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.”

Writing in Salon.com, Lynn Harris says the campaign by the Little People of America against the word “midget” is not an attempt at censorship but rather a bid for public sensitivity and respect.

Prompting the group’s effort was an episode of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” last April in which contestants created “Jesse James Gets Dirty With Midgets,” a detergent commercial featuring little people.

On the show, celebrity contestant Jesse James assured the audience that actors with dwarfism would not mind being the butt of the joke. “[Little people] know that people point and laugh at them and they are comfortable within themselves and they have fun right back,” he said.

LPA advocates say mockery and bias against people with dwarfism will not disappear until dwarfs are portrayed realistically and respectfully in pop culture.

Earlier posts here and here.

See earlier story: We wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land — USA Today. Some of the original Munchkins from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” said they didn’t mind being called midgets.

From the National Law Journal (free registration):

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is stepping up its enforcement efforts on disability discrimination claims, and Kmart is the latest major employer to be hit with a federal lawsuit. In a suit filed in Virginia last week, the EEOC alleged that the retail giant fired a greeter because he needed to use a cane on the job.

According to EEOC figures, disability bias complaints are rising steeply, with 19,453 recorded in 2008 – a 10% increase from the year before and the highest number in 14 years.

“It is unfortunate that many employers still deny people who are ready and able the opportunity to work simply because of a disability. The EEOC will continue to fight for the rights of people victimized by such prejudices,” said Herbert Brown, director of the EEOC’s Norfolk, Va., office.

An editorial in the Asheville [NC] Citizen-Times says it’s time for North Carolina to compensate victims of a historic state-sponsored eugenics programs. The program sterilized some 7,600 people with disabilities and others who were deemed “unfit” to reproduce.

A push to compensate eugenics victims began earlier this decade, and a bill in the N.C. House calls for giving them $20,000 each. The bill total is $18.6 million, and it’s considered dead on arrival this session, given the state’s financial woes.

… The state can’t excuse away compensation for those it deemed unfit to have a chance to reproduce.

Before all the victims pass away, such compensation needs to be put on a fast track.

Earlier posts here.

Judge says district’s response was ‘grossly inadequate’; Family to get $125,000

From the Charlotte [NC] Observer:

Eleven-year-old Brandon Hawkins and his younger brother Jeremy have Batten disease. The rare neurological condition causes steady deterioration of vision, strength, and mental capacity, and often leads to an early death. It has no cure.

Ever since Brandon was in kindergarten, his parents have been fighting with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS) about his right to special education services. The district said Brandon did not fit in any of its categories. The family alleged discrimination based on disability.

After a federal judge rebuked CMS for what he called “malignant arrogant indifference”, the district settled the case for $125,000. It will also pay almost $64,000 in legal fees. The family has moved to another district where their mother says the boys are thriving.