10-year-old disabled boy left on bus for four hours

by Randy Escamilla from Fox 29 San Antonio:

PLEASANTON, Texas -- Pleasanton Independent School District officials scrambled Tuesday to find out how a 10-year old disabled 4th grader with Down's syndrome was left behind on a school bus for four hours in 43-degree weather.

The incident happened Monday. According to the grandmother of Ethan Ramos, 10, a maintenance worker cleaning the bus found the boy.

Ethan suffers from numerous disabilities including Down's syndrome, sleep apnea, heart disease, and asthma.

"He could have died. Simple as that," said Ethan's grandmother Anna Lisa Alvarez.

Inspiration found at Special Olympics Winter Games in Whitefish

Dax VanFossen - MTN News Kalispell KPAX 8 .com:

WHITEFISH - Athletes with disabilities have been able to show their strengths through the power or sports at the State Winter Games in Montana for two decades, but the games inspire more than just the athletes.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better backdrop than Whitefish Mountain Resort for the 20th annual State Winter Games for Special Olympics of Montana. And while the competitions are very important to the athletes, we found out they are extremely important to the family members of the athletes as well.

"It's a game changer, it's added a piece to our life that has a ripple effect that you wouldn't be able to describe. But the experience has been life altering for both our family and Abbie's experience of being in the world," explained Mamie Flinn, whose daughter has Down Syndrome.

Those with disabilities now ABLE to save, celebrate the passage of bill

by Salena Zito from Triblive.com:

WASHINGTON — Sara Wolff's life story aptly took her to the White House on Tuesday.

There, she joined two others from her hometown of Scranton — Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey — to celebrate passage of a bill that enables families of disabled children to save money for their needs.

“I never could imagine such a great experience than being here with the champions that pushed this bill across the finish line,” Wolff, 32, who has Down syndrome, said as she stepped up to the podium. “Wow, and I get to be here with the vice president of the United States!”

Casey invited Wolff, a former intern in his Scranton office, to attend the event marking the years of work that went into the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, or ABLE law, that President Obama signed in December.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., allows people with disabilities to save up to $100,000 in 529-type accounts without jeopardizing government benefits. Recipients can withdraw the money tax-free to pay for medical costs, employment training, housing, education and other qualified expenses.

“This bill goes to the heart of what the president and Republican and Democrat colleagues want for all Americans: to be given an even chance,” Biden said.

Mother Defends Herself Against Claim That She Abandoned Son With Down Syndrome

by Kennedy Ryan from KTLA 5:
A new mother accused by her husband of abandoning their child after learning the boy was born with Down syndrome went public this week to tell her side of the story.
Leo Forrest was born in Armenia on Jan. 21, to Ruzan Badalyan and Samuel Forrest.
Despite the diagnosis, Forrest considered his son to be “perfect,” he said in an interview with ABC News.
His wife, however, had “refused to even look at or touch the newborn,” according to a GoFundMe fundraising page set up to support Forrest and his son.
Badalyan was afraid “of getting attached in a society where defects are not accepted, often bringing shame on the family involved,” the GoFundMe page stated.
But speaking out for the first time, Badalyan claimed the decisions she made concerning her family’s future were the “hardest moments” of her life, according to a recent Facebook post obtained by ABC News.

Teen with Down syndrome makes big impact at part-time job

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

by Melissa Cutler from FOX 4  News:

A Highland Park high school student is making an impact at his part-time job.

Nick Jones' task is to make sure every car on his dealership's lot is perfect, and his work is making a bigger impression than he may realize.

One thing that sets 18-year-old Nick apart from many is how happy he is to go to work.

Nick also has Down syndrome and sometimes struggles with words. Otherwise, he's just one of the guys at Park Cities Ford in Dallas.

“This is a big step for Nick to have this opportunity and experience being a contributing member in his community,” said his mom, Katie Jones.

For the past year, the Highland Park senior has worked Monday through Friday after school, checking for unlocked doors.

The best part is that it's his dream job, working near his dream car – the Ford Mustang.

He gets excited every time he sees one.

His mother says things haven't been easy for Nick.

“Back in the day, as they say and thinking he didn't have much of a future because that's what you're told,” said Katie. “That's what the doctors tell you. That's what everyone around you tells you.”