Disabled Children

The first day care center kicked out Wayne Strupp's son because he wouldn't stop chipping paint from a doll house. In the second, a teacher threatened to quit, so severe was her frustration with the youngster.The third? Well, 6-year-old James (along with his 4-year-old brother John) got the boot after eight weeks. The home day care provider "didn't know what she was getting into," the elder Strupp recalled."Last time, I went through 10 places to find one who would take them," said Strupp, whose sons are now in their fourth day care placement in two years.

Bernard Marcus, chairman of the Home Depot, announced yesterday that he will give Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute $45 million, seed money that may eventually launch a national network of similar centers for the developmentally disabled.Motivated by concern for this long-neglected group, Marcus sees Kennedy Krieger as a model to replicate around the country, where help is often fragmented and inadequate. His donation is among the largest of individual gifts ever for people with such disabilities as cerebral palsy, autism and mental retardation.

When Citibank transferred Bradley LaLonde to Vietnam, the general manager felt a twinge in his stomach: Where would his young son, who has cerebral palsy, get treatment? Within days of his arrival, LaLonde found himself at a rundown children's hospital in Hanoi, where braces were made of bamboo and equipment was broken.But a dynamic rehabilitation doctor with a vision to improve care for disabled children impressed LaLonde. It struck the American businessman that the hospital was a primitive version of Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute, where his 6-year-old son Phillip is treated.

WASHINGTON -- The Social Security Administration sought yesterday to assure Congress and a growing chorus of critics that one of the most controversial elements of last year's welfare reform bill has not denied benefits to severely disabled children.Having pared more than 120,000 children from the disability rolls in recent months, the Social Security Administration has sent Congress a compendium of case studies designed to show that, while many marginal cases have been dropped, the neediest children have not been cut off.The report provides thumbnail sketches of 40 randomly chosen cases in which a child -- identified by first name only -- has been denied further payments, along with 40 cases in which the child's payments will be continued.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Disneyland has ended a 20-year-old event that allowed youngsters with disabilities to enjoy the park at discount prices, a move being loudly decried by some parents and activists.Disneyland decided to discontinue its "Happy Hearts" program, a six-day event that attracted thousands of disabled children and young adults to the Magic Kingdom twice a year.The action is the latest effort by Disneyland to reduce the number of discounted and free admissions to the park. Marching bands, employees' families and others have seen admission policies tightened as park attendance has swelled to an estimated 15 million annually.

When Howard County Council member Charles C. Feaga said last month that the county schools are spending too much money on special education, he jumped straight into a hot debate over the needs of the many vs. the extraordinary needs of a few.The few are students like Tyler Carr, a gregarious eighth-grader with Down syndrome, whose struggles with math and reading mean he needs individual help for several hours each school day.The many are his eighth-grade classmates...

When Howard County Council member Charles C. Feaga said last month that the county schools are spending too much money on special education, he jumped straight into a hot debate over the needs of the many vs. the extraordinary needs of a few.The few are students like Tyler Carr, a gregarious eighth-grader with Down syndrome, whose struggles with math and reading mean he needs individual help for several hours each school day.The many are his eighth-grade classmates...

WASHINGTON -- Social Security officials have found evidence that the government improperly terminated disability benefits for many poor children, misinformed parents of their legal rights and actively discouraged some parents from appealing the decisions.To remedy that situation, officials plan several changes. They said they would help parents find lawyers and would probably send notices to thousands of families giving them a new opportunity to challenge the loss of cash benefits.Children who appeal have a good chance of success.

At 4 a.m., freezing rain is pecking at the bedroom window. Bill Specht tries to make himself sleep. But the images won't stop coming: his children growing up, his wife, Tilly, at his side, the houses they lived in, the places they went.He sees his son, Dennis Specht, who has Down syndrome, the boy he and his wife were told to put in an institution, the child they vowed to care for as long as they could.But his wife died last year, Bill Specht is 83 and blind, and Denny, who was expected to live only to age 12, is sleeping in the next room.

Yacht owners are offering disabled children and their parents free rides tomorrow from HarborView Marina on Key Highway.The two-hour rides, sponsored by Easter Seals and the HarborView Marina and Yacht Club, will begin at 10 a.m.Rides will be followed by a barbecue and entertainment.Families with disabled children ages 5 to 16 can call Easter Seals today for information about the event.The number is 298-0991 or, outside Baltimore, (800) 862-1377.Pub Date: 8/16/96

Advocates for people with severe disabilities have launched a campaign to reverse $29 million in recent state budget cuts that they contend are hurting an already underfunded, vulnerable community. Supporters are organizing a series of nine public meetings around Maryland and are taking their case to top officials. Gov. Martin O'Malley, who met with advocates for the developmentally disabled this week, has repeatedly pared spending for state agencies and services to keep the budget balanced, and he must close another $2 billion shortfall next year.

Justin Fowler sat nearly motionless in a folding chair on the aft deck, quietly scanning the water and wringing a paper plate in his hands. A moment later, when the boat hit the wake from a passing ship and started rocking, he was on his feet. Justin, a 14-year-old who has autism, found his sea legs in the light chop of Baltimore's harbor faster than the adults, who grabbed on to the boat's chrome handholds. As he got back in his chair again, his face lit up. "Whoa!" he said. More than 100 disabled children and young adults got to experience the pleasures of boating yesterday at the Easter Seals Cruise for Kids, an annual event in which private yacht owners offer free cruises to the children and their families.

Anna Iacoboni, who came to Baltimore as an immigrant and became the matriarch of her family with four generations of descendants, died of congestive heart failure Sunday at St. Joseph Medical Center. She was 98. Born Anna DeNicolis in Brazil, where her parents were temporarily working, she grew up in the village of San Salvo in the Abruzzi region of Italy. "As a child, she carried water from the town square to her home," said her grandson, Thomas M. Culotta, who lives in Remington. "She could talk about World War I troops coming through her village and how her family hid food from them."

Ballet at library -- Students from Misako Ballet Studio will perform to live music by Tchaikovsky, Delibes and Minks at the central library at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Admission is free. Registration is not required. The library is at 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. 410-313-7860. The ballet studio, at 5485 Harpers Farm Road, Suite 203, Columbia, will offer a ballet workshop for disabled children on three Wednesdays in August. A class is planned for children ages 7 to 12, with a parent, from 6 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.; for ages 13 to 18, with a parent, from 7 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. The classes, which will be taught by dancer and teacher Yoko Kuzutani, will be held Aug. 2, 9 and 16. The cost is $95 for parent and child.

Special-ed ruling silences parents Many thanks to Kalman Hettleman for so cogently explaining the Supreme Court ruling about cases of parents of disabled children suing local school boards ("Special-education failures run deep," Opinion Commentary, Nov. 18). As a middle-class parent of a disabled child, I can speak to the pressures middle-class parents face when dealing with the public school system on behalf of our children. Frequently, we find that the school system has time and budget constraints that prevent our children from receiving appropriate and adequate therapies and education.

For 12-year-old Zachary Bryant of Hampstead, attending summer camp is about more than having fun. He is learning to master a device that helps him do something most children take for granted: communicate. When Zachary was about 8 months old and hadn't yet sat up or rolled over, his parents realized something was wrong. "You could tell he focused on things; he laughed appropriately. Intelligence-wise I knew he was in there," said Danya Bryant, Zachary's mother. "He just didn't develop.

Twin sisters, one with a brace on her leg, were able to swing beside each other yesterday for the first time this summer. Children and families of the Ronald McDonald House on West Lexington Street celebrated last night at the opening of a long-awaited playground accessible to disabled children. The 6,500-square-foot area features a swing set with two traditional swings and two swings for disabled children; a red-and-blue combination of slides, mirrors and monkey bars; a child-size rock-climbing wall; a half-court basketball court; and picnic tables and benches.

Ask these Baltimore schoolchildren how their garden is growing by the Inner Harbor Pier 5 waterfront, and some struggle to answer. Others flash a smile in reply as they point to the part of the garden that they struggled to plant. All 17 children are in wheelchairs and needed special gardening tools to accomplish their task. Wade Simmons, 8, dug into the dirt. Michael Davis, 6, spread some mulch. Ashley Ford, 10, got her fingers into the ground, to see that everything was firmly pressed and planted.

Lots of teen-agers ask their parents for money, but 17-year- old Jenna Newman asks her friends, her neighbors, even complete strangers - all to help disabled children and their families. Over the past year, the Pikesville High School senior's fund-raising efforts have yielded $10,000 for a charitable foundation she created. When she was a junior, Jenna was an intern at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, which serves children with disabilities. She saw firsthand that "it is very hard when you have a disabled child, financially," she said.

Anne Arundel County recently received a $75,000 grant from the Maryland Boundless Playground Initiative Program to create a playground designed for disabled children. The grant is being supplemented by $125,000 in county funds, all of which will go toward construction of the playground at Lake Waterford Park in Pasadena. The park will be the county's first in the program. Demolition of the existing playground began early this month. The new playground is expected to open in early July.