More than 90 people from across the state will rappel 17 stories — 222 feet — down the 300 Delaware Avenue building in Wilmington on May 9 to raise money for Special Olympics Delaware. In its eight-year history, the Over the Edge fundraiser has raised more than $1 million.
Delaware Rep. Paul Baumbach has introduced legislation legalizing physician-assisted suicide for individuals with a terminal illness, also called death with dignity, for the third time. Neither of Baumbach’s previous bills received a vote before the House of Representatives. Although the bill contains several safeguards meant to ensure patients are making an informed decision, it nevertheless faces opposition from groups such as the Medical Society of Delaware.
Higher Ground, the production company created by former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, will be producing a documentary on seminal players in the early disability rights movement for Netflix. One of several films arising from a multi-year deal between Higher Ground and Netflix, Crip Camp will tell the story of a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in the 1970s near Woodstock, N.Y. that helped springboard the disability rights movement.
New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association – Pediatrics indicates that autism can be reliably diagnosed by a trained professional starting shortly after a child’s first birthday. Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for autism at 18 and 24 months. Implementing earlier screenings could lead to improved health outcomes for children who begin receiving therapies earlier in their lives.
Amazon has created an American Sign Language (ASL) program that entails hiring interpreters as full-time employees, and having each interpreter work with the same group of 2–3 people. Amazon is the only major tech company to provide this service, which starts with a pre-interview meeting between the interpreter and any prospective Deaf employee, at such a large scale.
