Courting the “special needs vote”


Posted by Beth Finke on October 28th, 2008

Our son turned 2 right before the 1988 presidential election. Gus was enrolled in our local Birth to Three Early Intervention Program then, and would be entering the world of special education at our local public school the next year. If Michael Dukakis or George H.W. Bush had mentioned “special needs” in a speech or debate in 1988, I …Read More » »

Autismvox in Newsweek


Posted by Beth Finke on October 23rd, 2008

When you get a chance, check out this article in Newsweek about Kristina Chew’s reaction to Sen. John McCain’s mention of autism in last week’s debate. You might recognize Kristina Chew’s name — she writes the Autismvox blog. I read that blog almost every day and have referred to it many times in my posts here.

Kristina Chew is …Read More » »

Confusing Down Syndrome with autism?


Posted by Beth Finke on October 16th, 2008

After last night’s presidential debate, a post on a blog called Inside Autism wondered, “Does John McCain think autism and Down syndrome are the same thing? A lot of bloggers think so.”

That got me curious. After a bit of searching I found other blog posts on the subject, including this one from Brian Beutler’s Debate liveblog:

John McCain …Read More » »

Campaigning with a child who has special needs


Posted by Katy Beh Neas on September 8th, 2008

I’ve been part of some interesting conversations about Senator John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for vice president and the fact that she has an infant with a disability. I guess I’m not alone — a story in today’s New York Times says the country is buzzing about Sarah Palin and her infant son Trig.
No one has ever tried …Read More » »

Gov. Palin pledges to make U.S. more welcoming to special needs kids


Posted by Beth Finke on September 4th, 2008

Ever since Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) announced Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate last Friday, much has been made of her choice to have a baby she knew would be born with Down syndrome. Sarah Palin talked about her son Trig in her acceptance speech last night at the Republican national Convention:

You know, from …Read More » »