RE: Community Awareness

[Guest guest]

Here one about labels that I have! The source says " author unknown " . Our

Buddy Walk is August 23 so we are very, very busy getting ready for the big

day!!

Labels

Labels on jars, usually tell what's inside,

while labels on people, do nothing but hide.

The worth of the person, or depth of the soul,

The gifts that they bring, to the world as a whole.

Yet the world is tuned in, to labels unending,

Most of which really, are not worst defending.

For they simply detract, from a person's true being,

And generate nothing, but negative feelings.

Our schools should be placed, where children can learn,

Not just academics, but human concern,

For those who are different, and not quite as able,

Who need understanding, not a meaningless label,

Yet throughout our schools, all over this nation,

Is something we know as " special " education,

Where labels abound, and problems unfold,

Because some kids are " different " , and don't fit the mold.

So we sort and we label, and continually hide,

Behind groups of letters, that supposedly describe,

What a child's really like, what he can and can't do,

And then justify placement, with relative few.

It all seemed so simply, this labeling game,

But since its inception, our schools aren't the same,

For along with each label, expectations accrue,

And rather that many, they tend to be few.

So let us give thought, to a label demise,

And hope in the future, that we realize,

That labels on jars, are a value we know,

But labels on people, someday must go.

[Guest guest]

WOW, an awesome recognition!

Sharon H.

Mom to , (11, DS) and , (8)

South Carolina

Community Awareness

Ok, I am the Buddy Walk chair for our area and I am working like mad as the

day gets closer ... October 4th for anyone who wants to come to Va. Beach

and

walk with us!

Looking for any good community awareness stuff you guys can find for us to

put in our October newsletter. Looking for a poem on labels I saw somewhere

in

the past too!

Stefanie and the other two atheletes from our area that competed in World

Games were called before the city council to receive a resolution from them

and

the mayor.

Talk about community awareness, read these two paragraphs that were on the

resolution:

WHEREAS, Special Olympics is an international program of sports training and

competition which gives children and adults who are mentally challenged an

opportunity to develop their physical skills, display their abiities and

most

importantly, fulfill their human potential, and:

yadda

yadda

yadda

more yadda yadda

Last paragraph:

And, further, be it resolved: that the City Council calls upon the citizens

of Virginia Beach to recognize the courage, spirit and love of adventure

that

Stefanie has exhibited as she represented the United States of America and

the

City of Virgiia Beach which is duly proud of her accomplishments.

Now, if only we can get the city council to increase services for adults

with

disabilities in our community! ;-)

Cheryl in VA

People with disabilities are here today to remind us that equal justice

under

the law is not a privilege but a fundamental birthright in America.

Senator Ted Kennedy, during the Senate's passage

of ADA-July 13, 1990

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you, thank you! And I know that come October you can be laughing at us

cuz you will be sitting with your feet up all done with your walk!! ;-) Good

luck with your walk!

Cheryl

[Guest guest]

A lyrical slant to community awareness...from a temporarily able bodied mum

: D

Wheelchair Talking Blues

(Fred Small)

I went out jogging in the city air

I met a woman in a wheelchair

I said, I'm sorry to see you're handicapped

She said, What makes you think a thing like that

She looked me in the eye with a smile on her face and she said

You want a race?

She began to roll and I began to run

In two minutes she was long gone

Going up the hill I could hit my stride

But coming down she flew on by

When I finally caught up with her she said

Hey - not bad for someone who is able bodied

You know, with care and supervision you could be taught simple tasks

Would you like to eat?

I said, Eating, yeah, that suits me fine

We're near a favourite place of mine

We made our way over there

And the entrance was up a flight of stairs

I never noticed that before, said I

No problem, the manager replied

We've got a service elevator here

It's round the back

We went upstairs on the elevator

With the garbage, flies, and last week's potatoes

I said, I'd like a table for my friend and me

He said, I'll see if I can find one that's out the way

And he whispered, Is she gonna be sick? Is she gonna pee on the floor?

I said, No, I don't think so, she had polio when she was small

But that was twenty years ago

He points to a table, she rolls her chair

And some people looked down and other people stared

One mother said to her little girl

She said, Keep away from her, darling, that woman's - ill

We felt real welcome

Then the waiter said, What can I do for you?

I said, I'll have one of your special brews

He said, What about her?

I said, Who?

He said, Her

I said, D'you mean my friend here?

He said, Uh-huh

I said, Why don't you ask her yourself?

He said, I'm sorry, don't get sore

I've never waited on a crípple before

She spoke to the manager when we were through

And said, There's one or two things that you could do

To make life a little easier for people like us in these wheelchairs

He said, It isn't necessary

The handicapped never come here

As I said good night to my new-found friend

I said, Now I begin to understand

To understand just how it feels

To go through life on a set of wheels

She said, Don't feel sorry, don't feel sad

I take the good with the bad

I was arrested once in a protest demo

But the policemen had to let me go

We were protesting about the fact

That so many public buildings lacked wheelchair accessibility

Seems the gaol was the same way

She said, In fifty years anyhow

You'll be in worse shape than I am now

We're all the same in this human race

Some of us are called handicapped

And the rest of us are just temporarily able bodied.

[Guest guest]

For folks who know Neal, it's been easy enough just to describe all the crazy

stuff we've done: private therapies, wrestling with spec ed admins, working to

get Neal employed....

When he was little, I was describing to some church friends about all the

pre-verbal skills we were working on in private speech therapy. One of the gals

present said, " I never realized how much there is in learning to talk. "

I answered, " Now that I know this, I'm amazed that anyone learns to talk at

all. "

A few years later, this woman was in a serious car accident with a long

recovery. One of the most difficult parts for her was...speech therapy. We

understood that, and I remember sending her a note of encouragement.

-Gail

Ellen Bronfeld <egskb@...> wrote: I

wonder what some of our subscribers are doing in regard to public/community

awareness? It would be interesting to hear some of the efforts you are all

making to educate your neighbors, your friends and your family.

I agree this is a problem...half the time my friends say, I support your

efforts and truly have no idea what those efforts are until I spend the time

explaining the many challenges our family faces in raising a child who has a

disability.

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Re: Bush's Budget

Conversation with a new neighbor recently: Joe is an international

trader. He and his wife are in their 40's and expecting their 1st child

any day. We were talking about special education, special services,

special transportation, etc. He was totally shocked that his tax $

were paying for all this. He said, " Give me 24 hours and I can get

this funded privately. " He kept repeating, " I shouldn't have to pay

for this. " There was no talking to him and sadly there really are many

people who feel this way.

CJ

[Guest guest]

You bring up a valuable concept to present to the general public, Gail.

At any time, any one of us can become a person with a disability, through

illness or accident, and, in fact, it is extremely likely that we will develop

some level of disability as we age. In other words, advocating for funding for

supports and services for people with disabilities should be important to

everybody.

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Re: Bush's Budget

Conversation with a new neighbor recently: Joe is an international

trader. He and his wife are in their 40's and expecting their 1st child

any day. We were talking about special education, special services,

special transportation, etc. He was totally shocked that his tax $

were paying for all this. He said, " Give me 24 hours and I can get

this funded privately. " He kept repeating, " I shouldn't have to pay

for this. " There was no talking to him and sadly there really are many

people who feel this way.

CJ

[Guest guest]

Thanks...This is great!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Re: Community Awareness

A lyrical slant to community awareness...from a temporarily able bodied mum

: D

Wheelchair Talking Blues

(Fred Small)

I went out jogging in the city air

I met a woman in a wheelchair

I said, I'm sorry to see you're handicapped

She said, What makes you think a thing like that

She looked me in the eye with a smile on her face and she said

You want a race?

She began to roll and I began to run

In two minutes she was long gone

Going up the hill I could hit my stride

But coming down she flew on by

When I finally caught up with her she said

Hey - not bad for someone who is able bodied

You know, with care and supervision you could be taught simple tasks

Would you like to eat?

I said, Eating, yeah, that suits me fine

We're near a favourite place of mine

We made our way over there

And the entrance was up a flight of stairs

I never noticed that before, said I

No problem, the manager replied

We've got a service elevator here

It's round the back

We went upstairs on the elevator

With the garbage, flies, and last week's potatoes

I said, I'd like a table for my friend and me

He said, I'll see if I can find one that's out the way

And he whispered, Is she gonna be sick? Is she gonna pee on the floor?

I said, No, I don't think so, she had polio when she was small

But that was twenty years ago

He points to a table, she rolls her chair

And some people looked down and other people stared

One mother said to her little girl

She said, Keep away from her, darling, that woman's - ill

We felt real welcome

Then the waiter said, What can I do for you?

I said, I'll have one of your special brews

He said, What about her?

I said, Who?

He said, Her

I said, D'you mean my friend here?

He said, Uh-huh

I said, Why don't you ask her yourself?

He said, I'm sorry, don't get sore

I've never waited on a crípple before

She spoke to the manager when we were through

And said, There's one or two things that you could do

To make life a little easier for people like us in these wheelchairs

He said, It isn't necessary

The handicapped never come here

As I said good night to my new-found friend

I said, Now I begin to understand

To understand just how it feels

To go through life on a set of wheels

She said, Don't feel sorry, don't feel sad

I take the good with the bad

I was arrested once in a protest demo

But the policemen had to let me go

We were protesting about the fact

That so many public buildings lacked wheelchair accessibility

Seems the gaol was the same way

She said, In fifty years anyhow

You'll be in worse shape than I am now

We're all the same in this human race

Some of us are called handicapped

And the rest of us are just temporarily able bodied.

[Guest guest]

Click on link below to see the full report. It is excellent.

Ficker Terrill

Colleagues-

Below you will find a press release announcing the Illinois Council on

Developmental Disabilities' release of a report, Blueprint for System

Redesign in Illinois. At the end of the press release is a link to our

website, where you can see the report, as well as a companion document,

Gaps Analysis.

Please take a look at these documents. We are at a crossroads and ready

for some change to the Illinois DD system, and hope this will guide us

down a path that is positive and productive.

Sheila Romano

NEW REPORT IDENTIFIES GAPS AND INEFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF RESOURCES FOR

ILLINOIS' DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED INITIATIVES

Seven-Year 'Blueprint' Outlines Goals for Providing Developmentally

Disabilities Community Toward Individualized, Efficient and

Cost-Effective Supports

Chicago (February 14, 2008) - Illinois - the land of Lincoln - is a

state proud of its reputation for leading the way on important American

principles of independence, freedom and the truth that " all men are

created equal. " Yet, a report released today reveals the state's

unreliable track record on its residents with developmental disabilities

does not provide the same equality and freedom that other citizens are

afforded.

In fact, Illinois (ranked 47th) continues to lag behind nearly every

other state in total dollars allocated for community living services for

people with developmental disabilities. The new report, Blueprint for

System Redesign in Illinois, also confirms the need for an overhaul of

the current support system serving people with developmental

disabilities.

" Persons with developmental disabilities have spoken up again and again

about their dreams, hopes and abilities - and when they're supported by

a state that believes anything is possible, each person can realize

their personal best, " said Lester Pritchard, chairperson of the Illinois

Council on Developmental Disabilities, the state agency that funded the

research. " But, they can't achieve their goals in a state that separates

them from society, places limitations on their opportunities and

consistently holds them to a low level of expectation. "

The report, provided by the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI),

identified key issues in need of change and offered an action plan that

could be realistically executed statewide over a seven-year period. The

report urges the state to strengthen the existing community services

system by adequately funding services, expanding community-based

supports in place of existing state run institutions, improving certain

infrastructures and implementing individual budget allocation practices.

The most important steps to redesigning the current system for the more

than 150,000 people with developmental disabilities served in Illinois

are:

1. Eliminate the wait list of more than 11,000 people

(7,000 with emergency needs) by 2014 by supporting 2,500 additional

individuals annually. This wait list will likely increase to at least

14,000 if immediate action is not taken.

2. Reduce the number of people living in State Operated

Developmental Centers (SODCs) from more than 2,200 to about 1,000 by

2014. This would also allow five of the current nine centers to close.

3. Shift current state services to invest in more in-home

supports so that individuals can stay at home with their families, or

live in the community with necessary supports. Community based-living

has been shown to provide more individualized, efficient and

cost-effective service - and can allow Illinois serve thousands more

individuals. Conservatively, the cost for one person in a large,

state-run institution averages $125,000 per year. If that same person

could live in the community with tailored supports, on average, the cost

per person would be cut in half.

" The Blueprint gives the state direction on how to meet the needs of its

citizens with developmental disabilities. The time for Illinois system

redesign is long overdue. Too many people are not receiving the

services they need. Unless something is done immediately, things will

only worsen and cost more to fix later, " said Agosta, Ph.D., Vice

President, Human Services Research Institute (HSRI).

In 1999, The United States Supreme Court ruled that institutionalizing

individuals with disabilities who are able to participate in and benefit

from community settings is a form of discrimination1. This topic is

once again gaining momentum due in part to Illinois' own Barack Obama

who has compared the issues facing people with developmental

disabilities to segregation2.

" Every citizen of Illinois is affected by the state's service system in

some way. If the Blueprint is implemented, everyone will reap the

benefits of a more efficient system and lives of people with

developmental disabilities will be greatly improved, " said Sheila

Romano, Ed.D., director of the Illinois Council on Developmental

Disabilities.

To find out more about HSRI and The Blueprint for System Redesign in

Illinois, visit www.state.il.us/agency/icdd/

<http://www.state.il.us/agency/icdd/hsri>

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