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movement toward full community inclusion around the world.
Monday, June 7, 2004
Year V, Edition 949
Today's front section features 8 news and information
items, each preceded by a number (#) symbol.
Click on the "Below the
Fold" link at the bottom of this section for 41 more news items.
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
"She said, 'My sister?' I said, 'Yes, your
sister.'"
--Nadia Covarrubias, who explained to Irene Pinole this week
that she has family members who want to visit her. Irene's sister thought she
had died soon after being left at a California institution in 1939 (Fourth
story)
"I like having Brielle in class because she is real nice to me. It is
always good to have a friend around."
--Graham Kindermann, 9, talking
about his classmate Brielle Hacker, who has multiple disabilities and is fully
included in their class (Fifth story)
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# ADVOCACY
Heads Of Disability Groups Meet With Bush
Administration Officials
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily
Express
June 7, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC--Leaders from the nation's
largest disability groups urged the Bush Administration Friday to work with
disability advocates and policy experts more closely in order to meet the
President's stated commitments to people with disabilities and their families,
a statement by the American Association of People with Disabilities said.
The heads of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, The Arc of the United States, National Council on Independent Living, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the American Association of People with Disabilities met with Margaret Spellings, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, Tracy Justesen from the Office of Policy Development within the Domestic Policy Council and Steve Lineberry from the Office of Public Liaison.
Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD, said that while the President's goals outlined in his New Freedom Initiative were right for Americans with disabilities, the administration had missed many opportunities to collaborate with disability groups in developing and implementing policies that would support those goals. Imparato cited examples of individuals and agencies within the administration that were working well with disability advocates, and some that were not, including those in the Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The representatives discussed several opportunities for the White House to score immediate legislative victories for people with disabilities, including enacting the Family Opportunity Act, the Money Follows the Person legislation, Mental Health Parity legislation, and Assistive Technology Act. They also urged the Administration to move away from supporting the House version of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorization because it would harm children with disabilities.
The advocates also brought up concerns about how states were handling Medicare drug legislation, how the Administration has failed to monitor and enforce the most integrated setting provisions resulting from the Olmstead decision; and how the proposed FY 2006 budget process and budget cuts could affect the programs people with disabilities and their families rely upon.
Imparato said that new weapons systems used in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are resulting in a high rate of undiagnosed brain injuries in U.S. soldiers and veterans, creating significant long-term disability issues. The advocates also called for bipartisan legislation to restore civil rights protections to people with epilepsy, diabetes, and other "controlled" conditions who have been losing discrimination cases on the grounds that they are not "disabled" for under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The advocates ended the meeting by asking for a meeting with the President to follow up on their concerns. Spellings committed to help arrange meetings with the Secretaries of Education and Housing and Urban Development.
Related statement:
"Disability Advocates Meet with White House
Staff" (AAPD)
http://www.dimenet.com/hotnews/cgi/getlink.cgi?3899R
---
# CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Media
Groups Join Earl Washington In Suit Over Police Records
By Dave
Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
June 7, 2004
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--On
June 4, 1982, Rebecca Williams was raped and then brutally stabbed 38 times in
front of her children.
Twenty-two years later to the day, lawyers for Earl Washington Jr., the man who was wrongly convicted in her death, asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to open state police files detailing how investigators handled the case. They were joined by five media organizations that also requested the records be opened.
James O. Towey, an assistant with the state attorney general's office, argued that releasing the documents could compromise the active investigation into who actually killed Williams.
Washington, who has mental retardation, spent 17 years behind bars -- nine of those on death row -- for Williams' rape and murder. At one point he was within a week of a scheduled execution.
Governor L. Douglas Wilder commuted Washington's sentence to life in prison in 1993 after forensic tests cast some doubt into his guilt. In 2000, DNA tests done on evidence gathered at the crime scene cleared Washington, and pointed to Kenneth Tinsley, a convicted rapist currently serving two life sentences. Governor Jim Gilmore pardoned Washington and had him released from prison in February 2001.
Tinsley has not yet been charged in the Williams case.
Even though Washington was pardoned, he is still listed as a suspect in the case.
Washington wants his name cleared, along with an apology for the years he wrongly served behind bars.
Five media organizations also want the police files opened. The Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Virginian-Pilot, The Associated Press and the Virginia Free Press Association, joined Washington in his suit.
Even the Williams family wants the records opened, according to Washington's attorney, Peter Neufield.
"The victims want to know and the public wants to know why in 1982 the wrong man was convicted and the real bad guy remained at liberty and committed at least one more offense," said Neufeld, who is co-founder and director (with attorney Barry Scheck) of the Innocence Project which has helped clear dozens of people who were improperly convicted of offenses, especially capital crimes.
Washington's conviction was based primarily on a lengthy confession he gave to investigators. His attorneys have accused those investigators of forcing Washington to confess. They also claim that investigators ignored details which would have cleared Washington, including the fact that he incorrectly described Williams as black, that he stabbed her twice, and that he was alone when he killed Williams.
The three-member appellate court is expected to announce its decision in a few weeks.
Related:
"Official backs disputed DNA test" (Richmond
Times-Dispatch)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/04/red/0607a.htm
"Earl
Washington, Jr" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/laws/earlwashington.htm
---
# AWARENESS
Most Brits Don't Know Celebs With
Disabilities
June 7, 2004
LONDON, ENGLAND--A poll conducted last
week by the research company YouGov found that, while most people believe
people with disabilities should have equal rights, many cannot name a single
famous person with a disability.
According to a brief item from the Press Association, 36 percent of the 2,000 Britons responding to the survey said they knew of no celebrities with disabilities.
This was in spite of the achievements by world-famous British scientist, Stephen Hawking, who uses a wheelchair because he has a motor neuron disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Home Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind; and wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey Thompson who has spina bifida, to name a few.
The poll found that 87 percent of respondents thought people with disabilities should have equal rights as everyone else. However, 60 percent said they would not support an extra tax to make sure transportation was accessible.
The disability charity Scope recently noted that there are 8.6 million people with disabilities in the United Kingdom, making them one of the largest minority groups that still face discrimination. Still, more than 40 percent of the population indicate they have no contact with a person who has a disability.
---
# FAMILIES
Newspaper Helps Family Find Sister After 65-Year
Separation
June 7, 2004
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA--On May 30, the
Sacramento Bee ran a story, which Inclusion Daily Express featured, about
76-year-old Irene Pinole, an artist who is considered one of the longest-living
persons with Down syndrome.
The story mentioned that Irene had not connected with any of her family since she was left in an institution in 1939 at age 11.
The Bee reported this past Sunday that several of Irene's relatives read her story and recognized her from the photographs.
Some are making plans to visit her in her Sacramento group home.
"I was dumbfounded. I thought, 'How could this be?'" said Olga Johnson, Irene's 69-year-old sister who now lives in Oregon. "We thought she had passed away."
Nadia Covarrubias, Irene's caregiver, told Irene the big news this week.
"She said, 'My sister?' I said, 'Yes, your sister.' She had a big smile and she laughed," Covarrubias said. "She is very excited."
When Irene was left at the institution, children with Down syndrome were not expected to live past age 9. Many families were encouraged to leave their children with developmental and other disabilities at state-run facilities and then forget about them.
Related:
"At long last, family finds Irene Pinole" (Sacramento
Bee)
http://www.sacbee.com/content/women/story/9530816p-10454557c.html
"The
art of survival" (Sacramento Bee, May 30)
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/9453675p-10377686c.html
---
# EDUCATION
Inclusion Key To Daughter's Success, Mom
Says
June 7, 2004
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND--The following five
paragraphs are excerpts from a story found in the Washington Times:
When Brielle Hacker was born, she was so weak she couldn't even smile.
"Doctors told me that my daughter would never walk or talk," said Julie Venners Yannes, Brielle's mother. "Now she has a vocabulary of 150 words and plays outside with the rest of her classmates on the playground."
Mrs. Yannes attributes her daughter's improvements to her inclusion in a general education environment at College Gardens. Inclusion involves taking children with disabilities and immersing them into a regular education environment.
At College Gardens, Brielle interacts with her classmates 93 percent of the time. The rest of the time she attends a 45-minute physical therapy session and meets for an hour with a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist each week.
Mrs. Yannes urges other parents who have children with disabilities to support inclusion. "I don't think that there is any disability out there too severe to try this," she said.
Entire article:
"Disabled girl prevails in class despite odds"
(Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20040603-112810-3974r.htm
---
# TODAY'S FEATURED DISABILITY HISTORY WEBSITE
DNA Interactive
(DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
The Human Genome Project has provided the tools to determine the genes that influence human health and behavior. In the face of this knowledge, will society gravitate toward a prescribed definition of the genetic "right stuff?" Will we look with compassion or disdain on people with genes that predispose them to physical or mental illness?
Eugenics was the name of society's first attempt to grapple with these questions. The movement began benignly in England with positive efforts by families to improve their own heredity. Eugenics took a negative turn in America, where 30 states passed sterilization laws in a misguided attempt to limit the spread of mental illnesses and other "dysgenic" traits. Then, the Nazis began their march toward a "final solution" for racial purity with a massive program to sterilize mental patients.
Coming to grips with the past failings of eugenics may allow us to move with greater confidence into the new gene age.
http://www.dnai.org/e/index.html
---
# EXPRESS EXTRA!!! From the Inclusion Daily Express Archives (Three years ago):
Brothers Reunited After 24-Year Separation
June 8,
2001
GREEN TREE, PENNSYLVANIA--A friend of mine often says that when the
moment is right, angels will appear.
Last week, an angel appeared in the form of a Pennsylvania state licensing inspector. But not in the way you might think.
Al Wilson had not seen his brother Ed since 1977. That's when Al was transferred out of Polk Center, an institution housing people with mental retardation. Ed, who was four years older, had to stay behind.
And even though the brothers have been living outside the institution for several years, they lost track of each other.
"He always said, 'I'm looking for my people'," said Carol Liebold who works in the group home where Al lives.
Last week, Al, now 66, started talking to state licensing inspector Jerry Cannon who was doing a home visit. Al showed Cannon several pieces of paper with the names of family members, most of whom he hadn't seen in decades, written on them.
Cannon recognized one name. "Ed Wilson"
It turns out that not only did Cannon know Ed, he also knew that he lived just 35 miles away.
On Tuesday, Al and Ed were reunited for the first time in 24 years.
"I'm a happy man," said Al.
Related:
"35 miles, 24 years apart, 2 brothers reunite, rejoice"
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010608reunion0608p4.asp
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# BELOW THE FOLD
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http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/04/btf/06070450.htm
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