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| January 27, 2009 |
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CCDH'S GUIDE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DISABILITY POSITIONS
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 President Obama’s agenda on disability issues can be divided into three sections: International, Domestic and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Internationally, he seeks to reclaim “America's global leadership on this issue by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.
Domestically, his policy initiatives can be divided into four subsections: education, civil rights, employment, and independent, community-based living. To achieve these aims, he supports “funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”, “early intervention …and universal screening”, and “improving college opportunities for high school graduates with disabilities.”
Further, he will seek increased “funding for enforcement” of the ADA Amendment Act and links his support of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to his health care proposals, including improved mental health care. He will seek “regulations that require the federal government and its contractors to employ people with disabilities, providing private-sector employers with resources to accommodate employees with disabilities, and encouraging those employers to use existing tax benefits to hire more workers with disabilities and supporting small businesses owned by people with disabilities.”
He supports “enforcing the Community Choice Act, which would allow Americans with significant disabilities the choice of living in their community rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution, creating a voluntary, budget-neutral national insurance program to help adults who have or develop functional disabilities to remain independent and in their communities, and streamline the Social Security [disability] approval process.”
Summarizing President Obama’s position on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), “support[s] increased funding for autism research, treatment, screenings, public awareness, support services [and]… research of the treatments for, and the causes of, ASD”, “improving life-long services for people with ASD for treatments, interventions and services for both children and adults with ASD”, “support[s] funding the Combating Autism Act and working with Congress, parents and ASD experts to determine how to further improve federal and state programs for ASD”, and believes that universal screening during infancy and at age two “is essential so that disabilities can be identified early enough for those children and families to get the supports and services they need.”
Link to policy page on whitehouse.gov: http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/disabilities/
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CHILDREN WITH AUTISM PAIRED WITH BUDDIES TO CREATE ART
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A diverse group of students -- from children with autism to their academically gifted schoolmates -- gained a better understanding of one another by creating art that will be featured in the exhibit "Building Friendships: Fostering Acceptance and Understanding of Others Through the Arts."
The exhibit opened Saturday and continues through Feb. 7 at Expressive Arts Florida, 1976 B Morrill St., Sarasota, in the Towles Court Arts District. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In the nine-week special project at Fruitville Elementary School, children with autism were paired with regular-education and gifted students to create art and learn about each other.
Children in the latter two groups learned about autism through "The Autism Acceptance Book: Being a Friend to Someone with Autism," by Ellen Sabin. About 100 students participated in the project. Thirteen classes had 63 sessions with two professional artists to create works of art, many of which will be displayed in the exhibit.
"The project was more successful than we ever imagined," Marjorie Williams, a teacher on Fruitville Elementary Autism Team, said in a printed release. "Students were selected based on their attitudes about other students, and the post-test demonstrated a dramatic change in acceptance after the project," Williams said. "But it was the actions and behaviors of these students that were most impressive. The children did not want to stop working with their new friends, and they wrote beautiful entries in their journals about their experiences."
The project was made possible by a $5,000 grant from the Leslie and Margaret Weller Arts Education Program of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
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| LITTLE LEAGUE IN POLK COUNTY READIES FOR NEW "CHALLENGE" |
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 The first ever baseball league for children with special needs in Polk County, “The Adventure League” has merged with Rockmart/Polk County Little League to become “The Challenger League.” The change is scheduled to take place in the Spring of 2009. The Challenger League is a Nationally recognized Division of Little League.
The Challenger Division is a program for mentally and physically challenged youth, helping them to enjoy the full benefits of Little League participation in an athletic environment structured to their abilities. A non-Challenger league player, otherwise known as a “buddy,” ideally shadows each special needs child.
According to Lucas Culver, member of the Little League Board, while the structure of the new league will be the same as the old one, the behind-the-scenes benefits are what prompted the change. Chief among those reasons is the league’s overaall emphasis on safety.
Affiliation with Little League means that the special needs children will be able to sign-up free of charge, with insurance (and uniforms) provided to all players. Helping the special needs children feel included in Little League, not separate, is another key reason. “It makes them feel a part of the whole program,” Culver said, explaining that the experience for non-Challenger Division players is rewarding as well. “It kind of helps out both sides,” he said.
More than the skills of baseball learned through the experience, the value of the Little League Challenger Division is found in the proven therapeutic and socialization benefits of participating in sports, the strengthening of participants’ self-esteem, the opportunities to mainstream into other divisions of play, and the disciplines of teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play, which are hallmarks of the Little League program, according to information provided by the league.
Playing with the same equipment on the same fields, Challenger participants have the opportunity to experience the joys of pulling together as a team, being cheered, and earning awards for their achievements.
The games will occur every Saturday in April and a few in May, Culver explained. He went on to say that the league is expecting between 50 and 75 players to sign up. “The smiles on their faces is something to see, Culver said. “Its something special, that’s for sure.”
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| SENATE STIMULUS PROPOSAL LESS PROMISING FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES |
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Senate Democrats unveiled most of their economic stimulus proposal Friday and it includes a smaller one-time stimulus payment to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients than the House version released last week (see here).
The one-time stimulus payment to SSI recipients would drop to $300 in the Senate version versus $450 in the House plan.
The $13 billion in funding proposed for special education is identical in both the House and Senate versions. Similarly, funding for Medicaid remains the same, with $87 billion in temporary Medicaid increases slated to go to the states.
The House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the economic recovery bill this week and it is expected to be voted on by the full House next Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Appropriations committee are expected to consider the Senate version of the bill on Tuesday.
Once the full House and Senate pass a final version of the bill, it will be sent to the president. It is expected that a version of the bill will be on President Barack Obama’s desk by mid-February.
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