Clay Boatright, writing in the Dallas Morning News, says institutionalization and abuse against people with disabilities are not a thing of the past, as was implied by the script of a recent episode of Law & Order.

Families continue to face almost insurmountable physical, emotional and financial strains because of lack of support, he says, as they face years-long waiting lists to get community-based services for their loved ones. But there is no waiting list if people are willing to put their loved ones in institutions that are under federal investigation for alleged abuse.

An excerpt:

The lack of adequate care for people with disabilities is pervasive. Earlier this week, local news aired video from a Dallas County school bus showing a driver choking a student with disabilities.

… Caring for people is a matter of choice. Our state lawmakers can choose to end the waiting lists, while the federal government can choose to provide funds to upgrade education, housing and employment options. Our schools can choose to improve staff training and provide quality programs and supports.

Our churches can choose to respond to God’s word and “treat with special honor” those he created differently.

While these choices are not cheap, the costs pale in comparison to the destruction of families who have no choice at all.

Clay Boatright is president of The Arc of Dallas, and serves on the board of directors for The Arc of Texas.

From CNN, Los Angeles Times and elsewhere:

A new federal report concludes that Gulf War Syndrome is a real and debilitating condition suffered by more than 175,000 American veterans, or roughly one in four who served in the 1990-1991 conflict.

Gulf War Syndrome is characterized by memory and concentration problems, persistent headaches, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, chronic digestive problems, respiratory symptoms and skin rashes. No effective treatment or cure has been found.

The report was chartered by Congress because many members thought veterans were not receiving adequate care. It says the condition was probably caused by exposure to toxic chemicals and anti-nerve gas vaccinations.

See also: Op-ed: A grateful nation needs to do more – By Tim Rutten in the Los Angeles Times

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Appearing on ‘The Daily Show,’ comedian Denis Leary insists his comments on autism have been taken out of context. (Video here.)

Leary’s new book, “Why We Suck,” includes a chapter called “Autism, Schmautism.” He says the chapter is a critique of parents who seek disability designations and special privileges for children who do not actually have autism.

Stewart, deadpan, thumbing through the book: “Most of this is gibberish, Denis.’

From the Boston Herald, an excerpt of Leary’s book includes the following:

“There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumbass kids can’t compete academically so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks and psychotherapists to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don’t give a (expletive) what these crackerjack whackjobs tell you – yer kid is NOT autistic. He’s just stupid. Or lazy. Or both.”

(Daily Show photo)

An excerpt of a column by Marney Rich Keenan in the Detroit News:

What inspired Annie Lubliner Lehmann to write a memoir about raising her autistic 25-year-old son Jonah was not a success story or a happily-ever-after ending. It was not a triumph over silence, a disappearance of the disability through diet or a breakthrough in the obsessive mind.

What inspired her was the power of acceptance: acceptance that Jonah, like thousands of other individuals who suffer from severe autism, will never develop self-help skills, never achieve independence, never say “I love you, Mom” without being coached word for word, and never have a life where every hour in his day is not guided by others.

… The book has drawn accolades from educators and autism experts.

Lehmann’s book, “The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from My Silent Son” is self-published through AuthorHouse and available from Amazon.com.

(Detroit News photo)

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

JoEllen Kessler thinks her son’s second-grade classmates would be more accepting of him if they understood his autism, so she makes classroom presentations and answers questions about his disability. “I think teachers in general are overwhelmed with responsibilities, and we don’t always feel like we’re the experts in everything,” said Lisa Hamlett, a school counselor. “Hearing it straight from Ryan’s mom was really beneficial for everyone.”

Autism experts say Kessler’s approach is important and somewhat uncommon; most parents don’t feel comfortable enough to do it.

Having Ryan in a class with children who understand that they can help is a great asset for Ryan’s development, Kessler wrote in a note sent home to parents the day of her presentation. “The best tool for any child with autism is a strong support group.”

Writing in the Washington Post, Jayne Lytel recounts her journey with her son Leo, who was labeled as autistic at age 2. She put her life on hold to assure that Leo had appropriate early intervention services — in his case, up to 35 hours a week of seven different therapies. Now that Leo is nine, Lytel can report that he’s made great strides, no matter whether or not scientists decide he has “recovered.” An excerpt:

I won’t say that all the traits that led to Leo’s diagnosis have disappeared. But the ones that remain are not unique to children with autism spectrum disorders.

For all his achievements, he is a spirited little boy with hair-trigger emotions that can overtake him when he cannot bend the world to his will. His behavior is sometimes compulsive. In Freudian terms, he is all id.

As for me, I became the socially isolated person I worked so hard to keep Leo from becoming. My social network disintegrated in the years that I immersed myself in Leo’s recovery.

Jayne Lytel is author of  “Act Early Against Autism: Give Your Child a Fighting Chance From the Start” (Perigee).

See a Q&A with Lytel and Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine, here.

John Railey, writing in the Winston-Salem Journal, says North Carolina governor-elect Bev Perdue should make good on her promise to recognize and assist people who were victims of the state’s involuntary sterilization program.

The state sterilized more than 7,600 people between 1929 and 1974 as part of a eugenics program that sought to “better” society by preventing “feeble-minded” people from reproducing.

As she ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, Perdue promised to financially compensate the victims through a foundation, and indicated that she wanted to make the health-care and education benefits a reality.

… As the state’s first woman governor, Bev Perdue should show the rest of the world that North Carolina really is a progressive place by delivering the help that this state has long owed these victims. North Carolina won’t ever leave this dark chapter behind until that happens.