Bribery or Justifiable Incentive?

My son who is a senior in high school told me something interesting yesterday. He said that for the past year, one of the high schools in our county has been paying students $100 for each AP (Advanced Placement) exam they take if they receive a higher-than-average grade. And, the teachers in the AP classes get $100 per student if the student gets the good grade. That means some of the teachers could make up to $3000 per class (and most teach multiple classes).

My son said that the program has been such a success that it is going to be extended to all county high schools (9 of them). He said that he was told part of the money to fund the program comes from Exxon Mobil Corporation and some from the county’s education budget.

Something about this bothers me, though I am unable to put that into words yet. I do know that all state and local budgets are being cut, and I wonder what else might be cut so this payment program can continue. What do you think? Do other school districts do this type of thing?

Yet Another Adoption Tragedy

Arkansas has three times as many children needing foster care and adoption than it has available families to take them in.

But, on Tuesday, November 4th, Arkansas voters passed by a 57% majority, a proposition stating:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
Section 1: Adoption and foster care of minors.
(a) A minor may not be adopted or placed in a foster home if the individual seeking to adopt or to serve as a foster parent is cohabiting with a sexual partner outside of a marriage which is valid under the constitution and laws of this state.

As stated in the New York Times:

The measure, which voters overwhelmingly approved and which prevents unmarried cohabitating couples from adopting or fostering children, won strong support from conservatives, exit polls found. The ban affects all unmarried couples but was written with the intent of preventing gay couples from raising children in Arkansas.

“We believe that the best place for a child to grow up is in a stable home with a married mother and father,” said Jerry Cox, president of Family Council Action Committee, which obtained 95,000 signatures to place the proposal on state ballots. “But we also believe in blunting a gay agenda that we see at work in other states with regard to marriage and adoption issues.”

Arkansas is not the first state with such a policy. Florida prohibits adoption by applicants who identify themselves as gay, Utah prevents unmarried cohabitated couples from adopting and Mississippi specifically bans same-sex couples from adopting.

My opinion on all this? I believe all children benefit from a loving home with parents who care. I believe children who are left floundering in a foster care system of substandard care when they could be in a stable, loving family present a tragic face for our nation which claims to care. I don’t care if the family is made up of a married couple, a single person, two men, two women, or two people of different races as long as that family is stable and loving and cares for their children. I also believe that the usage of the term "sexual partner outside of marriage" is particularly egregious because the government is put in the position of investigating the private lives of people who reside together.

The only losers in this whole situation are the children.

Can I Take Your Order, Please?

Sometimes something so unexpected happens that you’re caught off guard. But if it is a good unexpected, it can brighten your whole day. One of those good unexpecteds happened last Friday.

I decided to take the kids out to lunch at one of their favorite places, the River City Diner. It’s a restaurant that strives to be like the diners of old, and for the most part, it succeeds. The menu is filled with diner staples such as meatloaf, mac and cheese, and breakfast any time of day. The walls are decorated with 1950’s replica memorabilia, and doo-wop music plays from the jukebox. So, it didn’t surprise me at all when the waitress greeted us with a ‘Hey, Sweeties.” What did surprise me was what happened next.

The waitress signed to Ashley. She signed ‘good morning, how are you today, Beautiful?’ She asked all of us what we would like to drink, and signed the same thing to Ashley. When she returned with our drinks, she asked me if she could show Ashley that her water was now on the table. I responded ‘Yes’, and the waitress gently took Ashley’s hand and put it around her water glass. Ashley signed ‘Thank you’, and without missing a beat, the waitress asked for our orders. When she got to Ashley, she signed, “What would you like to eat?” Ashley signed ‘Macaroni and cheese.” The waitress then left, and I sat speechless.

The exchange with the family, and especially Ashley, was completely natural, almost as if the waitress took orders in sign language every day. She was sensitive to Ashley’s vision issues without even having to ask me what was wrong, or what her vision was. She took close note of the appearance of Ashley’s eyes, and rightly assumed she would need some assistance. She didn’t speak to Ashley as if she were a 5 year old – she didn’t ignore her and talk to me instead like a lot of people do. She gave Ashley the same respect she gave every other member of my family.

The waitress may have been working in a low-paying, often thankless job, but to me she was an angel – a person who ‘gets it’ – a person who should be a role model for the majority of other people in the world.

When it was time to leave, I felt like hugging her. Instead, I signed ‘Thank you very much”, and needless to say, left a large tip.

How Dare He?

Ashley had a dentist appointment this morning. The dentist is one she has seen for several years, and one who touts himself as a dentist for children with special needs. Until today, Dr. Karl had done an adequate job of caring for Ashley’s teeth even though his manner was a little brusque and rushed. But today things did not go so well. In fact, they went horribly wrong.

Ashley did not want to get into the chair to have her teeth cleaned by the assistant. But with some major ‘encouragement’ from both Amy and me, she eventually did agree and then put her head back and cooperated through the cleaning. When Dr. Karl came in, she became a bit more anxious. She didn’t want to cooperate with him, and for whatever reason, he seemed quite impatient. He spent all of thirty seconds looking at her teeth and declared she had no cavities. He then turned things back over to the assistant.

Before he left the room, I asked him about braces. I wanted a referral to an orthodontist that would take Ashley’s Medicaid insurance. He scoffed and said braces probably wouldn’t work. I agree that braces will be a challenge, but with the technical developments in recent years, I wanted to at least ask an orthodontist some questions.

Dr. Karl, however, said with a very definitive opinion that he didn’t think braces would be possible. I asked why. He said, “Well, you know, the tumors she has” referring to her three brain tumors. Then he said, “Does it really matter?” which I took to mean does it really matter if Ashley’s teeth were crooked. I stared in shocked silence as he walked out of the room.

How dare he assume that it not matter to Ashley if her teeth are pretty. How dare he assume that I should care less about the health and appearance of her teeth just because she has disabilities? I have absolutely no doubt that he wouldn’t even consider asking a 13 year old girl without disabilities if it really mattered.

I got angrier and angrier as I drove to work. I will be changing dentists for Ashley. I will be writing a letter to Dr. Karl and his partners to let them know exactly why I am leaving their practice. I sure the small amount of money he gets from Ashley will not make a difference, but I refuse to subsidize his discriminatory and insensitive attitude for one more minute.

And I will share this story with as many people as I possibly can.

Music to My Ears

I wouldn’t call my family the most musical of families. The kids have had to endure my bad singing since they were very little. Otherwise they would have had no lullabies sung to them at all. And forget the ABC song and Itsy Bitsy Spider. So they learned to love my off-key presentations.

Because of my lack of musicality, I did try to encourage my children to explore theirs. When Chip was 5 years old, I signed him up for violin lessons. I had read that an early introduction to music would help a child academically. I still believe that, but I never could tell with Chip because after just a few short months and one recital, he was done with the violin. He then moved on to the guitar, but that lost out to an IPod. At least Chip appreciates music even if he doesn’t want to actively participate in a musical endeavor.

Jessica sings very well and is taking chorus in high school. Corey goes to a performance-based camp for two weeks each summer, so I guess there is still hope for the two of them to commit to a more musical life. Ashley, on the other hand, loves to bang on our piano or play her small accordion while the dog howls along, but the skill is sorely lacking.

Because of my failures to instill music-making in my children, I read with interest both a post on another site for which I write twice a week, 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and a link to a post that my friend, Jane, sent me.

The post at 5MFSN relates what a positive experience music has been in the life of the author’s daughter with autism. As the author writes, “Children with autism have been shown to respond remarkably well to music therapy, making it a great tool to use at home and in the classroom. Research shows that listening to music can help brain function. Music with a strong beat can stimulate your brain to try and keep up with it, helping boost concentration and alertness. By contrast, listening to music with slower tempos can help relax you. These benefits continue even after you stop listening. Music therapy can help with stress management (something I find particularly beneficial), pain management, and recovery from illness or injury.”

Soon after reading that post, Jane sent me a link to an organization in my area that is offering music training for children with special needs. Jane’s son has participated in the past, and loved it. The Da Capo Institute describes themselves as more than a music school. Rather, they consider that they are part of an emergent musical community. Their website contained a list of their guiding principles, designed after the first letters of their name:

• Develop the whole person through opportunities for self-expression, discipline, creativity, and teamwork.


• Achieve excellence through challenging experiences.


• Create, build, and strengthen new and existing communities through the common language of music.


• Appreciate all types of music.


• Provide an opportunity for everyone, where all are valued as individuals.


• Outfit individuals with the power to share music and impact their world

Another statement from their website, I believe, sums up the power of music in anyone’s life, but especially that of a child with special needs:

Music creates a backdrop of self-examination, determination, joy, and acceptance that fosters the positive development of a student with autism. Through music, we can be ourselves; there is no right or wrong! We can each achieve excellence at our own rate, given our own set of circumstances and be affirmed by a community.

Perhaps it’s time for me to re-examine my family’s musical experiences, or lack thereof. How about your family? Does music play an important role for you?

Doing It Right

About a year ago, I posted a blog about Walgreens Drug Stores and their commitment to hiring people with disabilities. In that earlier blog, I wrote, “I do have to wonder if Walgreens would be making such a strong effort were it not for the fact that the son of the senior vice president had autism. Would the company have been so progressive if no one at the top had a life touched by disability? When we move to the next level, when companies do something similar because it is the right thing to do and not just a response to a personal involvement, then real progress will have been made.”.

I attended a training session earlier this week, the subject of which was making the workplace accessible for people with many different kinds of disabilities. During the training session, Walgreens was presented as a company that was ‘doing the right thing.’ Specific examples were cited and interviews with Walgreen’s employees were presented as evidence.

Now I’m convinced that Walgreens’ efforts are sincere and not just a response to the experiences of one senior vice president. After hearing the interviews of employees, I sense a real commitment throughout the entire organization. It’s amazing to witness the cultural change in the organization, and the words I heard were more than just words – they are solid beliefs in the ability of every person to contribute to the whole.

I’m including the original link I shared on the Walgreen’s story. Please take a few moments to view the two video clips included with the story. If today is a day that you need reaffirmation that there is still ‘good’ in this society of ours, you will find it in this story.

Our Children Are Being Left Behind

An interesting article appeared in the Sunday paper in Virginia Beach this past weekend. The article, titled Loopholes Give Schools a Pass Even When Scores Fall Short, relates how if ALL student scores on standardized testing were examined - even the scores of special education students - not so many schools would have the passing grades they now enjoy. Loopholes in the way test scores are reported give very skewed results. Although this article focused on Virginia's administration and reporting of testing scores, I'll guarantee the same things are going on in a whole lot of other states.

The article, though very detailed and confusing in points, does an excellent job (in my opinion) of highlighting the issue of not including the scores of special education students. I believe it would be well worth your reading time, and then I suggest you find out what is going on in your state. It could be a real eye-opener.

And then if you still want to torture your mind, read the comments left by the newspaper readers.

Freedom Hopes

This Fourth of July I’ve been thinking a lot about the word ‘freedom’ as it pertains to my children with significant disabilities. It’s not flags and fireworks I’m thinking about, but rather the freedom of choice. I want my children to be able to make choices, to live life their own way. I want them to have the freedom to…

• Choose where they want to live and how they want to live
• Choose the type of job they want
• Make choices about the type of social life they want
• Choose their friends, fall in love, enjoy a sexual relationship, and know the comfort and joy of sharing life with the person of their choice
• Speak their minds, have opinions, and have those opinions respected
• Vote
• And the list could go on and on….

In other words, I want them to have all the rights and freedoms that people without disabilities have.

What does freedom mean for your children?

Standing Outside the Fire

This may be a pretty old song and video, but I have never seen it. A good friend of mine who just happens to be the most incredible doctor ever put on this earth shared it with me. (Thanks, Harry!) It's well worth your time, even if you don't particularly like the music of Garth Brooks.

Standing Outside the Fire

East End Back-of-the-Bus Riders

I live in a county whose land boundaries are shaped almost like a school bus. When residents refer to anyplace in the county, the reference is always to either the West End of the county or the East End of the county. I have always lived in the West End, however recently my oldest daughter, Jessica, was moved to a high school in the East End. The East End high school could not be any different than the school she used to attend in the West End. The differences take me back to a time when riding the back of the bus was reserved for those people deemed inferior than front-of-the-bus riders. The East Enders are back-of-the-bus riders, and the West Enders get the reserved front-of-the-bus seats.

The West End schools, elementary, middle and high, are primarily shiny and new. Classrooms are large and bright – computers are everywhere, including in the hands of every student – landscaping is colorful and well-planned – and most of the schools are accessible. The East End schools are old and born of an architecture style that reminds one of fallout shelters and fabulous fifties furniture. Classrooms are small and dark – the only computers I saw were in the office – landscaping is raked dirt – and accessibility was obviously an afterthought, a retrofitting that has failed. I had hoped that the major differences were these visible things, and that the education, especially of students with disabilities, would be consistent between both ends of the county. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

At the IEP meeting I was attending last week at the East End high school, the school staff seemed surprised that I was requesting actual academic instruction for my daughter with significant disabilities. Jessica had been doing reading, math, science and civics at her West End school. The East End school fills her day with laundry, bowling trips, cooking, and stuffing shredded money into little plastic bags to be sold. I said I liked that Jessica had been doing PowerPoint presentations and sending email at her West End school. The staff at the East End school seemed surprised that I wanted her to have a computer. The daily schedule posted on the blackboard (West End schools have dry erase boards) at the East End school showed 45 minutes each school day of ‘functional academics’ – 45 minutes out of a 6.75 hour day. When I asked how many other students in Jessica’s classroom were verbal, I was told only a couple, and was then offered speech therapy for Jessica. I was told she could not go to the ‘higher functioning’ (their words, not mine) classroom at the East End school because the children in that class had major behavior problems. So, setting aside for a moment that we were there to discuss Jessica’s needs not the school’s poorly planned program, I could easily understand the behavior problems. There are approximately 20 teenagers stuffed into a classroom made for 10, and the teacher seemed to have better things to do than teach. The students in that higher functioning classroom were discussing who was sleeping with whom. Educational perhaps – but not the type of education any of the children at the school needed.

If the meeting I was attending, with the attitudes and comments of the school staff being made, were in the West End, things would be totally different. Parents of students in the West End would not tolerate such a meeting. If a West End high school meeting contained discussion on children doing laundry and not having a computer, a West End parent would have lawyered up in the time it took to pull her Blackberry out of her Gucci bag and press speed dial.

East End parents may not even have a phone at home. A lot of them don’t have the knowledge of their children’s rights, or how to effectively advocate for their children’s needs. According to the East End staff, it’s a good day if some of their students show up at all for school. The East End students are the back of the bus students, and I am appalled that my school district allows such discriminatory and inequitable practices to continue.

Many Hands Blankies

So much about the story presented in the link listed below makes me smile and brings me hope for our society. It’s well worth the few minutes it will take to read it, and the entire experience is something not often seen in the media today. Karen Meyer, a reporter for the ABC affiliate in Chicago, reports on disability issues. Ms. Meyer is herself disabled, and each week reports on stories centering around the disability culture. I especially liked the story presented this week because it highlights employability of people with developmental disabilities beyond the traditional sheltered workshop approach. Make sure that in addition to reading the article that you click on the video of the newscast on the right. In that video, you will see and hear Ms. Meyer relating the story in both voice and sign, and the entire thing is also closed captioned.

Fun Quilts Offers Sewing Opportunities to People With Developmental Disabilities

Oh, and one final comment, I *love* that someone believed in the people in the video and their creative abilities. One thing I feel is often overlooked in a person with a developmental disability is their need for creative expression.

Madame Secretary

The words are all the right ones. The voice is the voice from the top. Why then do our children have to fight for their every right to an appropriate education?

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PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings Delivers Remarks at the 2007 Special Olympics Global Policy Summit in Shanghai

FOR RELEASE:
October 3, 2007 Contact: Samara Yudof or Rebecca Neale
(202) 401-1576


Leading a presidential delegation to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today delivered remarks at the Global Policy Summit on the Well-Being of People with Intellectual Disabilities. Following are her prepared remarks:

Thank you, Andrew Williams, for introducing me. It's an honor to be here with you and so many other athletes and supporters of Special Olympics. I'm also honored to be leading a global delegation of so many talented people from the worlds of sports, academia, and business.

I'd like to thank China for hosting this first-ever Global Policy Summit on the Well-Being of Students with Intellectual Disabilities. It's hard to think of a better setting for this event than the Special Olympics.

This morning, I had the honor of meeting the Team USA athletes, including golfer Jason Plante. In addition to competing here today, he is an honor-roll student, and he also plays on his high school golf team, which is among the best in the state. In Jason's opinion, "there is virtually no difference" between learning a sport and learning in school. He's absolutely right. Both take discipline, focus, practice, and high expectations. This summit is a great opportunity for all of us to work together to help more students around the world succeed and thrive as Jason has.

By celebrating the shared joy and mutual respect that sports can foster, Special Olympics have helped people around the world learn to think more in terms of capability than disability.

For example, at the first International Games in 1968, many people thought that swimming pools were dangerous places for people with disabilities. So American Red Cross lifeguards stood shoulder to shoulder around the pool to make sure all of the swimmers were safe. But they never had to jump in. All of the 325 athletes in the pool were perfectly able swimmers.

I think everyone who was there that day probably learned a valuable lesson—don't underestimate what people with disabilities can do.

Unfortunately, when it comes to education, it's taken a long time for people in my country to learn that same lesson. For many years, a lot of well-intended people have done a whole lot of standing by the edge of the pool, worrying whether students with disabilities would sink or swim.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Special Olympics was just getting started, most schools in my country closed their doors to young people like the athletes who are competing here in Shanghai.

More than a million children in the U.S. were excluded from school because of their disabilities. In many states, families faced the stark choice of keeping children at home or sending them to institutions. As a result, many children with intellectual disabilities lived far from their families in conditions that no person should have to endure.

Today, we're still far from perfect. But my country has seen the kind of progress that all of us should strive for and that all of us can achieve. In the last half-century, we in the United States have shifted our national conversation. Instead of asking whether students with disabilities can learn, we are now talking about how to make sure all students achieve. Not in institutions or special facilities, but in their own neighborhood schools, right alongside their peers.

That's a dramatic change in a very short period of time. And we owe much of this progress to people like Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics, who is a longtime champion for people with disabilities.

Just last week, President Bush signed an executive order to continue and expand the responsibility of the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Mrs. Shriver and her brother, President John F. Kennedy, were driving forces in creating this committee, and I'm proud to be a member today. I'm also honored to have both Mrs. Shriver and her son, Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver, with me on President Bush's delegation to this year's summer games.

In 1962, an exhausted mother called Mrs. Shriver on the phone. She said she didn't know what to do. No summer camp would accept her child because of his disability. Mrs. Shriver told her, "You come here a month from today. I'll start my own camp.

Just like that, she started a free camp right in her own back yard. That camp for 35 kids has grown into this year's largest sporting event in the world: the Special Olympics International Games. As you've heard, nearly 7,500 athletes are competing here in Shanghai. Together, they represent more than 2.4 million people who participate in 15,000 events year-round, worldwide.

As Tim Shriver says, from its very first days, Special Olympics has sent out the message that people with disabilities "deserve the right to participate and compete, on the playing field and off." Tim, you've clearly been listening to your mom's good advice! I'm sure you also learned a thing or two from growing up with that camp in your back yard. I learned the same lessons from working at the Handy Andy grocery store when I was growing up, where several of my co-workers had intellectual disabilities. We worked hard, we got a lot done, and we had a great time together in the process.

So, how can we work to make sure that people with disabilities can participate and compete in school, just like in Special Olympics?

First of all, policymakers and educators like us must take responsibility for educating every single child, instead of picking and choosing. Second, we must think in terms of inclusion—starting with the assumption that students should learn side by side in the same classroom, whether they have disabilities or not. And finally, in addition to including students with disabilities, we must make sure they're learning, too. In other words, it's not OK to tell some kids they can finger paint while everybody else learns how to read.

"In the United States, two landmark laws have helped us put these ideas into action. The first, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, was signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1975. This law guarantees that students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education. It also requires parents and teachers to develop a customized plan to meet the unique needs of every student in special education, which can mean providing help in the form of speech therapy, a classroom aide, or other kinds of assistance."

Research shows that when schools separate students with disabilities from learning alongside their peers, their teachers and even their parents are more likely to see them as "more disabled." But when you put everyone together in the same classroom, both teachers and parents are more likely to see students with disabilities as the capable people that they are. Most importantly, the students themselves are more likely to see themselves for the capable people they are and so are their peers.

Want to know what else happens when you put everybody together? Students with and without disabilities both do better in school.

In sports terminology, you might say that thanks to IDEA, students with disabilities can get in the game. But as any athlete can tell you, access to the field will only get you so far. To reach your full potential, you need to have high expectations for yourself. And you need people around you who are dedicated to helping you achieve the highest possible goals. We've all seen many examples of that here at the Special Olympics.

When it comes to education, we can put high expectations into action but not only ensuring every child has access to the classroom, but by making sure every student learns. That's what my country's most recent education law is all about. It's called No Child Left Behind.

Families of children with disabilities are among the greatest supporters of this law. Why? First off, it requires schools to measure every child's achievement and to publish results for every student group, including students with disabilities. As a result, educators are focusing on these students more than they ever have before. They are also developing better ways to measure student achievement, and better ways to help every child achieve his or her potential.

Most importantly, No Child Left Behind is proving that if we raise our expectations, our children will rise to the challenge. As my mother used to say, nothing sells like success. In other words, once people see one student with a disability who is succeeding in school, they realize that other kids can achieve the same results.

In fact, our latest national report card confirms that No Child Left Behind is making a significant difference for children with disabilities. Results released just last week show that between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of U.S. fourth graders with disabilities who have basic math skills doubled, from 30 to 60 percent. That's 140,000 more kids with fundamental skills! In many cases, students with disabilities are outpacing their peers who do not have disabilities.

Now that we're making strong progress in K-12 schools, the next frontier is college. Especially now that higher education is becoming more and more essential for everyone in our global knowledge economy. That's why I'm pleased to announce that my department will provide 1.5 million dollars to create a Technical Assistance Center to help colleges and universities develop and expand programs for students with intellectual disabilities. By collecting and sharing information about effective coursework, supports and services, and community outreach strategies, the center will help more students enjoy a meaningful and rewarding college education.

Just like Special Olympics, we in education must always seek new adventures and challenges for what we can achieve, and for what our children can achieve. Any athlete here will tell you that is the only way to improve. And every competition here proves just how right they are.

Over the last few decades, Special Olympics has started to transform the way people around the world think about what people with disabilities can do. Together, we can work to do the same in education.

Thank you.

One of THOSE and Proud of It!

I get so angry when people assume that because someone looks differently, acts differently, communicates differently, walks differently, etc. etc. that they are inferior in every way. As expected, the start of this new school year brings this very issue to light once again.

The teacher in Ashley’s classroom is new. Two of the three instructional assistants are new. These people are told how the classroom of children is labeled – children with severe and profound disabilities – and immediately assume the children have significant limitations. Rather than embrace each child as a unique human being with individual gifts, the label sets a standard on how the children will be taught, how they will be treated, and how they will compare to other less or non-disabled peers.

I must begin the same battles I fight each year to convince the school staff that my daughter is capable of learning, is a unique and special person, and is worthy of being treated just like any other human being. Her abilities must be defended over and over again. She must prove herself over and over again. The assumption is made that she cannot and will not act or be treated like the general education students, and further, that it would do a disservice to those general education students to even interact with Ashley.

Reactions to Ashley run the gamut from pity to unrealistic compliance and behavior expectations to almost no academic expectations. Why can’t people see her the way I saw her this summer – a fun-loving child who plays jokes on her brothers, delights in riding on a jet boat, has to be dragged out of the swimming pool each day, and laughs at my goofy attempts at humor? Why don’t they see her outgoing, strong-willed personality and her willingness to try anything once? If she only spoke Spanish, would they refuse to speak in any language but English? They are doing the same thing when they refuse to communicate with her in Sign Language. Why do they get angry or frustrated with her when she gets angry or frustrated when she is treated as a sub-human? Would these people treat any of their own family members the way they treat Ashley? I really understand now those parents who celebrated when their children with disabilities exited the school system.

I must admit that with each new school year my patience wears thinner and thinner. Collaboration was always my mantra when trying to work through issues relating to Ashley’s educational program, but I am growing weary of that approach also. I may have been one of those parents before, but starting this year, I am one of THOSE parents. Everyone has been warned...

ADA Anniversary

Today marks the 17th anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act. On this anniversary, I believe we should evaluate the progress we have made and commit ourselves to continuing the fight for equality. Justin Dart, renowned disability rights advocate who passed away in 2002, is considered to be the father of the ADA. Below are his comments on the signing of this landmark legislation.


ADA: Landmark Declaration of Equality By Justin Dart

President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990, a landmark date in the evolution of human culture.

Throughout all of reported history until recent decades, people perceived as having significant disabilities have been treated as sub-humans. At worst they were killed or left as beggar-outcasts to die, at best they were cared for through subsistence welfare, out of sight and mind in institutions and back rooms.

With the development of modern medicine and social responsibility, millions of 20th Century humans are surviving previously fatal conditions and living on with significant disabilities. These individuals have a great potential to be happy, productive members of their communities. However, our best efforts to fulfill this potential have been consistently limited by a massive residue of prejudice and paternalism. Our society is still infected by an insidious, now almost subconscious assumption that people with disabilities are less than fully human, and therefore are not fully eligible for the opportunities, services and support systems which are available to other people as a matter of right.

More than two decades ago many of us in the disability community concluded that Americans with disabilities would never achieve full, productive citizenship until this nation made a firm statement of law protecting their civil rights.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is such a law. It establishes a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. Taken in combination with previously existing disability rights law, it provides a sound legal framework for the practical implementation of the inalienable right of all people with disabilities to participate equally in the mainstream of society. It extends to people with disabilities the same protection of their rights that is already enjoyed by the members of all other minorities.

Most importantly, ADA is a landmark commandment of fundamental human morality. It is the world's first declaration of equality for people with disabilities by any nation. It will proclaim to America and to the world that people with disabilities are fully human; that paternalistic, discriminatory, segregationist attitudes are no longer acceptable; and that henceforth people with disabilities must be accorded the same personal respect and the same social and economic opportunities as other people.

ADA opens the doors of opportunity for millions of isolated, dependent Americans to become employees, taxpayers and welcome participants in the life of their communities. It prepares the way for the emancipation of more than half of a billion of the world's most oppressed people.

I am proud of America. I am proud of President Bush, Attorney General Thornburgh and Boyden Gray. I am proud of Senators Harkin, Hatch, Kennedy and Dole. I am proud of Congressmen Hoyer, Owens, Bartlett, Mineta, Fish, Brooks and all the great members of Congress who supported ADA. I am proud of former members Lowell Weicker and Tony Coelho. I am proud of Bob Silberstein, Bill Roper, John Wodatch, Melissa Schulman, Bob Tate, Maureen West and all the great Congressional and Administrative staff who authored and fought for ADA.

I am proud of Pat Wright, Lex Frieden, Evan Kemp, Sandra Parrino, Paul Marchand,
Wade Blank, Elizabeth Boggs, Liz Savage, Marca Bristo, Judy Heumann, Arlene Mayerson
and the thousands of other patriots who have struggled for long, hard years in a
wilderness of prejudice and paternalism for the victory of ADA.

Once again America has passed the torch of liberty and productivity to the world.

All who love justice must unite in action to protect our hard won ADA rights, and to ensure that they are implemented through strong regulations, and enforced in every community.

We of the disability community must communicate to America that full compliance with ADA can be profitable for all citizens, and we must join in cooperative action with government and the
private sector to ensure that all will profit.

But ADA is only the beginning. It is not a solution. Rather, it is an essential foundation on which solutions will be constructed.

We must undertake a courageous reallocation of our society's resources from paternalism to independence and productivity. We must invest in a continuum of new and strengthened programs to liberate people with disabilities from dependency, and empower them to be equal and productive participants in the mainstream: Productivity-oriented education for all citizens. Economic, technological, independent living, vocational rehabilitation, transitional, personal assistance and community based supports for productivity and quality of life. Prevention. Affordable insurance and health care for all. Incentives for productivity to replace disincentives. Accessible communications, transportation, housing, and completely new communities that are accessible as a whole.

A large agenda? Certainly! But no larger than that which faced our patriot forefathers at the successful conclusion of the revolutionary war.

Like them, we have accomplished much. Like them, we have a profound responsibility to make a bold declaration of equality real in the lives of hundreds of millions of people in future
generations.

I believe that we will unite to fulfill that responsibility. Because I believe in you, the patriots of ADA. And I believe in you, the patriots to be.

Together we have overcome. Together we shall overcome.