Foes of a planned group home for people with developmental disabilities in Virginia are acting out of ignorance, prejudice and fear, Colleen Miller writes in the [Harrisonburg, VA], News-Record , adding that their actions are illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. She says people with developmental disabilities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. An excerpt:

The arguments made by the opponents of this home are old and patently false. Homes for people with disabilities have existed in communities just like Pleasant View, for many decades, with no negative effect on property values, no increase in crime, and no increase in traffic. These false fears arise from the fact that people with intellectual disabilities have been segregated from society for too long. Simply put, it is a fear borne of the unfamiliar.

The law is unambiguous that individuals with disabilities have the right to live in the community, but awareness of the law alone will not resolve the protests of those who have preconceived notions of individuals with disabilities. Only time, experience and knowledge will overcome those notions. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have been denied their rights for too long. We must continue to break down the barriers between them and their right to freedom and inclusion.

Colleen Miller is director of the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy in Richmond.

See also:

A chance to live the good life, By Jeremy Hunt — Harrisonburg [VA] News-Record

Deed restrictions vs. fair housing, By Jeremy Hunt — Harrisonburg [VA] News-Record

From the National Law Journal:

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against a North Carolina employer for alleged workplace discrimination against an employee with mental illness.

The EEOC argues that the Smith International Truck Center relied on “myths, fears and stereotypes about mental impairments” when it unlawfully terminated Stephen Kerns, an employee who returned to work after taking a leave for a mental health issue.

Carol Miaskoff, assistant legal counsel to the EEOC, said discrimination against employees with mental illnesses has been an ongoing problem since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990.

“There’s just a lot of stigma about mental illness,” she said, adding that the North Carolina case highlights the difficulties that individuals with mental illness face in landing a job and keeping one. “‘Getting employers to slow down and not jump to these negative conclusions is not easy.”

She says store made her feel like a ‘misfit’

From Minnesota Public Radio, [Minneapolis-St. Paul] Star Tribune:

Minnesota has fined retailer Abercrombie & Fitch $115,264 for discriminating against a person with a disability after store representatives refused to allow a family member to help a girl with autism in a dressing room.

The state’s Department of Human Rights imposed the fine after the company repeatedly refused to respond to the girl’s mother’s request for an apology and denied engaging in discriminatory practices. An administrative law judge found that the girl had suffered mental anguish as a result of the incident, which was witnessed by a long line of customers. “I am a misfit at Abercrombie,” she testified.

Just last month, a British tribunal fined Abercrombie & Fitch for unlawful harassment of a clerk for reasons related to her disability. Riam Dean had alleged that the company banished her to its stockroom after concluding that her prosthetic arm did not comply with its “look policy.”

The company paid $40 million to settle yet another discrimination lawsuit in 2004, admitting no wrongdoing but agreeing to new policies aimed at promoting diversity.

From the [UK] Times, BBC News, Associated Press, and AFP;

Riam Dean, 22, was awarded £9,000 by an employment tribunal after alleging that she was harassed and dismissed by the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing chain for reasons related to her disability.

Dean sued the clothing giant for discrimination, saying the firm’s London store banished her to the stockroom because her prosthetic arm didn’t meet the company’s “look policy,” then dismissed her over the disagreement. Dean, a law student, was born without a left forearm.

The Central London Employment Tribunal ruled that Dean was “unlawfully harassed for a reason that related to her disability” under the Disability Discrimination Act. The tribunal also found that the firm “failed to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments” for her disability.

Earlier post here.

(AP photo)

Vicki Smith, executive director of Disability Rights North Carolina, writes in the [Asheville, NC] Citizen-Times that the ADA has brought “amazing” improvements in the lives of people with disabilities. But she cautions against complacency on the law’s 19th anniversary, as budget cuts and stigmatizing attitudes threaten hard-won gains.

July 26 is an important date in disability history and should be celebrated. But it is hard to celebrate our achievements when the disability community faces cuts to services that have the potential to wipe out these accomplishments. It is hard to celebrate when faced with attitudes that stigmatize a population that has faced such extreme discrimination.

From the Baltimore Sun and WJZ Baltimore:

The National Federation of the Blind has filed a formal complaint with the Maryland Department of Education, charging that Baltimore public schools are allowing blind students to graduate as functional illiterates.

The complaint alleges that the school system has failed to teach Braille, provide effective evaluations, and train students to use technology or mobility services to help them become more independent.

A school district spokeswoman said the district has received the complaint and it is being reviewed by counsel.

The New York Times Motherlode Blog carries a letter from a woman criticizing a harsh characterization of autism that had appeared earlier in a guest post in that space.

Sarah, who says she has Asperger’s syndrome, writes that the post entitled “The Unvarnished Reality of Autism” failed to acknowledge the perspective of people who have autism and view their lives as worthwhile. “I feel personally quite hurt by the choice to publish such hateful speech about raising an autistic child,” she said.

An excerpt:

Your blog entry represented autistic people as monsters who cause life to be a “nightmare” for those around us. We are blamed for our parents’ depression, marriage problems, and feelings of humiliation and social isolation.

… Most autistic adults consider autism/Asperger’s Syndrome as something which is *part of us,* not something which we can separate from ourselves. When parents say that “autism” ruins their lives, we interpret it as meaning, “you being the way you are is ruining our lives. We would prefer you to be someone else.”

Autistic adult Jim Sinclair has written eloquently on the subject of parents who mourn for their autistic children. Sinclair says:

“You didn’t lose a child to autism. You lost a child because the child you waited for never came into existence. That isn’t the fault of the autistic child who does exist, and it shouldn’t be our burden. We need and deserve families who can see us and value us for ourselves, not families whose vision of us is obscured by the ghosts of children who never lived. Grieve if you must, for your own lost dreams. But don’t mourn for us. We are alive. We are real. And we’re here waiting for you.”