Looking Back at 2008: Debating Palin, Leery of Leary
It's New Year's Eve, and the gallery of special-needs news stories is now complete with the final third of 2008 filled in. Check the September, October, November, and December recaps and think back to when Sarah Palin was running for vice president, Denis Leary was apologizing, and picking on the blind was cause for anger and advocacy. Read up on those final 2008 events, and tell us which story from throughout the year was the #1 special-needs news item.
Sometimes the biggest stories aren't the ones that get the biggest response from readers. Below is a list of the posts for each month that got any comments at all. Can you guess which ones got the most? Check the monthly recaps to find out.
September:
- Sarah Palin and the Responsibilities of Special-Needs Parenting
- What Do You Want Sarah Palin to Do for Your Family?
- Voters Put Special-Needs Groups in the Members Project Top 25; American Express Kicks Them Out
- See Some Sample 504 Plans, and Some Super Special-Ed School Sites
- Too Sick for School, or Sick of It?
- Special-Needs Novel on My Daughter's Reading List
- More Special-Needs Projects Dissed by American Express
- Special-Ed Bus Crash Kills Four Young Students
October:
- One Person’s Stripper Pole Is Another’s Therapeutic Cylindrical Playscape
- Blindness Gets Bad Review From the National Federation for the Blind
- Celebrating Top Members-Project Vote-Getters: Spotlight on Eosinophilic Esophagitis
- Celebrating Top Members-Project Vote-Getters: Spotlight on Fragile X Syndrome
- Celebrating Top Members-Project Vote-Getters: Spotlight on Prader-Willi Syndrome
- Denis Leary Says Your Kid's Not Autistic, Just Stupid
- Will Denis Leary's Comments Look Better in Context?
- What Does Your Child Want From the Next President?
- Would You Take Your Child's School Funding and Split?
- What Have You Got to Be Thankful For?
November:
- Mary McDonnell to Play Surgeon With Asperger's on Grey's Anatomy
- Wordless Wednesday: You Make a Difference
- In the Forum: Stability Balls in the Classroom
- Girl Says No to Life-Saving Heart Transplant
- Friday Free-for-All: Speak Up on Grey’s, Diagnosis-lessness, Candy Disposal
- Walking the Dog Makes Me Feel Like a Bad Parent
- Catch Yourself Being a Good Parent
- Out of the Loop on Babywearing
- A Complete Hypocrite About the Honor Roll
- Show Your Thanks by Giving a Helping Hand to Other Parents
December:
- My Kid Is Less Dysfunctional Than Your Kid
- Special-Education Director Takes Handicapped Space, Gives Attitude
- A Guest at the IEP Meeting
- Smart Art for Kids With Sensory-Integration Challenges
- Bracing for Change in the Neighborhood
- Drugs, Drink, and the Developmentally Disabled
- School Behavior Takes Its Seasonal Nosedive, Pageants or No
- Merry Christmas!
- This Week’s Weird Science on CBS’s Eleventh Hour: Autism, Savantism, and Crazy Brain-Tampering Parents
What news stories meant the most to you in that last third of 2008? Share your memories in the comments.
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I’d have to say the most significant ’story’ is a collection – people aren’t going to turn the other cheek when people with disabilities are used as an excuse for humour or political gain. Not only the anti-Autism folks and Palin’s use of the disability-in-my-family card, but blindness has been mis-used, and I can’t remember offhand which distinctiveness affects the politician who was snubbed in some comedy show…
These things happened before, but now people are speaking up about it, and it’s making news. I think that more and more, it is becoming known that it’s no more acceptable to use disabilities as a trump card than it is to use race, gender, hair colour, etc.