Special Needs React To Palin Promise
Promise To Be An Advocate
Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, told America in her acceptance speech that parents of special needs children, “would have a friend and advocate in the White House,” if she and John McCain are elected. Families affected by a myriad of mental, emotional, and physical challenges started asking just what that meant.
Internet blogs for those with special needs are full of praise and criticism - the bulk of that criticism stemming from folks asking for specifics rather than more rhetoric from Palin, whose youngest child Trig Paxson Van Palin was born with Down’s Syndrome on April 18, 2008.
One MSNBC blogger, Kathy Reschke from Westerville, Ohio, writes, “Let’s hear about policies regarding parental leave, child care assistance, early childhood education, work-family balance issues, children with special needs, equal and adequate wages, family support programs, and the obvious - maternal and child health care!”
Reschke continues to say that the Palin family has resources that other families simply don’t. She wants to know what a McCain/Palin White House would do for those without resources but with special needs family members.
Where McCain Has Been
In February of this year, Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, entered what is known as the “Autism Wars” when he told reporters covering a town hall meeting in Texas that he believes there is “strong evidence” that thimerosal, which is a mercury-based preservative once widely used in childhood vaccines, is responsible for a dramatic increase in autism diagnosis.
In March, the legislature in his home state of Arizona passed mandatory insurance coverage of up to $50,000 per year for children under age 8 for approved therapies. Children ages 9 -16 can get up to $25,000. This applies only to employer-purchased insurance benefits for companies with 50 or more employees.
McCain co-sponsored the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which freed up more than $1 billion over a five-year period for research.
And in his speech accepting the GOP’s 2008 presidential nomination he reached to parents of autistic children.
No Specific Details Yet
But as of yet, the McCain/Palin campaign hasn’t provided any specifics as to what Palin would do as Vice President.
Nationally speaking, Palin’s Alaska ranks second to last in terms of how many people with a disability live there.
According to March 2007 research at the University of Montana Rural Institute in Missoula that detailed the numbers of Americans experiencing a disability, the number of Alaskan residents with a disability is a little more than 83,000. Only Wyoming has a lower number with approximately 77,000. North Dakota’s disabled number was 98,000. That’s 25,000 more disabled people in a state with similar general population numbers of approximately 640,000 people living in North Dakota as compared to Alaska’s estimated population of 670,000. While Alaska is geographically larger than Texas, the Lone Star state dwarfs Alaska in this category with 3.6 million residents reporting some type of disability.
So, it hasn’t a big surprise that at least some Americans are wondering - perhaps rightly so - what the governor from a state with small population numbers meant by her promise.
Thus far the only official comment on the topic, other than a position statement on autism that is posted on the campaign’s website, has come via email to the Schafer Autism Report. The report is a subscription-driven email newsletter highlighting the latest stories, websites, and research information about the autism spectrum. It is written by Lenny Schafer, the adoptive parent of an autistic child, from Sacramento, CA.
In the Sept. 8, 2008 issue of his newsletter, Schafer writes that Maria Comella, Palin’s spokeswoman from the Republican Party, declined to elaborate on any specifics, but did release the following quote on Palin’s commitment: “She is going to be an advocate in the White House on multiple levels because she understands the issue, what’s needed and what works.”
Have a Little Patience
Grass roots constituents say give Palin a little time to get her platform together.
Laura Temple lives in Eagle River, Alaska. It’s a bedroom community to Anchorage situated along the Glenn Highway that leads from Anchorage to Palin’s hometown, Wasilla.
She doesn’t see a lack of campaign specifics to be a problem — at least not yet.
Why should politicos care about Temple — a mom from a town that barely gets much of a dot on the state map?
Because, Temple says, she identifies with Palin and because Temple is one active blogger.
“I might not be a hockey mom, but I am a football, soccer, dance mom,” she said.
Temple and her husband, Vic, are parents to 13 children — four of them are adopted.
Their home is a bit like special needs alphabet soup. Two children are autistic, another two suffer from the effects of drug and alcohol consumed by their biological mothers, and another has Cerebral Palsy. Several of the children — biological and adopted — are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. And just to make things more complex for Temple, who tries to juggle a myriad of therapy appointments and special diets, one of her children also is dyslexic, several suffer from emotional disabilities, and at least one other is mentally retarded.
But somehow through all the challenges her brood faces, Temple manages to stay in touch with a variety of web-based support groups and has contacts all across the United States.
She’s the mom of two U.S. Marines — both previously deployed to Iraq. She set up an Internet support network for parents of deployed service personnel. Temple is a member of several autism-related online support groups, ADD support groups, ADHD support groups, fetal alcohol support groups, and Cerebral Palsy groups. Her membership in the Orthodox Christian faith has given her contacts with people across the country.
And they are all asking her what she thinks.
“Ever since Palin was announced as the VP candidate, I have gotten maybe two or three hours of sleep each night just answering emails full of questions about her, what I think of her, and also trying to correct some of the false information out there about her and about Alaska,” Temple said.
Two Degrees Of Separation
No, she’s never met the governor. But in a state with such a small population base that six degrees of separation is more like two, Temple says she knows many people who know Palin and or have worked with her.
Just to show how easily folks can mix, here’s an example of how the Temple family rubbed shoulders with at least one of the Palin family without even intending to do so.
Last July, two of Temple’s daughters competed in the Miss Alaska scholarship pageant, which Todd Palin, Sarah Palin’s husband - affectionately referred to as the “First Dude” in Alaska - was one of the judges. Temple’s daughters both won scholarship money in the pageant, which is the Last Frontier’s affiliate of the Miss America program. One of her daughters, Veronica Temple, won the Miss Bear Paw pageant in Eagle River in 2007, long before the governor became a national celebrity. Veronica dressed in a costume — red jacket, black pencil skirt, conservative heels, and pinned up hair — resembled the governor so closely that members of the audience were unsure for a few moments if Palin really was on stage.
“But no, I have never met the governor or her husband,” Temple said.
That isn’t stopping her from supporting Palin.
Temple was a registered Republican up until three years ago when she switched her political affiliation to Alaska’s Veterans Party because she has close ties to the service community. She felt the Republican party locally was not doing enough to help veterans with medical issues.
She doesn’t see that Palin’s recent, personal introduction to the world of special needs as a liability.
“Palin comes to speed very quickly,” Temple said. “In some ways, it is an advantage for those of us in the special needs community to potentially have someone in the White House who is just at the beginning stage because she is going to be looking at the whole picture learning from the ground up.”
Official Declaration
Maria Roark of Anchorage agrees with Temple that Palin is an asset to the special needs community.
Roark is mom to two autistic children - one boy and one girl.
“As a fellow special needs mom, I was thrilled with the choice of Sarah Palin for Vice President,” Roark said.
She is a member of the Autism in Alaska online support group listed in Yahoo! Health Groups.
Last April, Roark wrote to Palin’s Juneau offices expressing her desire to see increased autism awareness in keeping with April being Autism Awareness Month. Roark reports that Palin made an official Governor’s decree for the state to recognize the month-long awareness campaign and sent her an official certificate.
“As you read some of the attacks on her since she was announced, you see how much people with special needs are still considered to be inconviences or to have a lower quality of life,” Roark said. “Having Palin working in the White House would be incredible for all the families in our great nation whom are raising children with special needs.”
A Good Start but Let’s See Long Term
Still not all special needs parents in Alaska are ready to jump on the Palin bandwagon.
Donna Davidson of Eagle River started and led the Alaska Chapter of the National Down Syndrome Congress for 13 years. Her son, Alex, who has Down Syndrome, is 23 year old.
She’s happy to see someone who is experiencing special needs first hand emerging on the national political scene. She’s just not sure how much of that personal experience will spill over into Palin’s politics and ultimately lead to positive changes for those facing disabilities.
“It sounds good,” Davidson said. “On one level we certainly do need people in the White House or at least high up there politically who do have some experience in dealing with special needs. But I am not sure she is there quite yet.”
Davidson notes that Palin is just beginning her journey as the parent of a special needs child — Trig is only a few months old. Palin and her family are just getting started with having to find therapists and deal with insurance companies regarding coverage for his needs.
“She may have some good understanding at this point, but it is only a starting point for her. I don’t think most new parents have enough experience to have the deep understanding of the time and financial commitment it takes to raise a child with significant special needs,” Davidson said. Not that she doesn’t hold out hope for Palin and her family to develop hands-on knowledge.
Davidson, a 38-year veteran of the pediatric physical therapy profession, said she would love to be Trig’s therapist. But Davidson’s offer of professional help or her hope that Palin will truly become a special needs advocate isn’t the reason Davidson said she would or would not vote for Palin. She hasn’t decided yet.
“I am more concerned in my political thinking about other platform issues,” said Davidson, who is not affiliated with any political party. “Still, we welcome the governor and her family to our local special needs community and we offer to her the same support we offer to all families.”
Where to Start
For now, Temple has a suggestion for Palin on where she could start making a difference.
The first thing she’d like to see is an increase in the wages paid to respite workers who care for special needs children allowing parents to take a break. Depending on the agency and the number of children under their care, a respite worker, who must pass a background check and complete a series of specialized trainings, earns $10-12 an hour.
“It’s not enough,” Temple contends.
“How can agencies attract quality people for that kind of money?” she asks. “It is barely over minumum wage. That’s the first thing I’d like to see Palin address if she is elected.”
At this point, it appears America may have to wait a bit longer to get specifics regarding what special needs issues will top the Palin agenda should she be elected to the position of vice president. As of Sept. 12, 2008, she’s done only one major network interview with Charles Gibson of ABC and it focused largely on foreign policy.
We have a list of questions for Palin regarding special needs that we will ask when her media handlers respond to our inquiries.
on September 16th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
As a mother of four wonderful children, two of them having autism, I think it its fantastic that we might have someone who has a special needs child in the White House. I don’t want my children to be favored, just protected and taken care of. Unless you have a special needs child, you just can’t comprehend what we live with every day. Even if you are a caregiver or an expert in the field, you are clueless to the day to day, hour to hour care. You get to go home, and get a break. I don’t.
on September 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Regardless of what services Sarah Palin has available for her son that some of us may not, a special needs child has touched her life. Therefore this issue is obviously going to be near and dear to her heart. She’s an intelligent woman whom I believe will fight to make sure that each individual with special needs receives the care that he or she needs to live a quality life.
on September 18th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I am the mother of 4 children two with autism. My 10 year old son James was denied public school in southern Colorado. I see Sarah Palin as a fake. I dont buy any of her lies what so ever. Hilary Clinton is a 180 degree turn from Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin forced rape victims to pay for there own tests in Wasilla. As governor of Alaska she not only committed fraud by claiming per diem while staying at home, she also vetoed over $275,000 in special olympics funding. Sarah Palin is a fraud and doesnt have my child at her best interest.
on September 19th, 2008 at 12:14 am
She may have the ability to relate to parents with special needs but does she have the ability to do something about it?
on September 25th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
While it’s understandable to think “Gee, I’m sure she’s going to do something for us– I sure would if I were in that role”– let’s stop that silly chatter right now. Those of us out here on our own loving and caring for those with disabilities know darn well what’s happening: a “grasping at straws” for many folks who see limited value to this women as VP, yet are desperate to hang their collective hats on something-anything-which would allow them to stomach her a bit better. News Flash: It’s insulting to us to have our kids and families used this way.
You want to do something good for people with disabilities? We don’t need or want your sympathy based on some “awe, look how cute Palin looks on stage with that baby”. We need your VOTES. Find out who has consistently, single-mindedly championed rights for the disabled for years and years. Look into the candidates’ EXPERIENCE with things like medicaid for the disabled; IDEA funding to educate our kids; SCHIP voting histories; PLANS for a healthcare plan that will most benefit our babies so they can get the therapy they need to speak, walk and hold a pencil to write their names. Ever try to get private insurance for an autistic child? News flash for McCain and Palin: My child is not a “pre-existing condition”– she is a citizen of this country, and you have no right to discriminate against her. We know you do not support BANNING discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. But your opponent does. Period. Have an autistic child? Did you know that Palin’s sister’s child is autistic– what, exactly, did Palin do for autistics in Alaska? What do Alaskan disability groups have to say about her– is she a champion? Lots of warm and fuzzy? No? Perhaps you should check out Obama’s website, because not only does he have a plan to help your child, he is also the only candidate I’ve seen to date who knows what the heck autistic spectrum disorders are, and has a position statement on it!! Give me a civil rights lawyer anyday to get some of those for my child.
Your vote is the most powerful tool you have to help the disabled in this country. If you’re note willing to use it to help us, please get out of the way and stop influencing others who might if they knew the truth. Vote the issues in November– and not the photo op. (Note to McCain/Palin: The term is special “needs”– not special interests.)
on October 7th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Thank you for submitting this article to the first edition of the Modern Families Blog Carnival.
on October 16th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Sarah Palin is NOT a friend of the special needs community. CNN reported that in Alaska, she cut the yearly budget for special needs funding by 62 percent. The statements and promises made by the McCain-Palin campaign are based in lies, and they are nothing but a slimy, disgusting way to lure the support of vulnerable families who will change their vote in a heartbeat if they think it means someone will help their children.
on October 16th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I am dad to a young son who has autism. I am excited with the choice of Sarah Palin. Gov. Palin tripled the special ed budget here in Alaska. She will fight for the rights of our kids.
on October 17th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Christina said it well, “I don’t want my child to be favored, just protected.” That’s my son & I in the photo in the above article ‘Have a Little Patience’, and I feel as Christina does, and have had the same concern as Heather expressed, “She (Palin) may have the ability to relate to parents with special needs but does she have the ability to do something about it?”
I have come to believe Palin is the right person, matched with McCain (who co-sponsored the Combating Autism Act [S.843], in which Early Detection programs, increased research funding, etc were laid out then. This “plan” Lisa refers to above is a weak repeat of that Act. E.g., “work together” (S.843 was a bipartisan act); “support universal screening” (in the act), “fully fund” (ah, here’s the battle ground, special INTERESTS issue), etc.
What concerns me is when you couple this with Obama’s participation in another bill. Research is greatly needed, but there is a double-edge to this dangerous sword. Stephen Mendelsohn put it sucinctly on Autism Vox:
“Obama’s position on disabled newborns contrasts sharply with the example of McCain’s VP choice Sarah Palin, who walks the walk and does not merely talk the talk here. The first right people with disabilities are entitled to is the right to live, at both ends of the lifespan, and a candidate who thinks that defending the sanctity of our lives from eugenicists is “above [his] pay grade” is manifestly unfit to be promoted to President of the United States.
When researchers one day find specific genes for autism, which candidate would be more likely to oppose eugenic elimination of autistics?”
ISSUES (and indeed they are supposed to be “issues”, and not “special interests”) abound. Obama’s autism “plan” also includes providing more of the $$$ for treatment to go thru the schools. I hope NOT. The schools barely provide 5% of my son’s program, and even less for my other special needs kids, and what we get is a struggle. That’s not to reflect negatively on those who are and have been helpful; but overall the school meets such a small part of his needs. Indeed, it is the PARENTS who need to be empowered to help their children through ACCESS to services that are arranged according to our childrens’ needs. Autism is an amazing disability which manifests uniquely in each child. Special Needs parents have had to face more than enough experts whose advice addresses a piece of the puzzle, but not the whole thing; it takes PARENTS to assess what their children need most because we live with them and we educate ourselves to THEIR needs. Indeed, it’s an issue where health care and education intersect, but to place that in the hands of the educational system which is already failing the TYPICAL children, we’re looking at a disaster for our special needs kids.
I want PALIN looking over the shoulder of Congress as VP and President of the Senate, she’s been closest to the PEOPLE and to their real cares, interests and needs than ANY other candidate. We’ll finally have a real person Inside for a change!
on October 18th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I see a lot of attacks on Sarah Plain from special needs parents. So my question to them is - what do you think Barack Obama will do differently for special education and special needs funding?
on October 21st, 2008 at 3:38 am
I am absolutely thrilled to see Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket! She is intelligent, feisty, ambitious, dedicated, and she’s a Real Mom! She has a genuine understanding of many of the concerns of parents with special needs children. I have been an advocate for special needs children in our community and in the public schools for many years. As a neonatal ICU nurse, I have seen infants with a wide array of disabilities. My heart goes out to those parents as they struggle to meet challenges they could not have anticipated. It is sometimes disconcerting to imagine how difficult it must be for many parents to support these special children in terms of their financial. medical, and educational needs. I am also the mother of three children, two that have special needs. My youngest is Autistic; he was diagnosed 14 years ago when there was little attention brought forth on this issue. I really had to be a “maverick” in my community to increase awareness and make changes happen to help my son, AND all those that came after him…. I don’t have to tell you about the current statistics on Autism! It is in all of our best interests to support the McCain/Palin ticket on many levels. A fiesty, dedicated voice in Washington from a woman who can personally relate to the needs of our children has my attention!!
on October 21st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
As a parent of an adopted child with Cerebral Palsy, I am thrilled about the McCain/Palin ticket! Does Sarah understand all of the issues about what being a “special needs family” is yet? No, not completely…but neither did any other special needs families when they began their journey. She will come to comprehend the issues over the next 4 years…her first 4 years as Vice President of the United States. What I appreciate is that she and John McCain are so driven to put special needs families in their platform each and every day. THAT, my friends is something we have never had the luxury of having before. Now, the comments alluding to the “photo op” is simply ridiculous. Those of us living every day with kids with challenges knows that nobody wants or asks to be in our position as a parent of a special needs child. Further, as a voting block, special needs families aren’t exactly going to further the McCain/Palin ticket! Sounds like some very bitter people to me.