Woman with Down syndrome inspires families in Washington state – KNDO/KNDU-TV, Yakima, Washington — Karen Gaffney (left) speaks out about her experiences earning a regular high school diploma and a degree from Portland Community College, swimming across Lake Tahoe, and participating in a relay team that swam the English Channel. Says Gaffney:

“I’ve changed all that data.  I’ve changed their doubts. I have improved and inspired so many lives, spread my messages of being fully included in a regular classroom setting.”

Link to video here; earlier video of Karen Gaffney on the NBC Today show here.

People with Down syndrome live fully — letter to the Sacramento Bee from Elaine Linn. An excerpt:

People with Down syndrome go to school, work, have meaningful relationships, make decisions about their lives and live independently. They become dedicated employees and loyal friends.

… There’s something terribly wrong with a society that purportedly values diversity yet places a distinct lack of value on people who aren’t “perfect.” I don’t know one perfect person and it’s hard to understand this willing acceptance of terminating pregnancies based on inaccurate information about potential “imperfections.” Yet it exists 90 percent of the time with Down syndrome.

Avoid Tropic Thunder, a cruel comedy — by Eric Johnson in the Grand Forks, ND, Herald

The fact is that even among the various species of hate speech, ridicule of those with retardation is unique in its brutishness. Unlike racial minorities, religious adherents or the physically disabled, those with developmental disabilities cannot well defend themselves with wit and well-crafted retorts. That’s why the arguments of Downey and Black — that everyone has the right to say whatever they want — are especially hollow.

New system for developmentally disabled is needed — Sheila Romano in the Springfield, IL, Journal Register (institutionalization, housing)

Taking the fear out of difference — Baltimore Sun (education, attitudes)

(more…)

From Scientific American, the New York Times:

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, says he has a genetic mutation that increases his likelihood of getting Parkinson’s disease, a condition which is shared by his mother and her aunt.

Brin discovered the genetic mutation in a test from 23andMe, his wife’s gene-screening company. He estimated his risk of getting the disease at somewhere between 20 percent and 80 percent.

Forbes magazine recently estimated Brin’s personal fortune at $15.9 billion. He said he may help provide more money for research into the disease.

(Photo from Scientific American)

From the [UK] Telegraph, Associated Press, Time Magazine, UK Times and elsewhere. Video from the [UK] Telegraph.

British comedian Russell Brand hosted the MTV Video Music Awards last night and received mixed reactions after encouraging the audience to vote for Barack Obama and calling President George Bush a “retarded cowboy.”

Here’s the exact quote, pulled from video of the broadcast (above):

“Some people, some people, I think they’re called racists, say America is not ready for a black president. But I know America to be a forward thinking country, right, because otherwise, you know, would you have let that retarded cowboy fella be president for eight years?”

The awards show had been hyped as a comeback appearance for Britney Spears, but the [UK] Times reported that she and Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus appeared “horrified” during Brand’s quip about Bush. Brand also joked about chastity vows taken by the Jonas Brothers, a hot young rock band.

Commenters to the MTV site criticized Brand’s insertion of political themes into an entertainment event, but few challenged his use of language. Comments can be seen here. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.)

From the standpoint of history, the Republican convention seemed to mark a watershed moment for the disability community at large.

Sarah Palin’s speech last night included a rousing commitment to the disability community. Her baby son Trig was featured prominently in the news coverage of the convention, and she held him in her arms as she acknowledged uproarious applause from the crowd.

But what does the McCain-Palin candidacy really mean to the disability community?

A few questions to consider:

• Is Trig Palin’s presence on the stage and on the campaign trail likely to create a greater understanding and acceptance of people with Down syndrome and other disabilities?
• Is Gov. Palin’s pledge to advocate on behalf of “families of special needs children” a promise she’d carry out if elected?
• Are people who care about disability rights issues likely to support the McCain-Palin ticket over the Obama-Biden ticket?
• What do people in the disability community think about the ongoing debate over Palin’s role as a mother? Should parents (especially mothers) of children with disabilities hold challenging professional positions?
• What impact will the Palin family have, if any, on the rates of prenatal diagnosis and selective termination for Down syndrome?
• How will Trig fare over the next months of the campaign, and if his mother is elected? Do you think it’s appropriate for his parents to have brought him into the international spotlight? And …
• How can we convince the media to stop using terms like “Down syndrome child,” “Down’s child,” and “Down child”? (Screen shot from the home page of the Washington Post.)

Please post your comments.

Cure me of deafness? No thanks — [UK] Telegraph

Well done to those scientists who have found they can trigger the growth of new hair cells in the inner ears of mice — a discovery that could eventually restore hearing in human beings. But I’m fine, thanks, and if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to switch you all off now.

Maryland prepares sports program for kids with disabilities — Baltimore Sun

91 percent of people with disabilities believe they don’t have a political voice — Marketwatch.com

Girl with Asperger’s builds confidence in beauty pageants — New Orleans Times-Picayune

Boy with autism a success story in regular classes — Modesto [CA] Bee

Two worlds collide: Wider knowledge of sign language needed — Irish Independent

Sports program helps kids with autism build skills — Newsday

Buffett’s sister supports respite home for people with intellectual disabilities — Boston Globe

Woman’s choice: Hearing or life – ABC Good Morning America

Britain’s Thatcher has dementia — New York Times (free registration required)

Aspen faces special ed crunch — Aspen Times

Susan Senator, writing in the Washington Post’s “On Faith” section, says there’s nothing wrong with being retarded. What’s wrong, she says, is the use of the word “retard” as an insult, designed to reduce a person to only one trait. Senator would like to help people appreciate the “loveliness and complexity” of people like her son Nat, who has a cognitive impairment. An excerpt:

So I got to thinking some more about the case against the word “retarded,” especially in light of the recent uproar over the movie “Tropic Thunder”. And I really feel that the campaign to stop using the “R” word just does not get at the heart of things. Pure censure is something people feel in their heads, in their shame-reddened faces. But do they feel it in their souls? Can they try to understand that there’s not just one way to be, that God works in mysterious ways, as they say, and that you never know how a person - whether retarded or Rhodes Scholar - might affect you at your core. Understanding that will make a difference..

Maybe, instead of stamping out the “R” word, we could come up with a tag line that gets the offenders to think, for a change. A new slogan, something like: “‘Retarded.’ It’s more than you know.” After all, there is far more power in facing something, naming it, and confidently owning it, than there is by running from it. After all, we are much more than our IQ score.

See also:

Words can hurt — letter by Paula Stanovich to the Los Angeles Times. Stanovich is a professor of special education at Portland State University. (See extended version, which appeared earlier as a comment on this website.)

Making fun of a serious disability — letter to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Some words hurt — letter to the Salt Lake Tribune

New film raises disability issues — letter to the Charleston Post and Courier

‘Thunder’ just cruel to nation’s disabled — letter to Baltimore Sun

Film shows ‘heartless ridicule’ by using word ‘retard’ – [Warren, NJ] Reporter

‘Tropic Thunder’: Hollywood still doesn’t get it — Lawrence Carter-Long in disaboom.com

Hollywood can ill afford to dismiss the views of disabled advocates and their allies now. It didn’t have to be this way, but by failing to consider the nations ‘largest minority’ Dreamworks created the controversy themselves.

Disrespecting the disabled belittles us all — Mary Yoder in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I implore you to think twice before using derogatory terms or laughing at people because they have disabilities. Consider reaching out to someone who has an intellectual disability and find the gifts she/he brings to family and community, or talk to an employer who knows firsthand that people with intellectual disabilities make great employees. I ask you to put people first, period.

Youth sports buzz: Another word to ban on your team — Jon Buzby in the Norwich, CT, Bulletin

Kids often look up to their youth sports coaches more than any other influential person in their lives, including us parents. Schools already don’t tolerate the term. If we add one more heavily-populated place that doesn’t accept it — youth sports organizations — we can really make a difference. And when you think about it, isn’t that why we all coach youth sports?

Protests miss the point of ‘Tropic Thunder’ — James Bowman in the American Spectator

The right to cause offense; Protests at new satirical film are misplaced — David Thomson in the UK Guardian

Disabilities are not a punchline — letter to tricities.com in southwest Virginia

People with intellectual disabilities deserve respect — letter to the Daily Breeze in Cumberland, RI

Reasons why the film’s use of ‘retarded’ is offensive — letter to the Bloomington, IL, Pantagraph