From the [Portland] Oregonian:

Angela Jarvis-Holland and Abigail Braithwaite say Sarah Palin has boosted the awareness of people with disabilities during this campaign, but bipartisan and community-based efforts are needed to bring about real improvements.

Inclusion is about diversity, and the acknowledgment that this world is made up of people of all abilities, each with unique strengths and interests. When the community takes as a given that people with disabilities are entitled to the same opportunities as every other citizen, then we will have the support we need to bolster the good policy that already exists, and to encourage the people in positions of power to become our friends, to take up the issues that matter to us and create more, better policy in Washington.

So what are we parents asking for? We are asking for everyone — from presidential candidates to our next-door neighbors — to ask yourselves what you are doing to be a friend to people with disabilities.

Jarvis-Holland and Braithwaite are members of the Northwest Down Syndrome Association.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Campaign 2008, Down syndrome, advocacy, commentary, inclusion, law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.