From the New York Times:

A federal judge has ordered the state of New York to move some 4,300 people with mental illness out of warehouse-like institutions that keep them segregated from society.

The order by Judge Nicholas Garaufis follows his decision last fall that the state was illegally discriminating against people with mental illness by holding them in privately-run “adult homes” that were just as restrictive as the state-run institutions they were intended to replace.

Judge Garaufis ordered the state to develop at least 1,500 units of supportive housing a year for the next three years. The state had argued that supportive housing would be unacceptably expensive. Commenting on the proposal submitted by the state, the judge wrote, “The court is disappointed and, frankly, incredulous that defendants sincerely believed this proposal would suffice.”

Earlier posts here and here and here.

See also: The 2002 series of articles by Clifford J. Levy of the New York Times that described scenes of misery, squalor and exploitation in the adult homes.

Timothy Shriver, writing in the Washington Post, says the word “retard” masks a prejudice that is so widespread that it goes unquestioned. People with intellectual disabilities, he says, are frequently the victims of abuse, indifference and negligent death. They face crushing unemployment, poor health care, poor living conditions and social ostracism.

Changing these tragic realities won’t be possible, Shriver says, “until and unless we awaken our fellow citizens to the truth: Most of us look down on people with intellectual disabilities, and we don’t even realize it.” An excerpt:

And that’s why this word is important: “Retard” is a symbol of a pain few realize exists. Even when it’s not directed at people with intellectual disabilities, it perpetuates that pain and stigma. We hope that the discussion about ending it will awaken millions to the hope of ending the discrimination it represents.

If we’re successful, the world will discover the joy, hope and sparkling individuality of millions of people. With that, real change will come.

It can’t come soon enough.

Shriver is chairman and CEO of Special Olympics.

Audit finds wide enrollment disparities, particularly in charter schools

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Many public schools in New Orleans, particularly charter schools, show significant underrepresentation of students with disabilities, according to a report by state officials. At some charter schools in the Recovery School District, fewer than 4 percent of students are reported to have disabilities, as compared with a district-wide average of about ten percent.

The report has prompted criticism from advocates who charge that some schools are practicing discrimination by advising students with disabilities to go elsewhere. Educators defend the schools, saying the district’s open enrollment policy makes some degree of variation inevitable. An excerpt:

… in some cases it’s easy to sympathize with both the parents and the schools: Families have every right to full services, but schools cannot  always get the money and staff they need to provide them.

See related post: Opinion: Open charter doors to students with disabilities

Writing in USA Today, Ben Mattlin says people with disabilities owe a profound debt of gratitude to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his work in the civil rights movement.

Like African Americans, Mattlin says, people with disabilities share a history of being been held back by discrimination and low expectations. An excerpt:

Make no mistake: There is a legacy of shame. Just as blacks were shunted to the margins of society not so long ago, we disabled were housed in attics, basements and institutions.

What’s more, both blacks and the disabled were once considered genetically inferior. There were laws curtailing our reproductive freedom. Even today, unemployment rates for people with disabilities rival those of African Americans.

The historical and current similarities are stirring. Which is why Martin Luther King Day on Monday should have special meaning for people with disabilities. Besides showing us how to organize and agitate for equal rights, King gave voice to the simple yet revolutionary notion that we’re good enough — valuable, even — as we are. And as such we deserve better.

From AP/ABC News, EEOC press release, EEOC data:

New federal statistics show the the number of workers claiming job discrimination based on disability rose to a new record in fiscal 2009. Statistics released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission showed that charges of disability discrimination rose by ten percent to 21,451 claims, the largest increase in any category.

Complaints claiming discrimination based on religion or national origins also surged to record highs last year. “Equal employment opportunity remains elusive for far too many workers and the Commission will continue to fight for their right,” said the commission’s acting chairman, Stuart Ishimaru. “Employers must step up their efforts to foster discrimination-free and inclusive workplaces, or risk enforcement and litigation by the EEOC.”

The increase in disability bias claims coincided with the economic downturn and changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act that significantly broaden protections for people with disabilities.

Overall, the EEOC received more than 93,000 employment discrimination claims in fiscal 2009.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Parade Magazine publisher Randolph Siegel lists a few examples of the ways in which people with cognitive impairments are ridiculed in the national media. Here’s just one: A leading character on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm seduces a character with an intellectual disability, then belittles his victim when she speaks out. “I cringe when I see snark like this,” Siegel says. An excerpt:

Call me overly sensitive. Accuse me of being humorless. Say whatever you want. But if the true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, then these mean-spirited attacks are not only indefensible, they reinforce the intolerance and discrimination that these children and adults often face in their schools, communities or workplaces. I had never met a “retard” until my daughter was labeled one after untreatable epilepsy ravaged her cognitive development.

… Over the years, I’ve bit my tongue whenever I hear “retard jokes” at business functions — or see a movie like DreamWorks’ “Tropic Thunder” in which “retards” are vulgarly disparaged in a lame effort to generate laughs — or hear a song like the Black Eyed Peas hit single “Let’s Get Retarded.” Even when President Barack Obama described his subpar bowling skills by making an insensitive joke about the Special Olympics on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, I tried to internalize the pain. But that’s a losing strategy and no longer justifiable.

As Americans with intellectual disabilities are increasingly stigmatized and dehumanized in our media and popular culture, it’s time — now more than ever — for their families and friends to help them fight back.

Earlier post: Daughter with epilepsy needs more than hugs — ‘My Turn’ column by Randy Siegel in Newsweek

See also: Our seizure nightmare, by Randolph Siegel in the Chicago Tribune

(Photo from website of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy)

From the [UK] Guardian:

In response to a survey by a UK disability charity, 9 percent of respondents with disabilities reported that they have been the victim of a hate crime. The charity, Leonard Cheshire Disability, asked respondents whether they had faced a crime which they felt was motivated by their disability.

The charity said it decided to add the question after high-profile incidents in which disabled people had been targeted, most notably the case of Fiona Pilkington and her 18-year-old daughter, Francecca. Pilkington killed herself and her daughter after enduring years of abuse at the hands of local toughs. An inquest jury in September criticized local law enforcement authorities for failing to respond to her repeated pleas for help.

Some 42 percent of respondents also said they believed they had been turned down for a job because of their disability, a rise of seven percentage points from 2008, while more than half felt they had been discriminated against in a place of work. The data was based on responses from 1,253 people.