Education Debate Oct. 15: Watch It Live!

Education advisers to President Obama and Governor Romney will debate on education issues on Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The debate will be held at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, and will be available through a live webcast. Register for the webcast.

The event is called "Taking the Election to School: Making Education a Focus of the 2012 Election" and will feature Jon Schnur (for Obama) and Phil Handy (for Romney). A panel discussion featuring education journalists and other experts will immediately follow the debate.

Get the speakers' bios and register to watch the live webcast.

Tough Questions on Disabilities: Obama Responds

President Obama has received mixed reviews from the disability community. On this blog, I was vocal in my criticism of his appointment of Secretary Arne Duncan as Education Secretary, and I was underwhelmed with Duncan's record and actions in the area of special education.

The American Association of People with Disabilities asked both campaigns for their responses to a detailed questionnaire. President Obama's campaign responded; Governor Romney's campaign did not. What did the president's team have to say about his record? Read the document for detailed answers in areas of health insurance, education, independent living, transportation, employment, and more.

Since I've been particularly focused on the president's record on special education, here's part of his answer on that topic:

"For over 35 years, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has guaranteed students with disabilities their right to a free, appropriate public education and has helped millions of students with disabilities receive an education that prepares them to be full participants in our economy and our communities. My proposed budget will expand opportunities for people with disabilities, by increasing funding for IDEA state grants, and providing a $20 million increase for the IDEA Infants and Families program. My budget also provides a $28 million increase for Promoting Readiness in Minors in SSI (PROMISE)...to find and evaluate innovative approaches to improving outcomes for children and their families who receive Supplemental Security Income.

"My Administration is working with Congress to reform the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. We will work to ensure that students with disabilities are included in all aspects of the law, including appropriately measuring achievement gaps and working to close them so that every child is on track to succeed. And until Congress acts, we will provide states flexibility from the most burdensome requirements of the law if they are willing to set higher, more honest standards for all students, including students with disabilities."

Family Videos: "Don't Cut Our Lifeline"

The Arc has launched a campaign called "Don't Cut Our Lifeline,"which underscores the very real impact Medicaid funding has on families living with disabilities. These videos are powerful reminders that when we talk making radical changes to government programs -- and slashing funding -- we're talking about people's lives.

"Don't Cut Bailey's Lifeline":

"Don't Cut Greysen's Lifeline":

"Don't Cut Clare's Lifeline":

Medicaid Cuts Threaten "Lifeline" for Families

The Arc, which has been advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 60 years, is taking a powerful stand against proposals to slash funds for Medicaid and impose spending caps -- both of which could have devastating consequences for people with disabilities and their families.The Arc's position paper for its "Don't Cut Our LIfeline" campaign states the concerns very clearly:

The Arc Opposes Spending Caps and Deep Cuts to Medicaid

Spending caps and deep cuts to Medicaid can lead to block grants and other structural changes that will devastate the Medicaid program and put the health and safety of people with I/DD at risk. Block grants could force bad choices and cause substantial conflict as groups with diverse needs compete for scarce dollars. 

What is at Stake for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities?

While there is no way to be certain about what states would do, we know there will be real life consequences, such as:

• Losing home and community‐based services and supports. Waiting lists would quickly grow and it could create a crisis for the 730,000 people with I/DD living with aging caregivers.
• Losing other critical services such as personal care, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services. If funds become scarcer, states may decide to stop providing these services altogether.
• Being forced into unnecessary institutionalization. We could return to the days when states “warehoused” people with disabilities in institutions. Federal quality standards would either be diminished or eliminated and states might once again see this as an acceptable policy option.
• Shifting the costs to individuals or family members to make up for the federal cuts. The costs of providing health care and long term services and supports will not go away, but will be shifted to individuals, parents, states, and providers.
• Losing their entitlement to Medicaid. Currently if a person meets the eligibility requirements (generally poverty, age and/or disability), he or she is entitled to the services available under the state Medicaid program. People could lose all access to health care services.

Side by Side: A Look at the Issues by The Arc

Founded in 1950, when few programs were available for people with intellectual disabilities, The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Arc is legally prohibited from taking positions in support of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. But the organization has created one of the best analyses of the Democratic and Republican Party platforms on its priority issues.

Download the document here.

I encourage you to review this entire eight-page document for yourself, but here are a few of my observations.

1. Education
President Obama has expressed his support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has stated that it would be more effective if fully funded.

The Republican platform supports the IDEA's "goal of minimizing the separation of children with disabilities from their peers," but it does not support the program itself. In addition, I can tell you firsthand that the next sentence reveals a big disconnect from the reality of people with disabilities: "We urge preventive efforts in early childhood, especially assistance in gaining pre-reading skills, to help many students move beyond the need for IDEA’s protections." Yes, families should have access to early intervention (but Romney-Paul aren't offering additional funding for that) -- but even the best programs will not eliminate the needs for long-term support.

The Republican platform says most IDEA money should be provided to families in the form of vouchers. Read my recent post on this topic.

2. Civil Rights
No candidate is going to come out against civil rights. There are really no clear differences between the platforms, except the Republican platform specifically asserts "the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed."

3. Medicaid
The Republican platform encourages an overhaul of the Medicaid program, saying "It is simply too big and too flawed to be managed in its current condition from Washington." It encourages shifting power to the states: "For the aged and disabled under Medicaid, for whom monthly costs can be extremely high, states would have flexibility to improve the quality of care." What's not stated is that they would also have the flexibility to not improve the quality of care, and the option to reduce care.

The Democratic platform: "The President and the Democratic Party will fiercely oppose the harsh cuts in Medicaid that would inevitably lead to no or significantly less health care for millions of Americans with disabilities, workers with disabilities, and families raising children with autism, Down Syndrome, and other serious disabilities."

Read The Arc's position on Medicaid cuts.

4. Medicare
The Republican platform calls for an overhaul of Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid, with a focus on personal responsibility and free market competition.

The Democratic platform: "Nearly 50 million older Americans and Americans with disabilities rely on Medicare each year, and the new health care law makes Medicare stronger by adding new benefits, fighting fraud, and improving care for patients. And, over 10 years, the law will save the average Medicare beneficiary $4,200."

Voting & Policy Resources from Leading Disability Groups

I have my own opinions and biases, so I want to offer several other resources to help you educate yourself about the issues that are important in the 2012 election and give you several ways to register to vote and make sure that everyone you know votes, including those with disabilities. Here are a few of the best resources I've found. Do you have others to share?

The Arc's "Get Involved" Section
This website section summarizes issues important to The Arc, a detailed comparison of the party platforms, and summaries of Medicaid, civil rights, education, employment, Social Security, and other issues. Also links for register to vote and get to the polls. Do you know that in 2008, the voter turnout rate for people with disabilities was 7.2 percent lower than people without disabilities? The Arc's theme for this election year is "We've Got the Power. Vote in 2012."

Autism Speaks Election Center
Includes a summary of policy principles, a link for voter registration, and signup for Autism Votes to get involved and to receive action alerts. Also a news section that tracks the candidates.

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
This is a coalition of about 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self-determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. Their site has excellent commentaries on issues of importance to people with disabilities and their families.

Disability Scoop

Disability Scoop is a nonpartisan website that calls itself "the premier source for developmental disability news" -- and it's hard for me to argue with that description. Over the next few weeks, you might want to follow their political news. And in general, I highly recommend the website as a news source, and you should consider signing up for their weekly emails.

Pre-Existing Conditions: "Romney's Sick Joke"

In an Oct. 4 op-ed in the New York Times, Paul Krugman may have touched a nerve, considering his piece has garnered 600 comments and counting. Titled "Romney's Sick Joke," Krugman fact-checks Romney's claim in the first presidential debate that his health plan covers pre-existing conditions.

But his advisers said before and after the debate that pre-existing conditions are not covered. Krugman asks: "Was Romney lying? Well, either that or he was making what amounts to a sick joke."

The truth: Romney's plan would cover people with pre-existing conditions who 1) already have a health plan that covers their condition and 2) can afford to pay the premiums if they lose their job. Over the past decade, fewer jobs offer health insurance. And that's already in current law.

Under Romney's plan, an estimated 89 million would not have insurance, which represents a third of the population under 65 years old. Another way to look at it is that 45 million people who would have health insurance if President Obama would lose it if Romney wins. Under the Affordable Care Act, people who have insurance don't have to worry about losing it, but a repeal of the ACA would remove that security.

Politico also covered the issue in this article, "Romney's Pre-Existing Condition Plan: A Tweak and a Handoff to the States."

Krugman writes that this is "the issue that should be at the heart of this election." What do you think, and do you support Obama's or Romney's approach to health coverage?

Vouchers for Special Education? The Threat to Students

Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has been largely silent on one of the issues that is most important to families with children with special needs -- education. Romney and Ryan have a consistent theme of downsizing government and reducing government control in almost every area, including education. While they are not saying specifically how that would affect federal programs that ensure that children with special needs receive an appropriate education, there have been suggestions that have families worried.

As a parent of a third-grader with special needs, I've learned that getting the services she's entitled to is very hard. It requires research, professional advice, and the support of parents who have been through the same challenges. And that's in a county that's supposed to be one of the best for special education. And it's with the protections that the federal government provides. Imagine if those protections were loosened.

The law that governs special education is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the biggest issue about the program is that it has been woefully underfunded and therefore not as effective as it could be. IDEA provides about $11.6 billion to states and local education entities each year to serve roughly 6 million students, which is far less than the districts need for these specialized services.

Romney wants to turn the program into a voucher system. It makes sense from a perspective of "reduce the federal government and let the states and parents pick up the costs," but in practice, the idea poses a substantial risk to families who are already struggling with major financial needs. Read about his plan in Education Week.

In this commentary, "Romney's Radical Plan for Title I and IDEA,"a speech therapist in a public school points out the flaws in Romney's logic:

"Not all Title I or IDEA kids are the same; not all need identical services....Imagine two IDEA special education students, Abby and Ben. Abby has only a mild speech impairment, and receives 30 minutes/wk of speech therapy at school. But Ben has multiple, severe disabilities. He requires Life Skills classes; speech, physical, and occupational therapy; an orientation and mobility specialist; and an aide to help him with activities of daily living like eating and toileting. Will Abby and Ben each get the same flat voucher amount to put in their backpacks? If not, what formula will you use to determine how much each student should get?

"And of course, Title I and IDEA help pay for programs and equipment that are not student-specific. For example, my district has all kinds of equipment to help kids with disabilities participate in regular PE classes with their peers. One piece of equipment may be used throughout the day by multiple students. I'm a speech therapist, and we have test instruments and therapy materials that we share across schools, when needed. It's not always cost-effective to buy software for one student with a learning disability, but it becomes much cheaper the more site licenses you buy....Does anyone really believe that a tiny charter school is going to be able to provide all of this support on Johnny's $1,000 voucher?

"[In Romney's opinion] we cannot help each other out by pooling money for insurance so that everyone can have health care. We cannot help each other out by pooling education funds so that all kids, no matter how severe their needs, can get the education they deserve. No, Romney's going to do away with any hint of collectivity; put a random dollar value on your child's education; and give him a coupon for Voucherville instead."

Campaign Reps Square Off on Disability Issues

Unfortunately, President Obama and Governor Romney chose not to participate in the National Forum on Disability Issues. Instead, the campaigns were represented by Ted Kennedy Jr. (for the Obama campaign) and Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.) (for the Romney campaign).

Read a summary by Jeff Gorman, "Surrogates Discuss Jobs, Education for People With Disabilities at National Forum," from The Mobility Resource.

While Kennedy focused on the protections that the government provides for families, Rep. Rodgers said the government has a "paternalistic" attitude toward people with disabilities and an attitude of 'can't,' not 'can.'"

Rep. Rodgers' comment reflects one of my criticisms of Secretary Arne Duncan's work on special education. Almost the only way he ever referenced special education was when he talked about giving students more opportunity to succeed -- to improve test scores, to give more children a chance to attend college. But my opinion is skewed by the fact that my own daughter is an example of someone who will fall through the cracks if the only focus is college preparation. What she and so many other students need -- and are legally entitled to -- is an education that gives them the skills they need to succeed in life, whether or not that means college.

If Secretary Duncan favored the "high achievers" and was a less effective advocate for the broad category of special education students, at least he hasn't argued for cutting government services for people with disabilities, which Governor Romney (and even more so, Rep. Ryan) advocate. While Rep. Rodgers understands many of these issues, as a mother of a child with Down syndrome, the word "paternalistic" is usually code for "cut services and let families fend for themselves."

And in many ways, that's what this election comes down to. As a society, do we want to fight for the rights and protections for all citizens, or do we believe in survival of the fittest?

What do you think of this debate?

Dole, Coehlo Agree: "Disabled Voters Possess Untapped Political Power"

In a joint op-ed, former Republican senator Bob Dole and former Democratic congressman Tony Coehlo. "Disability touches the lives of virtually every American," they write. "Individuals with disabilities, their families and friends represent one of the largest voting blocs. When it comes to elections, however, few pundits or candidates fully recognize the untapped power of this community."

They also point out that returning veterans are expanding the number of Americans with disabilities, currently estimated at 57 million people, or 19 percent of the population. In fact, one of four veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have some form of disability.

Dole and Coehlo were sponsors of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Read the op-ed from Politico.

Obama vs. Romney: Weigh In

After a respite, Special Needs Truth is back to report on the last few weeks of the presidential election -- as always, with a strong focus on what this election will mean for people with disabilities and the families who care for them.

In this first post on the election, I have no commentary, but a question: Do you think people with disabilities will be better off if we re-elect President Obama or elect Mitt Romney? And why? I'll share my own perspectives in the coming weeks.

Please comment and share this post with others!

Sarah Palin: Advocate?

Sarah Palin is back in the news about special needs, after writing an article about raising a child with Down Syndrome in Newsweek's "The Daily Beast." Read "Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special-Needs Child." Because she writes as a mother and takes no position on any policies affecting people with special needs, it remains unclear how she is fulfilling her pledge to be an advocate in this area.

About a year ago, that same "Daily Beast" column carried the headline "Sarah Palin Snubs Disability Advocates." A few snippets:

Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc: "Since the end of the presidential election, we haven't heard Sarah Palin articulate any specific policy proposals [on disability]. [She] "has unfortunately politicized the issue in ways that are not productive, and it has converted what really are bipartisan issues into partisan ones."

Adam Pockriss, a spokesperson for Autism Speaks, noted that since a fundraising walk in 2009, "Palin hasn’t had any further involvement with Autism Speaks, nor has she taken a position on any autism-related policy items, to our knowledge."

Andrew Imparato, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities: "We'd like to see her go back to some of the policy issues, like Medicaid costs at the state level and how that will affect children and adults with disabilities. There are a lot of issues out there that we haven't seen her weigh in on. So the jury's still out on how strong of a disability advocate she wants to be."

Thoughts?

Rate Your School District on Special Ed

Sites like Special Ed Ratings are only as good as the ratings people provide. So search for your school district and share your thoughts to help other families. The site is at www.specialedratings.com.

And Now a Word from Your Child's Special Education Teacher

Thanks to Google Plus, I've discovered a new blog and a a great advocate. Dennise Goldberg writes for the Special Education Advisor, and this post caught my eye: "Secrets from Your Child's Special Education Teacher." I highly recommend it.

Take a look at the Special Education Advisor website, and you can follow them on Facebook.  Dennise is on Twitter as @specialedadvice and Google+.

ADA Turns 20

Today President Obama celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read his remarks.

New Members of President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

President Obama has appointed an impressive group of advocates to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. The web post includes short bios.

National Family Caregivers Month

NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS MONTH, 2010

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Every day, family members, friends, neighbors, and concerned individuals across America provide essential attention and assistance to their loved ones. Many individuals in need of care -- including children, elders, and persons with disabilities -- would have difficulty remaining safely in their homes and community without the support of their relatives and caregivers.

Caregivers often look after multiple generations of family members. Their efforts are vital to the quality of life of countless American seniors, bringing comfort and friendship to these treasured citizens. However, this labor of love can result in physical, psychological, and financial hardship for caregivers, and research suggests they often put their own health and well-being at risk while assisting loved ones. Through the National Family Caregiver Support Program, individuals can help their loved ones remain comfortably in the home and receive assistance with their caregiving responsibilities. This program provides information, assistance, counseling, training, support groups, and respite care for caregivers across our country....

Our businesses and companies can also contribute to families' ability to care for their loved ones in need. By offering flexible work arrangements and paid leave when caregiving duties require employees to miss work, employers can enable workers with caregiver responsibilities to balance work and family obligations more easily. Such efforts impact countless lives across our Nation, easing concerns and contributing to the well-being of individuals and families as they go about their daily lives.

During National Family Caregivers Month, we honor the millions of Americans who give endlessly of themselves to provide for the health and well-being of a beloved family member. Through their countless hours of service to their families and communities, they are a shining example of our Nation's great capacity to care for each other.

Signed Oct. 29, 2010, by President Barack Obama. Read the whole thing.

Looking for GOOD News!

Taking a glance at my Google Reader today, I was once again reminded how much negative news we hear each day in the area of special education and disability policy. Just today, I see:
- "Autistic Boy Abused by Bus Driver"
- " 'Drop Your Disabled Kids at Shelter,' Indiana Parents Told"
- "Special Education Attorney Convicted of Defrauding Parents"
- "Behavior Specialist with Bogus Credentials to Serve Prison Time"

I'm on the lookout for some positive news, and I need your help. Tell me about a teacher or school that's doing a great job for students with special needs. Or how much fun your child is having for Halloween. Or an elected official who "gets it." Or anything -- but it has to be good news. Add a comment here or email me.
I'll start with a news item from work, where we (Children's National Medical Center) hosted a Halloween party for kids on the oncology/hematology unit. These photos of kids who are spending the holiday in the hospital will make your day. View photos here.

Apple Highlights Apps for Special Needs

Apple has created a section titled "Useful for Everyone: Right from the Start" that lists 72 applications for the iPhone and 13 for the iPad to help people with special needs develop skills in areas from emotional development to communication to life skills. Many parents and consultants have identified useful apps for people with special needs, but this seems to show an increased focus by Apple to meet the needs of -- or should I say "market to" -- people with special needs. If the tools like iPhones and iPads are expensive, the apps are not. Read more.

What technology tools and applications have you found helpful?

School District Sues Family for Legal Costs of Special Ed Lawsuit

When you hear "lawsuit" and "special ed," you probably assume parents are suing a school district, right? Not this time.

A school district in Texas is going after a family who sued to improve their autistic child's education program. The family gave up after nearly four years of fighting, and now the school district is going to federal court to try to force the family to pay the estimated $250,000 that the suit has cost taxpayers. A teacher at the school says pressure is building to drop the lawsuit. "I think the lawsuit should end," he said. "I think the community should demand that it ends. I think there should be a major uproar because if they are going to sue this parent when is it going to be your turn next."

Watch the news story from Fox 26 in Houston. Thanks to Disability Scoop for the scoop.

A New Direction

I want to say thank you to my loyal readers -- everyone who has submitted suggestions, commented on my posts, challenged my opions, and shared my blog with others over the past few years. As any parent of a child with special needs will understand (and, really, any parent of any child will understand), I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with my "outside" activities beyond my 9-to-5 job (if only it were 9-to-5!). I love my job, and I love all of my volunteer activities -- maintaining this blog, advocating for people with disabilities as a board member of The Arc of Montgomery County, coaching young hockey players and serving as communications director for the American Special Hockey Association, and playing hockey myself.

In addition to that, my wife and I are working hard to ensure that our daughter receives the level of education and instruction that she needs and is entitled to. I'm not going to go into the details here, but I'd be happy to talk to parents or other advocates about some of the issues we're dealing with.

For all of those reasons, I'm going to be blogging less often. Honestly, I feel guilty whenever an issue comes up and I don't have time to properly comment and analyze it here. So starting today, I'm enhancing the news feed on this page -- showing the most recent items from some of my favorite news sources -- Disability Scoop, Disability News by Patricia E. Bauer, Autism Speaks, and some that specialize in special education law. That will keep this blog timely in a different way, and when I feel strongly about something or have an urge to post, I will. I encourage you to follow these and other sources to get the news you can use to advocate for the people you care about and all families affected by disabilities.

You can also follow me on Twitter, at twitter.com/mmiller20910 -- I will post news related to special needs several times a week. And please follow special hockey at twitter.com/specialhockey and at facebook.com/specialhockey. That's always a good source of inspiring news about athletes with special needs and the volunteers who are helping them win on and off the ice. And feel free to shoot me an email any time. Thanks!

Internet "Equalizer" for People with Disabilities

A recent article from Agence France-Press explores how Facebook, email, online chats, and other technology are helping to crate :a virtual world of equality" for people with disabilities. Pacific Diversified Services, an organization that promotes inclusion, trains clients in basic computer skills and to safely use social networks. "It really adds to their sense of acceptance in the community," the program's director says.

Read "Internet an Equalizer for People with Disabilities."

Open Letter to Special Needs Professionals

Last week Pia Prenevost -- blogger, developmental psychologist, NICU nurse, and full-time advocate for her son -- posted "An Open Letter to Special Needs Professionals" on a blog called The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. If you are a parent, teacher, therapist, or anyone who knows someone with a family member with special needs, I encourage you to read her letter. It's particularly appropriate as the school year begins. It reads in part:

"I just wanted to...caution you. Or warn you. Please, tread carefully. You see, what you might not realize as you look at me, talk to me, tell me your opinions, our options, our lack of options, and your predictions of our outcomes is that; well ... you see that heart? The slightly broken, definitely bruised one? Yeah, that’s my heart.

"Now, I realize that as you look at me you might see a confident parent, or an angry parent, or a happy-go-lucky parent. You might think that I understand everything, or nothing, or that I have all the experience in the world because I have done this before, or that I know the rules, or that I don’t know the rules and that is for the best. You might believe that I am high maintenance, or overreacting, or maybe neurotic, or disengaged and uninterested. Or that I don’t really care, or maybe I care too much...

"Some of 'us' parents -- the ‘special’ ones -- can be a pain in the ass. I know that. We know that. But we are fighting a fight we never planned to fight, and it doesn’t end. We don’t get to clock out at the end of the day. We don’t get a vacation from it. We live it, everyday. We are fighting without knowing how to fight it, and we depend so much on you to help us. We are your harshest critics. We are our own harshest critics too. We are genuinely fearful, and driven, and absolutely devoted. And we also know, we need you. So please, be careful with us. Because as hard and tough as we may look outwardly, our hearts are fragile things."

Yesterday Pia posted a summary of reactions to the piece on her blog, The Crack and the Light. Thanks for sharing, Pia.

Autism-Related Risk of Divorce Exaggerated?

While no one would question the fact that raising a child with a disability presents additional challenges to parents, allegations that parents with a child with autism are much more likely to get divorced may not be accurate. Studies have claimed that raising a child with autism significantly increases the rate of divorce, but a new study reported on WebMD says 75 percent of parents of children with autism remain married.

If you consider that about half of all marriages end in divorce, could it be that parents actually stay together at a higher rate when dealing with autism? Interestingly, as many as 66 percent of divorces involve couples who do not have children at all. You could speculate that not having children leads to loneliness (as one study claimed) or that the lack of responsibility makes it easier to break up.

Instead of examining statistics, I think more work should be put into helping couples improve their relationships -- both for the good of their marriage and their child. Dr. Robert Naseef of alternativechoices.com gave a presentation just last week on "Living with Autism in the Family: Taking Care of Everyone's Needs." Dr. Naseef debunked the myth of the high divorce rate, saying, "Citing autism as the reason for a marriage failing can be seen as yet another reasons for saying why autism is awful. Exaggerating the negative does not help us." And he offered the following tips:

For men:

- Learn to listen without trying to fix.

- Tell her what she is doing well.

- Do something to give her a break.

- Find romance in everyday life.

For women:

- Tell him to just listen -- that's all you need.

- Tell him what he is doing well.

- Tell him what he can do for you.

- Find romance in everyday life.

Do you have other tips, or sources of useful information?

Wheelchairs and Burritos: Court Says Chipotle Violated ADA

Maybe it's because I'm a fan of Chipotle, but I'm not sure how I feel about a recent ruling against the restaurant for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act -- because it's counters are too high for people in wheelchairs to see the food. I've noticed before that the walls are too high for even some short people, like children, to see the ingredients, but no one is denied any food. The people who sued want Chipotle to lower their walls, but I wonder if it would be an acceptable compromise to offer a menu with photos so people could choose their ingredients. Another chain, Qdoba, is set up the exact same way. Read about the San Diego case from 10News.

What do you think?

20th Anniversary of ADA

I have not been very good about keeping this blog up to date. Has anyone noticed?

The biggest news story since I last posted is the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Patricia Bauer at Disability News has a good summary of media coverage.

Read more on the anniversary:

Autism Speaks blog

President Obama's executive order on Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities

ADA at 20: A Nation Transformed, in which Senator Tom Harkin refers to the ADA as the "Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities."

Proposed rule by Department of Justice to ensure web access to people with disabilities

More federal resources from ADA.gov

Are you encouraged or discouraged about where we are as a country when it comes to the rights of people with disabilities?

Department of Education Adds Two Special Ed Officials

Sue Swenson, former commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Melody Musgrove will be the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs. Read more from Education Week.

Transition Tips for Parents of Adult Children

Disability.gov has new resources for parents who are planning for their child's transition to college, jobs, and adulthood. Read Preparing for Post-Secondary Education.

2010-11 White House Fellows Include Gallaudet Professor

From a White House media advisory today, Gallaudet faculty member Kubby Rashid, who is deaf, has been chosen as a White House Fellow.

"Kubby Rashid has been a member of the Gallaudet faculty since 1994, including a stint as Chair of the Department of Business. In addition to teaching, Dr. Rashid was active in faculty leadership and administration, and was co chair of a major initiative to reconfigure all academic programs at the University. Dr. Rashid served on the board of the World Deaf Leadership Program, guiding development projects for the deaf communities in South Africa and Thailand. She has also worked with individuals from many developing countries, helping deaf people learned to develop leadership skills and advocate for themselves. Dr. Rashid has previously been involved with the National Deaf Business Institute and taught several years for NDBI and Merrill Lynch's summer program for Deaf Business owners and would-be entrepreneurs. She was the first coordinator of the Bernstein Leadership Institute's Deaf Women's Leadership Program, and implemented the program and curriculum that form the core of the DWLP today. In 2008 she was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to a six-year term on the Board of the Maryland School for the Deaf and also serves as a Board member of Discovering Deaf Worlds, an NGO dedicated to helping deaf people in developing countries."

L.A. Official Justifies Cuts for Students with Disabilities: Special Ed "Takes Away from Regular Kids"

Many think it; few say it.  Los Angeles Unified School District is closing 200 classes and a campus for students with disabilities.  The explanation from Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines: "You have to look at it in perspective. When you fund some of the special ed things, you're taking from regular kids."

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, to help close a $640 million budget gap, LA is cutting back on a campus for blind students, closing a special-needs center, and eliminating 200 classes.  As in any district, parents of "regular kids" are also not happy -- other cuts are being made to the arts, music programs, and libraries, not to mention more than 1,000 layoffs.
 
About 13 percent of students in the L.A. school district have an identified disability.  Now more of these students will be put in larger classes, commute farther to school, and in some cases will have no bus transportation at all.

Yes, the city and the state are facing a tremendous budget problem.  But if you agree with me that Superintendent Cortines should not pit "special ed things" against "regular kids," email him at superintendent@lausd.net.  (The defender of "regular kids" is pictured above.)