The Darker Side of the Spectrum

Cartoon illustration of a young disabled boy in a wheelchair holding a letterboard while a smiling doctor hands him a smartwatch. Caption below reads, “They didn’t expand Medicaid. They gave him a wearable.”

Field Dispatch #001 – July 6, 2025 The New Wellness Illusion: Why RFK Jr.’s Health Strategy Isn’t What It Seems By David Kaufer What This Is and Why It Matters Welcome to the first edition of The Darker Side of the Spectrum—a weekly dispatch from the field for those who care about disability, public health, […]

When ‘States’ Rights’ Threaten Disability Protections for Our Kids

Group of students of different abilities surround a teacher in the classroom.

Parents of kids with disabilities, especially those with non-speaking, minimally speaking, or unreliably speaking children, need to pay close attention to a federal lawsuit making waves right now. It’s about a rule change to the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and while the surface issue is the inclusion of gender dysphoria as […]

Building Bridges: Stone’s Journey from Student to Advocate

Young autistic man wearing headphone smiling proudly while eating a sandwich at a fast food restaurant.

Sometimes, life takes you in a direction you never imagined. And in those moments, you realize just how much is possible. This past fall, Stone and I participated in a webinar hosted by the Northwest Augmentative Communication Society titled “Thoughtful Inquiry: Spelling for Communication.” Its purpose was to give SLPs an opportunity to hear directly […]