Washington Post Article - Disability

[Anonymous]

Yesterday's Post had an article called "Generations Disabled" that I found pretty interesting. I have been lucky enough in my life not to have any experience with this sort of thing, but I really feel for the kids in this environment who are "labeled" and thus enabled to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does this cycle even stop?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2017/06/02/generations-disabled/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.dcd71507a0df

[Anonymous]

Everyone in the disability and antipoverty advocacy community is pretty furious with the WaPo and that article. Ditto for the recent NPR coverage on Hale, AL.

The problem isn't the benefits or people. The problem is much bigger: it's the failing American system that ignored the plight of failing communities, allowing the education system to fail and ignoring corporate abandonment. Plus, no real access to healthcare.

Imagine what your options might be if you were born and raised in a Podunk town with crummy schools, opioid addiction running rampant, zero jobs, and no hope. You can't "just move." These people don't have money or options.

Ever been to Selma, AL? That's a city...a city where Applebees wasn't willing to take the risk and open a restaurant because it wouldn't have a customer base equipped to eat out or entry level staff with sufficient literacy skills to run a cash register. And that's a city.

[Anonymous]

I feel bad for the kids. The parents sound like losers who mooch the system that was intended to help those in real need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday's Post had an article called "Generations Disabled" that I found pretty interesting. I have been lucky enough in my life not to have any experience with this sort of thing, but I really feel for the kids in this environment who are "labeled" and thus enabled to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does this cycle even stop?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2017/06/02/generations-disabled/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.dcd71507a0df

Free money. That's how they survive. Instead of disciplining, educating, and properly feeding those kids, grandma wants a government check and pour pills down their throats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in the disability and antipoverty advocacy community is pretty furious with the WaPo and that article. Ditto for the recent NPR coverage on Hale, AL.

The problem isn't the benefits or people. The problem is much bigger: it's the failing American system that ignored the plight of failing communities, allowing the education system to fail and ignoring corporate abandonment. Plus, no real access to healthcare.

Imagine what your options might be if you were born and raised in a Podunk town with crummy schools, opioid addiction running rampant, zero jobs, and no hope. You can't "just move." These people don't have money or options.

Ever been to Selma, AL? That's a city...a city where Applebees wasn't willing to take the risk and open a restaurant because it wouldn't have a customer base equipped to eat out or entry level staff with sufficient literacy skills to run a cash register. And that's a city.

The article states that education discouraged. Also there are jobs there, but jobs that Americans refused to do. The migrants are doing the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday's Post had an article called "Generations Disabled" that I found pretty interesting. I have been lucky enough in my life not to have any experience with this sort of thing, but I really feel for the kids in this environment who are "labeled" and thus enabled to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does this cycle even stop?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2017/06/02/generations-disabled/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.dcd71507a0df

Free money. That's how they survive. Instead of disciplining, educating, and properly feeding those kids, grandma wants a government check and pour pills down their throats

All the wealthy families around here are pouring 2x the number of pills down their kids' throats so that they can work and not get a call from the school.
Every rich kid with any kind of issue around here in the rich area is ' autistic' too - because the parents want the benefits of free therapies for them.
People around here are WAY worse about that kind of thing . People around here falsely pile up the govt benefits for their kid way more. Those people actually need more therapies for their kids and they probably get nothing. Move those people to Fairfax and they'll get benefits for their kids .

The disability checks are a bit much. I do wonder how the mom or grandma or whatever she is can find childcare for her adult disabled child to work? I doubt that that Down syndrome daughter can be left alone .

[Anonymous]

Why is the article bad? It is an important look at a segment of society.

[Anonymous]

I read that article and came away frustrated. It just seemed like everyone is content to let the cycle repeat itself again. Where is the school? They have the one parenting coach, but there's nothing out there to help anyone succeed. If the grandma weren't in the picture, how would mom cope given her own challenges? I don't know what the rest of us can do (beyond cutting down on the abuse of benefits, which needs to happen, but can't be done in isolation without some sort of program to give people the skills to survive).

I think success stories from these communities are usually the self motivated kids who really write their own scripts to get out. They hook up with a teacher or counselor who shows them the way.

But think about the expectations for boys like the twins: they're expected to misbehave, they're expected to spend hour on their ipads, they're expected to take multiple medications. Contrast that with expectations for our kids: they're expected to get along in school and at home; they're expected to read; they're supposed to go outside to play. We tell them they CAN and not that they should get hung up by whatever challenges they have.

And as they get older, who can even help them fill out a job application at the supermarket or McDonalds? Who will tell them that when they're scheduled to work, they show up! Or encourage them to work hard and do what their boss expects? Contrast this with kids here who shadow their doctor parents on occasion or are walked through constitutional arguments when they talk about mom's latest case.

I don't have any answers, just a lot of questions and a profound sense of sadness for these kids and others like them.

[Anonymous]

Disability is the new welfare. When the unemployment check stops and the jobs left, millions went on disability to survive. There are no jobs in these places. in fact there may never be jobs in the US for people like this. This is the new America. It's understandable that people are anti-immigrant. Not enough jobs to go around.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry but if this article was about a Black family in an urban area in, say Chicago or Atlanta and they were pulling in $2k a month in "disability," plus food stamps, people would be ready to riot talking about "welfare queens" and people cheating the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry but if this article was about a Black family in an urban area in, say Chicago or Atlanta and they were pulling in $2k a month in "disability," plus food stamps, people would be ready to riot talking about "welfare queens" and people cheating the system.

Except that already happens in hundreds of thousands of cases, and no one cares.


Feeble attempt with your dog whistle troll

[Anonymous]

Wrong! People are fed up and disgusted by the loser WT people. Loserville all the way. Nothing black about this article. Just your typical TPT family. Ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry but if this article was about a Black family in an urban area in, say Chicago or Atlanta and they were pulling in $2k a month in "disability," plus food stamps, people would be ready to riot talking about "welfare queens" and people cheating the system.

+1000
And this family appears to have multiple pets, cable TV, expensive cell phones.....

[Anonymous]

I found the article really sad.

IMO, the solution is to pay men and woman to be sterilized. Less children, less expenses.

The cycle must be broken.

Flame away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in the disability and antipoverty advocacy community is pretty furious with the WaPo and that article. Ditto for the recent NPR coverage on Hale, AL.

The problem isn't the benefits or people. The problem is much bigger: it's the failing American system that ignored the plight of failing communities, allowing the education system to fail and ignoring corporate abandonment. Plus, no real access to healthcare.

Imagine what your options might be if you were born and raised in a Podunk town with crummy schools, opioid addiction running rampant, zero jobs, and no hope. You can't "just move." These people don't have money or options.

Ever been to Selma, AL? That's a city...a city where Applebees wasn't willing to take the risk and open a restaurant because it wouldn't have a customer base equipped to eat out or entry level staff with sufficient literacy skills to run a cash register. And that's a city.

OP here. I don't understand how a presumably factual article is something to be furious over. Of course there are larger systemic issues at play, but people operate within the constraints they're allowed to. It's just a look at one way disability benefits are used. In this family's eyes, it's completely legitimate.

What I find the most sad is what the article glosses over. How was a woman with Down syndrome, the mental capacity of a 13/14 year old, and no means of support besides a disability check given the opportunity to get pregnant not one but three times? There needs to be some personal responsibility here.