Mother's Day is a tiny part of our year set aside to squeeze in the enormous honors our mothers and the women who contributed to our upbringing deserve. I must be getting sentimental because I took special notice of the beauty in the mother/child relationship several times this week. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to do in my unit since more often then not teenagers and their parents are screaming at each other. Still, there are those moments where you realize that a mother's love is irreplaceable. For my patients, it's usually either the missing anecdote or the weapon of injury.
Beyond the battles about ramps and inclusive classrooms is tucked a more secretive cave of discrimination that many 
advocates even fail to acknowledge. Barriers blocking people with disabilities from having or adopting children are often so formidable that despite their means and wishes many people in our community never have the chance to lead a family. The discrimination ranges from ridiculous policies mean to prevent us from adopting to ignorant attitudes about how we would meet the basic needs of our growing children. Take a look at this cartoon that I found on a British site claiming to promote the rights of children. It suggests a helpless mother in a wheelchair is watching while her child attempts dangerous tasks and neglects her homework piled on the desk. There's no caption on the page to even explain this insulting piece. I don't have much time for advocacy work these days, but I will find a moment this weekend to let this site know my thoughts. You're welcome to join me!
Before I began my work as a therapist this year, I dedicated much of my advocacy focus on the reproductive rights of people with disabilities. Like the story eloquently shared by Disabled Politico's most recent blog, there are many women with disabilities that are outright denied the chance to bear children. Stories of abuse, like Ashley X and the many more that don't make the media headlines, are enough to snap me out of my sentimentality. After expressing anger as a community about these decisions, we're left with the decision of what do next. We can accumulate bitterness and continue to discuss the initial tragedy or we can decide what would be the best outcome from these situations for all of us.
In response to what has now been deemed an injustice and a mistake in judgement by the Seattle Children's Hospital responsible for sterilizing Ashley X, many hospitals have begun looking for ways to protect the rights of children and adults with disabilities. More people with disabilities have been added to hospital ethics review panels and our voices are being heard as new policies are built to ensure this never ever happens again. Education is an important tool to prevent further abuse, but it's also time that offending organizations and individuals be held responsible for the harm they've caused.
Geri Glass is a mother with a disability that was awarded $180,000 last week because Child Protective Services (CPS) workers discriminated against her after she filed a complaint regarding their inappropriate behavior. Glass, a wheelchair-user, was told by CPS that her newborn son would be taken if she was with him alone. Implying that she was somehow a danger to her son, Glass felt these claims were unfair and she complained to her local office. In retaliation, the same workers who initially worked on the case falsely altered documents to exaggerate Ms. Glass's disability and placed extreme restrictions on her freedoms to parent her child. Their actions were deemed discrimination this week in court and the state has been ordered to set up a funds for Ms. Glass's special needs, her son, and lawyer fees.
[Photo caption: Lydia Springer, a mother and wheelchair-user, prepares to lift her son from a specially adapted crib that opens on the side.]
No one can take away the pain and frustration that clouded Ms. Glass's early days with her son. When she should have been celebrating motherhood, she was forced to meet with lawyers to even see her son. Monetary costs do send a strong message to organizations and I think her settlement was a necessary cost to the state of Montana. Perhaps more importantly, Child Protective Services has been instructed to provide training and education to prevent future discrimination against parents with disabilities. The type of training offered will be crucial but Ms. Glass's courage to fight for her child and her right to motherhood has provided other mothers an opportunity to enjoy their own gift of life, love, and family.
Happy Mother's Day Geri Glass and all moms with disabilities!
