Gary S. Mayerson

Gary is the author of two books " Autism’s Declaration of Independence,"  and “How To Compromise With Your School District Without Compromising Your Child.” Gary also wrote the "ABA Litigation" chapter appearing in the late Dr. Ivar Lovaas' book, Teaching Individuals With Developmental Delays, the “Legal Considerations” chapter appearing in the Second Edition of Dr. Donna Geffner’s book, Auditory Processing Disorders, the “Autism in the Courtroom” chapter appearing in the Fourth Edition of Dr. Fred R. Volkmar’s seminal treatise, Autism, and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and the foreward to Dr. Steven Blaustein’s textbook, Diagnostic Report Writing In Speech-Language Pathology.

Given the importance of generalizing skills, parents of children with autism are often surprised to learn that some courts have held that promoting “generalization” is not something that the school district is required to do. In March of 2019, the New York Law School Law Review published Gary's law review article entitled Generalization After Endrew F: Shrinking The Gap Between Access and Outcome For Students Diagnosed With Autism. The article explains how the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Endrew F. may help other courts conclude that helping students with autism to generalize their skills is within the scope of the IDEA statute’s protections.

Gary has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Gary is responsible for scores of reported federal court decisions, including Deal v. Hamilton County, the very first autism case to ever reach the U.S. Supreme Court and Doe v. Darien, where a federal jury found that a young boy with Down Syndrome had been sexually abused by his paraprofessional. To make that finding, the jury necessarily had to reject the defendants’ dangerous argument that because of his diagnosis and challenges, this young man lacked the capacity to understand or tell the truth.

Gary’s work also was instrumental in T.K. v. NYCDOE (unaddressed complaints about bullying as a “FAPE” deprivation), R.E. v. NYCDOE and C.F. v. NYCDOE (cases rejecting school district’s attempts to rely upon “impermissible retrospective evidence” at trial), T.M. v. Cornwall (least restrictive environment mandate as applied to ESY), L.B. v. Nebo School District (pertaining to “supported inclusion” and Congress’ “least restrictive environment” mandate), V.S. v. NYCDOE (parents have a procedural right to evaluate the school assignment) and Starego v. NJSIAA), a federal court settlement affording Anthony Starego, a 19-year-old high school placekicker with autism, an unprecedented fifth season of interscholastic competition (incredibly, that additional season had a storybook ending, with Anthony and his team going on to win the State Championship 26-15 after Anthony contributed points from two successful field goals!).
Gary is especially proud to have spearheaded the settlement of a federal class action lawsuit that is now helping tens of thousands of New York City students with autism and other disabilities finally receive the special services they are entitled to under the law to make the transition to adulthood.

Gary speaks regularly and has testified before Congress on the subject of the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (“IDEIA”). At the invitation of the United Nations, Gary spoke on the subject of facilitating inclusive education in developing countries. Gary has been interviewed by the Today Show (NBC), Dan Rather (HDNet), Katie Couric, CNN, PBS, HLN, ABC, NPR, The Economist, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Congressional Quarterly Researcher and The New York Times, among other media. In 2023, after being peer-nominated and vetted by an attorney led research team, Gary was for the twelfth consecutive year named by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top civil rights attorneys in the New York metropolitan area.

Gary has received awards and recognition from the McCarton Foundation, the Manhattan Childrens Center, the IDEAL School and the Elija Foundation. Gary served on the national board of Autism Speaks for twelve consecutive years and headed its Federal Legal Appeals Project, a pro bono initiative at the federal level. In five out of six Supreme Court amicus filings, the position Gary advocated for prevailed.

Gary sits on several boards and currently serves as the board chair of JobPath, a not-for-profit based in Manhattan that is dedicated to securing and supporting meaningful employment opportunities and greater independence for adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.