Overwhelmed and Underpaid

I am just passing along this email received from the Halifax Association for Community Living.

Because it's a very important issue.

Hi Families and Friends,

One more email before I get out of your hair today! This story is about Toronto, where the waitlist is 8 months for housing. This is our story in NS and even worse. The housing options issue is of monumental proportions with 650 people on the waitlist in Nova Scotia, and a 4 to 5 year wait. The comments on this news story are very telling as well.

You may want to forward this on to your MLA, the premier, the party leaders and the minister of Community services, and share your story as well. I will list the emails for these people:

Percy Paris NDP Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank percy@percyparis.ca

David Wilson NDP Sackville-Cobequid dave@davidawilsonmla.ca

Keith Colwell Liberal Preston colwelkw@gov.ns.ca

Michèle Raymond NDP Halifax Atlantic mhraymondmla@eastlink.ca

Howard Epstein NDP Halifax Chebucto hepstein@ns.aliantzinc.ca

Leonard Preyra NDP Halifax Citadel-Sable Island preyra@eastlink.ca

Diana Whalen Liberal Halifax Clayton Park whalendc@gov.ns.ca

Graham Steele NDP Halifax Fairview graham@grahamsteele.ca

Maureen MacDonald NDP Halifax Needham mmacdonald@navnet.net

Mat Whynott NDP Hammonds Plains - Upper Sackville mat.mla@ns.sympatico.ca

Andrew Younger Liberal Dartmouth East info@andrewyounger.ca

Trevor Zinck Independent Dartmouth North tzinck@ns.aliantzinc.ca

Marilyn More NDP Dartmouth South - Portland Valley marilynmoremla@ns.aliantzinc.ca

Darrell Dexter NDP Cole Harbour ddexter.mla@gmail.com; premier@gov.ns.ca

Becky Kent NDP Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage kentbj@gov.ns.ca

Kelly Regan Liberal Bedford-Birch Cove kelly@kellyregan.ca

Denise Peterson-Rafuse Minister of Community Services DCSMIN@gov.ns.ca

Take care,

Yvette Cherry
Halifax Association for Community Living
Family Support Facilitator
www.halifaxacl.com
463-4752 Ext.2

HACL Mission Statement
“We believe that all people should be accepted as responsible, contributing members of their family and society.”

"... To Each According to His [or Her] Need"

Show of hands, please.

How many of us have had dealings with any of the programs under the Province's Services for Persons with Disabilities Program?

It might have been Direct Family Benefits (formerly known as In Home Support), Alternative Family Support or Independent Living (formerly known as Supported Apartment). Or perhaps it involved Small Options, Group Homes/Developmental Residences, Residential Care Facilities, Adult Residential Centres or Regional Rehabilitation Centres.

Anyone? Anyone at all? Yeah, I thought so.

For those of us so blessed, how many have been told that the amount of respite available to your family member is capped at a certain amount or that the Department of Community Services will only pay $10 per hour for respite workers and, if yours happen to charge more, well, so sorry but you will just have to make up the difference yourself?

I see those heads nodding.

How about this one - anyone ever been told (and I mean told) that the government is not obligated to provide these programs, that they do so voluntarily. With the implicit undertone being Do. Not. Rock. The. Boat. Do. Not. Push. Us. Too. Far. Or. You. Will. Find. Yourself. Without. Any. Help. Whatsoever.

Well, then, you're sure to really appreciate this March, 2011 decision from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.  Check it out. You're going to love it. Trust me.

But first, let me ask you this - how many times have I suggested that we need to help one another, to stand and work together when it comes to getting the system to meet the needs (and respect the rights) of individuals with disabilities and their family members? I only ask because, to me, this decision is a prime example of just how (and why) that works.

Anne Boudreau went to court to get her son and herself the help they desperately needed, the help the government refused to provide. But in winning a victory for Brian and her family, she also won a victory for you. For me. For all of us. Which explains exactly how I view the world - anything I do for one of my children, I do for other children. And anything I do for another child or family, I do for my children and family.

Brian Boudreau has autism and requires 24/7 care. To assist with this, his mother received money to pay for part-time and full-time personal care workers from the Services for Persons with Disabilities (SPD) Program. But the Boudreaus were unable to keep these workers because they couldn't pay a sufficient hourly rate. Needless to say, this constant turnover was not in Brian's best interests, particularly given his very high level needs.

Receiving funding of only $10 and $12 per hour respectively for part-time and full-time workers [the hourly rates set by the Department, which have remained unchanged since 1998], when the average hourly wage in their area was $14 per hour plus benefits, it shouldn't have surprised anyone when they went through seven workers in the span of one year.

Her request for extra funding to allow her to pay $12 and $15 respectively to the part-time and full-time PCWs denied, 

["As you know the Direct Family Support program bases its respite amount on $10 per hour. Unfortunately Services for Persons with Disabilities (SPD) staff have not been authorized to increase this hourly amount at this time. In regards to the possibility of increasing your monthly amount, in order that you can use the additional funding to pay extra per hour, SPD has not been authorized to allow any increases which result in payments exceeding $2200 per month. As Brian’s current respite allowance already exceeds $2200 per month no increase may be authorized at this time."] 

Mrs. Boudreau appealed. And although initially unsuccessful, she was successful at the second appeal level, to the Assistance Appeal Board.

The Board found that although neither the directive [in November, 2009 a directive had been issued from the Director of the SPD program limiting DFS program approval levels for respite funding to $2200 per month] nor the policy [which also limited DFS respite funding to $2200 per month] supported the appeal, neither was there any Regulation under the Act to support the directive or the policy. [You can find a discussion of how that interaction works from a legal point of view here.]

Instead the Regulations provide a guide to the intention of the Act, which allows for variance from policy and directive when it was in the best interest of the client. Sound familiar?

Not surprisingly, this result did not please the Department, who promptly took the matter to court.

Because the Board had found that Brian was entitled to the additional funding under the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act (ESIAA), one of the issues before the court was which of the three possible pieces of legislation [the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act (ESIAA); the old Social Assistance Act ("SAA"), which was effectively gutted when the ESIAA was proclaimed; or the Homes for Special Care Act] govern the SPD Program. Or, perhaps it was as the Department argued, that the Program is something done out of the goodness of their heart, with absolutely no legislative authority?

For those of us less legally inclined, I am going to provide the summation of what this case actually decided here. Those with interest can read on to see how the court came to the conclusions it did.

In other words, pay attention. Here's the important part.

In the words of Mr. Calderhead*, the Boudreau decision is very important for at least four reasons.

1. It settles, once and for all, the question of whether the SPD program is authorized by legislation (it is!) and which legislation (the Social Assistance Act and the Municipal Assistance Regulations).
2. It makes it clear that there is nothing voluntary about the SPD program. That is, once eligibility for services has been shown/accepted, a legal entitlement arises automatically.
3. Further, as with any other “assistance” under the Social Assistance Act, eligibility triggers not just a right to that assistance but one that is to be immediately provided.
4. Generally, the SPD Program will fall under the ‘special needs assistance’ provisions in the Social Assistance Act and, in situations where the legislation does not stipulate a maximum amount for such assistance, the Department should be paying “reasonable” amounts sufficient to meet the need.

Mr. Calderhead also notes that this decision establishes that the Department of Community Services must provide a per diem rate that is reasonable. In the Boudreau case, that was found to be $15.00 per hour for a full time employee, and $12.00 per hour for a part time employee.

Now, for those of you brave enough to venture further, you can READ MORE.

RDSP Survey Results

A while back, PLAN conducted a survey about people's experiences and concerns with the RDSP. The resuts of that suvey can be found here.

And I'm happy to say that given the few changes that were announced to the RDSP in the last budget, perhaps they are making headway.

One. Step. At. A. Time.

The More Things Change...

I was having a conversation with another parent yesterday about the education system. And she relayed a comment from a friend of hers to the effect that we are still fighting about the same issues as we were 20 years ago.

I don't know about the 20 year part but I do know I first brought this story to you back in July, 2008 - nearly four years ago.

Subject: Family needs support

Importance: High

There is a young woman who lives in the community with another family. She has lived with this family for over 5 years and there are extra supports provided to meet her needs. Community Services agree that she has made progress. She wants to stay there. Her own family wants her to stay there. The family she lives with wants her to stay. Her doctor has written to Community Services to say she should stay.

Community Services are opening the new institution in Lower Sackville next month. They have told the Mom that the young woman must move to the institution when it opens. They have told her, and repeated it today, that they will withdraw funding if she refuses the move.

Ring a bell?

Well, the good news is that that situation was resolved. In 2008.

The bad news? It's back. Again.

Brenda Hardiman's 24 year old daughter is diagnosed with a organic brain disorder, conduct disorder, epilepsy and right sided cerebral palsy. This is her story:

Brenda Hardiman's daughter has lived with an alternative family, for 10 years, through the Persons With Disabilities Program, Nova Scotia Department of Community Services. Four years ago the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services tried to force her move to an institution in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. With the assistance of the Nova Scotia Association for Community Living we were able to stop this from happening.

We are at the same place, four years later. They are forcing her, once again, and this time I'm afraid they're winning. I don't know if I have the stanima to go through this yet again. To go head to head with the Province again. It's so stressful.

My daughter's alternative family wanted to provide some separation between their work and personal lives by continuing to care for my daughter in a home for special care rather than in their home as they have cared for people, in their home, for 18 years. The Nova Scotia Department of Community Services denied their request to license them in this capacity. Their justification was that they had to put submit a request for proposals. But since there is a mortitorium on this type of care, they couldn't. This is their underhanded way of institutionalizing my daughter.

As a side comment, I picked this situation up in 2008 from an email I received. I picked it up today via FaceBook. Perhaps that's a step forward, in that we now have social media to spread our message.

But back to Brenda's story. What are we going to do?

In the words of Laurie Lawson, President of CACL:

NS is the one province that openly endorses institutions and feels they are appropriate. They are forcing individuals into institutions rather than providing the supports to live in community. Brenda received word yesterday that her daughter will be institutionalized May 3rd. Enough!! Time to mobilize and stop this practice in NS!

I'm sad to say that at this point in my life, (or at least this week month),  I just report the news. [Yeah, yeah, I know. I've barely been doing that lately.] Do with it what you will.

What's Up Your Sleeve?

It looks like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities might have been put to good use in Nova Scotia this past week.

I've said before that, in my opinion, the best use of that Convention might be in the moral suasion if offers advocates when dealing with government officials. At all levels of government, apparently.

At least that's the way I read the news that Bridgewater has agreed to change its zoning bylaws to allow LaHave Manor Corp. to open a new group home.

In case you're not familiar with the story, the LeHave Corporation intended to purchase a property that was felt to be ideally-suited for use as a group home (single level, wide hallways, open living room and wheelchair-adapted), particularly for three individuals that have lived together for over 18 years. The plan was for these individuals to move together to this home.

Well, that was the plan until neighbours started complaining and the town of Bridgewater decided that the property couldn't become a group home because it violated zoning bylaws. Zoning bylaws that allow for what's known as "low density residential housing". More commonly known as single family dwellings.

Apparently, the Town viewed three people living together in the community as an "institution". Which means that either the Town of Bridgewater has even less of a concept of what community living means than the Dept. of Community Services or they simply didn't want to upset the sensitivities of their good citizens who are more ... sensitive.

At any rate, what I found most interesting about today's new story was these comments from the Town's press release:

"Bridgewater prides itself on being an inclusive community and as such wants to incorporate the intent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," the release said. "We acknowledge that the rights of disabled persons are equal to the rights of any other person in our community."

Which makes me think that, in additional to the groundswell of public support from across the country, someone did some smart advocacy work by pointing out to the good Council that, like all levels of government in Canada, it, too, is bound by Article 9 and Article 28 of the UN Convention.

A handy little document to have up your sleeve, no?

Moving On

Just a reminder that I will be giving two presentations in Clare this Saturday, March 31st . The first will be on the Henson Trust and the second is entitled "Supported Decision Making and Legal Guardianship in Nova Scotia".

The event is graciously being hosted by the Clare ACL and wil be held at L'Atelier de Clare,
# 7711, Hwy 1, Church Point from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.

Next week, I take on the task of preparing guardianship papers for my own daughter. And then, then we will get back to some more posting here.

Always lots of stuff a'happening.

A Fond Farewell to a Very Good Friend

Shortly after noting that writing has been light here, I stumbled across some very sad news. The man who started me blogging in the first place (known as your "blogfather" in the blogging world) died suddenly and very unexpectedly on March 6th.

I know that fact has nothing to do with either disability or the law, but I share it hoping you will understand when posting likely doesn't pick up any too quickly.

And because it only seems fitting in a way - there were two people, totally unknown to the other, whose actions resulted in the birth of this blawg and Lex was one of them. He got me blogging on The Flight Deck, which gave me a comfort level with the whole idea, so that although at first it sounded a little wacky when Blair suggested I start to blog on these issues, it wasn't out of the realm of the possible. Blogging, yeah, I knew how to do that.

It also goes to show, I suppose, that, like all of us, I have (or at least try to have) a life outside of disability issues, way outside of disability issues. Hopefully, we all have other interests or hobbies. Have them. The time we may get to spend on them, being an altogether different matter.

So as a little peak into the other side of my life ... my interest in flight and my love of reading various thriller books (particularly, at the time, those by Tom Clancy) ultimately led to my attachment to a very special blog written by, of all people, an American naval aviator.

I know ... who would have thought it?

But that man, I tell you, that man could write. And not only could he put you in the cockpit with the young aviator trying to manage his first night traps on a carrier, no matter what he spoke of or about, it almost always felt like he was speaking to you. Directly to you.

He wrote a lot on current events (aka politics), too and although we often didn't see eye to eye (his politics being somewhat to the right of mine), it was always done in such a respectful, logical, reasoned and reasonable matter that you couldn't help but listen and at least try to understand from whence he came.

And he was always open to a different point of view; discussions could become heated at times but he would never allow them to denigrate into anything even remotely resembling those hateful swear-filled debacles that anyone who has spent much time online is all too familiar with. Not in his house.

"Attack the message, if you must, but not the messenger", he would say. And "We're all friends here", he would remind us.  Yes, friends we all were.

After 6+ years I came to know Lex more than a bit, from email correspondence, from reading his blog and from blogging on The Flight Deck.  I came to know how much he loved his family, how much he loved his country. And what kind of man (and officer) he was. And I am very, very sad to see him gone.

Rest in peace, Capt. Carroll "Lex" Lelon, U.S. Navy, Ret'd. And, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything.

I wish you knew my friend. Might I suggest you could do far worse than spending a few minutes reading this.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

So. All that being said, I came across this great article today, via Linked In, and I just had to share it with you.

Many (most, all?) of us are familiar with IPPs, no? And we know that the same documents in the United States are generally referred to as IEPs. Well, have you ever been motivated to write one yourself? Perhaps for your child's school? To, you know, help them meet appropriate outcomes and overcome their challenges?

Check out Gregory Branch's article entitled "If Schools Could Have IEPs..." and don't forget to read the additional "outcomes" set out in the comments. I needed a chuckle today. Perhaps you do too.

Where I'm At ...

A friend recently pointed out that I haven't been posting much on the blawg. No surprise there, I knew that. But after giving it some more thought, I thought an explanation might be called for.

First things first, I have not given up on this blawg. I cannot imagine ever doing so ... strange as it may sound, it's my baby. I have been doing this for over 4 years now and will continue to do it for many more. Perhaps for as long as it's needed. Wouldn't it be nice to work myself out of a job? Well, a girl can always dream...

But the reason I've been posting less often recently is two-fold:

• I recently took on some new temporary contract work. The work will only last a few months (and I'm pretty well half-way through it now) but it seems to be incredibly time-consuming. I'm actually enjoying the work (Learning Guide Facilitator for a portion of the Bar Admission Course - fancy way to say teacher/marker) but it seems to suck up the little "free time" I had. Fortunately, however, it won't be permanent.
• Secondly, my work situation is in a bit of state of flux at the moment. Between now and the end of April I will be ending my work as a digester for the Barristers' Library - sadly, they have made the decision to get out of the publishing business. But on a practical level, that means I am trying to do as much work for them as I can at the moment. The well will soon run dry.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I feel bad about not posting as much as I would like (as I've said before, the problem I generally face is lack of time, not lack of material) but I am doing my best to keep the "Places To Be" section  in the sidebar up-to-date. So might I suggest that if/when you check in to see there are no new postings, you scroll halfway down the page and check out "Places To Be".  You might just be plesaantly surprised.

HACL has been (and continues to be) busy with a series of workshops for parents - personally, I am looking forward to the Circles workshop on Saturday, March 24th.  There will also be an "Emotions to Advocacy "workshop on April 21st (material from Wrightslaw - I hope everyone is familiar with that site).

I will be giving another series of presentations on The Henson Trust and Supported Decision Making and Legal Guardianship in Nova Scotia on March 31st, this time in Clare, so if you happen to live down that way, I would love to meet you!

And who could forget the Autism Awareness Centre's Workshop coming up April 13th and 14th.

And for something totally different (at least I've never seen such a thing before), a Big School" Here I Come! program will be held August 21 -23, with orientation on June 9th. For children with a physical disability or acquired brain injury (psst ... my experience is nobody sticks to those guidelines all that much - I would suggest giving them a call if you have a child with autism or intellectual challenges or ... you get the picture) entering elementary school in September 2012, the program is to give them a chance to work with a team of rehabilitation professionals on skills to increase their independence and prepare them for “Big School”.  Sounds cool... wish we had something similar when my two started school. Would you believe my youngest turned 16 today?  Where does the time go?

And that's just a taste of the items in the sidebar under "Places To Be". So please do check them out.

And hang in there with me ... we will be back! After all, where else would I go?

Step By Step ~ The Nova Scotia Legal Guardianship Kit

I have an idea percolating in my head and I would really appreciate your thoughts on it.

A participant in a recent Supported Decision Making and Legal Guardianship presentation suggested that they would like to see a workshop held on the Legal Guardianship Kit, itself; one where the Kit would be gone through step by step.

I am really excited with this idea (and sorry I didn't think of it myself!) and think it could be very useful, both for those who have already purchased the Kit but not yet taken the plunge and for those who have (and will) seriously consider the Kit but just aren't quite sure it's something they could do.

I have yet to figure out the logistics of exactly what this might look like but what I am thinking of at the moment is a small group (of no more than 10 people) where we would go through a power point presentation of each document in the Kit, one at a time, with the opportunity for questions to be asked and answered.

I realize that many people are intimidated by the Legal Guardianship Kit. But there is no doubt in my mind that although the process involves a fair bit of work, in many (most?) situations it is more than doable for the average person with no legal training. So I am thinking a workshop where we go through the Legal Guardianship Kit step by step might be just what the doctor (or lawyer) ordered.

Although there would be a fee for attending such a workshop, as it would involve a fair time commitment on my part (both in creating and delivering it), I have not yet settled on a price. However, at this point, I would like to gauge interest in such a workshop before proceeding with the work involved in creating it.

So what do you think?

Might such a workshop be something you would be interested in attending?

So Much To Post ...

... so little time!

I do have many, many things I want to share with you, dear readers.

From a question to see how interested some might be in a new little project I have up my sleeve to a post chock-full of highly "educatable" links, to information on a NBACL financial website, to more on the issue of obesity as a disability to ... well, you get the point.

Actually, that's part of the reason why I've mused about the possibility of using Twitter in the past - just to have the ability to post quick little notes on things that come across my desk, without having  to take the time to do a full blawg post.

At some later point,  a few of those things may get a more in-depth look in the form of a blawg post. But at least there would be less likelihood of things getting lost altogether. Because, yes, I must sadly admit, that  by the time I have a chance to get back and look at some items with an eye to a blawg post, I realize they're really too dated to bother with.

So, having said that, now seems a good enough time as any to ask yet again ... would anyone be interested in following me on Twitter for that purpose?

I can pretty much guarantee you that you would find a much more consistent (to say nothing of greater) flow of interesting things coming your way. Because the vast majority of the time, it's time and not material that I lack; blawg posts taking a fair bit more time to compose than they do to read. So tell me what you think.

And now, in penance for having not yet gotten to any of those things I still intend to share with you, I point you to the Places To Be List in the sidebar, which I did manage to update this evening with some new current happening events.

And with that, I will bid you a fond adieu. Until we meet again.
Which, you know, shouldn't be too long from now...

Good News

Shannon Appointed New CEO Human Rights Commission January 12, 2012 1:25 PM

-----------------------------------------------------

A Dartmouth native and the first quadriplegic to reach the North Pole is the new director and CEO of the Human Rights Commission.

David Shannon, Dalhousie University graduate, lawyer, author and human rights advocate, will take over the role effective immediately. Mr. Shannon has received the Order of Canada and Order of Ontario in recognition of his contribution to human rights.

"I'm very pleased that someone of Mr. Shannon's impressive background, experience and dedication will be leading Nova Scotia's Human Rights Commission," said Ross Landry, Minister responsible for the Human Rights Commission. "He will be a strong asset for the commission, and a strong advocate for human rights in this province."

Mr. Shannon is the author of Six Degrees of Dignity: Disability in an Age of Freedom. He was a member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, special advisor to the Canadian Paraplegic Association of Ontario, and has a private law practice. Before Mr. Shannon's historic North Pole excursion in 2009, he made a 9,000-kilometre, 197-day trek in 1997, to promote social inclusion for all Canadians.

"Nova Scotia has a deep and rich history of diversity," said Mr. Shannon. "I look forward to joining the many people across this province who, on a daily basis, contribute to creating a discrimination-free community."

Other recent appointments to the Human Rights Commission include Eunice Harker (Sydney), chair, and Donald Fraser (Kentville), Duncan Gould (Sydney), Colleen Prentice (Chezzetcook) and Joseph Tharamangalam (Halifax) as commissioners. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is an independent government commission that administers the province's Human Rights Act.

I went to Law School with Dave Shannon. Yeah, we must be getting old ...

I didn't know Dave real well but certainly knew him to see him and have been following his adventures with interest over the years. Actually there were several times that I came across things concerning Dave that I meant to post about but, unfortunately, it never happened. Alas, 'tis the story of my life ...

At any rate, I do hold out some hope that things might take a turn for the better at the Human Rights Commission with Dave at the helm. Hope does spring eternal, doesn't it?

Bully For Him

The main reason why I don't list a blog roll on this site is because I have yet too find very many (read any) good Canadian blogs dealing with special needs and the law. Let alone any such Nova Scotia blogs (good or otherwise).  And that matters, of course, because laws can very drastically between provinces, let alone countries.

But I came across a blog post today I would really like to share.

Gregory R. Branch is an attorney in California who specializes in education law, be it special education, school suspension, bullying ... you get the picture. And while his legal services won't be of much any good to you here in Nova Scotia, some of his expertise might just be useful.

In particular, this blog post I came across today entitled "What To Do If Your Special Needs Child Is Being Bullied". Although much of the content appears to be the usual suggestions offered parents in such situations, I particularly like like his comments about involving the child's Program Planning Team ("Schedule An Emergency IEP").

So check out the post and the rest of the blog.

Just be careful to remember that we most definitely don't have access to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") in Nova Scotia, with all the built-in due process and student and parent safeguards. Still, no doubt there's some good useful information buried there.

As an aside, I hope to get up some more education-related information in the next few days, particularly a list of links to some interesting Dept of Education documents.

UN Gives Nod To World Down Syndrome Day

UPDATE: Down Syndrome International is delighted to announce that a resolution to designate 21 March as “World Down Syndrome Day”, to be observed every year beginning in 2012, was adopted by consensus during the plenary meeting of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday 10 November 2011.

The United Nations is on track to officially recognize an annual World Down Syndrome Day starting in 2012.

A resolution to establish the awareness day on March 21 of each year cleared a U.N. committee by consensus last week. Officials say it will be adopted by the international body’s General Assembly in December.

The United States is one of 78 countries supporting the effort, which is spearheaded by Brazil.

Supporters said the date — March 21, or 3/21 — is significant because Down syndrome occurs when a person has three copies of the 21st chromosome.

Advocates from around the world have honored Down syndrome awareness on March 21 for the last six years. Earlier this fall, more than 12,000 people signed a petition to request U.N. recognition in an effort to bring extra meaning to the day. Per the resolution, member nations and private groups would be asked to promote Down syndrome awareness on the special day.

A similar U.N.-sanctioned day already exists to honor autism. In 2007, the international body named April 2 World Autism Awareness Day. Correction: This article has been modified to reflect that 78 countries sponsored the U.N. resolution to establish World Down Syndrome Day.

Visit www.worlddownsyndromeday.org for more information

By Shaun Heasley