Disability and Abuse Newsfeed

Disability and Abuse Newsfeed

Week of October 13 to October 19, 2017

Articles Compiled by Jennifer Palmer

Editing and Commentary by Nora J. Baladerian, Ph.D.,

Posting by Thomas F. Coleman

Articles are listed in alphabetical order by state within each category, so you can easily scan through the articles for those within your state or other states in which you have an interest. International articles are near the end. The categories are: Abuse and Neglect, Laws & Legislation, Statistics and Studies, Improved Supports, International, and sometimes, Miscellaneous.

Check the categories below for a guide to types of abuse. The categories are indicated by type, and the number of the article.

Check the categories below for a guide to types of abuse. The categories are indicated by type, and the number of the article.

Type:
Sexual Assault: 8 (by co-resident); 9(in care); 10 (by 74 year-old family member); 58 (by stranger); 71; 73

Physical Abuse: 2 (at school); 4 (at school);6 (carer); 19 (school police cannot handcuff children above the elbow); 56 (by carer); 66 (slavery); 68

Prostitution by Licensed caregivers: 48 (sexual abuse and financial exploitation)

Financial Abuse: 65 (by family) 66 (slavery); 71

Neglect: 1 (at school);3 (carer); 5 (school);70 (abandonment)

Murder: 7(grp home carer); 11 (by uncle); 12 &13 (by uncle)

Related to Special Education: 14; 16; 17*; 25; 36; 52; 54; 74

Discrimination: 15 (alleged maltreatment and termination of worker with Asperger’s);75

Guardianship:42, 59

ADA/Access: 21; 24; 61; 76

Healthcare: 29 (health risks for those with developmental disabilities);30; 31 (prescriptions of antipsychotics ubiquitous for those with I/DD but without the conditions for which they are intended); 62: scalp acupuncture improves speech & social interaction (study finds).

WINNER of most egregious award: 31, 39 (caskets for special education students!!); another winner: 47: autistic patient denied treatment in emergency room for 255 hours; 48: Carers prostitute vulnerable clients.

WINNER of best leadership award:78 (JF Kennedy’s contribution to the civil rights of people with intellectual disabilities.

Good News: 23 Legislation proposed more funding for care providers based on improved quality of care; 34 (new kindness campaign launched);45: Man with Down syndrome succeeds in business.

Bad News: *17: Effort in Idaho to prevent death penalty for juveniles and those with mental illness but not intellectual/developmental disabilities; 18: Nursing homes “we can film you but you can’t film your loved one’s care.” 22: Nearly 8% carers for people with developmental disabilities avoided criminal background checks; 32 (100 elders injured daily per report); 43:questionable care under child protective services; 44: employers resist hiring workers with disabilities; 46: Father of autistic child denied plea to arrange for child’s care prior to his deportation; 69 (Mexico proposes national health bill excluding those with disabilities!!!)

PLEASE NOTE: Visit our website at www.disabilityandabuse.org While on the homepage, we invite you to “like” us at the bottom of the page, making it easier to keep up with our activities! Prior weekly newsfeeds are archived at: https://disabilityandabuse.org/newsfeed/contents.htm

ABUSE AND NEGLECT

1. “Autistic boy wanders away from Mesa school; school doesn't notice.” The mother of a son with special needs is outraged after her son wandered away from his east Mesa school and no one noticed. ---abc15.com, October 12 (Arizona) https://is.gd/G0t1Km

2. “Delaware mom claims autistic son was assaulted at middle school by a teacher.” Delaware State Police are investigating an incident at Seaford Middle School where a mom claims her special needs son was assaulted by a teacher. --- wdel.com, October 13 (Delaware) https://is.gd/NpN2G5

3. “Couple accused of neglecting elderly and disabled granted bond.” A couple accused of neglecting disabled and elderly adults in a number of unlicensed personal care homes and one licensed home were granted bond Friday. --- chronicle.augusta.com, October 13 (Georgia) https://is.gd/pCzlvA

4. “Parents say their autistic child was restrained with wooden partitions at LaPorte school.” A LaPorte County couple this week accused their 7-year-old daughter's school of using a wooden structure to restrain the 2nd-grader, who has autism, without her parents' permission or knowledge. --- southbendtribune.com, October 15 (Indiana) https://is.gd/nxTvtz

5. “Driver left autistic child alone on school bus for 4 hours, cops say.” A bus driver has been charged with leaving a 9-year-old autistic child on a school bus for four hours Thursday, according to authorities. ---nj.com, October 13 (New Jersey) https://is.gd/YFczGv

6. “Alleged group home attack leaves disability advocates angry, in disbelief.” The death of a group home resident in June has resulted in charges for two of the home's former employees. Police say 35-year-old Heather Roselli was brutally attacked when she was trying to call home on Father's Day this year. --- 13wham.com October 12 (New York) https://is.gd/D812hu

7. “Two charged over death of Webster group home resident.” Two women have been charged over the death of a resident at a Webster group home in June. According to authorities, 60-year-old Sandra Abdo and 25-year-old Sarah DiLallo were charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of an elderly or incompetent person the death of 35-year-old Heather Roselli, a resident of a group home on Pierce Street in Webster. --- whec.com, October 12 (New York) https://is.gd/EzUjRM

8. “Police investigating after group home patient allegedly sexually assaulted another patient during trip.” Police are investigating after they say a male patient sexually assaulted another patient during a trip from a group home. ---kfor.com, October 16 (Oklahoma) https://is.gd/HdbD8I

9. “Patton man accused of sexually assaulting autistic boy at hospital.” A Patton man is facing charges, accused of sexually assaulting an autistic boy at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. --- wjactv.com, October 16 (Pennsylvania) https://is.gd/3Ay3lV

10. “Lubbock man ‘not thinking clearly,’ charged with sexually abusing disabled family member.” A 74-year-old man was indicted Tuesday in connection with an August sexual abuse investigation involving a mentally disabled family member. ---lubbockonline.com, October 17 (Texas) https://is.gd/gPZn3z

11. “Kerrville man accused of killing nephew: ‘I did not do this’.” Their grandson Dayvid Pakko’s disappearance Monday on the West Coast was naturally worrisome, but nothing could prepare Randy and Whitney Henckel for the subsequent news that his body had been found in a trash bin and their son Andrew was accused of killing him. ---mysanantonio.com, October 18 (Texas) https://is.gd/cojsl3

12. “Body of missing autistic Seattle-area boy found in dumpster; relative in custody.” The body of a missing suburban Seattle boy with autism was found in a dumpster early Tuesday, and a teen relative is in custody, reports CBS affiliate KIRO. ---ktvq.com, October 17 (Washington) https://is.gd/7v7swg

13. “'Asperger's' uncle, 19, confesses to drowning six-year-old autistic nephew in a bathtub and disposing of his body in a dumpster.” The uncle of a six-year-old boy whose body was found in a dumpster in his Lynnwood, Washington apartment complex on Tuesday has confessed to his murder. ---dailymail.co.uk, October 19 (Washington) https://is.gd/Lb6K3h

LAWS & LEGISLATION

14. “Do better: Parents of students with disabilities call on SBOE for more representation.” The message from parents of special needs students to the Alabama State Board of Education (SBOE) was clear and in large print across specially-designed T-shirts Thursday. “Do better.” ---montgomeryadvertiser.com, October 12 (Alabama) https://is.gd/VXVv15

15. “Asperger’s lawsuit moving toward resolution.” A federal lawsuit against Camden County for alleged illegal mistreatment and termination of a former cooperative extension worker, who has Asperger’s syndrome, could be resolved by the end of the month. ---brunswicknews.com, October 17 (Georgia) https://is.gd/RVuu93

16. “Special Ed Program An Unconstitutional ‘Dumping Ground,’ Suit Claims.” Georgia uses its unique network of psychoeducational schools as a “dumping ground” for unwanted students with disabilities, a new class-action lawsuit claims. ---disabilityscoop.com, October 16 (Georgia) https://is.gd/94AkA3

17. “ACLU wants Idaho to restrict death penalty.” A University of Idaho law professor and a group of advocates want to see Idaho pass rules that would prevent the mentally ill and juveniles from being subjected to the death penalty. ---spokesman.com, October 18 (Idaho) https://is.gd/GiYZ9X

18. “Abusive caregivers are shooting degrading photos, so why can't patients use cameras to protect themselves?.” When the family of 82-year-old Cheryll Scherf grew concerned about the care she was receiving at the Elkader Care Center, they decided to install a motion-activated camera in her room. ---desmoinesregister.com, October 19 (Iowa) https://is.gd/Fsaig5

19. “Federal judge: county liable for handcuffed kids.” A federal judge says it was unreasonable for a Kentucky sheriff's deputy to handcuff two unruly elementary school students and says the county government is liable for the officer's conduct. ---paducahsun.com, October 15 (Kentucky) https://is.gd/QMA82F

20. “Shackling Elementary School Kids Above Elbow Found to Violate the Fourth Amendment.” A school resources officer for Covington Independent Public Schools in Kentucky in 2015 shackled, in separate incidents, two learning disabled kids, an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. The cuffs were attacked not around their wrists, but above the elbows behind their backs. --- reason.com, October 13 (Kentucky) https://is.gd/Dz9im7

21. “Senate passes Donoghue bill targeting handicapped parking fraud.” bill authorizing the Registry of Motor Vehicles to investigate charges that someone falsely obtained a handicapped parking placard and allowing the RMV to require documentation to verify the stated reasons for a placard unanimously cleared the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday on a 37-0 vote.- lowellsun.com October 13 (Massachusetts) https://is.gd/u97DYU

22. “How a convicted murderer (and others) slipped past group home background checks.” Nearly eight percent of workers hired to take care of people with developmental disabilities have evaded a state law requiring they undergo a criminal background check, according to a report Tuesday by the Office of the State Auditor. ---nj.com, October 18 (New Jersey) https://is.gd/EvGBAS

23. “LEGISLATION COULD PROVIDE MORE FUNDING TO ADULT HOME CARE PROVIDERS IN EXCHANGE FOR QUALITY OF CARE IMPROVEMENTS.” Adult home care providers are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign a bill that would increase subsidies for those who house and care for seniors and adults with disabilities. Advocates for residents say any subsidy boost should be tied to additional oversight measures to guard against excessive salaries for facility managers, poor quality programs and fiscal mismanagement. ---cityandstateny.com, October 19 (New York) https://is.gd/FizI7l

24. “Wheelchair-bound lawyer sues NYC for $1M over accessibility.” A wheelchair-bound lawyer has filed a $1 million suit against the city, claiming they’ve failed miserably in making a Brooklyn courthouse accessible to him and others with limited mobility. --- nypost.com, October 16 (New York) https://is.gd/Z3wba7

25. “Federal appeals court removes obstacle to litigation for students with disabilities.” The enduring legacy of the now-defunct Walter D. Palmer Charter School may be a significant federal appeals court ruling this month that could remove an important impediment from parents seeking an appropriate education for their children who have special needs. thenotebook.org, October 19 (Pennsylvania) https://is.gd/IUFVqZ

26. “Aging, disabled consumers may be clueless about state's new long-term care program.” Libby Powers, a 29-year-old disability rights counselor born with spina bifida, understands the state’s pending Community Health Choices program better than most of the other 80,000 southwestern Pennsylvanians soon to be affected by it. --- post-gazette.com, October 16 (Pennsylvania) https://is.gd/nJnHua

27. “How Will Trump’s Health Care Executive Order Affect Disabled People? Activists Are Speaking Out About The Potential Impact.” The end of the fiscal year last week finalized the Republican's failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and, after a long summer chock full of die-ins and marches protesting the Republicans’ proposed health care policies, the disability rights community more than deserved a breather. ---bustle.com, October 12 (Washington DC) https://is.gd/8qVTCQ

STUDIES & STATISTICS

28. “Studies send mixed messages on antidepressants’ link to autism.” Antidepressants slightly boost the risk of autism and other brain conditions. Or they don’t, and it’s really factors related to the mother’s mental health that pose the risk ---spectrumnews.org, October 16 https://is.gd/HwGbwV

29. “Successful treatment for advanced stage testicular cancer in down syndrome patients.” Research by Jue Wang, MD, at the University of Arizona Cancer Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center on "Delay in Diagnosis of Testicular Cancer in a Patient with Down Syndrome" was published in the October issue of Journal of Cancer and Therapeutic Science. --- eurekalert.org, October 13 (Arizona) https://is.gd/RUcFnH

30. “Adverse childhood experiences a real public health issue.” Suzy is a young mother who is living on her own with two small children. She does not want to see her family, as her father left when she was young and her stepfather is an alcoholic and sexually abused her as a child. Her mother has significant mental health issues. --- chieftain.com, October 14 (Colorado) https://is.gd/3Re2cq

31. “Time to stop over-prescribing antipsychotics to adults with developmental disabilities.” A recent study has shown that a large number of developmentally disabled adults prescribed antipsychotics do not have the diagnoses for which these drugs are approved. This is a concern because these drugs can lead to serious health issues. --- thestar.com, October 13 (Canada) https://is.gd/k9M0Ki

32. “REVEALED: 100 old people injured in care homes every day - shock report.” MORE than 100 vulnerable older people are suffering serious injuries in care homes across the country every day, shocking figures show. ---express.co.uk, October 16 (UK) https://is.gd/3ExLrP

IMPROVED SUPPORTS

33. “Tommy Hilfiger is making clothes easier to wear for people with disabilities.” Tommy Hilfiger has a new line of clothes for an often overlooked set of customers -- people with disabilities. The collection, which goes on sale Wednesday, uses magnets and Velcro to make it easier for people to get dressed. The line has 37 styles for men and 34 for women -- shirts, pants, jackets, sweaters and dresses. --- money.cnn.com, October 18 https://is.gd/Fuz2D9

34. “Parents of kids with special needs urge others: Teach your child compassion.” Stacey and Darren Gagnon have six children, four of them with special needs. When they encourage other parents to teach their kids about kindness, they speak from the heart — and personal experience. ---today.com, October 19 https://is.gd/qhdPmI

35. “How an Anchorage school is using ‘Frito pies’ to teach job skills to special-ed students.” Service High School student Kameron Matthews took orders from behind a metal cash box Friday afternoon and directed his customers to the "Frito Pie Friday" fare. --- adn.com, October 16 (Alaska) https://is.gd/aFRHYR

36. “Special education funding gap squeezes Arizona classrooms.” Underfunding of federally mandated special education services for public school students, coupled with a growing number of students with more severe disabilities, is straining general classroom spending in Arizona’s public schools. --- azednews.com, October 12 (Arizona) https://is.gd/mRej57

37. “People with disabilities want to work.” October is National Disability Employment Awareness month, this year’s theme is Inclusion Drives Innovation and today community members met to discuss employment awareness. --- kiem-tv.com, October 12 (Florida) https://is.gd/o4q8Ny

38. “How Chicago Created 'Community College' for Special Ed Students.” On an overcast afternoon in May, the gymnasium of an oppressively beige school building on Chicago’s South Side was teeming with giddy students. ---politico.com, October 19 (Illinois) https://is.gd/d8fPOO

39. “Iowa schools use solitary confinement as punishment, and this is not ok.” A controversial new type of punishment has been making the rounds through Iowa schools during the last year. Tiny pine boxes with little to no light or ventilation, called “seclusion enclosures” are designed to confine children while disciplining them. --- scarymommy.com, October 12 (Iowa) https://is.gd/N1sizO

40. “Chicago's Jewish Community Unites To Be More Inclusive Of People With Disabilities.” There's a verse from the biblical prophet Isaiah carved into the walls of many synagogues: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." These wall inscriptions are a reminder to be welcoming to everyone. ---npr.org, October 15 (Illinois) https://is.gd/TkkDnQ

41. “Handicapped drivers must pay for parking in Mount Vernon beginning Oct. 30.” Drivers with disabilities will be required to pay for parking in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood beginning Oct. 30 — the fourth expansion of the city’s ProjectSPACE program, designed to combat the abuse of disability placards. ---baltimoresun.com, October 16 (Maryland) https://is.gd/cwLzNH

42. “Michigan families speak out about losing loved ones to guardianship.” For months, the 7 Investigators have been digging into the guardianship system in Metro Detroit. On Thursday night, we showed you how a local woman says that due to a court-appointed guardian, she can’t make any medical or financial decisions for her aging parents. --- wxyz.com, October 13 (Michigan) https://is.gd/6IxpM4

43. “Grand Forks social services leader denies misconduct in child protective services.” The leader of the Grand Forks County social services office has rejected claims that the local Child Protective Services office mishandled cases of possible child abuse or neglect. --- grandforksherald.com, October 15 (Michigan) https://is.gd/8sakXd

44. “Measuring our humanity: the disability equality index.” Opportunity remains an airy aspiration for too many Minnesota employers who resist hiring workers with disabilities --- startribune.com, October 15 (Minnesota) https://is.gd/IgRTaO

45. “Entrepreneur with Down syndrome builds $1.3 million business selling socks.” A 21-year-old entrepreneur with Down syndrome has built a $1.3 million business selling socks, according to Fox Business. ---theblaze.com, October 17 (New York) https://is.gd/VRLKH6

46. “Father of Autistic Child Deported From U.S.” The father of a child with severe autism has been deported to his native Bangladesh following a plea for more time to stay in the United States to arrange for his daughter’s care. ---nbcnews.com, October 19 (New York) https://is.gd/LKCri8

47. “This family of an autistic child waited in the hospital ER over 200 hours. Here’s why.” Natania Barron and Michael Harrison waited 255 hours in the emergency room before their autistic son Liam, 11, was finally placed in a program that could provide the psychiatric care he needed. ---heraldsun.com, October 17 (North Carolina) https://is.gd/JLuank

48. “Why Did An Adult Care Home Accused Of Prostitution Get A 4-Star Rating From The State?” Carolina Public Press has spent the past year investigating adult care homes across North Carolina, and it found a lack of consistency and accountability across the board in how these centers are evaluated. ---http://wunc.org, October 18 (North Carolina) https://is.gd/AL1yBU

49. “Autism research on Puerto Rico island threatened by hurricane aftermath.” Autism research suffered a significant setback after an island used for scientific study was ravaged by Hurricane Maria. --- cnn.com, October 13 (Puerto Rico) https://is.gd/7vAAVy

50. “Special card will improve communication for deaf people during traffic stop.” Memphis Police Department is working to improve relationships with the deaf community. --- wmcactionnews5.com, October 12 (Tennessee) https://is.gd/GgHmYZ

51. “Fairview father urges police training for interaction with autistic, mentally disabled.” People are often urged to call police when they see suspicious behavior, but one Fairview father wants to make sure those police are trained to know the difference between suspicious behavior and the actions of a developmentally disabled child or adult ---tennessean.com, October 19 (Tennessee) https://is.gd/HxRChd

52. “Access Denied: How Texas Denied Thousands Of Families Special Education.” Back in 2006, Marie LeMay was getting her daughter Jade ready for first grade in Round Rock, a suburb north of Austin. She still remembers Jade’s big dream. ---houstonpublicmedia.org, October 16 (Texas) https://is.gd/aYhLq9

53. “Woman Sheds Light on the Plights Of Foster Kids After They Turn 18.” Turning 18 is a celebratory coming-of-age for most. But for many foster kids, it means entering toxic group homes or living in the streets .--- ebony.com, October 19 (Utah) https://is.gd/jTcyPG

54. “Private Schools Offer New Plan For Accepting More Special Education Students.” Vermont's independent schools say there might be a way to have more students with disabilities enrolled in their programs. --- digital.vpr.net, October 16 (Vermont) https://is.gd/lLvo0N

55. “New autism facility seeks to address need for more treatment options in central Wis.” Local professionals say more options are needed when it comes to treatments for kids with autism in central Wisconsin. A recently opened autism center in Weston is aiming to address that need, --- wsaw.com, October 13 (Wisconsin) https://is.gd/zoMAmL

INTERNATIONAL

56. “Mum claims she was kept in the dark after out of school hours carer allegedly attacked her autistic son in fast food restaurant.” A distressed mother says she only discovered an out-of-school-hours care worker repeatedly kicked her autistic, intellectually disabled son in a fast-food restaurant because the woman confessed to her – one term later. --- adelaidenow.com.au, October 14 (Australia) https://is.gd/t3CswL

57. “Call for better autism diagnosis, data for girls.” Girls are at risk because it takes too long recognise when they have autism, parents say. --- radionz.co.nz, October 17 (Australia) https://is.gd/zVfEck

58. “Australian Man Ayden Devereux Jailed For Filming Gang Rape Of Intellectually Disabled Teenage Girl.” Ayden Devereux was sent to jail for seven and a half years, with a non-parole period of five years after he filmed the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl. The 26-year-old Australian man, who shot it with a GoPro camera, was sentenced for two counts of sexual intercourse without consent. ---inquisitr.com, October 18 (Australia) https://is.gd/BoOnp6

59. “Liberals push ahead with new intellectual capacity law, despite objections.” Despite a chorus of objections to a proposed law governing when guardians can take over decision-making from intellectually disabled Nova Scotians, Liberal members have used their majority on a legislature committee to move Bill 16 along without change. --- cbc.ca, October 16 (Canada) https://is.gd/iT8pkj

60. “Mentally ill patient died while strapped to bed in locked hospital room, inquest hears.” A Toronto man with mental health issues died while being held in restraints inside a locked room at St. Joseph's Health Centre, a jury heard at the start of a coroner's inquest into his death. ---cbc.ca, October 16 (Canada) https://is.gd/OaxZCd

61. “Legislation to improve accessibility for those with disabilities planned for spring.” The federal minister responsible for crafting Canada’s first national accessibility legislation says the law should be ready by next spring and should benefit not only people with disabilities, but their caregivers. --- nationalpost.com, October 15 (Canada) https://is.gd/Tit4GW

62. “Scalp acupuncture helps autistic children with speech and social interaction, Hong Kong university study finds.” The study, at Baptist University in Kowloon Tong, tested a total of 68 autistic children aged between two and 10. They each received needle treatment, which proved effective in alleviating problems of impaired social interaction and delayed verbal communication. --- scmp.com, October 16 (China) https://is.gd/v183O5

63. “Immigration NZ to deport disabled man back to Fiji on health grounds.” A father fears his intellectually disabled son will die when he is forced to return to Fiji. ---stuff.co.nz, October 18 (Fiji) https://is.gd/QjJYF9

64. “Telangana: Propagating rights of differently-abled.” Medari Kiran Kumar is a singer, writer and theatre artiste. He is passionately propagating rights of differently-abled, in particular the mentally challenged children, by singing songs, play-writing, penning lyrics and presenting skits. --- telanganatoday.com October 15 (India) https://is.gd/DUPVKK

65. “€700m stolen from vulnerable adults each year - often by family members.” Hundreds of vulnerable people are being financially abused, typically by close family members. ---independent.ie, October 16 (Ireland) https://is.gd/3sh62y

66. “Slavery fears in Northern Ireland reported to NSPCC's special adult helpline.” Worried adults in Northern Ireland have contacted an NSPCC helpline to report suspected slavery. --- belfastlive.co.uk, October 14 (Ireland) https://is.gd/aSjJz8

67. “Excluding people with disabilities makes Church 'incomplete'.” A leading expert on faith and disabilities has said that people with disabilities are an essential aspect of the Church's life and mission, and that parishes which exclude them are “incomplete.” ---catholicnewsagency.com, October 19 (Italy) https://is.gd/mKrbO3

68. “More women with disabilities seeking help over domestic violence.” The number of requests for consultations over domestic violence filed by women with disabilities grew over 30 percent between fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2016, roughly eight times faster than the figure among women without disabilities, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned. --- mainichi.jp, October 15 (Japan) https://is.gd/3r9iWy

69. “Mexico: Mental Health Bill Undermines Disability Rights.” Mexico’s Congressional Mental Health and Drug Commission is considering a national mental health bill that proposes to improve mental health services for all in Mexico but would seriously jeopardize the rights of people with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today. ---hrw.org, October 17 (Mexico) https://is.gd/g0psES

70. “50 psychiatric patients abandoned in Aro hospital.” At least 50 patients of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, have been abandoned by their families and relatives the institution’s authorities revealed. --- premiumtimesng.com, October 15 (Nigeria) https://is.gd/aFRHYR

71. “We Must End The ‘Sex For Rent’ Exploitation Of Vulnerable People Unable To Afford To Live.” At SNP conference a motion was unanimously passed condemning “sex for rent” and instructing the Scottish government to legislate to tackle it. I was pleased to speak in favour of the motion and propose an amendment to strengthen it by acknowledging it as part of a wider trend towards increasing levels of commercial sexual exploitation. ---huffingtonpost.co.uk, October 16 (Scotland) https://is.gd/XwLZbV

72. “Initiative to help special needs students discover job interests to be scaled up.” An initiative to expose special education (Sped) school students to various job roles and workplaces will soon be scaled up to reach more students. --- straitstimes.com, October 14 (Singapore) https://is.gd/13s6ZG

73. “6 people arrested for alleged rape of mentally handicapped young girl.” In the case of the blood-freezing incident in the Sandıklı district of Afyonkarahisar, allegedly raped a 17-year-old mentally handicapped young girl, --- turkeytelegraph.com, October 13 (Turkey) https://is.gd/UKQxTw

74. “Essex special needs testing service is suspended.” Vulnerable children are at risk of ending up in the wrong type of school because a special needs testing service has been suspended, it has emerged. --- bbc.com, October 13 (UK) https://is.gd/Qa5bTf

75. “The civil service has a problem with the way it treats disabled staff like me.” I’m not surprised by the way the government treats people with disabilities – you only need to look at how poorly it treats its own disabled staff, like me. There simply isn’t the disability awareness we need from senior management and no concerted effort to address that. --- theguardian.com, October 14 (UK) https://is.gd/rX7QHt

76. “MPs urge action on lengthy wait for autism diagnosis.” Parents of children with suspected autism are having to wait at least 44 months for diagnoses, prompting a cross-party group of more than 140 MPs to write to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, demanding urgent action. --- theguardian.com, October 14 (UK) https://is.gd/De1CyL

77. “Fathers with learning disabilities 'left out of support,' study finds.” Fathers with learning disabilities are often let down by statutory services, which neglect to support them around parenting or focus only on mothers, a study has found. ---medicalxpress.com, October 19 (UK) https://is.gd/uyKqza

MISCELLANEOUS

78. “JFK’s other civil rights effort: protecting the rights of people with intellectual disabilities.” President John F. Kennedy, whose centennial is being marked this year throughout the Boston area and the U.S., is remembered for many contributions he made in just over 1,000 days in office: the space program, the resolution of the Cuban Missile crisis, his efforts to support civil rights for African-Americans. Less well-known is Kennedy’s contribution to the civil rights of people with intellectual disabilities. --- brandeis.edu, October 18 https://is.gd/oLrvCI

79. “As people with disabilities we shouldn't be denied access to assisted dying.” Planning your death is difficult for most people – and it is no different for people with a disability. Like everyone else, we wish for a safe, peaceful, and compassionate death. ---theguardian.com, October 16 https://is.gd/qC38El

80. “A school for kids with autism copes with fire's physical and emotional damage.” Among the many buildings destroyed in Northern California wildfires this week, was a nonprofit private school that serves 125 students who have autism. --- npr.org, October 14 (California) https://is.gd/L9UhyW