ADA Gets a Touch-Up

Despite not yet signing on with the United Nations Treaty on Disabilities, the U.S. House of Representatives this past week succeeded in improving and defining the language of the Americans with Disabilities Act, first signed into law under President George Bush Sr.

The improvements have many ramifications, most notable among them is expanded legal protection afforded by courtroom-interpretation-bypassing steps like further defining what constitutes a disability. Why?

Lawmakers said Wednesday that people with epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and other ailments had been improperly denied protection because their conditions could be controlled by medication or were in remission. In a Texas case, for example, a federal judge said a worker with epilepsy could not be considered disabled because he was taking medications that reduced the frequency of seizures.

The next step is for the Senate to adopt a similar measure. And with Sen. Tom Harkin on the case (considering his overall zeal for the cause of people with disabilities), I am sure they will act "in the near future."

Kennedy Family Member Almost Gets it

According to a new story in the Boston Globe, hundreds of thousands of refugees are not getting the care and oportunities they need for a simple reason: they're disabled.

Jean Kennedy Smith (a former U.S. ambassador to Ireland) does an admirable job of pointing attention to this plight, but she misses something that a lot of people miss. Read this excerpt and see if you notice it too:

We know from witnessing many examples of remarkable people who have overcome the barriers surrounding disabilities that they, too, possess skills, knowledge, and experience that can help them remake their lives and rebuild their communities.

Now, let's not be unfair, because she comes so much farther in her article than many people. Most folks think of people with disabilities as "those people" eligible for little more than pity. Ms. Kennedy Smith apparently knows the reality (that people with disabilities are valuable), because she had an immediate family member with a disability, her sister, Rosemary.

But we're still missing that last little step in realizing the worth of people with disabilities. Ms. Kennedy Smith believes that they are valuable because 'they too, possess skills, knowledge, and experience.' Oh, she comes close. But truth is truth: people with disabilities are not valuable because of the things they can do (nor are we), nor are they valuable just because they're disabled. They are valuable because they reflect the image of God and thereby have an equal and immeasurable capacity to reflect His love and grace, to be living testimonies, just as we are called to be.

But let's not quibble too much, for Ms. Kennedy Smith's got a big head start on most of us. Most folks don't even realize that there's any value at all to the life of someone who's disabled. Not only has Ms. Kennedy Smith realized this truth, she's passed it on to her son William, who started the International Disability Rights Monitor. Not only that, but she herself started a group called VSA Arts. We can learn a lot from the Kennedy family.

Oh, and William's work on the International Disability Rights Monitor reminds me about the UN Treaty on Disabilities. Click here to read about it, and click here to get your legislative representatives to get the United States signed up. We STILL haven't signed on. Let's get this done!

Disabled? Kick Him Off the Plane!

A mother and her young son with autism were kicked off an American Airlines flight in North Carolina on Monday. The fracas escalated from a flight attendant's insistence to the pilot turning around the plane, including, according to the mother:

"The pilot made an announcement that there was a woman and her child on the plane and the child is uncontrollable. And at that point I just broke down," Farrell said.

The full story is available by clicking here.

So, we have two points of view here, but the questions are still pretty fundamental. How should the airline staff have handled this
situation? What should the mom have done differently?

Ask these questions in light of this basic philosophy: People with disabilities require different interaction, but deserve the same respect and opportunities as anyone else. Moreover, if we truly value people with disabilities as 'co-heirs with Christ,' then how would you handle this situation as a flight attendant or pilot?

Do People with Disabilities Care More?

When Elim adults assembled packs of school supplies two years ago, they did a fantastic job.

Our adults had been tasked with assembling kits of school supplies to be distributed by another Christian ministry to people in other countries. The adults diligently put their efforts into assembling these kits. As always, they completed the job right on time and as requested by the customer.

But the customer was used to volunteers assembling these relief kits, and wanted to make sure that Elim's adults with disabilties had put together all the kits correctly and completely. So, they made arrangements to put one last item in each kit to do quality control.

And they found mistakes.

That's right, among the 23,000 kits that Elim's adults put together, the customer did find mistakes - two, to be exact. Yep. Two mistakes.

We had put an extra eraser in two of the supply kits. The customer called us up, told us about the quality check, and enthused "We have never had any group do a job as well as your adults did!"

What a blessing! Adults with disabilities did the best assembly of school supply kits this ministry partner had ever seen!

But it gets better, so keep stopping by to find out more!

'Challenge' is not a Bad Word

Because Elim's philosophy is that God has a purpose and a plan for each person He's put on this earth, this belief causes us to examine how we do 'special needs services.'

If we felt that life was not given by God, and that it was not endowed with the capacity to reflect God's love and grace, and yes - even perfection, then we would not feel compelled to do much more than simply "take care" of people with disabilities.

However, because Elim's philosophy is the exact opposite, that God's image is reflected in the lives of all His people, we know that He has a purpose, a potential, for each life, including lives disabled or touched with a special need or even (this is a naughty word for some people) weakness.

Now, there's a lot of philosophy to discuss here, but I'm not going to do that. You can read some of my other posts to get 'philosophied up' if you so desire. What I'm aiming at is pretty simple:

The reason you can come to Elim and see adults with disabilities who are more actively engaged in the world than at many other facilities for adults with disabilities is precisely becaue of this philosophy. They are worthwhile. More than that, they reflect the image of God.

That's why Elim stands where it stands, and that's why Elim has, for so long, sought challenging and meaningful work opportunities for the adults we serve. And that's why I'm so excited about what we have to unveil here in the next few weeks.

HOPE, the four-letter word of the future

For twenty years, Elim Christian Services has been serving adults with disabilities. Most people think of Elim as a wonderful school for children with disabilities, but those children grow up, and many of them continue to need Elim once they've graduated.

Today, we have 251 children in the school, and just under 200 adults in our Adult Services programs. The programs we have for adults are just as challenging and have just as big an impact as do our programs for children.

There are many challenges involved in serving adults with disabilities, and one of our biggest is simply this: Do we challenge our adults with worthwhile activities, or do we engage in nursing care that simply takes care of their most pressing needs?

I think you know where Elim stands on this, but you'll be surprised where that stance has taken us.

Be back here soon with the next installment...

Women with Mental Disabilities Used as Human Bombs

Okay, it's been a few weeks since I posted, but reading this could not have been a better impetus for me:

Militants turn disabled into human bombs

This blog is about one clear message: people with weaknesses are not burdens - they are blessings. They can teach us, help us, and minister to us.

They are not to be pitied, looked down upon, coddled, or treated as anything less than an image-bearer of the Creator. That's why I am actually outraged, and this takes a bit of doing for me, at what these militants have done. But, rather than subject you to my disgust, I will simply post some of what has transpired:

Two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives Friday and sent into busy Baghdad markets, where they were blown up by remote control, a top Iraqi government official said.

The bombs killed at least 98 people and wounded more than 200 at two popular pet markets on the holiest day of the week for Muslims, authorities said.

In both bombings, the attackers were mentally disabled women whose explosive belts were remotely detonated, Gen. Qasim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, told state television.

So what should my response to this be? Anger and outrage come to mind the most quickly. But what is the response God calls us to?

The Lord has His ways and His time. The Lord will judge and will bring down His justice upon those who mock Him. And the Lord will not be mocked.

How has the Lord been mocked here? These two women, in their weakness, and as recognized members of their community, bear the image of the Almighty. Surely, God has used them for His purposes to declare His glory. To use them, destroy them, and throw away their lives in a successful effort to kill others, is a mockery of God, of His image, and of the people He so purposefully created.

More than anything in His Creation, the wonder of humanity speaks eloquently about His glory, power, mercy, and love. To destroy another human, particularly ones who cannot defend themselves, is both cowardly and a blasphemous act against the kingdom of God.