From the Houston Chronicle:

Because of abuse, genetic issues and a lack of prenatal care, adoptive children are much more likely to struggle with learning disabilities, prompting their families to leave public schools in search of the extra help offered by often costly specialty schools.

While adoptive children account for 1 percent to 2 percent of the population, higher rates can be found in almost every mental health setting, including residential facilities and public school special education programs.

Educators at some private schools for children with disabilities say they have found adoption rates 20 times what would be expected in a typical classroom.

From the [UK] Telegraph, the [UK] Daily Mail, the [UK] Sun, and the [UK] Metro:

Office worker Kelly Knox, 24, who was born without a left forearm, wins the televised competition for Britain’s Missing Top Model on BBC3. Knox was subsequently awarded a Marie Claire magazine photo shoot and a modeling contract.

Promoters for the show said it aimed to change perceptions of beauty by searching for a model with a disability in an industry where people with disabilities are often excluded.

Knox was born with her condition, and decided to stop wearing a prosthetic when she was seven years old. “In my household we don’t use the word disabled. Never have done, never will do,” Knox said. “I don’t feel disabled but society will label me as being disabled.”

Marie Claire editor Marie O’Riordan said: “To get disability discussed on the sofas throughout the land is no mean feat and using a popular format of a reality show was a clever way of seducing viewers into a more complex world.

“We hope this does pave the way for girls with disabilities to get into modeling in the future.”

(Marie Claire photo in the Daily Mail)

• State office that serves people with disabilities has accessibility problems –  Austin [TX] American Statesman (accessibility)
• Group celebrates ADA anniversary with lawsuits — KXAN-TV, NBC affiliate in Austin, TX (ADA)
• Disabled vets’ courage on display at Wheelchair Games – Baltimore Sun (wheelchair)
• For-profit college settles with Justice Department over ADA compliance — Chronicle of Higher Education (ADA)
  
• Dyslexic student’s exams battle — BBC News (dyslexia)
  
• Group helps families cope with fetal alcohol syndrome — Tucson Citizen (fetal alcohol syndrome)
• Glasgow artist Peter Howson talks about why he is using his skills to draw attention to disability — [Edinburgh] Scotsman; Peter Howson: My murderous rage — [London] Times (Asperger’s)
• Conjoined twin separated from sister dies — AP/Boston Globe (disability news)
  
• U.S. facing possible hearing loss epidemic — Reuters (hearing loss)
  
• I couldn’t say the word ‘blind’ — [UK] Guardian (vision impairment)
• Universal design adds to housing value — Detroit News (accessibility)

Commemorating the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the campaigns of candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have released statements on disability issues.

McCain’s statement said he supports the House version of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and intends to support “a Senate version that adheres to the same principles.” McCain was a principal co-sponsor of the original ADA.

McCain stopped short of endorsing the Community Choice Act, saying:

“I will work to enact legislation that would build on the principles of the Money Follows the Person Initiative, while also keeping my commitment to a responsible budget. The offer of assistance in living with a disability should not come with the condition of perpetual confinement to an institutional setting. The great goal here should be to increase choices, to expand freedom, to open doors, and to allow citizens with disabilities to live where they want and to go where they wish.

Obama’s statement pledged support for the ADA Amendments Act and the Community Choice Act, as well as for full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). His comprehensive agenda on disability issues can be found here.

(Photos from campaign websites.)

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

In a unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that struck down special protections for victims of hate crimes who are gay, female or disabled.

The court ruled that the legislature had unlawfully inserted the hate-crime language into an unrelated measure.

Gov. Edward G. Rendell, through a spokesman, urged the Legislature to reinstate the statute immediately. “Removing protections from any class of people does not seem to fit any categories of equal protection,” said Rendell’s press secretary, Chuck Ardo.

Related story: Michigan bill would extend hate crime protections to gay, disabled people

From the [London] Telegraph, [UK] Guardian, [UK] Independent:

Patients are being ignored and their conditions left undiagnosed or untreated because some parts of the National Health Service see only their disability and not their illness, the results of a year-long inquiry ordered by the [UK] government concluded.

The inquiry was ordered after the UK charity Mencap reported on a number of people with intellectual disabilities who reportedly died as the result of inadequate care.

Twenty-six-year-old Emma Kemp was denied treatment for cancer, her family claimed, because doctors considered her “uncooperative.” A 43-year-old man with a stroke went without food in a hospital for 26 days because he could not speak up for himself. Both people died.

The government inquiry reported that these cases were “not isolated incidents.” It recommended that medical staff should receive extra training on how to treat people with disabilities.

Sir Jonathan Michael, who chaired the inquiry, said:

“It was shocking to find that the experiences in the Mencap report were not isolated. People with learning disabilities have worse health and find it harder to access services than the rest of the population. They experience unnecessary suffering and deaths are occurring that could have been prevented. Staff are doing their best but the service is not making the reasonable adjustments [to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities] that the law requires.”

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

A bill signed recently by Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell will require private insurers to cover diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, up to $36,000 annually, for those under 21. That includes coverage for applied behavioral analysis therapy.

Rendell and others who championed the issue believe Pennsylvania’s autism-insurance law is among the strongest in the country. They may be right, many autism advocates say.

Critics worry that the measure will create new problems.