Many of us who have been in the field of the employment of people with disabilities have been working to tear down a wall of segregation. But there are those who are now trying to rebuild it brick by brick. When I spoke at the APSE Employment First Conference a few weeks back, I spelled [...]
In my speaking and writing, I often tout the need for services to be individualized, and take issue with the congregate models we generally see from agencies and schools in the forms of group homes, day programs, and classrooms. Often, there is pushback from families and providers. I frequently hear: - “What’s wrong with letting [...]
Over the years, I have visited many agencies doing their work in the service of people with disabilities. In the process I've met many caring staff. But caring, while important, is really far from enough for people with disabilities to succeed. We also need to understand people's goals and how to help them get there. [...]
Numerous recent comments sent to the US Administration on Developmental Disabilities from the "Voice of the Retarded" have centered on maintaining a range of choice as the main argument against the desegregation of institutions into the community. See (http://www.envision2010.net/others.php) Institutional and sheltered work advocates have long relied on the "choice" argument to support their views. [...]
Despite numerouse national and state policies promoting integrated employment, 76% of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities are served in facility-based, segregated programs - usually work activity centers or sheltered workshops. Whenever advocates talk about closing a sheltered workshop so the people there can get real jobs, the argument of choice is raised. "But this [...]
I recently received an interesting letter from a gentleman with a disability who states the he feels "very at home among the handicapped." He wonders why I have such a stress on inclusion. Is that not "cutting off an option?" - that of being with others who also have a disability?A fair question. I think [...]
