Archive for the ‘Global’ Category
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Americans with Disability Act
Twenty years ago, this week, life changed in the United States for many people with disabilities. Two days ago marked the 20th anniversary of the historic signing of a law enacted by the US Congress in 1990 – the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Signed by President George H. W. Bush, this Act effectively prohibits discrimination based on disability in the United States. Disability is defined by the ADA as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” Before the signing of this act, private businesses were allowed to order disabled people to leave their business (restaurants included), but the ADA has changed that. While other minorities in the US legally had their civil rights protected by the 1960′s, Americans with a disability had to wait until the signing of the ADA in 1990.
In recognition of the ADA, please remember that everybody has abilities and everybody has potential. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
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A Tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Tomorrow would mark the 89th birthday of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009), an advocate and champion for equality and rights for people with special needs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was best known for founding the Special Olympics and being an active supporter of people with developmental disabilities. She leveraged her position to bring equality to people with developmental disabilities, and has effectively changed the lives of millions of people across the globe through the Special Olympics. Her legacy will undoubtedly carry on to change million more lives to come of people with special needs. As an activist, she was also awarded the highest civilian award in the United States by President Ronald Reagan, on her work on behalf of those with special needs.Hopefully everybody will continue to remember Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s legacy and continue her passion and dream with the same dedication and conviction.
The right to play on any playing field? You have earned it. The right to study in any school? You have earned it. The right to hold a job? You have earned it. The right to be anyone’s neighbor? You have earned it.
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1987 Special Olympics World Games, South Bend, Indiana
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Autism-aware Hotel Rooms
Originally, the only autism-prepared suites available in a hotel were in the Alpine Suites at the Clinton Inn Hotel in Tenafly, NJ, but now the Wyndham Hotel is offering “autism-aware hotel rooms”. The Clinton Inn Hotel pioneered the concept of “autism friendly” hotel rooms by making everything unbreakable (from wine glasses, water tumblers, to the glass in cabinet doors), in addition to creating door alarms for children with autism that like to wander. Previously it was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that 1 in 150 children in the US have autism, but only recently, the statistics have been updated to reveal that as many as 1 in 110 children in the US are diagnosed with autism. In Canada, the Autism Society of Canada estimates from a 2003 study, that approximately 1 in 165 children have some form of autism, and that autism is the most common form of any neurological disorder or developmental disability of childhood. With such statistics and a growing population of people with autism, could autism friendly rooms and accommodations be a growing trend for a sustainable future?
At the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Austin, “Thoughtful Rooms” are being offered to suit the needs of families traveling with a child with autism. These rooms have similar safety mechanisms and preventions that the Clinton Inn Hotel uses. They both also offer toys and a special menu items. The Wyndham Garden Hotel’s restaurant offers gluten-free, casein-free, soy protein options for children on particular diets. Thoughtful Rooms were created in collaboration with the Thoughtful House Center for Children. The hotel staff at the Wyndham Garden Hotel has undergone training by certified Thoughtful House staff as to provide the best service for families traveling with a child with autism.I wonder though, when, and which hotel, will offer its first Canadian autism-aware hotel?
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Rosemary Kennedy
We’ve previous blogged about Rosemary Kennedy and her sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver (who was the founder of the Special Olympics), in addition to the late Senator Ted Kennedy who passed shortly after Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Unfortunately, there are few special needs advocates in Canada that rival the passion, success and influence of some of the Kennedy’s, which leaves us blogging about American advocates. That aside, I’ve had some emails sent to me regarding more interest on Rosemary Kennedy. Because of that, I’ve compiled a short list of educational references for people who are interested in Rosemary Kennedy (who was the third child and first daughter of Joseph Kennedy Sr., and Rose F. Kennedy).
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Disability Policy Seminar in Washington DC Part 2
This is a special guest blog post by our Executive Director, Alanna Hendren, on the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington DC.
Another day at the Disability Policy Seminar! I sat with two special needs teachers from the Navajo Nation. They were fascinating. The Navajo Nation straddles New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado and has its own government that deals with all 4 state governments and the feds. Its hard enough to deal with one bureaucracy!
Employment is a huge topic in the US because of the overall high unemployment rate and tight budget. 424,000 people with disabilities are making less than minimum wage but working. Only 36% of people with disabilities of all kinds are working – meaning an unemployment rate of 64%. With the horrible budget problems that States are having, there are no guarantees that they’ll continue to use federal funds for supported employment. Transition issues are huge because many teachers aren’t trained in inclusive education and students are not being prepared for work. Altho pwd are supposed to be able to access generic employment services, very few are accessible physically or programmatically, which is certainly true in BC as well. Also true at home are the big barriers of transportation and employers being unwilling to make accomodations for disabilities such as flex time or shorter work weeks. Federal contractors employ 22% of the American workforce, so advocate within the bureaucracy are trying to build hiring pwd into contracting somehow but this is just a new idea. Another issue for service providers is reimbursement – it costs $38 to $40 per hour (all included) for job coaches but the reimbursement rate is $13.03 per hour, so its impossible.
Next came Budget Appropriations, which was very depressing. Turns out that there is not much discretionary spending to cut and right now there’s a freeze on all non-defense spending. Each federal budget line is being reviewed with an eye toward cuts. The current deficit is $1.5 trillion or 10% of GDP so cuts must be made. Money is tighter now than it has been for a generation.
What created the deficit? Major tax cuts under the Bush administration (49%), defense spending – homeland security and wars (34%), entitlement programs like social security, Medicare and Medicaid (10%) and discretionary spending (7%).
President Obama has proposed a $3.8 trillion budget but it doesn’t sound like any budget will be passed until early next year because of the mid-term Congressional elections in November and the highly partisan climate -and this doesn’t even touch the severe financial problems that the States are having. Education was next and the big issue here are the standardized tests required of all kids and the fact that people with intellectual disabilities are being taught to these tests, on which they do badly, instead of learning skills that they will need to get and keep a job. Families are very upset when ‘color recognition’ is still on their child’s IEP the year they’re graduating. They are starting to develop more practical ‘growth’ or developmental models instead, but this is very difficult in an environment that stresses outcomes.
Another major policy that is being proposed is to outlaw the use of restraints and seclusion in schools but most teachers don’t have training in behavioral de-escalation techniques. Teacher training is another big issue – 40,000 special ed teachers are uncertified and untrained, with no plan yet in place to address the problem.
Next up was the ABLE Act, which would allow the creation of what we would call a Registered Disability Savings Plan but with the difference that, upon death, whatever is left in the tax-free account (which can accumulate to $500,000 must be used first to pay back the state for all Medicaid funding the person received before any money goes to beneficiaries.
Housing!!! The situation here is just as bad as it is at home. The private sector has built no low-cost housing and there has been no money for non-profits to build or for housing vouchers. In San Francisco, the wait list was closed after it reached 10 years long for any type of housing. Lack of affordable housing has been identified as the #1 barrier to inclusion.
This is a blog summary so there is more, but probably no more than a fanatic like me would be interested in. Noticeably absent was a lot of talk about autism, which is increasingly being included with all the other hundreds of disabling conditions. With so little discretionary funding, everyone is trying to pool resources and work together. The Summit itself was sponsored by the 6 major national American advocacy groups, including professionals, families and self-advocates, all working together.
Pierre Trudeau once said that when America sneezes, Canada catches a cold, which continues to be true, so none of this is good news for us at home. We are already suffering from provincial budget freezes and cuts that we are told will likely go on for 3 more years but unlike the U.S., our federal government provides zero funding for services and supports for pwd other than generic healthcare. They used to, particularly in the areas of income assistance and employment, but that all got downloaded when Chretien was Prime Minister. I was hoping to learn more about American innovations in the area of doing more with less, but what this means in Washington, as it does in B.C., is that families will do more with less, since more services and supports will be gone until good times return again. But those days appear to be at least 3 years away for all of us.
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