Last post Wed, Apr 23 2008 4:44 PM by nancycccslp. 1 replies.
Ms. Stein,
What do you think is the biggest political issue facing parents and teachers of children with disabilities in the United States today? For example, if a parent or relative of a child with special needs wanted to become politically involved, what might they start by writing letters in support of or in protest against?
-Disabled Politico
Reading this question almost made me cry. I have incredible job security, and that's because SO MANY CHILDREN have developmental disabilities now. WE NEED RESEARCH AND ANSWERS. We are about to "lose" our next generation, mostly to autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorders. After just shy of 18 years working with children, I CAN answer the question "are kids really disabled in larger and larger numbers, or are we just identifying them differently?" When I started out in practice, in a major medical center in the Bronx NY, we saw EVERYTHING. That job was cutting edge; in fact, I was one of the first speech pathologists to specialize in working with children who had HIV/AIDS. We certainly saw children with autism/ASD; but rarely. It really "stood out" when a kid presented with Spectrum disorders. And now? YES we are better at identifying developmental issues; YES the tolerance for the range of "normal" has become smaller, but the true numbers are still skyrocketing.
I love kids, or I wouldn't love this job the way I do. But loving kids means that I have to dig down deep and remind myself "I didn't make him like this, but I can help him function better than this." But every once in a while, the question bubbles to the surface; "what does the future hold for this child?" In my job, there isn't a day I don't laugh. But there isn't a week I don't cry.
We need to get a handle on whatever is causing these issues. TV exposure? Electrical field exposure? Vaccines? Sonograms? Medications? Environment? I wish I had the answer, but all I have are the questions. Funding for education must continue, funding for long-range/whole life adaptations needs to be INCREASED, and major funding for research to HELP STOP THIS TREND is an absolute necessity.
I think the politicians have gotten the message about education of children. But these kids don't cease to exist at 21 years of age. This next generation is going to test our systems to their limits; and trust me they are very limited. I speak from personal experience; I have an 18 year old niece with Down Syndrome and significant cognitive issues, and a 17 year old nephew with Autism.
Push the politicians for LONG-RANGE approaches, multi-tiered. No dumb happy phrases like "No child left behind" which in practice only means "no child left untested." We need to focus on the present AND the future. I believe it was Ghandi who said "you can judge a society by the way it treats its weakest members." We need actions, not slogans. This is the message I wish we could get out there..............
