Leadership opportunities have come slowly to people with intellectual disabilities. But for a new generation, removing the word "retarded" out of all medical and legal lexicon has turned them into confident "self- advocates."
Publicity surrounding the use of language that is offensive to people with disabilities by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and his subsequent apology is highlighting efforts by advocate groups to remove such derogatory language from legal and medical terminology. Because of these efforts -- by groups as well as an increasing number of people with disabilities acting as self-advocates -- states have begun to remove the language from their legal codes, and many have removed it from the names of human-service agencies as well. The Washington Post
The Deaf Bilingual Coalition says teachers often don't have the background they need in American Sign Language. (Jonathan Hartford/KTUU-DT)
Parents of students with hearing impairments in Alaska are seeking an increased emphasis on American Sign Language instruction in schools. Members of the Deaf Bilingual Coalition and other advocacy groups say more teachers need to be trained in ASL so that students who cannot hear can become bilingual -- proficient in English and ASL -- with the ability to communicate easily and maintain their identity as a person with hearing impairments. KTUU-TV (Anchorage, Alaska)
I woke up very early this morning at 4am feeling so restless. I feel like I'm in a crossroad, I don't understand. I was working the whole day yesterday but my mind was somewhere else. Just a few minutes ago, my husband shared me this news: Yesterday, Efren Peñaflorida won over nine other "CNN heroes," seven of whom were American. He is a Filipino teacher.
In his acceptance speech at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CNN quoted him as saying: "Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell my co-volunteers... you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."
I hope to meet him one day. He is the teacher that I want to be.
Mario Huerta, who teaches English at the Center for Communicative Development in Koreatown, has been working for half pay. He's feeling the financial strain, he said, but "I'm willing to give up a check to keep this school open." (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times / November 3, 2009)
A Los Angeles school that teaches American Sign Language and English-literacy skills to people who cannot hear is relying on members of its staff to volunteer to keep instruction going as state funding has been delayed and private donations have fallen victim to the economic recession. "I'm willing to give up a check to keep this school open," said one of the school's English instructors. The center, which receives state funding for about half its $550,000 budget, says its financial troubles should ease as soon as the state resumes payments to disability service providers. Los Angeles Times
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Leadership opportunities have come slowly to people with intellectual disabilities. But for a new generation, removing the word "retarded" out of all medical and legal lexicon has turned them into confident "self- advocates."
