Christie, Legislature help New Jerseyans with Down syndrome make progress | Opiniono

This year, New Jerseyans with Down syndrome and their families have more to celebrate than usual.

Gov. Chris Christie recently signed into law the bipartisan Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which will help people with disabilities save for the future and promote financial independence. New Jersey is also leading the way by banning discrimination against people with disabilities when determining who receives organ transplants.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/03/new_jerseyans_with_down_syndrome_make_progress_opi.html#incart_river_index

Congress May Consider Tweaks To ABLE Accounts

Federal lawmakers are already looking to expand the eligibility and capabilities of a new type of savings account for people with disabilities.

A package of three bills introduced this month in Congress would offer extra flexibility to individuals with disabilities using accounts created under the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act.

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/03/22/congress-tweaks-able-accounts/22074/

Hotel Centered Around Workers With Special Needs Set To Open

From day one, at least 20 percent of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel’s 129-person workforce will be people with developmental and other types of disabilities, according to Sally Morris with The Arc of Indiana, which spearheaded the project.

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/12/18/hotel-special-needs-open/21708/

Tim’s Place set to close, couple opens up about decision to leave

“I’m going to miss it here but I’m doing for it love,” Tim says. 

Tim says he is most thankful for his customers and family. He is planning to open a “Tim’s Place” in Denver but make it a little different.

http://krqe.com/2015/12/17/tims-place-set-to-close-couple-opens-up-about-decision-to-leave/

People With Down Syndrome Pose as Music Icons in Rockin’ Photo Series

“I would love to have people look at these photos and walk away either with a more positive outlook on Down syndrome or special needs in general,” Zook told The Mighty. “I hope it brings joy and comfort, but I also hope that it will provide a more positive reminder of the great potential there is for all these individuals with special needs.”

http://themighty.com/2015/12/people-with-down-syndrome-pose-as-music-icons-in-rockin-photo-series/

Surprising idea for special education students: Go to college

It turns out that, at least for a small segment of the Portland area's young adults with intellectual disabilities, college will in fact be possible. Some college officials say such programs will prompt society to stop automatically writing off people with intellectual disabilities as "not college material."

College attendance by people with intellectual disabilities has been shown to translate into better jobs with better pay and greater independence.

http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2015/11/surprising_idea_for_students_w.html

ESEA Rewrite Passes

Hear that collective whoop from the Capitol? That's the sound of education advocates and lawmakers cheering at the finish line as the first rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in more than a dozen years sails through Congress and on to the White House. 

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved the rewrite of the withering No Child Left Behind Act—the current version of the ESEA—by a huge bipartisan margin, 85 to 12, mirroring the vote of 359 to 64 in the U.S. House of Representatives just days earlier. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill Thursday.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/12/esea_rewrite_headed_to_obamas_.html?cmp=eml-contshr-shr

Smartphones, Apps Prove Liberating For Those With Special Needs

Google announced Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities last year with a $20 million grant for technology innovators in the nonprofit community who work on technology to make people with disabilities more independent. “We’re actively looking for proposals,” said Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink of Google.org

Check out this article from Disability Scoop: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/09/22/smartphones-apps-liberating/20816/

Tim Cook Gives A Lesson In How To Talk To People With Disabilities

The Apple CEO joins celebrities like John Oliver, Michael J. Fox and more in the Cerebral Palsy Foundation's PSA campaign.

Outside of patrolling the stage at WWDC or another big Apple product announcement, we don't typically see Tim Cook in marketing mode, but the Apple CEO makes an exception in a new PSA for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

Cook joins others like John Oliver and Michael J. Fox in the organization's "Just Say Hi" campaign, aimed at removing any stigma or awkwardness when it comes to talking to people with disabilities. Here Cook gives a distinctly Apple-style tutorial on how to strike up such a conversation, enlisting Siri's help to show just how easy it is.

http://m.fastcompany.com/3054365/tim-cook-gives-a-lesson-in-how-to-talk-to-people-with-disabilities?

Hospital sorry for do not resuscitate order on patient with Downsyndrome

His family were horrified when, during a hospital stay related to his dementia, staff decided he should not be resuscitated if he developed heart or breathing problems. 

The order listed Down's Syndrome and his learning difficulties among the reasons.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34938832