has:

• Reached an agreement with the Stockton Unified School District and its police department to address discriminatory treatment of minority students and students with disabilities;
• Secured settlements with school districts in Barstow and Oroville to address discriminatory treatment of students based on race and disability status;
• Announced a $600,000 settlement with an online special education services provider aimed at protecting schools and students with learning disabilities;
• Co-led a coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s rule undermining Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age in federal health programs;
• Joined a bipartisan coalition in submitting a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opposing its decision to reverse a decades-long policy that allows Veterans Service Organizations 48 hours to review decisions on veteran disability claims; and
• Issued an alert to all school districts in the state reminding school leaders of their obligation to protect the civil rights of students, especially in the face of reports indicating that implicit bias among school administrators leads to students of color and those with disabilities being disproportionately subjected to disciplinary action.

Antivaxxers and California Recall Efforts

 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.

Anita Chabria and Paige St. John at LAT: 

Hardline activists from the anti-vaccination movement. Two leaders, Denise Aguilar and Tara Thornton with the Freedom Angels, organized and participated in numerous rallies at the state Capitol that promoted the recall effort. At these events, speakers denounced vaccines and health orders. The Proud Boys, who have been involved in protest violence, from street brawls in Sacramento to the incursion of the nation’s Capitol, are also often present. Aguilar has said they provided security.

...

 Heatlie said his organization cut ties with at least one of those early partners, the Freedom Angels, and is careful about connections to groups with far-right views such as science deniers. Yet, The Times found recall signature gatherers continue to frequent such events.

...

Strident language has become more common in the recall as the pandemic progresses, with the Freedom Angels one group turning up the temperature. The group first gained prominence in California opposing laws that require vaccinations for public school attendance, which they claim is an overreach of government authority. With the pandemic, two leaders of the Freedom Angels splintered off to join those opposed to COVID-19 closure and stay-at-home orders.

The splinter group also recently started an all-female militia, and advertises seminars on social media on how to target local health department officials, including staging nonviolent actions at officials’ private homes

...

Heatlie said he became concerned about the Freedom Angels in May, after an unruly Capitol rally in which 32 people, including Aguilar and Thornton, were detained by the California Highway Patrol. But despite his misgivings, Heatlie agreed to appear on a Freedom Angels webcast in June, on the day the Secretary of State’s office approved his petitions for circulation. And later in the month, Heatlie’s recall campaign called on supporters to attend a Freedom Angels rally at the Sacramento courthouse to support those who had been arrested during demonstrations.

Reviewing the Literature on Autistic Adults

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.

Patricia Howlin has an article at The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders titled " Adults with Autism: Changes in Understanding Since DSM-111."

Abstract:

Over the past four decades there have been significant advances in our understanding of autism, yet services for autistic adults continue to lag far behind those for children, and prospects for employment and independent living remain poor. Adult outcomes also vary widely and while cognitive and language abilities are important prognostic indicators, the influence of social, emotional, familial and many other factors remains uncertain. For this special issue marking the 40th anniversary of DSM-III, the present paper describes the changing perspectives of autism in adulthood that have occurred over this period, explores individual and wider environmental factors related to outcome, and suggests ways in which services need to be changed to improve the future for adults living with autism.

In the four decades since the publication of DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 1980) there have been many changes in our understanding of autism. We now know much more about how reliably to diagnose the condition; underlying genetic and neuropsychological processes are far better understood, and the quality of intervention research- at least with respect to young children- has greatly improved. Nevertheless, very many autistic adults, and their families, continue to face significant difficulties in their daily lives. To mark the 40th anniversary of DSM-III, the following article focuses principally on research conducted over the intervening period that has changed our understanding of autism in adulthood. Variables related to prognosis, challenges experienced in adulthood, and interventions that may help to reduce these are explored. The paper concludes with recommendations for improving quality of life for autistic adults and those living with or caring for them.

From the article:

It needs to be acknowledged that the quality of research on interventions for adults is far inferior to that for autistic children, especially very young children. Thus, although there is some evidence of potentially effective interventions to improve adult social functioning and mental health, the variability and complexity of the treatments involved means that we still know very little about the specific components of services or therapies that are crucial for success. Evidence of methodologically sound and ecologically valid interventions and services is limited, and far greater funding and dedicated research is required to redress the current imbalance between child and adult research and access to effective interventions.

 

Program for Autistic Students at the University of Idaho

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the growing number of college students on the spectrum. Some colleges and universities have programs to assist them.

At the Moscow-Pulman Daily News, Lex Van Horn reports on a program for autistic students at the University of Idaho:

Raven Scholars Project supports students as they transition from the distractions of typical high-school classrooms to learning in a more supportive setting.

“There is that place where I can go and everybody knows I’m on the autism spectrum,” Program Coordinator Leslie Gwartney said. “I don’t have to explain myself. I don’t have to worry about if I’m stimming (self-stimulation behavior) or if I’m having a bad day or if I want to talk about my special interest. People are going to understand.”
...

The UI Raven Scholars Program, one of several UI programs supporting these students, helps 30 students with ASD, diagnosed or undiagnosed, per semester, Gwartney said. Students regularly talk with her about their academic work, time management, self-care and social skills. These meetings are meant to become shorter and less frequent because Raven Scholars is a program helping high-school students transition into college life.

The change to online learning because of COVID-19 has challenged students with ASD. Some instructors have expected students to fill in gaps, but ambiguous assignments can be challenging for students with ASD, Gwartney said. Assignments that place equal weight on small portions of work instead of heavily weighting a final project can also be difficult. Students may feel like it’s busywork and avoid it.

Other students have struggled more with transitioning their social lives online. Normally, students have access to the Raven Room, a large, open space where students can work, eat, relax or chat with each other. Puzzles, board games and books are organized on shelves around the room while sensory tools and fidget toys lay on a counter near the common table. Two large windows oversee neighboring halls and their courtyards.

Antivaxxers at the Insurrection

 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.

It should not be a surprise that they took part in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Ellie Rushing and Anna Orso at The Philadelphia Inquirer:

A South Jersey mom who is prominent in anti-vaccine and right-wing activist circles was among a crowd of people barreling into a line of police and attempting to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, video from the day shows.

Stephanie Hazelton, of Medford, who also identifies herself as Ayla Wolf, can be seen among the mob trying to push through the building’s West Terrace entrance. Video shows Hazelton emerging from the entrance to direct more people to help break through the doors.

“More people, we gotta keep going,” Hazelton said as she waved the crowd toward the entrance.

“Men, we need more men,” she said repeatedly, coughing and wiping her eyes while holding up her pink phone to record herself. “Let’s go.”

Michael Wittner at Patch:

A Beverly Hills skincare salon owner and a prominent anti-vaxxer physician and her spokesman appeared at the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday to face charges of participating in the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol.

Gina Bisignano, 52, was arrested Tuesday morning, and Simone Gold, 55, and John Strand, 37, were taken into custody Monday, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

The defendants, all of whom reside in Beverly Hills, appeared Tuesday afternoon before a Los Angeles magistrate judge, who granted each of them bond on charges filed in the District of Columbia.

Bisignano, owner of Gina's Eyelashes and Skincare in Beverly Hills, was ordered released on a $170,000 bond and is subject to home detention. A preliminary hearing was set in her case on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles. She was charged Tuesday with civil disorder, destruction of government property; aiding and abetting; obstruction of an official proceeding; restricted building or grounds; violent entry or disorderly conduct, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gold, a physician and attorney who has criticized the coronavirus vaccination as ineffective and touted hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19, was released on a $15,000 bond and is also subject to home detention. Her next court appearance is a virtual hearing with the District of Columbia on Thursday. She was charged Tuesday with restricted building or grounds; violent entry and disorderly conduct.

 

From ACLU's To-Do List for President Biden

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

From the American Civil Liberties Union:

• Now more than ever, the administration needs to make sure that states and school districts continue to meet their obligation to provide appropriate educational services and assessments to students with disabilities. This includes helping them make up for instructional time and services lost during distance learning and school closures due to COVID-19. To support students with disabilities who have been left behind during the pandemic, the administration must make targeted Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding a priority for the next congressional COVID-19 relief package. The Department of Education must also provide robust guidance that highlights best practices that school districts have adopted during the pandemic and ensures students with disabilities are not unnecessarily pushed into alternative schools during the pandemic.
• The administration also must stop the unnecessary and harmful restraint and seclusion of students with disabilities in schools by executive action and supporting appropriate legislation. Mechanical or physical restraints harm children and inflict lasting psychological trauma, yet their use still happens far too often in schools. Action is needed now to end these draconian practices and ensure that our schools are places where children feel safe to learn.
• The overuse of police, known as school resource officers, in our nation’s schools disproportionately harms students of color with disabilities, criminalizes normal childhood behavior, and funnels students into the school-to-prison pipeline. The administration must take executive action and pursue legislative opportunities to eliminate federal funding that puts police in schools and reinvest those funds to hire school counselors, psychologists, and other supportive mental health personnel for our students. The administration must also investigate school districts where the data show disproportionate rates of law enforcement referrals and arrests for students with disabilities, and hold those school districts accountable.

Rep Jess

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."  Previous posts have discussed autistic officeholders and political candidates in New York, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Earlier posts discussed  Jessica Benham's election to the Pennsylvania House.

Megan Magensky at WHP-TV:

 A newly elected Pennsylvania state representative is one of only a handful of openly autistic politicians in the country, and she’s ready to go to work for her community.

State Representative Jessica Benham (D-14th District) is basically the opposite of what you think about when you think politician.

She’s young, autistic and a member of the LGBTQ community. She says she’s ready to fight for everyone.

 Meghan Holohan at Today:

Growing up, Jessica Benham never saw people with autism in politics. In fact, she rarely even heard of women having autism. When the 29-year-old disability activist was sworn into the Pennsylvania House of Representatives last week, she became one of only a handful of politicians with autism across the United States and as a bisexual woman, one of a few LGBTQ women in politics.

“I never thought that running for office was going to be what I did. It wasn’t in the Jessica Benham plan,” she told TODAY. “I really felt the call from my community to step up for them."

 

Antivax Bailout

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.

Elizabeth Dwoskin and  Aaron Gregg at WP:

Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.

The groups that received the loans are the National Vaccine Information Center, Mercola Health Resources, the Informed Consent Action Network, the Children’s Health Defense and the Tenpenny Integrative Medical Center, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom that fights misinformation and conducted the research using public documents. The group relied on data released in early December by the Small Business Administration in response to a lawsuit from The Washington Post and other news organizations.

Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about the coronavirus.

NYT reports that Mercola Consulting services also got a loan. 

COVID Impact on Autistic People and Caregivers

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. Those challenges get far more intense during disasters.  And coronavirus is proving to be the biggest disaster of all. Providing education, social services, and therapies is proving to be very difficult.

At The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, L. Casey White and Colleagues have a brief report titled:  "Impact of COVID-19 on Individuals with ASD and Their Caregivers: A Perspective from the SPARK Cohort."

Abstract:

The impact of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the United States is unprecedented, with unknown implications for the autism community. We surveyed 3502 parents/caregivers of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) and found that most individuals with ASD experienced significant, ongoing disruptions to therapies. While some services were adapted to telehealth format, most participants were not receiving such services at follow-up, and those who were reported minimal benefit. Children under age five had the most severely disrupted services and lowest reported benefit of telehealth adaptation. Caregivers also reported worsening ASD symptoms and moderate family distress. Strategies to support the ASD community should be immediately developed and implemented.

Antivaxxers Threaten Violence

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.

Lara Korte and Hannah Wiley at The Sacramento Bee:

State lawmakers attended what was supposed to be a routine Capitol budget hearing last week assessing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spending plans for next year. But when the time came for public comment, things took a dark turn.

“If you want to vaccinate everyone in California, you guys are not thinking,” one speaker, who did not identify herself, said. “And there’s one more note: 17 million guns were purchased in the United States ... what do you think they’re going to do with that?”

The following speaker, who also did not identify herself, made the message clear:

“Keep threatening us. Keep taking our s--- away. Keep telling us we can’t do anything about it and see how much longer we’re going to sit here and wait to give public comment,” she said. “We didn’t buy guns for nothing.”

At Capital Public Radio, Nicole Nixon quotes Senator Richard Pan:

We have strong security in the Capitol. I think the question we have to ask ourselves is that when it comes to speech, we want to allow people to express whatever opinions they want to express, but when they actually engage in actual threats, we have to take them seriously. You should be able to express your opinion, explain why, but the threats to people's lives? That should not be considered acceptable.

 

Nine Minutes and Six Seconds in Metrairie

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between police and autistic people.  Police officers need training to respond appropriately.  When they do not, things get out of hand. 

Allyson Waller at NYT:

The parents of an autistic teenager who died last year after an encounter with sheriff’s deputies in Jefferson Parish, La., filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that deputies who were trying to restrain him had sat on him for a total of more than nine minutes, leading to his death.

The suit, filed in United States District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, came a year after the death of the teenager, Eric Parsa, who had severe autism. Eric, 16, died on Jan. 19, 2020, after being held down, sat on and handcuffed by deputies in a shopping center parking lot after he had an autism-related meltdown, an outburst resulting from emotional or sensory overload, according to lawyers representing his parents, Daren Parsa and Donna Lou.

In the lawsuit, Dr. Parsa and Dr. Lou charge that the authorities exhibited negligence and used excessive force while also violating their son’s civil rights and his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Never did we ever think that our 16-year-old son with special needs would die in front of our eyes at this age and in the hands of law enforcement,” Dr. Lou said at a news conference on Thursday with her husband and their lawyers. “Unfortunately, it is our reality of a nightmare.”

From the complaint:

1. This case involves the tragic death of a 16-year-old severely autistic child, (E.P.), while in the custody and care of deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) in the parking lot of the Westgate Shopping Center in Metairie, La. on January 19, 2020.

2. E.P. was the only child of Donna Lou and Daren Parsa, both of whom were present when he died before their eyes. He was held down in a prone position, on his stomach, handcuffed, shackled, arms and legs held down, head, shoulder and neck encircled by the arm of a deputy, with JPSO deputies applying their own body weight as a restraint, while he was suffering from an acute sensory episode or “outburst” related to and caused by his severe autism.

3. The JPSO deputies knew that E.P. was obese. They knew that he was autistic and a “special needs child.” They knew he had been involved in recent physical exertion. They knew E.P. was in a crisis situation and that the family needed help. They knew he was unarmed. Yet they persisted in dangerously and forcefully restraining E.P. without appropriately monitoring his condition, until they killed him.

            ... 

221. In total, E.P. had been held in a face-down, prone position, under the body weight and physical pressure of deputies sitting on his back for a total of nine minutes and six seconds.

More "Disturbing Reports"

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. Those challenges get far more intense during disasters.  And coronavirus is proving to be the biggest disaster of all. Providing education is proving to be very difficult.

Yesterday's post described an investigation by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights into "disturbing reports" of how Indiana and Seattle handled special education during the pandemic.

Stephanie Wang at Chalkbeat:

The department has also opened up investigations into Los Angeles Unified, Seattle Public Schools, and Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools, according to letters obtained by Chalkbeat. The four investigations — each announced in letters dated Tuesday of this week — all cite “disturbing reports involving the District’s provision of educational services to children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Los Angeles Unified appreciates the concerns of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and we will cooperate in its investigation,” a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified said in a statement. “Until it is safe and appropriate to resume in-person services, we’ll continue to do our best to help those most in need with individual and small-group support in an online setting.”

A spokesperson for Fairfax County schools said the district had just received notice yesterday of the investigation and could not offer an immediate response. A spokesperson said Seattle Public Schools planned to fully cooperate with the investigation, according to the Seattle Times.

At KCBS/KCAL, Kristine Lazar provides one disturbing report:

Though the state allows school districts to apply for waivers allowing TK-second grader and special needs students back in the classroom, LAUSD has not applied for one.

Katherine Collins, mom to a 7-year-old boy with autism, said she started the process for his individualized education program, or IEP, just four days before the shutdown last March.

She said when school started back up in August, the district was no longer responsive until she said she sent a strongly worded email.

“When someone finally called me, it was the [special education] coordinator, but he’s in charge of three schools,” she said. “How’s that going to get everyone’s needs met?”

She said she worries about the kids with families who do not know the law or do not have the time to hound the school district.

“The majority of people that LAUSD serves do not have my privilege,” she said.