Wings for Autism has been expanding across the country since last year, and since national expansion began more than 500 families have benefited from this innovative program. While this program obviously appeals to individuals with I/DD and their families who want a test run of what travel on an airplane might be like, this year we were pleasantly surprised when 3 teenagers made it a mission to help fundraise for this exciting program in addition to serving as volunteers. Their actions show it doesn’t matter what your age, you can make a difference in the lives of people with I/DD, all it takes is a little passion.

Anthony (Chenghao) Cheng, Lily Zhu, & Xinyi Xie reached out to friends and family to raise hundreds of dollars for Wings for Autism. We had a chance to catch up with them during our event at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia earlier this year to learn about what sparked their interest in this program. Their answers were inspiring.

Why did you all decide to go out of your way to help raise money for The Arc’s Wings for Autism Program?

Xinyi – Firstly because I enjoy to spend time with children. It is my understanding that it is important for people with disabilities to be part of society and make friends. I am passionate about that.

Anthony – Everyone deserves to be independent, and I should help.

Lily – I love children also and interacting with people with I/DD. And it gives me joy to see them being independent and being happy.

Why is it important for people with I/DD to have someone to count on?
Xinyi – We all need support in everything. We needs support in what we do so we should give support to others too.

Lily – It is important for kids to count on people other than their family. That will help them become more confident.

Anthony – It is exciting to see kids grow and be stronger.

Why is volunteering important?

Lily – Important for people to be aware. It is hard to empathize if you don’t interact with other people. But events like this help you realize the needs of others and help them be independent. Volunteering is an important step to raising awareness.

Xinyi – Leading by what we do. If people do it, others will follow in their steps.

A big thank you to three amazing volunteers, donors and advocates! We are so thankful for your support of The Arc and the example you are setting for your peers.

By Robin Shaffert, Senior Executive Officer, Individual & Family Support, The Arc

The story, “Four Bodies in Elmhurst: Why would an 82­year­old man kill his son, his daughter, his wife and himself?” appears in today’s New York Times magazine section. Jeff Himmelman reports on the heartbreaking murder of two adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their mother, by the father who also committed suicide.

On Tuesday, the story appeared on the Times’s website, and The Arc shared it on social media. Since then, I have been reading the comments from readers of the Times and The Arc’s Facebook page. I find myself deeply troubled – yet not altogether surprised – that the most common sentiment is that we shouldn’t judge the father.

We must judge the father. The father committed three murders. He ended the lives of two of his children and his wife. If we do not condemn that action, we do not value their humanity. Our core values are clear: The Arc believes that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are entitled to the respect, dignity, equality, safety, and security accorded to other members of society, and are equal before the law. When people with I/DD are murdered, we cannot suggest that their murder is understandable or justifiable.

After we condemn these murders, we can look at what we can learn from them. In Mr. Himmelman’s portrayal of the Stack family, we can begin to see where we as a society fall short in supporting families that include a person with I/DD. But limited, inadequate, or the complete absence of services and supports can never justify murder. This fact, however, doesn’t absolve us of our responsibility to do a better job supporting families that include members with I/DD. This support is critical throughout the lifespan but it is especially important as adults with I/DD transition from their family homes to other living situations in our communities.

Sometimes we hear that parents are driven to these horrific acts because there are no decent places for their children to live and receive the supports and services they need when they leave the family home. That wasn’t the case for the Stack family. The son and daughter were both in good living situations. These situations may not have been perfect, and Mr. Stack, the story tells us, was vigilant in working with the providers to make sure his son and daughter got the supports he felt they needed.

The Stacks were able to do what many families struggle with. They overcame barriers and created a future plan for their son and daughter. They found housing options and daily activities – and they figured out how to finance them. Yet, for some unknowable reason, Mr. Stack decided to take the lives of his wife, son, and daughter.

I find myself asking whether things would have been different had Mr. Stack received help in addressing the guilt he felt about the possibility that his exposure to toxins during the Korean War caused or contributed to their disabilities, or if his family had received more support during the decades that he and his wife cared so lovingly for their son or daughter. We’ll never know.

I lead The Arc’s Center for Future Planning. My colleagues and I recognize the complexity and the enormity of the issue we are addressing. There are 600,000-700,000 adults with I/DD living with caregivers 60 and over that have no plan in place for what is going to happen when those caregivers can no longer provide support. To create a good plan, the individual with I/DD and his or her family must take into account virtually every aspect of the person’s life. This story teaches us that as important as it is to figure out benefits and housing, it is at least as important to ensure that families receive the emotional support they need to make these difficult transitions. Many chapters of The Arc and other service providers are working to provide that support. Yet I fear for the families that aren’t connected to get that help, and I know that the supports that are available in many areas are inadequate.

Like many of you, when I finished the story, I asked myself – what can I do to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again? As we move forward, we should remember the Stack family by striving to support families in a way that values the humanity of all of their members. We can do this in small ways like checking in on families that may be isolated. We can also work together to advocate at the local, state, and federal level for the resources to enable us to support all of our families.

Over the holiday weekend, social media and the airwaves were full of appropriate outrage over Donald Trump’s mocking of the appearance of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski’s, a person with a disability.

The disparaging treatment of people with disabilities by celebrities and other public figures is sadly not all that uncommon. The list of celebrities that The Arc has called out in recent years is long – comedian Tracy Morgan, football star Joe Flacco, to name a few.

Now we have a candidate for President of the United States to add to that list.

These recent events remind us that we need to hear from all candidates on where they stand on the issues facing people with disabilities as these voters prepare to vote for their next President in less than a year.

Where do all of the candidates stand on:

• Ensuring Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income are there for qualified people with disabilities who need support?
• Expanding opportunity for jobs in the community for people with disabilities?
• Creating more affordable, accessible, inclusive housing in the community for people with disabilities?
• Ensuring that the civil rights of people with disabilities are respected in the classroom, the criminal justice system, our health care system, and so on?

Roughly one in five Americans has a disability – and there are millions of Americans who are related to, friends with, or support a person with a disability in their lives. Their votes are up for grabs. And they are listening for substance from the entire field.

And to the media covering these candidates – start asking the tough questions on how those running to be the next President will improve the lives of people with disabilities. You are in a position to change this conversation. Use your power – just as people with disabilities will use theirs come November 2016.