Disability Law Commons^™

The New Elephant In The Room: Why All Professionals Need To Learn About Personality Disorders, Bill Eddy

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Approximately 10% of adults worldwide have a personality disorder, according to the diagnostic manual of mental health professionals currently known as the DSM-5-TR. Unlike other mental health diagnoses, personality disorders are primarily interpersonal disorders leading to frequent conflicts with those around the person due to enduring patterns of rigid behavior, exaggerated interpretation of events, difficulty managing emotions, and impulse control problems. Yet dispute resolution professionals and other professionals generally have little knowledge of personality disorders and the role they play in their work, especially with “difficult” clients or “high conflict” disputes. Indications suggest personality disorders are increasing in family disputes, …

Disparately Disabled: Advocating For All Federal Courts Of Appeals To Make Disparate Impact Claims Cognizable Under Federal Disability Rights Law, Dustine Bowker

Washington Law Review

People with disabilities have the same rights and deserve to enjoy the same privileges as everyone else. However, people with disabilities face societal inequities that hinder their full participation in society. As a result of persistent advocacy and civil protest, federal laws have been enacted to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s disability. Yet, policies that discriminate against people with disabilities have continued. One cause of this troubling situation is that federal circuit courts still disagree on whether federal disability rights laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), allow plaintiffs …

Internet Drug Prohibition And The Opioid Overdose Crisis, Benjamin A. Barsky

Washington Law Review

The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (Ryan Haight Act) prohibits controlled substance tele-prescribing when it occurs without a preliminary in-person medical evaluation. This Article details the Ryan Haight Act’s consequences for the practice of telemedicine in general and opioid addiction treatment in particular. In doing so, it builds on literature exploring the tension between the federal criminal regulation of controlled substance prescribing and the management of large-scale public health crises, particularly the opioid overdose crisis.

By restricting the tele-prescription of certain controlled substances used for opioid addiction treatment, the Ryan Haight Act limits access to care for a …

Job Incidence Numbers In Social Security Disability Claims: A Case Study And Analysis, Kevin Liebkemann

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The Social Security Administration (SSA) processes numerous disabled worker applications each year. In adult disability claims, SSA employs a strict five-step sequential disability evaluation to decide whether a person is disabled. Many adult Social Security Disability claimants either win or lose at the fifth and final step, where an SSA adjudicator decides whether there is “a significant number of jobs (in one or more occupations) having requirements which you are able to meet with your physical or mental abilities and vocational qualifications.” This article examines the vocational evidence that SSA uses to decide the significant number of jobs issue. It …

Professional Development Strategies For Treating People With Idd And Mental Health Needs, Jennifer L. Mclaren, Elizabeth Grosso, Karen L. Weigle

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience significant health and mental health inequities and difficulties accessing care. There are few initiatives that train mental health professionals to care and advocate for the health and mental health care needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

We developed a Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Professional Learning Community (PLC) with Clinical Education Teams (CET) training components through The National Center for START (Systemic-Therapeutic-Assessment-Resources-Treatment) Services^® to further educate providers in the United States. The National Center for START Services^® utilizes multiple training and collaboration forums to build the …

Peer-Mediated Family Support Project: Evaluation Of Changes In Family Quality Of Life, Preethy S. Samuel, Elizabeth Janks, Nia S. Anderson, Michael Bray, Christina Topolewski, Sharon Milberger

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) approach represents a paradigm shift from fixing to supporting people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) by changing the focus from the individual to the family and highlighting strengths rather than deficiencies. Aging family caregivers of individuals with I/DD often encounter obstacles, including accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of services. Little is known about best practices to support aging families of adults with I/DD. Understanding how a state-wide peer-mediated family support project implemented in this study helped improve the FQOL of aging caregivers is important in broadening participation of other caregivers in these types of programs. To …

Interdisciplinary Treatment Approach To Youth With Intellectual Or Developmental Disabilities And Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions, Ashley Greenwald, Erika Ryst, Diane D. Thorkildson, Lauren Brown

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Many individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have co-occurring mental health needs, yet service delivery options often do not allow for the integrated delivery of mental health treatment and social behavioral support services. Siloed treatment approaches often result in lack of collaboration between providers, increasing the difficulty in accessing comprehensive and coordinated treatments and reducing treatment potential and effective outcomes. Additionally, many service providers in behavioral support services are not trained to address significant mental health needs; similarly, providers of mental health services lack experience in modifying practices for differing cognitive needs. The lack of cross-training and cross-collaboration makes …

The Americans With Disabilities Act: Website Accessibility And A Foreign Solution To A Domestic Problem, James Toye

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A New Hope: Perez V. Sturgis Public Schools Opens The Courthouse Doors To Children With Disabilities, Richard Marsico

Belmont Law Review

This article addresses what happens when the exhaustion

requirement for IDEA claims intersects with the exhaustion requirement for

related federal laws. Specifically, compensatory monetary damages are

not available for IDEA violations but are available for violations of

related federal laws. This raises a question: if a plaintiff wants to file a

complaint pursuant only to the related federal laws alleging disability

discrimination and seeking monetary damages for actions that also arguably

violate the IDEA, must the plaintiff exhaust the IDEA administrative

process first?

Advancing Disability-Inclusive Climate Research And Action, Climate Justice, And Climate-Resilient Development, Janet E. Lord, Et Al.

All Faculty Scholarship

Globally, more than 1 billion people with disabilities are disproportionately and differentially at risk from the climate crisis. Yet there is a notable absence of climate policy, programming, and research at the intersection of disability and climate change. Advancing climate justice urgently requires accelerated disability-inclusive climate action. We present pivotal research recommendations and guidance to advance disability-inclusive climate research and responses identified by a global interdisciplinary group of experts in disability, climate change, sustainable development, public health, environmental justice, humanitarianism, gender, Indigeneity, mental health, law, and planetary health. Climate-resilient development is a framework for enabling universal sustainable development. Advancing inclusive …

Different Sides Of The Same Coin: How The Eleventh Circuit Deepened The Circuit Split For An Americans With Disabilities Act Failure-To-Accommodate Claim In Beasley V. O’Reilly Auto Parts, Anna Carr Hanks

Mercer Law Review

Through its decision in Beasley v. O’Reilly Auto Parts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit deepened the split among the circuit courts nationwide by explicitly requiring an adverse employment action in failure-to-accommodate claims under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Through this opinion, the Eleventh Circuit joined the minority of circuits and suggested that the Supreme Court of the United States may soon need to revisit this issue to resolve the uncertainty stemming from this fundamental disagreement among the circuits.

It Takes A Special Person To Raise A Special Needs Child: How New York's Existing Family Regulation Systems Are Not Equipped For Children With Autism, Alexandra Debenedictis

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that New York's current family regulation systems, including the Family Court Act (FCA) and the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), are inadequately equipped to protect children with autism in foster care. These systems fail to address the unique needs of autistic children, leading to increased vulnerability to abuse, neglect, and prolonged stays in foster care. The note proposes reforms to improve monitoring, education, and resource accessibility to better safeguard these children.

Amdip Annual Meeting Of Law School Diversity Professionals: Hosted By Roger Williams University School Of Law: April 23-25, 2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Need For Fentanyl-Specific Drug Education In Schools, Emma Guggenheimer

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note advocates for the implementation of state legislation requiring fentanyl-specific drug education in K-12 schools to combat the escalating opioid epidemic, particularly among teenagers. It emphasizes the critical role of schools in providing comprehensive education to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and prevent overdose deaths. The proposal includes mandates for fentanyl-awareness campaigns, updated curricula, and the use of tools like fentanyl test strips and naloxone in schools.

I Saw Guns And Sharp Swords In The Hands Of Young Children: Why Mental Health Courts For Juveniles With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Fetal Alcohol Spectrum/Disorder Are Needed, Michael L. Perlin, Heather Ellis Cucolo, Deborah Dorfman

Articles & Chapters

In this article, we offer – we believe for the first time in the scholarly literature -- a potentially (at least partially) ameliorative solution to the problems faced by persons with autism(ASD) and fetal alcohol syndrome/disorder (FAS/FASD) in the criminal justice system: the creation of (separate sets of) problem-solving juvenile mental health courts specifically to deal with cases of juveniles in the criminal justice system with ASD, and with FAS/FASD. There is currently at least one juvenile mental health court that explicitly accepts juveniles with autism, but there are, to the best of our knowledge, no courts set up specifically …

Care Reimagined: Transforming Law By Embracing Interdependence, Robyn M. Powell

Michigan Law Review

A review of All Our Families: Disability Lineage and the Future of Kinship. By Jennifer Natalya Fink.

Disability, Race, And Health Beyond The Carceral State, Benjamin A. Barsky, Craig Konnoth, Michael Ashley Stein

Michigan Law Review

A review of Embodied Injustice: Race, Disability, and Health. By Mary Crossley.

Affirmatively Furthering Health Equity, Mary Crossley

Brooklyn Law Review

Pervasive health disparities in the United States undermine both public health and social cohesion. Because of the enormity of the healthcare sector, government action, standing alone, is limited in its power to remedy health disparities. This article proposes a novel approach to distributing responsibility for promoting health equity broadly among public and private actors in the healthcare sector. Specifically, it recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services issue guidance articulating an obligation on the part of all recipients of federal healthcare funding to act affirmatively to advance health equity. The Fair Housing Act’s requirement that recipients of federal …

The Kids Are Not Alright: Negative Consequences Of Student Device And Account Surveillance, Ashley Peterson

Washington Law Review

In recent years, student surveillance has rapidly grown. As schools have experimented with new technologies, transitioned to remote and hybrid instruction, and faced pressure to protect student safety, they have increased surveillance of school accounts and school-issued devices. School surveillance extends beyond school premises to monitor student activities that occur off-campus. It reaches students’ most intimate data and spaces, including things students likely believe are private: internet searches, emails, and messages. This Comment focuses on the problems associated with off-campus surveillance of school accounts and school-issued devices, including chilling effects that fundamentally alter student behavior, reinforcement of the school-to-prison pipeline, …

Rolling The Dice With Disability Rights: A Critique Of The Exclusion Of Gambling Disorder From The Americans With Disabilities Act, Danielle Oberlander

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.