Supreme Court to weigh police obligations under ADA
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to hear San Francisco’s appeal of a ruling allowing a knife-wielding woman with schizophrenia to sue police for shooting her, a case that could set standards for police treatment of people with disabilities. Read more
Those with invisible disabilities such as autism face barriers to finding work
People with invisible disabilities such as autism often endure unique struggles in finding jobs in standard workplace environments, from actually getting hired to dealing with the workplace itself. Read more
Childhood mental health disabilities on the rise
Over the past half-century, the prevalence of disabilities developed during childhood in the U.S. has been rising. A new study shows that the nature of these disabilities is changing as well. Read more
Expert to Newtown Panel: Violence, Autism Not Tied
An expert in psychology on Friday told a commission investigating the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that there is no data linking autism to violent tendencies. Matthew Lerner, a professor at Stony Brook University, was among a group of experts who testified on autism spectrum disorder and programs available to help people with autism.
The commission is considering whether the state of Connecticut’s mental health programs are adequate in treating people with mental disabilities, specifically in regard to Adam Lanza, the gunman who killed 28 people in a December 2012 school shooting rampage, including himself. Lanza, 20, was diagnosed with profound autism spectrum disorder in 2006. Read more.
FDA OKs mental disability blood test for infants
The Food and Drug Administration cleared a new blood test on Friday that can detect mental disabilities in infants. The laboratory test called CytoScan Dx Assay is not intended for prenatal screening but for helping doctors diagnose some developmental disabilities earlier, such as Down syndrome and DiGeorge syndrome.
Whereas other existing tests are generally only used after a child starts exhibiting signs of a disorder, doctors said the new test should be available to use before any signs occur to help get appropriate care right away. Read more.
Supreme Court to grapple with mental disability and the death penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to clarify the legal standard of mental disability in regard to death penalty cases. The case to be heard involves a Florida man convicted of murder who scored one point above the cut-off on an IQ test, landing him on death row. Justices will decide whether states can rely entirely on a single IQ test when determining mental disability. Read more.
