On June 25, the U.S. House passed a bill to expand protections offered by
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by a vote of 402-17. If enacted,
the bill will effectively lower the standards courts use to determine whether
an individual falls within the protection of the Act. The bill seeks to expand
the notion of disability to include more physical and mental impairments,
including those that may be episodic, in remission, or controlled by medication.
The bill states that courts should usually not consider the effects of mitigating
measures such as medications or prosthetics, but instead consider
impairments that materially restrict a
major life activity when active to constitute a disability.

Supporters of the bill note that its passage may be particularly helpful for the increasing number of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with a wide range of disabilities. The bill is expected to pass in the Senate, although the White House has expressed concern that the measure could increase litigation.

Full Story: Robert Pear, House Votes to Expand Civil Rights for Disabled, New York Times, June 26, 2008, available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/washington/26rights.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=login

Harriet McBryde Johnson, known as a bold advocate for the disability community,
passed away on June 4, 2008, at the age of 50. Johnson drew national attention
for debating with Princeton professor Peter Singer over his views on euthanizing
babies with disabilities, and for supporting Congress's role in the
Terri Schiavo case. Johnson dedicated her life to improving the quality of
life for those in institutions.

Johnson was born with a degenerative neuromuscular disease, and was initially
enrolled in a school for children with disabilities. After taking special
education classes for many years, in an era before federal
rights to education for children with disabilities, she won the chance to
go to a regular private high school. She went on to earn bachelor's,
master's and law degrees and wrote extensively as an activist for the
disability community. When nonfiction seemed insufficiently effective to
convey her message, she then turned to fiction. She found that using a character
and fictional location was easier to talk about her childhood. Johnson's
first fictional novel was Accidents of Nature, about a teenage
girl's experience at a summer camp for people with disabilities.

Full Story:

Harriet McBryde Johnson, available at

http://www.nd.edu/~ndr/issues/ndr8/johnson/bio.html

Ed Morrissey, Harriet McBryde Johnson, RIP, June 7, 2008, available at

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/07/harriet-mcbryde-johnson-rip/

Dennis Hevesi, Harrriet Johnson, 50, Activist for Disabled, Is Dead, New York Times, June 7, 2008, available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/us/07johnson.html?partner=rssnyt

Wal-Mart stores agreed to a $300,000 settlement of a disability discrimination
suit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC
alleged that Wal-Mart's refusal to hire job applicant Steve Bradley
violated the ADA. Wal-Mart claimed that Bradley, who has cerebral palsy and
uses a wheelchair, would pose a safety risk in the Richmond, Missouri, store.
The district court dismissed the case, but the Eighth Circuit reversed the
dismissal, finding that the EEOC presented sufficient evidence to allow the
case to proceed to trial, and that employers bear the burden of proof to
establish that an employee or job applicant with disabilities poses a direct
threat to
the health and safety of others.

The consent decree, approved April 28 by the District Court for the Western District of Missouri, requires Wal-Mart to pay $300,000 to Bradley and to inform job service agencies in the area that Wal-Mart seeks to hire qualified individuals with disabilities. Wal-Mart also must inform job applicants of the consent decree.

Full Story: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Wal-Mart to Pay $300,000 to Rejected Job Applicant with Disability, April 17, 2008, available at
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/4-17-08.html

The six year-old International Spy Museum is now making its exhibits
more accessible for people with disabilities. The museum initiated changes
after a complaint in 2004 by a visitor who was blind. Some of the changes
include closed captioning of video presentations, a tour accompanied by a
guide to describe the exhibits, better seating areas for people using wheelchairs
in theaters and the café, lower bathroom mirrors, and a lower visitor's
desk. The museum has already spent $400,000 on improvements and plans to
make more changes in the future.

Full Story: Jacqueline Trescott, Spy Museum to Make Exhibits Accessible, Washington Post, June 4, 2008, at C08, available at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/03/AR2008060303489.html

Claiming protection under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because of mental
and physical disabilities, Matthew Fraser, a student at Tamalpais High School,
and his parents sued the school district for violating § 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act by not reasonably accommodating Matthew's disability. The Ninth Circuit
dismissed the case, however, because the Frasers failed to exhaust their administrative
remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) before
alleging a § 504 violation. Congress requires plaintiffs seeking relief
that may be under IDEA to exhaust IDEA procedures as if the action had actually
been brought under IDEA. The court ruled all of Matthew's alleged injuries
could have been addressed through the IDEA process, even though the school
district previously had deemed Matthew ineligible for special education services.

Opinion: Fraser v. Tamalpais Union School Dist., Slip Copy, 2008 WL 2338073
(9th Cir. 2008).

Parents of an eight year-old girl with an autism spectrum disorder sought
review of a determination made by an administrative law judge (ALJ) that her
school provided her with a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). K.S.
and her parents alleged that her IEP failed to include a number of services,
including speech therapy, one-to-one support, and behavioral and academic services.
Due to such deficits, the plaintiffs allege, K.S. made minimal progress, and
consequently was denied a FAPE.

The District Court for the Northern District
of California ordered the ALJ to reconsider its finding that K.S. has severe
mental retardation and thereby her academic progress was sufficient. The
Court found that the ALJ improperly relied on the defendant's expert witness, who did not have sufficient expertise to make such a determination. The case will be remanded to reflect the Court's
opinion, and to determine whether K.S. received a FAPE.

Opinion: K.S. v. Fremont Unified School Dist., 545 F. Supp. 2d 995 (N.D. Cal.
2008).

The District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in a March 7 decision
that the District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) failed its child-find
duty and consequently denied a student a free, appropriate public education.
The student, D.C., now five years old, registered in 2004 at a Head Start
center, where a referral was submitted to determine his eligibility for special
education services under IDEA. A series of due process hearings were conducted,
and resulted in Hearing Officers Determinations ordering DCPS to convene
student evaluation plans for D.C. However, DCPS failed to convene such meetings,
stating that it had been unable to locate D.C., who was not enrolled in the
public school in his school district.

The Court found DCPS's explanation without merit. IDEA requires state
and local educational agencies to identify and locate students who may be
in need of special services. In its decision, the Court noted that this duty
extends to all children in the state, including those attending private schools
and those who may be migrant or homeless.

Opinion: Hawkins v. District of Columbia, 539 F. Supp. 2d 108 (D.D.C. 2008),
available at

https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2007cv0278-21

People affected by spinal injuries often experience circulation problems
and other complications. A bike originally designed for Christopher Reeve
is now helping many people with paraplegia live longer lives. Electrodes
are attached to the patient's legs that send impulses to the legs to
contract and relax the muscles. Pedals on the top of the bike allow a patient
to exercise his or her arms without help. The bike, known as the Ergys 2,
has had remarkable results, including a 37% increase in heart pumping volume
after eight weeks of exercise.

Full Story: Longer Life for Paraplegic Patients with Superman Bicycle, ScienceDaily, June
11, 2008, available at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080603172558.htm

After searching unsuccessfully for an appropriate web browser for his six-year-old
grandson with autism, John LeSieur decided to make his own. LeSieur's
grandson, Zackary, became easily frustrated with all of the options and keys
of a computer and traditional web browser. The Zac Browser for Autistic Children
allows children to play games, listen to music, and do a variety of other
activities without the worry of violent or adult websites and distractions
such as pop-ups. The Zac Browser is free and available online for anyone
to use.

Full Story: Brian Bergstein, Grandfather Builds Web Browser for Autistic Boy,
ABCnews.com, June 3, 2008, available at

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WireStory?id=4988861&page=1

Hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius, are known to be nearly silent when
driving below 25 miles per hour, due to the quiet electric power source.
Two Stanford University graduate students, Everett Meyer and Bryan Bai, thought
this could be dangerous for pedestrians, especially for those with blindness.
After attending the Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship program at Stanford's
Graduate School of Business last year, Meyer and Bai developed speakers that
would be placed close to the wheels of hybrid vehicles and emit noise to
warn pedestrians of the oncoming vehicle. Similarly, the Pedestrian Safety
Enhancement Act of 2008, if passed, would require the Department of Transportation
to put minimum sound requirements on hybrid vehicles.

Full Story: Massie Santos Ballon, Students' Prototype Counters Quiet
Creep of Hybrid Cars, Stanford Report, May 28, 2008, available at

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/may28/prius-052808.html.

Vermont recently became the tenth state to pass a bill requiring private insurers
to cover prosthetic limbs to the same extent as other medical procedures. The
mandates, supported by individuals with amputations and the prosthetics industry,
seek to provide access to prosthetic limbs to a greater number of people with
amputations, the largest number of whom lost a limb to diabetes. The health
insurance industry opposes the efforts, arguing that the mandates amount to
a misallocation of resources, and will drive up costs and limit consumer choice.
A similar bill has been introduced in Congress.

Full Story: Dave Gram, Amputees Fight Caps in Coverage for Prosthetics, The
Associated Press, June 9, 2008, available at

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-06-09-prosthetics-insurance_N.htm.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital
have discovered a mutated gene behind an uncommon but hereditary disorder causing
epilepsy and mental retardation exclusively in women, known as Epilepsy and
Mental Retardation Limited to Females (EFMR). The researchers discovered that
females may carry both a normal and a mutated version of the gene, while men
may carry only a mutated gene and not be affected by the condition. The discovery
is the result of international collaboration between researchers in Australia,
the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, and Israel. Researchers hope
that knowledge about the gene will lead to discoveries for related issues,
such as autism and obsessive disorders.

Full Story: The University of Adelaide, Mutant Gene Causes Epilepsy, Intellectual
Disability in Women, May 12, 2008, available at

http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news26101.html.

A growing network of mental health experts is aiming to provide free services
to combat veterans and their families. The Give an Hour Foundation seeks
to gather 40,000 mental health professionals to contribute time and services
to returning veterans. A spokesperson for the group notes that of the 1.6
million service members deployed over the past seven years, an estimated
20 percent have experienced mental health disorders since returning. The
Give an Hour Foundation intends for its efforts to supplement those already
being made by the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Full Story: Leo Shane III, Group Offers Free Psychiatric Care to War Vets,
Stars and Stripes, May 20, 2008, available at

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,168170,00.html?ESRC=dod.nl.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability
Employment Policy held a conference on June 3 and 4 in Washington, D.C.,
titled A
Summit on Disability Employment Policy. Attendees discussed how the
global marketplace has given rise to reciprocal opportunities for both employees
with disabilities and businesses. Employees with disabilities can offer unique
approaches to problem solving and add to the diverse range of viewpoints
essential to any business's success.

Full Story: America's Business: The Power to Transform, Department
of Labor, June 2008, available at

http://www.dol.gov/odep/workingpartners/bsense.htm

The Michigan TeleWork Loan Fund is designed to provide loans for persons
with disabilities in Michigan who wish to use assistive technology in a home
office setting. The fund was created through a collaboration of United Cerebral
Palsy of Michigan and Option 1 Credit Union of Grand Rapids. Loans can be
sought for equipment like computers, furniture, appliances, and modifications
to homes and cars. The ideal applicant is either working for an employer
from home or looking to start a new business.

Full Story: Agency, Credit Union Start Fund to Help People with Disabilities
Set up Home Offices, Muskegon Chronicle, June 11, 2008, available at

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/06/agency_credit_union_start_fund.html

Two significant lawsuits regarding associational discrimination, the
discrimination a relative or caregiver of a person with disabilities may
experience, are pending in court. The ADA protects the rights not only of
persons with disabilities, but also those of people associated with people
with disabilities. In Peoria, Illinois, a woman claims she was fired by the
hospital where she worked after her husband, covered by his wife's insurance, was diagnosed with terminal
prostate cancer. In the second case, a couple alleges that their employer,
Pacificorp, fired them both to avoid paying for the treatment of their son's
brain tumor.

While cases like these are not uncommon, legal victory is not guaranteed.
The plaintiffs in these two cases must show that the relative or associate
is a qualified individual with disability under the ADA, and that a causal
relationship existed between the disability and the employers' decisions
to fire them.

Full Story: Lawsuits Test Disabilities Act, Yahoo! Finance, June 3, 2008,
available at

http://biz.yahoo.com/wallstreet/080603/sb121253243477142963_id.html?.v=1

Patrice Jetter, of Montclair, New Jersey, fought hard to earn her position
as a crossing guard in Montclair. Patrice spent her childhood and part of her
early adult life in the confines of psychiatric hospitals, where she taught
herself to self-advocate. After earning a diploma, Patrice sought a position
as a crossing guard in Montclair. When she was told she did not have the experience
to serve as a crossing guard, Patrice wrote to the mayor, insisting that she
could do the job. The mayor agreed, and Patrice went on to work as a crossing
guard for the next 13 years. Ms. Jetter now supports herself as an artist by
creating murals, drawing, and personalized clothing. As an advocate, she works
for Allies, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides services for people
with disabilities. .

Full Story: Wendy Sturgeon, Living Artfully: How One Disabled Adult Achieved
Her Dream of Independence, nj.com, June 12, 2008, available at

http://www.nj.com/helpinghands/index.ssf/2008/06/patrice_jetter_works_on_a.html

On July 14, 2008, Isaac Lidsky will become the first blind high court clerk
to grace the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court. The 29-year-old Harvard Law
School graduate was hired into the civil division. Lidsky says he draws inspiration
from Judge David Tatel, a blind judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit. He plans to use optical character recognition software, with
which he became familiar during his law school career, to meet the reading
and writing demands of the high court clerkship.

Full Story: For Blind High Court Clerk, the Sky's the Limit, law.com,
May 29, 2008, available at

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202421747827.

Young artists with disabilities are being invited to submit artwork that
they have completed in the last three years by July 11, 2008. VSA Art and
Volkswagen of America, Inc., are working together to award $60,000 to 15
finalists. Artists are encouraged to express motivational factors and emotions
in their work.

Full Story: Seeking Artwork from Young Artists with Disabilities, PNN Online,
June 10, 2008, available at

http://www.pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=8233&mode=thread&order=0.

For further information:

http://www.vsarts.org/PreBuilt/showcase/gallery/exhibits/vw/current/

John Kuhlman, an 84-year-old former professor of Economics at the University
of Missouri, now teaches English literacy to adult immigrants. Dr. Kuhlman,
who relies on a cochlear implant and lip-reading to communicate effectively
with his students, teaches on a voluntary basis in Asheville, North Carolina.
His students praise his patience and kindness.

Full Story: Nearly Deaf Professor Teaches English Literacy, One Student at
a Time, May 21, 2008, available at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/educat...nyt&oref=slogin.

Kendall Bailey is a 19 year-old swimmer seeking a bid to participate in the
Paralympics in Beijing this summer. Bailey has cerebral palsy and other physical
disabilities, which render him eligible to compete in the Paralympics, a competition
for athletes with physical disabilities. After first deeming him eligible to
participate in the Paralympics, officials on the United States Olympic Committee
attempted to disqualify him from the games by classifying Bailey as intellectually
disabled and not physically disabled.

Doubts surround the intentions of the committee's action, as Bailey
has both physical and intellectual disabilities, including autism and mental
retardation. When interviewed, Charlie Huebner,
the head of U.S. Paralympics, claimed he merely
sought to clarify Bailey's status so he would not
risk chances of being disqualified when he reached Beijing. Connie Shaw,
the young athlete's mother, suspects
that U.S. Paralympics wasn't willing to accept responsibility for handling
Bailey at the games. David Grevemberg, the International Paralympics Committee's
Executive Director for Sport and International Federation Relations, reviewed
the appeal and informed Mrs. Shaw that her son was not in danger of being
disqualified.

At the Paralympics tryouts in April, Bailey set the record for his classification's
100-meter breaststroke at 1 minute 15.8 seconds.

Full Story: A Disabled Swimmer's Dream, a Mother's Fight, The
New York Times, June 18, 2008, available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/sports/othersports/18swimmer.html?_r=1&ref=&oref=slogin

Senator Mary Landrieu added a $76 million aid package for people with physical
and mental disabilities who are now homeless because of Hurricane Katrina
to a supplemental bill for the Iraq war. Democrats are now trying to cut
the aid provision in an attempt to keep the cost of the spending bill down.
New Orleans' homeless population continues to grow as the housing
situation is not improving. Since the disaster in 2005, the homeless population
in New Orleans has doubled to about 12,000. Recent surveys indicate that
80 percent of people living in homeless camps have at least one physical
disability, 58 percent are affected by addiction, and 40 percent have a mental
disability. Nearly 20 percent are affected by all three. The aid package
includes 3,000 rent-aid vouchers for homeless persons with disabilities,
many of which are living in tent cities.

Full Story: Aid for Katrina's Disabled Homeless Population Could be
Cut, Facing South, June 6, 2008, available at

http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/06/aid-for-katrinas-disabled-homeless.asp

Many victims of Hurricane Katrina worry about more than just losing their
homes. A recent study published by the American Medical Association's Disaster
Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal showed
more than half of participants faced long term mental health distress. Researchers
found higher levels of distress in people who lived in an area that was greatly
affected and particularly unsafe after Katrina. Survivors with children were
affected more than those who did not have children. In interviews, those
with a community and a positive state of mind showed the most progress.

Full Story: David Abramson, Hurricane Survivors Experience Long-Term Mental
Health Distress, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness,
June 3, 2008, available at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/109748.php

Six New Jersey counties have collaborated with state agencies and other
groups to create a Special Needs Registry for Disasters. The state plans
to add four more New Jersey counties over the next several months, and ultimately
intends to include the entire state. Individuals with disabilities who may
need special assistance evacuating in the event of an emergency may register
online, by phone, or in person. The program is voluntary, confidential, and
free.

Full Story: Todd. B. Bates, Program Designed to Help People with Special Needs in Emergency, Ashbury Park Press, June 13, 2008, available at

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/NEWS02/806130452/1070.

Public
awareness of dyslexia in India has grown after the movie Stars
on Earth was
released. In this movie, a child with dyslexia is teased and taunted in school,
only to come home to parents who scold him for his poor grades. After viewing
the movie, many parents realized they too had children with dyslexia. Rahul
Mangla, a child with dyslexia, stated that by watching this movie, he learned
not only that he has dyslexia, but also that he "can overcome it with
the right kind of teachers. Legislation
passed by the Indian government encompasses visual, hearing, mental, and
physical disabilities but does not mention those with learning disabilities
such as dyslexia.

Full Story: Rama
Lakshmi, The
Pain of Dyslexia, As Told by Bollywood, Washington Post, June 4, 2008,
at A14, available at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...er=emailarticle.

An organization from the UK has launched a campaign aimed at highlighting
the capabilities of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the workplace.
Note that the term learning disability as used in this story
from the UK refers to persons who in the United States are considered to
have intellectual disabilities. Organizers hope that the campaign will challenge
attitudes and stimulate employment opportunities for job candidates with
intellectual disabilities. The campaign features posters of real people and
their resumes, illustrating the variety of skills they have to offer employers.
The organization, Mencap, estimates that there are 1.5 million people with
intellectual disabilities in the UK.

Full Story: Sarah Gaines, Campaign Launched to Help People with
Learning Disabilities into Work, Society Guardian, June 19, 2008, available
at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/19/mentalhealth.disability