Reporters Get New Guidance On Disability Lingo

In a first, the “journalist’s bible” will include guidance for reporters on how to write about mental illness and conditions like autism.

Officials behind the influential Associated Press Stylebook say they’ve added a new entry for “mental illness.”

The addition to the guide — which is relied upon by reporters at news outlets nationwide — advises journalists not to mention a diagnosis of autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other mental disorders unless it is germane to the story and properly sourced.

What’s more, when mentioning a person’s mental illness in a news story, the AP Stylebook urges reporters to be as specific as possible about their diagnosis and include examples of symptoms. Journalists are advised to “avoid descriptions that connote pity,” stay away from terms like insane, crazy, nuts or deranged and told not to assume that mental illness is associated with violent crime.

“It is the right time to address how journalists handle questions of mental illness in coverage,” said Kathleen Carroll, executive editor and senior vice president at the AP. “When is such information relevant to a story? Who is an authoritative source for a person’s illness, diagnosis and treatment? These are very delicate issues and this Stylebook entry is intended to help journalists work through them thoughtfully, accurately and fairly.”

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Parkinson's patients find dance can help

The two things that have brought Michael and Roslyn Lieb closer together couldn't be more different: Parkinson's disease and dance, one slowly taking away, the other giving back in ways they never imagined.

After tremors in his right arm and leg 11 years ago led to Michael Lieb's diagnosis with the debilitating brain disease, his wife became his caretaker. But two years ago, she developed a tremor, too. The diagnosis: Parkinson's.

"I couldn't believe it. It seemed incredible to me that we both should have the disease," he said. "It came as a real shock, a real downer."

"No one in either of our families has Parkinson's," she said. "It's come out of the blue for both of us."

Now retired, the couple still love to read, go the symphony and opera, and get together often with family and friends. Once a week, they head to an unusual Chicago dance class tailored for Parkinson's patients.



Read more of Chicago's CTV News/Associated Press article HERE.

Researcher Touts Easy Cure For Test Anxiety

A simple writing exercise can relieve students of test anxiety and may help them get better scores than their less anxious classmates, a new study has found.

The report in Friday's edition of the journal Science says students who spend 10 minutes before an exam writing about their thoughts and feelings can free up brainpower previously occupied by testing worries and do their best work.

Read Donna Gordon Blankinship's Associated Press article in the San Jose Mercury News HERE.

Court Ruling Finds Regulator Overstepped on Autism

Court ruling finds regulator overstepped on memo to insurers about autism treatment complaints. Read the article by Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Associated Press HERE