Saturday, September 20, 2008

Alaskan Mom Says Gov. Palin Is No Friend to Special-Needs Families

I just found this comment to a post I had seen earlier, from Katy. I hope she won't mind me cross-posting it, since she wants to share this information with families who care about disabilities:

“As an Alaskan mother of a 17-year-old young man who experiences autism and hydrocephalus, and the former Director of the Alaska Parent Training and Information Center (OSEP - AK PTI), I am pleading with America to really examine Sarah’s record in Alaska. The only 'special school' that received significant increases to its budget this year is the Alaska Youth Challenge Academy, which is a military youth academy for youth with behavioral challenges.

"There have been no significant increases to early intervention services (children have to wait for months to get therapy, clearly violating IDEA), programs for children experiencing FASD have been cut, and parents in rural Alaska wait months to see therapists in the schools. Intensive needs funding has increased thanks to the brave parents who have pushed by filing complaints, NOT thanks to Sarah. To date, she has NOT been a friend or advocate for families raising exceptional children in Alaska. In fact, today Alaska is years behind in methodology and access to services compared to most states.

"It wasn’t this way when my son was a baby in the early ’90s. He didn’t have to wait for early intervention services, and I am convinced that is one the main reasons why he will be attending college in two years and studying abroad in Sweden in four."

Read the orginal post and comments: "Sarah Palin: Special Needs/Autism Advocate or Savvy Speaker?"

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