Physical Issues2

Despite Reforms, Abuse Continues at Texas Institutions for Disabled

SOURCE The Texas Tribune By Emily Ramshaw and Becca Aaronson

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MEXIA � At the Mexia State Supported Living Center, on the sun-bleached site of a former World War II prisoner-of-war camp an hour east of Waco, residents with profound disabilities and behavioral problems spend their days doing repetitive chores: sticking paper into shredders, folding towels, sorting nuts from bolts. And, in some cases, being physically abused, despite a sweeping federal settlement signed in 2009 to prevent it.

In the last two years, a Mexia worker was caught on video pushing a disabled resident down and stepping on his throat while other employees looked on. A staffer goaded one resident into hitting another with a belt, causing bloody wounds and a trip to the emergency room. A direct care worker showed residents pornographic pictures and tried to get them to perform oral sex on him; another sexually abused two residents.

This pattern of abuse appears....

Plainfield couple arrested after child wanders off from home

SOURCE THE DAY By Alex Nunes

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Plainfield � A Plainfield couple was arrested Tuesday afternoon in response to an incident in September, when a small child wandered off from their residence, town police said.

Curtis E. Youngdahl, 40, and his wife, Jennifer L. Youngdahl, 41, of 15 Butternut Lane, were charged with one count each of Risk of Injury to a Child, according to police.

On Sept. 15, police responded to a residence on Dow Road for a report of a missing child. An investigation revealed a four-year-old child was found wandering the neighborhood by residents, police said.

The child, who was found wearing clothes but no shoes, reportedly suffers from autism, police said, and had apparently left home without the suspects taking notice.

Police obtained an arrest warrant from Danielson Superior Court and Curtis and Jennifer Youngdahl turned themselves in after finding out about the warrant, according to police. The two were released on a written promise to appear in Danielson Superior Court on Nov. 14.

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Was autistic man really a Marine? Military court to decide

SOURCE The Bellingham Herald By Michael Doyle - McClatchy Newspapers

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WASHINGTON � Los Angeles native Joshua D. Fry had been diagnosed as autistic and was living in a group home for people with mental disabilities when a Marine Corps recruiter signed him up for service.

Fry's enlistment three years ago helped the recruiter meet his quota. It turned out far worse for Fry, who ended up being court-martialed on child pornography and other charges. Now his fate is posing a mind-boggling question for military judges:

Was Fry never really in the Marine Corps in the first place?

Citing his autism and a reported IQ of 70, Fry's attorneys say....

Gruesome Details Emerge in Philadelphia Dungeon Case

SOURCE FOX NEWS

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Police investigating the Philadelphia basement dungeon where four mentally disabled adults were found locked up over the weekend described Wednesday the poor physical condition of one of the victims.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that wounds found on Beatrice Weston -- the 19-year-old niece of the alleged ringleader of the operation, Linda Ann Weston -- were the worst he had ever seen on a person who was still alive.

"I've never seen anything like this in a living person," Ramsey said. "It's remarkable that she is still alive. There is no penalty that is too harsh for the people that did this."

Beatrice Weston, who had been reported missing in 2009, suffered wounds that included healed-over fractures, pellet gun wounds, and burns from heated spoons. Beatrice was also malnourished.

"The word horrific is not sufficient," Ramsey said.

Ten children and teens were...

Illinois medical board files complaint against star autism doctor

SOURCE Chicago Tribune By Trine Tsouderos

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Dr. Anjum Usman, of Naperville, has been a star in the world of alternative treatments for autism for years, but now she's facing professional discipline for her approach to the frustrating disorder.

In prescribing chelation, a hormone modulator and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Usman subjected a young Chicago boy to unproven treatments and demonstrated "extreme departure from rational medical judgment," a complaint filed this week by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation states.

Listing those treatments, along with dozens of dietary supplements and other therapies, the state said that "none has � been proven to influence the course of autism."

Many of these treatments are

Supreme Court weighs right to object to Medicaid cuts

SOURCE USA Today By Joan Biskupic

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WASHINGTON � The U.S. Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with an important Medicaid case that could impact poor people, facilities that provide care and financially strapped states that reimburse providers under the joint federal-state program.

The California dispute started in 2008 when the state Legislature began cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates by up to 10% to try to solve the state's budget crisis. Medicaid patients and health care providers sued California, arguing that the cuts violated federal law requiring payments sufficient to assure access to and quality of care.

A U.S. appeals court blocked the rate cuts.

The Obama administration is supporting California, arguing that the Department of Health and Human Services has the sole responsibility to determine whether a state's reimbursement rate meets federal law.

The administration contends that.....

Disabled woman: Men took turns raping me

SOURCE DesMoinesRegister.com Written by CLARK KAUFFMAN

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The mentally retarded woman who says she was repeatedly raped in a state-licensed care facility has told authorities that her alleged attackers took turns violating her in a hallway of the home over a period of five days, state records show.

One of the suspects told police that he and one of the other men had worked out a deal whereby one would arrange for the other to have sex with the woman in return for soda pop, a television and a television stand, according to state records.

The alleged victim is diagnosed with mild mental retardation. She was allegedly raped several times between June 11 and June 15 at the Fairview Care Facility in Anamosa where she was living. According to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the woman�s account of what happened is supported, at least in part, by the records of the facility and the recollections of the nursing staff.

The three men charged in the case, each with a past history of violent crime, had been ordered by the court to live at the Fairview facility, according to police.

According to newly disclosed reports from the inspections department, a male.....

MU Researchers Find New Insight into Fatal Spinal Disease

Discovery could lead to treatments for muscular dystrophy and ALS

SOURCE University of Missouri By Steven Adams & Melody Kroll

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Michael Garcia, MU associate professor of biological sciences, found a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles that may provide new insight into the fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy.

COLUMBIA, Mo. � Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

�Critical communication occurs at the point where nerves and muscles �talk� to each other. When this communication between nerves and muscles is disrupted, muscles do not work properly,� said Michael Garcia, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. �In this study, we found that ....

Valley woman denied service dog, company keeps her $20K

SOURCE ABC15 By: Joe Ducey & By: Maria Tomasch

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PHOENIX - A Valley business faces tough questions from the ABC15 Investigators about thousands in donated money after they deny a disabled woman a service dog.

Amber Steenbock has cerebral palsy. For just a couple of minutes, imagine yourself in her shoes.

EVERYDAY LIFE

�Somebody's got to get me out of bed,� said Steenbock. �Somebody needs to dress me.�

Her boyfriend, Daniel Stasinski told us how....

CMC's response to disability shocks student from Aspen

SOURCE The Aspen Times By Jeanne McGovern

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Channing Seideman, with her service dog, Georgie, at the Silver Queen gondola in March. Seideman, who has epilepsy, suffered a seizure during a recent Colorado Mountain College class and believes the school's reaction was discriminatory. She plans to file a formal complaint about the incident.

ASPEN � An Aspen resident with epilepsy plans to file a formal complaint against Colorado Mountain College for conduct that she and her family believe constitutes discrimination.

�I don't even know how to describe how I felt; I was devastated,� Channing Seideman said Wednesday, one day after meeting with CMC representatives regarding their response to a seizure she had in class. �It made me want to be completely isolated � to just sit back in my room and forget about going to college.

�I am shocked, really.�

Seideman, who was raised in Aspen and attended the public schools, was ....