Many people with developmental disabilities who rely on Medicaid require mental health care, but new research finds that even among clinicians who accept Medicaid, getting an appointment is tough. Less than 1 in 5 clinicians listed as accepting new patients enrolled in Medicaid were reachable and willing to schedule an...

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — On a Sunday night in June, 6-year-old Zayan Mayanja escaped from his home through a window. Early the next morning, the nonverbal child on the autism spectrum was pronounced dead at Lowell General Hospital. He had drowned in Nabnasset Pond in Westford overnight, found behind a...

After facing an uproar for trying to change the way it counts the number of Americans with disabilities, the U.S. Census Bureau will meet with advocates concerned about the potential for a severe undercount. Officials with the Census Bureau said they will convene with disability stakeholders Sept. 30 to “better...

TAMPA, Fla. — “Mommy! Mommy!” the blonde boy coos, rising from his desk and barreling toward his mother with big, thumping steps. “Tiger. Whale. … Tiger. RAWWWRRRR!” he squeals, wedging himself between the woman and her laptop propped on the kitchen table. “I love you. I LOVE YOU!”

A major player in home furnishings is expanding its collection of products designed to better accommodate people with disabilities. Pottery Barn debuted dozens of new pieces this month that include accessibility features like integrated armrests, larger pulls, grab rails and higher ground clearance to account for wheelchair users. The offering...

Actor Colin Farrell, long an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities, has started a foundation in honor of his son, James, who has Angelman syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder. The 48-year-old actor has launched the Colin Farrell Foundation as his son is on the cusp of turning 21, when most...

With the nation’s primary autism law set to expire, federal lawmakers are inching forward on renewing roughly $2 billion in spending on the developmental disability, but leaving little time to spare. Activities funded under the measure known as the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support, or Autism CARES,...

An early look at new special education datasets reveals massive inconsistencies in how many children states are identifying as needing services, how much is being spent on them and whether that funding is tied to better outcomes, according to Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab. Preliminary though...

Millions more workers will soon qualify for overtime pay and advocates are warning that the changes are likely to further erode the availability of developmental disability services. The U.S. Department of Labor started incrementally increasing the salary threshold at which employees are eligible for overtime pay under a new rule...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The motto of Greater Tater, a new Stillwater food truck run by two lifelong friends, is “It’s what’s inside that counts.”. In part, it’s literal: The trailer’s signature menu item is stuffed “potato kegs,” which resemble enormous tater tots with a variety of fillings, from bacon-jalapeño to reuben sandwich to breakfast eggs and sausage.

New episodes of a groundbreaking children’s show centering on characters who all have various disabilities are heading to television. The animated show “Hop” will return with seven episodes on the streaming service Max. The series follows Hop, a frog with one leg that’s shorter than the other,...

MINNEAPOLIS — For Fatima Molas’ son, years of a controversial autism treatment helped him with daily skills, like potty training. But, she said, that therapy called applied behavior analysis (ABA) is not the right fit for every kid. Joyner Emerick’s family decided early on the intervention was not...

The nation’s largest retailer is planning to provide special carts at every one of its locations designed to alleviate the need for caregivers to push both a cart and a wheelchair while shopping. Walmart said it will offer Caroline’s Cart at all of its roughly 4,600 stores in the...

ATLANTA — Evan Wainwright has always just wanted to work. The 38-year-old navigates the world in a wheelchair, his legs contracted from the cerebral palsy that impacted his body but not his mind. Though he’d earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Wainwright said potential employers were skeptical he could succeed.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The Grand Strand, an area along the South Carolina coast that includes Myrtle Beach, is a popular destination for beach lovers of all ages, welcoming more than 19 million visitors every year, according to the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. It’s also the...

The U.S. Department of Justice is finalizing a new rule aimed at dramatically increasing the availability of medical examination tables, weight scales and other diagnostic equipment that’s accessible to people with disabilities. Federal officials said late last week that they would implement a regulation under Title II of the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif — Sacramento City Unified School District held a hiring fair this week in an effort to recruit special education teachers and classroom aides. The district is seeking to hire 270 new employees in the department by the beginning of the academic year. Administrators are seeking to fill...

In a new book, Donald Trump’s nephew Fred C. Trump III says that the former president told him that people like his son, who has intellectual and developmental disabilities, ‘should just die.’. The claim comes in Fred Trump’s memoir “All in the Family: The Trumps and How We...

Tom Kenny is canonizing a popular “SpongeBob SquarePants” fan theory. Kenny, who has voiced the animated series’ star sponge since the show’s premiere in 1999 and received two Daytime Emmy Awards for his performance, recently confirmed that his character has autism. “SpongeBob’s kind of on the...

A major U.S. airline says it is taking a first-of-its-kind step to help people with disabilities. American Airlines is starting to use automated tags to track mobility devices that are in its possession at airports where the airline and its regional partners operate. The tags — long paper strips similar...