Back in the day when my children were tiny, I worked 60-hour weeks as a senior editor at the LA Times Magazine. I depended heavily on the kindness of babysitters and preschool teachers, but the wheels pretty much stayed on the bus until Margaret was diagnosed with leukemia.

After that, it quickly became clear that my husband and I couldn’t manage two kids (one with both an intellectual disability and a chronic life-threatening illness) AND two high-powered jobs. If our family was going to survive, one of the jobs had to go. I left the Times — a great loss for me, but one that seemed unavoidable.

Now that almost 20 years have passed, I often wonder whether the choices are less stark for parents who find themselves in similar circumstances today. Job or family? Family or job? Do people have to choose?

An in-depth story in today’s New York Times Magazine attempts to answer that question – and I guess I’m not surprised to learn things haven’t changed all that much for families despite the passage of landmark federal legislation. Or rather, things are much the same but a lot more lawyers are involved.

Writer Eyal Press introduces us to a woman who lost her job after her baby was born 16 weeks early, a man who was denied a request for time off to care for his ill wife and child, and a woman who was terminated after requesting a different work schedule so she could attend her son’s therapy sessions. He traces lawsuit after lawsuit, discussing the issues in light of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Here’s how the headline frames the debate: “Do workers have a fundamental right to care for the families?” and “The latest front in the job-discrimination battle.”

– Alzheimer’s advocates counter misconceptions among minority communities. From the Boston Globe. The campaign is part of an effort to address cultural barriers to dementia care among African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos and other groups.

“Driving the initiatives is concern that increasing numbers of African-Americans and Latinos are at high risk of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia because they have cardiovascular disease or diabetes, and because they are reaching their 60s, 70s and 80s, when dementia typically strikes.”

– Tips for planning vacations for people with disabilities. From the Dallas Morning News.

– Harvard business school student with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) uses B-school techniques to encourage research into drug treatments. From the Boston Globe.

This American Life rebroadcasts an hour show called “Special Ed,” featuring segments on people “who were told that they’re different. Some of them were comfortable with it. Some didn’t understand it. And some understood, but didn’t like it.” You can listen to the program or download the podcast here.

From the promo:

“Ira Glass talks with a bunch of special ed students. By and large, they thought of themselves as regular kids-until each experienced a shocking moment of revelation when they discovered that they were not the same as other kids, and that the other kids already knew that…and had known for a long time.”

From one of the interviews:

“You kind of think of yourself as regular until these teachers and people in high authority are telling you you’re not the same as everybody else. So you have to figure out – so okay – why am I different?”

The BBC reports that a new law passed by the European parliament will improve air travel for people with disabilities. Under the new rules, airlines will no loger be able to refuse to fly people because they have disabilities.

Just 17 years ago, our family was so preoccupied with Margaret’s medical and educational needs that we didn’t even notice the passage of the ADA. Similarly, any improvements that the ADA may have made to Margaret’s life were certainly not obvious to us, as we struggled to get her a decent education in a largely unresponsive local school district.

With luck, this blog will help me catch up on what I missed, about the ADA as well as other disability-related developments. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, here are a few more documents relating to the act’s anniversary.
– Proclamation from President Bush
– Statement from Hillary Clinton, pledging to expand economic opportunity for individuals with disabilities
– Statement from John Edwards, calling for Congress to strengthen the ADA

Team Type 1 in training. Photo by New York Times

The New York Times reports that athletes with Type 1 diabetes are “blasting out of the starting gate in full force.”

Because of new technology, the emergence of companies that help them manage their illness, the rise of successful role models and sheer determination, they are running marathons, doing 100-mile bike rides, completing Ironmen – many with their doctor’s blessing.

A recent article in Forbes perpetuates the stereotypical view of special education as a benefit program for wealthy parents who sue school districts for costly and unnecessary programs.

“… the explosion in autism diagnoses has been a boon to lawyers who represent parents dissatisfied with the level of education their autistic kids are getting. Usually well-off, these parents don’t hesitate to hire a lawyer to seek extra services or private school tuition.”

The author recounts stories of million-dollar legal judgments, and suggests that autism diagnoses are booming because savvy parents and lawyers are seeking to profit by working the system. The article, by Mary Ellen Egan, can be purchased here.