Of all of the things that have infuriated me about the McCain/Palin campaign this election season, it is that they seem to have blatantly used the fact that Sarah Palin as a special needs child (yes, that’s right, again I may not be politically correct, but as a special needs mom, that is how I feel about it) and yet, they have proposed nothing good to actually help special needs children or adults. She says she is an advocate, but if someone could please hand her a dictionary when they hand her the Constitution, then maybe she can learn what it actually means.
Obama and Biden actually have a plan, laid out on their website, while the McCain/Palin campaign has actually come out recently with a statement saying that they don’t actually have something to give in the area of special needs right now. Donna M. Jones, the national coordinator of Americans with Disabilities for McCain Coalition, actually wrote this recently.
"The McCain campaign does not have a vetted disability policy to release at this time. I also do not have any further information on when we might be releasing a platform discussing the senator's stance on issues that relate to people with disabilities. I understand that in this contentious political season, the needs of people with disabilities must be addressed as part of the policy conversation. It is my hope that we will be able to release a vetted policy from Senator McCain in the near future."
As a parent of a daughter that is special needs, I am disgusted, outraged, furious, etc, etc, etc. How dare they disregard my daughter and her needs as if she isn’t as important enough to even come up with a plan? I am sick of hearing that because Sarah Palin has a special needs son, she is the only one that can talk about it. Tell me, has she spent months in the hospital with her child? Or how about days of therapy sessions that are the only way our children can develop, cognitively and physically. Just as politicians are asked the cost of a loaf of bread. I would like someone to ask Palin the cost of a wheelchair. Or maybe one therapy session. Maybe she will get "back to ya" on that one.
On September 11 this year, Joe Biden was the first one that I have heard in this campaign to bring up the issue of special needs. Referring to his support of stem cell research, he made the following comment.
Biden said "I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy ... and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect." (cnn.com)
He went on to talk about the stem cell issue. The problem is that as soon as Joe Biden mentioned anything about special needs, he was admonished and told that he has reached a "new low". Ever since these comments were made, I have not heard the words ‘special needs’ uttered in the campaign. Except of course for John McCain mistakenly referring to Sarah Palin’s son having autism in one of the debates. It became so politicized and the issue has all of the sudden become taboo. So much so, that McCain/Palin now feel that they don’t need a plan at all.
All we have to do is say that "she knows all about it, her son is disabled" and that covers there ass. Well I am sorry Sarah Palin, but it doesn’t cover your ass with me. You said you are an advocate? Well give me a plan.
Maybe Sarah Palin needs to spend a little more time with her son to actually realize what it is that a special needs child actually needs. They don’t have the same needs as regular children. They need funding for therapy, equipment, teachers, activities, etc. For my child alone, our therapy cost per month is approximately $3000.
There is not enough funding, and Palin recently has proven how little she cares about the issues of special needs.
According to an article written by Adam Schrager from 9news.com in Colorado, Palin expressed her opposition to "proposition 51 which seeks to raise the sales tax by one cent on every $10 spent in each of the next two years." He went on to say that the purpose of this slight tax increase would be to "help the roughly 12,000 kids and adults in Colorado who currently are on a wait list to receive state services such as home nursing care and job training. They suffer from autism, Down syndrome and mental retardation." (Schrager)
You are not an advocate when you choose to deny the people that you are advocating for the exact things that they need. Palin needs to be called out on this issue. The media needs to not be afraid of calling them out on this either simply because she has a son with Down Syndrome. There isn’t one parent out there with a special needs child who would blame the media if the issue were brought up. It needs to be talked about. We love our children, and we are dealt a difficult card when it comes to caring for a special needs child. This needs to be an issue, just as healthcare is an issue.
If McCain and Palin want to do a "tour" in this country, forget "Joe the Plumber". Come to my house. See that my 2 year old daughter has so little muscle tone because of her genetic syndrome that she still cannot even hold her own head up. See that we spend almost every day of the week with therapists and teachers. See what my full-time job is. Maybe she could have done the tour last week when we were in the hospital for the 13th time in a year and a half because my daughter caught a stomach bug. Then maybe she will realize that supporting a $.01 tax is something that everyone should support, no matter what the party affiliation.