New New York law expands ABA

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced plans to include a historic $240 million increase in investment for approved private schools serving children with disabilities in her upcoming 2022-2023 Executive Budget. Governor Hochul also signed a package of legislation to increase resources and support for students with disabilities, their families and social services providers.

Governor Hochul also signed a package of legislation to support students with disabilities: legislation (S.2911/A.1953) establishes that the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board provide a report on autism detection, education, and mapping; legislation (S.6682/A.7614) appoints an impartial hearing officer to address due process complaints for students with disabilities; legislation (S.1662-B/A.3523-A) makes the issuing of behavior analyst licenses in New York consistent with other states; and legislation (S.5560-A/A.5339) provides funding to early intervention education for toddlers with disabilities.

Legislation (S.2911/A.1953) provides that the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board will deliver a report on autism detection, education, and mapping. This report will evaluate and review factors on the causes of autism in children as well as assist healthcare providers and educators with ways to better help those diagnosed with autism.

Senator Kevin S. Parker said, "If knowing is half the battle then we are losing the war against Autism in our great state. This mapping bill is a first step in turning the tide. I'm proud to have drafted this important law to require the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board to provide a report on autism detection, education, and mapping. This report will evaluate and review factors on the causes of autism in children as well as assist healthcare providers and educators with ways to better help those diagnosed with autism. I thank the Governor for joining the effort to support families living with autism."

Assemblymember Catalina Cruz said, "In New York State, autism has been diagnosed in alarming rates since 1996. It is evident that we need to map and track the number of autism cases in order to accurately determine possible factors on the causes of autism in children. This law creates the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Board, and will provide a report on autism detection, education, and mapping. We must have this important foundation for New York State to identify autism prevalence rates and to expand universal screening, as well as assist doctors and educators with early screening, intervention and treatment. I want to thank the advocates and families for their hard work on this bill, Senator Parker for his partnership and, finally, Governor Hochul for signing this incredibly imperative piece of legislation, improving the lives of children statewide,"

Legislation (S.1662-B/A.3523-A) makes the issuing of behavior analyst licenses in New York consistent with other states. The current law only permits behavior analysts to treat autism and autism spectrum disorders, exclusively. This legislation will remove the restriction, allowing for treatment of behavioral health conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or equivalent system.

Senator James Skoufis said, "While every other state permits its applied behavior analysts to broadly practice their skills, New York has long pigeonholed these professionals, keeping children and individuals with disabilities from benefiting from this impactful therapy. For those struggling in the face of various mental health or developmental diagnoses, this legislation is a game-changer. I am grateful to the many ABAs, families, and colleagues who worked tirelessly to get this bill across the finish line, including Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes, and Senator Mannion. Finally, we owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Hochul for supporting this important legislation and her commitment to children with disabilities."

Assemblymember Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes said, "I commend Governor Hochul for recognizing it is time to update the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in New York State. This legislation moves the profession forward and consistent with other states in the nation that license behavior analysts. Individuals living with a wide array of conditions will soon be able to take advantage of the proven therapeutic benefits of ABA. Additionally, this legislation will help with the severe shortage of licensed behavior analysts in New York and ensure everyone needing ABA will have access to this vital practice."

Alas, right now we are not in a good position to fight back.

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network seems to have shrunk during the past four years. They seem to have a lot fewer chapters/affiliates now than they had back in early 2018, when I began exploring autism online resources and the autistic community. In particular, the New York ASAN affiliate ceased to be an ASAN affiliate by mid-2019, and, since then, seems to have died. (I never contacted them because their one and only point of public contact was a Facebook page and I'm not on FB.)

In the past, insofar as ASAN managed to have any success at all, its strength seemed to have been derived mostly from being part of the larger disability rights movement.

Unlike most other disability-specific advocacy groups, ASAN never had much of an organized disability-specific community (subculture) behind it. A mostly-online adult "autistic community" exists, but, as a subculture, is very small, with not many organized groups and not many different kinds of organized groups. Of course, that's partly due to the very nature of our specific disability.

I aim to do what I can to build the organized autistic community.

I aim to do what I can to build the organized autistic community.

I also think the ND movement is not as popular among autistics as it once was. Critics charges that the movement is made of of very high functioning autistics who do not have a clue about the difficulty autistic impairments cause for the average autistic has stuck to some degree. ASAN as for all intents and purposes the face of the ND movement in the U.S.A. is suffering the consequences.

Like anything shinny and new there was initial great interest and excitement, supercharged with the release of Silberman`s book.

After a short passage of time there is a more sober critical assessment of Neurodiversity and what it means.

It will probably follow a course very similar to the Black Lives Matter movement, great interest at first, most people agree with the anti-racism part and examining how cops conduct themselves, but it’s the crazy add on`s that put people off like defunding the police, CRT and abolishing the family for example.

Most people agree that society should do more to accommodate autistic people in society and the workplace and treat all people with disabilities fairly.

It’s the crazy stuff that puts people off, both autistics and NTs, claiming autism is a form of left handedness, anti-cure crusade, obstructing research, anti science fact, whitewashing and suppressing people`s real struggles, blaiming society for everything and autism for nothing and much much more.

The internet can give a distorted image of the size and influence of an organization.

Someone on here once said ASAN is just a couple of people working in a small room somewhere.

Not sure how true that is.

The ND movement, ASAN and mainstream press coverage(at least in America) of it predates Silberman’s book by years. He did not start the movement, he chronicled it.

What I have seen here is when I started here in 2013 the view that is a different way of being prevailed. That was also the year the current version of the DSM came out. The real backlash started the following year and it got really nasty. There were-many claims aspies were not autistic, or not real autistics because Aspergers was overdiagnosed, or people calling themselves aspies were self diagnosed(a bitter divisive issue by itself) people doing it to be trendy, seek attention, or make excuses for bad behavior. Younger members thought older members were not autistic because how could they get to middle age without being diagnosed?. That caused a lot of resentment. There were 3 or 4 simultaneous threads of this ongoing. What Silberman’s book did was direct the anger from aspies to the ND movement. Many critics viewed autism as a curse that meant they were never going get a job or laid. These people were called whiners.

While Autism supremacy and autism as a curse views are still around most people see both good and bad parts. I think of autism as a different way of being with baked in impairments.

The ND movement is starting to get in the way as seen by the spectrum 10k thing so I wouldn’t be surprised if many in authority and scientific/ medical community will now try to undermine it by changing the DSM further. Maybe the introduction of profound autism is a start.

Up until science can prove “profound autism” has different causation and is not a severe version of autism a separate diagnosis for profound autism should not be created. Aspergers was created for purely political reasons so the creation of a separate profound autism for political reasons is plausable.

I believe the term is already a done deal, its likely ASD 1,2 & 3 was too vague for those outside the ASD / expert community.

Its likely someone in the police or nurse would have no idea of what ASD 3 meant, which meant something more recognisable was needed to protect the vulnerable, which was why it was created.

Will it stay a colloquial term like “high functioning” is now or become a separate diagnosis?