-Sarah Palin
John McCain meeting with A-Champ in November of last year:
There is still two months until the election, and there is plenty of time for Barack Obama to sit down with our community, and to use his position on the Senate Health Committee to make real CHANGE for children. If he does, he may take the poll position as the best autism candidate, but at the moment, unless things change dramatically, I will be endorsing McCain/Palin.
40 comments:
Really watching out for special needs children would require attention to things like expanding or universalizing health care coverage, and funding for stem cell research. What are the chances of that? O, zip, nada.
BTW, John McCain does not support the Community Choice Act, which would expand funding for care for the disabled.
She's has not been nor will be at home taking care of her child... yet she will advocate? Interesting.
Here's Obama's stance in case you want to read it... http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/
Here's the specifics on ASD...
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/AutismSpectrumDisorders.pdf
One does not need to be the primary care providing parent to advocate for their child or on behalf of disabled children.
One of the problems in our community is that because so many moms are home caring for their disabled kids, few can advocate for them politically. And the ones who are in a position to be able to do so just won't oppose the status quo and take on the people who are holding the problem in place. Forget running for office, biomed mom's can't even go to rallys in DC.
I have looked at Obama's Autism stance and it is not bad, but it is not great. In my humble opinion, until a presidential administration, or congress, takes a hard look at the corruption in government/Pharma that has gotten us here, the status quo will remain in place.
GW Bush claimed that he was gonna help our kids too, but that came to nothing.
Obama has been in the Senate and could have already been doing for our kids, and he hasn't.
McCain, along with Joe Lieberman, have asked the Senate health committee to look into environmental causes, vaccine additives and biomed treatments. Obama is on that committee and has not picked up the torch to make it happen.
Wanna convince me to change my endorsement? Lobby Obama to do what McCain/Leiberman have asked.
Get him to do what I have asked and call for hearings into the CDC, HHS and the autism cases in the VICP and I will also clean Obama's house for a week.
If I have a choice between someone who has already advocated for our kids a little, and someone who claims he will do it a lot, I will take the guy who is already doing it.
I second that! McCain/Palin ticket, it is.
Don't you guys feel she is being a bit exploitative of her baby and using him as a political prop? In her speech she said we would have a friend in the White House, but looking at her history as the governor of Alaska, the state budget for special needs education were cut 62% under her leadership. Actions speak louder than words.
Special Education Service Agency (SESA):
The Annual budget for 2007, which preceded Gov. Palin was $8,265,300
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/07_OMB/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
The Annual budget for 2008, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/08_OMB/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
The Annual budget for 2009, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/09_omb/budget/EED/comp2735.pdf
This is a cut in special needs services to children in Alaska of $5,109,300 , or 62%."
"Don't you guys feel she is being a bit exploitative of her baby and using him as a political prop?"
I don't. I see her as being proud of her special needs child.
Should we go back to the days when people hid their children? Like the Kennedys did or the Travoltas do now?
Hell no! Special Needs kids are the focus of their families and that should play out in public too.
It is all in the way you choose to see her holding him on stage, you can be cynical and attribute it to selfish motives, or you can be generous and attribute it to a new special needs mom showing her baby off.
And honestly, if she is guilty of exploitation, then I should be in jail. Chandler's adorable mug is all over this blog!
"In her speech she said we would have a friend in the White House, but looking at her history as the governor of Alaska, the state budget for special needs education were cut 62% under her leadership. Actions speak louder than words."
Actions do speak much louder than words, no question.
However...
That was before she was one of us.
I would not have paid attention much to the special needs budget before Chandler was diagnosed either. She is new to special needs parenting, and since Trig is so young, he is just like a regular baby at this point (unless he has special medical needs too, which often come with downs) and the full impact of this has not hit her family yet. I think that in about 14 months she is going to start really getting it, more and more, as he develops and his differences really come to light.
And again... her track record is that she will go after corruption, even in her own party. Obama is the guy who has taken the most money from Pharma, while McCain has given them hell.
I am going by track records here, and right now I see the best chance we have to take down the corruption from McCain/Palin.
But again... if you really believe that Obama is the 'Change' candidate, then pound on his door and demand that he match and exceed what McCain/Palin have done and have committed to.
I am for sale in this election. I am a life long republican, but this year I am a one issue voter, who will break the dam that is holding back effective prevention and treatment for autism.
Vaccines are that dam and the only people in congress that have done more to remove the blockage are Dan Burton, Dave Weldon and Carolyn Maloney.
If Obama held hearings into CDC/HHS/VICP I would do his bidding with bells on.
I'm sorry but... no. She is using her son as a prop, all while crying sexism when people question her ability to be a good mother when she makes such great play about the fact that she is Supermom.
U cannot vote or support any woman who - in her own words - is so negligent as to travel from Texas to Alaska after her water breaks, just because she wants to give birth in her state. Especially when they already knew the baby had Downs' Syndrome before the child was born.
I expected better of you, Ginger.
"I'm sorry but... no. She is using her son as a prop"
You run into trouble when asserting that you know what people's motives are.
You can't see into her heart, and she has not done anything that I would not have done as a proud autism mom if I were running in her place.
I would have My beautiful boy right up there with me and I would talking about him WAY more than she has talked about her son.
Out of pride and to let other families with disabled kids know that they would have an advocate in me.
I think you will need a lot more to back up an assertion that Trig is a 'prop'.
I would not be so nice to someone who accused me of using Chandler as a prop. I would be kinda mad.
"all while crying sexism"
Have you heard her say anything like this? Lots of people have been complaining about sexist attacks on her, but I don't think she has been one of them.
And as far as traveling to Alaska, she says she was not in labor:
"Sarah, 44, had her water unexpectedly break (just a slow leak of amniotic fluid, she shared) while attending an energy conference in Texas, but checked in with her doctor, was able to stay, deliver a 30 minute speech, and then get on a plane to return to her home state in time for the delivery (which ended up needing to be induced) early this morning.
"I am not a glutton for pain and punishment. I would have never wanted to travel had I been fully engaged in labor. After four kids I knew what labor felt like, and I wasn't in labor."
Not the choice I might have made, but then again my labors were both hard, fast and horribly painful.
I have friends who spend days in labor.
But if her doc said there was no rush... and she was on her fourth child... again... not the choice I would have made, but if her doctor didn't think she was putting him at risk, then I would need more info to be able to judge her on this.
I had two high risk pregnancies, so I couldn't have been a home birth, pop a baby out person like some people can.
Just because Trig was a downs baby, does that make her pregnancy high risk? I am asking, seriously. I have no idea.
Do airlines have rules about flying past a certain point in pregnancy? Or do you just need to clear it with your doctor?
But bottom line, what she has done in her parenting decisions does not equate to what she, and more importantly John McCain, who is meeting with our people, will do for our kids if they govern.
And not to be combative... but...
Did you seriously just tell me who I could and could not vote for?
I do not presume to make such decisions for people (not for voting, not for vaccinating). I might argue why they should strongly consider doing one thing or another, and which I believe will be more benificial, but telling someone who they can and cannot support for president is poor form.
Again... if Obama is a better choice, and he has done something to address the vaccine/treatment questions other than the two statements he has made in the press, let me know. I will be all over it.
"I would not have paid attention much to the special needs budget before Chandler was diagnosed either."
Isn't it a necessity for our leaders to have a bit of compassion and forethought though? It should not take a politician having a special needs child for them to support the cause. Her statement just screamed "I didn't care about you before, but now that I'm one of you, I'm on your side." Frankly, that is self centered and selfish. How many of our elected officials have special needs children? If they were the only ones to care, we'd be in a really bad situation.
"How many of our elected officials have special needs children? If they were the only ones to care, we'd be in a really bad situation."
I think that is why we are in such a bad situation.
Think back to that research piece I posted about two weeks ago. Researchers were SHOCKED that autism parenting was so hard. Even for rich folks.
Yes... ALL politicians should care about those who cannot care for themselves. But since they are humans, and humans have a perfect track record of not being able to balance things well, that does not happen as it should.
But the ones who have stepped up to the plate are the ones (starting with the Kennedy's in the mid century) who have had to live with disability on a daily basis. (While the Kennedy's didn't bring Rosemary out for family photo ops, they did love her and advocated for the disabled because of their love for her. JFK set up the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation to serve and integrate those with MR. It is now a do nothing group called the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, but you can see what his intent was in creating it.)
I write a great deal about how special needs parenting changes you. I have yet to meet anyone of us who has been able to remain as callous or prideful or self-centered as we were before autism kicked our butts. Even the biggest a-holes are no match for disability parenting. It breaks you and builds you back up into something else. You don't really have a choice in the matter.
As I mentioned, I know I am doing a bit of projecting here, but it is based on what is common to all of us, once you have an 18 month/2 year old, you start to feel the weight and things start to change in you.
I am betting that what Palin is today, and what she will be a year from now, and two years from now, will be quite different.
If there is such a thing as a compassionate conservative, and I think that there is because I consider myself one, she has a great chance of being a big one.
Conservatives with a heart and Liberals with a backbone are the rare finds that we should always be on the look out for.
"You can't see into her heart, and she has not done anything that I would not have done as a proud autism mom if I were running in her place."
Ah, but there's quite a bit of difference between autism and DS.
Specifically, while children with autism and DS can both have extremely sensitive hearing (I know this because my autistic younger brother won't go outside without earplugs), people with DS also have extreme sensitivity to bright lights.
You would think that the mother of a baby with Down's Syndrome would know this. You would think that a mother would think of the comfort of their child before having them spend an evening in a noisy, brightly lit convention center. But she didn't.
And I have to ask myself why... why would any responsible parent, knowing the facts about their child's condition do any thing that might aggravate that condition?
There is only one answer; Sarah Palin is using her special needs child as a prop.
""all while crying sexism""
"Have you heard her say anything like this? Lots of people have been complaining about sexist attacks on her, but I don't think she has been one of them."
Fair point. McCain has been telling people to lay off her family, though. To their credit, so have Obama and Biden.
"But if her doc said there was no rush... and she was on her fourth child... again... not the choice I would have made, but if her doctor didn't think she was putting him at risk, then I would need more info to be able to judge her on this."
Actually, it was her fifth child. Unless you believe the rumors that she faked a pregnancy to cover up her eldest daughter's first pregnancy since Bristol Palin was was kept out of school for a year and denied contact with friends.
"Just because Trig was a downs baby, does that make her pregnancy high risk? I am asking, seriously. I have no idea."
Generally, when they are able to identify a genetic disorder in the womb, they prefer that you get to the hospital as soon as labor begins, even if it is a false alarm.
"Do airlines have rules about flying past a certain point in pregnancy? Or do you just need to clear it with your doctor?"
http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/pregnancy-articles/6.html
The rules vary from airline to airline, but most allow travel up to the eighth month. A doctor's note can allow travel past that point, but most doctors don't recommend air travel during the 1st and 3rd trimesters.
"But bottom line, what she has done in her parenting decisions does not equate to what she, and more importantly John McCain, who is meeting with our people, will do for our kids if they govern."
Agreed. But my concern is that the way she treats her own children is an indicator of how she will treat the rest of our children. That's why I raise the issue.
"And not to be combative... but...
Did you seriously just tell me who I could and could not vote for?"
Actually, I typoed "U" instead of "I". Saddly, Blogger doesn't allow for editing after the fact and I'd hoped that you would note my lack of "on-line speech" in the rest of the letter and guess that I had typoed. My apologies.
Of course I am not telling you who to vote for. But I am hoping to persuade you that Palin is insincere upon this point and that she only cares about securing power - not about helping the people who voted her into office.
Do I have any evidence on this point?
Well, there is the article I just read between my first post and this one... which notes that Palin had an autistic nephew at the time which she slashed 62% of the budget for "special needs" children.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/2/145446/1878/230/583530
I can understand wanting to be a single-issue voted, I do. It's so much easier, especially when your son is as huge a part of your life as it is.
Me? I'm a librarian. I usually base my choices for national candidates based on their free-speech record. Were it left to that, I'd have to be a dyed-in-the-wool Obama/Biden supporter since McCain was the power behind the infamous and ineffectual CIPA act and Sarah Palin attempted to fire a librarian who fought her efforts to ban books in her home town.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515512.html
But I looked past that. I looked at Palin's whole record over the weekend. And it scares me.
That 62% cut... the fact that she made it before she had a child with Down's syndrome should not excuse it. She may not have been a special needs parent but she was a parent. And I expect any parent - particularly one involved in small-town politics as long as she had been - to appreciate the importance of an entire community and the needs of that community.
For that reason alone I cannot support any ticket with a parent who can't think "what if that were my kid?" before slashing a budget that gives job-training and child care to pregnant teenagers who don't have a loving family to support them.
I have a hard time endorsing her just because she is now a new parent of a special needs child and I totally agree that any leader should be able to identify with large portions of the populations needs BEFORE being personally affected.
Of course, I'm also not endorsing them for other reasons, like my belief in freedom of choice (in many areas), not supporting the NRA, and environmental and international relation concerns.
You admit you're a life-long Republican and "one issue voter." But frankly, there are SO many big issues at stake in this election. Both candidates claim they will increase funding for special needs children: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2008/08/candidates_reaffirm_commitment.html
But without wading through their budget proposals, we can't be sure what they will really do. And how does McCain plan to fund this - and the war - without raising taxes? IMO, it's all just lip service until inauguration. I couldn't agree more with Tom that our better hope is revamping health care and funding research.
Wow, you have to be a stay-at-home-mom to be an advocate for your child? Hmm. I doubt my son's service providers would agree with you on that one. They know me very well and I'm also a project manager of a software company.
I encourage those discussing the budget issue to look at some additional information.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/30/35recaps.h27.html
And I do wish that when my son was a mere 4 mos. old I knew everything about him that I was apparently "supposed" to know. Perhaps we would have had his baptism in our bathroom instead of church. If only I had read that instruction manual that was attached to the placenta!
As the parent of a special needs child who DOESN'T get his head stroked by Cindy McCain on the tee vee, why in the hell should I believe anything Palin is saying?
George W. Bush said he was a "compassionate conservative" too. Remember? Is he?
What EXACTLY is Palin going to do? I don't need her as friend. I have friends. As Joe Biden says, show me her budget for these kids.
You are a hell of a cheap date, Ginger. People who actually have to worry about their children -- that includes both you and me -- can't afford to be so easily manipulated.
I am so tired of hearing people poke and prod Sarah Palin about having a special needs baby and working so much. HELLO!!! Fathers do it ALL THE TIME!!!
At least she HAD THE BABY. She CHOSE LIFE after knowing the baby would have a chromosomal abnormality.
Why doesn't everyone go bitch out those who murdered there chromosome abnormal babies before they had a chance at life?... Instead of slamming Sarah Palin for working!
IGNORANCE.
"Why doesn't everyone go bitch out those who murdered there chromosome abnormal babies before they had a chance at life?... Instead of slamming Sarah Palin for working!"
because they don't potentially have a 20% chance of becoming president.
not that i'm personally concerned with the "working with a special needs child at home" debate..which i don't think people are "slamming" her, just possibly seems as if it's being used as a selling point. i don't think it should be part of her "qualifications/lack there of" either way.
I am going to go ahead and ask everyone to double check their tone when posting.
I don't want this devolving into insults and I can see it going there.
Respectful debate, no name calling please. Insults don't advance the conversation.
as a mother of an autistic child I cannot support Palin,, She says she has our ear but at the same time cut the special needs budget in alaska by 62%. Just because i am a woman and a mom that is not enough for my vote.. She can even manage to run her own family and be honest. She is sure pretty though.
My heart leaped at that statement! I will be voting for McCain/Palin, too. Their track record fighting corruption is exactly what we need. Plus, I think universal health care (via government programs) would only make the autism crisis worse, since the government's track record for quality care is frightening.
Let's be clear, I didn't suggest that you have to be a stay at home mother.. I said she is not nor will she be at home TAKING CARE of her child. Yet, she wants to advocate... How much of her time do you actually think will be spent advocating? How much time do you actually think she spends with her son? her daughter? her other children? That's my point...
It's easy to say that you will be on someone's side, but her life is just beginning with working with her son. She has yet to experience anything in a school setting or an environment that would require her to advocate...and she cut the budget by 62 percent? WOW.
I think we have to look at ALL of the issues and decide who will represent what needs to be done in our country for all americans.
I am behind on the comments, but will get back to them as soon as I can.
In the mean time... Correction on Palin... she increased special ed funding:
"The first comment is incorrect. Palin has dramatically increased special needs funding. From Education Week (4/30/08):
"A second part of the measure raises spending for students with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development."
"If Obama held hearings into CDC/HHS/VICP I would do his bidding with bells on."
Ask him.
McCain talks the talk but ... please excuse the cliché but after looking at the web site
http://mccainsource.com
/mccain_fact_check?id=0006
... he didn’t walk the walk.
“McCain Has Voted To Cut, Restrict, And Underfund Medicare At Least Twenty-Eight Times” from 1995 to 2005
“McCain Voted To Cut, Eliminate, Restrict Health Insurance Coverage for Low Income Children and Pregnant Mothers At Least SIX Times” from 1997 to 2007.
“McCain Voted Against Allowing Uninsured Parents To Enroll In The Same Plans As Their Children” in 2000
“McCain Opposed Reauthorizing SCHIP And Providing Insurance For Millions Of Uninsured Children.” in 2007
"Ask him."
I did, no response.
I have not written about it yet as I want to give Obama lots of room to respond well.
Believe me... I am pulling for him. As a democrat he should be jumping on this... and I hope he does.
We still have two months and I am not going to make any final endorsements until a week or two before the election.
Hopefully he has the chance to help lead our country and our massive bureaucracies with some sane policies, including those for health care and vaccine safety. Congress has a role to play in this as well. It is helpful have pressure on all candidates no matter how the election turns out. Keep up the good work.
Just a reminder that Sarah Palin's son is a baby, so she's probably been spending this past year (including part of her pregnancy) reading about and researching Downs Syndrome and what is involved in raising a child with special needs.
Many of us didn't begin our advocacy work for special needs children until we were blessed with one. And I expect that is the case with Sarah Palin.
I will take her at her word. She says she will be an advocate in the White House and I believe her. And I believe that Cindy McCain will also take up that cause. She has a master's degree in special education and has been working with (and for) special needs children for quite some time.
Yes, most Down's Syndromes birth are considered "high risk". My sister is an RN in the Neonatal Unit in Salt Lake. Plus remember that Sarah Palin was over 35, so that put in the "high risk" category also.
I have an 18 year old son with autism and I have dealt with this disorder for years before it became the "buzz word" that it is today and there was not the information that there is now. I know how hard it has been to raise him with his two brothers, one older and one younger. Unless you have actually raised a special needs child, you DO NOT have a clue what you are talking about!
She has no clue what she is in for. It is a wild, crazy, hard, full of tears and heartbreak, loving ride. It is one that affects the entire family forever. Yes, she can have help, but her son needs her, not some helper and I can say that because I live this life and they need love, love, love, love!
She's using Trig to get votes - look at the magazines this week. She's got him on the front of every one of them. If it was about her being a mom, she'd have all five of her children with her, not just the disabled one. That makes me sick to my stomach.
She does not represent this mom. And no, I am not originally from WV, although I love it here. I am from the West Coast and I chose to move out here to be by Johns Hopkins for help for my son, so no wise cracks about WV. We have the best laws for autism -- 4 students to 1 teacher with 1 aide. But the Republicans wouldn't like that -- too much money for public & special education!
Go to Wikipedia and read the entire article on her. It's very interesting.
Not sure if you all realize this, but Sarah Palin's 13 year old nephew has Autism and she STILL cut the special education budget. Her son Trig will have the best help available to the family should she become VP, she will NOT be one of us fighting for her children. Sorry, I can't relate to her on any level as a mother, even though we both have a child with special needs. I have ZERO faith that she will advocate for me or my family if she didn't do it for her own nephew.
Wow I am really surprised and dismayed that no one is checking her records and just taking her at her word. While she has been in office she has cut funding for special needs by 62% in her state does that sound like an advocate for our children ? I think not please please don't be sheep and just follow go out and do the research think of your children and all your family needs. I do not ask you to vote either way just please know what you are doing before you vote.it is our responsibility to ourselves our families and our neighbors.
I am really surprise no one is checking rumors for truth. She did NOT cut special ed funding by 62%. The 2008 budget moved a large line item out from under special schools and to its own catagory. If one where to look at the individual items contained under "Special Schools" Reviewing the budgets available on-line, in FY2007 the Alaska Challange Youth Acadamy (ACYA) was a line item under Special Schools and in FY2008it was it own Budget Item. The above difference of 5,109,300 is just under the 5,449,300 that was designated in FY2008 for the ACYA. So she increased spending and moved items on the budget around. Likely because the Alaska Challange Youth Acadamy was more for teens in trouble than special education/disability.
Obama's Position: “I am not for selective vaccination, I believe that it will bring back deadly diseases, like polio.”
Source: http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/09/obama-i-am-not.html#more
to above...
and do you really think McCain/Palin will be?
come on, neither are going to say that.
To Erin Neal:
Palin's Position on Autism:
http://gov.state.ak.us/archive-59920.html
McCain's Position on Autism: http://www.johnmccain.com/content/?guid=24dc9c37-e739-4aa3-8a88-ebae650a2f11
AND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtsVUgRZ0FY
Further, you might want to look into Big Pharma's contributions to the candidates.
"Obama maintains a slight edge over his Democratic rival, with $181,000 in Big Pharma donations through Jan. 31, compared with Clinton's $174,000, according to the center. McCain is far behind with $44,000."
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/04/news/companies/pharma_votes/index.htm
The reason Obama has not taken up the torch for the vaccine idea is that he is careful not to insult those of us that are genetically Autistic. Unfortunately there is a problem where those of you that feel your children were injured by vaccines discount that we even exist. My daughter is 6, Autistic, and was diagnosed before ever having a single vaccine. Since my 8 year old was diagnosed at age 2 we have had every one of his siblings except two (not yet evaluated) diagnosed with one form of ASD or another. I have also been diagnosed and so has my husband. I have never had a vaccine in my life. I had all the childhood illnesses. I am genetically Autistic and want people to learn to accept me and my genetically autistic children. We are not broken, we do not need to be cured, and we expect to have our unique culture accepted as well as the Deaf culture is accepted. I am not denying the existence of vaccine damaged children but the anti-vax movement needs to realize that not all cases of Autism are caused by vaccine injury. Until that happens it forces candidates to take sides and as a man that belongs to a race of people that have been oppressed and discriminated against in this country I just don't see Barack jumping on the bandwagon of any group that seeks to either deny the existence of or eliminate another group of people. If the anti-vax movement would simply acknowledge the existence of genetic autistics like me and many of my friends that are Autistic parents of Autistic kids then we could stop fighting and work together to find out why your kids reacted poorly to exposure to vaccines when millions of other children did not. Perhaps we can even prenatally test for those susceptibilities and a parent can decide if they want to continue the pregnancy of a child that is so weak that they can't survive in our toxic society. After all that is what the researchers are working on for Autism. Soon we will be able to eugenically abort Autistic and Environmental Toxin Susceptible kids just like we do Down Syndrome Kids. Curing Down Syndrome is simply a matter of legislating the required testing and forcing eugenic abortions. Step one is complete. It is now mandatory for ALL women to be screened for Down Syndrome. Next Step, forced abortions. Once Down Syndrome is "cured", we can get busy "curing" Autism whether it is genetic or those pesky little kids that can't tolerate a little mercury in their shots. Be careful what you wish for(a cure) because somebody might give you exactly what you ask for and you may not like it. Autism in my family is part of who we are just as being African American is part of who Barack and Michelle are. I am sorry for all the vaccine injured children out there but my children are not vaccine injured and they are Autistic.
I read this blog just before heading to bed and was so disturbed by some of the comments that I could not sleep ... so here I am posting ... call me selfish but with three young kids I need the sleep.
I feel the need to reply to a few comments here, the first and quickest is the claim that Palin reduced eduational funding for special needs kids. It is well documented that this is untrue ... she actually increased the spending significantly. You have to look at the big picture to see things clearly not just one line item. Money was moved to a different line item where it would be targeted more directly toward special needs kids.
The other comment I need to address was from starmanmatt. It was several comments up the chain. They said Sarah Palin should know that DS kids do not like bright lights and loud noises. I am interested in where he obtained this information. This may be true of some special needs kids but I can attest to the fact that this is not a blanket statement. My 9 y/o daughter has a friend with DS and we just returned from a "Buddy Walk" for DS Sunday afternoon. It was a great event complete with lots of photographers flashing BRIGHT LIGHTS all over the place, LOUD music that ALL the kids (DS and non-DS) lined up right in front of, danced along with, played instruments with, etc. There was a dance performance from a dance school with a special needs class. After their performance anyone interested was invited up to learn a few dances ... including the chicken dance, LOL ... the floor was pack ... again with DS and non-DS kids. We all walked, talk, sang, danced, laughed and played for hours and not once did I see a person ... child or adult ... with DS get upset about anything. On a side note, both the parents of our friend with DS have worked fulltime since she was 3 weeks old and she is a well adjusted 4th grader with lots of friends. She even came to my daughter's slumber party complete with loud music, strobe lights, disco ball and girl talk until 2 am ... and she had a blast.
I'll close with this thought ... I have always been keenly aware deafness and diabetes becuase I grew up with cousins touched by both. Do you each work to raise money for these causes? As my life progressed we had a neighbor move in two doors down with an autistic child who we've all watched blossom and grow over the years ... and we be came more aware of and involved with autism. Then we met my daughters' friend with DS a few years ago and became more aware and invlolved with DS. Are you? A few of our friends and neighbors were diagnosed with breast cancer and again we learned more and supported this cause. Do you raise money for breast cancer research? Another of our daughter's friends died in a tragic accident last year at the tender age of 8. Today, on what should have been her 9th birthday we are attending a fundraiser for a foundation established in her name to help other parents who might find themselves suddenly by the bedside of a critically injured child. How do you help bereaved parents? The list goes on ... my point is, as human beings we continually learn and grow in our lives. It is not possible to know about every cause and champion each one from the time we hit adulthood. As we are touched by these situations in our lives, we become more involved. Sarah Palin's life has been forever altered by the birth if Trig ... as has the rest of her families lives, their friends lives, etc. When she says that if she is elected special needs children will have a friend in the Whitehouse, I do not doubt her for a second. Her life changed less than 1 year ago and it will never be the same again. She will never be the same person she was before Trig .... and that can be a very good thing my friends.
Just food for thought ... no need to reply back to argue ... I'm going to bed!
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