I read a blog on the Business Week site entitled "Do Kids with Disabilities Strain or Strengthen our Schools?". Interesting discussion about the pros and cons of integrated school settings. Dan Habib is an author and award-winning photojournalist and wrote about the prejudice he once held against kids and adults with disabilities. “When I saw people who couldn’t walk or talk … It’s painful to admit, but I often saw them as less smart, less capable, and not worth getting to know.”
Dan now has a young son with Cerebral Palsy and has changed his tune. Changed his tune because now understands that inclusion is important for social change and unity. Dan has created a documentary that will be shown on Kansas City's KCPT at 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 22. I think if you view the trailer, you'll deem this to be a "must see"! I know I won't be missing this program.
http://www.includingsamuel.com/home.aspx
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Disability Rights On the Move!
After being boycotted for years by the Bush administration, I was pleased to learn that the U.S. recently “did the right thing” (my words) by signing a United Nations treaty urging equal protection and equal benefits under the law for the 650 million people with disabilities worldwide (10% of the global population). The treaty will be submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification.
I consider this an event worthy of front-page news although alas, it was not!
This “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” is the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century adopted by the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, signed the treaty on behalf of the United States, joining 141 other countries that also supported the measure.
The Convention calls on all nations to guarantee rights consistent with those afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act, urges equal protection and equal benefit before the law for all citizens, and affirms the inherent dignity, worth, and independence of all persons with disabilities worldwide.
Surely it was no accident that this Convention was signed just a few days after the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a proclamation adopted this summer, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) celebrated local progress resulting from the landmark ADA legislation while acknowledging that there is still much left to do.
On the morning of October 1st, the BOCC will again publically push for expanded disability rights by designating October 2009 as “”Disability Employment Awareness Month” in Johnson County. This year’s theme, “Expectation + Opportunity = Full Participation” underscores the vital role that expectations play in our successes as individuals and as a society. Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month in 1988.
Here at JCDS, we are grateful for the support of the BOCC, and of the Johnson County community, in anticipating the full participation of people with disabilities in the workforce. Most of all, we look to their partnership in providing access to a full range of employment choices for the people we serve.
And there is so much left to do! In statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor just last month, the percent of people with disabilities in the labor forces was 22.2 compared with 71.2 for persons without disabilities. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was nearly double the 9.3 percent for persons with no disability.
So we must continue raising the bar; we must create the inexorable expectation that people with disabilities can and will contribute in every way to our economic successes and the diversity of our neighborhoods. Only by nurturing this expectation and providing people with disabilities with employment opportunities can we raise the quality of life for all.
I consider this an event worthy of front-page news although alas, it was not!
This “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” is the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century adopted by the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, signed the treaty on behalf of the United States, joining 141 other countries that also supported the measure.
The Convention calls on all nations to guarantee rights consistent with those afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act, urges equal protection and equal benefit before the law for all citizens, and affirms the inherent dignity, worth, and independence of all persons with disabilities worldwide.
Surely it was no accident that this Convention was signed just a few days after the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a proclamation adopted this summer, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) celebrated local progress resulting from the landmark ADA legislation while acknowledging that there is still much left to do.
On the morning of October 1st, the BOCC will again publically push for expanded disability rights by designating October 2009 as “”Disability Employment Awareness Month” in Johnson County. This year’s theme, “Expectation + Opportunity = Full Participation” underscores the vital role that expectations play in our successes as individuals and as a society. Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month in 1988.
Here at JCDS, we are grateful for the support of the BOCC, and of the Johnson County community, in anticipating the full participation of people with disabilities in the workforce. Most of all, we look to their partnership in providing access to a full range of employment choices for the people we serve.
And there is so much left to do! In statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor just last month, the percent of people with disabilities in the labor forces was 22.2 compared with 71.2 for persons without disabilities. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was nearly double the 9.3 percent for persons with no disability.
So we must continue raising the bar; we must create the inexorable expectation that people with disabilities can and will contribute in every way to our economic successes and the diversity of our neighborhoods. Only by nurturing this expectation and providing people with disabilities with employment opportunities can we raise the quality of life for all.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Autism Speaks Video
Autism Speaks is hosting their second annual world focus on autism. Read the article for more information and be sure to watch the video. Very powerful...
http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/united_nations_world_focus_on_autism_2009.php
http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/united_nations_world_focus_on_autism_2009.php
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Adam, a movie about a man with autism
Click on the link to read the review and view the movie trailer of the new film Adam, a film about a young man with a form of austism called Aspergers Syndrome.
http://screencrave.com/2009-07-30/adam-movie-review/
http://screencrave.com/2009-07-30/adam-movie-review/
Friday, September 18, 2009
Autism Awareness
Youtube is an incredible tool! Watch this video distributed on autism awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfcBB74k0Sc
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Ten Great Traits of Parents of Children with Special Needs
Joan Celebi is a mother of 2 special needs children and the founder of specialneedsparentscoach.com. Following is her list of ten great traits of parents of children with special needs. I found her list to be powerful and hope you do too!
10. Camaraderie: meet someone new + find out they have a child with special needs = instant friend.
9. Sense of humor – it carries us through even the worst of days
8. Appreciation – for what's truly important in life
7. Determination – a "do whatever it takes" attitude
6. Vigilance – often anticipating and heading off potential problems before they happen
5. Empathy – for others facing challenges in life, whatever those challenges may be
4. Intellectual prowess – from reading all those research studies!
3. Resourcefulness – more often than not, we find a way or make a way
2. Strength – mental, emotional, and physical -- and stamina, too
1. Courage – we face challenges head on that we once could never have fathomed
10. Camaraderie: meet someone new + find out they have a child with special needs = instant friend.
9. Sense of humor – it carries us through even the worst of days
8. Appreciation – for what's truly important in life
7. Determination – a "do whatever it takes" attitude
6. Vigilance – often anticipating and heading off potential problems before they happen
5. Empathy – for others facing challenges in life, whatever those challenges may be
4. Intellectual prowess – from reading all those research studies!
3. Resourcefulness – more often than not, we find a way or make a way
2. Strength – mental, emotional, and physical -- and stamina, too
1. Courage – we face challenges head on that we once could never have fathomed
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Kansas City Star Editorial about JCDS and DD funding
Click on the link to read the article from the Star's Editorial on Sunday, September 6, first story in a three-part series!
http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/1426640.html
http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/1426640.html
Friday, September 4, 2009
Letter to the Editor KC Star 9/4/09
Special-needs children bring blessings
Thank you for the article on the Spurlock family (8/16, A1, “Family embraces two babies with special needs”). Families with a child having a disability realize both blessings and challenges. The blessings come through experiencing unconditional love and the discovery of patience and empathy. The challenges are wrought by broken dreams, of “what could have been.”
Typical decisions made by most families are anything but “typical” for families of a child with a disability. How does one handle teasing, a seizure in public, a stranger’s stare? What is the best way to ensure quality time with other family members? How do you juggle enormous medical bills, keep the family safe from aggressive behaviors or find a flexible job? How does one access a critical therapy or a new wheelchair?
Typically, parents dream of seeing their children grow old. Parents of children with a disability worry about what will happen if their child outlives them.
Get to know a family raising a child with a disability. Share their blessings and challenges. It will enrich your lives as well.
Lurena Mead
Community relations
manager, Johnson County
Developmental Supports,
Thank you for the article on the Spurlock family (8/16, A1, “Family embraces two babies with special needs”). Families with a child having a disability realize both blessings and challenges. The blessings come through experiencing unconditional love and the discovery of patience and empathy. The challenges are wrought by broken dreams, of “what could have been.”
Typical decisions made by most families are anything but “typical” for families of a child with a disability. How does one handle teasing, a seizure in public, a stranger’s stare? What is the best way to ensure quality time with other family members? How do you juggle enormous medical bills, keep the family safe from aggressive behaviors or find a flexible job? How does one access a critical therapy or a new wheelchair?
Typically, parents dream of seeing their children grow old. Parents of children with a disability worry about what will happen if their child outlives them.
Get to know a family raising a child with a disability. Share their blessings and challenges. It will enrich your lives as well.
Lurena Mead
Community relations
manager, Johnson County
Developmental Supports,
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
'Underdiagnosed' Girls With Autism Struggle to Fit In
Interesting video/article on girls and autism!
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=4177353&page=1
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=4177353&page=1
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