fbpx
[additional-authors]
December 25, 2015

It’s been a hard year all around, with each news cycle seeming to usher in another round of either heartbreaking, terrifying or completely absurd headlines. When the Inland Regional Center became the site of the nation’s worst terrorist incident since 9/11 leaving 14 dead and many more wounded, it was hard not to despair that the major geopolitical conflict of our time had somehow intersected with a nonprofit, state-funded agency whose mission is to help and support children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

But as we kindle fires and light candles in response to the short, dark days of winter, the end of the calendar year is a good time to focus our attention on some of the sparks of hope, so here’s a list of good things that happened in the past 12 months:

–More TV shows, movies and advertisements featured actors with disabilities, or had storylines that touched on various special needs, such as the new six-episode A&E Network's docu-series, “Born This Way”, which follows seven Los Angeles young adults with Down syndrome, and their family and friends. As part of the show’s outreach efforts, A&E has partnered with Best Buddies International, a sister agency to the Special Olympics, to promote inclusion in the community and in our workplaces, as well as increasing awareness for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

–More students with disabilities are graduating from high school. For the third year in row, federal officials say that the graduation rate for the nation’s students with disabilities is on the rise. Numbers released in mid-December indicated that the graduation rate for those with disabilities hit 63.1 % for the 2013–2014 school year.
That’s an increase over the 61.9 percent reported for the 2012-2013 school year and growth of 4.1 percent over three years, the U.S. Department of Education said.

–In response to changes in federal polices and funding, more states are moving towards community-based employment, and away from segregated sheltered workshops. In Vermont, for example, the state sends money directly to clients with disabilities for services of their choosing, such as job coaching and transportation.
Today, Vermont leads the nation in almost every measure of workplace inclusion. Vermonters with intellectual disabilities are twice as likely to find jobs in the community as their counterparts in other states. With the new Self-Determination law coming on line in California in 2016, we hope that we will see similar results here as well.

–In our own little family, we held a very fun and joyous 21-year-old birthday bowling party for our son, Danny, along with family members, and many of his good friends, most of whom are on the autism spectrum. The bowling alley, PINZ, in Studio City was not just accommodating, but the staff went out of their way to make sure our son and his guests had a good time. Loud rock music was turned down on our end of the bowling alley, bumpers were put up so there weren’t any gutter balls, they coached a few kids who had never bowled before, and they provided an accessible bowling ramp. One of the employees confided in me afterward that he had never really interacted before with people with special needs. “They were great,” he said, “not so different from me or anyone else”.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: Got College? | Mar 29, 2024

With the alarming rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, choosing where to apply has become more complicated for Jewish high school seniors. Some are even looking at Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.