The United Nations is falling way short of its 2030 goal of an inclusive and equitable early education for children with disabilities, according to a report published in the journal Nature.
The report urges the UN to produce a clear plan that includes global funding schemes, effective governance, and monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The goal, the fourth of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (adopted in 2015), aims for lifelong learning opportunities for all. To put a fine point on it, the report’s authors note that “optimizing the readiness of children with disabilities for school, to facilitate their access to inclusive and equitable quality education, is the overarching purpose of the global pledge.”
The article highlights the need for action, and cites these stats:
For more details on what’s needed to achieve the goal, check out this Table.
Article citation: Olusanya, B.O., Gulati, S., Berman, B.D. et al. Global leadership is needed to optimize early childhood development for children with disabilities. Nat Med (2023).
Vogue’s “Reframing Fashion: Dynamic, Daring & Disabled Issue,” CDC finds that “profound” autism affects about a quarter of people on the autism spectrum, the South’s new disability rights group, and much more.
The South has a new disability rights group with Georgia roots Founded by former members of Stacey Abrams’ campaign team, it’s reportedly the first regional group focused on disability rights in the country. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Parents with public school children with special education needs sue DOE, allege required services are not being provided The lawsuit alleges that thousands of NYC students with disabilities face long delays in receiving the special education evaluations essential to IEPs. (AM New York)
She’s fighting cancer but has to move since NYS closed her group home More heartbreaking proof of a system in crisis. (Whec.com)
Dutchess County basketball coach with cerebral palsy helps inspire athletes with disabilities (News 12 Westchester) Yes! Love this coverage. More people with disabilities highlighted in the media doing their own things, please. (See Vogue, below!)
NJ Special education teacher threw child under desk, forced him to wear shirt over face, cops say This horrible story of abuse is hard to read. The teacher has been suspended pending criminal proceedings. (nj.com)
Editorial: Race and geography limit service for disabled Californians. That’s wrong In California, 21 “regional centers” are tasked with helping disabled people make their own decisions and live as independently as possible, “but geography and even the spending per case vary among the centers.” (Los Angeles Times)
Private schools for whom? Special needs students caught in Texas’ school choice debate The way I understand it, Texas GOP legislators are dangling universal education savings accounts for children with special needs as a carrot in order to pass through a voucher-like program that gives families public funds to help pay for private schools. The problem: Many private schools don’t admit kids with I/DD. (The Dallas Morning News)
“Nothing Is More Fashionable Than Inclusivity”: Sinéad Burke Introduces British Vogue’s May 2023 Cover Stars The portraits include Reuben Selby, a neurodiversity advocate, and Ellie Goldstein, a British model with Down syndrome. (Vogue)
‘Profound’ autism affects about a quarter of people on the autism spectrum While mild cases make up the majority of autism diagnoses, “profound” autism affects about 27% of American children with the developmental disability, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. (UPI)
Why Being Bilingual Can Open Doors for Children With Developmental Disabilities The report says studies consistently demonstrate exposure to an additional language, including a minority language, does not impact language outcomes negatively (The 74)
‘Shocking’ Number Of Kids With Autism Kicked Out Of Day Care, Study Finds “Many of the children turned away had not been identified as having a disability [so] ‘part of it is a lack of teacher awareness of the prevalence of autism, and how it manifests in a very young age.'”(Disability Scoop)
COVID-19’s hidden toll: Study reveals greater mortality disparities for people with intellectual disabilities (News Medical)
In a first, New York’s Home-Based Crisis Intervention (HBCI) program is creating two teams exclusively serving youth (between 5 and 21 years old), and diagnosed with a developmental disability and mental illness.
HBCI teams deliver intensive crisis intervention to at-risk children/youth and their families to help them avoid psychiatric hospitalization/an in-patient setting, or who are at risk for “a rapid readmission,” according to the proposal submitted for the grant. They’re focused on enhancing crisis intervention and problem-solving skills to foster well-being and stability.
The announcement, from the office of New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, notes that more than $13 million in state funding is now available to expand access to 13 new teams in total.
The two dedicated teams are being formed via a partnership with the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC).
Grants from the U.S. Dept. of Education totaling $224 million are now available to help bolster opportunities for students with disabilities leaving school and hoping to work.
The initiative, the Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Program, is looking “to support innovative … activities aimed at increasing competitive integrated employment (CIE).” It will provide between 22 and 32 awards worth an average of $7 million each in upfront funding to state education and vocational rehabilitation agencies, according to K12dive.com, which has a great summary of the project.
Applicant Information can be found here.
Transition services extended for some students with I/DD due to COVID-19: (nysenate.gov) In case you missed it, a bill passed in the New York State Legislature back in June 2021 allows some students in individualized education plans (IEPs) to continue receiving their special education services. Eligible students turned 21 years old during the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school years and did not receive their IEP because of the coronavirus pandemic. Under current state law, unique needs students can be removed from their individualized education services as soon as they hit their 21st birthday. The newly approved bill allows these students to finish their education plans up until their 23rd birthday.
Facts About Transition Planning in New York State (opwdd.ny.gov)
Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education)
A new adaptive hike initiative from the Westchester Parks Foundation features a free “All-Terrain Trackchair” program that allows people living with paralysis, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy and other disabilities the opportunity to enjoy the trails system.
The 1-2 mile guided hike is done with a very cool looking “chair” that can be used on dirt trails, mud, sand and grass. (Check it out on lohud.com.)
The program rotates throughout Westchester County Parks up through November 2023. The 700-acre Saxon Woods Park is its first stop, with guided hikes available there throughout April.
Because of limited availability, the website says it may only be reserved by those “who find it difficult to experience the designated trail without assistance.”
You can find the calendar and registration here (yes, you must register!).
First, a definition. “Ableism” is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be “fixed” in one form or the other (Center for Disability Rights). Often, it comes from abled people with good intentions.
To help shed insight into such behavior, the Washington Post consulted 25 disabled activists and scholars, including representatives from several national disability organizations, to create a quiz that can help someone learn more about ableist thinking.
Find the quiz here, and see how you do, or share with people who need it!
Eleven New York City subway stations, including transit hub Times Square, are playing MTA announcements recorded by kids with autism through the end of April.
The public service messages are, of course, part of Autism Acceptance Month. (All these April programs are great, but why limit them to one month out of the year?) The messages, done in conjunction with INCLUDEnyc, advise customers to follow subway rules of conduct, as well as raise awareness about neurodiversity.
Gothamist reports that it’s the second straight year of the program and that it’s part “of a campaign that celebrates the youngsters’ deep affinity for mass transit.”
The announcements play in 15-minute intervals at the following stations:
The New York Transit Museum has an after-school program called Subway Sleuths. The site says “it builds on a shared interest in trains and public transit among 2nd through 5th-grade students on the autism spectrum to support social interaction between peers.” It’s not taking any more applications for Spring 2023, but if you live in New York City, it’s worth checking out for another time.
I’ve never been, but the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, with its activities and costumed characters and performances, always seems a bit of a zoo. A blast for attendees, I’m sure, but it’s loud and crowded and full of moving colors (see the video below). So it was nice to hear that this year’s event, attended by some 30,000 people (I rest my case), featured a “sensory-friendly hour.”
Offered in the morning, the inclusive hour included shorter lines, reduced noise, sports, and audio-sensory eggs that beeped for the visually impaired. I’m not sure what else was on tap, at least not from any official White House releases. (If there was mention of it on the White House’s official egg roll site, in the House Briefing Room address, or in the remarks made by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the 2023 event itself, I couldn’t find it.) The hour also got very little press post-event. It seems like a missed opportunity to shout about the need for inclusivity.
The overall event featured sessions such as School House, Reading Nook, PE (the theme, as it was in 2022, was labeled “EGGucation!”). To attend, you had to win a ticket in a public lottery or volunteer (or maybe know someone). In a nice touch, children 13 and younger were gifted, or supposed to have been, a souvenir wooden egg. Either way, don’t worry — you can always buy an Official White House Easter Egg set, but I refuse to share its link.
For photos of the 2023 White House Easter Egg Roll, visit USAtoday.com.
For a wrap-up video, check out the below. And beware of loud music, this is not the sensory-friendly portion!
Photo: Flickr.com
The ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest festival in the U.S. dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities, will be in New York April 27 to May 3, 2023.
Founded in New York in 2007, the festival presents award-winning films by and about people with disabilities in multiple locations throughout the city.
View the full New York film schedule here.
And be sure to check out its great line-up of events, found here They range from “Remembering Judith Heumann” and “The Future of Inclusive and Accessible Beauty” to a ReelAbilities’ comedy night.
An audit from the New York State Comptroller’s office has come down hard on the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWD), finding that it “did not provide consistent oversight and guidance” to thousands of facilities during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report included these important facts: People with IDD have a higher prevalence of comorbidities and immune dysfunction, and so are especially vulnerable in a public health emergency. “Further, congregate living poses special challenges to infection control.”
The numbers seem to support this. From March 2020 to April 5, 2022, the audit notes, OPWDD reported a total of 13,079 COVID-19 cases and 657 deaths among clients within its residential programs.
Among the key findings of the audit, covering the period from January 2019 to April 2022:
The report also found that OPWDD “did not cooperate” for much of the audit.
In a response attached to the report, OPWDD writes that it “reiterates its concern with the focus and scope of this audit. … This expansive review presented challenges for OPWDD staff in the midst of the pandemic, and in some cases, unfortunately, appears to have contributed to OSC’s perceived lack of agency cooperation.”
OPWDD also noted that it “had planning documents in place prior to COVID-19, which considered the risks of a hypothetical pandemic, and commensurate evaluations were made at the onset of COVID-19. … However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented many unparalleled circumstances that could not have been reasonably foreseen.”
PLUS: NY death rate spiked 30% amid COVID’s darkest days. See top causes of death in your county (lohud.com)
Photo: NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli (source: State Comptroller Flickr)