President Obama,
Congratulations on your reelection! I was one of the millions who
voted for you, and as the mother of a teenage boy with autism, I am grateful that you did so much in your first term to help families coping with autism. When you signed the Combating Autism Act legislation on
September 30, 2011, which assured continued federal support for autism
research, services and treatment for another three years, many parents
of children with autism cheered. Declaring World Autism Awareness Day on
April 2 was another important step.
People with autism and their families look forward to the hope and
change that you spoke of in your acceptance speech today. Here are a few
facts about us that I hope you will keep in mind during the next four
years.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Editorial: Community Care First
CHICAGO -- Three months ago, Gov. Pat Quinn
unveiled a budget that made the tough choice to shut down a handful of
government-run facilities around the state. He did it for good reason.
The facilities, including prisons and centers for the developmentally disabled, are unneeded and hugely expensive. The services they provide can be done much more efficiently, and their high cost puts a squeeze on funding available for other social services.
Now we're coming down to the final decisions in Springfield on state spending for the next fiscal year. The closing of the facilities are a bargaining chip.
The facilities, including prisons and centers for the developmentally disabled, are unneeded and hugely expensive. The services they provide can be done much more efficiently, and their high cost puts a squeeze on funding available for other social services.
Now we're coming down to the final decisions in Springfield on state spending for the next fiscal year. The closing of the facilities are a bargaining chip.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Candidate Has Personal Reason to Run
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| Elizabeth Emken and her son, Alex. |
"What's your birthday?" Alex asked. I gave him the date. He thought for an instant and put it into context that has meaning to him: " 'Mickey Mouse Club, Circus Day.' 'Up a Tree.' 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.' "
They're all Walt Disney productions, vintage 1955, the year I was born. Done with me, he asked two other visitors for the dates of their birth. "Old Yeller," he said of one. "Sign of Zorro," he said of the other.
He is why Elizabeth Emken has embarked on a quixotic campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Many of Emken's positions come from the Republican playbook, and that places her at odds with other parents who similarly are enmeshed in the issue. On this point, they agree: "We're not addressing autism as the public health emergency it is."
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