Weekly Edition 7.15.25

This week delivers breakthroughs and setbacks for our community. Princeton researchers identified four distinct autism subtypes that could transform diagnosis and treatment approaches. However, discrimination remains a barrier as disabled parents still face adoption rejections 35 years after the ADA, while the Department of Labor withdrew protections against subminimum wages for disabled workers. A bright spot emerges from the 9th Circuit, which revived Oregon's lawsuit over shortened school days for special education students, signaling potential progress in educational rights.

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The Big Idea

This week’s featured story: a closer look at developments making waves in the I/DD community

🧩The autism puzzle just got four new pieces. A groundbreaking study analyzing over 5,000 autistic children has revealed that autism spectrum disorder actually consists of four distinct biological subtypes, each with its own genetic fingerprint and developmental pathway. The Princeton University research team, publishing in Nature Genetics, identified these subtypes by examining more than 230 different traits in each child, from social interactions to repetitive behaviors.

The four subtypes include Social and Behavioral Challenges (the most common at 37%), Mixed ASD with Developmental Delay, Moderate Challenges, and Broadly Affected. What makes this research particularly striking is the timing discovery - while most autism-related genetic activity was thought to occur before birth, the Social and Behavioral Challenges subtype shows genetic activation later in childhood, which aligns with why these children often receive later diagnoses.

The research revealed that each subtype has different genetic patterns, with some linked to rare, high-impact mutations and others influenced by common psychiatric-related variants. Co-lead author Aviya Litman explains that "these findings are powerful because the classes represent different clinical presentations and outcomes, and critically we were able to connect them to distinct underlying biology".

The implications could be significant for families, though researchers acknowledge the study's limitations - the sample was largely white and may not capture the full autism spectrum. As study co-author Chandra Theesfeld notes, this framework allows researchers to "map the trajectory of autism from biological mechanisms to clinical presentation," potentially opening doors to more targeted interventions. If you would like to read more, check out the original article.

Policy & Practice

Celebrating the everyday victories, breakthrough achievements, and inspiring individuals

🧑‍🦽‍➡️Thirty-five years after the ADA, some barriers still stand. Kelly and Larry Peterson, a couple who both have spina bifida, faced outright discrimination when seeking to adopt, with one agency flat-out rejecting them because "spina bifida is on that list" of disabilities they won't work with for potential adoptive parents. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act marking its 35th anniversary this month and prohibiting discrimination against Americans with disabilities, equal access to services like adoption is not always guaranteed in practice. The Petersons eventually found an agency that worked with them and adopted Hadley, a little girl with spina bifida, autism, and a speech disorder, in December 2018. Adoption specialist Jennifer Kelly, who works with children with severe medical needs, emphasizes that "adults with disabilities, they have considered those challenges" and shouldn't be automatically discounted as adoptive parents. The family now worries about potential Medicaid cuts impacting their ability to provide Hadley with necessary care, though organizations like Shriners Hospitals have helped cover expensive medical procedures. If you would like to read more, check out the original article.

Across The Nation

From Capitol Hill to community centers: the national updates shaping our collective future

🛑The subminimum wage debate just hit a roadblock. The U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn a Biden administration proposal that would have banned employers from paying workers with disabilities less than federal minimum wage, citing lack of statutory authority to end the Congressionally mandated program. The proposed rule, published in December 2024, would have prohibited DOL from issuing Section 14(c) certificates that allow subminimum wages and given employers three years to phase out the practice. According to DOL data, the number of workers affected has dropped dramatically from 424,000 in 2001 to approximately 40,579 in 2024, but the agency argued that "the continued existence of tens of thousands of workers utilizing the section 14(c) program suggests a nonzero population for whom section 14(c) remains necessary". The department noted that comments suggested many individuals with significant disabilities would face unemployment or loss of services if the subminimum wage option were eliminated, though some states like New Jersey have already ended the practice. If you would like to read more, check out the original article.

📅Oregon students with disabilities get their day in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that a federal class action lawsuit challenging Oregon's failure to ensure students with disabilities receive a full day of education should proceed, reversing a prior dismissal. The case, J.N. v. Oregon Department of Education, alleges that Oregon public schools systematically shorten the school day for hundreds of students with disabilities — some as young as 5 and 6 years old — separating them from their peers and limiting their educational opportunities. The Ninth Circuit rejected Oregon's argument that policy changes and Senate Bill 819, which imposed additional data-reporting requirements on school districts, had resolved the issues, stating "We disagree that either S.B. 819 or ODE's own voluntary changes entirely mooted any of Plaintiffs' claims". According to Disability Rights Oregon, students who miss two days of school per month will miss 1.5 years of instruction by the end of 12th grade, and the organization noted that "school districts continued to pull hundreds of students from class long after the new law went into effect". If you would like to read more, check out the original article.