Words and Able-ism

Is the title of this post over at the Feminist Philosophers blogspot. Its good to see disability perspectives being discussed at a feminist blog. And there's lots of discussion going on in the comments.

Here is an excerpt:

... This reminded me of Shelley’s argument that terms like ‘double-blind’ are offensive (see the comments here). But it also reminded me of one of the things I promised to discuss eventually– a talk at the recent SWIP conference by Jackie Leach Scully. Part of Scully’s discussion was about the many metaphors based on bodily abilities. Her focus was on the different ways that these metaphors may be understood by people whose bodies work in different ways. Scully, for example, is profoundly deaf, and reported that she spent many years misunderstanding the phrase “I hear what you’re saying”. It’s meant to convey a fairly deep level of understanding, but for Scully, hearing is about piecing something together very uncertainly from fragmentary clues– leading to a very different understanding of the metaphor. She listed many other such metaphors: “stand on your own two feet”; “stable”, and so on, noting each time how the metaphor might be understood by people with various different sorts of bodies. I thought of both the very widespread feminist discussion of ’silencing’. Interestingly, Scully explicitly did not want to argue that all metaphors like these were offensive, despite the fact that they present being able to stand and being stable as positive, and being unable to speak audibly as negative (and equivalent to being unable to communicate). Instead, her take was that the experience of one’s own body is so fundamental that basing metaphors on it is inevitable; but that we should be aware of the potential for miscommunication when we do this. It’s perfectly compatible with this thought, of course, to find some particular such metaphors offensive, and I imagine that she does, though this wasn’t her focus. How to distinguish between the offensive and non-offensive metaphors would then become an important issue.

Update: Tawnisha Harbour case

Action 3 News, Omaha, Nebraska reports that Tawnisha Harbour's mother, Cherie Harbour, 40, has waived her preliminary hearing, and will go to trial on the charge of abuse of a vulnerable adult.

As reported in an earlier post, Tawnisha Harbour, 23, died after suffering burns to her arms, legs and face in a house fire. It is alleged that Tawnisha, who used a wheelchair, was left unattended in the house and was unabled to escape when the fire broke out. According to police, Wendy Harbour locked Tawnisha in her bedroom by tying a bedsheet to the outside door knob to the room. That made it impossible for her to escape when the fire broke out.

See here for an earlier report.

Caregiver to stand trial for sexual assault

The FDL Reporter reports that a 52-year-old man (Oshkosh, Wis.) has been charged with sexually assaulting his stepdaughter. The 28-year-old woman, who suffers from a serious heart problem and uses a ventilator, told authorities that her step-father assaulted her two years ago, at least 15 times, and that he threatened not to suction her breathing tube if she resisted. The woman, who also has a developmental disability, alleges that he once turned off the power to the room, which affected her breathing equipment. The man has been charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault, and will face a jury trial in late October.

Negligent Homicide Verdict

This report via ICAD

The Tuscon Citizen reports Diane Lynn Marsh, 41, was convicted of negligent homicide and four counts of child abuse, in the death of her 5-year old son, Brandon Williams, who had autism. The jury did not register any decision on the first-degree murder charge against Marsh, leaving open the possibility that she could be retried on that charge.

Evidence presented at the trial indicated that the child died from a severe blow to the head resulting in a 3.5 inch skull fracture. Autopsy results suggested the fatal injury had occurred in the 24 hour prior to the boys death but found there were also signs of previous injuries. He had also been tied to his bedposts, overdosed with medication, and scaled with hot water. He had numerous burn scars on various parts of his bodies and the burns on his feet were infected. Ms. Marsh is expected to be sentenced on September 2nd.

Conference Announcement: Cognitive Disability and Moral Philosophy

The Stony Brook University Department of Philosophy presents:

Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy

September 18 – 20, 2008
Stony Brook Manhattan 401 Park Avenue South (Between 27th and 28th Street)

Rethinking and revising traditional assumptions about personhood, autonomy, agency, justice, care, human relationships, classification, and moral responsibility...in light of Alzheimer’s, autism and ‘mental retardation.’

Keynote Speakers:

Michael Bérubé, Pennsylvania State University;
Leslie Francis, University of Utah;
Ian Hacking, Collège de France, University of Toronto;
Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago;
Peter Singer, Princeton University;
Jeff McMahan, Rutgers University;
Anita Silvers, San Francisco State University;
Daniel Wikler, Harvard University School of Public Health;
Jonathan Wolff, University College London

Panelists:

Douglas Biklen, School of Education and Facilitated Communication Institute, Syracuse University;
Jeffrey Brosco, M.D. University of Miami and the Mailman Center for Child Development;
Licia Carlson, Harvard University;
James C. Harris, M.D., Johns Hopkins School of Medicine;
Agnieszka Jaworska, University of California, Riverside;
Bruce Jennings, Yale University School of Medicine;
Eva Kittay Stony Brook University/SUNY;
Hilde Lindemann Michigan State University;
Victoria McGeer Princeton University;James Nelson Michigan State University;
Henry Richardson Georgetown University;
Cynthia Stark University of Utah;
David Shoemaker Bowling Green State University;
Anna Stubblefield Rutgers University, Newark;
Sophia Wong Long Island University.

For additional information see www.stonybrook.edu/cdconference
For questions contact eva.kittay@gmail.com

Co-sponsored by The Center for Discovery, New York University Center for Bioethics, and Metaphilosophy (Wiley-Blackwell), the Office of the Provost at Stony Brook University/SUNY, Forest Laboratories. Also NYC AHRC, Alzheimer's Association, College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University, Humanities Institute at Stony Brook University, Philosophy Department at Southern Connecticut State University, Templeton Research Lecture Series at Stony Brook University, S. Donald Sussmann, The Abelson Company

For disability-related accommodation contact Licia Carlson at (617) 496-4349. Stony Brook University/SUNY is an affirmative action, equal opportunity educator and employer.

Frida links

for the week 08/01/2008 to 08/08/2008

A 64-year-old Oregon woman with lung cancer has been told by her health insurance company that they will not pay for the drugs that her doctor has prescribed her, but will cover the cost of the drugs for a physician-assisted death, ABC news reports.

A careworker (UK) has been sentenced to a least 30 years in prison for planning the murder of a man with disabilities so she could inherit his money, the Telegraph reports.

It's reported here that a Glenwood Springs (Colorado) man has been accused of sexually assaulting a intellectually impaired woman, for whom he was a "job coach."

An Australian airport has been asked to explain why a 86-year-old woman was required to stand for a wheelchair scan, the Herald Sun reports.

In this story, Felicia Simms talks about her raising and care for her one-year-old conjoined twins, Krista and Tatiana, and why the termination of her pregnancy was not an option for her.

A woman in a nursing home has died from asphyxiation after her neck became caught in the safety belt of her wheelchair, the Irish Times reports.

The jail terms for the three men who pleaded guilty to being an accessory in the manslaughter of a developmentally impaired man were too lenient, says the man's aunt.

Charlotte Docherty turns five

When Charlotte Docherty, from Eston, Teesside (UK), was born with Patau Syndrome, also known as trisomy 13, doctors told her parents that she would live for only a few weeks.

Charlotte, who is blind and has various disabilities resulting from the syndrome, celebrated her fifth birthday last month, and a neurologist has told her parents she is healthy and might live to adulthood.

More here.

We can't ignore the AIDS plight of the disabled

See this article by that title that appeared in yesterday's Globe and Mail.

Deliberations begin in the Ochoa trial

Deliberations have begun in the trial of Cecilia Angelita Ochoa, 31, who is charged with first-degree murder and assault resulting in great bodily injury in the death of her 3-year-old son, Matteo. Matteo had an intellectual disability as a result of hydrocephalus. It is alleged that Matteo died after being struck in the head by a door pushed by his mother, and that his mother waited hours before getting help after she injured him. It is also alleged that Ms Ochoa waited six hours before contacting authorities about Matteo's death. If convicted, Ms Ochoa faces 40 years to life in prison.

More here.

An earlier report is here.

"The fact is that people with disabilities are dying silently from AIDS" because they are being excluded from HIV/AIDS programs and initiatives

"Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection"

This report from the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City:

People with disabilities are at a greatly heightened risk of HIV infection, but they are excluded from HIV/AIDS data collection and research - and largely ignored by providers of HIV prevention, treatment and care. This is a gross violation of human rights said AIDS-Free World and Disabled Peoples' International at a press conference August 4 at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The organizations are calling for the immediate inclusion of people with disabilities in national and global AIDS surveys and in all AIDS research, data collection and programming.

"We have no idea exactly how many people with disabilities are HIV positive, how many are educated about the risks of HIV/AIDS or how many are able to access treatment," said Rachel Kachaje, Deputy Chairperson of Disabled Peoples' International. "This lack of data highlights the neglect of people with disabilities, and makes it extremely difficult to obtain funding, or to strategically design policies and programming to reach this population. The fact is that people with disabilities are dying silently of AIDS."

One in ten people - 650 million individuals worldwide - have a disability that affects their daily lives. Four-fifths live in developing countries, mostly in rural areas. They are among the most stigmatized, poorest and least educated of the world's citizens. Anecdotal evidence suggests a risk of HIV infection twice as high as that faced by the non-disabled population, and most of the risk factors for HIV are increased for people with disabilities. Incorporating people with disabilities into all data and research on HIV/AIDS will reduce the vulnerability of a large, but often invisible, segment of society.

"If people with disabilities are left out of AIDS research, policies and programming, then we are relegating 10 per cent of the world's population to the far margins of the AIDS response," said Professor Nora Groce, Chairperson of the Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre at University College in London.

Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection since they are often wrongly assumed to be sexually inactive. Because it is also frequently presupposed that girls with disabilities will not marry, many families and communities fail to give them information on sexuality, leaving them especially vulnerable to HIV. Women with disabilities, the vast majority of whom have been denied educational opportunities, have exceptionally low levels of literacy - around 1% - and are up to three times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and rape.

"Disability, like HIV/AIDS, disproportionately harms women and is intricately intertwined with poverty and social and economic marginalization," said Myroslava Tataryn, advisor on Disability and AIDS for AIDS-Free World. "Women with pre-existing disabilities are often already dependent on caregivers, whether physically, economically or both. Contracting HIV only worsens their situation. Some may be punished for having the ‘nerve' to be sexually active, and may lose what little social support they have. This additional layer of stigma further exacerbates their poverty and marginalization."

Representatives from AIDS-Free World and Disabled Peoples' International called on the United Nations, governments, and delegates attending the XVII International AIDS Conference to end a decades' long pattern of neglect and discrimination that has rendered people with disabilities ‘invisible' at all levels of the response to the pandemic.

New information released in the Jason Rimer case

In an earlier post, I reported that Colleen and Stanley Rimer had pleaded not guility to charges of 2nd degree murder, child abuse and neglect in the death of their 4-year-old son, Jason Rimer, who had myotonic dystrophy, and whose body was found dead in the family SUV from heat stress. He is believed to have been inside the car for 17 hours.

Since then, new information has been reported about the case. According to this report, since 1988, Child Protection Services had 21 contacts or referrals involving the Rimers following various allegations of abuse and neglect and complaints about the health and well being of Jason, as well as his brothers and sisters. Of those, fourteen were unsubstantiated.

It is also reported here that Jason's body was moved before investigators arrived on June 9. According to the grand jury testimony, "...The right front passenger door and the driver's door were approximately rolled down about halfway. And then the rear seat bench seat, the windows on both of those doors were about twenty-five percent or about a fifth of the way down."

The murder trial for Colleen and Stanley Rimer begins September 8.

There is additional information here.

A Utah man pleads guilty to killing Lisa Chambers 26 years ago

The Idaho Statesman reports that Wesley Allan Tuttle, aged 55, has pleaded guilty to the killing of Lisa Chambers, age 14.

The body of Ms Chambers, who was intellectually disabled, was found in a frozen cornfied on November 25, 1982. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

A blood test in 2007 identified the DNA of Tuttle as a match with the bodily fluids found on Ms Chambers. At the time of the test, he was serving a sentence in a Utah prison for an unrelated 1983 murder. Tuttle has been sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Ms Chambers.

When questioned by the judge about the murder, Tuttle said, it is reported, "I don't know," ... "I don't remember'' ... "What my intentions were, I have no idea," adding only that he was full of rage at the time.

More on Danieal Kelly

Professor Sobsey over at the International Coalition on Abuse and Disability blog (ICAD) has posted these thoughts about the death by starvation and neglect of Danieal Kelly and the recent charging of nine people in relation to her death. He blogs:

Two things make this case stand out:

1. While it is not rare for parents to be charged in the death of a child through neglect, it is very unusual for criminal charges to be brought against child protection or social workers for failure to protect a child.

2. In some cases, a child’s disability has been used as a convenient excuse for not holding caregivers responsible. There have been a number of cases of children with disabilities being starved and neglected to death or near death before, and the death has often been blamed on the child’s disability, rather than fatal neglect. In this case, the unnecessary death of a child with a disability was taken seriously.

Both of these things are good signs. They will help wake up people in the system and in the general public to a higher level of accountability and that is good. We should be glad to see weaknesses in the system exposed because it is an essential step in improving the system. However, exposing these weaknesses, or even punishing a handful of people, is not enough to ensure that meaningful change takes place. These actions only have meaning if they are followed up by system reform.

To read the rest of Professor Sobsey's post about what is happening with this case, see here:

Woman's request to abort her fetus with a congenital heart diseases is rejected by Indian court

Via the Associated Press

MUMBAI, India (AP) — An Indian court on Monday rejected a woman's petition to abort her 25-week-old fetus with a congenital heart problem, saying the law does not permit such late-term abortions.

Last month, Niketa Mehta, 31, her husband, Haresh, and their gynecologist, Dr. Nikhil Dattar, petitioned the court to allow an abortion. Their lawyer, Amit Karkhanis, says the couple can't afford to pay for the frequent change of pacemaker that the fetus' condition would require.

The Mehtas, who found out after 24 weeks that the fetus had congenital heart disease, fear the quality of the child's life would suffer, Karkhanis said.

But the Bombay High Court said that it was up to Parliament and not the court to change the provisions of Indian law, which specifies that a pregnancy cannot be terminated after 20 weeks unless the mother faces a medical risk.

India's attention has been riveted on the case, which has sought to challenge the country's 37-year-old Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act that permits abortions after 20 weeks only if there is a risk to the mother.

Abortions are legal in India until the 12th week of pregnancy. Between 12 and 20 weeks abortions are allowed if either the mother or the fetus faces a health risk.

Dattar said he believes the option should have been left to the parents.

"My plea was that the decision is best left to the parents who will take care of the child," he said. "We sought the opinion of many doctors and we were worried about the quality of life the child would have."

The Mehtas did not indicate on Monday whether they would appeal the case in India's highest court, the Supreme Court.

Jayesh Kamath, a member of the Indian Medical Association, described the court's verdict as a victory. "Children with pacemakers can lead full lives," he said. "If this case was accepted, then people could abort babies on any ground."

It's not funny

"An ugly story" accompanied by "a disgraceful set of comments" - that's how the blogger Wheelchair Dancer describes this story about a women who charges she was ridiculed by firefighters sent to assist her when her self-powered wheelchair chair got stuck in the up position. The basic story: when FDY arrived at the woman's home, according to the lawsuit she has filed against NY city, they laughed at her openly because she was stuck in her chair. And then one of them broke her shoulder. The woman, who is paralyzed down her left side and does not speak English, also alleges that a Spanish-speaking firefighter ignored her requests to be careful before grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her.

Here is more of Wheelchair Dancer's response:

This is an appalling story; it and the comments at Gothamist reveal the ease with which weight and disability become the targets of humour. I don't know why fat is so funny. I long ago ceased to find fatsuits funny (teenage years?) -- feminism and other teenage girls do that for you. I don't find being stuck in your mobility technology funny, either. Why are fat and disability funny? Honestly, I don't get it.

I hope that the suit is successful. Because a fat woman stuck in her chair *is* an emergency -- no, I don't think she should have called the chair service people. Because a fat woman in a chair is a human being. And because all citizens deserve some dignity.

You can read her entire post here.

Trans woman with disability fights to use indoor pool's women's locker room

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that a disabled trans woman has filed a gender discrimination complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission following the insistence of city officials in Cleveland that she change her clothes in the men's locker room of the indoor pool at Cudell Recreation Center. According to the report, Karen Deamons, 53, who uses a wheelchair since suffering three strokes in 2003 and 2004 , used to change in the private stall of the women's locker room without conflict. However, after about five months, a few women complained they felt uncomfortable. After meeting with city officials and telling them she has not had sex reassignment surgery, she has been required to change her clothes in the men's locker room. According to Ms Deamons, a doctor has told her she must swim in order to help keep her left arm and leg mobile. Moreover, she is reliant upon public transport and Cudell is the most convenient pool from her Cleveland home. Ms Deamons, who cannot switch to another city pool because the mandate applies to all them, and who cannot afford to join a private club, is also fearful she will be beaten by gangs when they see her coming out of the men's room. "I want the city to let me go through the ladies room as a normal woman," she said.

Her new role is fighting old label

That's the title of this interview with Michelle Colvard, 32, who was recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair America. Ms Colvard, who was born with spina bifida, has a master's degree in public health and is the executive director of the mayor's office for people with disabilities in Houston. In her interview, she says that the Ms. Wheelchair competition is not a beauty pageant, but aims to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes about women who use wheelchairs and women with disabilities more generally. She would like everyone, but especially children, to see Ms. Wheelchair America as "a strong, confident, attractive woman who just happens to have a disability." Here is part of what she says about the effects of negative stereotyping and the representation of women with disabilities in the media:

Q: What are some misconceptions about women with disabilities?

A: They're two main ways that the media portray women who have disabilities. It's either kind of passive, needing help, victim, suffering. You hear a lot of those words, wheelchair-bound, these negative-word connotations ... On the other hand, women with disabilities who have done pretty well for themselves are put up on a pedestal. I think sometimes that's a bad thing, too.

Q: How do stereotypes translate to how the public treats people with disabilities?

A: I think people have good intentions and want to help. I will be in a Wal-Mart and somebody will come up behind me and start pushing me. And I'll say, "No, I've really got it." And they'll argue with you about it. But on the other hand, if you see somebody who looks like they clearly need some help, like they're struggling, you should help them.

There's lots more. And quite a lot of discussion in the comments section.

See also Kay Olsen's reference to the interview in this post over at The Gimp Parade.

Residential-care cottage suspends worker charged in Danieal Kelly's death

From The Delco Times (Philadelphia, PA)

A 51-year-old Upper Darby man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the August 2006 death of a disabled Philadelphia girl has been suspended from his job at Elwyn, a human service organization for the developmentally disabled in Middletown.
Elwyn President Sandra Cornelius said Julius Murray, who Philadelphia police records show as living on the 200 block of Heather Road in Upper Darby, was suspended Friday, the same day he was arraigned in Philadelphia Municipal Court and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly.

A Philadelphia grand jury report released last Thursday concluded that Murray, who worked for a private agency, Philadelphia Department of Human Services case workers, and the girl's parents, could have prevented her from dying of starvation and infection. All are facing charges in connection with the death of the teenager, who was only 42 pounds when she died.

A cerebral palsy victim, Danieal was malnourished and suffering from maggot-infested bedsores when paramedics found her dead Aug. 4, 2006, in a stifling room on a mattress on a feces-covered floor in her mother's West Philadelphia home.

Cornelius said Murray's application to Elwyn did not mention his involvement with the Danieal Kelly case. Cornelius declined to discuss Murray's duties at Elwyn, but according to Philadelphia police records, he was a supervisor. He is reportedly a second-shift supervisor at a residential-care cottage on Elwyn's main campus in Middletown.

"He's innocent until proven guilty," said Cornelius. "We're cooperating with (Philadelphia District Attorney) Lynne Abraham, for whom we have the utmost
respect. We felt the best action for everyone's interests is to suspend Mr. Murray.

"Danieal had been in the care of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services who, in 2005, had contracted the now-defunct MultiEthnic Behavioral Health agency to handle the case.

Murray, an employee of the private agency, was required to visit the family twice a week, but investigators believe he may have gone to the home only once to have the child's mother, Andrea Kelly, sign pre-dated forms attesting to future visits he never made to check on Danieal's welfare.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, Murray has been charged with records-tampering, forgery, fabricating evidence, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 11. It was not clear Saturday night whether he had made bail that was set at 10 percent of $50,000. Mickal Kamuvaka, director of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health, has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Andrea Kelly, 39, has been charged with murder and her 37-year-old husband, Darby resident Daniel Kelly, with child endangerment. Two Philadelphia Department of Human Services social workers assigned to Danieal's case, Dana Poindexter and Laura Sommerer, have been charged with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

Three friends of Andrea Kelly are charged with perjury for allegedly trying to protect Mrs. Kelly by lying to the grand jury about Danieal's emaciated condition.According to the 258-page grand jury report, the Philadelphia Department of Human Services received at least five reports about the mistreatment of Danieal between 2003 and 2005. She was described as a "helpless child sitting unattended, unkempt and unwashed, in a small stroller in her own urine and feces" whose mother ignored her screams.

The stroller served as a wheelchair and apparently never left the house.

On Friday, city officials announced the resignation of Philadelphia Assistant Health Commissioner Carmen Paris, who, the grand jury maintained, interfered in the investigation of Danieal's death while she was acting health commissioner.Last Thursday, newly installed Philadelphia Human Services Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose vowed to improve child safety and worker accountability in the agency.

Nine people have been charged in the death of Danieal Kelly

The Associated Press reports that nine people have been charged in the death of Danieal Kelly, a 14-year old girl with cerebral palsy who was only 42 pounds when she died from starvation in August, 2006.

Danieal Kelly's mother has been charged with murder, and her father has been charged with child endangerment. Seven other people have also been charged.

These include two social workers from the Department of Human Services, who have been charged with child endangerment for failing to act upon reports that Danieal was not receiving medical care, social services or schooling, and two social workers who worked for a company hired by the DHS to provide services to Daniel; they have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and for falsifying records to cover up the fact that they rarely checked on her, it is reported.

Three friends of Danieal's mother were also arrested and charged with perjury for telling grand jurors on the day before Danieal's body was discovered that she was doing fine.

District Attorney Lyne Abraham is quoted as calling the DHS's handling of the case "callous, indifferent, unconscionable" and all too familiar. According to Abraham:

Daniel did not fall through the cracks ... It was a failure of institutional inclination. Saving Danieal was just too much trouble.

Excerpts from the 258-page grand jury report recommending the charges include:

In the final weeks of her life, Danieal's brother - himself only a child - kept telling his mother that something was wrong, but she dismissed him. Shortly before his sister died, he begged his mother to call an ambulance. She refused. Only the next day, with flies buzzing all over her body, was 911 contacted.

During this investigation we found a tall, filthy cardboard box in [DHS social worker Dana] Poindexter's cubicle, big enough to hold a file cabinet. The box was filled to the top with random case files, food wrappers, and unopened business envelopes (some with four-year-old postmarks). At the bottom of the pile was Danieal's file.

Even when she personally visited the Kelly apartment, [DHS social worker Laura] Sommerer failed to check on Danieal; on the last occasion, five weeks before the child's death, when she had already lost 50% of her weight and at times was left sitting in her own urine and feces, Sommerer noticed nothing amiss at all.

At least one [DHS] administrator herself back-dated reports about Danieal, some by more than a year, with false dates and determinations to make it look like they had been properly completed. She said this was a common practice at DHS.

On the afternoon and evening of Danieal's death, [part-owner/director of MultiEthnic Behavior Health Mickal] Kamuvaka convened what in essence was a forgery fest in her office. She directed [employees] to concoct almost a year's worth of false progress reports, to substitute for all the work that had never actually been done.

For more excerpts, see the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Frida links

for the week 07/25/2008 to 08/1/2008

Charges were filed this week against a Sarasota (Fl) elementary school teacher who is accused of abusing her special education students. According to police, there were dozens of instances in which the woman kicked, slapped and hit her students.

Michigan's hate crime law would broaden to include gays, lesbians and people with disabilities under changes urged by civil rights groups, the Detroit Free Press reports. The changes will be debated during the fall.

"In Switzerland, an easier path for the disabled" is the title of this NPR story. (h/t to Media dis&dat)

A Government inquiry has found that people with learning disabilities across England are not treated fairly by the NHS. According to the inquiry's Chairperson, "existing guidelines and laws - such as the Disability Discrimination Act - aimed at making sure people with learning disabilities got equal treatment were not being followed."

Two posts by Kristina Chew over at Austism Vox: Home-care Worker Caught Abusing Autistic Man and Strapped to a Toilet in a Darkened Room.

Two care home nurses in Glasgow (UK) have been suspended over allegations that elderly residents were tortured and sexually abused, the Sunday Mail reports.

"Out, proud and disabled" via Media dis&dat.