Should 4-Year-Old Have Service Dog in School?

There have recently been a number of lawsuits regarding service dogs, particularly in the schools.  Most recently, the parents of a four-year-old with fetal alcohol syndrome have sued their North Carolina school district because it won’t allow their child to have his service dog in school.  http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/14/parents-disabled-boy-sue-want-schooldistrictallo/?fb_xd_fragment#?=&cb=f28bab22d7f2d06&relation=parent&transport=fragment&frame=f2d60a3887b626c.

Service dogs have been specially trained to actively provide assistance to persons with disabilities and, according to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, are allowed to go wherever the person with the disability goes.  That includes schools.

In most of the recent cases, the issue has been defining the difference between service dogs – which are allowed by law to accompany their owners – and therapy dogs, which are not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The major difference between the two is that service dogs are trained to actively provide a service, whether that is guidance, assistance, signal, intervention or other service, and therapy dogs passively provide comfort. 

In the North Carolina case, the question is primarily whether the 4-your-old can manage his dog.  I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that separating the dog from the boy for long periods of time will have an adverse affect on the dog’s training, making him less effective as a service dog when the two are together.

My opinion – and that’s all it is – is that the parents of this boy have sought the best possible way to equip their son with the tools necessary to manage his disability and grow.  It sounds to me like that effort needs to be considered.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Is Charlie Sheen Facing Discrimination?

Like many of you, I feel we've heard more than enough from and about Charlie Sheen. But, if you will, please indulge me with one more perspective.

I am neither a lawyer nor a psychiatrist, and I guarantee you I would never be mistaken for one of his goddesses. The perspective I'm going to put forth is not fact, but rather a series of possibilities that are worth considering. My interest isn't just in this one person, but in how we look at similar situations in others.

So, for the purpose of this exercise, let's start by supposing this is not Charlie Sheen, but rather a stage hand on the set. There would be a lot less publicity but we would be able to see the issues more clearly.

When Charlie was charged with assault, which I believe is a felony, his employer continued his employment. There was concern about what would happen to the show if he were sent to jail, but there was no talk of firing him. The criminal charge did not bother his employer as much as his potential absence from work.

When Charlie was actively doing drugs, he was not fired. No employer needs to tolerate active illegal drug use, but his did.

Later, when Charlie was ranting on television, apparently quite delusional, he was fired.

Again, I am not a psychiatrist -- I don't even play one on television -- but this man certainly appears to be ill. It's even possible that his mental illness has led him to self medicate with illegal drugs. This is not uncommon.

So, what do you think? Fire him or treat him with compassion? Is this a case of discrimination covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Should his employer, who did not fire him for other bad boy behavior, fire him now? If you took away the fame and viewed him as an employee of any large corporation, is he being discriminated against for mental health issues?

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Is Medicaid Collapsing?

Over the past 10 years, Medicaid enrollment across the 50 states has grown by approximately 50% according to a study by the Kaiser Commission. (http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8050.pdf)    Of course the economy has contributed to this, as has the rise in health insurance costs, leading many employers to drop health insurance as a benefit.  However, disability policy has played a significant role in this as well.

Current disability policy dictates that persons with disabilities declare themselves unable to work and impoverish themselves in order to qualify for Medicaid, which will cover critical services that are not covered under private insurance policies.  The problem with this is that people who may be able to work are removed from the employment – and tax –rolls and become dependent on public support. 

In an economy that is as stressed as our current one is, this makes no sense.  To make matters worse, many states are now cutting the services provided, leaving many persons with disabilities with no recourse – No money and no support. 

There are programs that attempt to patch this system, but it’s like playing Whack-A-Mole.  A bandaid on one problem creates another problem in the system.  It’s time to face the reality that the current system is unsustainable. 

Building a new system from the ground up will require courage, but maintaining the status quo has no future. 

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Diversity Inc. Publishes Top 10 Companies

Diversity Inc. has published its top 10 Ten Companies for Recruitment and Retention http://www.diversityinc.com/article/8326/The-DiversityInc-Top-10-Companies-for-Recruitment--Retention

These companies all include disabilities in their diversity plan.  But, how do they recruit persons with disabilities when identification of persons with disabilities is not clear. 

It’s easy to identify persons who use wheelchairs or who are blind and some others, but what about people with perceptual problems or behavioral health disabilities or cancer or HIV/AIDS?  Many persons with disabilities do not disclose their disabilities because of their realistic concern that they will face discrimination. 

Another question is for what kind of jobs are persons with disabilities recruited?  Are they specifically recruited for call centers and other low-end jobs or work-at-home situations or are they recruited for all jobs?  What are the opportunities for advancement for persons with disabilities?

I’m not saying that these 10 companies fail in these areas because I honestly don’t know.  These areas are issues that many companies fail to address and these questions are questions that all companies should ask of themselves.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Why Are Healthcare Providers Responsible for Disability Issues?

Why do we insist on making doctors or anyone in the healthcare system responsible for disability issues?

The reality is that disability is not a medical issue. The cause of it may have been and complications may also be medical issues, but the disability itself simply exists. Except for the very temporary kind of disability, there is not much that health-care providers can do to change the existence of a disability itself. Nevertheless, we require medical documentation to collect disability benefits, to get parking passes and bus passes, to prove the need for subsidized housing or to qualify for government health benefits and some employers require medical documentation when employees request job accommodations.

Health-care providers, for the most part, have a very poor understanding of what a disability is and what the disability system is. There is nothing in their training that prepares them for this. They often believe that the compassionate response to requests for documentation is to encourage persons with disabilities to apply for Social Security and stay home. They have no idea that this type of response could doom their patients with disabilities to a life of poverty and boredom.

How can this system be right?

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Has the ADA Improved the Lives of Americans with Disabilities?

The Kessler foundation and the National Organization on Disability released its survey looking at quality of life measures for persons with disabilities. http://www.2010disabilitysurveys.org/pdfs/surveyresults.pdf

The survey shows where the ADA has generated progress and where there are still significant gaps between Americans with and without disabilities.  Employment of persons with disabilities still lags far behind employment of persons without disabilities.  Consequently, household income and those areas where income significantly affects participation also lag behind.  According to the report the gaps between Americans with and without disabilities show that persons with disabilities were much more negatively affected by the economic recession.  No surprise there!

Disability policy in this country mandates that persons with disabilities impoverish themselves in order to qualify for critical services that are not covered under traditional insurance.  In order to regain financial independence, we have a longer way to go than those without disabilities.  While there are well-intended patches to this system, there is little likelihood these patches will result in great changes.  A total overhaul of disability policy is in order.

The survey did show a couple of areas of progress;  There has been improvement in the numbers of Americans with disabilities who have attained educational levels that should result in improved employment outcomes and there has also been an improvement in political participation by persons with disabilities.  Both of those areas of improvement bode well for the future.

Read the full study to see where the ADA has been effective and where we still have lots of work to do.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude

Spread the Word

Today, March 2, 2011, is the day to Spread the Word to End the Word.

Because the use of the word “retard” or “retarded” has devolved into a derogatory term, what was once a useful word in clinical settings is now a very hurtful term. Join the campaign to end the use of the R-word and replace it with respect by taking the pledge at http://r-word.org/.

Annette Bourbonniere

www.accessing-ability.com

401-846-1960

Fax:  401-846-1944

Twitter:  @AccessInclude