Heritage Behavioral Services Blog

Normal human shyness is not being confused with the psychiatric anxiety disorder known as social phobia, according to an NIMH survey comparing the prevalence rates of the two among U.S. youth. The study was published online ahead of print October 17, 2011, in the journal Pediatrics. Background Social Phobia is disabling Social phobia is a disabling anxiety disorder characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social or performance situations. Critics of the diagnosis have suggested that psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies publicize social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, in order to increase sales of psychotropic medications, especially among youth. In addition, some have debated whether social phobia is just a “medicalization” of a normal variation in human temperament. In response, Marcy Burstein, Ph.D., and colleagues at NIMH examined the rate of normal shyness among youth and its overlap with social ph

Charles V. Bagli, New york Time reports                                                                                 March 17, 2014 NY: TriBeCa Green Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor filed a civil rights lawsuit Monday against Related Companies, one of New York City’s most prolific builders, charging that the developer had violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against disabled tenants in the design of two apartment buildings. Prosecutors are widely expected to file similar lawsuits against other developers, including the Durst Organization and Glenwood Management, in what has become a long-running dispute over whether buildings erected under New York City’s accessibility law meets federal requirements. The lawsuit claims that Related’s TriBeCa Green building, at 325 North End Avenue, completed in 2005, and One Carnegie Hill, on East 96th Street, finished in 2006, are inaccessible to disabled tenants because kitchens, closets and bathrooms are not

Enactment of health care reform, known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is the most significant law for people with disabilities since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. It will bring about comprehensive reforms that will benefit Americans with disabilities by prohibiting discrimination based on health status and improving access to care. Read The Arc’s in-depth guide for advocates on the ACA , and read a one page summary of the guide for a shorter version. Watch the video below to learn about how the ACA works and how it will benefit all Americans.  One major part of the ACA, the Private Marketplace, will begin offering health insurance in every state on October 1, 2013. HealthCare.gov provides information on coverage options in each state and shows which private insurance plans, public programs, and community services are available to individuals.

Pesticides chlorpyrifos and DDT and other  chemicals linked to Disabilities Toxic chemicals may be responsible for a growing number of children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities, researchers say. In a  report  published online Saturday in the journal Lancet Neurology, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are warning of what they call a “silent pandemic” resulting from limited regulation of chemicals. Exposure to toxic substances could be triggering an increasing number of cases of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and other conditions, they say.

By   SHAUN HEASLEY March 17, 2014 A panel of national experts is calling out schools for suspending students with disabilities at disproportionately high rates. School suspension Kids with disabilities and students of color — particularly those who are black — are suspended at “hugely disproportionate rates” compared to white children, a trend which is fueling inequality in the nation’s schools, according to a  report  issued late last week. The analysis comes from the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative, a group of 26 nationally-recognized experts from the social science, education and legal fields that’s housed at Indiana University. During the 2009-2010 school year, federal data indicate that over 3 million students were suspended, double the number seen in the 1970s, the report found.

Anna Bankes is wearing her engagement ring. She has bought her wedding dress and chosen her bridesmaids. Justin Neis has his tux and his four groomsmen picked out. They have a reception hall and a DJ on tap. Come July 13, Anna Bankes and Justin Neis will become husband and wife. The wedding location has been settled: Mandan United Methodist Church. Anna and Justin Both Neis and Bankes have disabilities — Neis is physically disabled and uses a wheelchair, and Bankes has intellectual disabilities and has been tested at the development of about a person of 15, said her sister, Charlene Bolton of Bismarck. “He is 33 and she is 42,” Bolton said. “They both understand what they are getting into.” The impasse — Neis, a Mandan native and a lifelong Catholic, wanted very much to be married at his church, Spirit of Life in Mandan, while the Rev. Chris Kadrmas, a pastor there, has told the couple that he feels they are not prepared to be married at this time. Neis and Bankes said