A BOCES campus builds a model downtown to teach living skills, a Broadway show features an autistic cast, new data on school disciplinary action reflects stark reality, and more news for the week ending Dec. 9, 2012.

Spotlight

I hope you can access the following link (The Boston Globe’s paywall is aggressive): What my autistic son’s cold cheeseburgers taught me about bureaucracy

A sharp commentary on how services and institutions make it difficult to implement even small, common sense changes, this Ideas piece — published back in May, but which I just discovered — is also funny and painfully relatable. (The Boston Globe)

New York

Rockland BOCES creates ‘Safety City’ to help students with disabilities navigate streets A new, movie set-like street, complete with stores and being built on the campus by BOCES carpentry students, joins a new model residence to give students with disabilities a chance to polish independent living skills. (lohud.com)

Legislators call for SNAP benefit increase in Hochul’s budget The minimum benefit is currently a “not-feasible” $23 a month. (Times-Union)

Broadway’s ‘How to Dance in Ohio’ musical has an autistic cast with some strong Westchester connections (lohud.com)

Outside of New York

Florida families take the fight for disability services into their own hands A mom-created advocacy group picks up steam in a state that ranks 49th for per-capita spending on services for people with disabilities. (WGCU.org)

New Mexico works to reduce abuse in disability program A horrendous abuse case has the state “trying” to address concerns. (KRQE.com)

Washington Special Ed School Accused of Abusing Students Closing Amid Scrutiny Northwest School of Innovative Learning was the state’s largest publicly funded private school for children with disabilities. (ProPublica.org)

Autism

What We Know About Autism — And How To Treat It — Could Change After New Study It’s the first time that the cellular workings of a neuropsychiatric disorder like ASD have been explored this deeply. (Disability Scoop)

A Successful Holiday Strategy for an Autism Family How to make a personalized book to help an autistic child get through the holidays. (Psychology Today)

Education

America Promises Equality for Disabled Students. It’s Failing This engaging package of five stories spans how we got here to whether robots help autistic children learn social skills. (Mother Jones)

Kids with disabilities face off-the-books school suspensions The AP unpacks “informal removals.” (Associated Press)

New Data on School Disciplinary Action Reflects Stark Reality Students with disabilities, for instance, accounted for 81% of those physically restrained and 75% of those secluded. (Autism Society’s Capitol Connection)

Justice

The Arc’s Leigh Anne McKingsley’s on Disability Rights and the Criminal Justice System This might shock you: People with IDD are more likely to be arrested, charged with a crime, and serve longer sentences if convicted. The head of ARC’s Criminal Justice Initiative answers questions and shares vital information. (Comcast Newsmakers)

Employment

Voc Rehab Agencies Told To Beef Up Offerings U.S. Dept. of Ed says agencies need to provide more than minimal services. (Disability Scoop)

SSI

SSI Beneficiaries Will See Double Payments This Month Because the first of the month falls on a holiday, the payment is sent in advance and beneficiaries can expect two checks to arrive this month, but nothing in January. (Disability Scoop)

Oy

Disability Charity Speaks Out About Slur In Ricky Gervais’ Netflix Special He used the “r” word. (HuffPost.co.uk)

Role Models

How a Chicago Volunteer Helps Migrant Kids With Disabilities The children, who survived journeys crossing jungles and rivers, have conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. (Governing.com)