From the Montreal Gazette, CBC News:

A French family is making a public appeal to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds after their application for permanent residency was rejected because their seven-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy.

Rachel Barlagne was deemed “medically inadmissable” because her disability would pose an “excessive burden” on the state. According to court documents, the “excessive burden” amounts to $5,200 per year for special education.

“We hope the immigration minister understands our situation and takes steps to allow us to stay,” David Barlagne said outside Federal Court in Montreal, where his lawyers are fighting to keep his family in the country. “We are determined to do whatever we have to to stay in Canada.”

Earlier post here.

(Photo from CBC News)

From the Jackson [MI] Citizen Patriot:

Michigan’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has accused a local school district of breaking the law by preventing a 5-year-old with cerebral palsy from bringing her service dog to school.

Ehlena Fry’s parents argue that her medically prescribed, certified service dog, Wonder, must accompany her to school in order to help her to become an independent member of the community. Ehlena’s IEP team in the Napoleon Community Schools concluded that the girl’s needs are being met by her full-time classroom aide.

“To force a 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy to choose between her independence and her education is not only illegal, it is heartless,” said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director.

Community members helped the Frys raise more than $13,000 last year to get the dog from 4 Paws for Ability.

Editors of the Montreal Gazette say the Canadian government has made a “bad mistake” and should reverse its decision to expel a family of French immigrants because one of their daughters has cerebral palsy.

Computer software business owner David Barlagne and his wife brought their family from Paris to Montreal in 2005 after being told there would be no barriers to their becoming permanent residents. But government officials later informed them that their seven-year-old daughter Rachel is “medically inadmissible” and “risks giving rise to an excessive burden on social or health services.”

An excerpt:

If word gets out about how badly Canada has treated the Barlagne family, we won’t have to worry about over-shooting our targets for top-calibre immigrants for years to come.

See also: Family threatened with deportation due to daughter’s illness — CTV.com

(Montreal Gazette photo)

From ABC Good Morning America: (with video)

Flame, a rock group from upstate New York, is believed to be the only touring rock group in the world that is composed solely of people with disabilities. Among the band members are people with conditions that include Down syndrome, cognitive delays, autism, cerebral palsy and blindness. Lead singer Michelle King (above) has autism. Member David LaGrange grew up in an institution.

The group was formed six years ago in Gloversville, NY, after an area talent contest turned up several accomplished musicians with intellectual disabilities. It has since blossomed, with CDs, t-shirts, a tour bus, a world tour, and a performance at Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s funeral last summer.

The musicians’ goal is have their music played on radio stations everywhere and to demonstrate what the disabled can do if they’re given the opportunity.

“Our disability will not stop us,” LaGrange said. “We keep going and the more we keep going, we want more people to see what we do.”

From ABC News (with video):

Two teacher’s aides are facing felony criminal charges for allegedly abusing Montana middle school students with disabilities last year.

Witnesses have accused Julie Parish and Kristina Marie Kallies of abusing 14-year Garret Schilling, who has Fragile X syndrome and limited verbal skills, by holding his head under running water, making him eat his own vomit, and leaving him sitting in his own feces for prolonged periods.

Other families have also come forward with allegations of abuse, including one report that a girl with cerebral palsy came home with chunks of hair missing.

The aides have resigned but deny the allegations.

See also:

Great Falls educators open window on special ed in wake of abuse charges — Great Falls Tribune

Editorial: Sunshine could help reassure special-needs community — Great Falls Tribune

Attorney general won’t investigate alleged school abuse — Great Falls Tribune

Special Ed Teacher Accused of Abusing Students — [Nashville, TN] WSMV

Lawsuit claims teacher abused special needs students — Nashville Newschannel5

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

A New Jersey plan to open a state Office of Autism Services has drawn mixed reactions from disability advocates. While parents express enthusiasm, experts in the disability community say the state is creating a two-tiered system that favors one diagnosis at the expense of people with other disabilities.

The governor’s Adults with Autism Task Force recommended that the state also make improvements in housing, job training, education, transportation and financial security for people with autism after age 21. Experts said such improvements are needed for all adults with disabilities, not just people with autism.

It is estimated that some 8,500 people languish on waiting lists for disability-related services in New Jersey.

Nationally, “autism is the disability that’s getting the focus right now in a lot of sectors,” said Barbara Trader, executive director of TASH, a Washington nonprofit that lobbies for equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. “But the entire disability community needs a lot more services.”

From the New York Times:

An increasing number of American babies are being conceived with the help of the fertility industry — at a cost. Experts say these children are disproportionately likely to be twins, and are at a heightened risk for disabilities including mental impairments, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, and eye and ear impairments. An estimated 30 percent of twins end up in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to one government study.

Fertility industry leaders and government health officials have called on doctors to avoid the risk of twins, but doctors say strong financial incentives encourage them to implant multiple embryos. Further, they say, couples do not fully understand the risks.

A recent study by the March of Dimes said fertility treatments are one of the main reasons the nation has seen a 36 percent increase in prematurity in the last 25 years. The nation’s overall prematurity rate is 12.7 percent, which is regarded as a major national health care problem. The government estimates that the care of premature infants costs $26 billion a year.

(New York Times photo of Carter Hare at just over 24 weeks. He weighed one pound, 12 ounces.)