Tag: Florida

Teacher Assaults Autistic Boy

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

As parents, we expect when we send our kids to school, they’re in good hands. After seeing a story on the news earlier this week, I was completely shocked about the subject of the report. A teacher had been caught on video assaulting a student with Autism.

When I started looking into the subject a bit more, I found out that unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. I’ve posted before on how students with disabilities experience more bullying by their peers than their non-disabled counterparts. What didn’t occur to me, until now, was the possibility that maybe the person bullying the student could actually be the teacher, and not other students.

Obviously, there’s no excuse for this behavior. It’s a shame that those we entrust with our kids feel they can use their position of trust and power in such a negative way. I feel the Superintendent of the school did the right thing by firing the teacher. Although the School Board reinstated her, I’m hoping the new investigation being conducted will result in the appropriate action to protect all children at the school, especially those with a disability.

I’ve had the pleasure to volunteer my time years ago at a local Middle School and realize the majority of teachers who take on the job genuinely care about their students. Although I’m not sure how, an extra safeguard should be implemented in the education field to ensure the people entrusted with the safety and well-being of our kids on a daily basis are doing exactly that. As a result, the kids can focus on learning instead of the physical abuse their teacher might inflict on them if they misbehave.

For more information check out the following link:

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/9-investigates-teacher-accused-assaulting-special-/ngPHN/

Thanks for reading..

cr

Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Mental illness seems to be a taboo subject no one wants to think about, much less talk about. Despite that fact, it’s a disability that if left untreated has devastating effects, not only on the person living with this illness, but also those around them.

The Criminal Justice System seems to be the place that most often ends up taking the responsibility of trying to help some of these individuals once they end up in jail. The Central Receiving Center in Orange County, Florida tries to help offenders by referring them to other resources that can best assist them in their situation. Because of the efforts put forth by the Central Receiving Center, incidences of re-offending can, and have been reduced. As a result, the problem of jail overcrowding, which is faced by most facilities within the Criminal Justice System is alleviated to a certain degree.

Sadly, as with other Social Services programs, when the economy hits a downturn, they’re the first to suffer. Lack of funding available to this program will lead to unnecessary overcrowding and these offenders won’t receive the help they actually need.

Hopefully Representatives can find a way to include funding in the State budget for this and other programs like it. Not only does this program benefit the offender by getting them the help they need, but also keeps the community safe as a whole. That’s certainly amounts to a win-win for all.

To find out more go to:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-mental-health-care-florida-032314-20140321,0,3544368.story

Thanks for reading

cr

Disney’s Disabled Guest Policy

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Living in Orlando, and of course as a child, I’ve been to Epcot and Disney World.  When I moved here permanently to go to school, I even visited Universal Studios a couple of times.  When I was a child, these theme parks would let those with a disability get to the front of the line to make the park experience an equal one.

Over the years, there have been abuses of that privilege by people who rent a wheelchair when they really don’t need it or hire a disabled person to get to the front of the line.  It’s no surprise that now, going to the theme parks isn’t that easy and at least for me, I don’t go that often anymore.

This past week, Disney decided to revise their disabled guest policy.  Now, people are supposed to receive a photo I.D. and a virtual wait time to get on the rides.  It wasn’t clear to me in the news report or the story from the link below how they will be handling those people who are accompanying the disabled guest but, maybe it will have to be a case of trial and error.

I applaud The Disney Company for trying to remedy a problem that’s really nothing new.  Hopefully, once they get the kinks worked out, it will lead to a more enjoyable theme park experience for everyone.

Do you think the revision of this policy will get more disabled people to visit the parks?

Thanks for reading..

cr

To get more information on this story, you can go to the link below:

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/disney-introduces-pass-prevents-non-disabled-peopl/nZ5f9/

“Dolphin Tale” More than a Movie

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I was watching the news the other night and heard the story of the movie “Dolphin Tale”.  The movie stars Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr. just to name a few of the celebrities. While the movie came out in 2011 and is about a dolphin who receives a prosthetic tail after her tail was tangled in some rope that was attached to a crab trap, it’s interesting to me that this movie can have a positive effect on people’s lives even today.

After doing some research and having time to think about a dolphin receiving a prosthetic tail, I realized that this would be great encouragement for those who are maybe having a hard time with the loss of a limb themselves.

It seems that this is in fact the case.  “Winter” the dolphin lives at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida.  She’s been an inspiration to many people, including the little girl who really helped “Winter” get noticed.  I’ve read some criticism about where the actual story that’s shown in the movie came from but, what difference does it make when none of the major facts were really changed and the message that’s getting to the public about disabilities is positive?  This is a movie inspired by a true story, which means that some things in the movie may not be exactly what happened in real life.  Either way, I think Hollywood did a great job talking about a subject that maybe people feel uncomfortable talking about or wouldn’t  know how to approach in the first place.

What other movies or books help you approach topics related to disabilities that might not be so comfortable to talk about otherwise?

To read more about this post, go to:

http://www.mnn.com/local-reports/indiana/local-blog/dolphin-tale-amazing-true-story-is-not-exactly-true

Thanks for reading..

cr

Hurricane Season…

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Living in Florida, Hurricane Season has arrived.  That means it’s time to stock up on canned foods, water, batteries, flashlights, and maybe even buy a generator.  Making an emergency plan with your family is also important in case you happen to get separated from each other due to certain circumstances.

One thing you may not be aware of that could be equally important is signing up for the Special Needs Registry.  The registry is available in every state to those who are elderly or disabled and live independently.  It’s a totally voluntary service but is available to you in case you need assistance evacuating from your home.

I know it may seem like one more thing you have to do when hurricane season arrives but  you don’t have to wait for a storm to be on the way.  You can sign up for the registry at your leisure but, sooner is always better than later.  It’ll be one less thing to think about later on and probably make the whole experience of the inclement weather a better one in the long run.

Thanks for reading..

cr

 For more information visit: http://www.floridadisaster.org/disability/snshelterlist.html