‘I found out I had Down syndrome aged 23 – people don’t believe I have it’ | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/down-syndrome-symptoms-signs-people-b2374685.html

#DownSyndrome
#MosaicDownSyndrome

"10 year Boy with Down Syndrome Assaulted by Bus Driver - Abuse of Students with Invisible Disabilities by Educators"

⚠️ CW - Stories on mistreatment and abuse of students with invisible disabilities in schools across the country. May be disturbing to some.

Yesterday, a bus driver for the Upper Darby school district in Pennsylvania, was charged with assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Juliet Pratt was captured on surveillance cameras, duct taping the a student with Downs Syndrome around the ankles and chest to restrain him. The footage also show the child, who was already in a safety harness, caused no disturbance and remained in his seat. Regardless,  nothing warrants this kind of abusive behavior to people with invisible disabilities, especially by someone involved in child education. The March 8th incident was not the only. The bus driver admitted doing this appalling act to the child, at least one other time. Pratt cut the tape restraints with a seat belt cutter to free the boy upon arrival at the school.

There seems to be no mention of charges related to disability protectections in news reports. Has she done this to others? Would she have done this if the child did not have a disability? If Ms. Pratt singled the child out for this treatment because of any disability related reason, (ie - thinking she could get away with it because of the boy's DS), authorities may want to consider this an ableist hate crime.

Unfortunately, this problem is not uncommon. In some places, the techniques used are legal, bringing harm to many students with invisible disabilities. In Virginia, a 10 year old autistic boy, had the "bones in his hand and foot crushed" by an educator. The injuries were caused by a staff member who was isolating and confining the child, in what was called the "scream room".

Many reports of similar abuses have surfaced in Connecticut schools as well. In one case, a second grader with ADHD was held down, and locked in confinement after a manifestation of symptoms. Aside from the mental and emotional wounds caused, just as in many other cases, the child suffered physically injury. According to the story linked below, students have been restrained and isolated "thousands of times causing dozens of injuries" in Connecticut schools. This hardly sounds like accommodation and community intergration.

Then, there's Xavier Hernandez, who died as a result if being held down and restained by multiple staff members at "Boulevard Heights" school for "students with disabilities" in Texas.

These are the people entrusted with the job of shaping young minds? What lesson does this type of behavior teach other students about interacting with people with invisible disabilities; that they should be restrained, isolated and subjected to physical and mental damage? Considering these, and many other such acts, it seems many educators could use a lesson on understanding and accommodation of persons with invisible disabilities.

© OutOfExile_IDR - Invisible Disability Rights

PA Bus Driver:
https://www.phillyvoice.com/school-bus-driver-duct-tape-upper-darby-student-delaware-county/

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/bus-driver-accused-of-duct-taping-10-year-old-boy-on-bus/3575865/

Boy with autism in Virginia:
https://www.propublica.org/article/schools-restraints-seclusions

Girl with ADHD and other abuse in Connecticut:
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/connecticut-schools-restraint-seclusion-injuries-17474991.php

Xavier Hernandez death from a disability standpoint:
https://neuroclastic.com/xavier-hernandez-fort-worth-autism-restraint-death/#content

Hernandez - Death by medication and restraint:
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crossroads-lab/article253421369.html

Image courtesy of: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/young-disabled-students-shackled-misbehaving-lawsuit-claims-n403421

#Education #ActuallyAutistic #ADHA #PTSD #CPSTD #ChildEducation #abuse #advocacy #disability #InvisibleDisability #TBI #InvisibleDisabilityRights #DownSyndrome #BrainInjury #EndAbleism #AbleistHateCrime #accommodation #CommunityIntergration #stigmatude #TearDownTheWall
#DOE #action #DepartmentOfEducation

@actuallyautistic @disabilityjustice @disability

The #Jakarta government must involve #disability organizations, especially those working with persons with #DownSyndrome, in expediting the drafting legislation on #GenderViolence https://en.antaranews.com/news/276264/disability-organizations-needed-in-drafting-tpks-derivative-laws
#GenderBasedViolence #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #WomenWithDisabilities #InclusionMatters #inclusion #DisabilityJustice #VAW #VAWG

One of my interests is also studying how chronic illnesses can impact the #mentalhealth of individuals and their #caregivers. This #metaanalysis investigated the familiar #psychopathology of people on the #autism spectrum (PAS). Our main finding is that mothers of PAS had higher #depressive symptoms than mothers of people with atypical #development (e.g., #ADHD, #DownSyndrome, and #cerebralpalsy).

Free access until May 3rd, 2023: https://lnkd.in/g7qR3nU2

Vuestras sonrisas han sido luz hoy en el parlamento europeo.
RT @EUforTrisomy21: On #WDSD, we are Breaking Down Stereotypes One Cup at a Time all over Europe.
Here are some photos from our celebration at the @EuropeanParl with @RobertaMetsola , @MiriamMLex, @MargaPisa and many more MEPs joined EU for Trisomy 21 and many awesome people with #DownSyndrome

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/MargaPisa/status/1638278265403068422

RT @EUforTrisomy21: On #WDSD, we are Breaking Down Stereotypes One Cup at a Time all over Europe.
Here are some photos from our celebration at the @EuropeanParl with @RobertaMetsola , @MiriamMLex, @MargaPisa and many more MEPs joined EU for Trisomy 21 and many awesome people with #DownSyndrome

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/MargaPisa/status/1638277578099236867

RT @steppingni: #worlddownsyndromeday we believe that people with disabilities have the right to be treated fairly and have the same opportunities as everyone else. We see everyone’s potential and believe that people with disabilities can thrive in a nurturing environment #DownSyndrome

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/DianeDoddsMLA/status/1638269151767678995

Osobe rođene sa #DownSyndrome hrabri su i neustrašivi borci kojima moramo pružiti podršku u svakodnevnom životu koji ponekad nije lak zbog predrasuda okoline. No, ako im damo priliku, otkrit ćemo njihovu kreativnost i sposobnosti koje imaju te neizmjernu ljubav koju daruju svima.

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/marijana_petir/status/1638261463037952001

Happy World Down Syndrome Day! 🎉

Let's celebrate the extraordinary individuals with #DownSyndrome who enrich our lives in countless ways, and recognize the challenges they face and the need for greater inclusion and acceptance in our society 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽💙🇪🇺

#WorldDownSyndromeDay

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/MonicaSemedoLux/status/1638236174987698191

#HorizonEU @ICOD_Project is developing the 1st pharmacological therapy for cognitive impairment in people with #DownSyndrome

The project aims to perform the first-in-human clinical trials and to make it accessible to patients worldwide

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/EU_HaDEA/status/1638097343403683841

Some conditions, such as obesity, appear at a much higher rate in individuals with #DownSyndrome

#H2020 @GO_DS21 investigates the underlying causes of these pathologies to better understand, treat and prevent them and to improve the quality of life of people with Down syndrome

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/EU_HaDEA/status/1638097341541502977

RT @PES_PSE: On World Down Syndrome Day we renew our pledge to ensure that everyone must be given opportunities in our society.
Strong healthcare and education systems are key to promote the growth and the development of every person with #DownSyndrome.

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/PES_CoR/status/1638127659744985090

Obilježavanjem #WorldDownSyndromeDay pružamo ruku i podižemo svijest o položaju osoba s #DownSyndrome. Zajedno moramo učiniti više da poboljšamo uvjete za njihov rad, obrazovanje, zdravstvenu zaštitu i uključenost u naše društvo.

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/AndrejPlenkovic/status/1638119339202052097

Mum offered abortion at 38-weeks for son with with Down’s syndrome #abortion #downsyndrome #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4V0y-_o-Q

Mum offered abortion at 38-weeks for son with with Down’s syndrome #abortion #downsyndrome #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4V0y-_o-Q

Mum offered abortion at 38-weeks for son with with Down’s syndrome #abortion #downsyndrome #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4V0y-_o-Q

Mum offered abortion at 38-weeks for son with with Down’s syndrome #abortion #downsyndrome #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4V0y-_o-Q

Mum offered abortion at 38-weeks for son with with Down’s syndrome #abortion #downsyndrome #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu4V0y-_o-Q

Lego expands #DisabilityInclusion with characters representing #DownSyndrome, limb differences, anxiety, #vitiligo and more – including various skin tones, non-visible #disabilities and #neurodiversity https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2023/02/24/new-lego-sets-feature-characters-with-a-range-of-disabilities/30256/
#diversity #RepresentationMatters #WomenWithDisabilities #InclusionMatters

Student with Downs Syndrome Excluded:

A post by @JDS linked an article about an Alabama elementary school girls basketball team that won the championship in a boys league.  Despite defeating all the boys teams they faced enroute to the top, the league refused to award the trophy to the girls team.  As if this example of “exclusion by bigotry” was not enough to get the juices flowing, the article linked another #disability related story that I couldn’t pass up.  So much for easing back into it.

Morgyn Arnold, who lives with down syndrome, worked as the manager of her Junior high school’s cheerleading team. The cheer team at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton, Utah, chose to take two team photos; one with Morgyn and one without.  The photo excluding her is the one used on social media and printed in the yearbook.  Her name was not even mentioned as part of the team.  Despite all of her “hard work and dedication to the team”, she was excluded .

 According to a relative of Morgyn's,  this “was the second time in three years” that she had “been left out of the yearbook” and had been left off the class list of students by the school in the past.  The school issued a statement on social media that was later deleted.  Is that the “swooshing" of brooms I hear?

I personally have had a similar taste of this elixir of exclusion during my time broadcasting for one university hockey team.  Among the numerous discriminatory and ableist acts I experienced, I too was never mentioned or thanked in anyway by that team.  I felt as if I was a dirty secret or that the team that raved about my broadcasts, was ashamed of me. 

The big difference? Down Syndrome is not one of my disabilities and I was not 14 years old like Morgyn.  Even with my experience, I can’t imagine how she must have felt being subjected to these patronizing, demeaning and deplorable ableist acts of exclusion.

In the mind of the offenders, exclusion, discrimination and bigotry doesn’t have to make sense.  Oftentimes, they assume the people living with invisible, developmental or intellectual disabilities to be clueless or lacking reason and intelligence.  In actuality, this type of behavior and “stigmatude” suggests that perpetrators may be lacking in some of these areas.

For this blatant act of ableism and oblivion to inclusion, Community Intergration and equality I have no cheers, only jeers.
“HIP HIP! Shame on you.”

OutOfExile_IDR #InvisibleDisabilityRights

Link to the article and photos: https://www.ibtimes.sg/utah-school-under-fire-after-leaving-student-down-syndrome-out-cheerleading-team-photo-claims-it-58223?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=related

#EndAbleism #EndBigotry #InvisibleDisabilities #IntellectualDisabilities #DevelopmentalDisabilities #DownSyndrome #CommunityIntergration #inclusion #equality #stigmatude

@disabilityjustice @disability