"People with Disabilities Need More Than a Campaign Promise"

Since Gov. Palin entered the campaign, many parents have said the focus on kids with special needs ignores the needs of those children when they grow up. Pamela Merritt, who is co-guardian for her 38-year-old brother with severe autism, understands these issues all too well. In this blog post, she compares the candidates' positions and worries that McCain-Palin talk about special needs but don't support the programs that people like her brother rely on. She says her brother is "dependent on government programs to fund everything from his residential program and supported employment to health care and food. But changes in federal policies between 2002 and 2005 have resulted in a severe financial crisis in Missouri that has in turn trickled down to impact my brother's life....While the debate over how to address the economic crisis rages on and the presidential campaign closes in on Election Day, families with disabled members are looking for more than a campaign promise without policy and a funding pledge to back it up."