We're no longer invisible': Parents of children with disabilities speak out
These are just some of the many families that filled my inbox and voicemail with their own stories after reading about the plight of similar families in “Falling Off the Cliff,” my four-part series about adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the challenges they face as they age. So many families are eager to tell their own tales of love, heartache, hope and frustration on behalf of their disabled loved ones.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/intellectual-developmental-disabilities-caregivers-idd-20171211.html
“We’re no longer invisible,” he wrote.
Each family is different, but they all face the same challenge: the systems and supports that are supposed to help them are rife with unpredictable caregivers, sloppy agencies and wavering government funding.
“Falling Off the Cliff” has bumped their plight above the radar, says Pa. State Rep. Thomas Murt (R., Montgomery), who has authored four bills that address the state’s funding for services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Everyone in Harrisburg is talking about it,” says Murt.
But these families don’t need more talk. Talk won’t help them hire the best home health aides, transport their kids to the right therapies or secure the most appropriate housing for their loved ones.
Instead of more blab, they need for Murt’s bills, which have bipartisan support, to be given a hearing in the House Finance Committee, where they’ve been collecting dust since February. Rep. Bernie O’Neill, who chairs the committee, did not return my call asking what the foot-dragging is about.
This is a four part series and doesn't transfer well to DU's format. You can start the series at the link below. Kind of disgusting since these bills languish in our state legislature while an abortion bill gets fast tracked.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/intellectual-developmental-disabilities-caregivers-abuse-falling-off-the-cliff-part-1.html
