Jewish community draws strength from children with disabilities – [Cleveland] Plain Dealer (Down syndrome)

Editorial: Bill unites two opposites – Hutchinson, KS, News (prenatal testing)

I am … an artist with autism - Hartford [CT] Courant (autism)

A young voice for autism, athletics - Boston Globe (autism)

Documentary stars Paralympic athletes – Vancouver Sun (athletics)

Helping kids break stereotypes – Christian Science Monitor (education)

Disabled vets forced to battle VA for benefits - [Portland] Oregonian (veterans)

Teen with Down syndrome voted homecoming king — Great Falls [Montana] Tribune (Down syndrome)

Police say Portland ‘caretakers’ abused developmentally-delayed pair – [Portland] Oregonian (intellectual disabilities)

Portland couple charged with abuse of elderly couple – AP/Seattle Times (intellectual disabilities)

Farm employs, feeds developmentally disabled – Olympian (Down syndrome, autism, Williams syndrome)

Seattle man pleads guilty to slaying his developmentally disabled roommate – Seattle Times (intellectual disabilities)

Event celebrates ‘miracle’ nature of people with Down syndrome – Modesto [CA] Bee (Down syndrome)

Couple launches business with help of mentors – Bakersfield Californian (intellectual disabilities)

From the Omaha World-Herald:

This month, Nebraska families dropped off 15 children, some as old as 17, at hospitals and a police station in search of help taking care of them. Some of the children have mental and behavioral problems.

Unlike laws in other states, Nebraska’s new safe haven law does not set an age limit for families that wish to drop off children to be cared for by the state. Other states set a maximum age of one year old.

Families and advocates say the cases expose the difficulties and lack of resources that families face. Officials at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services say the cases raise no concerns about problems within the system.

“The parents simply decided they did not want to continue on this journey with their kids,” said Todd Landry, children and family services director.

See also:

Father leaves 9 children at Nebraska hospital — Chicago Tribune

Children left at Nebraska hospitals — Chicago Tribune

Nebraska ‘safe haven’ law for kids has unintended results – USA Today

The White House has released the photo of President George W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, in the Oval Office.

Joining him for the signing of the law that amends the ADA Act of 1990, are, from left: Former President George H.W. Bush, Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and his spouse, Cheryl Sensenbrenner; Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland; Republican Rep. Buck McKeon of California; Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York; Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa); Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.); Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

(White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Earlier post here.

From the Jackson, TN, Sun:

Residents of North Madison County in Tennessee have organized in opposition to a proposal to build group homes there for people with developmental disabilities, arguing that the homes would drive down property values and bring undesirable people into their neighborhoods.

The homes are planned to replace an aging, institutional-style facility that is being closed in the wake of a federal lawsuit over the treatment of people with disabilities in the state.

Related op-ed: Developmentally disabled have rights, just like everybody else — By Peter Watson. An excerpt:

To me, the issue is, do these people have a right to live in a decent home in a decent neighborhood? To me, the answer is yes.

(more…)

Exemption from exit exams is not what special kids need — Editorial in the Sacramento Bee:

The paper’s editors urge the governor to veto a bill that would would “require school districts to give high school diplomas to special ed students who have not passed the exit exam.”

Special education bills merit signature — an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee by Gloria Romero

The senate majority leader says the bills would give students different ways of demonstrating mastery of course material.

Earlier post here.

The Vancouver Sun documents the case of 27-year-old Barbara Gamble, a woman whose five children have been taken away from her by the state. She is now expecting her sixth. Gamble (left, with partner Vince Kinney) has been deemed by social workers and the courts as an unfit mother. She has an intellectual disability and has never held a job. An exerpt:

She is considered unfit to parent primarily because she isn’t as smart as everyone else and there aren’t enough support services to bridge the gap.

Barbara scores between 63 and 71 on the standard IQ test, “mildly mentally handicapped” as they put it in the reports.

… Canada stopped sterilizing handicapped women four decades ago, but lawyer Mark Hargrave says the government has effectively achieved the same goal by seizing Barbara’s children at birth.

• Parents in name only, part 1
• Parents in name only, part 2
• Couple’s fight to parent troubling
• Support, not sterilization, is the missing ingredient
• Editorial: The difficult decisions social workers make every day
• Op-ed: ‘Government should not discriminate’

From the Rocky Mountain News:

An initiative on Colorado’s November ballot would increase the state’s sales tax by 2 cents on every $10 to fund services for adults and children with developmental disabilities.

The goal of Amendment 51 is to reduce the state’s waiting list of more than 12,000 children and adults with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, who are waiting for immediate care or lifelong services.

The measure would raise an estimated $186 million by 2010, doubling annual state funding to $370 million for services such as around-the-clock supervision, residential homes, nursing services and basic job training.

See also:

• Disabled are deserving, but Colorado can’t afford a rate hike — Denver Post editorial
• Yes on Amendment 51: Who is more deserving than the developmentally disabled? — Rocky Mountain News editorial