Radio Smart Talk for Tuesday, September 20:
"The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest or most vulnerable members."
That quote or some variation of it have been attributed to or used by many people. If accepted as a true statement, our civilization didn't always measure up because until just over 40 years ago, people with physical or mental disabilities were often viewed and treated as the same or not as well as the family pet. A person with a disability was often sent to an institution where they were housed with dozens or even hundreds of other people in one room or even caged. Most of the time, the disabled got no treatment and had no hope of ever leaving the institution.
Fortunately, there were some witnessed the plight of the disabled , knew it was wrong and had the power to do something about it.
In Pennsylvania, a coalition of organizations formed under the Keystone Human Services banner to provide support to children, young people, adults and families in the areas of intellectual disabilities (mental retardation), autism, mental health, early intervention and children and family services.
On Tuesday's program, we'll learn about the support services provided to the millions of vulnerable people in this country.
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Tracy is right – the moment you witness someone with a disability take their first vacation, achieve an employment dream, achieve – is encouragement, energy for your passion.
What do we need? Cultural shifts that eliminate the word “retarded” as an acceptable term, (thoughts lead to words and words lead to actions), a careful scrutiny of how No Child Left Behind leads to failure in the school system for children with disabilities, a realignment of resources that will enable people with disabilities to earn a living wage, communities that are willing to embrace people with disabilities into their clubs, fire stations, neighborhoods…
I cringe when I hear that the government may cut funding to "entitlement" programs. This is where most of these programs are supported.
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