A small segment of Medi-Cal beneficiaries run up huge health care bills — but they’re not necessarily the people you’d expect them to be.

The so-called “super-utilizers” are one of the biggest drivers of escalating spending in California’s health care system. A two-year pilot project in rural Humboldt County dealing with that population produced some surprising results. Read more.

On May 30, four guys began their journey of traveling 6,000 miles – an experience that will change them for a lifetime. It may seem like just another cross-country road trip to the west coast, but it couldn’t be further from ordinary. These four guys are part of “Guys Group,” a social group for young men with developmental disabilities (DD). Read more.

Every child with special needs is unique, which means strategies that help one child enjoy a smooth flight might not work for another, said Sofia Rejon, clinical director with TASKids. For example, some kids are disturbed by loud noises, so wearing headphones with music might help. Other kids can’t stand to have their ears covered and need to hear a parent’s voice.
Here are some practices that have proven effective in helping most kids with special needs enjoy a smooth flight:                                                                  Read more.

Western Dental, the state’s largest provider of Denti-Cal services to low-income patients, said it will no longer accept new patients under the program at more than a dozen of its clinics starting June 1. Read more.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan signed legislation Thursday at the State House in Concord that will outlaw subminimum wage in the state. (Thinkstock) With legislation signed this week, New Hampshire is set to become the first state in the nation to make it illegal for people with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage. Read more.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the year and a half or so since students in a high school engineering program helped bring it to fruition, the Sensory Lounger has enjoyed quite a run.
The high-tech chair has warranted significant attention across the Kansas City area recently. And last month, the project received a prestigious Edison Award for health and wellness innovation. (For context, products from Motorola, the Dow Chemical Co. and Gillette also were honored.)
Now, the man behind the chair — which provides the kind of full-body, deep-touch pressure many children with autism crave — has even bigger plans. Read more.

With new studies coming out regularly, Autism Speaks posted the recent International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) daily coverage to their website. View content related to the State of Science in Autism Research, Self-Care Skills and Success in Adulthood, and new insights in Autism-Anxiety Connection-and many more topics- here.