Ray Hemachandra’s talk upon receiving the 2025 Jack B. Hefner Memorial Award emphasizes that action to support all Americans and North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities is urgent and essential regardless of the political moment.
Autistic children and adults—especially autistic people who are intellectually disabled—are underserved and discriminated against by many autism professionals, including teachers and therapists, and by government officials of both parties.
North Carolina’s continued underfunding of intellectual and developmental disability services puts generations of North Carolinians with disabilities at risk.
A panel of Autistic Adults will center autistic voices and honor the values and spirit of Autism Acceptance Month.
Ray and Nicholas Hemachandra participated in the North Carolina IDD Legislative Caucus Listening Session and subsequent press conference at the N.C. State Legislative Building on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. Here’s what they said about the waitlist for IDD services, with video and photos from the day.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans with IDD—intellectual and developmental disabilities—are not getting what they need to have decent, safe, and healthy lives in their communities.
We need to step up our support, recognition, and advocacy both for autistic and intellectually disabled people and for the caregivers—both support workers and caregivers—who love and care for them.
What we lack most centrally in intellectual and developmental disability work and advocacy in North Carolina is the fierce urgency of now, to use and insist upon the meaning of the famous and essential phrase by Dr. King.
My son Nicholas is autistic, and he has echolalia. But what he says in repeated speech can carry as much meaning—and sometimes even more feeling—as the “right” words.
Should policy-directed “best outcomes” from government officials and advocacy groups reduce, rather than enhance, choice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)—and sometimes trap them in unsafe, hostile environments?
