The road to adulthood begins for most when they graduate from high school and move on to a first job or college, to paying bills and living on their own. But for people with cognitive disabilities or autism, leaving high school is a more monumental step, one that will transform their relation to their families and the community that supports them.
That monumental step has been on the minds of Andrew and Barb Baxter, both 57, of Charlottesville, Va. for years. Their 24-year-old son, Peter, is on the autism spectrum and has an intellectual disability.
Read moreIn 2016, the only age group to see an increase in the percentage of voters was youth aged 18-29. Still, this group lagged far behind all other age groups. Only 46.1% of eligible voters in this age demographic voted according to the US Census Bureau.
VCIJ asked a dozen first-time voters in a presidential election to share what is motivating them to vote in Virginia during this election cycle. They also share what issues they care about, how they get their information and why they feel voting is important.
Read moreEliana Nachman, 18, is a recent graduate of Hermitage High School in Henrico, VA, and has been accepted to Mary Washington University this fall, where classes start on Aug. 24.
The university initially planned a hybrid of online and in-person instruction to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus. But as infections grew, the university announced on Aug. 13 that classes would be entirely online until at least mid-September.
The pandemic has upended a year full of promise for Nachman and her friends: “I was hoping it would kind of be all wrapped up by August. I guess I was just being naive.”
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