Excerpt from the Baltimore Sun:
For anyone raising a child with an intellectual or developmental disability, the promise made by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention that, if elected, she would be a "friend and advocate" for them has not gone unnoticed. Few constituencies are more in need of such a friend, but they've heard similar promises of help before and have reason to be doubtful.
The Republican vice presidential nominee, whose infant son Trig has Down syndrome, didn't specify what such a friend might provide. But families of special-needs kids know all too well what's needed. What they need, first and foremost, is for politicians to put money where their mouth is - starting with support services and related community-based programs. Advocates estimate there are about 600,000 people nationwide on waiting lists for such benefits as job coaching, vocational rehabilitation, personnel assistants and respite care for exhausted caregivers.
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