F.R.I.D.A.

2009-11-04T15:35:00.002-06:00

Disability and Poverty Story by Mike Ervin

Mike is a friend of mine and this article is pretty good, but one thing I would add: IT IS OVERWHELMINGLY WOMEN WHO ARE AFFECTED BY DISABILITY AND POVERTY. 3/4 of caregivers are women, and 2/3 of nursing facility residents are women. Disability and poverty are WOMEN'S REALITIES.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-200911040805mctnewsservbc-poverty-progressive-,0,3993221.story

Poverty and disability greatly correlated, new study shows

Hard economic times are even harder when you have a disability. But poverty and disability don't have to be synonymous if we design our policies well.

A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (a Washington-based think tank) titled "Half in Ten" states that almost 50 percent of working-age adults who experience poverty for at least a 12-month period have one or more disabilities.

People with disabilities, the report says, account for a larger share of those experiencing poverty than people in all other minority, ethnic and racial groups combined and are even a larger group than single parents.

The extra costs associated with living with a disability such as purchasing expensive equipment like wheelchairs and catheters or obtaining specialized medical attention keep many disabled people and their families in poverty, the report notes.

The report also astutely observes that direct care workers who assist people with disabilities in their homes and communities are often themselves in poverty. The median income for the 3 million direct care workers in the United States is only $17,000 a year, the report says.

Fortunately, there are several steps we can take to ensure that disability doesn't spell poverty.

The first step is universal health care. The report stresses "the fundamental importance of health care reform, especially the provision of universal coverage, to anti-poverty efforts." The lack of good health insurance, the report says, "is one of the most significant drivers of income poverty and severe disadvantage." Another important step is for the United States to adopt "the kinds of paid-sick-day and paid-sick-leave policies that are already in place in all other similarly wealthy nations."

At least 40 percent of private sector workers in the United States have no paid sick days or leave, the report says.Third, we should ease the ridiculously harsh restrictions on assets and earnings imposed on those receiving Social Security Disability Income. The current Social Security policy basically requires you to impoverish yourself before you can get disability aid from the government.

And, fourth, we should pay a decent wage to the health care providers who do such a superb job in tending to the needs of the disabled.It's clear that the current economic hardship is being made much worse for many people than it needs to be due to the disregard politicians and policymakers have for the well-being of Americans with disabilities and those who work in providing them with assistance.

It's time for that to change.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Mike Ervin is a Chicago-based writer and a disability-rights activist with ADAPT (www.adapt.org). He wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine. Readers may write to the author at: Progressive Media Project, 409 East Main Street, Madison, Wis. 53703; e-mail: pmproj@progressive.org; Web site: www.progressive.org. For information on PMP's funding, please visit http://www.progressive.org/pmpabout.html#anchorsupport.This article was prepared for The Progressive Media Project and is available to MCT subscribers. McClatchy-Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of McClatchy-Tribune or its editors.(c) 2009, Mike Ervin Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

2009-11-02T20:55:00.002-06:00

LGBTQ Long Term Care Survey! Check it out!

Dear Colleague:

The National Senior Citizens Law Center, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), are working together to raise awareness of the issues facing older adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ("LGBT") and live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long-term care facilities. We hope to identify areas where policy changes will improve care, and to find other older adults, advocates and providers interested in these issues.

The survey is only 16 questions. It should take no more than ten minutes to fill it out. The survey completely protects your confidentiality. (However, we are looking for volunteers willing to be interviewed, so please consider checking that box!)

Click here to fill out the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UPQXC5Gub99IvdRNz83Hwg_3d_3d ; or if you would like to fill out this survey manually, you can print it out from the link above and mail it to:

Nancy Arevalo
National Senior Citizens Law Center

1330 Broadway, Suite 525
Oakland, CA 94612

The deadline for responding to the survey is December 15, 2009.

Whether you are an older adult living in a long-term care facility or a family member, caretaker, social worker or friend, your answers to these questions will help as we work together to fight discrimination, abuse and neglect against LGBT older adults. Specifically, you should fill out this survey if you are:

· A lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender older adult who lives or has lived in a long-term care facility;
· A caregiver of an LGBT older adult who lives or has lived in a long-term care facility;
· A family member or friend with knowledge of an LGBT older adult's experience in a long-term care facility;
· A social worker or other helping professional who works with older adults.

Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted living communities and senior living facilities.
Again, click here to fill out the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UPQXC5Gub99IvdRNz83Hwg_3d_3d ; and share the survey with your colleagues!

If you have any questions, please contact Heather Wollin at: hwollin(at)nsclc.org.

2009-11-01T18:42:00.002-06:00

FRIDA Update; Dixon Killer Pleads Guilty; O'Leary Case Indictments; Hate Crimes Bill Signed

Since this past July, the FRIDA blog has been on hiatus due to the retiring of our regular blogger, Linda Edwards. However, have no fear, FRIDA Fighters! We continue to look for regular contributors and I will post myself as time allows. Sometimes life can get in the way of FRIDAs, but we will never desert our cause. If you are interested in being a FRIDA blogger, please e-mail me at ambity (at) aol dot com.

A key update, for those who may have missed it, is that Michelle Riley, who was accused of being the ringleader of the group that tortured Dorothy Dixon to death, pled guilty last week. See the story at this link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iabbCpwynpg96u3aP6B2PtXoXvoAD9BJ1VF00. We do not yet know what her sentence will be, but may it fit the crime.

In New Jersey, a grand jury indicted a care giver and a state employee in the neglect-related death of Tara O'Leary, a woman with a developmental disability. See the story at http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20091030_ap_2chargedwithneglectingdisabledwomanwhodied.html.

I am sickened at the continuing neglect and abuse of people with disabilities of all ages and gender identities. It bothers me deeply that the overwhelming majority of people who can claim the title of "caregiver" are women and people who identify as women, and that women attendants and caregivers are often the perpetrators of neglect and abuse of people with disabilities. I feel very strongly that if society really valued and understood the role of attendants and caregivers, we would see much less of these abuse and neglect cases. In addition, if state case workers really knew how to do their jobs and report abuse when they see it, many of these deaths would not happen.

Can these cases be considered hate crimes? Given that we now have a new hate crimes law that covers people with disabilities as a protected class, this is a question worth considering. Would Tara O'Leary and Dorothy Dixon have died if they did not have disabilities that made them easy targets for abuse? I can only guess that they would not. Did their murderers intentionally kill them just because they had a disability? That gets foggy. Were they tired? Did they have a disability themselves? Was financial stress a cause that could be cited? Seems hard to prove and I'd love to hear feedback from the community on what you think about this issue. Any lawyers or victims advocates out there with an angle on the issue?

2009-10-21T22:59:00.003-05:00

Nov 12: FRIDAfest 2009!

Join us as we celebrate our 4th Anniversary!
$15 admission, $12 if you're not working
6 to 9 pm
115 W. Chicago, Chicago IL 60654

We have a really amazing double bill of speakers! We can't even begin to imagine all the conversations we'll have with Eli and Jenni....

Writer, speaker, and activist Eli Clare weaves together hope, critical analysis, and compassionate storytelling in his works on disability and queerness, including Exile and Pride. To learn more about Eli, see www.eliclare.com .

ChronicBabe Jenni Prokopy discusses ways to live well with a chronic illness on her website, in podcasts and in person. To learn more about Jenni and ChronicBabe, see www.chronicbabe.com .

6 p.m. Reception and Silent Auction
6:30 p.m. Program
8 p.m. Eli Clare Exile and Pride Book Signing

And....this is a costume party with a prize to the person who dresses most like Frida Kahlo!

ASL interpreters and PAs will be available. Access Living is a green, universally designed space. For more info and RSVP, contact Cecilia at 773-621-1718 or cmreyes21(at)yahoo.com. Come get your FRIDA on!

2009-07-10T02:00:00.002-05:00

Friday Roundup

From the Los Angeles Times in Los Angeles, California, July 9, 2009 - Twenty people were arrested this morning in a $4.6-million Medi-Cal fraud scheme that allegedly used unlicensed individuals to provide in-home nursing care for disabled patients. According to the United States Attorney's office, about 75 patients, many of them children with cerebral palsy or developmental disabilities, were treated at home or at school by the unlicensed individuals who stole identities to pose as licensed nurses.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in Seattle, Washington, July 8, 2009 - A disability watchdog organization has filed a law suit against Washington state, claiming that hasty budget cuts threaten to push some 900 adults with disabilities into nursing homes. The law suit seeks to delay funding cuts to a nursing care program that allows adults with disabilities to live in a state-run group home and still receive Medicaid-supported health care services.

Press release from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, July 8, 2009 - A coalition of disability advocacy organizations has sent a letter of support for Supreme Court candidate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The letter is signed by more than twenty disability rights organizations, including the Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the United Spinal Association, and cites Sotomayor's "extensive experience in, and careful approach to, deciding disability rights cases," as well as her life experience managing diabetes.

From BBC News, July 7, 2009 - According to a report by the cerebral palsy charity Scope, hate crimes against people with disabilities in Wales (UK) are unreported or unrecognised for what they are. While police recorded 132 such crimes last year, charities and campaigners said the true figures were much higher. According to Scope, of 50 serious assaults against disabled people, only one was recorded as a hate crime.

From Newsday and the Associated Press, July 7, 2009 - At the annual Little People of America (LPA) conference, the organization called for the Federal Communications Commission to ban the word “midget” from broadcast TV. The group said it had filed an official complaint with the FCC. The request was prompted by an episode of Donald Trump’s NBC reality show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” in which contestants created a detergent ad called “Jesse James Dirty with Midgets.” Contestants, including Joan Rivers, used sexual innuendo in talking about little people actors and suggested that they be hung up to dry.

From CBC in Canada, July 6, 2009 - Four Winnipeggers will be sentenced next Monday July 13) for their part in abusing a 23-year-old woman with developmental disabilities in early 2006. According to the report, the woman was subjected to beatings, pushed down a flight of stairs, and starved to the point of emaciation. She was also repeatedly burned with lighters, cigarettes and even a kitchen tool heated red hot on a stove. Thelma Hendricks, 63, and Amanda O'Malley, 21, have pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of assault causing bodily harm and are seeking conditional sentences that will keep them out of jail. Dale Hendricks, 34, faces 6 years in prison for his part in the abuse, and April Armstrong, 33, between four to five years.

2009-07-09T04:30:00.000-05:00

The killing of Donna Slater: an update

Pascagoula, Mississippi, July 8, 2009 - Further to my earlier posts about the arrest of Johnny Townsend and Joe Loggins on charges of the death by stabbing of 46-year-old Donna Slater on March 5, 2009, the Associated Press reports that a third person, Nancy Scott, has been arrested and charged with her murder. Ms Slater, who had spina bifida and used a wheelchair, was found dead on the kitchen floor of her home. She had been stabbed in the neck during an apparent robbery.

For earlier reports, see WKRG-TV and here.

2009-07-09T03:12:00.000-05:00

Arrest made in the murder of Chicago Heights woman 16 years ago

Chicago Heights, Illinois, July 7, 2009 - Police have arrested 45-year-old Van Buren Hutchinson on charges of murdering and raping 25-year-old Jeanette Reeves, a disabled woman who went missing in December 1992 from Chicago Heights and was found dead in April 1993 in the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan. As reported by the Southtown Star, Hutchinson, a private contractor who became a suspect in 1995, was arrested in South Bend, Indiana, on Friday and is being held in a South Bend jail. According to a detective with Michigan's Allegan County sheriff's office, Hutchinson is refusing extradition from Indiana to Michigan.

The story in full is here.

2009-07-09T02:47:00.000-05:00

Abuse trial date set

South Dos Palos, California, July 7, 2009 - Martha Franco, 44, who is accused of beating her her 5-year-old autistic son until he was unconscious on May 22, 2007, will stand trial for the alleged crime on September 14. Ms Franco faces many charges, including attempted murder, torture, aggravate mayhem and child endangerment. The trial is expected to take eight days. As reported in the Merced Sun Star:

According to a sheriff's investigation report, Franco admitted abusing the boy, but was careful not to kill him so she wouldn't lose a $2,000-a-month government subsidy she received.
Investigators described the boy's injuries as horrific. For example, after the boy was transported to the hospital in a coma, doctors said he suffered a massive head injury that pushed the left side of his brain to the right side of his skull.
He also had several burn marks on his face and bite marks, scratches and bruises across his body, according to a sheriff's investigation report.

If convicted, Ms Franco faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Her husband, Jose Franco, pleaded no contest in 2007 to charges of failing to intervene in the alleged abuse. He was sentenced to 90 days jail and two years of probation.

According to Merced County Deputy District Attorney Marit Erickson, the boy is recovering and doing well.

2009-07-09T02:10:00.000-05:00

Exploitation charges

Lexington, Kentucky, July 7, 2009 - According to WYMT, Daisy Edwards, who is the legal guardian of her sister, Ivalene Smith, who is developmentally disabled, has been charged with three counts of knowingly exploiting her. From the article:

In court Tuesday, police testified Edwards used hundreds of dollars of her sister's money to pay rent and utilities after Smith had moved to Georgetown with another family member.

Edwards is also accused of using $6,000 of her sister's money to bond a boyfriend out of jail and another $8,000 for his attorney.

Police say when questioned, she admitted to those crimes. Then, a few days later, officers say Edwards spent more than $10,000 on new furniture for her home.

Edwards' attorney says she was simply borrowing money the money and had every intention of paying it back. If she's convicted Edward's could face 15 years behind bars. She's in jail on $30,000 bond.

2009-07-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

Caretaker abandonment charges

West Valley City, Utah, July 7, 2009 - The Salt Lake Tribune reports the arrest of a 35-year-old woman who is accused of abandoning her caretaker duties for a 91-year-old woman who died in June.

The victim suffered from renal failure, pneumonia, multiple bed sores and considerable weight loss, police wrote in charges filed Tuesday. The victim's home was found in poor condition, with black mold in the refrigerator, no appropriate food supply for the victim, empty prescription bottles and a mattress covered in stains believed to be caused by the victim's bedsores.

One of the victim's bedsores was estimated to have gone untreated for weeks, possibly months, police wrote.

A 35-year-old woman had been the victim's caretaker for three years, police wrote. She and her children were receiving mail at the victim's home, police said.

The woman was charged with aggravated abuse or neglect of a disabled or elder adult, a second-degree felony.

2009-07-08T02:54:00.002-05:00

Alexis Glover: an update

Manassas, Virginia, July 7, 2009 - Further to my posts of March 4 and March 17 about the indictment of Alfreedia Gregg-Glover in connection with the murder of her daughter, 13-year-old Alexis Glover, the Washington Examiner reports that Ms Gregg-Glover pleaded guilty on Monday to her killing. From the article:

Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, 45, admitted Monday in Prince William County Circuit Court to felony murder, felony child abuse and filing a false police report. The Manassas woman faces up to 51 years in prison at her sentencing, which is set for October 2.

According to the Washington Post, after the plea, county police released the findings of an internal audit that found "deficiencies" in their response to reports concerning Alexis over the years.

Despite reports made to several county agencies over six years, the girl, Alexis "Lexie" Agyepong-Glover, was not removed from the home, and the case has highlighted shortcomings in the county's policies on child abuse and runaways.

The audit called for reforms in how officers train, respond to abuse reports and communicate with other agencies. From the Washington Examiner:

The report found that Glover lied to authorities; police and county social services failed to communicate with each other, and county employees did not follow proper procedures in response to abuse and neglect reports. The police department disciplined three officers for failure to follow department policy. Last month, a senior social worker was fired and two managers were disciplined.

As conveyed in earlier posts, Alexis, who was developmentally disabled, was reported missing on January 7, 2009. Sadly, her body was found submerged in a shallow creek two days later. Police said Alexis' body was placed in the creek bed the day she disappeared and before her disappearance was reported. Medical examiners determined that she drowned.

2009-07-07T02:59:00.002-05:00

Attempted murder charges

Salem, Massachusetts, July 6, 2009 - According to the Associated Press, Kristen LaBrie, who is accused of witholding life saving cancer treatment from her dying son, Jeremy, who was autistic, was charged on Friday with attempted murder and other related charges. From the article:

LaBrie's son, Jeremy, was 9 when he died in March. He had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2006.

Prosecutors say LaBrie canceled at least a dozen appointments for chemotherapy treatment and did not fill at least half the prescriptions her son had been given.

As reported in the Boston Globe, Ms LaBrie, who had custody of Jeremy between October 2006 and February 2008, was arrested on Sunday night, and was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday.

Jeremy was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006. He died days after his father, Eric Fraser, took him to a hospice.

If convicted of attempted murder, LaBrie faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in state prison.

2009-07-07T00:05:00.002-05:00

Texas school fight-club trial begins

Update- According to this later report by the Associated Press, District Judge Sandra Watts said that she planned to keep a cell phone containing videos of the orchestrated fights at the facility out of evidence unless prosecutors find case law to change her mind. She said she "would likely grant a motion by a former employee at the Corpus Christi State School to suppress the evidence because it was essentially stolen property." The full report is here.

From the Associated Press/Dallas Morning News, Corpus Christi, Texas, July 6, 2009:

Trials are scheduled to begin for four former employees of the Corpus Christi State School accused of orchestrating and allowing fights among their mentally disabled residents.
In March, police announced they had obtained cell phone videos of bouts of a late-night "fight club" organized for the staff's entertainment. Six former employees were charged.
Jury selection begins Monday for three of those former employees charged with multiple counts of causing bodily injury to a disabled person. A separate trial in front of another judge is scheduled to begin for a former employee facing a lesser charge for not intervening in the fights.

2009-07-06T02:30:00.000-05:00

Drowning charges

Las Vegas, Nevada, July 3, 2009 - The Associated Press and Fox 5 report that Raven Gibbons, 24, has been arrested in connection with the death by drowning of her 5-year-old daughter, D'Amber Myles, who had cerebral palsy. Metro police said Ms Gibbons was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and child neglect with substantial bodily harm. According to the articles, police said the drowning occurred on June 30 in an apartment complex in Las Vegas.

2009-07-06T00:35:00.003-05:00

Japanese court orders school to make accommodations so that girl can attend junior high school

Shimoichi, Japan, July 4, 2009 - After a provisional injunction by the Nara District Court, 12-year-old Meika Taniguchi, who uses a wheelchair, and who could not be admitted to her local junior high school because of its inaccessibility, finally attended the school for the first time on July 3. From The Mainichi Daily News:

The Shimoichi Municipal Board of Education allowed the girl to attend Shimoichi Municipal Junior High School after the Nara District Court issued a provisional injunction ordering that she be admitted to the school.

The education board has appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court.

"I'm happy. I want to speak with my friends and learn English at the junior high school," said Meika Taniguchi, 12, just before heading to the school on Friday morning, as she was carried on her mother's back in front of their home in the town of Shimoichi.

Asked about the new school uniform she was wearing, Taniguchi said with a smile, "It's big for me now, but I think it will fit some day."

On July 2, Taniguchi had trouble sleeping because she was too excited -- "just like before going to a field trip," according to her mother.

Taniguchi finally met her friends again at the school on Friday, for the first time in about three months since their elementary school graduation.

2009-07-03T02:07:00.003-05:00

Friday round-up

From the Baltimore Sun in Baltimore, Maryland, July 2, 2009 - The Rosewood Center, a Maryland institution that was founded in 1888 as an asylum for the “feeble-minded,” closed its doors for good this week after decades of criticism for substandard care and conditions. "It is a great thing for Maryland that this institution is closed," said Nancy Pineles, an attorney with the Maryland Disability Law Center, a watchdog group that promotes the civil rights of people with disabilities.

From the Boston Globe in Boston, Massachusetts, July 1, 2009 - The old Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation has adopted a new name for the start of the fiscal year: The Department of Developmental Services. The change marks a victory for people with disabilities and their supporters who lobbied for years against a word they perceived as offensive. Only five or six states still have the words “mental retardation’’ in the names of agencies serving the developmentally disabled, said Elin M. Howe, commissioner of the department.

From WAToday.com in Christchurch, New Zealand, July 1, 2009 - New Zealand police have shot and killed a male wheelchair user after he injured two people in a shooting spree in Christchurch. Shayne Sime, 42, was shot and killed late June 28, after he fired more than 100 shots indiscriminately from a shotgun and rifle in his quiet suburban street, police said.

From an American Association of People with Disabilities press release, June 30, 2009 - A study by Profs. Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse at Rutgers University has found that voter turnout among people with disabilities rose significantly in the 2008 presidential election. According to the study, 14.7 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2008 election, compared to 10.9 million in the 2000 presidential election. Among the eligible voting population, 57.3 percent of people with disabilities voted, compared to 64.5 percent of people without disabilities. “While the voting numbers among people with disabilities in 2008 indicates that they continue to face barriers in registration and voting, the fact that 14.7 million people with disabilities voted shows that they play an important role in the political process,” said Schur.

From the Asheville [NC] Citizen-Times, North Carolina, June 30, 2009 - An editorial says it’s time for North Carolina to compensate victims of a historic state-sponsored eugenics programs. Under the program, some 7,600 people with disabilities and others who were deemed “unfit” to reproduce were sterilized. (h/t to Patricia E Bauer)

From the Lexington [KY] Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky, June 30, 2009 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a civil rights investigation into Kentucky’s Medicaid program after a family complained about a reduction in home care services for a man with multiple disabilities. Creasa Reed, who is herself disabled, filed the complaint after Medicaid cut her son’s budget for in-home care by 40 hours each week. The Reeds say their son is in danger of being sent to an institution if home care services are not restored.

From WHYY Radio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 30, 2009 - A Pennsylvania advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the state’s department of Public Welfare that claims they are not providing the community-based care mandated by the law. The suit was filed by the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania on behalf of the over 1200 people still living in state-run institutions. It states that community based care provides better choices for people with disabilities, and is more cost-effective.

From the Boston Globe in Boston, Massachusetts, June 27, 2009 - Following complaints about inadequate equipment and ill-prepared medical workers, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hopital, both affiliated with Harvard University, have voluntarily agreed to spend millions of dollars to improve accessibility for patients with disabilities.

From the Seattle Times, June 27, 2009 - The families of three children with Down syndrome have sued in federal court to stop the state from cutting the hours of in-home care they receive. The families say budget problems cannot be used to justify cutting back on services the children are legally entitled to receive.

From JFActivist, June 26, 2009 - Kathy Martinez was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, June 25 as ODEP (Office of Disability Employment Policy) Assistant Secretary. Blind since birth, Martinez, who has worked as executive director of the World Institute on Disability (WID) since 2005, has worked in employment, asset building, independent living, international development, and diversity and gender issues in her work at WID.

2009-07-02T07:37:00.005-05:00

Caregiver exploitation charges

Largo, Florida, July 2, 2009 - The St Petersburg Times reports the arrest of 61-year-old Peggy Friend, who is accused of defrauding the mentally ill man she was hired to care for of more than $20,000 over a 16-month period in 2007 and 2008. From the article:

According to the warrant, Friend offered to care for 52-year-old Mark Easter, who is bipolar and suffers from other mental illnesses. Easter let Friend come live with him in June 2007 so she could assist him with "paying his bills, scheduling his medical appointments and taking his prescription medicines," the warrant said.

Instead, she used Easter's credit cards without his permission and spent more than $3,000 on dental work, $2,000 for furniture, $6,000 on cookware, $1,500 on a big-screen television, $900 for a handgun and $900 for a refrigerator.

She also spent "thousands of dollars for emergency care for her pet cat," the warrant said.

The warrant does not give the exact amount that Friend allegedly stole, but said it was more than $20,000 and less than $100,000.

Friend has been charged with exploitation of a disabled adult and is being held in jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. According to the article, court records show that Friend was arrested in 2001 on charges of title fraud and grand theft, but those charges were later dropped.

2009-07-02T02:58:00.001-05:00

Sex crimes

Jackonsville, North Carolina, June 1, 2009 - JD News reports that 48-year-old Timothy Mark Gray was charged on Wednesday with raping a physically disabled woman on June 15, 2009. According to a Sheriff's Department press release, the woman, who is paralysed on the right side of her body from multiple strokes as the result of an automobile accident, stayed with Gray during May and June. She was unable to fight back, according to the release. Bond was set at $100,000 secured.

San Antonio, Texas, June 30, 2009 - San Antonio News reports the arrest of 46-year-old Guadalupe Esparza on the charge of sexually assaulting a woman with a neurodegenerative disorder that causes limited short-term memory and an unsteady gait on February 23 near a fire station. Esparza, who is homeless, was arrested after police used DNA evidence to connect him to the assault. His bond was set at $75,000.

New Orleans, Louisiana, June 29, 2009 - According to the New Orleans Metro, a mother has reported the repeated rape of her 14-year-old developmentally disabled daughter by "two known males" in recent weeks after a group of teenagers lured her to an abandoned building near her Uptown home. The girl was lured out of her home to the building while her mother is at work, it is reported. According to the New Orleans Police Department, detectives are investigating the case and believe they have identified a suspect.

Tampa Bay, Florida, June 28, 2009 - Tampa Bay News reports the arrest of 43-year-old William M. Reich of Holiday who is accused of sexually abusing a young developmentally disabled girl, whose age is stated as between 9 and 10 years old, in May. According to the Sheriff's Office, Reich "forced the child to use a sex toy by telling her she would be in trouble and punished if she didn't." Reich was released on $20,000 bail. According to the police report, Reich has "a history of this type of allegation" against him.

Grand Junction, Colorado, June 25, 2009 - The Grand Junction Sentinel reports the arrest on Wednesday of 46-year-old Roger Dale Smith on suspicion that he raped a developmentally disabiled woman in her room at Hilltop Community Resources, then broke into the facility 12 days later and attempted to rape another woman. He is being held on $200,000 bond on two counts of sexual assault, second-degree burglary and attempted sexual assault.

2009-07-01T02:12:00.005-05:00

Teacher indictment alleges deliberate injury to a student

Allen, Texas (June 30, 2009) - Susanne Means, a special education teacher at Lowery Freshman Center, an Allen ISD school, was charged earlier this month with knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a 14-year-old boy with disabilities in early 2008 by using a cooking pan to burn his buttocks. As reported in the Dallas News:

An Allen police affidavit filed on July 9, 2008, says Means caused burns to the boy, and describes him as "mentally challenged."
The affidavit says the boy's father became aware of the boy's injuries in early March 2008 and took him to a physician.
The physician found a 12-inch diameter "scald" in a circular pattern on the buttocks.
The boy later told an interviewer that the teacher applied a hot pan once to each of his buttocks, the affidavit says.
The investigating officer found her classroom included a kitchen that had a stove and "various cookware," the affidavit says.

According to the report, Ms Means, 45, who posted bail after being book into the county detention center on July 30, 2008, had worked for Allen ISD since 1997. She resigned from the district earlier this month. A police spokeswoman said she did not know why it took almost a year for the grand jury to return an indictment.

2009-07-01T00:29:00.000-05:00

HRW urges Rwanda to amend reproductive rights bill

From BBC World News America (July 1, 2009) -

Rwanda [east-central Africa] is being urged to drop a draft law which would forcibly sterilise people who are mentally disabled.
US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch said the proposed law was deeply flawed and violated the government's obligation to uphold human rights.

It also requires people to have an HIV test before getting married.

"Provisions in the current bill that increase stigma, rely on coercion and deny... reproductive rights should be removed," HRW's Joe Amon said.

Forced sterilisation is regarded as a crime against humanity by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Rwanda has successfully managed to lower the spread of Aids in recent years thanks to its HIV campaign.

Figures from the World Bank in 2007 put the prevalence of Aids in the country at about 3%, down from 11% in 2000.

"While Rwanda has made notable progress in fighting stigma and responding to the Aids epidemic, and has pledged to advance the rights of persons with disability, forced sterilisation and mandatory HIV testing do not contribute to those goals," said Mr Amon, the health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch.

"These elements of the bill undermine reproductive health goals and undo decades of work to ensure respect for reproductive rights."

2009-06-30T02:26:00.005-05:00

Student lawsuit alleges teacher victimization

Frankston, Victoria, Australia (June 29, 2008) - Courtney Davis, a 13-year-old student at Karingal Primary School, is suing the Victorian State Government, claiming she was discriminated against by two teachers at the school between March 2006 and July 2007. As reported by The Age, Ms Davis, who has severe epilepsy and suffers from seizures during the day that affect her short-term memory, alleges that amongst other things, one of the teacher's deliberately kicked balls at her and told her she was using her disability "as a crutch," that she was sent to reception at the school when she was ill and told to lie on the floor with a pillow rather than being placed in the sick bay, and that a sport's teacher told her she was "nothing but a slacker." From the article:

Courtney was allegedly victimised by two teachers — one who told her mother the girl was "using her disability as a crutch" and she "didn't have time for that rubbish".

This teacher also kicked a ball at Courtney's head three times in the presence of other students, it is claimed.

Her lawyers say that when Courtney did not come to school because of increased seizures, a sports teacher told her physical education class: "She never does sport. She is nothing but a slacker."

The full story is here.

2009-06-30T02:00:00.001-05:00

Scam charges

From WCPO in Union Township, Cincinatti (June 29,2009) -

Two women are facing charges for allegedly using disabled children to defraud Union Township residents out of money earlier this month.

On Monday, Union Township police filed misdemeanor theft charges on Amie McRoberts, 37, and Catherine Nickell, 41.

Investigators say the women sent the girls door-to-door requesting donations so the children could attend a special needs camp. Police say both girls suffer from learning disabilities and the money was never going to a special needs organization, it was going to pay their parents' bills.

2009-06-30T01:47:00.001-05:00

Amandaw is guest blogging at Feministe

Here is a link to her first post. And this is a link to her personal blog, Three River's Fog. An excerpt from her first post:

I’ve been around the blogosphere for several years now, commenting under this name (case varied). I started my blog… to have a space to externalize and process my own thoughts on any number of issues, including my experience as a low-class kid being raised by a mentally ill single mother, in an agricultural area in central California where Latin@s actually outnumber whites, and struggling to come to terms with my increasingly-unavoidable disability as I grew older. Issues covered include feminism, disability, health care, class and race, and conventional white-male-higher-class “politics”…

2009-06-29T02:05:00.005-05:00

Inmate lawsuit claims sexual assault and coverup

Tulsa, Oklahoma (June 26, 2009) - Four female former inmates of Delaware County jail have filed a lawsuit claiming they were sexually assaulted by jailers and a reserve jail officer. In this report by the Oklahoman, one of the four women is described as “mentally disabled.” The inmates’ allegations include rape, sexual molestation and other forms of sexual assault, death threats, and claims that initial complaints were covered up by Delaware County Sheriff Jay Blackfox rather than properly investigated. According to The Oklahoman:

The lawsuit states Blackfox rehired [jailor] Sanders despite prior sexual misconduct with female inmates and that the sheriff ignored complaints by female inmates. Blackfox denied the allegations.

The story in full is here.

2009-06-29T01:12:00.002-05:00

Assault and attempted robbery charges

Bridgeport, Connecticut (June 27, 2009) - Acccording to the Connecticut Post, 19-year-old Roosevelt Webster was arrested and charged on Friday with beating and trying to rob a 24-year-old developmentally disabled man. His charges include attempted first-degree robbery, assault on a "mentally retarded person" and reckless endangerment. From the article:

The 24-year-old victim was walking along Iranistan Avenue on Friday morning, police said, when he was confronted by four men wearing hooded sweat shirts. One of the men, identified as Webster, fired a gunshot in the direction of thevictim and the four men began beating the victim until officers arrived.

Police said the assailants scattered on arrival of officers and Webster was arrested after a short foot chase. Officers found several cartridges in his pocket and a handgun was found stuck in a fence along the path where he was running, police said.

Roosevelt Webster is being held on $40,000 bond. The man he assaulted and attempted to rob was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was treated for head and face lacerations.

2009-06-26T02:45:00.009-05:00

Friday round-up

From the AAP, Australia (July 25, 2009) - The mother of a 7-year-old autistic girl who died of starvation on November 3, 2007, has been found guilty of her murder by a NSW Supreme Court jury. The same jury found the child's father guilty of manslaughter after a week of deliberations. The girl weighed just 9kg at the time of her death and had the bone development of a five-year-old.

From the Journal News, White Plains, New York (June 24, 2009) - In an opinion-editorial, Esther Gueft says people with disabilities constitute one of the nation’s largest minority groups, yet their needs are consistently overlooked.

From The Independent in the United Kingdom (June 23, 2009) - Cari Loder, a multiple scleroris sufferer who pioneered a treatment for the disease, has committed suicide in her home near Godalming, Surrey, using a "helium based suicide kit." In the days before her death, Ms Loder, aged 48, researched ways to kill herself as her health rapidly deteriorated, leaving her permanently housebound and unable to travel to a euthanasia clinic abroad.

From the Associated Press and the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina (June 23, 2009) - North Carolina unveiled a roadside marker yesterday representing the state’s decades-long eugenics program, which was intended to keep thousands of people considered mentally disabled or otherwise genetically inferior from having children.

From the Contra Costa Times in Contra Costa, California (June 23, 2009) - Columnist Kate Scannell says Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to cut services to people with disabilities will only create bigger and more costly problems.

From the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press (June 22, 2009) - In a 6-3 ruling decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a family who argued that their child’s special education costs should be paid by their local school district even though he had not first received special education services in public school.

From ProPublica/St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 22, 2009) - Ten years after the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling intended to help people with disabilities move out of institutions, hundreds of thousands of people who want to leave institutions to live on their own are still waiting to be released from nursing homes, rehab centers and state hospitals.

2009-06-25T03:40:00.002-05:00

Discrimination lawsuit claims KMART fired a greeter because he used a cane

From an EEOC press release (June 24, 2009) (h/t Wheelie Catholic)

KMART SUED FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION FOR FIRING GREETER WHO USED CANE

Retail Giant Punished Worker for Back Impairment, EEOC Charges

NORFOLK, Va. – National retail giant Kmart Corporation violated federal law by firing an employee because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed yesterday under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on behalf of a former worker who uses an assistive walking device.

The EEOC’s suit, filed in he U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kmart Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:09CV291), asserted that around September 2004 Alonzo McGlone was hired as a greeter at a Kmart Super Center in Norfolk, Va. McGlone, who has a debilitating back impairment, uses a cane to assist him in walking and standing. The EEOC’s suit charged that McGlone was successfully performing his duties as a greeter when he was observed using his cane. According to the EEOC, McGlone was fired because of the use of his cane.

The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court. The EEOC's lawsuit seeks reinstatement of McGlone into his former position or an equivalent one, as well as back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. The EEOC also seeks an injunction ordering Kmart to institute and carry out policies, practices, and training programs which provide equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, and a work environment free from disability discrimination.

“Mr. McGlone lost his job because he needed to use an assistive device to walk,” said Herbert Brown, director of the EEOC’s Norfolk Local Office. “It is unfortunate that many employers still deny people who are ready and able the opportunity to work simply because of a disability. The EEOC will continue to fight for the rights of people victimized by such prejudices.”

During Fiscal Year 2008, disability discrimination charge filings with the EEOC nationwide rose to 19,453 -- an increase of 10 percent from the prior fiscal year and the highest level in 14 years.
Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, which includes the Norfolk Local Office, added, “This lawsuit is a reminder that, although we have made great strides in educating employers and the public about disability
discrimination, some employers still judge applicants and employees based on a disability rather than on their proven ability to do a job.”

According to its web site, www.kmart.com, Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. As of January 31, 2009, Holdings operated a total of 1,368 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

2009-06-25T02:34:00.003-05:00

Recent sex crime reports

Muskegon, Michegan (June 23, 2009) - The Muskegon Chronicle reports that 54 year-old Willie James Ferguson has been charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl with developmental disabilities. According to the article, Ferguson, who was an acquaintance of the family, was charged as "a fourth-time habitual offender." A preliminary examination is set for July 2 and bond was set at $500,000 cash or surety.

Gatesville, Texas (June 22, 2009) - KXXV News reports that 22 year-old Christopher Lace Mobley was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled man. He is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault and is being held on $300,000 bond.

Appleton, Wisconsin (June 20, 2009) - The Post Crescent reports that 51 year-old Eliseo Corona Vargas was found guilty of multiple charges arising from the rape on June 7, 2008, of a disabled woman who called police with her medical alert necklace. Vargas was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault, burglary and bail jumping and is scheduled for sentencing on August 6. According to the report, broke into the woman's New London apartment early in the morning while she was sleeping and assaulted her. The two were not acquainted.

Lombard, Illinois (June 19, 2009) - The Daily Herald reports that Shreya Lal, 20, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting on June 15 a 20 year-old girl with developmental disabilities. According to the report, the assault occurred in the home of Lombard's parents after he convinced the girl to meet him there. Lal, it is reported, took the girl's cellular phone and threatened to hurt her if she went to plice. Lal is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, intimidation, unlawful interference with the reporting of domestic violence. He was also charged with unlawful violation of an order of protection barring him from having contact with her.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (June 17, 2009) - The Ottawa Citizen reports that two male social workers have been charged with "verbally, mentally and physically" assaulting three developmentally disabled adults at a Rockland home run by Prescott-Russell Services to Children and Adults. According to Ontario Provincial Police, the alleged assault of three adult residents of the home were reported to the OPP by the director of services of PRSCA on May 7.
Patrick Labreche, 24, was charged with three counts of assault, mischief under $5,000 and sexual exploitation, and Dominic Laviolette, 35, was charged with four counts of assault and sexual exploitation. They are expected to appear in court on June 24.

Bainbridge, Washington (June 15, 2009) - According to the Seattle Times, a 62-year-old Bainbridge High School teacher's aide is being held in jail on $500,000 bail, accused of sexually touching a developmentally disabled 17-year-old girl at a community pool. According to a schoold district spokeswoman, the man has been a para-educator, or teacher's aide, in special education classes at the high school for approximately six years.

West Jordan, Utah (June 11, 2009) - According to the Salt Lake Tribune, 56 year-old Scott Olsen has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly tying a developmentally disabled 14-year-old girl to a bed and sexually assaulting her. Olsen, who lived in the same apartment building as the girl, is charged with first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, four counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and lewdness, a class B misdemeanor. According to the article, prosecutors said the crimes all occurred on one day during the last school year, when the girl was in ninth grade. Olsen is being held in jail in lieu of $200,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on June 25.

Sand Lake, New York (June 10, 2009) - According to the Troy Record, 57 year-old Hendrick Werkman, a former employee at the Center for Disability Services, has been charged with performing a criminal sexual act upon a developmentally disabled adult female. According to the report, the alleged incident took place on June 6, 2009. Werkman has been fired from his center job in light of the criminal charges.

2009-06-24T02:25:00.004-05:00

Ontario man dies after being shot by police

Elmvale, Ontario, Canada (June 23, 2009) - According to numerous news reports, Doug Minty, an Ontario man who is described as being in his 50s and developmentally disabled, died shortly after being shot outside his home by an Ontario Provincial Police officer on Monday night. According to the Barrie Examiner, Mr Minty was shot during an "altercation" with a police officer who had been called to his home in response to a report about an argument between a door-to-door salesman and Mr Minty. From the article:

Police were called to 21 Lawson Ave. shortly after 8 p. m. in response to an altercation between a door-to-door salesman and a resident of the home.

Upon arrival at the scene, OPP say one of the men became involved in a direct altercation with police. As a result, an officer discharged his service pistol.

The man was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer involved was not injured.

Neighbours say the resident shot was Doug Minty, a "very nice, well-liked" man who lived alone with his mother, Evelyn Minty, in the single storey house.

According to the report, Mr Minty's death is being investigated by The Special Investigations Unit. A post-mortem examination is planned for today (Wednesday).

The story in full is here.

2009-06-23T03:33:00.003-05:00

Police officer indicted in death of Otto Zehm

Spokane, Washington, June 22, 2009 - According to the Associated Press, a federal grand jury has indicted Officer Karl Thompson for striking and tasering 36-year-old Otto Zehm during a confrontation with police in a convenience store on March 18, 2006. Mr Zehm, who was developmentally disabled, never regained consciousness, and died two days after the incident. His death was ruled a homicide. From the article:

The indictment contends Officer Karl Thompson deprived Otto Zehm of his civil rights and made a false statement to investigators. He was accused of repeatedly striking Zehm with a baton and Tasering him in a convenience store.

City officials have said Zehm refused police orders to drop a two-liter bottle of soda he was holding, and fought with officers.

U.S. Attorney James McDevitt said Thompson will likely be the only officer indicted.

To read a Wikipedia article about the incident and the subsequent death of Otto Zehm, see here.

For more detailed coverage of the indictment of Karl Thompson, see this article by KXLY.

2009-06-23T02:35:00.001-05:00

Two cases of caregiver abuse and one of theft in Baltimore, MD

From AP/WBOC News:

BALTIMORE (AP) - Two former caregivers at group homes for developmentally disabled adults have been charged with abuse. Thirty-nine-year-old Mary Arung of Laurel, who worked at a home in Washington, is accused of assaulting a disabled woman in November as she was being taken to a doctor's appointment in Lanham.

In a separate case, 55-year-old Aboyomi Ogundeyi was charged with assaulting a disabled man at a group home in Baltimore County.
The cases were investigated by the Maryland attorney general's Medicaid Fraud unit, which announced the charges Friday. In a third case, another former caregiver, 26-year-old Kera Pamela Heath of Baltimore, was charged with theft and forgery.

She is accused of stealing a check made out to an assisted living resident in her care.

2009-06-23T01:41:00.001-05:00

Sexual assault lawsuit alleges inadequate supervision of residents

Austin, Texas - An Austin woman who alleges her 42-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted last year by a resident at the Willow River Farms home for adults with intellectual disabilities has sued the facility and its director for failing to properly supervise residents. According to the Statesman (June 19, 2009):

A lawsuit filed in district court in Harris County accuses Willow River Farms and its director of failing to properly supervise residents and seeks unspecified damages. Gloria Culpepper, whose 42-year-old daughter no longer lives at the facility, says her daughter was assaulted by a fellow resident.

According to the report, The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation, a Houston nonprofit that runs Willow River Farms, is also a defendant in the suit.

2009-06-22T02:57:00.003-05:00

Caregiver carelessness

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Two employees of the St. Amant community home for people with developmental disabilities have been fired for leaving two female residents inside a van while they went to watch a movie. As reported by the Winnipeg Sun (June 19, 2009):

The incident occurred May 18 at the Cinema City theatres on McGillivray Boulevard, where the two women -- both young adult residents of a St. Amant community residence on Edelweiss Crescent -- were left sitting in a van in the parking lot as the employees charged with their care went to check out a flick.
"It violates every conceivable policy, common sense, and we believe, the law. We're taking this very, very seriously," said Carl Stephens, president and CEO of St. Amant.
"There was fortunately no harm to the young women but there was certainly potential for harm. Both have very significant intellectual disabilities."

The incident was discovered when police officers patrolling the area noticed the women sitting in the van and waited with them until the staff members exited the theatre.

According to the the article, the the Winnipeg police vulnerable persons unit is investigating the case to see whether the employees' actions were against the law, although a police spokesman could not confirm that late yesterday.

St. Amant has more than 500 employees in its community residential program, and about 1,400 overall.

The full article is here.

2009-06-22T02:12:00.001-05:00

Prison sentence for neglect death

The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, reports the sentencing of Amber Zuke to 2 1/3 years in prison after being found guilty last month of causing the death of her 6-year-old son Jacob by neglecting his nutritional and medical needs. Her husband, Timothy Zuke, whom the judge felt was less responsible for Jacob's death than Ms Zuke, took a plea deal and will serve one to three years in prsion. Jacob, who had cerebral palsy, weighed only 25 pounds when police found him dead in the family apartment on January 1, 2008.

The full story is here.

2009-06-19T02:41:00.005-05:00

Friday round-up

From the Peoria Journal-Star in Peoria, Illinois (June 18, 2009) - The father of a severely autistic man has sued the city and three police officers for tasing his son 12 times when they arrested him last December after a disturbance at a Parc group home.

From the Associated Press (June 17, 2009) - The American Medical Association has taken action to support a doctor's ability to discuss obesity with an overweight patient. Under a new policy adopted Tuesday, the AMA formally opposes efforts by advocacy groups to define obesity as a disability. Doctors fear using that definition makes them vulnerable under disability laws to lawsuits from obese patients who don't want their doctors to discuss their weight.

From the Daily News in Queens, New York (June 17, 20090 - The mishandling of greencard applications for the family of a teen girl with disabilities may cause the family to separate. Following a paperwork snafu, 15-year-old Hayoung Lee, her mother and her sister face deportation to South Korea, leaving her father and 5-year-old brother alone in the US. The family faced its first hearing Monday in immigration court. The next step is a legal conference at the end of next month.

From KABC-TV in Los Angeles, California (June 16, 2009) - An investigation by ABC7 News of the LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and its treatment of bus passengers with disabilities has uncovered has widespread disregard for disabled riders. "Undercover video showed broken equipment and drivers who say they're untrained - or too busy - to help wheelchair riders get secured on the bus as required by federal law."

From AP/KPAX in Helena, Montana (June 16, 2009) - A Missoula woman, who was unable to find a physician willing to prescribe drugs that would hasten her death, has died of ovarian cancer. Janet Murdock died Sunday at age 67. Her death was announced Tuesday by the Denver-based patients' rights group Compassion & Choices. The group was a plaintiff in a lawsuit that led to a judge's ruling that physician-assisted suicide is a right protected under the Montana Constitution.

From Chicago Town Daily News, Chicago, Illinois (June 16, 2009) - A Chicago Public Schools principal yesterday accused district officials of routinely denying disabled students access to specialized help, and at times, of barring them from evaluation for learning disabilities. Mary Ann Pollett, principal of Moses Montefiore Special Elementary School, testified before the City Council's Committee on Education and Child Development that officials have discouraged teachers at her school from reporting students' disabilities because it is too expensive to deal with them.

From the Los Angeles Times (June 16, 2009) - Marcella M. Meyer, a prominent deaf advocate who helped found the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness and ran it for almost three decades, has died. She was 84. Ms Meyer, who was deaf since contracting scarlet fever at the age of 6, fought to expand civil rights and establish social services for people with impaired hearing. She pushed for TV closed-captioning in the 1970s, and was instrumental in opening up jury service in Los Angeles County to the deaf and hard of hearing in 1981. (h/t Patricia E Bauer)

From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune in Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 15, 2009) -
Ariel Wade, who uses an electric mobility scooter to get around, is charging a White Castle restaurant with discrimination after she was turned away when she attempted to use the drive-through window. The Minnesota Disability Law Center is weighing whether to take her case. The restaurant chain says it limits the drive-in window to licensed motor vehicles in the interest of customer safety.

From the News Tribune, Benton County, Washington (June 14, 2009) - A deaf man who was jailed in Benton County in late 2005 and early 2006 is suing the county for allegedly failing to accommodate his needs under provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. William 30-year-old Michael Kral says the county did not provide an interpreter during several court hearings, and that corrections officers refused to allow him to use a phone designed for deaf people and cut his calls short when he did use the teletypewriter, or TTY phone. The lawsuit also alleges that jail personnel wouldn't turn on the jail television's caption for the man.

2009-06-19T02:00:00.003-05:00

Teen beaten by two men in Seattle

Seattle, Washington (June 17, 2009) - Police are investigating the assault by two white men on June 1 of 19-year-old Hannah Geiger. Hannah Geiger, who has a seizure disorder and is a silver medallist in the Special Olympics, was viciously beaten and knocked unconscious by two men in their 20s near the Magnolia Community Center around 3:30 p.m. on June 1. According to KATU.com, the men were muttering "racial slurs"during the attack, which police are calling a hate crime. As reported in the Seattle Times:

On June 1, the Haitian-born 19-year-old started out on her three-block walk from her home to one of her favorite palaces, Magnolia Community Center, when she was stopped by two white men who accosted her because of her race and disability before beating her unconscious. No arrests have been made.
"After we got back home, she told me what happened and her face was pretty red. She showed me her bruises and told the story," said her mother, Ruthann Geiger.

On Wednesday evening, a crowd of about 300 supporters and friends gathered at a community barbecue thrown in Hannah's honor in Magnolia.

For the first time since she was thrust into the local spotlight after surviving what police say was a violent hate crime, Geiger's game face cracked into an embarrassed, but resolute, smile.

Hannah, who has won 16 medals at the Special Olympics, is described by those who know her as a "leader and a natural born helper." In the words of Wayne Grytting, Hannah's teacher for four years at West Seattle High School, "She has been a teacher to all of us about how to care for each other."

The story in full is here and here.

2009-06-18T02:52:00.006-05:00

Netherlands special needs swimming teacher arrested on suspicion of large scale sexual abuse

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (June 17, 2009) - According to Earth Times, 59-year-old Benno Larue, a Dutch special-needs swimming teacher, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing at least 98 girls with intellectual disabilities and other special needs. He was arrested on June 8 after police confiscated tens of thousands of pornographic photographs and video footage of "hundreds of girls" aged 6 to 16. From the article:

"We have confiscated tens of thousands of pornographic pictures and video footage of hundreds of girls," a spokesman of the police in Den Bosch in the southern Netherlands told the German Press Agency dpa.

"The pictures show the swimming teacher performing sexual acts on at least 98 girls, aged 6 to 16," he added.

Given the obvious difficulties in interviewing the special-needs children, due to their disabilities, estimates of the number of potential victims have ranged to possibly over 1,000.

Two girls have so far been identified. Police said that so far it appears all girls had been the victims of assault, not rape.

Larue taught in several swimming pools in Den Bosch and three nearby towns and villages.

According to the report, Larue had been under police investigation five years ago on suspicion of sexual abuse but a police investigation did not lead anywhere. More than 100 police detectives are now working on what "appears to be the largest sexual abuse case in the Netherlands in decades." Larue remains in police custody pending the investigation.

The full article is here.

2009-06-17T03:23:00.006-05:00

Justin Hamilton torture case: an update

Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota (June 15, 2009) - Further to my post on April 16, the Star Tribune reports that John Maniglia, 21, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Monday for his role in the kidnapping, assault and torture of Justin Hamilton (pictured) in October last year. From the article:

John Maniglia, 21, had pleaded guilty in April to one county each of kidnapping, third-degree assault and theft as his trial was about to begin. Seven other charges against him were dropped. The eight-year prison term, handed down by Judge Tim Wermager, is twice the recommended sentence.

"We are pleased that this defendant has been held responsible for his actions in this violent kidnapping and assault," County Attorney Jim Backstrom said in a press release issued today.

Backstrom has said the longer sentence was necessary because of the cruelty of Maniglia's crimes.

As reported earlier by FRIDA, Mr Hamilton was kidnapped on two successive days and kicked and beaten more than 100 times, tied to a tree and burned repeatedly with a lighter. In November, 2008, Maniglia's 16-year-old girlfriend, Natasha Dahn, who provoked the beating by lying to Maniglia and others, claiming that Hamilton had hit her, pleaded guilty to four felonies in exchange for extended juvenile jurisdiction. Another man, Johnathon Diepold, age 22, is scheduled for jury trial on July 27 for various charges in connection with the attack, including kidnapping, theft, third degree assault and false imprisonment. Two other men, Glen Ries, 34, and Timothy Ketterling, 22, have pretrial conferences scheduled for June 22.

For earlier reports, see here and here, and also here, here and here.

2009-06-17T02:15:00.001-05:00

Settlement agreement in case involving treatment of disabled man in prison

Port Orchard, Washington (June 15, 2009) - According to the Seattle Times, Kitscap County has agreed to pay $4.7 million dollars to a man with developmental disabilities for his treatment during his stay in the Kitsap County Jail. According to the article, before he entered jail, William Trask was healthy and led an active life. But when he left prison he was severely dehydrated with gangrene and failing organs. From the article:

William Trask's relatives say he suffered brain damage after refusing to eat or drink in the jail. His lawyer Tim Rolland Tesh of Seattle says Trask became disoriented in jail and was not taken to Harrison Medical Center for 21 days.

Trask's family told KING5-TV that the man suffered from a developmental disability before he entered the jail, but was healthy and active. Relatives say he left jail with dehydration and organ failure.

In a statement released to the press, Sheriff Steve Boyer said that "Mr Trask's situation is very serious, however it is an aberration."

"The Kitsap County Jail is an excellent facility with professional staff. The experts cannot specifically identify the cause of his physical deterioration. However we are pleased that, through this settlement, Mr. Trask's present and future care and health needs will be met."

To read the story in full, see here and here.

2009-06-17T00:55:00.000-05:00

Wednesday blog-about

Recommended reading:

Cara (Feministe, The Curvature) - U.S Polling Locations Remain Inaccessible

William Peace (Bad Cripple) - White Castle Miss the Point

Renee (Womanist Musings) - Using Lame As A Descriptor Is Always Ableist

2009-06-16T03:21:00.000-05:00

Rise in crimes against Tennesseans with disabilities

From the Public News Service in Nashville Tennessee, June 15, 2009

Tennesseans with disabilities are being victimized by criminals looking for easy targets. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reports that crimes against people with disabilities in Tennessee, primarily thefts, assaults and burglaries, were up 88 percent so far in 2009.

Carol Westlake, executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, says the rise in crimes against Tennesseans with disabilities could be tied to the current recession.

"It may have to do with the economy and money being tight in general. You know, if I'm going to commit a crime, people with disabilities are easier prey."

As the state legislature finalizes a budget this week, Westlake is concerned about Governor Phil Bredesen's proposed cuts, including the elimination of 718 state employees' jobs.
"That's three-quarters of those in the departments that serve people with mental retardation and mental illness."

Westlake says that adding to the problem is the attitude of some people that Tennesseans with disabilities are a burden during hard times, because there is a perception that they're not contributing to society and the economy of the state.

2009-06-16T02:32:00.004-05:00

UK unlawful discrimination lawsuit claims Abercrombie & Fitch made employee work in stockroom because she didn't fit its "look policy"

From the Daily Mail in London, the United Kingdom, June 14, 2009

A disabled law student is suing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for discrimination, claiming it made her work in a stockroom because her prosthetic arm didn't fit its public image.

Riam Dean, 22, was just days into a part-time job at the U.S. firm's flagship London store when she says she was asked to leave the shop floor.

She claims she was told she broke the company's 'Look Policy', which dictates how members of staff are meant to present themselves.

The company has been criticised for recruiting only young and beautiful assistants and was recently forced to settle a £25million law suit over the issue in the U.S.
Shoppers entering its new Savile Row shop are greeted by two bare-chested young men, clad in low-slung jeans and flip flops.
Miss Dean applied for a job with the company last May to fund the final months of her law degree at London's Queen Mary University.
She was born with her left forearm missing and has worn a prosthetic limb since she was three months old but insists she has never allowed her disability to get in her way.

She said: 'I was never asked whether I had a disability at my interview and, to be honest, it never occurred to me to mention it.

'It wouldn't stop me doing my job and I certainly didn't want or expect any special treatment.
'All they seemed interested in was taking my photograph to make sure I had the right image.'
After being told she had got the job she went along to an induction day where she was issued a 45-page handbook listing in minute detail the company's strict Look Policy.

It stipulates that staff must represent a 'natural, classic American style' and instructs them on everything from how to wear their hair (clean and natural) to how long they should wear their nails (a quarter of an inch past the end of the finger).

She was also given a uniform of jeans and a polo shirt, although the company handbook does state that sales associates can wear their own clothing as long as it is in 'Abercrombie style'.
Miss Dean, who normally wears long-sleeved tops to disguise the join between her upper arm and artificial limb, says she was told to buy a plain white cardigan to wear over her uniform.

But matters came to a head a few days later.

'A worker from what they call the "visual team", people who are employed to go round making sure the shop and its staff look up to scratch, came up to me and demanded I take the cardigan off.

'I told her, yet again, that I had been given special permission to wear it,' she recalled.
'A few minutes later my manager came over to me and said: "I can't have you on the shop floor as you are breaking the Look Policy. Go to the stockroom immediately and I'll get someone to replace you."

'I pride myself on being quite a confident girl but I had never experienced prejudice like that before and it made me feel utterly worthless.

'Afterwards I telephoned the company's head office where a member of staff asked whether I was willing to work in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrived.

'That was the final straw. I just couldn't go back.'

Miss Dean, who has just sat her final law exams, is due to take her case to the Central London Employment Tribunal later this month and is seeking damages of £25,000.

Four years ago, Abercrombie settled the £25million lawsuit, in which nine former employees accused the firm of discrimination.

The litigants, all from ethnic minority groups, said they were forced to work in stockrooms or take night shifts because they did not fit the 'Abercrombie look'.

A spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch said: 'A&F has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy and is committed to providing a supportive and dignified environment for all of its employees.'

2009-06-16T02:19:00.000-05:00

"Wrongful birth" lawsuit

Portland, Oregon, June 13, 2009 - A South Portland couple, whose two-year-old daughter was born with Down syndrome, are suing their doctor for more than 14 million dollars to cover the costs of raising her and providing her education, medical care and speech and physical therapy. Deborah and Ariel Levey, whom were reportedly given the wrong information after a prenatal test for Down syndrome, say they would have terminated the pregnancy if they had know their daughter had the condition. As reported by the Oregonian:

The Levys declined to be interviewed. Their attorney, David K. Miller, said the toddler is as dear to them as their two older children but they fear being perceived as "heartless."

"They feel very strongly that what happened to them was wrong," Miller said. "They were given incorrect information, and their lives have changed because of it."

Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said fewer than 10 such suits are filed in the U.S. each year. And in order for the suits to succeed, courts must be willing to rule that "it's better not to exist and give damages for having to exist," Caplan said.

The 1973 decision Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for such suits because parents generally must claim that they would have aborted the
fetus.
The "wrongful birth" and "wrongful life" lawsuits are controversial. High courts in roughly two-thirds of states have allowed the suits. Some states -- including Michigan, Georgia and Utah -- have banned them.

The story in full is here.

2009-06-15T03:05:00.001-05:00

Danieal Kelly: an update

According to the Associated Press (June 13, 2009), 65-year-old Manuelita Buenaflor, a social-services employee with MultiEthnic Behavioral Services, admitted last Wednesday that she helped forge documents and failed to supervise case workers, a lapse that prosecutors say contributed to the death by starvation in 2006 of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly. Ms Buenaflor, who has doctoral degrees in theology and child development, pleaded guilty to two fraud counts and conspiracy. For readers unfamiliar with this case, Danieal Kelly, who had cerebral palsy, died of starvation while under the supervision of Philadephia's Department of Human Services. At the time of her death, she weighed just 46 pounds and her back was full of gaping bedsores infested with maggots. Her death and other failures by the DHS resulted in nine indictments, the firing of two DHS top officials and a number of reforms at the agency. As conveyed by FRIDA a few weeks ago, Danieal's mother, Andrea Kelly pleaded guilty at the end of April to third-degree murder and child endangerment in connection with her death. From the Associated Press article:

Manuelita Buenaflor, 65, of Philadelphia became the first official with MultiEthnic Behavioral Services to enter a plea in the case, although two underlings have signed guilty pleas.
The city paid MultiEthnic a $1 million a year to visit at-risk children like Danieal Kelly, a disabled girl who lived in a chaotic home with an unfit mother, and make sure they were receiving needed services.
MultiEthnic documents suggest they made the required visits with Danieal, a 14-year-old with cerebral palsy. But she had severe bed sores, weighed just 42 pounds and had long stopped going to school when her maggot-infested body was found in the squalid, stifling home in August 2006.

The story in full is here.

2009-06-15T02:54:00.001-05:00

Hundreds of workers admonished for ill-treating residents at Texas institutions

The Associated Press has obtained information about abuse, neglect and other conditions at Texas institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities showing that 268 workers were fired or suspended for mis-treating residents in 2008. According to the Associated Press (June 13, 2009), during the same period, 53 residents died from conditions the Department of Justice considered preventable, "indicating lapses in proper care." The documents obtained by the AP also show that 11 of the firings or suspensions were considered serious because they invovled physical or sexual abuse that caused or may have caused serious physical injury.

The revelations come a day after Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation aimed at improving security and oversight at the 13 institutions, known as state schools. They are home to about 4,600 residents and more than 12,000 full-time employees.

The full article can be read here.

2009-06-12T03:00:00.006-05:00

Friday round-up

Update (June 12) - The Associated Press reports that William Cozzie was sentenced yesterday to more than three years in federal prison. From the Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2009 - A Chicago police officer, William Cozzi, faces up to 8 years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday afternoon for the videotaped beating of a man handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair in 2005. William Cozzi pleaded guilty in January to using excessive force when he struck Randy Miles, a hospital patient, about a dozen times with a sap, a leather spatula-shaped object.

From the Associated Press, June 11, 2009 - A report from the Government Accountability Office has found that nearly one-third of the nation’s polling places failed to provide access to voters in wheelchairs in last November’s election. The study found that 23 percent of polling places denied privacy to voters with disabilities, and 73 percent had physical features that could impede access to people with disabilities. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been given to states to make polling places more accessible since the 2002 passage of the Help America Vote Act.

From the Miami Herald in Miami, Florida, June 11, 2009 - "A Miami man caring for a severely disabled daughter is suing Medicaid for its refusal to pay for her diapers." The man, who is widowed and unemployed, says he can't afford the diapers and other necessities for his family, and has asked Medicaid, the state's insurance program for the needy, to help. Medicaid administrators have refused to pay. They haven't explained why they won't pay, other than say the items aren't in the state's plan, say the man's attorneys. Two other states had excluded diapers from their Medicaid plans, Arizona and Louisiana, said one of the man's lawyers with Legal Services of Greater Miami. Both states lost court challenges. "Diapers may not appear to be medical equipment or devices," said another attorney who works with Florida Legal Services. But ''there is a whole other world of children who are so disabled that they are incontinent,'' she added.

From the Associated Press in Paris, Texas, June 11, 2009 - An 18-year-old teenager with severe intellectual disabilities was sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his 6-year-old neighbor. Aaron Hart of Paris pleaded guilty to five counts, including aggravated sexual assault and indecency by contact. According to the report, the judge decided to stack the sentences against Hart after jurors settled on two five-year terms and three 30-year terms. The judge said neither he nor jurors liked the idea of prison for Hart but they felt there was no other option.

From the Fresno Bee in Fresno, California, June 10, 2009 - The mother of a California teenager with Down syndrome said she is frustrated that her son and 10 other students in his special education class were left out of the 2009 Madera High School yearbook. The district blamed the oversight on new software that weeded out photos of students whose identification numbers were not in the school system since the Madera County Office of Education, not the high school, runs the special-education class.

From the Mid Hudson News, Rockland County, New York, June 9, 2009 - A Congers woman, who cared for a disabled man, has been arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars from him. Debra Ann Mills, 53, was charged with grand larceny in the third degree. It is alleged that Ms Mills stole over $3,000 from a trust fund for the benefit of the man over a 13 month period. She had access to the fund set up for him by his late mother.

From Housing Wire, June 9, 2009 - An annual congressional report by the US Department of Housing in Urban Development says consumers filed a record 10,552 fair housing discrimination complaints in fiscal year 2008. Discrimination based on disability accounted for 44% of the complaints while 35% of complaints alleged discrimination based on race. Complaints were filed on the basis of alleged discrimination in terms, conditions, privileges, services, or facilities involved in the sale or rental of housing.

From The Washington Post, June 9, 2009 - The growing population of elderly and disabled people in the Washington area is threatening to overwhelm the door-to-door regional paratransit service that Metro operates for those who are unable to ride the subway or bus, according to officials.

From 24dash.com: More than half of British society sees disabled people as "inferior", according to research published June 8. Disability charity Scope said it found 53% viewed disabled people "in a negative way". The equality rights campaigners said an online survey also found 38% of respondents thought the disabled were a "drain on resources". However, the findings showed a strong public backing for action in favour of disabled people's equality. (h/t Media dis&dat)

From the New York Times, June 9, 2009 - A national survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare, a division of the United Health Group, finds that the economic crisis has dealt a heavy blow to the estimated 44 million Americans who care for an aging or disabled relative or spouse. According to the survey, one in six caregivers said they had lost a job during the downturn. Some 21 percent said they had to share housing with family members to save money. At the same time, government and non-profit organizations that usually provide relief are being cut in the downturn.

From the Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2009 - The federal government sued United Airlines on Thursday, saying the carrier made it too hard for workers who became disabled to switch to other jobs they could perform. The lawsuit accuses United of "malicious and reckless conduct" and seeks lost wages and punitive damages for victims and an order that United stop discriminating against disabled workers.

2009-06-11T02:29:00.004-05:00

Sex crime reports

Grand Rapids, Michigan, June 10, 2009 - Grand Rapid News reports that a former employee of Rest Haven Homes has been charged with sexually assaulting a resident with developmental disabilities between March and May last year. Daniel Griswold, 26, of Wyoming, was arraigned Friday on single counts of gross indecency between a male and female, and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Columbus, Ohio, June 9, 2009 - According to Fox News, a former caregiver at Ohio Hospital for Psychiatry, Christopher Wiggins, has been charged with sexual assaulting a 17-year-old girl who is being treated as a patient. According to investigators, the assault took place inside the facility. Columbus Police were first notified after another patient told staff something was wrong. Wiggins is also under investigation for other allegations.

Mableton, Georgia (June 3, 2009) - As reported by WSBTV, 73-year-old William Stubbs was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a disabled 61-year-old woman at Emory-Adventist Hospital in Smyrna. According to police, Stubbs, inappropriately touched the woman while visiting the hospital on May 24. He is charged with aggravated sexual battery, sexual battery and exploitation of the elderly, according to his arrest warrant.

Staunton, Virginia, June 1, 2009 - News Virginia reports that a 73-year-old Staunton man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 26-year-old blind and developmentally disabled woman at his home on Sunday morning. John Oehlerking is charged with forcible sodomy. According to an investigator with the sheriff's office, Oehlerking and the women were acquaintances.

2009-06-10T02:36:00.002-05:00

Review of Disability Studies, Volume 5, Issue 2, on-line now

To check out the latest issue of RDS (Volume 5, Issue 2) free on-line, click here.

Here is the table of contents:

Research Articles

Gender and Disability: A First Look at Rehabilitation Syllabi and a Call to Action p. 3, Allen N. Lewis, Sarah Jane Brubaker,& Amy J. Armstrong, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

A Race Apart: Genocide and the Protection of Disabled Persons Under International Law p. 15, A. Rahman Ford, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Promising Interventions for Promoting STEM Fields to Students Who Have Disabilities p. 29, Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington, USA & Chuan Chang, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA

Essays and Creative Works

Little Displays: The Photographs of Ricardo Gil p. 48, Ann Millet, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA

Book and Media Reviews

Quick Guides to Inclusion: Ideas for Educating Students with Disabilities p. 57, Reviewed by Megan A. Conway

My Body of Knowledge: Stories of Disability, Healing, and Life p. 5, Reviewed by Steven E. Brown

The Facts of Life and More: Sexuality and Intimacy for People with Intellectual Disabilities p. 58, Reviewed by Rhonda S. Black

Instructional Materials for Teaching Sociology & Disability Studies p. 60, Reviewed by Heng-hao Chang, Disability Studies Dissertation Abstracts

(Via Megan A. Conway, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Editor, Review of Disability Studies (RDS)www.rds.hawaii.edu, Training Coordinator, OPE/IST Project http://www.ist.hawaii.edu/ Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

2009-06-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Lawsuit alleging gross negligence filed against PA psychiatric facility

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 9, 2009 - A 15-year-old girl and her parents have filed a lawsuit against Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic after she was allegedly sexually assaulted while she was a patient at the facility last summer. As reported by the Post Gazette:

The girl, who is not named in the complaint to protect her identity, claims that she was in her room about 9:50 p.m. on July 26 when a 16-year-old male patient entered and sexually assaulted her.
The lawsuit alleges that the day before the attack she told a doctor there that the boy had been acting inappropriately with her and that he had been intrusive.

According to the report, "the claim alleges gross negligence and corporate gross negligence". It also includes charges that the staff failed to properly supervise adolescent patients and allowed male and female patients to be housed on the same unit.

The story is full is here.

2009-06-10T01:02:00.001-05:00

Wednesday blog-around

Recommended reading:

The social reality of a new disability by Brilliant Mind Broken Body

FYI by Emma over a Wheelchair Princess

Dancing in Your Bones by Wheelchair Dancer

Dora Raymaker's two posts about Susan Boyle and disablist attitudes: Ability and Vulnerability and Appearance and Expectation

2009-06-09T02:15:00.004-05:00

Fatal fire in Pittsfield, New Hampshire

NECN in Pittsfied, New Hampshire reports that a man and his disabled daughter died in fire that broke out in their second floor apartment yesterday morning (June 8) in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. An excerpt from the article:

The fire broke out shortly after five o'clock in a four unit apartment house on Main Street.
Before long, more than 40 firefighters were on scene, but it was too late.
The victims died in a second floor apartment and were found near the front of the building.
Witnesses say that the father had run out to get help but went back inside to try and rescue his daughter.
The wife and mother of the victims was not at home at the time.

The only other tenant of the building was able to get out safely.

It is not yet known how the fire started. The names of the man and his daughter have not been released but neighbors say they lived in the building for the last eight years or so.

2009-06-09T01:05:00.007-05:00

Op-ed: "Does disability really need to be 'fixed'?"

"Does disability really need to be fixed?" is the title of this op-ed by John Lee Clark in Sunday's Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota). John Lee Clark is a deaf-blind writer from St. Paul whose work has appeared in many publications. His chapbook of poems is "Suddenly Slow" (Handtype Press, 2008). Here is the beginning of his piece:

Every time there is an advance in surgical audiology or genetic engineering, a wave of alarm ripples through the signing community. Doctors are intent on eradicating deafness. They subscribe to the belief that there's something wrong with being deaf. So they make it their business to try to fix it, hoping to ultimately wipe it out from humankind.
But those who are culturally deaf are worried about the future of their language and their way of life, both of which are beloved to them. I can identify with their fears, because I was born deaf to an all-deaf family. American Sign Language is my native language. I graduated from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, where I enjoyed a rich education. I went to Gallaudet University, the world's premier institution of higher education with a mainly deaf student body.
It was where my parents met and where I fell in love with a deaf woman who is now my wife. Although our three sons are hearing, ASL is their native language, and they are members of the signing community as much as we are. I love being deaf and would not change it for the world.

The article in full is here.

2009-06-08T03:06:00.000-05:00

NCIL annual march and rally Washington DC on Monday, June 8

From the AAPD Justice for All blog:

As a part of its Annual Conference, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) will again be marching for the rights of people with disabilities through the streets of Washington, on its way to an energetic rally on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Speakers, including Senator Tom Harkin, will energize conference participants and other advocates as they prepare for their visits on Capitol Hill. NCIL would like to extend an invitation to join its march and rally to fellow CCD members and others in their organizations. If you are interested in participating in the march, here are the details:

WHEN? Monday, June 8

WHERE? Meet outside of the Grand Hyatt Washington, at the corner of 11th and G Streets NW. March participants will be organized into regions, so find the state you wish to join!

TIME? Begin lining up at from 9:30-10 a.m. The march will last until about 11 a.m. at the Capitol.

If you would like to skip the march and join us at the Capitol, here are the details:

WHEN? Monday, June 8

WHERE? West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol

TIME? 11:30a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Later in the day, a Congressional briefing on long-term-care and supports will occur:

WASHINGTON, DC -- Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Edward M. Kennedy is committed to health reform that ensures vulnerable populations have access to coverage that meets their needs, including long-term services and support. On Monday, June 8, 2009 the Committee will host an open press Congressional briefing to provide an update on current HELP efforts to include long-term services and support in health reform.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a HELP Committee member and long-time advocate for individuals with disabilities, will be joined by senior Congressional staffers Connie Garner and Lee Perselay and Dr. Barbara Manard, from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). Also participating: Mike Oxford of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center and two-time Purple Heart Recipient and disabled Vietnam Veteran John Henry Douglas from Lake City, Florida.

WHO:

* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
* Connie Garner, Disability and Special Needs Population Policy Director for Senator Kennedy
* Lee Perselay, Disability Counsel for Senator Harkin
* Barbara Manard, Ph.D., Vice-President of Long-Term Care/Health Strategies for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)
* Mike Oxford, Executive Director of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center
* John Henry Douglas, Disabled Vietnam Veteran and recipient of two Purple Hearts, Lake City, FL

WHAT: Congressional briefing on long-term services and support

WHEN: 2 p.m. Monday, June 8, 2009

WHERE: Russell Caucus Room (SR 325)

2009-06-08T02:46:00.002-05:00

Hate crime charges

From the Los Angeles Times (June 4, 2009):

A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and committing a hate crime after he allegedly threw a metal bolt at participants running in the Special Olympics Torch Run in Valencia, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies from the sheriff’s Santa Clarita station were running with the children in the torch run at about 3:25 p.m. at the intersection of McBean Parkway and Arroyo Park Drive when a man inside a vehicle began yelling at the children to get off the road, using a derogatory term regarding their sexual orientation, sheriff's officials said in a statement.
The man, identified as David Robert Schwartz, allegedly threw the bolt at the children, which came close to two of them. Schwartz was taken into custody a short time later. Schwartz was being held at the Santa Clarita jail in lieu of a $50,000 bail.

2009-06-08T02:00:00.003-05:00

Detroit special education student handcuffed to school door for four hours

From Click on Detroit in Michigan, (June 6, 2009) (see also WJBK-FoxNews and AP/Chicago Tribune):

DETROIT -- The Detroit Public School District has launched an investigation into the treatment of a special education student.
The student was reportedly handcuffed to the principal's door following a fight at Sampson-Webber Elementary School on June 1.
According to school board member Marie Thorton, the school staff said the principal ordered a Detroit Public Schools police officer to handcuff the boy to a door in her office.
Thornton said the boy, a fourth-grader, remained handcuffed from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. when he was allowed to go home.

The full story is here.

(h/t Patricia E Bauer)

2009-06-05T02:16:00.005-05:00

Friday round-up

From the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia (June 4, 2004) - Damages of $750,000 have been awarded against the owner of Dote de Neige Home for Adults, an assisted living facility in Newport News, after charges were brought against a former staffer who is accused of sexually assaulting a 55-year-old intellectually disabled man. The case against the assisted living facility and its owner, Rose Daniels Potter, was brought by the sister of the man who was a resident at the home. The lawsuit claimed the home and Potter failed in their duty to exercise "reasonable care" when they hired Junious Boyd Batten, 40, of Newport News, as a certified nursing assistant, despite his previous criminal record.

From the Providence Journal (June 4, 2004) - About 2,000 people rallied outside the Rhode Island State House this week to protest possible cuts in services for people with developmental disabilities in a time of economic uncertainty. The protest was organized in response to recent comments by the chairman of the House Finance Committee saying that budget-weary lawmakers had not ruled out sweeping cuts to human-service programs for elderly people and those with disabilities.

From the Associated Press in Orlando, Florida (June 4, 2009) - Activists for people with disabilities brought their Segways into a federal court June 3 to urge a judge to reject a settlement between Walt Disney World and three visitors restricting the use of the personal transporters at the resort. Two-dozen activists parked Segways in the back of the courtroom where U.S. District Judge George Presnell is considering whether to approve the settlement between Disney and three visitors who were prohibited from bringing the vehicles into the theme parks.

From the On Call blog for the Palm Beach Post in Florida (June 4, 2009) - A West Palm Beach nursing home has been fined $16,000 by state regulators after a patient was found injured on the floor with maggots crawling out of his leg cast. The Azalea Court nursing home was faulted for failing to have a comprehensive care plan for the resident that included caring for his broken leg. “The 120-bed facility failed to provide the necessary care and services to a resident with the cast and wound of lower leg, resulting in an infestation of maggots,” stated the state inspection report dated August 2008. (h/t to Media dis&dat)

From BBC News in the United Kingdom (June 3, 2009) - Debbie Purdy, a British woman who has multiple sclerosis, has asked the House of Lords to clarify its law on assisted suicide. Ms Purdy plans to go abroad to Swiss clinic Dignitas to end her life, but fears her husband may be prosecuted if he helps. Ms Purdy has already lost High and Appeal court cases and if she loses this challenge the only option open to her would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Pannick QC, who is representing Ms Purdy, said she and her husband wanted to know whether he was likely to be prosecuted and what criteria the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) takes into account when deciding whether to bring a charge under the Suicide Act.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (June 2, 2009) - A group of disabled people rallied against a state Senate-passed budget proposal May 31, saying that deep cuts to key programs would force more disabled people out of their homes and into nursing homes.

From the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire, (June 2, 2009) - Disability advocate David Robar died of pneumonia on Sunday. He was 44. After recovering from a motorcycle accidentthat left him paralyzed below the chest at age 26, Robar became an advocate in Concord and Washington, D.C., for people with disabilities, "winning over lawmakers as he explained how various bills would give people like him the rights assumed by other Americans."

2009-06-05T01:43:00.001-05:00

Shylea Thomas: an update

The Associated Press in Flint, Michigan reported yesterday that a hearing began on Tuesday to determine if Shylea Thomas's aunt and adoptive mother Lorrie Thomas will stand trial for murder and other charges in connection with her death. As conveyed in an earlier Frida post, the emaciated body of 9-year-old Shylea Thomas, who was quadraplegic, was found on April 20 in a public storage facility. 39-year-old Lorrie Thomas was arraigned on six charges, including second-degree murder, child abuse, tampering with evidence, welfare fraud and removing a body with permission. According to authorities, an examination of the evidence showed that Shylea was extremely neglected and died of malnutrition about six weeks before her body was found.

The full article is here.

2009-06-04T03:00:00.000-05:00

Home care worker neglect charges

Saint Paul, Minnesota (June 3, 2009) - According to Pioneer Press/Twin Cities, a home care worker has been shown on videotape neglecting to feed two adolescent teens with disabilities in her care. The tape also shows her "sleeping on the job," and in one case, having sex with a male friend in the children's living area. From the article:

Concerns about the home care worker surfaced in late October after the parents took the brothers to an emergency room because of their alarming weight loss.

The children receive 24-hour nursing care due to their myotubular myopathy, a condition that severely diminishes their ability to move, eat and breathe on their own. After a doctor suggested that the family's overnight nursing aide might not be conducting their tube feedings, the family reviewed videotape from their home.

While the aide was recording regular feedings in medical records, a week's worth of tape showed that she wasn't conducting all of the scheduled feedings and was turning off the boys' feeding pumps for short periods.
The tape also showed the worker sleeping on the job and leaving for prolonged smoking breaks, and in one case she "had sexual intercourse with a male friend in the children's living quarters," according to the May 21 state report, which was released Tuesday.

The worker, who has been fired, was employed by Divine HealthCare Network, which serves eight counties and has been operating for eight years. According to the report, no penalties have been issued by the state against the agency, and there have been other substantiated cases of abuse or neglect against the agency since 2005.

A nurse from the agency said she had noticed that the aide was writing the exact same medical reports every night and was leaving out key information. The nurse also told investigators she had noticed from daily reports that the children had been losing weight.

See also this report in the Star Tribune.

2009-06-04T02:00:00.001-05:00

School janitor charged with sexual assault

Orange, California (June 3) - According to KTLA, 49-year-old Luis Mejia, who is a janitor at El Modena High School, has been charged with sexually assaulting a young girl in the school's special education program. It is alleged that the assaults took place in his office at the school before, during and after classes, for a period of four months, starting in December 2008. From the article:

Prosecutors say Mejia lured the girl with money and gifts.
He also exchanged 'love' notes with the girl as well as more than 100 calls and text messages, according to prosecutors.

During the incidents, Mejia allegedly tricked another janitor to cover a video surveillance camera with tape when he went into his office alone with the victim. According to ABC7, he told the employee there was going to be painting done and the camera had to be protected from any paint.

Mejia has been an employee of the school for 12 years, according to the report, and is now on adminstrative leave while he faces charges. He faces a maximum of 12 years and eight months in prison if convicted.

2009-06-03T02:26:00.001-05:00

Sexual assault and prostitution charges

Appleton, Wisconsin, USA (June 2) - John Perry-Rydz, 25, and his wife, Elizabeth Perry-Rydz, 28, were charged on Friday with the sexual assault and prostitution, sometimes in exchange for gifts, of a 21-year-old woman with developmental disabilities. According to the criminal complaint, the assaults happened over a two-year period, beginning when the woman was 19-year-old. As reported in the Post Crescent:

On at least two of those occasions, the victim was asked for sexual favors in exchange for items purchased for her by John Perry-Rydz. One of those was his payment for a belly button piercing and on another occasion, in exchange for a video game and some articles of clothing.

The couple are scheduled to appear in court on June 16 on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of prostitution.

According to the article, John Perry-Rydz has been held in jail since March 25 on 22 counts of possessing child pornography and additional charges. He pleaded not guilty by reason of "mental disease or defect" to those charges and a trial date is pending.

2009-06-03T01:36:00.003-05:00

Dorothy Dixon update: Jury trial for Michelle Riley has been scheduled

Via the blogger at What About Our Daughters comes word that the jury trial for Michelle Riley, who has been charged with murder in the killing last year of Dorothy Dixon, has been scheduled for August 17, 2009, at 9.00am. For readers unfamiliar with this case, Dorothy Dixon was a 29-year-old, pregnant, African American woman with an intellectual disability who died in January, 2008, from the injuries she had accumulated after being subjected to months of physical abuse. According to the coroners report, Dorothy had been beaten, scalded, burned with a glue gun, as well as shot repeatedly with a BB gun. Her unborn child was delivered stillborn during her autopsy. Michelle Riley, 35, Judy Woods, 43, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy have been charged with her murder.

The full post at What About Our Daughters is here.

2009-06-02T02:35:00.003-05:00

Wednesday blog-around

Recommended readings:

Wheelchair Dancer - Butch/Femme -- Crip

Planet of the Blind - Talk to Me When You've Got a Plan

Biodiverse Resistance - What would/could personal assistance look like in a mutual aid society?

Kristina Chew - Eugenics, Fear and Pain

Bad Cripple - Disability as a Positive Influence on Life

2009-05-26T02:12:00.007-05:00

Caregiver neglect and abuse cases

Below are descriptions of some of the cases of caregiver neglect and abuse that have been in the news this past week. Although by no means a full list of abuse/neglect cases, it does convey their diversity in terms of geographical location, age and the gender of the abuser and those abused by them.

Boynton Beach, Florida (May 22, 2009) - The Sun Sentinel reports that Richard Paul Anderson, 43, a Bethesda Memorial Hospital nurse was arrested on a charge he beat an elderly patient on the face. According to the arrest report, another nurse saw him punching an 85-year-old male patient several times on the face and that he stopped only after she yelled "stop" several times. The patient ended up with a black eye and needed nine stitches. Police said Anderson wouldn't explain to them what happened, but that he previously told another hospital employee that he hit the man twice in self-defense. Benson has been charged with abuse of an elderly person, and was in jail on bond of $3,000.

Carmel Valley, California (May 21, 2009) - According to CBS, a man 48-year-old Galen Fisher was arrested on suspicion of abusing his 70-year-old mother and keeping her in their Carmel Valley home against her will. According to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, Fisher allegedly threatened to kill his mother while brandishing a pistol, kept her in her home against her will and slapped and punched her multiple times. He had been making threats, which escalated over the past couple days, the sheriff's office also reported. Fisher was charged elder abuse, false imprisonment, criminal threats, brandishing a weapon and possession of a concealed weapon.

Marshall County, Iowa (May 21, 2009) - WZTV reports the arrest of 61-year-old Gwendolyn Davidson on charges of abusing and stealing from an elderly woman and her intellectually disabled son in Lewisburg. Authorities say Davidson stole more than $12,000 from them while she was working as a their personal assistant. She was on 63 counts of theft and two counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult. Davidson was an employee at the Impact Centers in Columbia, TN.

Punta Gorda, Florida (May 20, 2009) - According to this news report, police arrested 58-year-old Letitia A. Calderwood for the abuse and battery of a 76-year-old resident at an elder care facility where she was formerly employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant. According to the report, Calderwood and another employee were summoned to assist in helping the female resident who had fallen in the bathroom. Calderwood and the two other facility employees had difficulty helping the resident to her feet and Calderwood subsequently kicked in her lower back while using a profanity. Once the resident was helped to her feet, Calderwood struck her in the face with an open hand. Calderwood was interviewed by detectives and admitted to kicking and striking the resident as originally reported. She stated that her actions were done out of frustration although she knew the patient was disabled and had limited ability to stand on her own. Calderwood was charged with battery on the elderly and abuse of the elderly and was being held in jail without bond.

2009-05-25T02:44:00.001-05:00

Katlin Cousineau case goes to trial

Barrie, Central Ontario, Canada (May 23) - According to the Edmonton Sun, the jury trial of Paul Bradey, who is accused of the torture killing of 23-year-old Katlin Cousineau, began last week. The charred body of Ms Cousineau, who was intellectually disabled was found on November 15, 2005, in what has been described as "dungeon-like basement," along with containers of gasoline, a blowtorch and a pair of handcuffs. From the article:

Now on trial for her murder is Paul Bradey, who owned the rural two-storey home in Midland, Ont., where he lived with his girlfriend and another tenant, along with Cousineau and 19 cats.
On the witness stand yesterday, a former resident whose parents sold the house to Bradey told the jury that she grew up in the house and was always afraid of the shallow, dirty basement.
"My sister and I hated to go down there," said Deborah Mink.
"It was dark, it was dank. It smelled. There were spiders and mice."
The Crown has told the jury that in November 2005 Bradey and his tenant, Mat Sitte, went down into that basement and tortured Cousineau with a propane blowtorch.
The Crown also alleges that Bradey left the house while Sitte burned the house to the ground to destroy evidence.

According to the Toronto Sun co-accused Mat Sitte and Bradey's girlfriend, Susanna Balogh, are also expected to testify during the trial.The full stories are here and here.

2009-05-22T03:51:00.005-05:00

Friday round-up

From the Auburn Journal in Sacramento, California (May 21) - Approximately 2000 people with disabilities and their allies will be at the Capitol on May 27 for the 6th Annual Disability Capitol Action Day from 10am-3pm. The theme of this year’s event is based on the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead Decision which requires all states, including California, to implement an Olmstead plan that provides services which allow people with disabilities the choice of living in the community as opposed to institutions. For more information contact Christina Mills at Christina@cfilc.org, or http://www.disabilityactioncoalition.org/, 916-325-1690 ext. 333. (h/t Media dis&dat)

From the Associated Press in Muskegon, Michigan (May 20) - Timothy Andrew Carl, a 27-year-old nurse’s aide who authorities say abused an elderly couple by urinating in the woman’s hair and pouring liquid soap on her husband’s head in February 2008 has been sentenced to one year in prison. He was also ordered to spend five years on probation and continue mental health treatment. Carl apologized in court to the victims’ family for “betraying their trust.”

From the Gwinnet Daily Post in Gwinnet, Georgia (May 20) - Marshae Brooks and Demarcus Crawford have been indicted as part of an alleged four-person robbing crew accused of killing 51-year old Tedla Lemma in a home-invasion in March last year. According to prosecutors say Brooks and Crawford allegedly beat, gagged and hog-tied the victim and left him for dead. Unable to breathe through the gag, Mr Lemma suffocated. Brooks and Crawford face counts of murder, felony murder, burglary and false imprisonment. Brooks is also charged with armed robbery, kidnapping with bodily injury and aggravated assault stemming from three other incidents. Last month, a jury convicted Quincy Jackson, of murder and related charges in Mr Lemma's death. A key witness in Jackson's trial, Lorna Araya, is accused of masterminding the home invasion.

From the Washington Times (May 20) - A Government Accountability Office report shows that the use of seclusion and physical restraint in schools disproportionately impacts students with disabilities and has resulted in hundreds of possible abuse cases and at least 20 deaths. According to House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, who requested the report and held a committee hearing on Tuesday to highlight the findings, “This behavior, in some instances, looks like torture. The current situation is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

From the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and the Associated Press (May 19) - Five former employees of the Corpus Christi State School have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from cellphone videos of fights staged between residents with intellectual disabilities at the Texas institution. Each of the five men are charged with causing injury to a disabled person. A sixth person, Stephanie Garza, is accused of failing to intervene and will be arraigned later this month. According to police, eleven employees organized the fights, which took place over the past two years.

From the Dallas Morning News (May 19) - According to state records, dozens of employees at Texas institutions were fired for serious abuse and neglect, such as whipping a resident in the mouth with a belt, during the same two-year period as the late night “fight clubs.”

From the Houston Chronicle (May 18) - Hundreds of abuse complaints involving the mentally disabled residents of Texas state schools are made to local police each year but rarely do they result in criminal charges, largely because the cases are too difficult to prove, according to a three-year snapshot of data obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

From Canwest News Service in Canada (May 18) - A major new study by Yale University scientists shows bias against obese people is growing. The scientists, who searched through medical studies on weight bias published between January 2000 and May 2008 found that more than half of 620 doctors surveyed view obese patients as "awkward,'' "unattractive,'' "ugly'' and "non-compliant.'' A third went further, painting the obese as weak-willed, sloppy and lazy. Even dietitians, personal trainers and doctors who specialize in treating obesity exhibit fat phobia.

From the Times-Union in Jacksonsville, Florida (May 18) - Local authorities say the number of people with disabilities being denied housing or the right to make reasonable modifications is on the rise. People with disabilities are covered under the federal Fair Housing Act, which also prohibits housing discrimination based on race, sex or family status.

2009-05-22T00:05:00.003-05:00

Child cruelty charges

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fox 5 Atlanta (with video):

Atlanta, Georgia - Police have arrested Laurie Peavy, 44, a special education teacher at Woodstock High School teacher and her teacher's aide, Nancy Cheek, 49, for allegedly abusing two children with disabilities. Ms Peavy has been charged with two counts of false imprisonment and cruelty to children, and Ms Cheek with one count of each. Both women are free on bond. According to the Sheriff's Office, Ms Peavy and Ms Cheek duct-taped a 17-year-old autistic boy to a chair as a disciplinary action. Ms Peavy is also accused of confining a 17-year-old blind girl under a table against her will for "talking and being chatty."

Both women have been removed from their teaching positions and reassigned to non-teaching positions pending an internal investigation.

2009-05-21T03:18:00.002-05:00

Guardian charged with beating death of 12-year-old boy

Update: According to this report in the Chicago Tribune, A Will County judge has set Kevin Johnson's bail at $5 million. Authorities say no other family members showed up Friday for the bond hearing for 43-year-old Fred Johnson II, who is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery of a child and unlawful restraint in the beating death of Kevin Johnson.

Crete, Nebraska, USA - According to the Chicago Tribune, Fred D. Johnson 11, 43, was charged last Thursday (May 15) with fatally beating 12-year-old Kevin Johnson, his adopted son, over three days in July last year. Kevin Johnson, who was intellectually disabled, died on July 20, two days after he was taken to hospital unconscious.

According to the charges, Fred Johnson struck Kevin on his head and body between July 15 and 18, causing the boy's death. Fred Johnson is also accused of tying the boy to a bed frame with straps.

According to the article, at the time of Kevin's death, Fred Johnson, who took custody with his wife of Kevin and his three brothers after their adoptive parents died, was being investigated by the Dept. of Children and Family Services because of allegations of abuse. He has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery of a child and unlawful restraint. He was also charged with criminal neglect of a person with a disability for allegedly not taking one of Kevin Johnson's brothers to a doctor for needed medical attention, said a spokesman for the state attorney's office.

After Kevin's death, his brothers were removed from Fred Johnson and his wife's care, along with five other children. They are now in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

The full story can be read here.

2009-05-21T01:36:00.002-05:00

Death by neglect trial begins

Farmington, New Mexico (May 20, 2009) - A jury trial began on Monday for Sandra Greenwood, 62, who is charged with failing to aid her 26-year-old son, Jared Greenwood as he lay dying on the bathroom floor of the family's home allegedly covered in his own feces, dirt and trash in September 2007. As reported in the Daily Times,

The Office of the Medical Investigator determined the cause of Jared Greenwood's death was a blood infection developed through several large, open bed sores on the man's body.

According to the article, Sandra Greenwood received state funding through March 2007 to care for Jared, who had intellectual disabilities and autism.

Those state payments ended after Greenwood failed to request continued assistance. Greenwood, however, continued to receive state funding for a second adult child who has Down syndrome, a factor which prosecutors allege makes Greenwood a health care provider.

Also, it is reported, arrest documents state that Ms Greenwood told officers during an interview with Bloomfield police when Jared was first discovered that "it was my fault," and that her kids were dependent on her alone. She is charged with second-degree neglect of a health care resident or fourth-degree involuntary manslaughter. If convicted of the more serious neglect charge, Greenwood could face as many as 15-years in prison.

The story in full is here.

2009-05-20T02:24:00.001-05:00

Quebec man charged with sexual assault set free

Quebec, Canada - 47-year-old Serge Levac, who was charged with sexually assaulting a woman with Down syndrome, has been set free because the woman could not pick him out from a series of photos or from a physical lineup. As reported by Canwest News Service and the Windsor Star, a Quebec Court judge said last Thursday that there was no doubt the woman had been sexually assaulted and that Serge Levac, who is HIV positive, has probably assaulted her, but because she couldn't couldn't identify him with 100% certainty, he had to acquit him. Levac was charged with aggravated sexual assault, break and enter, making death threats and sexual assault with a weapon.

2009-05-20T01:23:00.002-05:00

Illinois General Assembly passes legislation on sterilization

From an Equip for Equality Press Release:

PASSAGE OF ILLINOIS HOUSE BILL 2290 ADDS CRUCIAL DUE PROCESS PROTECTION GOVERNING STERILIZATION OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
Equip for Equality’s Judicial Victory Leads to Legislative Reform for Adults with Disabilities Under Guardianship

CHICAGO (May 18, 2009)— Today, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to ban the sterilization of adults with disabilities under guardianship without due process. In so doing, the reproductive dignity of adults with disabilities under guardianship has been preserved. The bill, HB 2290, will now be sent to Governor Quinn.
Previously, there was no requirement that a guardian of an adult with a disability petition the court to authorize a ward’s sterilization. In recognition of the fundamental rights at stake, and the history of involuntary sterilization of people with disabilities, most states have enacted statutes to provide due process protection for wards facing this life-changing, and potentially traumatic, situation. Prior to today, Illinois was one of only 16 states failing to provide statutory protections.
“Passage of this legislation is long overdue and critical to the protection of the fundamental rights of people with disabilities,” said Zena Naiditch, founder and CEO of Equip for Equality. “Despite having legal guardians, people with disabilities retain basic rights regarding their own bodies and irreversible reproductive decisions. We call on Governor Quinn to put an end to the tragic history of involuntary sterilization and take a giant step forward for human rights by immediately signing this bill into law.”
After obtaining a landmark decision in the Illinois Appellate Court upholding the denial of a petition for involuntary sterilization of a 26-year-old woman, Equip for Equality set to work on obtaining a permanent statewide policy change. In the court case, the young (more) Sterilization Bill/add one woman’s guardian sought to have her ward permanently sterilized. In the bench trial and in conversations with the guardian ad litem, the young woman, who had a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car accident at age eight, had made it clear she did not want to be sterilized.
“The legislation is very significant because before 2008, Illinois guardians and doctors could choose involuntary sterilization behind closed doors,” said Katie Watson, Assistant Professor in the Medical Humanities & Bioethics Program at Northwestern University who worked with Equip for Equality on HB 2290. “This legislation codifies many principles from the appellate court decision, such as guaranteeing men and women with disabilities a court hearing. That moves the decision into the light and keeps the focus on their interests.”
“Sterilization is an extreme, irreversible measure. It impacts an individual’s constitutional rights to procreation and privacy,” said Marsha Koelliker, Equip for Equality’s Public Policy Director. “Under the legislation, only a court may impose such a result on an adult ward with a disability, and, when a ward lacks capacity, only following a hearing on the merits in which the ward is afforded full due process protection.”
Among other things, HB 2290 amends the Illinois Probate Act by requiring:
• A guardian seeking to sterilize an adult ward to file a motion requesting the court’s authority to consent to such a procedure;
• Appointment of a guardian ad litem;
• A medical and psychological evaluation of the ward;
• A determination by the court of the ward’s capacity to consent or withhold consent to the proposed sterilization; and
• A court order that includes written findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Representative Kathleen A. Ryg introduced HB 2290 and was Chief Co-Sponsor in the House, along with Representatives JoAnn D. Osmond, Barbara Flynn Currie,Lou Lang and Sidney H. Mathis. Senator Heather Stearns picked up the bill in the Senate and was Chief Co-Sponsor along with Senators Michael Noland and Pamela J. Althoff. Equip for Equality worked in coalition with the Cook County Office of Public Guardian; Office of State Guardian; Feminist Response in Disability Activism; and the ACLU of Illinois to draft the bill. Equip for Equality appreciates their work and that of other organizations in supporting passage of the bill. The Chicago Foundation for Women provided crucial funding to support Equip for Equality’s lobbying efforts.
Equip for Equality is a private, not-for-profit legal advocacy organization and is the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy System designated to safeguard the rights of people with physical and mental disabilities. A copy of HB 2290 can be found at http://www.ilga.gov/.
CONTACTS: Marsha Koelliker, Public Policy Director (312) 341-7313, marsha@equipforequality.org
Cheryl Jansen, Legislative Policy Manager (217) 544-6013, cherylj2@equipforequaliy.org

2009-05-19T02:27:00.001-05:00

Suicide of 15-year-old female resident at Texas state school under investigation

From ABC News (May 18, 2009):

The suicide of a 15 year-old resident at a Texas school for the mentally disabled is he latest incident to add to the growing concern over how the Texas state schools are run. The incident, which is now under investigation, comes on the heels of a report last week on ABC News in which cell phone video showed a 'fight club' allegedly run by employees of another Texas school who forced mentally disabled residents to brawl.

The female resident was found hanging in her room last week by staff at the San Angelo State school in Carlsbad, TX. According to State officials, staff members and on-site medical personnel attempted to resuscitate the resident. A report obtained from the Tom Green County Sheriff's office indicates local paramedics arrived and were able to get a heart rhythm after performing CPR. The patient was transported to Shannon Medical Center where she was pronounced dead and the manner of death later confirmed by the autopsy report as "suicide".

"We are investigating the matter and will interview employees who were on duty at the time to find out what they observed and witnessed," said Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. "We will also determine if there was any neglect on behalf of the staff," he added.

Crimmins said the agency will also look at the girl's records to determine why she was at the school, her medical condition and if she was supposed to have additional supervision. The young woman's suicide is the only reported death of a resident at the school.

"Our agency and the staff at San Angelo school are deeply saddened by the sudden death of one our residents," said Cecilia Fedorov, press officer for the Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities.

The Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities Services (DADS) is charged with overseeing Texas' 14, state schools; including the discovered by police where night shift employees are accused of forcing the mentally disabled to take part in a brutal "fight club" sessions that were videotaped on their cell phones.

The six former employees were indicted earlier this month; five were charged with causing injury to a disabled person and the sixth was charged with failing to intervene.
Texas State Schools have received numerous complaints over the years. The concerns have heightened with the recent investigation into the "fight clubs" and now the death at the San Angelo State School.

The San Angelo State School is a state-funded residential facility that cares for nearly 300 mentally ill or mentally challenged individuals. According to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) the school has had 203 confirmed cases of neglect or physical abuse between 2006 and 2009. In fiscal year 2008 alone, San Angelo State School had 844 completed investigations. Within the past month, there have been 69 completed investigations.

The staggering number of confirmed abuse and neglect cases at the San Angelo school and throughout the Texas State School system has raised concerns about the effectiveness and safety of the institutions.
"The system is broken," said Beth Mitchell, Senior Managing Attorney of Advocacy Inc., an organization that works to protect the rights of Texans with disabilities. "It's very sad that you have a state that is repeatedly told there are problems with the system, yet they don't take actions to fix it."

Mitchell believes staffing issues are a large factor in why the schools are not succeeding.

"It goes back to untrained, underpaid and underqualified staff that are charged with caring for Texas' most vulnerable individuals," said Mitchell. "Without the right components in place, the schools become a haven for abuse and neglect."

"We strongly disagree with the broad statements made by Advocacy, Inc.," said Federov at the Texas Department of Aging and Disability. "Any instance of abuse or neglect of a state school resident is absolutely inexcusable, and we completely reject the claim that no changes or improvements have been made in our state schools in recent years. For example, we have extremely strict reporting policies, which require every possible instance of abuse, neglect or exploitation at state schools be reported to and investigated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), the agency charged with investigating all such allegations."

Federov also said that in 2007 the schools implemented a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who has a confirmation of abuse or neglect which results in any measure of physical harm to a state school resident. "An employee with such a confirmation from DFPS is fired." She also added that funding for state schools has been increased in each of the past two legislative sessions.

"Actions such as those of the former employees of the Corpus Christi State School are disgusting, unconscionable and inexcusable. In accordance with our zero tolerance policy, those employees were fired less than a week after we learned of the cell phone recordings," said Federov.

The investigation into the suicide at the San Angelo State School is on-going. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services have 14 days to file a report on the case which is classified as high priority because a death occurred. Cases reviewed by the DFPS are designated using priority levels one through four with one being "high" or the most serious.

2009-05-19T00:24:00.001-05:00

New Zealand - Investigation into the death of a disabled woman finds that the hospital staff did not understand her needs

According to the New Zealand Herald, an investigation into the death from "an undiagnosed infection" of a 52-year-old woman with muscular atrophy at Hutt Hospital ( Hutt Valley, Wellington region, New Zealand) found that the hospital staff did not understand her needs. From the article:

Following her death in May 2008 an independent review was commissioned by the Hutt Valley District Health Board.

Having encountered problems during previous hospital stays, the woman had met with doctors, managers and health board members to create a support plan which would be implemented during future visits, The Dominion Post reported.

However, the review found that while staff had tried to provide nursing care, they had "little understanding" of her needs.
Staff considered her demanding and were reluctant to respond to her requests for help.
Six days into her stay a dietician noticed a naso-gastric tube was draining away food as she ate it.
Four days later the tube was still in place.
After two weeks a feeding tube was inserted into her intestine.
The woman complained of pain but there was no consideration of whether the procedure had caused a bowel perforation.

She died four days later from peritonitis, brought on by a small cut to her bowel from the tube.

According to the article, the report says that the woman, who worked as an analyst with the Health Ministry's disability policy team, was seen by 27 different people, including 15 nurses, during her stay in hospital. It also says that "it's not clear if the woman might have survived had her weakened condition being detected." The health board has since appointed more permanent workers and reorganised the medical ward to form smaller teams with a senior nurse to oversee the care of each patient.

The story in full is here. See also this report by the Dominion Post.

2009-05-18T03:00:00.003-05:00

Four people charged with manslaughter in connection with the assisted suicide of Phoenix woman

The Boston Herald (see also Phoenix New Times) reports that four members of the Final Exit Network have been arrested in connection with the assisted suicide of 58-year-old Jana Van Voorhis. According to the report, Ms Van Voorhis was not terminally ill at the time of her death, but had a long history of mental illness and depression. Ms Van Voohis was found dead in her Phoenix (AZ) home on April 15, 2007. An autopsy showed she died of helium asphyxiation. An excerpt from the article:

Four people have been indicted in connection with the assisted suicide of a Phoenix woman.
According to a document from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Frank Langsner and Wye Hale-Rowe were indicted Thursday on charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit manslaughter while Dr. Larry Egbert and Roberta Massey were also indicted for conspiracy to commit manslaughter.

Authorities said the four were part of a right to die organization called Final Exit Network, which is currently under investigation by the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and police agencies in Arizona and seven other states.
The County Attorney’s Office believes Jana Van Voorhis placed a plastic hood over her head that was hooked up to helium tanks in April 2007.
Prosecutors accuse Langsner and Hale-Rowe of showing Van Voorhis how to use the hood and tank while Egbert and Massey’s involvement was through their work in processing applicants to the organization, which is suspected of assisting other suicides in Arizona.

The story in full is here. See also this post by Stephen Drake over at Not Dead Yet.

2009-05-18T02:52:00.002-05:00

Assault charges against employee of facility for women with developmental disabilities

Vineland, New Jersey (May 15) - The South Jersey News reports the indictment of 21-year-old Tycole Higginbotham, an employee of the Vineland Developmental Center for women with developmental disabilities, for allegedly assaulting a resident of the center. According to the indictment, Ms Higgonbotham strangled the resident until she became unconscious because, in the words of Prosecutor Ron Casella, "she was acting out in some way." An excerpt from the article:

"In trying to control the victim, Higginbothom put her hands around the victims neck until the victim went unconscious," he said. "The defendant then did what she could to revive the victim by blowing on her face. The victim did eventually come to."

According to the report, the women did not suffer any permanent injuries as a result of the assault. Tycole Higginbothom was indicted for second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree official misconduct last month in front of a Superior Court grand jury in Cumberland County. She has been suspended from her job without pay pending resolution of the charges.

2009-05-18T02:49:00.001-05:00

Disability Rights Wisconsin sues University of Wisconsin Hospital and clinic to change its policy on witholding treatment from patients with developmental disabilities

From the Wisconsin State Journal (h/t to Medical Futility and Wheelie Catholic):

Disability Rights Wisconisn has sued the UW Hospital and Clinic to change the hospital's policy for witholding treatment from patients with developmental disabilities. "Attorney Mitch Hagopian said he worried some UW Hospital doctors may be too quick to suggest withdrawing treatment from a developmentally disabled person they perceive to have a low quality of life." Here is an excerpt from the article:

In a case that could have broad legal implications for when some patients are allowed to die, an advocacy group is alleging that doctors at UW Hospital broke the law by withholding treatment from two developmentally disabled patients with apparent cases of pneumonia.

The guardian of one patient, who survived, at first went along with and then later disagreed with the decision to withhold care, the lawsuit by Disability Rights Wisconsin alleges. The parents of the other patient, who died, pushed for the withdrawal of treatment, according to the group’s complaint filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court.

One medical ethicist said the case could help to clarify a difficult question in state law: How much power do families and guardians have to make medical decisions for vulnerable patients such as children and the developmentally disabled?

Disability Rights contends state law prevents parents and guardians from withholding treatment from patients who can’t make that decision for themselves unless they are in a “persistent vegetative state,” a condition the group says did not apply to the two patients in the lawsuit.

The full story is here.

2009-05-15T01:50:00.007-05:00

Friday round-up

From The Associated Press, Trenton, New Jersey (May 13) - Disabled New Jerseyans are planning to protest Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed budget outside the Statehouse May 14. The budget calls for cutting $125,000 from five of the state's 12 Centers for Independent Living.

From AP/Houston Chronicle (May 13) - About two dozen disability activists from three advocacy groups unfurled banners and protested at the Texas state Capitol yesterday, alleging the state legislature is “failing the disability community.”

From FOX News in Box Elder County, Utah (May 13) - A Box Elder County school bus driver is on suspension after a five-year-old autistic boy fell asleep on her bus and was later found wandering the streets. The boy, Dylan Snow, has autism spectrum disorder and dozed off as he was going to the early learning center preschool in Corinne. According to the Box Elder County superintendent's office, when the kids were dropped off at the school, neither the bus driver or aide checked to see if everyone got off.

From the Portland Oregonian (May 12) - 47-year-old Margie Tisdale been sentenced to a year in jail for stealing $5,000 from the bank accounts of the adults with disabilities she had been hired to assist. Ms Tisdale was employed by the nonprofit United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon and Southwest Washington. According to prosecutors, she stole money from five people and spent it on manicures, lattes and her rent.

From the San Jose Mercury News (May 12 - Mental health advocates are protesting against the recently opened Psycho Donuts store in Campbell, California, saying it encourages stigma against people with mental illness.

From the Philadelphia News (May 12) - Nicola Cantisani, a blind professional translator en route on a US Airways flight from Philadephia to Belgium was arrested, dragged off the plane and accused of faking his blindness after he stood up and questioned why his was delayed nearly two hours. Mr Cantisani, of Brussels, Belgium, who has been blind since birth, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, police said.

From The Coloradoan (May 12) - Activists in Fort Collins, Colarado, are seeking a change in a city ordinance that would permit wheelchairs in bike lanes on city streets. The current ordinance requires wheelchair users, who are defined as pedestrians, to use sidewalks when they are available. When there is no sidewalk, a pedestrian may use the street but is instructed to stay as far to the right shoulder as possible. (h/t Media dis&dat)

From the San Jose Mercury News in Santa Clara, California (May 11) - A federal investigation has found that Millikin School in Santa Clara, the fifth-highest scoring elementary school in California, illegally discriminated against students with disabilities by discouraging them from attending. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said the Santa Clara Unified School District has been forcing students in special education who need a resource aide to choose between getting an aide or attending Millikin because the school does not routinely provide that service.

From Caller.com in Corpus Christi, Texas (May 7) - A grand jury indicted six former state school employees on felony charges, accusing them of staging fight club-style brawls between residents. D’Angelo Riley, 22; Jesse Salazar, 25; Guadalupe Delarosa Jr., 22; Vincent Johnson, 22; and Timothy Dixon, 30; all were indicted Thursday on injury to a disabled person, a third-degree felony. Stephanie Garza, 21, faces the same charge but as a state jail felony.

2009-05-15T00:37:00.002-05:00

Three people arrested for attacking a disabled man

Port Barre, Lousianna (May 14) - The Advocate reports that two young women and a male teenager were arrested and charged with "battery on the infirmed" in connection with the attack of a man with intellectual disabilities while he was walking to his home on May 8. According to a news release, Yolanda Andrus, 20, Kresada Pickney 19, and a 15-year-old boy allegedly began kicking and punching the man while they laughed and tormented him. There was no motive behind the attack other than to allow the trio to become bullies, the release stated.

2009-05-14T07:27:00.004-05:00

Woman attacked and robbed in Manatee County, Florida

From ABC Action News:

MANATEE COUNTY, FL -- A disabled woman was attacked by two men as she rode her bicycle Wednesday night. The suspects were also riding bicycles.
Deputies say the victim, who lives in the Belmont Park Apartments on 20th Street, is physically disabled and has a medical condition that causes seizures.

She was in the process of leaving a friend's apartment when the pair knocked her to the ground. While lying helplessly, the two punched her and kicked her. Deputies say they stole her cell phone and no more than $40 in cash.
Manatee County Sheriff's Office sent a K-9 unit along with other deputies to search the area for the suspect.
They say a witness saw the duo leave on their bicycles heading south on 20th Street West. Both suspects were wearing ski masks at the time of the attack.
The woman's injuries left her with bruises and cuts but did not require a trip to the hospital.
Anyone with information that would help the Manatee County Sheriff's Office is asked to call Detective William J. Waldron at 941-747-3011 Ext. 2160.

2009-05-14T02:52:00.004-05:00

Videos of fight club at Texas school for people with intellectual disabilities have been released

Corpus Christi, Texas - Following last week's news (May 7) that six former employees of a Corpus Christi state institution for people with intellectual disabilties had been charged with staging fight club-style brawls between residents for the "entertainment" of night shift employees, ABC News now reports that cell phone videos of the fights have now been released. Here is an excerpt:

Terrified residents at a Corpus Christi, Texas, state school for the mentally disabled were forced to be part of a brutal "fight club" operated by night shift employees, who made videos of the sessions with their cell phones, the newly released videos show.
On the videos employees can be seen and heard laughing and prodding the residents to fight.One resident is seen on the video trying to run away from his attacker and a large group of employees and residents tracking him through the halls. When cornered, he wails and moans and tells the employees, "I will behave."
The videos were discovered by police in March when one of the school employees left his phone at a hospital and it was turned over to police. In an effort to find its owner, officers saw the disturbing videos.
A judge ordered the tapes released to an attorney suing the state on behalf of a former resident also forced into the "fight club."
"It happened for over a year and it happened for many nights out of the week," said the attorney, Bob Hilliard.
Hilliard's client, Armando Hernandez, says he was told he would "go to prison" if he did not fight.
Hernandez, who is mentally disabled, says he was fearful to even tell his mother of what was happening inside at night.
"They say 'snitches get stitches,'" Hernandez told ABC News.

A Nightline report including video is here (trigger warning).

2009-05-14T01:10:00.003-05:00

Lawsuit against Chicago nursing home claims it failed to protect a woman from sexual assault

From the Associated Press (May 13)

Chicago, Illinois (AP) — The family of a 69-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against a suburban nursing home for failing to protect her from being sexually assaulted by a 21-year-old mentally ill resident.
Maplewood Care's administrator tried to cover up a rape by calling it consensual sex, aid attorney Pete Flowers, who represents the woman's family and called the case against the Elgin facility the most flagrant example of nursing home negligence he has seen.
It also is an example of how mixing frail senior citizens and younger mentally ill residents in nursing homes can lead to violence if facilities do not monitor potentially dangerous residents, Flowers said.
"The only possible reason that you would be in this situation is a profit motive," he said. "You want more residents in your facility, but you're unwilling to pay for the ecessary elements to protect all the residents."
Ron Nunziato, an executive with Lincolnwood-based S.I.R. Management, which operates the nursing home and seven other Chicago-area facilities, said he had no comment on the lawsuit or the alleged rape in January.
Christopher Shelton was missing at bed check, but "no search was made or alarm sounded to alert residents and staff that a young, aggressive, sexually frustrated, convicted felon was prowling the halls of the nursing home," the lawsuit alleges.
Later, a night shift nurse heard an elderly woman moaning and entered her room, a state investigation found. The nurse found the alleged victim crying and Shelton in her bathroom, where he was calling 911 to report that someone was attacking the woman.
Paramedics and an emergency room doctor later examined the woman and noted signs of sexual trauma, according to the state investigator's report.
Shelton had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with aggression when he was admitted to the nursing home in November. The state report showed he had told the nursing home staff in December that he was sexually frustrated, but the facility failed to monitor him more closely.
The state and federal governments fined the nursing home $44,400 for violations related to the incident.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of a resident identified only as Jane Doe to protect her privacy, seeks at least $50,000 in damages.
Named as defendants are Maplewood Care, S.I.R. Management and the facility's former administrator, James L. Doyle. A telephone number for Doyle could not be located and it was unclear whether he has an attorney.
According to the lawsuit, Doyle downplayed the encounter as consensual sex in a report to the state and encouraged employees to lie about it to cover it up.
Shelton, who was arrested at the nursing home, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including aggravated sexual assault, said Kane County public defender David Kliment. A trial date has not been set.
The civil lawsuit claims the woman's family was not told the nursing home had admitted young adult residents "with a history of violent and aggressive criminal behaviors."
Shelton, a convicted felon and a former resident of the Elgin facility, was readmitted to the nursing home without a proper review of his criminal history, the lawsuit says. Had the facility checked, it would have discovered Shelton had an outstanding arrest warrant on felony battery charges.
U.S. nursing homes have become dumping grounds for young and middle-age people with mental illness, according to an Associated Press analysis earlier this year.
In the analysis, Illinois ranked highest among the states in the number of mentally ill adults under age 65 living in nursing homes — more than 12,000 last year.

2009-05-13T01:18:00.006-05:00

Neglect and abuse cases

The following are short descriptions of some of the cases involving crimes of neglect and abuse against people with disabilities and the elderly that have been reported in the media since the middle of April. Though by no means an exhaustive list, it does convey the diversity of such cases in terms of the age, location and gender of the abuser and those abused by them.

From the Hesperia Star in San Bernardino County, California (May 12) - Deputies have arrested Ronald Rego, 59, and his wife, Miriam Rego, 45, on a charge of elderly abuse for allegedly keeping Ronald Rego's elderly mother in a woodshed with no electricity, no water and no heat or cooling. A house is being constructed on the property, and the Regos live in a travel trailer on the site, according to the sheriff's department. The 94-year-old woman was reportedly in good condition and is now staying with a neighbour.

From the Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Scranton, Pennsylvania (May 12) - Kimberly A. Holzein, 26, and Jill L. Hillard, 36, who were employed by the ARC to care for a woman with intellectual disabilities, have been accused of abusing her by tricking her into drinking urine and eating feces in a residential group home in Pennsylvania’s Wyoming County. They have been charged charged with assault, reckless endangerment, neglect of a care dependent person, harassment, disorderly conduct and criminal conspiracy. Both have been released on $20,000 bail, and both have been fired.

From TC Palm.com in Port St. Lucie, Florida (May 9) - A 42-year-old certified nurse’s assistant, Shawn Thomas, was arrested and charged with elder abuse and misdemeanor obstruction for allegedly leaving an elderly woman inside a car where temperatures reached an estimated 110 degrees while she went shopping. According to the arrest report, the vehicle was not running and the temperature outside was 86 degrees while the interior temperature was an estimated 110 degrees. The elderly woman was reportedly left alone in the vehicle for about 35 minutes.

From the Daily Journal in Bridgeton, New Jersey (May 5) - Tycole J Higinbotham, 21, was indicted last week on charges of second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree official misconduct for allegedly attacking a disabled resident of the Vineland Developmantal Center. According to court records, Higginbotham is charged with strangling the resident until he became unconscious. Higginbotham is free on $50,000 bail and has been suspended without pay pending a legal outcome.

From Newsday in West Babylon, New York (May 4) - A 15-year-old nurse's aide at a West Babylon nursing home was charged witth abusing an 80-year-old disabled female patient by tying her legs together during an eight-hour shift, without supervision or authorization. Candice Pelzer, who was working at the Berkshire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, was charged with endangering the welfare of a physically disabled or incompetent person and violating the public health law. Pelzer was assigned to care for the patient on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift in November 2008, according to court papers. The patient suffered from Parkinson's disease and respiratory diseases, dementia, and hypertension, and "was incapable of caring for herself because of . . . [the] physical disabilities and mental diseases," according to court papers.

From the Courier Times in Bedminster, New Jersey (May 3) - 45-year-old Donna Hammerstone, a registered nurse from Bedminster, was charged with various felony charges for stealing more than $22,000 from an elderly Doylestown Township man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and then used the cash to pay for a trip to an Atlantic City casino, lingerie, delinquent tax bills and more, authorities said Friday. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

From My Valley News in Murrieta, California (April 25) - A 46-year-old man is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of murder and cruelty to a dependent adult for the alleged slaying of his 81-year-old father, who died as a result of what authorities describe as several blows to the head.

From WOWT.com, Omaha, Nebraska (April 25) - 21-year-old Marcel Lovejoy, who was arrested and charged with attacking and shooting a 55-year-old disabled resident with a pellet in the lobby of North Park Tower after he wouldn't let him in is now also accused of making Terroristic Threats and that is a felony. Another suspect who is responsible for punching the man, has not been found.

From the Ottawa Citizen, (April 25) - Ottawa police have laid additional charges against 48-year-old Ricky Dean Broome now accused of defrauding two seniors, and say there may be more victims. Police said a man offered to help a 75-year-old woman who was his neighbour. After establishing a “relationship of trust” with her, the man allegedly defrauded the woman of several thousands of dollars over a number of years, police said. Broome is charged with theft under $5,000, fraud exceeding $5,000, along with 25 counts of uttering a forged document, unauthorized use of credit card data and criminal breach of trust. He is expected to appear in court on May 25. In September 2008, Broome was charged by police in connection with accusations of fraud against an elderly Ottawa man.

From the Barrie Advance, Barrie, Ontario, Canada (April 13) - Barrie Police officers have charged a 67-year-old woman after her mother was admitted to Royal Victoria Hospital Friday.
ER staff called police after an 88-year-old woman was brought in by ambulance with gangrene in her legs. Police said the patient later died from other health complications, but hospital staff was concerned about the lack of care given to her, and her daughter was investigated for elder abuse. Officers have charged her with failing to provide the necessities of life.

2009-05-12T02:01:00.003-05:00

Martha Mason (1937 - 2009)

Image description: Martha Mason with her friend, Mary Dalton, who produced a documentary about Ms. Mason's life in 2005.

Since my post last Friday about the death last week of Martha Mason at age 71, there have been numerous remembrances of her life. Here is an excerpt from a remembrance by Margalit Fox in the New York Times:

From her horizontal world — a 7-foot-long, 800-pound iron cylinder that encased all but her head — Ms. Mason lived a life that was by her own account fine and full, reading voraciously, graduating with highest honors from high school and college, entertaining and eventually writing.

She chose to remain in an iron lung, she often said, for the freedom it gave her. It let her breathe without tubes in her throat, incisions or hospital stays, as newer, smaller ventilators might require. It took no professional training to operate, letting her remain mistress of her own house, with just two aides assisting her.

Ms. Mason's memoir, “Breath,” was published by Down Home Press in 2003. As well as being the subject of Mary Dalton's documentary film, “Martha in Lattimore,” released in 2005, Ms. Mason also appeared in “The Final Inch,” a documentary about polio that was nominated for a Academy Award this year.

There are other memorials here, here, here, and here.

Rest in peace, Martha Mason.

2009-05-12T01:24:00.004-05:00

A Premio Dardos award

Thank-you Media dis&dat for awarding the FRIDA blog a Premio Dardos award.

The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

In short, Premio Dardos is a tagging meme that provides an opportunity to tell other bloggers you appreciate their blog. And now, here are a few blogs I would like to pass the award along to:

Whose Planet is it Anyway?

Wheelie Catholic

Diary of a Goldfish

Disability Prejudice and Civil Rights Watch

Three Rivers Fog

Biodiverse Resistance

ICAD (International Coalition on Abuse and Disability)

2009-05-11T05:26:00.001-05:00

Homicide suspected in the disappearance of Jason Holley

Colorado Springs, Colorado - A body suspected to be that of 22-year-old Jason Holley, who had Klinefelter's syndrome and intellectual disabilities, and who has been missing since January 5, was found Friday in a ravine in Cheyenne Canyon, west of Colorado Springs. According to The Gazette, Kyle Stott, 18, and Derek Hernandez, 21, one of whom led police to his body, have been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in his disappearance. According to the theory of Dale Kelley, a private investigator who has been working with Jason's family, the men may have killed Jason for his Xbox:

He said the suspects befriended Holley through acquaintances at school and picked him up the morning he went missing, telling him to bring his Xbox.

Kelley said the mother of one of the suspects told investigators she saw the Xbox that night.

Jason Holley was studying to be a car mechanic at Pikes Peak Community College, according to his mother, Jan Holley. He had been receiving help with his classes from a learning specialist and took just one class at a time because of problems with writing and memory. “I have never seen him so happy as when he comes home from school,” his mother wrote on a Web site, http://www.findjasonholley.com/.

Stott and Hernandez are being held without bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Monday May 11 at 1:30 p.m.

2009-05-11T02:34:00.005-05:00

New report underscores gender disparities in mental health and illness

An excerpt from this article by CNN about a new report by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services that examines the role gender plays in mental health and illness:

"Action Steps for Improving Women's Mental Health," a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health (OWH), explores the role gender plays in the diagnosis, course and treatment of mental
illness. It calls for specific actions to counteract the inadequacies in this field.

According to the report, women are nearly twice as likely as men to suffer from major depression. They are three times as likely to attempt suicide, and they experience anxiety disorders two to three times more often than men. While these statistics are not new, their importance is generally underplayed, says Wanda Jones, Dr.P.H., health scientist and director of the OWH. She notes that whereas past reports have focused on bringing mental health to the forefront of concern -- such as the 1999 publication "Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General" -- few have focused primarily on the specific mental illness issues specific to women, hence the need for such a publication.

Among the actions recommended by the new report are the needs to underscore the essential importance of women's mental health to overall well-being, improve how primary care doctors and mental health professionals interface with each other, develop a greater understanding in the role of gender in mental illness, recognize the role of trauma and violence against women and its subsequent impact on mental illness and address cultural biases that serve as barriers to treatment for many women.

Reasons for the gender disparities in mental health are still unclear, according to Jones. Part of the difference is based on biology. Female hormones, thyroid disease and brain biochemistry have all been cited as possible reasons. Genetics also play a part, as family history has proven that mental illness repeats itself across multiple generations. Socio-cultural reasons also contribute to the difference.

Jones stresses that the "one-size-fits-all" approach to diagnosing and treating mental illness is not an effective approach and that acknowledging the gender differential is key to adequately and appropriately treating women.
The new report also underscores the relative young age at which mental illness often sets in for both males and females. Half of all mental illnesses occur before age 14, and three-fourths occur by the age of 24, according to the publication. Among the more common mental illnesses seen among young women: eating disorders,
which can start in advance of puberty and yet last a lifetime.

The full article is here.

(h/t to Media dis&dat)

2009-05-11T01:09:00.001-05:00

Monday blog-about

Recommended readings:

The homeless in Philadelphia by Wheelie Catholic

Disability as a Complex Cultural Construction and Ableism and A Watershed Experience by Bad Cripple

Can You Tell This Child Is Autistic? by Biodiverse Resistance

Dove Ad revisited and Disability is Man-Made ... for Real Dove Women by Wheelchair Dancer

What if I'm not There? at Bums & Belly Buttons: The View From Here

2009-05-08T02:27:00.002-05:00

Friday round-up

From The Associated Press (May 7) - In an appearance on NBC's "Today" program, 46-year-old Connie Culp, the nation's first face transplant recipient, said she wants to help foster acceptance of those who have suffered burns and other disfiguring injuries."When somebody has a disfigurement and don't look as pretty as you do, don't judge them, because you never know what happened to them," she said. "Don't judge people who don't look the same as you do. Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away."

From The Shelby Star in Lattimore, North Carolina, (May 7) - Martha Mason, 72, who lived in an iron lung for 61 years, died early May 4 at her home in Lattimore. Ms Mason told an ABC News reporter just before her 71st birthday, "My story's been one of joy, one of wonderful experiences. It has not been perfect. But that's what people need to understand - that I have had a good life."

From the Boston Globe (May 5) - A controversy is growing over the use of physical restraints in schools, triggered by a surge in the number of students of who have behavioral issues and a teacher population that is nervous about increasing school violence. Lack of teacher training and budget-driven staffing shortages have compounded the problem, critics say. Advocates say students in special education are especially vulnerable to mistreatment.

From Reuters (May 4) - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 1 in 5 Americans have a disability and that will increase as baby boomers age. The number of Americans with a disability rose 7.7 percent, or by 3.4 million people, to nearly 48 million between 1999 and 2005, the report says.

From the Austin American-Statesman (May 4) - Owners of an Austin-area clinic which treats children with autism using controversial techniques say the center is facing a financial crisis in the wake of investigations by three major insurers. The Texas Medical Board is also investigating the clinic’s medical director. Among charges disputed by insurers is the clinic’s use of chelation, which is not approved by the FDA for treating autism. Doctors say it is risky and has not been proven effective.

From Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio (May 4) - Columnist Connie Schultz commends Ohio for moving toward banning the word “retardation” from state and county agencies that serve those with developmental disabilities. Ohio’s bill has already passed the state senate. Forty other states have approved the change.

From The Hindu in New Delhi, India (May 3) - The advocacy of an Indian women with disabilities who uses a wheelchair has led to great accessibily for wheelchair users in New Delhi's Central Park. (h/t Media dis&dat)

From the Guardian in the United Kingdom (May 2) - According to a report by the UK Equalities and Human Rights Commission, people with disabilities are more than four times likely to be victims of physcial and verbal abuse and urgent action is needed if a “hidden catastrophe” of violence and hostility towards disabled people is to be tackled. The report paints a bleak picture of disabled people’s experience of physical and verbal abuse and reinforces persistent warnings from disability campaigners that the problem has not been taken seriously enough.

2009-05-07T03:48:00.006-05:00

Plea of reckless homicide in connection with daughter's death

Lebanon, Indianapolis, USA - According to the Indy Star, Elizabeth Fairfield has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the 2007 death by of her 14-year-old daughter, Brittany Fairfield, who died from overdosing on pain medication.

The agreement calls for Elizabeth Fairfield, 38, to be sentenced to time served, released from jail and placed on two years of probation after her hearing May 18 in Boone Superior Court, defense attorney Thomas Farlow said.

Fairfield on Friday admitted failing to secure medication from her 14-year-old daughter, Brittany, Farlow said. In exchange for Fairfield's guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed charges of murder and neglect of a dependent. Murder carries a maximum prison sentence of 65 years, neglect a maximum of 20 years.

As conveyed at this blog in earlier posts, Brittany, who had Down syndrome, was found dead in the family's home on June 14, 2007. The coroner later ruled that she had died from an overdose.

Ms Fairfield has been in jail since a grand jury indicted her in November.

An earlier report is here.