When pediatricians started questioning Alex Arriaga about the development of her infant son, she struggled to understand why. “Some of the things that they told us were really kind of nutty,” Arriaga recalled. “At about 8 months: ‘Is he talking yet?’ Well, no, but he’s 8 months, and he was premature, so give him a
Verbal abuse of autistic student sparks calls for change
When harsh words flew in a classroom for autistic children here, the school employees who spoke them likely thought no one in authority would ever hear. “Shut up,” shouted one staffer, unaware that a digital recorder was hidden in the pocket of 10-year-old Akian Chaifetz. “Go ahead and scream because guess what? You’re going to
