From the [Worcester, MA] Telegram and Gazette:

Massachusetts advocates and parents are worried about the proposed 2010 budget that cuts $7.4 million from day employment programs for people with intellectual disabilities.

The budget cut would mean lost jobs for people like 52-year-old Kimberly Lane (at left with her father, Rollin C. Lane). Kimberly has Down syndrome and has worked at the ARC Community Services in Fitchburg for the past 30 years.

If the funding is not restored, Kimberly and 6,000 others will have nothing to do but to sit at home or be placed outside the home.

“We’re really worried,” said [Leo V. Sarkissian, executive director of ARC of Massachusetts]. “Without this program they could be in situations that place them at risk. If parents have to work, they could end up needing residential services, which would cost more. In some cases, people would just be sitting at home and potentially doing nothing.”

(Telegram photo)

From the New York Times magazine:

Maria Shriver’s father, Sargent Shriver, is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She answers questions about her four-part series for HBO, “The Alzheimer’s Project.”

An excerpt:

Q: You are the co-producer of a four-part series for HBO, “The Alzheimer’s Project,” and I wonder if you’ve noticed that Alzheimer’s has become a popular and probably overused punch line now that baby boomers are turning gray and becoming more forgetful.

A: I like to make jokes; I consider myself a funny person. I just think making jokes about people who are in a situation beyond their control is not funny to them or their families.

Q: But is it permissible to joke at your own expense? As in: “I can’t find my keys. I must have incipient Alzheimer’s.”

A: If someone says to me, “I’m worried because I can’t find my keys,” I say, “You should only be worried if you put your keys in the refrigerator.”

(New York Times photo)

From the Des Moines Register and Radio Iowa:

The Iowa Department of Human Services has rejected a proposal from Iowa Protection and Advocacy to shutter the troubled Glenwood Resource center, an institution for 300 individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Top administrators at the Iowa Department of Human Services said they are meeting residents’ needs and remain committed to “excellence and dignity.”

Glenwood has been under federal scrutiny for the past 10 years and has not met court-ordered standards of care outlined in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice since 2004.

“Glenwood’s model of care is antiquated — it cannot be repaired or fixed,” said Iowa Protection and Advocacy in a report issued Thursday. “Despite runaway expenditures, Glenwood residents have died in the last 14 months at an alarming rate.”

See also: Close down Glenwood, advocates tell state – Des Moines Register

From Chicago Breaking News and the Chicago Tribune:

The Senate has unanimously confirmed Iraq war veteran and former Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth as an assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Duckworth was injured when the Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting during the Iraq conflict was hit with a  grenade.

(Associated Press photo)

From the Irish Times:

Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) is launching a campaign called  “My Opinions, My Vote“  hoping to give people with intellectual disabilities the knowledge and skills to form their own opinions and make educated political choices.

As part of the project, DSI has worked to translate the documents of European political parties into a simpler format. None of the documents the group has translated so far contains any reference to living with a disability.

The Weekly Standard profiles Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State. She’s a rarity: a pro-life female member of the House of Representatives. She’s also a Republican and the mother of son with Down syndrome.

Her son Cole inspired McMorris Rodgers to launch the bipartisan Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus last spring. She’s particularly concerned about the institutional barriers that stand in the way of  people with disabilities.

When Cole was born, the Rodgerses were advised not to put any assets in his name in order to increase his odds of qualifying for Medicaid. “I think there’s something wrong with the system that is driving a person into poverty rather than really focusing on, ‘Okay, how do we make this person self-sufficient and able to reach his full potential?” McMorris Rodgers [said].

… Indiana congressman and House Republican Conference chair Mike Pence said McMorris Rodgers has demonstrated “almost a Thatcheresque quality,” combining her pleasant, energetic demeanor with firmly held conservative principles. Pence credits her with bringing members of the Republican conference into the new media age. These qualities, as well as her willingness to work across the aisle, make her an appealing figure in a party seeking to attract young voters and women.

(Photo by Leslie Hernandez Brown)

App encourages gamers to simulate shaken baby syndrome

From the CNET News, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC:

Responding to complaints from child welfare groups, Apple pulled an application from its online store Wednesday that allowed gamers to simulate shaking a baby to death.

The 99-cent “Baby Shaker” iPhone app, unveiled Monday, presents the image and sound of a crying baby. With vigorous shaking by a user, red x-marks  cover the infant’s eyes to mark its death and the crying stops. The program reportedly is still available through its developer, Sikalosoft.

Shaken baby syndrome, a type of inflicted brain trauma that occurs when a baby is violently shaken, causes neurological damage and intellectual disability or death.

“See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!” reads the sales pitch for Baby Shaker.

… “Not only are they making fun of Shaken Baby Syndrome but they are actually encouraging it. This is absolutely terrible,” said Marilyn Barr, founder of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and a board member of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation.