Who's Accountable for Leaving Boy on Bus?

In Jersey City, a child with special needs was left on the school bus for more than 4 hours.  http://www.care2.com/causes/boy-with-disabilities-forgotten-on-school-bus.html.

I can’t imagine how this could happen or why he wasn’t missed.  The mother put him on the bus with every expectation he would be brought to school safely.  The driver and aide were both fired.  Nothing is mentioned about criminal prosecution, but I would hope that would follow.  They were in charge of a child who was nonverbal and their only job was to deliver him safely to school.  There were only eight children on the bus.  How hard could it be to count that high?

In most schools, if a child is not in class and a parent had not called to explain that child’s absence, a call is made to the parents.  Why didn’t this happen in this case?  The fact that the child had special needs was well known. 

The first clue anyone had that the child was not where he belonged was when a mechanic found him on the school bus four hours after being picked up.  That he was not baked alive in the bus in 90 degree weather is nothing short of miraculous.

There are budget cuts everywhere and persons with disabilities have had to bear a disproportionate share of these cuts, but someone has to be accountable for things like this. 

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

AHA Takes on Racial Disparities in Care, Leadership

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/print/LED-268710/AHA-Takes-On-Racial-Disparities-in-Care-Leadership 

This article shows that the AHA is still unaware of a serious gap – persons with disabilities.  While it is important to address racial and ethnic disparities, this group needs to be reminded that persons with disabilities are the third largest market segment in the United States.  At this time, physical access to healthcare is seriously lacking and attitudes toward persons with disabilities range from dismissive to overly solicitous, skipping respect and accommodations.  Medical schools and nursing schools routinely discriminate against applicants with physical disabilities, making it even more difficult to recognize the importance of this demographic. 

One possible solution would be for the healthcare industry to stop looking at disability in the medical model and start looking at this population as a market segment.  For purposes of patient care, employee safety and equal respect and opportunities for all, this needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Sixth Rule of Construction Is Very Important

The sixth rule of construction is a big one.  It states: 

The determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures. However, the ameliorative effects of ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses shall be considered in determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity.

This means that if a person has access to and uses either a medication or a device that alleviates the effects of the disability, that person’s disability still exists.  For example, a person who is able to fully control his or her seizures with medication still has a seizure disorder.  Likewise, a person who is able to stand with crutches or a standing frame, still has a mobility impairment.  The fact that a device or medication can control the effects of a disability does not mean that the person no longer has that disability.

Likewise, job accommodations work to remove the effects of a disability in the workplace.  Because the effects of a disability are alleviated to any extent, it does not mean that the disability no longer exists.  Therefore, the person has an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity and that disability is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The exception to this is ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses.  If a person’s vision is corrected by ordinary corrective lenses, that person’s vision impairment is not considered to substantially limit a major life activity and, therefore, that person is not considered to have a disability under the Act.

While the ADAAA lists many mitigating measures in its appendix, this list is not considered to be exhaustive and the basic principle continues to be that the effects of mitigating measures is not to be considered when determining whether or not a person has a disability.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

We need a new system before cutting out the old

Both the federal government and individual states are putting on pressure to cut Medicaid benefits to persons with disabilities.

There are some services required by persons with disabilities that are only covered by Medicaid and are too expensive for the average person to afford without assistance.  The way disability policy works in this country and in most states is that persons with disabilities (or the parents of children with disabilities) need to impoverish themselves in order to qualify for these services.  The only other alternative is to work for the sole purpose of paying for these services and living in poverty anyway.  Even then, there is no guarantee that these individuals and families could afford these services without assistance.

After forcing these people to live in poverty in order to have critical services, the government now wants to cut these services.  While that is probably legal (barely), it can hardly be considered moral.  Persons with disabilities have no cushion to fall back upon, since that is not allowed, and so-called work incentives have such limits that they are not the success that was anticipated.  At the very least, a new system should be in place before pulling the plug on the old one.

If anything points out the failure of disability policy in this country, this is it.  No other minority is forced to live in poverty in order to survive.  Add to that living in constant fear that what is needed for survival will be taken away, it’s no wonder work incentives have little power to motivate. 

What we need is a policy that treats persons with disabilities like valued human beings.  Rather than forcing them to live in poverty and then trying to motivate them to get off the system we forced them into, we should avoid putting them in the system. 

There is probably not much we can do about moving persons currently on disability, who have been living in poverty without any cushion, into a new system.  However, we can avoid putting more people into this system that does not work and cannot work. 

The system we have now has no more validity.  It was designed for a different time in history.  There is nothing that can fix it.  Certainly not taking away services without putting in place a system that works for our time. 

The question is whether or not governments have what it takes to build a new, workable system.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude