[Ohio-talk] Oops -- this time I'll include the column!

[Deborah Kendrick]

This time I'll actually cut and paste the column from the site -- which I 
wanted you to see because of the people included in it.
The link, if you want to see it in original form, is www.dispatch.com.
Deborah (who is exceedingly dithery today!)
*****
Deborah Kendrick: 2009 held losses, gains for disabled | The Columbus 
Dispatch

2009 held losses, gains for disabled



Tuesday,  January 5, 2010 2:50 AM



By Deborah Kendrick



jan/kendrick05.IMG_01-05-10_A9_2QG6UBG



It's a brand-new year already, and beginning anew always seems more solid 
somehow with a summary of the previous year in hand.



Here, then, are just a few of the highlights (and lowlights) affecting 
Americans with disabilities in the year 2009.



In Washington on July 26, the 19th anniversary of the signing into law of 
the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, President Barack Obama signed the 
treaty

supporting the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 
Thus, our country joined forces with the 100-plus nations preceding us in 
support

of ensuring dignity, respect, and equality for some 650 million people with 
disabilities around the globe.



In November, "Rosa's Law" was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Barbara 
Mikulski of Maryland. Following the lead of many states, including Ohio, 
this bill

proposes that the thousands of references to "mental retardation" or 
"retarded" be replaced in federal law books with the more respectful term 
"intellectual

disabilities." Language matters.



People everywhere mourned the losses of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, champion 
of disability rights for decades, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the

Special Olympics. Not as widely known were the losses of other significant 
players on the disability stage.



. Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl died in September at age 76. Founder of the 
Metropolitan Washington Ear, the Washington area radio reading service, she 
was

a leading pioneer in developing techniques for audio description -- now in 
live theaters, television programming, and movie theaters nationwide.



. In October, we lost Ed Eames, founder and president of International 
Association of Assistance Dog Partners, who died at age 79. He and his wife 
Toni,

both guide-dog users, published, spoke and advocated for people with all 
disabilities, particularly those using service dogs.



. Kim Peek, known as the "real Rain Man," died at age 58 last month in his 
home in Salt Lake City. The inspiration for the character played by Dustin 
Hoffman

in the film that claimed four Oscars, Peek could read two pages at a time 
and had some 12,000 books, including the Bible, committed completely to 
memory.

Although a physician recommended institutionalization at age two because of 
Peek's severe disabilities, Peek's father resisted the idea, raising a son

whose life would inspire millions.



Of course, there were other more abstract losses affecting plenty of people. 
The decision to deploy 30,000 troops to Afghanistan undoubtedly will 
increase

our population of people with physical and psychological disabilities. The 
employment rate of people with disabilities remains abysmally low. And, for

those who live on Social Security's benefits to people with disabilities, 
2010 payments will be the same as 2009.



But there were plenty of reasons to celebrate in 2009, too. Here are a few 
of my favorites:



. In response to Amazon's decision to withdraw plans for releasing a Kindle 
2 electronic book reader that would render all books accessible via 
synthesized

speech, as well as on the visual display, the Reading Rights Coalition was 
formed.



Pressure from the Authors Guild led to Amazon's position that speech would 
be available on a book-by-book basis. While limiting the Kindle 2's 
capabilities

was certainly no cause for celebration, the formation of the new 
organization is.



. And finally, closest to home, the Ohio State School for the Blind's 
marching band was the first ever blind marching band to receive an 
invitation to march

in the Rose Parade to kick off the New Year. That's a novelty and victory 
that no one can resist smiling about and a perfect note to set the tone as 
we

look ahead.



Deborah Kendrick is a Cincinnati writer and advocate for people with 
disabilities.



dkkendrick at earthlink.net



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