NPR follows 18-year-old Roger Diehl as he starts his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Roger was an A-student throughout high school, but the prospect of leaving his Nashville home to go to college has been especially challenging for him and his family. Roger has ADHD and autism, and has had recurrent bouts of clinical depression.

He and his family have made college plans that build in supports for him, and have obtained legal documents that will allow a family member to make medical and financial decisions on Roger’s behalf if he becomes incapacitated. “I actually feel that it’s adding to my independence, because I feel they’ll be more responsive to my wishes than someone I don’t know,” he said.

Also on NPR: Why my autistic son misbehaves — commentary by Jennifer Hendrick

Editor’s note: Coverage of the disability angle in relation to the candidacy of GOP vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin continues to mount.

Rather than present each item as a separate post, we’re grouping them here. Please click on the headline above to get the full version, or on ‘read the rest of this entry’ below, and check back to our home page throughout the day for further developments.

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Palin’s pitch to parents of disabled raises some doubts; Support is pledged, but GOP ticket seeks spending cuts — Wall Street Journal

Disability rights activists wondered whether Palin’s pledge of advocacy would be undercut by the Republican ticket’s pledge to reduce government spending, although many said they hoped Trig Palin’s appearance at the convention would lead to greater public acceptance of Down syndrome.

Republican strategists predicted Palin would unify people with disabilities behind their party.

Many parents fear that Down syndrome is on the leading edge of a eugenics movement to eliminate children with abnormalities. Others are wary of being labeled as social conservatives if they choose to have a child knowing it will have a cognitive disability.

Those concerns are likely to move into the mainstream now, along with questions about what either party is likely to do for children with disabilities.

Among items on the legislative agenda of disability activists are: special education funding, outreach programs for parents who have just received a diagnosis of Down syndrome; housing and employment programs, greater access to Medicaid benefits, “best-practices” clinics, a national registry of people with Down syndrome and tax-free savings accounts for their long-term care.

Life expectancy is approaching that of healthy children, raising questions about who is to care for them.

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Fusing politics and motherhood in a new way — New York Times

Struggling to accept the diagnosis of Down syndrome and fearful of public criticism of a governor’s pregnancy, Sarah Palin concealed the news of her condition from everyone until her third trimester. But by the time of her baby shower a month after her son’s birth, she had come to regard baby Trig as a blessing from God. “Who of us in this room has the perfect child?” a friend remembers her saying.

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From the Kansas City Star:

An estimated one in 26 American families is raising children with disabilities, yet more than 80 percent of parents of these children have not established a special-needs trust.

A special-needs trust provides financial protection to those with disabilities, and also preserves their eligibility for Medicaid, Social Security income and other need-based benefit programs.

Experts say such a trust could preserve medical benefits worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the individual. The trusts help people get services they are entitled to receive through government programs.

The story contains tips for doing financial planning for children with disabilities, as well as resources for more information.

Jeff D. Opdyke, writing in the Wall Street Journal, says he and his wife were skeptical when their daughter’s speech therapist recommended tripling her weekly sessions at a cost of nearly a thousand dollars a month. Their insurance provider doesn’t cover the service, and their personal finances can’t stretch indefinitely. When should they decide enough is enough?

… at some point, most of us in this situation have to face the fact that our resources are limited, especially when money doesn’t guarantee a quick cure, or perhaps even a cure at all.

… Throwing money at her disability seems the only option at the moment. Still, Amy and I know we can’t continue funding this cost for a long time. At some point, we’re going to have ask if this is really something that money can fix … or if this is simply who our daughter is.

From ESPN2, on Youtube:

Adam Ragan is a member of his brother David’s NASCAR racing crew. Says David: “He overcomes whatever obstacles are thrown at him in his life, so I think it makes us do a little better job at what we’re doing.”

A mortar shell in Iraq shattered Ivan Castro’s eyesight and maybe his military career. Now he’s on a new mission: proving to the Army and the world that he’s still fit to serve.

Writing in Money Magazine, George Mannes profiles an Iraq veteran who was injured and blinded by shrapnel fire. First Lieut. Ivan Castro’s story is a window on the complex physical, emotional and financial difficulties that face veterans returning with disabilities. Money magazine arranges for Castro and his wife to meet with a financial planner who advises them to start exploring new career opportunities and invest their disability payout money wisely.

Related story: For returning soldiers who have major injuries, figuring out how to get compensation can be tricky

Column by Richard J. Dalton Jr. in Newsday:

Adults with autism spectrum disorders are now achieving greater levels of independence than ever before, and with their increased autonomy come concerns about whether they can successfully manage their own financial affairs in a world they don’t completely understand.

Parents worry that these young people can be too naive and trusting to successfully engage in complex financial transactions, and that they may become easy targets for those seeking to take advantage of them. Parents are increasingly considering seeking legal guardianship for their adult children, which would give them the right to make medical or financial decisions on their adult child’s behalf.

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