LSS Postdoctoral Fellowship: Autism, Social Science and Law

自闭症是主要的公共卫生问题。如今，几乎每百名出生的儿童中就有一人患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)。大多数研究都针对儿童自闭症的病因和治疗，尽管仍有许多研究。然而，人们对这些儿童成年后的情况知之甚少：他们如何适应；他们的社会、法律和医疗需求；他们面临的挑战和取得的成功。当自闭症患者成年后，他们可能面临许多不同的问题，包括就业歧视、独立生活、教育需求、医疗保险、医疗和同意能力、商业交易中的剥削风险、监护和监护等等。自闭症的情感残疾特征还可能影响工作表现、人际关系、社区生活、社交和娱乐机会、获得政府服务的能力、与执法部门的接触以及其他法律需求。犹他大学的法律和社会科学博士后研究员将发展对成人自闭症患者的经历和他们的法律需求的理解。犹他州大学有独特的数据资源，包括犹他州自闭症研究计划中参与长期遗传学研究的家庭，以及犹他州人口数据库中的广泛家庭和其他数据。这些家庭中的个人也将能够提供有价值的见解，了解人们对越来越多的自闭症基因测试的态度。从这些数据中，这位研究员将确定患有自闭症的成年人面临的问题，研究患有自闭症的成年人的经历和需求，并探索这些成年人及其家人未得到满足的法律需求。指导这位研究员的是S.J.昆尼法学院的法律教师、社会科学家、医生和犹他州残疾法律中心代表残疾人的律师。该项目的一个计划成果是确定和建议可能在自闭症患者的整个生命周期中至关重要的法律建议。

Autism presents major public health concerns. Almost one in every hundred children born today has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most research has been directed to causation and treatment of ASDs in childhood, although much remains. However, little is known about these children as adults: how they adapt; their social, legal, and medical needs; their challenges and successes. As they become adults, persons with ASD may face many different concerns, including employment discrimination, independent living, educational needs, health insurance, medical treatment and capacity to consent, risks of exploitation in business dealings, guardianship and conservatorship, and more. The affective disabilities characteristic of ASD also may affect work performance, relationships, community living, social and recreational opportunities, abilities to access governmental services, encounters with law enforcement, and other legal needs. The University of Utah's postdoctoral fellow in Law and Social Science will develop an understanding of the experiences of adults with ASD and their legal needs. Unique data resources are available at the University of Utah, including families involved in long-term genetics research in the Utah Autism Research Program and the extensive family and other data in the Utah Population Database. Individuals in these families will also be able to provide valuable insight into attitudes about the growing number of genetic tests becoming available for ASD. From these data, the fellow will identify issues facing adults with ASD, research the experiences and needs of adults with ASDs, and explore unmet legal needs of these adults and their families. Mentoring the fellow are law faculty at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, social scientists, physicians, and lawyers representing persons with disabilities at the Utah Disability Law Center. A planned outcome of the project is the identification and recommendation of legal proposals that may be critical across the life cycle of people with ASD.