New money to help students with disabilities transition into adulthood, autism family drama premieres starring Robert De Niro, physicians are needed to treat people with I/DD, and more news for the week ending Sept. 23, 2023.

The States

NJ: Thousands of NJ families frustrated by long wait for disability services A look at the physical, emotional and financial toll it takes to be in limbo. (njspotlightnews.org)

NJ: Nonprofit partners with Montclair Public Library for autism job training (roi-nj.com)

NC: Mother says discriminatory discipline stands in way of daughter’s education The state suspends and expels students with disabilities more than any other state in the country, per capita. Most of those kids are Black.

Pa: Pittsburgh school districts sue over new ‘age-out’ rule for students with disabilities That was fast. The changes, announced in August, raise the state’s age-out from 21 to 22. (Post Gazette)

Education

Biden Admin. Spends Big Bucks to Improve Outcomes for Students with Disabilities Nearly $199 million will fund model projects in 20 states designed to help young people transition into adulthood. (Disability Scoop)

Caregiving

Demand for direct care workers expected to outpace availability: report The far-ranging report projects that this workforce will see the largest growth of any job sector in the country. (wcnc.com)

Entertainment

Autism Family Drama Premieres at Toronto Film Festival Ezra, directed by Tony Goldwyn, stars Bobby Cannavale and Robert De Niro. (Los Angeles Times)

Travel

Oregon Mountain Bike Trails Adapted for Accessibility 100 miles of Bend, Ore.’s mountain bike trails to be assessed for adaptive users in May. (Governing.com)

Autism

‘There’s no one way to be autistic’ In this beautiful animation, British author Sara Gibbs shares how being diagnosed as autistic as an adult changed her relationship with herself. (BBC.com)

Adaptive clothing

2 Massachusetts moms made adaptive clothing for kids with disabilities BeFree’s lightweight activewear was inspired by a very active middle-schooler with a disability. (cbsnews.com)

Employment

A Colorado dad opened a trade school for young adults with autism. Amazing, and, I’ll note this again: Nearly 99% of working-age autistic adults who potentially need employment services actually receive them. (Colorado Sun)

First-person

When Family Members Downplay a Child’s Potential Disability Some parents doubt their own observations of their child’s behavior, in part because some family members tell them to “let it go.” (Psychology Today)

People with Down syndrome deserve access to Alzheimer’s treatment Clinical trials for new drugs failed to include the population that made progress on Alzheimer’s treatments possible. (Boston Globe)

Health

HHS Invests in Training New Physicians to Care for People with I/DD A 2022 survey of physicians showed only 57% would welcome people with disabilities into their practices. (HHS.gov)

Global report highlights neglected health needs of children with developmental disabilities (World Health Organization)

Lessons

Passenger Demands ‘Lazy Child’ Give Up Disabled Seat The berated teen finally had to lift her trousers to show her prosthetic leg. Let’s be nicer to each other.

Shocking

Haiti gangs take aim at disabled children: ‘Put those kids out of their misery or we will’ (Miami Herald)

This Rapping Preacher Is Selling Bleach to Parents Trying to ‘Treat’ Autism in Kids (Vice)