Morgyn Arnold spent her eighth-grade school year learning all her cheerleading squad’s routines while serving as its team manager. So when she recently got her middle school yearbook, Arnold excitedly flipped through it to find the photo taken of her surrounded by the team. But the 14-year-old girl from Utah, who has Down syndrome, was devastated to learn the photo was missing. In its place was a nearly identical version showing 26 Shoreline Junior High […]
My daughter was born with a small hole in her heart. Such abnormalities are common in babies with Down syndrome, and we were lucky that her heart quickly repaired itself as she grew. Now as a third-grader, she rides her bike in our neighborhood on Saturday mornings, and she plays tag with her friends at recess. During those early days of her life as we faced an unexpected future, I could not have imagined what […]
It’s a ban that even supporters acknowledge will be hard to enforce. Yet 2021 has been a breakthrough year for legislation in several states seeking to prohibit abortions based solely on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Governors in Arizona and South Dakota recently signed such bills into law, and similar measures are pending in North Carolina and Texas. Most significantly, a federal appellate court said Ohio could begin to implement a 2017 law that […]
Since the modern era of research on autism began in the 1980s, questions about social cognition and social brain development have been of central interest to researchers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), and it is evident in this year’s meeting that the growth of social-cognitive neuroscience over the past two decades has significantly enriched autism science. For those unfamiliar with the […]
In the latest National Autism Indicators Report, researchers from Drexel University’s A.J. Drexel Autism Institute examined surveys of family members of autistic adults who use Developmental Disability services, and found needs for additional supports like respite care and assistance to plan for crisis and emergencies, especially among families whose adult lived with them. Data from the surveys showed over one quarter of families with autistic adults who use Developmental Disability services and live with family […]
