At a “special needs school” in Canton, Massachusetts, children and teenagers with autism and other disabilities are being administered electric shocks as a means of controlling their behaviors.

The human rights abuses taking place at the JRC are well documented. The United Nations is aware of the JRC and has called these shocks “torture”, and says that “The prohibition of torture is absolute.” Yet the school continues to use a powerfully painful electric shock device on students to control their behaviors. These devices are reportedly much stronger than police stun guns and were created by the founder of the Judge Rotenberg Center.

The Judge Rotenberg Center must immediately stop its practice of shocking special needs students.

Rather than shocking students for only severe behaviors, student behavior plans at JRC dictated that [staff] shock certain students for even the most minor of behavioral issues like closing their eyes for 15 seconds while sitting at the desk, pulling apart a loose piece of thread, tearing an empty used paper cup, or for standing up and raising a hand to ask to go to the bathroom. In some classrooms, very often students who observe their peers being shocked react in fear by standing up out of their seat, yelling or crying, or throwing down their task — and are then shocked for these reactions.

via Change.org.

Dear Members / Colleagues

Just to let you know CANadda’s support meeting is on Monday the 21st May at 7pm. Peter Ludlow Psychologist) will be attending and is going to do a talk on ‘Making the Spectrum Visible’. This event is FREE but there is a small charge for refreshments. The venue is the Washingborough Methodist Church, Lincoln Rd, Washingborough, LN4 1AT. Please find poster attached and please feel free to circulate.

Best wishes

Debbie Marshall
Chair of CANadda

I recently emailed Nick Clegg about Gary McKinnon, reminding him of his promises before the election, and his public statements on the unfairness of Gary’s treatment, and the extradition treaty.

Here’s his reply:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thank you for contacting Nick Clegg MP regarding the extradition of Gary McKinnon. I am replying on Nick’s behalf.

Nick quite understands the strength of feeling that Mr McKinnon’s case has generated. However, it would not be appropriate for Nick, in his role as Deputy Prime Minister, to comment further on this specific case. It is the responsibility of the Home Secretary to decide on individual extradition cases.

However, you may be aware that Nick has long had a strong interest in the issue of extradition more broadly. Following the Extradition Review in October 2011, Nick and the Liberal Democrats raised a number of concerns regarding Lord Baker’s conclusions about the standard of proof needed to extradite people between Britain and America, and therefore believed that a second opinion was required.

In light of this, Nick asked Sir Menzies Campbell QC MP to set up and chair a panel to examine the issue of extradition between Britain and the United States. Other Liberal Democrats with an interest in the workings of the UK-US extradition will also serve on the panel. The panel will examine the specific issue of the difference between “probable cause” and “reasonable suspicion” (the Baker Review having concluded that there is no substantial difference between them) and will also consider practical solutions to correct any imbalances. The findings will be released at a later date.

Thank you once again for making Nick aware of your concerns on this matter.

Best wishes,

Rory Belcher
Office of Nick Clegg MP

So that’s “I’m not keeping my promise to help Gary, and I’m going to get a report that we can ignore about extradition (If they ever get round to making one).”

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – Guest Speaker Dave Winterton from the Pensions Service will give a presentation about PIP which will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Tuesday 17^th April 2012

11am to 12 noon (doors open 10.45am) at

Croft Street Community Centre

Baggholme Road

Lincoln

LN2 5AX

Prior to Daves presentation Lincolnshire Independent Living will be having our Annual General Meeting.

We hope to see you there

Mike Martin

Administrator

Lincolnshire Independent Living (Lincoln)

www.lincolnshireindependentliving.co.uk

07587 103 710

Employers could recruit a whole army of unique workers. But ignorance and fear get in the way. Lynne Wallis looks at why autism is so misunderstood and what sufferers can offer

via The Guardian.

People on the autistic spectrum are being given free identity cards in a campaign to aid emergency services.It is hoped the initiative will help the police, fire fighters and ambulance crews help people who have the conditions.

The cards will give information on the individual’s condition and include carers’ contact details.Wrist bands and key ring alarms are also being offered to sufferers.

Countywide support group CANadda is running the campaign with help from the Big Lottery Fund and Lincolnshire Police.

Debbie Marshall, who founded the group two and a half years ago, said:

“This will help give people support and that is so important. People on the autistic spectrum can have higher anxiety or stress levels and can become challenging. The police, or other emergency services can think they are being difficult, rather than knowing it is because they have one of these conditions.”

via Lincolnshire Echo.

Neil Bateman of the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers said: “This proposal is very worrying. There are completely inadequate legal and medical safeguards – bearing in mind that these are people with long-term health problems and disabilities, often serious ones.”Compulsory, unpaid work may worsen some people’s health, with the consequences of the DWP’s savings being passed on to the NHS at greater cost.”If jobs are there to be done, people should get the rate for the job, instead of being part of a growing, publicly funded, unpaid workforce which, apart from being immoral, actually destroys paid jobs.”

via The Guardian.

A seven-year-old boy who was told to take down his pirate flag by a Lincolnshire council has received a letter of apology.Anthony Steele, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was told his Jolly Roger breached planning regulations.East Lindsey District Council said it had acted after a complaint was made about the flag.However, it has now sent the family an official apology saying no further action would be taken.

via BBC News .

Dear campaigner,

Thousands of adults with autism in desperate need of support are being let down by a broken, underfunded social care system.

That’s why our first call to action of 2012 is for you to join us at a mass lobby of Parliament to demand urgent reform of the adult social care system.

The lobby on 6 March 2012 is your chance to come to Parliament to tell your MP about your experiences of social care, and call on them to make the system better for everyone.

If you are interested in attending, please register here.  By registering, your MP will automatically be sent a request to meet you.  Without a pre-arranged meeting, it will be very difficult to see your MP on the day.

This lobby is being arranged by the Care and Support Alliance.  The Alliance is a consortium of over 50 organisations that represent and support older and disabled people.

Until next time…happy campaigning!

Tom Madders

Head of Campaigns

Millions of people in the UK still don’t understand what it’s really like to live with autism. Please help us to tell them.

We’d like to stay in touch with you via email as this helps us keep our costs low. If you no longer want to receive emails from us about our fundraising initiatives or campaigning work for example, please unsubscribe.

The National Autistic Society, registered office: 393 City Road, London, EC1V 1NG, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)20 7833 2299, Fax: +44 (0)20 7833 9666, Email: nas@nas.org.uk VAT registration number: 653370050; a charity registered in England and Wales (269425) and in Scotland (SC039427)

Copyright The National Autistic Society 2012

If you have booked and you are coming please be aware there are limited parking spaces in the car park at the back of the church.  You can park opposite along / up Church Hill.  Refreshments are served from 10am and there will be refreshments available after the seminar has finished.

This Wednesday, the Welfare Reform Bill returns to the House of Commons, and the government is planning to try to reverse some of the amendments made to the Bill in the House of Lords.

The Lords amended the Bill to increase the proposed time limit on Employment and Support Allowance (the benefit for people who cannot work because of illness, impairment or disability) from one year to two years. This two year period will help to protect those who cannot work and provide extra support to help people get back to work. It looks like the government will try to overturn that amendment.

Thank you to everyone who has already contacted your MP on this, but if you haven’t this is your last chance to contact your MP and ensure the government honours its commitment to disabled people.

Make sure you take action today.

Best wishes,

Hannah & the Campaigns Team

Leonard Cheshire Disability

P.S. Join thousands of people who have called on the government to stop and review the cuts to benefits which are hitting disabled people hard. Show your support and help reach 100,000 signatures: sign Pat’s Petition now.

[Editorial note: Karl McCartney, Conservative MP for Lincoln, described supporting the disabled as a "proud duty" rather than a burden, in a communication to me at election time. If you live in Lincoln, why not encourage him to show this commendable spirit in the House. Elsewhere, why not encourage your MP to do likewise.]

Early signs of autism can be detected in babies as young as six months old, according to new research.A study found that babies who go on to develop autism show different brain responses when someone looks at them or looks away.The scientists, from Birbeck College London, said that measuring brain activity in infants may help identify infants most at risk of developing autism, so they can be helped at an earlier age.

via Early signs of autism detected at six months.

Dr Georgina Gomez-de-la-Cuesta, Action Research Leader for The National Autistic Society, said: ‘Autism is a serious, lifelong and disabling condition – a child with autism will grow up to be an adult with autism.

‘While there is no cure for autism, securing the right support, implementing strategies to manage behaviours and creating the best environment can help manage anxieties and sensory difficulties associated with the condition.

‘Although this could lead to improvements in behaviour, the underlying autism remains and can continue to pose very real challenges at every stage in life.’

via  Mail Online.

Some children with dyslexia go undiagnosed for years, leading to prolonged learning difficulties and children who are angry and frustrated at school. But all that could be a thing of the past. Scientists now say they can identify the reading problem before children even start school, and long before they become labeled as poor students and begin to lose confidence in themselves.

via  Mail Online.

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/01/06/the-story-behind-the-best-nyt-correction-ever/

http://boingboing.net/2012/01/23/a-d-d-comic-book-exclusive.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Parents of children with special needs are being asked to come forward amid claims they are being “subtly discouraged” from applying to some schools.Lincolnshire County Council has announced it is to investigate the admissions and exclusions process for schools.

via This is Lincolnshire.

Research Group in Montreal, with some 80 articles in leading scientific journals and in which Michelle Dawson has taken a major place, allow to say that autistic people think, hold, excited, and especially perceived differently from non- with autism. This group argues that science, considering autism as a disease to cure , misses his intellectual and social contribution.

via  Le Monde & Google Translate.

In a Written Statement dated 13 December 2010 the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller) stated that the ILF is “financially unsustainable”, was already closed to new applications and that existing recipients were only protected for the life of this Parliament (i.e. 2015). For over 21 years the ILF has made payments to disabled people to be used towards the cost of employing Personal Assistants. This money currently enables over 20,000 disabled people to lead an independent life style. The Governments policy indicates that responsibility for independent living strategies would be passed to Local Authorities. This is unacceptable. The LA’s are unlikely to have the funding or the in house expertise to assess the needs of the small numbers of disabled people in their areas who would benefit from the kind of support ILF provides. The ILF does have the expertise and experience so the Government should reverse the decision to close the ILF.

via Save Independent Living Fund from closure ( Save ILF ). – e-petitions.