Disability, Safety, and Value
Disability, Safety, and Value by Amy Sequenzia This post will mention the attitude of some parents. This post is not about love or wanting the best for a child. It is about being conscious that ableism exists, and that you might be, even if unwillingly, contributing to the systemic ableism in our society (I urge you to read the links. Click on the highlighted words throughout the post). I am a very disabled non-speaking Autistic woman. I need many supports. Many of you already know that. Some of you also know that the supports I needed throughout my life weren't
Why Disabled People Write About Ableism
Are You Paying Attention When Disabled People Write about Ableism? When I, and other disabled people write about ableism, we don't do it because we like the topic. We do it because we DON’T like it but experience it every day. We do it because we are protesting the many ways we are objectified, dismissed, ignored and dehumanized. I don't speak for all disabled people but I believe most would agree with my statement above. Forms of Ableism There are very obvious forms of ableism, from inaccessibility, to inspiration porn, to denial of rights. There is also the ableism
FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Banning Aversive Shock Therapy at the Judge Rotenberg Center
Thursday, April 24, was a day that I'd been waiting for that day for a long time. An FDA advisory panel finally got to thoroughly hear both sides of the story of what goes on at the Judge Rotenberg Center, and to deliberate, based on testimony, whether what happens to the students there needs to be stopped. And they made the right decision. I just hope that they act on it quickly. I found out about the Judge Rotenberg Center by accident two years ago, doing some research for another post on my blog. I came across an article about
Take Action to Keep All Students Safe at School! || Stop Hurting Kids
Stop Hurting Kids needs all supporters of the Keeping All Students Safe Act to take action and urge members of the U.S. Senate to co-sponsor this bill.
Who Cares About Kelsey
Kelsey Carroll lived with homelessness, self-mutilation, abuse and ADHD. She was a likely high school dropout — until she encountered an education revolution that’s about empowering, not overpowering, teens with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Kelsey’s story, a story of trying to be seen for her potential rather than her past behavior.
Issy Stapleton: Emergency Information and Autistic Community Response
Emergency information is on here, followed by commentary. Emergency information for disabled victims is first, since they are in the most immediate danger. Unfortunately, many disabled victims of violence are at the mercy of their would-be-killers. Emergency information for people who are concerned that they might murder or otherwise injure a disabled person follows. Some links are en español. Read More Here.
The Need to Reassess the Sheltered Workshop
An emerging story in Rhode Island is raising discussion about sheltered workshop environments for people with intellectual disabilities and the culture of discrimination that they create. Discrimination? Yes. These environments, originally intended to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities had work to do and and a safe place in which to do it, have become the exact opposite. They're also created a culture where it's permissible to not only view people with intellectual disabilities in extremely outdated ways and to treat them accordingly. The most recent story that's brought these issues to the public's attention revolves around a a school
Abuse of Children with Intellectual Disabilities
Children with disabilities of any kind are not identified in crime statistic systems in the U.S., making it difficult to determine their risk for abuse (Sullivan, 2003). A number of weak and small-scale studies found that children with all types of disab
Standing With Ashley
I stand with Ashley because she is part of our community, she is brave and she survived brutality.I stand with Ashley because I hope to show her, one day, that the joy of belonging to our caring community trumps the memories of pain.
Lawsuit alleges school bus aide slapped autistic boy
A north suburban special education school bus aide slapped an autistic student who cannot speak, according to a lawsuit filed by the boy’s mother, who claims she uncovered the alleged abuse after putting a recording device in her son’s backpack. Nabiha Z
Why did Robert Ethan Saylor die?
Where is the public outrage over the death of Robert Ethan Saylor , killed in January while being taken into police custody in Frederick for the crimes of petty larceny and, perhaps, disorderly conduct? Saylor, 26, had Down syndrome, a genetic defect tha
Sexual Assault and Ableism in Martin de Porres Academy
K.J. told police that she said "No" and "Stop" when the three ninth grade boys sexually assaulted her. She had to be physically assaulted to keep from escaping. But, because K.J. and her attackers were labeled with IQs below 50 the sex is considered "consensual".
Man with Autism, Caregiver Shot by Off-Duty Officer
A man with autism and his caregiver were shot by an off-duty Camden police officer, who thought his home was being burglarized, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. NBC10's Katy Zachry talked with investigators who say the 21-year-old man had just been dropped off at his home on the 2800 block of Arthur Avenue by his special needs school in Cherry Hill and was met at his house by his caretaker. Investigators say instead of going to his front door, the 21-year-old with autism went across the street and started banging very loudly on a neighbor's door. Investigators tell
The Arc Responds to the Death of Maryland Man with Down syndrome
This is a moment for us not only to mourn, but we must also learn from this tragedy and encourage proper training in our police departments. The Arc is deeply saddened and shocked by the death of Robert Ethan Saylor, a young man with Down syndrome whose
Family wants answers in son with special needs death
A lawyer for the family of a 26-year-old man with Down syndrome who died while being escorted from a movie theater by security guards says the grieving family is looking for answers after the death was ruled a homicide. Robert Ethan Saylor died Jan. 12 a
Abuse of 7 Year Old with Special Needs Recorded by School Intern
School intern videos abusive physical therapist shoving seven year old with special needs to the ground and saying, "Get down now. I said down. No.Stand up you little b----, stand up."
Breaking News from Autistic Hoya: The End of Torture at the JRC?
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed a motion to vacate (render null) the 1987 settlement agreement that has permitted the Judge Rotenberg Center to use aversives, including the notorious electric shock GED devices.
Parents ‘Stunned’ to See Disabled Daughter’s Feet Duct-Taped After School
An Indiana couple is looking for answers from their daughter’s former elementary school after the 8-year-old came home from her special-needs program with her shoes duct-taped to her feet and ankles. Nate and Elizabeth Searcy’s daughter, Shay
School looks into duct-taping of student’s shoes
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — School officials and Child Protective Services are investigating an incident in which the shoes of an 8-year-old Indianapolis girl with Down syndrome were duct-taped to her ankles. The Wayne Township School Corporation has opened an i
Report: NM boy offered to stay with girl in cage
The son of a New Mexico woman accused of locking an 8-year-old girl with developmental disabilities in a wooden cage said he offered to stay with the girl while the rest of the household went out to a movie, authorities said. The boy said he was uncomfor
Lawsuit Says Special Needs Student Raped in NYC-area Classroom
A 15 year old special education student was gang-raped in class while a lesson was going on, according to allegations by her mother. The girl attended the Martin De Porres Academy in Elmont, New York, a community on Long Island, and the incident supposed
Attorney Says School District Abuse and Cover Up Was a “Mind-Set”
Parents of special needs students say school district covered up abuse.
Abuse reported at group homes in Washington
Listen to the families Abuse in group homes will continue because groups that claim to advocate for people with developmental disabilities (The Arc, Disability Rights Washington and Developmental Disabilities Council) do not listen to the families of the
Report: State ignoring abuse at group homes
When lawyers for a watchdog group were combing through state files involving people with developmental disabilities, they stumbled onto a disturbing case: A paid caregiver allegedly had assaulted a resident of a state-funded group home. An examination re
Aide at Maryland School for the Deaf charged with sex abuse of minors
Posted at 01:55 PM ET, 12/06/2012 Dec 06, 2012 06:55 PM EST TheWashingtonPost By David Marino-Nachison An aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf’s Columbia campus has been charged with inappropriately touching three girls when they were students at the
Police Ignored, Mishandled Sex Assaults Reported by Disabled
Patients at California’s board-and-care centers for the developmentally disabled have accused caretakers of molestation and rape 36 times during the past four years, but police assigned to protect them did not complete even the simplest tasks associated
A Poem About Pain
Other people have written better articulated articles about the same things I write in this poem. It is hard for me to elaborate beyond the words in the poem. It could have easily been me in some cases, it can happen to any of us.
Threats from fellow inmates delay arraignment of woman accused of starving child
A 23-year-old Burien woman accused of starving her 2-month-old son did not appear for arraignment Thursday because of concerns about her safety. Katherine A. Mattern has been held in "protective custody" at the King County Jail since shortly after her Ju
$1 million suit alleges teacher abused autistic boy
By Chris Roberts, NBCBayArea.com SAN FRANCISCO -- A special education teacher in Redwood City has been hit with a $1 million lawsuit by the mother of a 5-year-old autistic child for allegedly kicking and starving him, according to reports. Nadia Cortez s
Parents Wire Kids To Prove Teachers’ Verbal Abuse
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) — Teachers hurled insults like "bastard," "tard," "damn dumb" and "a hippo in a ballerina suit." A bus driver threatened to slap one child, while a bus monitor told another, "Shut up, you little dog." They were all special needs st
Autistic Hoya: End the torture. Make this go viral.
The public must see what the Judge Rotenberg Center is doing. Their experts claimed that the public would not understand the content of this video without "proper context." There is no context that justifies the use of torture against anybody ever. The public has not merely a right but a responsibility to watch this video and share it everywhere.
Catastrophic failures handling inquiry into report of abuse
In June 2005, Mrs Jenkins, who worked at the day centre as an administrative officer, witnessed one member of staff, referred to as Officer B, "yank" a woman with severe learning disabilities off the ground and push her into a toilet
Disability and Abuse Project
The Disability and Abuse Project focuses on individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities who are victims of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. This includes all aspects of crime, such as crime victimization, reducing the risk of becoming a victim, support to the individual and family members when crime does occur, as well as providing guidance for psychotherapy and legal support. The project works with those who respond to crime reports, including police and sheriff personnel at all levels (patrol, investigators, detectives, dispatchers), prosecutors, protective services professionals, SANEs, victims advocates, and any others. It provides technical assistance, training programs, and training
