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Thousands of starfish had washed ashore.
A little girl began throwing them in the water so they wouldn't die.
"Don't bother, dear" her mother said,
"it won't really make any difference."
The girl stopped for a moment and looked at the starfish in her hand.
"It will make a difference to this one."
(With permission from Domini Social
Investments)
June 30, 2009
A longtime Allen teacher stands accused of using a cooking pan to burn the buttocks of a 14-year-old disabled boy in early 2008...
June 5, 2009
AUSTIN – Faced with dangerous conditions inside Texas' institutions for the mentally disabled and a massive waiting list for community-based care, lawmakers didn't pick sides – they improved both....
AUSTIN – The agency that oversees the state schools for the disabled must hire more than 1,000 new direct care workers and drastically improve living conditions at the facilities, under a $112-million, 5-year settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice....
May 20, 2009
Attorneys for the family of a Corpus Christi State School resident have released some of the cellphone camera footage that led to the arrest and indictment of six employees on charges that they forced mentally disabled residents to fight each other....
The Government Accountability Office presented [members of Congress] with horror stories of another kind: One teacher duct-taped children to a chair. Another put kids as young as 6 years old in strangleholds. Another killed a student by sitting on him, and then continued teaching in another state.
GAO Report:
Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers
May 19, 2009
...a Dallas Morning News review of state termination records shows at least 40 Corpus Christi State School employees were fired or forced to resign for abusing or neglecting residents in the last four years...
May 18, 2009
AUSTIN – Texas’ services for people with disabilities, beset by allegations of abuse and neglect, would face far greater scrutiny and security under a measure the House gave early approval to on Monday....
Looks like the usual political window-dressing response to me. Rather than fixing the problem, Texas changes the name of the state schools to “state supported living centers.” Oh, that's going to help - Dave Thompson
April 28, 2009
AUSTIN – Efforts to start consolidating state schools for the mentally disabled in favor of community-based services crumbled Tuesday as lawmakers in both chambers agreed they would be unable to pass such sweeping legislation....
April 12, 2009
State employees who care for Texans with profound disabilities were paid millions of dollars in overtime last year, in some cases working the equivalent of a month's worth of 13-hour days, according to a review of payroll data by The Dallas Morning News.
March 13, 2009
3 jailed, 3 more wanted in Corpus Christi State School 'fight club' case
AUSTIN – Corpus Christi police said today they have arrested three of six state workers accused of forcing mentally disabled state school residents into "fight club"-style brawls, the day after advocates came to the Capitol to protest the state's handling of the scandal...
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The Texas State School system should be dismantled and replaced with community group homes. There should be complete funding for community-based group homes to include adequate staffing and access to community services such as health care. Professional oversight and inspections obviously should be integral to this process. - Dave Thompson
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February 23, 2009
Monday February 23, 2009
AUSTIN – The battle over how to care for profoundly disabled Texans begins in the Legislature today as lawmakers file a measure to drastically downsize the state school system and expand community living options. ...
If you live in Texas, contact your state representatives, both in the Texas House and Texas Senate. Please let them know that disabled persons are human beings no less than you or I, and that we are our brother's (and sister's) keeper. Support the closing of the abominable, inhuman Texas State Schools and complete funding for community-based group homes to include adequate staffing and access to community services such as health care. Support professional oversight and inspections.
The Texas legislature meets only every two years. It is important to let them them hear from parents and family members. It is important to let the members of the Texas legislature hear from friends of disabled persons, from friends of their families, and every one - every one - of us who cares about humanity of us all and the obligation, the duty, we hold to protect and ensure the rights of disabled persons to have a life of respect, dignity, and care. - Dave Thompson - Feb 23, 2009
Link: Find your US and Texas representatives: Who Represents me?
Letter to State Senator Florence Shapiro - Dave Thompson February 25, 2009
February 8, 2009
Autism and MMR - London Sunday Times
Note: I've been seeing some good, investigative reporting from The News lately. Let me know if you have any problems with the story links. - Thanks - Dave Thompson
February 3, 2009
Governor declares overhaul of state schools a priority
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry will declare protection of residents in state schools for the disabled a legislative emergency today, a move that follows reports of widespread abuse and neglect and a broad federal investigation into conditions at the facilities.....This measure will not address advocates' growing calls to close or consolidate the state schools.
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Sounds like the usual political response: nothing about the humanity of the residents. - DLT 2/3/2009
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January 13, 2009
Disabled children in Sumner County, Tenn., were locked in four-by-three foot plywood cells that had been put together by maintenance staff at 12 district schools. An Oklahoma student with autism was led around his school wearing a harness and rope. Since 2002, three children -- including a 7-year-old girl -- have died as a result of being restrained in public and private schools, the report says. Another boy locked in a seclusion cell hanged himself with his makeshift belt.
Full report here: School is Not Supposed to Hurt:
Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in SchoolsReport by: National Disability Rights Network
See also the June 2007 report: Restraint & Seclusion in California Schools
Report by: Disability Rights California
December 8, 2008
Advocates debate ways to close some Texas schools for the disabled
The politicians are back at it:
Despite the Justice Department and budget board reports, said Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, "I don't think we have definitive information" to justify closing any state schools yet.
December 2, 2008
Justice Department report blasts Texas' schools for the disabled
Dallas Morning News Story here
NOTE: I will have more content up after I read the DOJ OCR report - Dave Thompson, December 2, 2008
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US DOJ Letter
Investigation of Texas State Facilities for Persons with Developmental
Disabilities
===================================================
'======================================================
June 27, 2006
From CAICA (Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse):
TIME-SENSITIVE: LOOKING FOR
PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS FROM
WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA
WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THE AREA OF
RESTRAINTS AND ABUSE IN MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES
(http://caica.org/index.htm)
'======================================================
June 22, 2006
I am working on a piece for this. Meanwhile here is a story to follow:
Judge Rotenberg Center investigated for child torture
By Susan Lawrence, June 15, 2006 http://www.nospank.net/jrc-1.htm
April 17, 2006
The 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
Rick Attig and Doug Bates of The Oregonian,
Portland
"For their persuasive, richly reported editorials on abuses
inside a forgotten Oregon mental hospital."
This series is available online at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/oregonian/hospital/
NOTE: If the site asks you to register, it is a very
simple process. All they ask is Zip Code, Year of Birth, and Gender
Added February 14, 2006 - Links Page
Note: Check back for updates. My rebuilding effort for the site continues .... Dave Thompson
US Supreme Court: The Shaffer Decision - Nov 14, 2005 (Special Ed) See especially the Ginsburg dissent: [Dissent 1]
Added November 3, 2005 : Research Page (last update February 23, 2009)
I will be adding content to the research page as we go.
Meanwhile, please send me
information regarding news stories available on the web (see bottom of
this page for contact information). We have had some excellent work done by
investigative journalists in the past: Katherine Boo, the Washington Post;
Eric Weiss, the Hartford Courant, etc. I will be reviewing these series
and putting up links for them. Timeliness is important since many newspaper web
sites either delete stories after a time, or move them to a paid archive
location.
Dave Thompson - November 3, 2005
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Archived pages posted (as of September 29, 2005):
Special Education - A Life of Dignity and Meaning. What happened? The Classroom
Special Education Is it cost or is it prejudice?
Special Education 1976 - 1998 What happened? The Courts.
Disabled children as persons (with rights!)
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