No one likes to be scolded for using the “wrong” language. But we must be willing to change our habits as attitudes and language change.
Tag Archives: Intellectual Disabilities
The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America
As young girls, the Relf sisters were sterilized without consent. What does the government owe them — and the thousands of other living victims?
Special Olympics Lifts Vaccine Mandate for Its U.S.A. Games
Florida health officials told Special Olympics that the vaccine requirement violated state law.
What Happens When an Autistic Teenager Becomes Unmanageable at Home?
Unpredictable violence, chaotic outbursts and countless trips to the emergency room. What happens when an autistic teenager becomes unmanageable at home?
Singapore Executes Drug Smuggler Despite Concerns Over Mental Disability
Defense lawyers had argued that the Malaysian man should not be executed because he was not fully capable of understanding his actions and had been coerced.
Many Schools Aren’t Made for Kids With Learning Differences. The Pandemic Amplified That.
We’re still finding out how much learning loss children experienced.
Prenatal Tests, Disabilities and the Decision Whether to Abort
Readers discuss both the challenges and the joys of raising children with disabilities.
Death Penalty Law Puts Burden on the Intellectually Disabled
The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear a challenge to the law, which requires that defendants in capital cases who are intellectually disabled prove it “beyond a reasonable doubt” — a phrase that was inserted in error.
Margaret Giannini, Champion of People With Disabilities, Dies at 100
After meeting the parents of children with a range of disabilities, she decided almost on the spot to start a clinic to treat such children exclusively.
A Glimmer of Justice in Death Penalty States
The halting of executions and the guilty verdicts in the Ahmaud Arbery case have given us the slightest bit of hope for change.
Supreme Court Shows Impatience in Death Penalty Cases
Recent rulings, including one turning down a death row inmate’s request supported by the prosecution, offer telling glimpses of the state of capital punishment.
Rights Groups Urge Singapore Not to Execute Man With Mental Disability
The man, a Malaysian with an I.Q. of 69, was caught trying to smuggle an ounce and a half of heroin in 2009. Some are calling his planned hanging a human rights violation.
Pope Urges Clemency for Missouri Death Row Prisoner
Ernest L. Johnson, 61, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday for killing three convenience store employees during a robbery in 1994. Supporters say his intellectual disabilities make the execution unconstitutional.
Parents of Students With Disabilities Try to Make Up for Lost Year
In New York City, hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities didn’t receive special education services during remote learning.
Disabled People Struggle to Evacuate From Wildfires
In Northern California, a region troubled by fire, many people with disabilities live in rural areas that lack the resources to support them during disasters.
Children With Disabilities Need Sex-Ed Too
Special needs kids need lessons on healthy relationships as much as everyone else — maybe even more.
Ex-Officer Who Killed Mentally Disabled Man Is Charged With Manslaughter
The California attorney general’s office filed charges against Salvador Sanchez, a former Los Angeles officer who shot Kenneth French at a Costco while off duty in 2019.
For People With Disabilities, One Size Does Not Fit All
Federal funding should not automatically favor smaller settings over larger ones for people with disabilities.
Cleared of Murder, Brothers Are Awarded $75 Million
Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, half brothers with intellectual disabilities, spent three decades in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl before DNA evidence implicated someone else.
‘I Know She’s Gone, but Why?’: Love and Loss at a Boulder Grocery Store
Funerals for the victims of the mass shooting in Colorado were being held this week. Teri Leiker, a beloved employee at the King Soopers store for 31 years, was among them.
‘I Really Loved My Job’: Why the Pandemic Has Hit These Workers Harder
People with disabilities are disproportionately employed in industries that have suffered in the pandemic.
Former Boy Scouts Chaplain Is Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse
James Glawson, 76, sexually assaulted six young men, including one who is developmentally disabled, Rhode Island authorities said.
When an I.Q. Score Is a Death Sentence
The Supreme Court declared it was unconstitutional to execute intellectually disabled people. On Thursday, we’re set to do it anyway.
The Man I Saw Them Kill
The Trump administration has resumed federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. I witnessed the latest one.
Covid-19 Threatens People With Intellectual and Developmental Challenges
People with intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders are three times more likely to die of Covid-19, compared with patients without the conditions, a new analysis found.
As School Returns, Kids With Special Needs Are Left Behind
For special-needs students, trying to return to the classroom, or just staying at home, presents a new set of challenges.
Overlooked No More: Roland Johnson, Who Fought to Shut Down Institutions for the Disabled
He survived 13 years of neglect and abuse, including sexual assault, at the notorious Pennhurst State School and Hospital outside Philadelphia before emerging as a champion for the disabled.
The Pandemic’s Toll on Children With Special Needs and Their Parents
Missing social contacts and altered routines, disturbed sleep and eating habits can be particularly intense for the kids with developmental challenges.
Disability Pride: The High Expectations of a New Generation
Millions of young people grew up knowing the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act as a birthright. They now demand its guarantees — and even more.
As the Country Opens Up, Children With Disabilities Are Getting Left Behind
The kids who most need social interaction this summer won’t be getting it.
Texas Inmate Who Spent Nearly 40 Years on Death Row Is Granted Parole
Bobby Moore, 60, had been the center of a landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his death sentence because he is intellectually disabled.
The Extra Burden for Parents of Children With Special Needs
Your child may have setbacks during the school shutdown. But remember, schools will open again at some point and help get things back on track.
Growing Up Alongside a Sibling With a Disability
When children help with the education of a brother or sister with special needs, the outcomes are often good for both.
What’s Going to Happen to Junior, Now That His Mother Is Dead?
A Manhattan man with autism was sent to a quarantine facility after his mother had symptoms of the coronavirus and died.
Willie Levi, 73, Dies; He Escaped a Life of Servitude
He was one of a group of men with disabilities who worked for substandard wages at a turkey plant but found justice. He succumbed to the new coronavirus.
Teachers of Special-Needs Students Struggle With Feelings of Helplessness
Remote learning has proved challenging for students who need intensive one-on-one guidance.
This Is Schooling Now for 200,000 N.Y.C. Children in Special Education
Parents and educators have embarked on a desperate scramble to avoid dire academic outcomes for some of the city’s most vulnerable students.