Opinon: 'Born This Way' Suprises One Father; Needs to Promote Inclusion

Reality TV ruins everything. The genre feeds off stereotypes, linking the twinned emotions of fascination and disgust. It thrives by portraying its subjects as Other, rendering them as objects to loathe, mock, desire or praise. If there’s something you really care about, the last thing you should want is to see it portrayed on reality TV.So it was with intense trepidation that I watched the first two episodes of “Born This Way,” a six-episode show from the A&E network about seven Californian millennials with Down syndrome. I am the father of a boy with Down syndrome and a critic of the ways we portray disability in the media. There’s so much wrong with how we represent Down syndrome in particular, but reality TV seemed like the worst possible vehicle to correct those wrongs.

Bullied Because of Disabilities

From Same Difference blog for people with disabilities in the UK, where it's Anti-Bullying Week. 

Research shows disabled children are much more likely to be bullied. Three young people who were once victimised tell their stories and share tips on tackling the problem.

This year’s Anti Bullying Week has been asking schools to give particular attention to children with disabilities or special educational needs. The organisation behind the campaign, the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), has published new research on attitudes to disablist language this week and cites other recent research which shows eight out of 10 children with learning disabilities have been bullied, and that disabled children at primary school are 50% more likely to be victimised.

Rebecca, Maxine and Ammaar were at the receiving end of bullying. They explain how they got through it in the hope that their stories will help those having trouble now.

Opinion: Nowhere To Go

Maybe it's me, but attitudes like this are going to prevent our field from promoting real, meaningful inclusion of people with developmental disabilities, including those with dual diagnosis, in the community. With proper staffing, a transition plan, and careful coordination, the transition can be successful. And there needs to be adequate supports -- perhaps the center's staff -- to ensure a smooth transition.

Last summer, New York’s Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) announced plans for the gradual closure of the Broome Developmental Center (BDC), expected to be fully implemented by March 2016.

Paige Gittelman/ Editorial Artist

The BDC houses and treats patients who have been dually diagnosed as both mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Proponents of closure — a plan to consolidate New York’s 24 state psychiatric hospitals into 15 locations — argue that the integration of patients into community settings will significantly reduce costs for the state and end the unwarranted segregation of dually diagnosed individuals.

Attitudes Are the Real Disability

Barbara Aden in her apartment.

BELMONT, Calif. -- Barbara Aden, 31, has a love for life seldom seen.

She wakes up in the morning with a positive attitude, sings and dances her way through the day even as she works and offers sincere compliments to just about everyone she meets.

Born with Down syndrome, Aden has worked hard since she graduated Carlmont High School in 2001 to live life to the fullest on her own terms.

Helped by family, friends and agencies that serve people with developmental disabilities, Aden not only holds a regular job, she also has her own apartment in Belmont. She moved into the apartment earlier this year, and it is the first time she has ever lived on her own.