Radio Host Mocks Woman with Disability; Family Responds

Kellie Baker and her family being
interviewed by a local TV station. 

STRASBURG, Ohio --- The family of Kellie Baker of Strasburg hopes to raise awareness of bullying of people with disabilities after she was mocked by the host of a show on an Alliance radio station.
“My feeling is, if I can change the way one person thinks or feels, it would be phenomenal,” said Baker’s mother, Gigi Standiford. “Even better would be to change the way they react to people with disabilities.”

Holly Peete's Open Letter to 50 Cent

50 Cent has found himself in hot water. The rapper, who has a rather colorful Twitter presence -- and 6.8 million followers -- recently made statements that offended people with autism and parents of kids with autism. Given that new data shows one in 88 American kids are on the autism spectrum, that's a very large community to ostracize.
The ugly tweets were in response to an eager fan who wrote to 50: "Release the album or get shot again." The rapper allegedly tweeted back, "yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic." And, he didn't stop there. "I dont want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else," he posted later.
Unsurprisingly, the twitterverse was horrified. Actress and autism activist Holly Robinson Peete, took to her own website to write an open letter to 50 Cent expressing her disappointment with his actions.

Happy Day for People who Are Mothers, and How it Got to Be This Way

Can't say I necessarily agree with the writer, but have to say, I had the opportunity to meet Ari Ne’eman, co-founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, and the first openly autistic White House appointee, nominated by President Obama in 2009 to sit on the National Council on Disability. He explained to me that he does not follow the person-first language and the preference is autistic people. It's the autism that makes them who they are. Nonetheless, this is a good read, but take it with a grain of salt and sarcasm.

Happy Day for People Who are Mothers.
I almost wrote "Happy Mother's Day," but that would have been offensive, because I neglected to note that mothers are, first and foremost, people, just like you and me.
I have come to this realization thanks to a helpful reader who works at a public agency in another county.
The morning after I wrote a 2,500-word story about a dispute among board members at the Autism Family Foundation in Copley - an organization consisting of a family center and a school called "Kids First" - I listened to a voice mail from a woman who identified herself as Dr. Jan Manes.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/12/4485752/bob-dyer-happy-day-for-people.html#storylink=cpy

After Months of Preparation, Child with Autism Has Open-Heart Surgery

GILBERT, Australia -- Preparing a child for surgery is difficult enough. Imagine preparing an autistic Gilbert 3-year-old who can't talk -- for open-heart surgery.
Tristan Pastrano this week underwent the surgery to correct his atrial septal defect, commonly caused by a hole between the two upper chambers in the heart. The hole can close up on its own in infants, but surgery is in order if it still exists at 2 or 3 years old.
While the surgery is a common procedure, there were complexities in Tristan's case.

Autism and Health Care

Family can help calm a child with Autism. So often we may find ourselves focused so much on one particular disorder or illness, and forget that people can still get common colds and cavities. And that's the same for my son. I often find myself so caught up on trying to teach him behaviors, focus on speaking and spelling (he's becoming a wizz on the iPod Touch virtual keyboard), that I forget that he has other needs too. And, unfortunately for him, he inherited my baby teeth and now has at least one massive cavity.
Because my son has Autism and is non-verbal, he can't tell us that his jaw hurts when he tries to eat. So we need to rely on body language to help guide us. It's not easy, because any behavior caused by continuous pain could also be caused by his need for constant deep pressure. It's difficult to tell what the problem is, and how to best address it. It wasn't until I started looking into his mouth that I noticed a large cavity forming.

Park Trains Staff on Autism Sensitivity

BRISTOL, Conn. — A day at a theme park offers a day of thrills and fun for families. But for someone with autism, the sights and sounds of such a fast-paced environment can become highly stressful, possibly leading to anxious behavior.
Lake Compounce theme park became aware of the challenges and special needs of people with autism about five years ago and has since been teaming up with the New England chapter of the Autism Speaks organization to help autistic children and adults feel welcome and comfortable at the park.

British Air Denies Girl with Down's Ticket

Once again we will stray away from the U.S. and see that people still don't get it in other parts of the world. Shame on British Airways!

A girl of 12 was refused a plane ticket because she had Down's syndrome.
Heather Saunders phoned British Airways to book a flight for her daughter Alice from Gatwick to Glasgow.
But she was left "shocked and furious" when a worker told her the company's policy was not to accept passengers with Down's traveling by themselves.

Special Ed Teacher's Words Spark Outrage

BAINBRIDGE, Ind. -- A special education teacher's Facebook comments have incensed parents and prompted an investigation by the school district.
Amber Russell, a teacher at North Putnam Middle School, posted on Facebook, "I love dumb people. I call it job security," along with "5+1=Freedom from the Hell hole" and "I feel sorry for preachers and teachers. No matter hard they work, there's always an incoming batch of sinners and dumb people."