Schumer Pushes Civil Rights Bill

State Senator Charles Schumer was in Utica today pushing for a new piece of legislation that would give individuals with disabilities the option to live at home so they can live more independently.  Eyewitness News reporter Nicole Todd visited Schumer at Upstate Cerebral Palsy and has more

Senator Schumer was in town today. He's proposed legislation that he says would help put an end to civil rights problems for with people with long-term disabilities.

Raising Employment Expectations

After completing schoolwork, individuals with disabilities may be directed to a life of sheltered employment or a group home setting. University of Kansas researchers have been battling that type of guidance by proving that it is possible for individuals with disabilities to hold meaningful employment and live independently. Those researchers are sharing resources and training community members to spread the message, and now, they're taking it to other states.

Preparing Special Ed Students for Jobs

JORDAN, Minn. — Each student needs to prepare for life after high school while still sitting in class before graduation day.

Every high school student needs to think about pursing a higher education or be ready to enter the workforce with necessary skills that match jobs in technical or service industries.

Special education teacher Vanessa Bigaouette teaches a Transitions class at Jordan High School that prepares juniors and seniors for life after high school. The curriculum covers subjects like planning for post-secondary education or training, employment and independent living.

Opinion: For People with Disabilities, One Size Just Doesn't Fit All

A well-intentioned plan to provide greater independence to people with disabilities is facing fallout from a surprising bunch:A small, but vocal group of families and caregivers of people with disabilities.At the final of four public listening sessions, this one in Rochester in August, parents of children with severe developmental disabilities shared their heightened concern about the state’s “Olmstead Plan.” The plan seeks to discourage institutional settings in favor of community-based living arrangements.

Independence and Dignity in the Digital Age

In a nation that values liberty and the pursuit of happiness, there are few greater tragedies than the routine incarceration of millions of individuals who suffer from mental disabilities, developmental impairments, or the debilitating dementia that affects up to 25% of our elderly population. However, recent technological advances offer the possibility of restoring independence and dignity to mentally challenged adults while easing the burden on families, for a fraction of current costs.

Autistic Young Adults Less Likely to Have Jobs or Live Independently, Studies Find

Young adults with autism are less likely to find work or live on their own than their peers with other kinds of disabilities, two new studies show.
The studies detailed the fates of a national sample of 20-somethings who had received special-education services in high school.

Va. Woman Wins Case; Moves in with Friends

A 29-year-old Virginia woman with Down syndrome who successfully fought her mother's attempt to be her guardian has moved in with friends, according to one of the people she now lives with.In a case watched carefully by advocates for people with disabilities, Margaret Jean Hatch, who is known as Jenny, had been fighting for nearly a year to be able to choose where to live. She succeeded on Friday.

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.

With Support System and Determination, Autistic Man Leads Full Life

Seventy million people - 1 percent of the world’s population - have some form of autism, a neurologic disorder that affects their ability to interact with other people and to care for themselves. Although treatment is available in developed nations, advocates say the outlook for those with severe autism is poor, and many spend their lives in sheltered environments. Those with milder forms of the disorder, however, can have more success integrating into society.
26-year-old Kevin Gibson is one of those success stories. He loves living in his own apartment. “It’s a great feeling, to like, be able to live on your own,” he said.

Life Begins Again for Man After Stabbing

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An armed man, unsuccessful in his attempt to rob Daniel Cuddy of $2 the night of June 14, did succeed in stealing, for a short time, Cuddy’s independence.
Cuddy, 48, who is developmentally disabled and a local leader in the self-advocacy movement, found himself in a hospital room after the attack. He had been stabbed four times and was totally dependent on others.

Editorial: Waiting Lists Loom in Kansas

As the Brownback administration takes pride in fiscal-year-ending reserves, another number looms large and shamefully – the more than 7,000 Kansans with physical or developmental disabilities who are awaiting home- and community-based services.
With such services, individuals can live independently or in homelike residential settings. Without them, they may be forced to move into nursing homes – not only sacrificing quality of life but costing taxpayers far more.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/08/03/2433175/eagle-editorial-waiting-lists.html#storylink=cpy

Prepping Students with Disabilities for Jobs

BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A five-year pilot program will help Hidalgo County students with developmental disabilities advance their education and find future employment by filling in the gaps they need to succeed in college and the workforce.
Project HIRE, or "Helping Individuals Reach Employment," will assist 50 area high school seniors with developmental disabilities in attending South Texas College and later securing employment. Funded by a $1.25 million grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, the new program provides those students with "wrap-around services" such as on-campus counselors that help with college success, intensive summer training programs focused on independent living and life skills, and job placement services through the University of Texas-Pan American’s placement office.

At Last, a Home of Their Own

One of the few times I will give a shout out to our organization. This group home has been in the works for about a decade. I know the individuals who will be moving in and their families. It's so important and I can't wait to join them tomorrow for moving day.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Every parent has mixed emotions about letting their baby leave home - but these Brooklyn moms and dads are feeling it big time.
With bittersweet joy, the parents will watch their six disabled adult children move into a home of their own in Midwood on Tuesday.
“It’s difficult for me to deal with the transition but I’m happy he will be living with people that he knows,” said Park Slope parent Ruth Ford whose son Maurice, 31, is among the six adults with Down Syndrome or Asperger’s Syndrome who will move into the two-story newly-renovated house on E. 52d St.
“They love each other and they care for each other,” said Ford.

High-Tech Home Offers Independence for Man with Down Syndrome

MINNEAPOLIS -- On a recent tour of his home, Jeremy Collins showed off his kitchen, his chair, his bed, his new shower.

It's a dream come true for the 31-year-old who has Down syndrome, and who had lived in group homes all of his adult life. Since April, he's lived on his own in a Coon Rapids townhouse, with a web of support that includes his parents, his caregivers and landlords, Anoka County and a technology company that all work together to help him be safe and continue to grow in independence and confidence.

Program Helps People with Disabilities Live Independently

An inspiring story about a man with a developmental disability who saw his dream living independently come true thanks to a great community program. Congratulations, Craig!

For years, Craig Blackburn dreamed of getting his own place. And as soon as he learned about A Home of My Own, that dream turned into a goal.

“I was living with my parents, and I was 30 years old,” he said.

Blackburn knew reaching that goal would mean making some big changes in his life: He would have to leave his parents’ house in St. Charles Parish, where he’d lived his whole life, and move to Jefferson Parish. And he’d have to leave the job he had at the Winn-Dixie in Luling where everyone knew him and cared about him.

Woman with Down syndrome lives independently, thanks to new style of care

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Megan Reynolds is chatting with visitors, her foot resting on her knee as she puts on a sneaker, preparing for a trip to the gym.

Amie Cabral, next to her on the couch, gives Reynolds’ elbow a little nudge. “Wrong foot,” she says.

Reynolds, 22, switches feet. She resumes tying her sneaker and answering questions about her relationship with Cabral, 20 –– a Rhode Island College student who is one of her four employees.

“I usually prefer women to men,” Reynolds explains, “because women have better ways to help me put my emotions in check. My anger is an issue. …

“They help me with my daily living skills. They help me by bringing me to the doctors. They remind me to get my medication when I need to take it. They help with transportation to social events with friends.”

Reynolds, who has Down syndrome, participates in a program called self-directed care. With her mother coordinating, she uses the state money that supports her (in her case, about $35,000 a year) to hire her own assistants, rather than having an agency take care of her.

Cruel Cuts May Uproot Men From Home

GASTONIA, N.C. -- After years of battling the developmental disabilities they were born with, Eric Falls and Clint McManus have found a measure of ease in the local group home they have shared since 2004.
The quiet, stable environment with round-the-clock attention has done for the men what previous years spent living in state institutions could not. And yet a complex state funding issue may soon force them to move back into a more crowded special needs facility, despite the fact that taxpayers could end up spending more for the men’s care if that happens.