Andrew Yang Opens Up About The Inspiration For His Autism Intervention Policy On ‘The View’
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang made his second appearance on American talk show The View on Thursday and addressed everything from his support of recently fired SNL cast addition Shane Gillis and the controversial accusations from Kimberly Watkins, a former employee of Yang’s test preparation company, Manhattan GMAT.
Yang also spoke about how his son’s autism inspired his autism intervention policy and his belief in education for people with neurological difficulties.
“When my wife and I realized that he was autistic it was actually a huge relief because we were first time parents, and we were struggling, and we didn’t know what was normal, what wasn’t normal,” he said, later revealing that their initial struggles were confusing because he didn’t know if their son’s behavior was a result of their parenting.
The 44-year-old serial entrepreneur addressed the fortunate position he and his wife, Evelyn, are in to be able to take care of their son and get him the resources he needs. He contrasted it with single mothers he has met on the campaign trail that are not so fortunate and also stressed that people outside the spectrum are now “the new normal” and should be accommodated at all stages of their development.
“One message I have for the American people is that A-typical is the new normal.”@AndrewYang opens up about how his son with autism inspired his policy to fund autism intervention: “We need to build schools and systems that accommodate them at every stage.” pic.twitter.com/rE4yWaGdYa
— The View (@TheView) September 26, 2019
According to Yang‘s policy page on autism intervention, he would direct the Department of Education to guide states through intervention plans via both information and funding. He plans to implement programs that both identify and treat autistic children, and also destigmatize the broad range of conditions and neurological profiles associated with their difficulties.
Yang’s campaign is centered around a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 per month for every American adult. According to the Democratic dark horse, the plan is intended to help average Americans that are becoming increasingly displaced by automation in sectors such as truck driving, retail, and food service.
Per National Interest, Yang’s campaign may have had an effect on the public perception of UBI — a Hill-HarrisX poll released Wednesday reveals that support for UBI has jumped from February to September. In February, just 43 percent of Americans were in support of the proposal compared to 57 percent against it. In September, 49 percent support UBI and 51 percent are against it.
Yang is currently sixth place in the polls with 3.3 percent support, ahead of Beto O’Rourke with 2.5 percent and Cory Booker with 1.8 percent. He will take the October debate stage and needs to hit 3 percent in two more DNC-approved polls to make the November debate stage.
