Woman becomes 1st known attorney with autism to practice law in Florida
Haley Moss, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3, is the first openly autistic person to be admitted to the Florida Bar.
At an early age, doctors thought Moss would never work a minimum wage job or live independently, the Sun-Sentinel reported. The 24-year-old now lives on her own and works at a top law firm in Miami.
Before she graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, Moss had already authored two books -- including one that was published when she was just 15.
“I’m very passionate about things I enjoy, and I love to write,” Moss told the Sun-Sentinel. “That’s also part of why I went to law school, and I love to be able to help others. So even with writing, I love that I’m able to express myself completely and what I can say has the ability to help someone else.”
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lisa Walsh said it was “a great privilege” to administer the oath to Moss at her swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 11, according to Law.com. She described Moss as someone who "has actually had to overcome issues and develop skills that may not be natural."
Moss' current employer, the Zumpano Patricios law firm, recognized her talent before she even passed the bar exam.
“When I was introduced to Haley by a former lawyer at our firm, I immediately picked up on the fact that she was obviously brilliant — brilliant and a good person,” Joseph Zumpano, the co-founder of the firm, told the Sun-Sentinel.
“As a core value, we wanted to be the first firm to bring in an openly autistic lawyer and make the point that if you align people to their strengths then given the chance, they excel,” he continued.
On Saturday, the autism charity Unicorn Children's Foundation declared Moss a Youth Ambassador in recognition of her achievements.
Moss, who has a high-functioning form of autism, told the Palm Beach Post her main goal is to help children facing similar challenges and to change the negative stigma often associated with autism.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” Moss said. “Well, it takes an even bigger village to raise a special needs child. I realized I could be an integral part of a child’s village.”
Source: https://www.fox5vegas.com
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12th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD, 11-13 June 2019
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006. It came into force on 3 May 2008 upon the 20th ratification. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.” Since 2008, ten sessions of the Conference of States Parties have been held at United Nations Headquarters, New York.
The 12th session, per decided by States Parties at the 11th session of the Conference of States Parties on 14 June 2018, will be scheduled to take place at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 11 to 13 June 2019.
Overarching theme of the 12th session: Ensuring inclusion of persons with disabilities in a changing world through the implementation of the CRPD.
Source: https://www.un.org
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