Is Florida hostile toward the disabled?

Every week there is another incident of government employees – teachers police and others abusing handicapped people in Florida.  Here is the latest story:  http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-09-29/story/former-flagler-cop-pleads-not-contest-abuse-disabled-charge

Seriously, as an adult with autism, I am understand the best way to defuse hairy public situations is to carry a card explaining the challenges I face and how the people around me and law enforcement officials can deescalate and defuse the situation. 

From prior news reports about Florida police, schools and hospitals, it is clear that there is a zero tolerance policy for people with disabilities.  We have seen school officials ignore bullying complaints, allow abusive teachers to continue on their jobs, Doctors who over medicate – even to the point of death by overdose – disabled children have their faculty duties reassigned, police shoot disabled and mentally challenged people in the face, all in 2010.  The notion of giving a police officer a card that says I have autism and here is how to deescalate the situation and resolve it with civility is really not going to work.

This is beyond a trend this is an epidemic that the state elected officials have refused to deal with.  The comments I get tend to be “we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.”  To hide behind each incident as isolated and unique give tacit approval to the hostile environment towards disability that exists in the state of Florida.

Elected officials in Florida need to learn that respecting the disabled is more than providing reserved blue parking spaces for seniors and added local revenue through parking violations on the folk who park there without a permit.  It is acceptance and working to integrate people with disabilities into society.

©2010 Dan Homan

That’s why they call it insurance

I don’t mind politicians saying things that they really do not mean, that can happen in the course of conversation.  What I do mind however, is politicians who initiated the moment say things that clearly demonstrate their inability to understand the issues and the big picture.  Take this example:  http://www.care2.com/causes/politics/blog/angle-no-one-needs-autism/.

At issue here are not overrule political views or philosophy, a but what needs to be recognized is that share and Engel clearly displayed a lack of understanding of several issues.  As a politician with political aspirations for the U.S. Senate and particularly addressing a crowd of people in the tes party movement who do not want Federal government involvement in local issues, she made a reference to the Federal government changing and overriding state law.

She also indicated that she has no concept of insurance.  The last I checked to the definition of insurance was the contract with the company that would indemnify you against unexpected and unplanned for costs.  For her to say quote I’d don’t plan on becoming pregnant, so I do not need for pregnancy insurance, is a clear indication that she has no grasp of the concept of insurance.  The republicans stand against abortion?  If so then shouldn’t it be a law that every unplanned pregnancy or planned pregnancy be covered under insurance so that the cost of having the baby is not prohibitive?

Take it a step farther no one plans on having cancer, but if that tragedy should strike, insurance should be there to cover the contingency.  I also take exception to her comments about autism.  Autism is a genetic condition, people are born with it.  It is not planned for, and people don’t really want it.  I  myself am used to it, and live with it, but I would not necessarily want to be this way if I had a second bite at the apple.  It is nice that she lives in a state where coverage for treatment and remediation is available and required by law.  So many other states do not require coverage for autism treatment.  If anything problem in our society is that people with autism cannot get the appropriate treatment that they need.  As an adult who was diagnosed with autism at age 53 I resent the fact that treatments available for numerous lifestyle conditions are not available if the underlying diagnosis is autism.

What we have in this country that is called Health Insurance is so far from being true insurance that perhaps it is time to get back to the basics.  Routine medical expenses such as vaccinations, routine Health Care, while care, well baby care, annual checkups, and even gym memberships and up being covered, while treatment for excessive and catastrophic Health Care treatment is not.  When did we redefine insurance?

I do not like the Federal government’s approach to Health Care reform.  I think that any politician who shares this lady’s views provides just as poor of an alternative.  She should be accountable for her words and clarified their position be kosher use just plateau wrong if, if and should not be elected if she’s going to exclude people with permanent disabilities from treatment coverage through private insurance.

©2010 Dan Homan

This Type of Thing in Florida is Getting so Old

Here we go again.  A handicapped girl is bullied on a school bus.  The father goes through proper channels, complains to the school district, the school district employees (read government representatives) do not do anything.  The father takes matters into his own hands and although he had no physical contact with anyone – he was arrested.  See the story here:  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39232388/ns/today-parenting/

Is it me or am I the only one that sees the “open season” attitude towards the disabled in the Florida education system?  This is a trend, no, it is a pandemic.  People need to be fired – school staff, school board members, the state superintendent, and the Governor who appointed him.  This trend is so disturbing, a physically and mentally challenged student shot in the face by University of Florida police, a State University professor in Miami who fatally over prescribes anti depressants to a pre teen autistic boy without punishment, three special ed teachers in a Florida school district charged with abusing handicapped students, and now this.  This is not a coincidence, this is an attitude problem in government.  Forget impeachment, elected officials who allow this to go on should be incarcerated.

It is horrible that a man busted onto a school bus like that.  It is worse that he felt he had to because the school officials failed to act.  The real crime is that a father is arrested for defending his disabled child’s honor, and everyone else gets a pass, from the buss driver to the matron, the do nothing school officials.

Of course I have a few obligatory questions:

Why were the police called on the father, but not on the bullies?

Why was this video released and not the one of the bullies? 

Why didn’t any of the adults speak English?

Why isn’t any one speaking up?

This father was wrong in his behavior, but, it seems he only acted when the school district did nothing.  In my book that makes him a hero.

©2010 Dan Homan

What Really Matters

Here is my take on a tragic story that hits close to home.  A well known celebrity from my city - Ocala, FL has made the news once again, regarding the tragic death of his autistic son.  Read the story here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1312123/I-saw-REALLY-happened-night-John-Travoltas-teenage-son-Jett-died.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

At issue was a paper John Travolta signed waving certian treatment.  The problem here is that regardless of your thoughts about John Travolta, as a parent he had the right to choose the treatment he thought best.  This is the problem with the provax vs. novax debate.  It does not matter if you agree with Jenny McCarthy or not, the fact is that as a mother she has the right to choose the treatment her children receive.  I am not saying her antivax campign is not over the top, but, if you want vaccinatons you have the right to choose without the personal attacks.  At the end of the day right or wrong she is a concerned mom making the treatment choices foir her children herself.  Lest you forget, the medical profession had basically dropped the ball on autism, giving little or no help, direction or guidance on treatment.  Insurance companies do not pay for OT, PT or speech therapy, or anything that could help remediate symptoms, I don't think she is right in her conclusions, but I do echo her concerns regarding doctors and autism.

Regardless of your thoughts on autism, cause vs. cure, vax vs. novax, or remedial treatment, we need start with the basic mutual respect for other's ability to choose their own treatment, without imposing your ways on them.  If the autistic community wants respect we need to show it to each other first.


©2010 Dan Homan

Set up for Failure

What is wrong with this picture?

Look at this story:  http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S1748817.shtml?cat=565

Here is a young man clearly identified as autistic, working with a school resource officer and eventually police which leas to charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.  The judge is praised in the comments section for having the common sense to conditionally drop the charges.

First let me say that I am not excusing inappropriate behavior, but anyone who has autism has had to deal with melt downs and some of us do better than others.  That being said there are several questions that beg asking.  Here are my questions:

First - if he has been under the care of public schools all his life, and they have a mandate to care for children with autism until they reach age 21, why at 19 wasn't he taught the skills to manage his meltdowns?

Why didn't the school official recognize what was happening and defuse the situation?

Absent defusing the situation, why was it escalated to the point of police being called?

Autism Speaks quotes a statistic of 1 in 110.  Why weren't the police trained to defuse the situation rather than escalate the problem to the point of arrest?

Why does the news report make it sound like the judge is doing him a favor by dropping the charges?

The fact is that employer background checks reveal more than convictions, they also report arrests.  This means that because the system let him down, that a handicapped individual is now facing greater challenges in finding employment in a difficult economy.

Why is this, and why weren't these questions asked publicly?

Autism - the stigma continues.

©2010 Dan Homan

  

Meet the New Neighbors

Look at this article:  http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100917/NEWS01/9170333/LaGrange-residents-question-planned-home-for-autistic

When you look at the community attitude toward adults with autism living independently in society, is it any wonder why they don't just bring back asylums?  Oh, I forgot, if they don't want group homes, they definately don't want asylums in their neighborhood.

I guess it is OK for adults with autism to live anywhere except next to anybody who doesn't want them there.

©2010 Dan Homan

Enough Already, I am buying a Cane

I read the following article with amazement:  http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-7735-dog-fight-ends-with-hall-pass.html

This story is an example of the inexcusable hoops people with Autism have to jump through to obtain the basic "reasonable accommodation" required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Here state law required school compliance to allow service dogs, but "The School District" chose not to allow it, and forced the family to court, and once the family won the case, "The School District" appealed, forcing more legal drama.

What I find offensive is that this case was forced by "The School District" and no names of the bigots at the district that drove this family to court to defend their civil rights were provided.  These people clearly lack sensitivity at best, or at worst have poor reading comprehension, colored by their willingness to stigmatize people with disabilities.  No excuses they should be fired, and forced to reimburse the court costs for the family and the school district (taxpayer money that will never be used to teach students) out of their own pockets.

This is one more case of government employees abusing a member of a group that they know has an inability to communicate clearly without hired help.  Shame.

©2010 Dan Homan