"Offering science- and research-based health care to transgender and gender diverse youth is part of Children's Minnesota's vision of being every family's essential partner in raising healthier children."
We in the autism science and advocacy community were just appalled at the way he went about selecting members. The current committee has been hijacked by a narrow ideological agenda that does not reflect either the broad autism community or the state of autism science.
Leyton's mother stated, 'None of the boys in that school accepted him. They told him they would never accept him for the way he spoke. He was a sassy speaker, more feminine - not the 'hard boy' type. This wasn't going on for just a little while.'
Special needs summer camps are specialized programs designed for children and young adults with a range of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, Down syndrome, and other developmental or physical challenges.
Developmental disabilities are actually quite common. In the United States, about 1 in 6 children has a developmental disability (CDC, 2024). Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions usually present at birth that affect the trajectory of a person's physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2021). Conditions such as Down Syndrome, Autism, Fragile X, Cerebral Palsy, and others are examples of intellectual or developmental disabilities.
When I take a walk in my neighborhood, my white hair, dark glasses, and white cane shout to the world that I am an older blind man. Some passers-by assume that I am lost and ask if I need help. It is true that blind people sometimes need help when using a mobility aid (a white cane or guide dog) to navigate their physical environment. However, once a person becomes proficient at traveling with a mobility aid, they typically need much less help.
I resisted. How could I keep my promise and still consider a group home? The professionals all said the same thing in different words: You can't do this alone. What happens when you get older? He needs a trained staff. His physician, who'd known Chris since he was 3, was even more direct: A group home could offer the structure, safety and supervision I couldn't provide alone.
