Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 36 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Lima's neurodivergent picnic movement is liberating Peruvians from stigma and abuse

Stefanie Pareja

March 13, 2024 |

Positive.News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Peru, Lima

The Peruvian Neurodivergent Coalition organizes picnics for neurodivergent people to gather in a safe, comfortable space. The group also campaigns for the rights of neurodivergent people, working to help them become more understood and accepted in society. The group has even influenced local government, pushing to pass bills that protect autistic people’s rights and prevent stigma and abuse.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In This Arizona City, Kids With Autism Are More Than Welcome

Michaela Haas

August 07, 2023 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mesa, Arizona

The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards trains employees in the tourism industry to become autism certified, ensuring they know how to care for neurodivergent youth and their families when they’re at places like restaurants or theme parks. Several of these businesses have practices in place like offering noise-canceling headphones, access to quiet rooms or even hosting autism awareness weekends, helping to make the city the first Autism Certified City in the world.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Carter Kits help first responders take better care of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Rylee Barnsdale

April 04, 2023 |

Flintside |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Frankenmuth, Michigan

Carter Kits are provided to trained first responders, and contain sensory items, like noise-canceling headphones and weighted blankets, that help distract children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from the stress of being involved in an emergency situation. There are currently 6,000 Carter Kits in circulation across 34 states and one Canadian province.

Read More
Go to Original Story
First Place, Spectrum Courtyard aim to close autism housing gap

Hayden Cilley Maria Staubs

March 31, 2023 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

First Place offers supportive housing for adults with autism and Down syndrome and those who are neurodivergent. Along with housing, First Place also offers a residential transition program that teaches skills like budgeting and management to prepare residents to live independently.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How Michigan police agencies are training to respond to 911 calls with autistic people

Susan Vela

April 22, 2022 |

Hometown Life |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Northville, Michigan

The Northville Township Police Department and Michigan State Police (MSP) are adapting new autism awareness techniques by participating in the Action For Autism program. The program helps officers better understand people with autism to interact with them without making quick judgments that can result in violence. Officers who go through the training have begun gathering profiles of members of the area’s autistic community to be used in 911 calls and have begun carrying calming bags in their patrol cars. The MSP alone has trained about 1,500 MSP troopers and department personnel.

Read More
Go to Original Story
ResQZone

Amanda Anderdson

February 08, 2022 |

KWCM-PBS |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Marshall, Minnesota

An e-waste recycling program in Minnesota aims to take old computers that normally end up in a landfill and give them to community members with income-based needs. Since the ResQZone initiative started as a partnership between a nonprofit and the county government, they’ve been able to get 420 computer systems back into public use. They also hire and train people with disabilities to do the refurbishing.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Expanded Silver Alert system helps those with developmental disabilities

Gianluca D'Elia

August 05, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Three years after Arizona added people with intellectual or developmental disabilities to the list of people who can trigger a public alert when they go missing, advocates say the state enjoys better coordination from one community to the next. While the numbers aren't tracked, advocates say many people on the autism spectrum or with other disabilities have been quickly found and returned to safety. The state expanded its Silver Alert program, originally for missing seniors, and other states are starting to follow suit. An alert can result in notifications by phone, news and social media, and highway signs.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Special clinics aim to get COVID vaccine to developmentally disabled

Dave Altimari

July 06, 2021 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vernon, Connecticut

Grassroots volunteer groups are helping people across the country make COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Get Out the Shot: Los Angeles has 100 vetted volunteers who have booked 300 appointments through the group’s system and thousands more on their own. Residents leave a message or fill out a Google form with their information and a volunteer picks up their case, books an appointment, and calls them to confirm. These volunteer organizations fill important assistance gaps in local government services that are stretched thin. Some groups focus on getting appointments for people from underserved communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Bridges to understanding: Linkaut is an Italian dad's project to help his son with Autism

Francesco Ciampa

April 22, 2021 |

News48 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Italy, Rimini

An organization in Italy, spearheaded by a father who has a child with autism, is working to train local businesses how to recognize, react, and serve families who may have a member in their party with autism. Although not all companies have expressed interest in the program, 120 businesses and services across Italy have signed up to participate in the training so far. The Covid-19 pandemic has halted some of the training aspects, but the organization has found additional opportunities to educate partner businesses in the meantime.

Read More
Go to Original Story
What happens after the police stop? People of color with disabilities face higher risks

Vicky Diaz-Camacho Catherine Hoffman Cody Boston

November 11, 2020 |

Flatland |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Crisis intervention training for Kansas City police officers does not reach the majority of the department and can fail to address a critical reason that police might use excessive force on people with disabilities. Although the 40-hour training includes a segment on dealing with people with autism and developmental disabilities, the combination of racial bias and some people's eccentric behavior can cause officers' "compliance culture" to kick in and make them overreact to perceived threats. Training without culture change, advocates say, is doomed to have short-lived effects.

Read More
Go to Original Story