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What to Know About a Proposed Bill to Expand Services for Florida Students With Autism
The bill would expand early intervention programs, set up charter schools and fund summer learning for students with autism. Proposed legislation with bipartisan support that would expand services for students with autism in Florida is moving quickly through the Florida Senate and House.
In the Florida Senate, the bill was approved by its second committee on Thursday which means it has only one more committee stop to go before a full vote of the Senate.
Republican Senator Gayle Harrell representing South Florida is the bill’s sponsor and said the bill would allow students with disabilities to stay in Florida’s early intervention program called Early Steps up to the time they start school, and set up charter schools and fund summer programs and camps for students with autism. Plus, it would create free, online training for teachers who work with kids with autism.
Local Autism, Special Needs Group Growing Quickly
A new group is quickly gaining momentum in the community as it seeks to connect its members through the struggles and highlights of being a parent of a child with autism or special needs while also providing education resources and partnership opportunities with the community.
Local mothers Alicia Pacheco-Canepa and Kimberly Neighbor know first-hand the struggles of raising a child with autism or special needs and about seven months ago decided to create a local Facebook group where they could connect with others.
Today, there’s about 200 members in the private group, Autism Connections + Special Needs, even though they are being selective and intentional about who gets to join to give the group a safe space to thrive, vent or find the help they’re seeking.
Measles Outbreak Surpasses 200 Cases in Texas and New Mexico
The measles outbreak in West Texas has soared to 198 cases, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported Friday. In New Mexico, 30 cases have been reported in Lea County, which borders Gaines County, of as Friday.
Twenty-three people — mostly unvaccinated children — have been hospitalized in West Texas.
A 6-year-old in Texas died last week, and on Wednesday, Lea County health officials reported a suspected measles death in an adult.
The reported number of cases is likely a large undercount because many people aren’t getting tested, said Katherine Wells, director of public health at the health department in Lubbock, Texas.
Measles Confirmed in Miami Teenager, the First in Florida This Year
A teenager in Miami-Dade has a confirmed case of measles, the first such infection in Florida since a small outbreak of the disease in South Florida in 2024. The infection was reported on a Florida Department of Health database for Florida’s infectious and reportable diseases.
A Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed that a student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School was infected. The school district has notified parents of other students at the school.
Florida Department of Health officials are working to trace anyone the student may have come into contact with, according to a letter sent to parents of the school by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.
Trump Executive Order Cuts Funding for Vanderbilt Program Supporting STEM Education for Autistic Students
President Trump recently issued an executive order cutting federal funding for many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs nationwide. The order is broad, impacting important work you may not associate with DEI, including programs here in Nashville.
One Vanderbilt program that supports education for students with autism, the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, is set to lose funding because of the new policy.
“We were told as recently as the first week of January that grant proposals that we had submitted to the National Science Foundation 12 to 18 months ago were going to be awarded, totaling about 7, 7 and a half million dollars,” explained the Center’s director Keivan Stassun.
But, in recent weeks, after Trump’s announcement, he learned they wouldn’t be getting any of that funding.
Connection Between Autism and Eating Disorders
Children with autism spectrum disorder are more likely to have eating difficulties like food refusal, food hyper fixations or food restriction. Autism has also been connected to eating disorders. The most common disorders being anorexia nervosa and avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder, which is a more severe case of picky eating.
If someone has both autism and an eating disorder its most likely stemmed from sensory issues around food, rather than body image. Other health concerns include nutrient deficiencies and dental caries.
“There’s a pretty, well-studied connection between eating disorders and autism. So I’ve taken care of a lot of autistic younger boys with eating disorders who get kind of obsessive about how they’re eating or how much they’re eating or their weight. So that can happen in that population as well. So when they train that obsession on food, it can be rather difficult to treat, too,” said Dr. Jennifer Seidenberg with Ochsner LSU Health.
Families with children with autism, especially those with food selectivity, should be monitored by pediatricians and consider cognitive behavioral methods for managing eating habits.
