February 2013 – mamasmunchkin

The Oscars Celebrate People with Disabilities

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Tonight is one of Hollywood’s biggest nights – The Academy Awards. This week, I started thinking about how many of these most prestigious awards have been given out to movies about people with different disabilities.

From true stories like “My Left Foot” to depictions like “Rain Main”, these movies have gained the highest praise the movie industry has to offer. In my opinion, they’ve also made people with disabilities a little more relatable. That’s because they’ve shown them in real-life situations that can happen to anyone. Each movie also showed what the person would do in response to their surroundings. Though there were a handful of movies that depicted disability in some way, shape or form, I’ve chosen three to talk about in today’s post.

“My Left Foot” is the story of a man named Christy Brown. The movie shows how he lived his life with the use of only his left foot due to Cerebral Palsy. When “My Left Foot” was in theaters I was surprised to see the story of someone’s life with Cerebral Palsy being shown in the movies. It was one of those times where I felt like C.P. was being shown not as something that’s contagious (as some kids used to say) but, something that was meant to be overlooked. It helped emphasize that people should focus on the actual person instead of what they weren’t able to do.

“Rain Man” may have been the first time that someone with Autism was depicted on the “silver screen”. One of the reasons that I chose to list it here is because in the movie, although his brother didn’t know that he existed, when he found out about him and started interacting with him, Raymond showed that despite his disability, he was an intelligent person. I feel like this movie helped dispel the myth that a person who is disabled can’t be intelligent.

There’s also the movie “I Am Sam” which starred Sean Penn. This movie is about a father with a developmental disability that’s trying to keep custody of his daughter after they’re abandoned by her mother. Although it didn’t win an Academy Award, it showed the struggle that people with disabilities sometimes face in order to keep custody of their children.

Oscar night is always exciting, even if you’re just watching from the comfort of your own home. It’s also refreshing to know that it’s filled with great diversity.

What is your favorite Academy Award winning movie?

Thanks for reading..

The TSA Traumatizes 3 year old Toddler

February 21, 2013 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I know that traveling can be a bit of a pain in the neck sometimes. Especially because when I travel by airplane, I order a wheelchair from the airline to be waiting for me when I get to the airport. This just makes the chore of getting through the airport with the large number of people who are also traveling and getting through security checkpoints a bit easier. That’s why this morning when I was watching “Good Morning America”, I was surprised to hear one of the stories they were talking about.

They showed a 3 year old girl named Lucy who has Spina Bifida and was traveling to Disney World with her family. Because she’s in a wheelchair due to her disability, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) told her parents they needed to screen the wheelchair and their daughter. When her Mom said they couldn’t do that unless she could tape it, they said they couldn’t allow her to do so.

Security measures need to be followed for the safety of the general public and I am all for the precautions but, when you treat people unfairly and make a 3 year old cry, that becomes a problem.

I understand from personal experience the extra screening that goes on at the airport because of incidences such as September 11th and agree that extra safety measures need to be taken. I also understand that when traveling in a wheelchair, the screening can get to the point of uncomfortable because of the frequent use of body pat downs. I can say that using body scanners, which is supposed to be less intrusive on people’s personal space doesn’t really work for someone with limited or no balance. Maybe some other method could be devised in the future where the security officers don’t need to get in someone’s personal space so much while still ensuring the safety of all passengers.

In this case, compassion could’ve been shown to the family while still following safety protocol.

What are your feelings about security measures at the airport?

Here is the link to the story:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/tsa-apologizes-traumatizing-disabled-toddler-135529408–abc-news-travel.html

Thanks for reading..

Bullying and People with Disabilities

February 13, 2013 by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of different stories on t.v. and online about bullying and its devastating effects, not only on victims but, on their families as well. Bullying isn’t really something new. Like many other issues, the media and its wide reach help bring this problem to the forefront of society’s attention more today than in years’ past.

Students who are disabled experience bullying at a higher rate than those who aren’t disabled. That’s because they’re perceived as easier targets who can’t defend themselves. When parents send their kids to school, they are under the impression that the kids are going somewhere safe, and that their child will not become the victim of a bully.

For parents of disabled children there are a few avenues that can be utilized to help with this problem. If your child is being taunted because of their disability, it could reach the level of disability harassment. According to the U.S. Department of Education, disability harassment is “intimidation or abusive behavior toward a student based on disability that creates a hostile environment by interfering with or denying a student’s participation in or receipt of benefits, services, or opportunities in the institution’s program” (U.S. Department of Education 2000).

It’s very important as parents to know what is going on at your child’s school and to have open communication with their 504 or IEP (Individual Education Plan) team (whichever applies to them). This team isn’t only there to maximize your child’s learning experience but, also to make sure they receive the services and support they need to succeed in their studies.

If your child is having these types of issues at school, it wouldn’t only be hard for them to put forth their best efforts but, also hard to not worry about when the next time might be that they run into another issue with the person in question. Also, if your child is being bullied, their IEP or 504 Team should be brought together in a meeting to see how the plan can be adjusted to address the issue. At the same time, it is also very important that if you find your child in this situation, you proceed with caution in resolving the issue so that your actions don’t inadvertently make the situation worse.

All in all, slowly but surely, the issue of bullying is being addressed by schools. The best thing we can do for our students is to take a proactive approach to help solve the issue if in fact it presents itself.

For more information, please visit: http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/groups/special-needs/BullyingTipSheet.pdf

Thanks for reading..