BellaOnline Forums Family Special Needs Children Special Olympics Bowling, President Obama on Leno

New remark to be overheard at Special Olympics:

"Get your head in the game - you're bowling like Obama!"

Obama gaffe draws attention to 'R' word campaign

'It could happen to anyone'

Obama isn't the only smart (read: well-rounded intellectual) person I know who knows jack about disability. And not all of us are as lucky as me to have my son, Jack (who has Down syndrome), for a teacher.

It's totally cool to not know, but do something about it instead of getting defensive, making excuses or ignoring it. Here's my simple, pain-free, four-point plan for the rest of us:

� Read some disability history. Read Paul K. Longmore.

� Don't defend offensive language. Just because it comfortably rolls off one's tongue in mixed company or it's self-deprecating or we've always said it, that doesn't mean it's right. The next time you think "we're being too sensitive," think about how you sound clinging to an outdated term and defending it after the minority group being maligned has asked you to stop. If you need to be self-deprecating, use a thesaurus. Find the word or phrase you like and practice it before you need it - that's how habits get broken. Language influences culture, culture influences policy and, in my son's case, he can hear you (and so can I).

� When interacting with an individual with a disability, presume competence. Always. Just because someone moves, communicates, sits, eats, breathes, walks, hears, sees, thinks or problem-solves differently, or doesn't do any of these things, he or she still experiences life, contributes to the world, has feelings and thrives and depends on relationships with others.

� Give us a break. No really. Take the time to be with a parent of a child with a disability or an individual with a disability. Encourage your children to have a play date with a child with a disability. Challenge the idea of why you might not have a friend with a disability. Reach out in friendship to those of us who are most marginalized. The great secret about disability is that each one of us is only a heartbeat away from it at all times.

The great tragedy of past generations is that there have been unspoken divides between the cultures of the disabled and those who are not. In the culture of disability, we're accustomed to cheering on individuals with great challenges to help them overcome great obstacles and odds.

We in the disability community know those of you who aren't disabled are able to learn more and know you are capable of using inclusive language and joining us in a 21st-century way of thinking. ....

Peter V. Berns, executive director of the The Arc of the United States, is calling on President Obama to use the controversy around his Special Olympics remark as an opportunity to advance public understanding and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities. The comments come in a letter to the president posted on the organization�s website.

3/23/2009
March 23, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the over four million individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, The Arc of the United States commends you for your immediate and sincere apology to Special Olympians regarding your comments on �The Tonight Show.� We recognize the deep commitment of your administration to reach out to people with developmental disabilities and the proposals you have advanced for implementation of policies that will improve the lives of our constituency.

However, rather than simply apologizing and putting this incident behind you, we would like to suggest that you seize this opportunity to advance public understanding of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the challenges they and their families face on a daily basis.

As the nation�s oldest and largest organization representing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, The Arc hears from countless families emphasizing that it is only when basic services and supports are in place that people have the luxury and freedom of participating in sports activities and events such as Special Olympics. Much of the sorrow and anger expressed by individuals with disabilities and their families in response to your comment stems from these realities.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities often live lives that are rife with bullying, hate language and relegation to secondary status � all of these emblematic of the shadows of exclusion. They understand that public attitudes, misinformation and negative stereotypes are the biggest obstacle to their inclusion in the community. Join us in breaking down the attitudinal barriers that stand in the way of full inclusion.

We urge you to convene a White House meeting with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, parents and family members and advocates to discuss some of the following critical issues facing this community:

� The 700,000 individuals and their families on Waiting Lists for home and community based services. This also includes elderly parents who are the caregivers for their 50-60 year old offspring with intellectual disabilities and young adults seeking to transition from school to community life;

� Recent cases of abuse, brutality, exploitation, and neglect against people with intellectual disabilities that have surfaced in the last few weeks in Iowa and Texas and the fear that similar hidden abuses are occurring elsewhere;

� The institutional bias of the Medicaid system and the lack of adequate funding for supported housing, supported employment, personal assistance, respite care, and the family support necessary for people to live in their communities without costly and unwarranted institutionalization; and

� The need to address long term care, services and support as part of the current health care reform initiative.

In addition, instruct the Department of Education to utilize a portion of its discretionary American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds to support school-based initiatives to promote respect for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Finally, we urge you to use the bully pulpit of your office to catalyze public and legislative support for the Community Choice Act and the CLASS Act, two important pieces of legislation that will help to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life.

Through these actions you can then shift perception and help alter the pervasive societal attitudes that form the obstacles to people with disabilities �shining� not just within the competitive sports arena but also in the workplace, in their own homes and apartments, attending classes at a community college, worshipping within their faith communities, and so much more.

Mr. President, while society has made many strides in advancing the rights and promoting the inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we are cognizant that much work remains. We look forward to collaborating with you on these important goals that will move us closer to an all inclusive society.

Sincerely,

Peter V. Berns

Executive Director

cc: Kareem Dale
Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy

========================

The Arc says people with disabilities are bowled over by President's comment

3/20/2009
March 20, 2009 THE ARC CALLS ON PRES. OBAMA TO MEET WITH
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Silver Spring, MD � On behalf of the over four million individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, we are deeply dismayed and indeed surprised by President Barack Obama�s unfortunate statement during his appearance on �The Tonight Show� with Jay Leno.

Throughout his campaign, during the transition and in the early months of the new Administration, the President has reached out to the disability community and demonstrated a deep commitment to the issues impacting people with disabilities and their families. When he appointed a Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy last month, the appointment was heralded by the Administration as �our first step to ensure that we have a strong advocate for people with disabilities at the highest levels of our Administration.� The President has also articulated a comprehensive policy agenda that is of critical importance to people with disabilities.

The President�s offhanded remark has stirred sorrow and even anger from our constituents. Statements such as these reflect pervasive societal attitudes that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities somehow don�t measure up � that their lives are of less worth. The biggest obstacle to including people with disabilities in community life is public attitudes.

The President may have been talking about bowling but this is not really about sports. Presidential spokesperson, Bill Burton�s, explanation that Special Olympics �gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities,� clearly misses the mark. People with disabilities want the opportunity to �shine� among colleagues in the workplace, in their own homes and apartments, in the continuing education class at a community college, in their faith communities and everywhere else. They particularly dislike and are deeply offended by remarks such as that stated by the President.

Full inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is the only way we will collectively shift our attitudinal barriers that prevent people from realizing their full potential as contributing members of the community.

Inviting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into the White House for photo ops of bowling and basketball is not a solution. Instead, The Arc of the U.S. calls on President Obama to convene a meeting of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their parents and siblings, and those who support them to discuss the critical issues facing this community, such as:

700,000 individuals and families on waiting lists for home and community based services,

recent cases of abuse and brutality against people with disabilities in Iowa and Texas,

lack of funding for supported housing, supported employment, personal assistants, respite and family support that are needed to enable people to live in their communities and avoid costly and unwarranted institutions.

The ball is now in the President�s court. We await a meaningful response.