A Day in the Life at Chicago Public Schools – Special Ed

A local story went national yesterday. A mother arrived at school to find her child separated from the other kids and wearing a garbage bag. According to the mother one official defended the practice by saying since there was no rule explicitly against it, it wasn’t actionable. Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools is cutting vast sums … Continue ReadingA Day in the Life at Chicago Public Schools – Special Ed

Two MacArthur Winners – A Medievalist and a Designer for People with Disabilities

I am a cynic about most high-prestige awards, institutions, and other fancy things. Somehow, though, the MacArthur fellowships (aka the “genius” grants) manage to please me every year. Whatever their process, which is mostly opaque, they find both high profile and low profile scholars and creators who just do outstanding work. We’ve had a good … Continue ReadingTwo MacArthur Winners – A Medievalist and a Designer for People with Disabilities

Inspiration Porn at a Chicagoland McDonald’s – I’m Hating It.

An act of kindness at a Chicago-area McDonalds has been getting a lot of attention over the last week. A customer, Destiny Carreno, saw an employee decide to close his till and go help a disabled man eat lunch. Carreno  took a picture, placed it on Facebook, and went viral. Her Facebook post has nearly … Continue ReadingInspiration Porn at a Chicagoland McDonald’s – I’m Hating It.

Call for Stories: Neighbors Trying to Control Your Disabled Child

Yesterday I published a brief post on Flowers v. Gopal, in which some rich California folks are trying to declare a neighboring autistic child a public nuisance. I’ll have more to say about the case, including answering the, “but but he wasn’t a nice kid!” comments I’m getting (short version: If he didn’t have autism … Continue ReadingCall for Stories: Neighbors Trying to Control Your Disabled Child

Happy Eid from a Rude Professor at Rutgers

Hey @rutgersu check this prof’s email to student asking to take off #EidAlAdha (student’s name removed upon request) pic.twitter.com/hMuZx1SyMB — Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) September 23, 2015 The above tweet details a snotty response to a student asking for an excused absence for Eid Al Adha. It’s rude. It’s arrogant. It’s demeaning. It implies that the … Continue ReadingHappy Eid from a Rude Professor at Rutgers

Flowers v Gopal – Rich folks try to declare autistic boy a “Public Nuisance.”

UPDATE 10/11/15: One member of the plaintiffs called me to offer their side of the story, which is that it’s entirely about public safety and not about autism at all; furthermore, they claim, they only sued because the defendants served them with a cease and desist letter, leaving the plaintiffs with no choice to sue. … Continue ReadingFlowers v Gopal – Rich folks try to declare autistic boy a “Public Nuisance.”