Well, it happened again.  Nearly two years from the time I posted this, my sister had to go to the hospital again.  This time, her group home staff noticed she wasn’t feeling well, something to do with her abdomen and her white count being elevated, so they took her to the local emergency department (ED) [...]

 …but I never really knew just how much until now. For a few years, I have talked about Florida Medicaid waiver funding and specifically how Florida ranks 50th out of the nation in funding for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I complain and fuss about how ashamed I am that these special people aren’t [...]

Florida legislators considering funding cuts for the developmentally disabled. 
House and Senate aren’t agreeing.
Balancing the budget on the backs of Florida’s most vulnerable, many of whom aren’t able to speak for themselves.
Sound familiar?  Well immediate action is needed today, and you, our advocates, can speak up!  Visit this Web site to take a stand.  Currently the Florida [...]

Ten days ago, we posted how Governor Rick Scott imposed an emergency order with dire cuts to funding for those with developmental disabilities. We are ecstatic to say last Thursday evening those cuts came to an end! 
Florida Senate President, Mike Haridopolos, and Florida House Speaker, Dean Cannon, came to an agreement in the budget that will fund [...]

As state legislatures are convening all across this country voting on budget measures and working on new laws for their constituents, the fight for those with the smallest voices- those with developmental and intellectual disabilities- is stronger than ever.  That’s why it’s so interesting to note two totally different reactions at the state level in recent [...]

Last Thursday, clients and staff at ARC Marion were going about their morning, business as usual, when the unusual happened.  While on break, a client in the Adult Day Training (ADT) job skills program got choked on a piece of food and started turning blue.  Staff immediately sprung into action preforming the Heimlich maneuver, life saving training each of [...]

**In honor of Veteran’s Day, I asked a former employee and Viet Nam veteran, Frank Champ, to be our guest blogger today.  Here is his story.**
Back 14 years ago I was offered a position with an ARC in Manchester, CT.  When the CEO interviewed me she admittedly was impressed with my credentials and began the [...]

In September a Florida father, James Willie Jones, was arrested and later charged with two second degree misdemeanors for storming onto his daughter’s school bus and yelling and threatening students who were bullying her.  He has since repeatedly apologized to the children affected who weren’t involved as well as the manner and tone with which [...]

I’ll be honest.  I don’t really like to read that much.  Maybe it’s because I got so burned out in graduate school having to read so many books cover to cover that weren’t that interesting to me?  Maybe it’s because I enjoyed watching Sesame Street and Electric Company better than reading Nancy Drew as a [...]

Yes, we mean it!  For the past 11 months we’ve brought you so many of our own stories and the stories we’ve  been seeing in the news.  Now it’s your turn… give us your stories.  Talk about issues that are pertinent to you.  Let us know your story, and we can make you a guest [...]

The following piece is adapted from the Florida Association for Rehabilitative Facilities (ARF) Medicaid Waiver cuts white paper for the developmentally disabled.  It gives a bleak but accurate picture of the cuts seen within the system over the past seven years.

In July 2003, the State of Florida Agency for Person’s with Disabilities (APD) adopted a [...]

In May, the state of Florida legislature sent a budget to the Governor’s office in Tallahassee that included 2.5% cuts across the board for Medicaid waiver services, specifically hurting providers that assist individuals with disabilities.  A grassroots effort was launched throughout the state on behalf of the agencies requesting that parents, board members and advocates [...]

In Tuesday’s blog I mentioned the link between Alzheimer’s and Down Syndrome that is so clearly predominant.  ARC Marion has 50 clients who live in our care 24/7 in group homes around our community, and many of them are Down’s clients.  Of those, at least a dozen have been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, even at [...]

Recently, the nation paused for a moment of reflection during the National Day of Prayer.  An organizer of a group on Facebook, Betty Greene, sent a message to participants that day that struck my attention.  Though I don’t know her, nor have I ever met her, I feel her message is worthy of reposting.  She [...]

It’s a pretty interesting life to be raised with a sibling with intellectual and physical disabilities only to grow up and work in an environment where people with disabilities are my peers all across the campus where my office is.  I have the privilege to see and interact with these extraordinarily unique and special people [...]

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an American Idol junkie.  Since midway through season 1 I’ve literally been hooked every January through June.  My husband has only been with me through the last five seasons and isn’t into music like I am, so he thinks I’m nuts.  I have, however, gotten his parents [...]

No sooner had I considered that someone in a political office needed to be vocal for those with special needs that I read about Rosa’s Law (U.S. Senate Bill 2781) where Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Michael Enzi (R- WY) have co-sponsored the bipartisan bill to replace the words “mental retardation” with the words “intellectual [...]

… I had.  No matter which party you are affiliated with or where your politics lie, there’s no denying you know the name Sarah Palin.  But many people in the Lower 48 states had never heard of her until that hot summer August 29 day in 2008 when John McCain announced she would be the [...]

Allow me to step back on my soapbox for a few days. 
Want to know how the Medicaid waiver works for the developmentally disabled in Florida?  This year, it goes something like this.  If you aren’t already on the waiting list, apply.  Get your name on the list and sit there for the next seven years [...]

The fact remains, there are certain people groups who frankly need assistance from the government.  As much as I hate to admit it sometimes from the political standpoint, without government assistance and intervention for certain folks, like those with developmental disabilities, they just wouldn’t receive the care and training they need.
However, just as we as [...]

Being the sibling of a developmentally disabled person means I’ve grown up around special people my whole life.  I’ll admit, ashamedly so, that I have not always been extremely comfortable around those folks who were just a little bit different than me.  I have grown and matured over the years, and working around these wonderful [...]

I recently watched a story on ABC’s Good Morning America about a group called Flame.  The touring band of 10 members is quite unique in that each of them has some form of development disability ranging from cerebral palsy to autism to blindness to mental retardation and other disorders.  They all attend the Lexington Center located in [...]

I had the privilege a few weeks ago to hear a touching story as told by Bill Gaither, acclaimed southern gospel writer, performer and founder of the Gaither Homecoming concerts that is sweeping the nation.  I have since received permission from the William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys about whom the story was [...]

I have a board member who is also a parent of an ARC client.  She’s been on my board for the past two years and has added a lot of insight to fundraising during her time with us.  However, this year she’s energized and empowered in a way I’ve never seen her.  When I asked [...]

A few years back our local United Way hosted their annual campaign kick-off celebration with a twist.  They brought in the comedian, Josh Blue, to be the guest speaker for the event.  Blue won NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006 partly because of his humorous jokes about himself.  He lives with cerebral palsy and said [...]

Since healthcare is such a hot topic right now, I thought I’d add a little insight from my perspective.  No I’m not going to talk about how the system is broken or how the insurance industry’s regulations and mandates have wreaked havoc on the way our physicians are able to practice medicine… what I do [...]

I can’t imagine being nonverbal.  I don’t mean like a baby trying to learn to talk.  My 15-month-old son babbles from time to time with a “ma-ma” or “da-da” thrown in just to get us really excited, but his aunt, my sister, who is 30 years his senior, jabbers similarly to what we hear from [...]