HOUSTON -- Dealing with the city’s growing mentally-ill population is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult jobs facing the Houston Police Department today.
HPD says funding, which provides help for Houston's mentally ill, has been on the decline for years. The result has meant more 911 calls asking for police assistance.
The 11 News I-Team witnessed this firsthand by riding along with HPD for a couple of days.
No one knows the situation Harris County is facing better than Dr. Stephen Schnee, the executive director of The Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association.
“They need ongoing treatment. We don't have a magic pill,” Schnee said. “The State of Texas funds the MHMRA outpatient system for approximately 8,800 outpatient slots.”
But every month, MHMRA in Harris County gets an additional 400 to 500 people referred to them, he said. And right now, more than 160,000 people need psychological help.
“I believe the system is really flawed because we are treating these conditions, these serious conditions as short-term conditions,” Schnee said.
Until recently, many of these patients ended up in the Harris County Jail.
There are currently more than 2,500 mentally ill people being held there.
But the trend to lock them up is slowly changing.
HPD has teamed up with MHMRA and formed a unit called CIRT. It stands for the Crisis Intervention Response Team.
It's just a start, but right now the department has seven trained officers on the streets. Each officer is joined by an MHMRA clinician.
A clinician is armed with a laptop and a master’s degree, which enables them to check medical histories and guide the patient to the best possible care available at that moment.
Riding along with the team for several days was an eye-opener. We learned the unit can be dispatched all over the city.
The officers often race to suicide threats or calls involving some of the city’s homeless.
“When's the last time you had anything to eat?” Sgt. Patrick Plourde asked a man who said his name was T.J.
T.J. seemed to be hearing voices and was delusional.
“He doesn't have any identification. He says Satan took it away from him,” said Officer Joe Olsen.
Since CIRT started a few months ago, it has taken more than 1,100 mentally ill patients to Ben Taub’s Psych Unit.
“The officers right now that are working full time have the patience of Job,” one officer said.
And nobody appreciates that more than Debra Jameton, who called police to report that her mother had attacked her and was out of control. Police responded and transported her schizophrenic mother to Ben Taub.
“They are the only one that seems to understand what is going on you know. They come in because they've done the training for all this,” said Jameton.
The mental health squad will not solve all the problems of Houston's mentally ill, but it is making a difference.
We learned they are doing their best to protect all of us and the patients who often want to hurt themselves.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Houston Police Department teams with MHMR agency to provide crisis intervention for those with mental illness
From KHOU-TV:
Judge upholds ruling that Mississippi man with MR diagnosis will be spared death penalty
From The Clarion-Ledger in Miss.:
The lives of two convicted killers on death row in Mississippi may be spared, based on decisions handed down this week from courts 200 hundred miles apart.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has upheld a 2009 ruling that William Wiley is mentally retarded.
And, the state Supreme Court has ruled that Kristi Fulgham will get a new sentencing hearing.
In Wiley's case, he could become the fourth death row inmate in the state spared from execution by a finding of mental retardation. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court determined it is unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded.
Wiley, 54, has been on death row nearly 30 years. He was convicted in 1982 of shooting DeSoto County store owner J.B. Turner in the back with a shotgun during a robbery in the Mineral Wells community. In addition to killing the businessman on Aug. 22, 1981, he left Turner's daughter blinded in the attack.
No decision has been made by state Attorney General Jim Hood on whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We will consult with the victim's family and then make a decision," said Jan Schaefer, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said Oct. 28.
Robert McDuff, one of Wiley's attorneys, said cases involving the death penalty are tragic on many levels and difficult for all involved, particularly the victims and their family.
The attorney general's office argued that Wiley is not mentally retarded since state courts have found he wasn't mentally challenged.
The 35-page 5th Circuit opinion filed Wednesday said Wiley had four tests between 1989 and 2009 measuring his IQ and only one conducted by a state expert showed his IQ was above the threshold for mental competency.
"The record shows that Wiley consistently relied on others for virtually all direction of his life and daily living, including finances, healthcare, and employment," the opinion states.
But Turner's daughter, Carolyn Turner of Palm City, Fla., wrote a letter to the editor published in The Clarion-Ledger saying Wiley was not mentally retarded when he killed her father and he wasn't mentally retarded now.
"(William Wiley) needs to die like my father for justice to be served: In the name of my father," Carolyn Turner wrote. The Clarion-Ledger was unable o reach Carolyn Turner on Thursday.
In Fulgham's case, the state Supreme Court unanimously decided to toss the death sentence given for her role in the 2003 murder of her husband.
The court said the trial judge erred by disallowing testimony of a social worker in the sentencing phase of Fulgham's trial.
The justices upheld Fulgham's capital murder conviction in the shooting death of Joseph "Joey" Fulgham, at the couple's Longview community home in Oktibbeha County.
Fulgham was convicted and sentenced to death in December 2006 in Oktibbeha County.
"A defendant is permitted to introduce virtually any relevant and reliable evidence touching upon the defendant's background and character, or the crime itself, which is offered as a basis to persuade a jury to return a sentence of less than death," Supreme Court Justice Ann Lamar said in the ruling on Thursday.
Fulgham, 34, is one of three women on death row.
Prosecutors said Joey Fulgham was shot once in the head while he slept in his home in May 2003. They claim his wallet was missing and Kristi Fulgham wanted money.
Fulgham's attorneys argued that Joey Fulgham had abused her, and she suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Blind Café returns to Boulder, Colo.
Close your eyes.
Imagine a helpful guide escorting you through a pitch-black void of darkness. Deeper and deeper into the darkness you shuffle with the help of your guide. Acoustic live music plays somewhere in this unseen, amorphous space before you. The music grows louder, as a scintillating smell of organic food wafts into your nose.
This is the experience that Rosh, a Bostonian Naropa graduate in his early 30s, wants to bestow upon patrons of Boulder — and eventually the world over — with his unique Blind Café experience.
“I’m still discovering what this event is,” says Rosh, who has organized the Blind Café in Boulder twice. “But the focus is building relationships, regardless of persons being sighted, visually impaired, or blind.
“The whole point of this event is community building,” he says. “We want to help people become more connected to themselves and to relate to new friends. The Blind Café creates a context for this interaction to happen.”
Along the way, Rosh says, Blind Café patrons can also enjoy food “that is designed to delight the senses.”
Chef Marcus McCauley is a dedicated member of Rosh’s team who originally hails from Pearl Street’s recently closed Bimbamboo. McCauley is very proud of his Oklahoma provenance and prepares food accordingly: farm-fresh goodies that range from persimmon pudding to poached pears served in pomegranate juice.
This upcoming Blind Café, referred to by Rosh as “Boulder Blind Café 3,” offers ticket-buyers a menu that is still in the works, with Chef McCauley flying in from a cooking study session in France.
“You can expect something French,” says Rosh proudly, who also notes that he does his best to allow McCauley to “express himself through his art,” while also trying to stick to a gluten-free, nut-free, vegan and vegetarian mélange to keep the meal “as inclusive as possible.”
“When we go to Austin soon,” Rosh jokes, “we’ll probably have to have some meat. But for now, we want to keep it something-for-everyone.”
Rosh also mentions that the concept of bringing in locally grown, farm-fresh foods — this time “probably root veggies and something like squash or other seasonal vegetables, and there will definitely be some kind of dark chocolate dessert, of course” — is a large
part of the Blind Café’s central conceit: fostering a new sense of community.
For those who may be concerned about not knowing exactly what they’re eating, Rosh himself will make changes in advance to food preparations as needed.
“One person wasn’t allergic to mushrooms,” he says, “but was hugely ‘mushroom-phobic.’ So, I went to his table and changed his one meal right before the event. We try to accommodate everyone.”
In doing all he can to keep his Blind Café experiences all-inclusive, Rosh also accommodates sighted patrons by granting them visually impaired or blind guides who act as escorts to the room’s dinner tables. These specialized waiters are, along with the chef, the only 30 or so staff members who are not volunteers.
After assisting patrons navigate through the dark café — fabricated in advance by Rosh’s “Master of Darkness,” Phil Norman — the blind waiters then engage with patrons in an open discussion forum.
Included in this round of Blind Café’s Q&A session will be Boulder’s own Gerry Leary of the Unseen Bean, who has become a master roaster of coffee beans despite being blind since birth. Aside from his involvement in the Q&A, Gerry has in past Blind Café experiences also engaged in walking around the room, while talking, to “show” patrons the general dimensions of what would otherwise be a shapeless abyss.
For Rosh, the Q&A session is one of the most significant components of the overall experience.
“A lot of people can’t handle the darkness,” he says, “and they have to leave. But one little 7-year-old girl was so brave, coming in and asking questions of our waiters.”
The young girl, Rosh continues, was at the time going blind herself and asked the waiters what it would be like when she lost her sight altogether.
“Even though no one could see each other,” says Rosh, “you could feel that each person in the room was touched by this.”
According to Rosh, these singular interactions happen often at the Blind Café events. His band, One Eye Glass Broken, with which he plays during the events, performs a live music showcase of eight to 10 songs, including popular covers.
But they also play some rather “dark and intense” songs, says Rosh, who revealed that there are some patrons who — because they can’t be seen in the dark — “feel more allowed to cry in a public social environment.”
In addition to producing and performing at the events, Rosh donates a portion of his profits to Boulder Guide Dog Puppy Raisers Club. He says he’s excited by the notion that these donations guarantee new harnesses — normally costing $300 each — to blind persons and guide dogs who need them.
Rosh’s long-term goal is to continue putting on the Blind Cafes nationally, and eventually go international, possibly bringing the experience to parts of India, where his events can occur as a philanthropic gesture to both enlighten and feed attendees for free.
He hopes to continue the Blind Café experiences as long as possible, and eventually with the assistance of grants or endowments, Rosh aspires to reach his goal of creating a worldwide arena for building local communities of people, regardless of sight abilities.
Deaf actress Katie Leclerc cast in ABC Family's pilot for "Switched at Birth"
BURBANK. Calif. -– ABC Family has cast Lea Thompson, Constance Marie and newcomer Katie Leclerc (pictured) in the key role of Daphne, in “Switched at Birth,” a pilot that is currently in pre-production for the network.
“Switched at Birth,” a one-hour scripted drama, tells the story of two teen girls who discover that they were accidentally switched at birth. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and two Brothers, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing as a child due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a poor neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls. Lizzy Weiss (“Blue Crush”) will serve as executive producer and writer.
Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future,” “Caroline in the City”) will portray Kristen Kennish, the wealthy mother of Bay (yet to be cast). Constance Marie (“George Lopez”) will take on the role of Regina Vasquez, the single mother of Daphne, to be portrayed by Katie Leclerc.
ABC Family put out a wide casting search for the role of Daphne, seeking out deaf and/or hard of hearing actors for the part. Katie Leclerc has Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance to a varying degree. It is characterized by episodes of vertigo and tinnitus and degenerative hearing loss. Leclerc is fluent in American Sign Language.
“We’re thrilled to have such acclaimed actresses as Lea Thompson and Constance Marie join the cast in two of our leading roles,” said Elizabeth Boykewich, Vice President, Casting, ABC Family. “For the critical role of Daphne, we set out to meet actors with all ranges of hearing loss to play the part. When we auditioned Katie, we knew she was perfect for the role. Not only is she a talented actress, but like her character, Katie is comfortable in both the hearing and deaf worlds.”
“We’re delighted to see ABC Family cast an actor from the deaf and hard of hearing community for the role of Daphne,” said Dr. Patricia Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc. “By casting Katie Leclerc, the network seized upon an opportunity to make a significant impact with not just viewers, but the Hollywood community at large, by reflecting the diverse world we all live in.”
The network is currently casting two more deaf or hard of hearing actors for the roles of Emmett and Penn.
Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today’s families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today’s relationships – told with a mix of diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family’s programming is a combination of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with “13 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas!” ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.
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Thursday, October 28, 2010
AAPD President/CEO Andrew Imparato to become senior counsel and disability policy director for Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee
WASHINGTON, DC –– The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is pleased to announce today that AAPD’s President and CEO, Andrew Imparato (pictured), has accepted the position of Senior Counsel and Disability Policy Director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee after 11 years of service with AAPD.
“I am excited for this tremendous opportunity to work with Senator Harkin and a great policy team at the HELP Committee,” said Imparato. “I am sad to leave AAPD, but I am confident that the organization will continue to grow and thrive under the leadership of our Board Chair Tony Coelho and the talented Board and staff.”
Since joining AAPD as its first full-time President and CEO in 1999, Imparato has led the organization to become the nation’s largest cross-disability membership group with more than 100,000 members. Imparato has led AAPD’s efforts to create opportunities for youth and young adults with disabilities and personally invested time and energy in cultivating emerging leaders throughout the country. He has also applied his strong policy background to a number of bipartisan legislative and administrative initiatives in the last 11 years.
He has testified numerous times in the House and the Senate and been instrumental in the passage of significant pieces of legislation and policy initiatives focused on the disability community, including the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Community Living Attendant Services and Supports (CLASS) Act that was passed as part of the health reform legislation earlier this year, and the most recent passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. Imparato has also worked closely with the Obama administration to fulfill the President’s commitment to federal employment of people with all kinds of disabilities through federal hiring initiatives. Imparato also served for four years on the bipartisan Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel to the Social Security Administration.
Imparato’s work at AAPD has been recognized by the Secretaries of Transportation and Health and Human Services, the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of the Deaf, the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, and many others. He has appeared on national television multiple times, most recently being interviewed by Judy Woodruff on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer to discuss the significance of the 20th anniversary of the ADA.
“AAPD is deeply indebted to Andy for helping to make AAPD the great organization that it is,” said Tony Coelho, AAPD’s Board Chair. “We congratulate Senator Harkin on his excellent choice and are confident that Andy will continue to make significant policy contributions that will improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in the U.S. and around the world. At the same time, AAPD is eager to begin our search for a President and CEO who is deeply connected to the disability community and seeks to continue the work and mission of AAPD. We are confident that Andy’s successor will help AAPD continue to grow and thrive in the coming years,” Coelho concluded.
In light of his impending government position, Imparato has resigned, effective immediately, from his position on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors, an independent body to which he was appointed in September by the Acting Comptroller General of the United States. For more information about the PCORI Board, please visit http://www.gao.gov/hcac/patientcentered_outcomes.html.
The Board of Directors of AAPD will begin a national search for its next President and CEO immediately. In the interim, AAPD’s current Chief Operating Officer, Helena Berger, will be the acting President and CEO.
Austin, Texas, City Council's decision on annexation will affect autistic boy's horse therapy
AUSTIN -- In a case of government versus private property rights, a Leander student's future -- a boy who has autism -- will be decided at a Thursday Austin City Council meeting when it votes on the Boulder Lane forced annexation .
A ‘yea’ vote will take away 13-year-old Hunter Hinze’s rights, in part, if Council doesn’t also grant perpetual rights to have horses on the family’s 2-1/2 acres in northwest Travis County.
The family of four has lived there for almost five years. Dr. John Hinze and wife, Kathy, bought the property expecting it to be the home where one day they would live out their final years -- a home that would also provide for their son for the rest of his life, given his special needs. Hippotherapy with the two horses housed there is a critical part of Hunter’s care.
For now, the City Planning Department is proposing the Hinzes be granted 10 years and then they have to get rid of the animals, according to Kathy Hinze. The family learned about the annexation in a letter they received in September.
The issue of annexation is over a city water line that runs beneath Boulder Lane – and while the Hinzes use private well water for many things – the family has the option to use city water. Because the water line is adjacent to their property, the Hinze land has to abide by city codes and rules if annexed. Thus, City Council and staff get to make the rules about horses on the land, and for how long they’re allowed.
The property – built in 1983 -- is already under covenants and rules of the 620 Oak subdivision homeowners’ association, which has approved horses at the Hinze house indefinitely. The HOA was formed 35 years ago and remains in effect.
“The neighbors like our horses,” Kathy said, explaining that there hasn’t been a problem.
Only nine of the 29 acreages in the subdivision are part of the vote because they are adjacent to the water line – and that’s how the Hinze home is involved. Its lot borders Boulder Lane.
Hunter undergoes hippotherapy at home, where horses are used in his treatment. The family owns two other horses that do not live on the property. Hunter was diagnosed with autism he was 26 months old and the family’s life choices are based on this condition.
“We’re not running a business there. We’re not a hippotherapy center,” said Kathy. “This is for him, for his care.”
John Hinze is an Austin doctor who specializes in interventional pulmonary care and critical care medicines. He is on staff at Pulmonary and Critical Care Consultants of Austin and practices at four area hospitals: Brackenridge, Seton, St. David’s and Heart . His mother, Kathy, is a former critical care nurse. Hunter has an older sister, Hannah, 15.
In the past 11 years, the family has moved six times, as John Hinze completed school and an internship, but also to find the best possible arrangement to care for Hunter’s autism. When the family found the home in Travis County, they believed it would be their last move, and did all the right things to ensure having horses was approved by the powers-that-be, according to Kathy Hinze.
“We haven’t added on to anything. We have a riding arena. We’ve only refurbished a 15-year-old barn, which is really a glorified shed, for the horses,” she said. “The house is big enough in the east wing to one day provide room for a caretaker to live, as we get older and can’t care for ourselves, and for Hunter. This house fits our ‘forever need.’”
Though in 10 years, Hunter will be almost 24 years old (he turns 14 next month), Kathy said he will never be able to live on his own nor hold down a full-time job. Therefore, the horses at home will remain an important part of his life for the rest of his life, as will the property.
“He will not learn how to write,” she explained. “He has what’s called ‘splintered skills.’ He has very little spontaneous verbal language, though once in awhile he’ll come out with a five-word sentence. He has receptive language, which means he can understand a lot. His motor planning is great, as long as I guide him in the steps. And the horses, he loves them.”
Hunter attends a regular school day at Leander Independent School District, though he is not main-streamed. The district just three weeks ago has begun experimental use of an iPad to augment communication with Hunter.
“We couldn’t have found a better school district than Leander,” Kathy said.
Three therapists a week also come to the family’s home to work with Hunter on academics, speech, bicycling, the horses, and activities in the community – such as grocery shopping – to teach him skills as he grows.
“Hunter helps clean the barn, he helps with the hay,” his mother said – all tasks which help him negotiate the autism.
As for meeting with Austin’s City Council, Kathy said she’s had face-to-face meetings with only one member via an advisor, Glen Coleman, of Randi Shade ’s staff.
“I sent e-mails to the others, asking them to come out to our house, but they said they didn’t see it,” she said. “People from
the Zoning Department, Health Department, a city street engineer and a few others came out and we met for 3-1/2 hours. Mr. Brand from the Health Department told me it didn’t matter how clean my barn was, no matter how I use it – he said my setbacks do not meet the city’s code, and so they have to say ‘no.’”
The Hinzes are not giving up, but hope that after a meeting on Wednesday morning with all the Council members’ advisers, that the vote on Thursday will go their way – that they will be granted a perpetual allowance to keep the horses on their property.
“We hope the City of Austin will realize the uniqueness of our family and respect our rights as property owners," she said. "That they will recognize the covenants and deed restrictions of the HOA that has been in existence for 35 years.”
First blind person to participate in next year's Cape Epic bike race in South Africa
Blind adventurer and motivational speaker, Hein Wagner, will take on next year's Cape Epic with experienced cyclist Gerrie Olivier as Team Pragma Beyond Vision. It will be the first time a blind person participated in the extreme endurance event.
Gerrie Olivier, managing director of Pragma Acuity and four-time Epic finisher, has invited Wagner to be his partner. They will compete on a tandem mountain bike with the goal to complete each day.
"I'm a keen cyclist but due to my work commitments, I don't ride to win but rather to enjoy it and keep fit. This will be a brand new challenge for me, something that I thrive on, and it's heart warming that we'll be doing it for a good cause, raising funds in the process," said Olivier.
Wagner has set aside the fact he has been totally blind from birth to live a fulfilling and abundant life and never hesitates or stands back for any challenge.
"I've taken on many daring adventures such as mountain climbing, sailing from Cape Town to Rio, running several marathons and becoming the fastest blind driver in the world (he holds the world land speed record for a blind driver), but this will definitely be the most physically challenging event I've take on to date.
"Seven hundred and seven kilometres over eighty days will not be easy, especially not over the kind of terrain that even sighted cyclists struggle with."
However, he has total confidence in his pilot. "Gerrie is an experienced, skilled and sometimes daring cyclist.
"A specially adapted Cannondale mountain bike tandem, better known as 'Worshond' will be put through its paces and in preparation, we recently completed a 100km mountain bike race. Although all went well and we finished in good time (5:25), we both agree there are still lots to be done."
Man who clears mines in Cambodia named CNN Hero of 2010
The United States Department of State salutes Aki Ra (pictured), founder of Cambodian Self-Help Demining, for being named by the Cable News Network, CNN, as one of the Top Ten Heroes for 2010.
Aki Ra, a former Khmer Rouge child soldier, has been clearing mines since 1992, when he received training from United Nations personnel who came to Cambodia to restore peace. In 1993, Aki Ra continued to clear mines on his own, using crude equipment he fashioned himself. In 2005, he went to the United Kingdom to receive formal training and accreditation for demining.
In 2008, Aki Ra formed his own demining organization with former soldiers and war crime victims. Aki Ra has estimated that he and his organization have cleared about 50,000 mines and unexploded munitions, and made safe some 160,000 square meters of land, mainly in the war-troubled area in northwest Cambodia.
Aki Ra, who lost his family during Cambodia’s internal conflicts, was conscripted as a child soldier by the Communist Khmer Rouge regime. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for an estimated 1.5 million Cambodian deaths. Aki Ra recalled that he was about 10 years old when he was given a rifle as tall as he was. For 3 years, Aki Ra worked as a mine layer for the Khmer Rouge. He estimated that he planted as many as 4,000 to 5,000 mines in a month.
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victims Assistance Authority estimated that 4 to 6 million land mines were planted during three decades of conflict. About 63,000 Cambodians have been maimed, and 19,000 were killed. Today, Cambodia has one amputee for every 290 people, one of the highest ratios in the world.
Aki Ra and other Cambodians are working with assistance from many nations in clearing mines. The United States is the world’s leading provider of financial and technical assistance. Worldwide, the United States provides more than $1.8 billion to support humanitarian mine action, contributing toward a dramatic global reduction in casualties. Since 1993, the U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program has invested more than $71 million in clearing mines in Cambodia. The United Sates is proud to recognize the work of Aki Ra and other brave men and women in clearing mines in Cambodia.
Ribbon cutting for new Rhode Island School for the Deaf Oct. 28
From WPRI-TV:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Governor Donald Carcieri joined local dignitaries, students, teachers, and parents for a ribbon cutting for the new Rhode Island School for the Deaf.
Construction began on the green project back in 2008. The school is expected to qualify for Silver Certification under the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Schools rating system.
Students ranging from preschool - 12th grade attend the school which now has 23 classrooms, two science labs, and a newly renovated gymnasium and locker rooms.
“The Rhode Island School for the Deaf has long enjoyed a tradition of excellence, and today we start a new chapter for the School,” said Governor Donald Carcieri.
Lena Greene, a former graduate and current teacher at the School for the Deaf said, "It is amazing to see how much better visual learners are adapting to the state of the art technology, like SmartBoards and the new communication system.
Indiana teen sentenced to 15 years for rape of woman with CP
From Indiana News Center:
ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. -- An Allen County judge called it “the most immoral piece of conduct” he'd ever seen as he sentenced a Fort Wayne teen in a disturbing case.
The judge sentenced 17-year-old Joshua Saylor to 15-years in prison, with five years suspended for being one of four young men who raped a young woman who has cerebral palsy.
The attack happened in River Haven in June of 2008.
As he handed down the sentence, the judge said in his entire career, he has never seen a case more morally depraved than this.
Pennsylvania county receives $20,000 to create Autism Information Resource Center
From The Times Tribune in Scranton, Pa.:
Lackawanna County Commissioners approved a plan to use a $20,000 state grant to create an eight-county "clearinghouse" for resources related to autism.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development has agreed to front a one-time grant to help build the infrastructure for the Autism Information Resource Center, said county Director of Human Services Teresa Osborne. The eight counties' Mental Health/Mental Retardation programs will help create it.
"The families (of autistic children) felt there really was a need for a clearinghouse such as this," Ms. Osborne said.
She said the county does not intend to create another layer of administration - it will mean hiring a person to staff the resource center - but to make it easier for people to access programs in Northeast Pennsylvania.
The counties participating are Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.
India makes history by promoting wheelchair user to rank of Army Major General
NEW DELHI, India -- History was created in the Army on Oct. 27 when a wheelchair-bound officer was promoted to the rank of a Major General.
Belonging to the elite Parachute regiment, Maj Gen S K Razdan (pictured) picked up his two-star rank and is posted at the headquarters, integrated defence staff, Army officials said here.
The 52-year-old para commando was left paralysed below his waist after a spinal injury 15 years ago during a gunfight in Kashmir, an effort which had won him a Kirti Chakra, the country's second highest peace-time gallantry award.
In a daring effort in 1995, Razdan had taken on terrorists and saved the lives of 14 women in a 16-hour operation in Damal Kunzipur on October 8, which also happens to be his birthday.
The officer was shifted to the Army's Base Hospital in the national capital, where he was treated for his injuries. The Army has in the past promoted amputee officers to General-officer rank, but this would be the first time a wheelchair-bound officer has become a Major General, the officers added.
Prosthetic leg, thought to be that of missing NC girl, found
A prosthetic leg thought to be that of missing 10-year-old Zahra Baker (pictured) has been found in a brushy area off a North Carolina road, Chief Tom Adkins of the Hickory, North Carolina, police said Oct. 27.
Police launched a search for Zahra on October 9, but no one other than a family member has reported seeing her since September 25, when a woman saw her at a furniture store. The girl's disappearance is now being probed as a homicide.
Adkins said that the prosthetic leg is "consistent with" that of Zahra, a freckle-faced youngster who lost her leg to bone cancer at age 5 and developed lung cancer a few years later, according to CNN affiliate WCNC.
The prosthetic was found late Tuesday afternoon off Christie Road in Caldwell County, he said, and authorities are using its serial number to confirm it belonged to the young girl. Zahra got the leg in Australia, where both her birth parents are from.
Meanwhile, authorities focused anew Wednesday on the Hickory home that Zahra Baker lived in with her father, Adam Troy Baker, and her stepmother, Elisa Baker.
A backhoe and other construction machinery began digging into grounds around the family's home early in the morning, with investigators using rakes to comb through the dug-up dirt and with police dogs canvassing the area. Additionally, police removed at least one bag of evidence from the house Wednesday morning.
"New information" led to the renewed search inside and outside the home, said Adkins.
"We're looking for any piece of evidence that can help in that investigation," he added.
A day earlier, employees at Foothills Environmental Landfill in Lenoir, North Carolina, found a mattress that investigators believe belonged to Zahra and was thrown out by her parents in early October -- just days before she was reported missing.
The disappearance of Zahra, who had persevered through numerous health battles and wore hearing aids, has made international news.
Police said the missing girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, admitted last week that she planted a fake ransom note the day after the girl's disappearance was reported.
Initially arrested on October 10 on several charges unrelated to Zahra's disappearance, including writing worthless checks, Elisa Baker was additionally charged with obstruction of justice for leaving the note. That charge is a felony.
She is now cooperating with investigators, Hickory police said in a statement issued Tuesday. The previous day, she had joined police as they searched for evidence at a site near a home she lived in three years ago.
Zahra's father was arrested just after 3 a.m. Monday in nearby Catawba County on eight charges, including five counts of submitting worthless checks and three counts of failing to appear in court.
Police earlier acknowledged that Adam Baker faced bad-check charges, which are unrelated to the disappearance of his daughter. But they did not initially arrest him, as he had been helping authorities in their search.
Adam Baker was at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport picking up a family member Sunday before he voluntarily went to the Police Department in Hickory, about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte, to talk to authorities.
Family members and neighbors have told reporters that Zahra's stepmother abused her. Her attorney has denied the allegation.
Police have said they had been in contact with Zahra's biological mother in Australia and asked for the girl's medical records.
Chicago organization reminds small businesses that they can receive tax benefits for hiring people with disabilities
From The Wall Street Journal:
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To that end, the nonprofit Health & Disability Advocates has spent the last few weeks trying to encourage small businesses to hire Americans with disabilities.
Barbara A. Otto, chief executive of the Chicago-based organization, says many are unaware of the tax benefits available to employers who hire disabled workers. For example, the federal government's Disabled Access Credit provides a credit of up to $10,000 for qualifying small businesses to help with expenses incurred while complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
.Small businesses typically don't have human-resources departments "so they don't have the resources at hand to look for disabled access tax credits," says Ms. Otto. "They need this kind of information."
Health & Disability Advocates, around since 1992, has spent this month getting its message out mostly through advertising. The effort dovetails with a program it launched in January called Think Beyond the Label aimed at helping employers of all sizes throughout the nation find local resources for recruiting disabled workers.
Small businesses employ more than half of disabled workers in the U.S., according to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. But this segment of the population is still struggling to land work, with an unemployment rate of 14.8% in September, compared with 9% for those with no disability.
Robert Stack, president of Community Options Inc., a Princeton, N.J., nonprofit that tries to help disabled workers find jobs, says small-business owners tend to assume such individuals require more time off for doctors' visits than nondisabled professionals. Others are afraid of getting sued if they have to lay off an employee with a disability, he says.
"They should try to look beyond the disability and focus on how the person can help them," he says. "A disabled person is usually grateful to get a job and apt to be on time."
Indiana parents told to drop disabled kids at homeless shelters
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana's budget crunch has become so severe that some state workers have suggested leaving severely disabled people at homeless shelters if they can't be cared for at home, parents and advocates said.
They said workers at Indiana's Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services have told parents that's one option they have when families can no longer care for children at home and haven't received Medicaid waivers that pay for services that support disabled people living independently.
Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for the Family and Social Services Administration, the umbrella agency that includes the bureau, said suggesting homeless shelters is not the agency's policy and workers who did so would be disciplined.
However, Becky Holladay (pictured) of Battle Ground, Ind., said that's exactly what happened to her when she called to ask about the waiver she's seeking for her 22-year-old son, Cameron Dunn (pictured), who has epilepsy, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Holladay, a school nurse, said she and her husband would go bankrupt trying to pay for services themselves, so Cameron spends most days sitting in his stepfather's truck while he works as a municipal employee.
"It's heart-wrenching as a parent to watch it. We are people and they are people," Holladay said, referring to her son and others with disabilities. "They have lives that are worth something."
There have been no confirmed cases of families dumping severely disabled people at homeless shelters because Indiana wouldn't provide the care needed.
But some families have been on waiting lists for waivers for 10 years. The lists contained more than 20,000 names last month, and one advocacy group predicted they will only grow longer because Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered budget cuts that have eliminated 2,000 waiver slots since July.
Budget cuts also have resulted in the state moving foster children with disabilities to a lower cost program that doesn't provide services for special needs and eliminating a grocery benefit for hundreds of developmentally disabled adults.
Kim Dodson, associate executive director of The Arc of Indiana, said her group has received reports of state workers in several of BDDS's eight regional offices telling families to take disabled adults to homeless shelters. She speculated that the suggestion resulted from frustration among BDDS staff as families become more outspoken about the effects of state cuts.
"It is something we are hearing from all over the state, that families are being told this is an alternative for them," Dodson said. "A homeless shelter would never be able to serve these people."
State lawmakers said they also have received reports from several people who were told they could always abandon their adult children at homeless shelters.
Rep. Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville, said she found it "deplorable that people are being told to go to a homeless shelter."
Leaders of several agencies serving homeless people across Indiana could not be reached for comment after business hours Wednesday.
Some parents said homeless shelters have also been suggested — or threatened — as an option by private care providers.
Daunna Minnich of Bloomington said Indiana Department of Education funding for residential treatment for her 18-year-old daughter, Sabrina, is due to run out Sunday. She said officials at Damar Services Inc. of Indianapolis told her during a meeting that unless she took Sabrina home with her, the agency would drop the teen off at a homeless shelter.
Sabrina, who's bipolar and has anxiety attacks, has attempted suicide, run away during home visits and threatened her older sister, Minnich said. Bringing Sabrina home isn't a viable option, but the two group home placements BDDS offered weren't appropriate, she said.
"I don't want to see the state of Indiana hasten her demise by putting her in a one-size-fits-all solution that will drive her to desperate acts," Minnich said.
Jim Dalton, Damar's chief operating officer, said he could not comment directly on any specific case but his nonprofit would never leave a client at a homeless shelter — even though it is caring for some for free after they got too old for school-funded services and haven't yet been granted Medicaid waivers.
"We're talking about youth that absolutely require services, and no one is willing to fund them anymore," Dalton said.
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