The National Disability Rights Network

What is NDRN? To quote from the website for NDRN:
"The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Through training and technical assistance, legal support, and legislative advocacy, NDRN works to create a society in which people with disabilities are afforded equality of opportunity and are able to fully participate by exercising choice and self-determination.

WHO WE SERVE

NDRN members serve individuals with a wide range of disabilities – including, but not limited to, those with cognitive, mental, sensory, and physical disabilities.


WHAT WE DO

NDRN members investigate reports of abuse and neglect, and seek systemic change to prevent further incidents; advocate for basic rights; and ensure accountability in health care, education, employment, housing, transportation, and within the juvenile and criminal justice systems for individuals with disabilities."

Issues that are addressed by NDRN include:

Abuse and Neglect
Assistive Technology
Community Integration
Criminal Justice
Disaster Management
Education
Employment
Housing
Juvenile Justice
Medicare / Medicaid
Mental Health
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Vocational Rehabilitation
Voting


If you or a loved one has a disability, this site is worth a look. They include stories about current disability rights cases in the courts. They also include information about TASC (The Training and Advocacy Support Center).

There are some interesting publications about the lack of workplace opportunities with fair wages for the disabled and the issue of restraint and seclusion in school
To visit the website for The National Disability Rights Network, copy and paste this URL:
http://www.napas.org

Potomac Community Resources Serves Teens and Adults

In Montgomery County, MD, there is an organization that began in 1994, and now serves hundreds of teens and adults with developmental differences. Programs that PCR offers include basketball, chorus, basic communication skills, music therapy, art, photography, Tai Ji (martial arts), and a Friday night social club. They have a Mens's Group and a Women's Group that meets in a local church and they have special events like Earth Day activities. In addition, they offer a Sunday afternoon respite program with many fun and therapeutic activities, once a month.
PCR sends out a periodic newsletter, has a website and is on Facebook. If you are in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and think you might be interested in looking into PCR activities, the Spring sessions end in July, so there is time to register for the next sessions.

To read more about PCR or to register for these programs, copy and paste this URL

http://www.pcr-inc.org

Genetic Mutations Involved in Many Cases of Autism

In the news today, an interesting article about the causes of autism:

Autism Result Of Scores Of Genetic Mutations, Researchers Say
By SHAUN HEASLEY
June 9, 2011 Text Size A A
Hundreds of spontaneous gene mutations may be responsible for the development of autism in families without a history of the disorder.
In three studies published Thursday in the journal Neuron, researchers from Yale University, Columbia University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York looked at gene analyses from over 1,000 families where one child had an autism diagnosis but the parents and the child’s siblings did not.
They found that children with autism had more copy number variants, or sections of DNA that are duplicated or missing, as compared to their siblings without the disorder. The gene variants were wide-ranging, but were involved in the formation of synapses which are responsible for communication in the brain and other parts of the nervous system.
“The diversity implies that a treatment for one form of autism may have no value for the majority,” says Dr. Michael Wigler of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who led one of the studies. “This type of knowledge is a critical first step in developing novel treatment approaches.”
In addition, the researchers found that a greater number of gene variants seemed to be required in order to trigger autism in girls, which could help explain why the developmental disorder occurs more frequently in boys than girls.
One group of genes proved to be of particular interest to researchers because their addition or deletion resulted in two opposite phenomenon. When extra copies of this group were present, the genes triggered autism. But when this group was missing, Williams syndrome occurred, a condition characterized by extreme sociability and friendliness.
“This relatively small genomic interval clearly holds important clues to understanding the social brain,” said Dr. Matthew W. State from Yale University who led one of the studies.