State says disabled not entitled to reasonable accommodation

[phillygirl]

State says disabled not entitled to reasonable accommodation


By Randall Chase
The Associated Press
DOVER, DEL. » A Delaware judge is weighing whether a medical facility violated the state’s equal accommodation law by refusing to complete a sports physical for a boy with Down syndrome who wanted to compete in Special Olympics.
The judge heard arguments Thursday in an appeal filed by the boy’s parents after the State Human Relations Commission determined that businesses do not have to provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities under Delaware’s Equal Accommodations Law. The law prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation based on race, age, marital status, creed, religion, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
According to court records, Michelle Ray took her 12-year-old son to a MedExpress Urgent Care facility in Wilmington in February 2019 so he could get the required physical. The family was told that the boy, who has a speech disorder, could not pass the vision test because medical staff could not understand his responses when asked what he saw on an eye chart, and that the physical could therefore not be completed.


“The statute says that a business cannot deny a service on the basis of disability,” said Tony Sierzega, an attorney with the Community Legal Aid Society who is representing the Ray family. “What happened here was very clear. The Rays’ child was denied a service.”
Maria Granaudo, an attorney for MedExpress, argued that there was no refusal of service.
“It was just, we can’t provide the service, not that we don’t want to,” she told Superior Court Judge Vivian Medinilla. “It was that we unfortunately, weren’t able to do it, despite the fact that mom and the family members were there.”
After the incident at MedExpress, the Ray family was able to get the boy’s primary care physician to conduct the exam, and he was able to compete in Special Olympics.

[phillygirl]

It's an interesting issue. It just so happens that my sister went for an eye exam yesterday. We've had some difficulty getting it done because of her speech disorder. Apparently yesterday the doctor had a chart with numbers instead of letters and she was able to complete the exam much more easily. While I am no expert on these things, I think I would come down on the side of the business here. It's a medexpress. They don't specialize in disabled people and trying to accommodate someone with a speech disorder is no easy task. Every speech disorder is different and communication with someone with aphasia or apraxia takes a lot of skill and patience. It is highly likely that the primary care physician would be more familiar with this young man's disorder and would be more effective in communicating, given that he or she presumably has communicated with this young man in the past.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

It's an interesting issue. It just so happens that my sister went for an eye exam yesterday. We've had some difficulty getting it done because of her speech disorder. Apparently yesterday the doctor had a chart with numbers instead of letters and she was able to complete the exam much more easily. While I am no expert on these things, I think I would come down on the side of the business here. It's a medexpress. They don't specialize in disabled people and trying to accommodate someone with a speech disorder is no easy task. Every speech disorder is different and communication with someone with aphasia or apraxia takes a lot of skill and patience. It is highly likely that the primary care physician would be more familiar with this young man's disorder and would be more effective in communicating, given that he or she presumably has communicated with this young man in the past.

Screening hearing and vision tests are (and long have been) available for pre-verbal infants. Unless the Special Olympics mandates a specific test, any medical facility offering general medical care should be able to do basic screening. Considering that the Special Olympics allows participation by blind athletes, I can't imagine that what was needed was more than a basic screening.

I would want to see more details about the case, but I suspect this was improper.

[scott]

It's an interesting issue. It just so happens that my sister went for an eye exam yesterday. We've had some difficulty getting it done because of her speech disorder. Apparently yesterday the doctor had a chart with numbers instead of letters and she was able to complete the exam much more easily. While I am no expert on these things, I think I would come down on the side of the business here. It's a medexpress. They don't specialize in disabled people and trying to accommodate someone with a speech disorder is no easy task. Every speech disorder is different and communication with someone with aphasia or apraxia takes a lot of skill and patience. It is highly likely that the primary care physician would be more familiar with this young man's disorder and would be more effective in communicating, given that he or she presumably has communicated with this young man in the past.

Screening hearing and vision tests are (and long have been) available for pre-verbal infants. Unless the Special Olympics mandates a specific test, any medical facility offering general medical care should be able to do basic screening. Considering that the Special Olympics allows participation by blind athletes, I can't imagine that what was needed was more than a basic screening.

I would want to see more details about the case, but I suspect this was improper.

Maybe I don't understand the issue, but why is someone who is "special" by nature entitled to accommodations that are special? That's one of the reasons Medexpress and other walk-in centers exist is because they don't provide comprehensive services.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Maybe I don't understand the issue, but why is someone who is "special" by nature entitled to accommodations that are special? That's one of the reasons Medexpress and other walk-in centers exist is because they don't provide comprehensive services.

They advertise that they do "school, camp, and sports physicals." Nobody says a facility has to do a service it doesn't ordinarily provide; but if the service is offered, it should be provided.

I'm sure you've seen what a school, camp, or sports physical entails. It's by no means "comprehensive," nor is it rocket science.

[scott]

They advertise that they do "school, camp, and sports physicals." Nobody says a facility has to do a service it doesn't ordinarily provide; but if the service is offered, it should be provided.

I'm sure you've seen what a school, camp, or sports physical entails. It's by no means "comprehensive," nor is it rocket science.

But where is the requirement that they do non-standard physicals? That's what I am curious about.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

But where is the requirement that they do non-standard physicals? That's what I am curious about.

They're the ones saying it's "non-standard," apparently because they have to rely on a family member to interpret the patient's response. This is a routine screening physical, not a high-level diagnostic procedure. If the patient were a toddler or a non-English-speaking person, I am willing to bet the clinic would routinely rely on a parent or English-speaking relative to interpret his responses. I see that happen all the time, sometimes in far more critical situations than a sports physical. Hell, doctors and nurses routinely let me answer for HRH and vice versa, and neither of us is significantly impaired.

As Downs becomes rarer, there are ever more people, including medical professionals, who are uncomfortable dealing with affected people in any capacity. This smells strongly of discrimination to me.

[scott]

They're the ones saying it's "non-standard," apparently because they have to rely on a family member to interpret the patient's response. This is a routine screening physical, not a high-level diagnostic procedure. If the patient were a toddler or a non-English-speaking person, I am willing to bet the clinic would routinely rely on a parent or English-speaking relative to interpret his responses. I see that happen all the time, sometimes in far more critical situations than a sports physical. Hell, doctors and nurses routinely let me answer for HRH and vice versa, and neither of us is significantly impaired.

As Downs becomes rarer, there are ever more people, including medical professionals, who are uncomfortable dealing with affected people in any capacity. This smells strongly of discrimination to me.

Interesting take.

I'm not sure I agree since the court ruled in favor of the clinic. I suspect if even a whiff of discrimination was present the court would have reacted harshly.

This might be an interesting case to follow - especially since it's not really the parents pushing this, it's other advocates.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Interesting take.

I'm not sure I agree since the court ruled in favor of the clinic. I suspect if even a whiff of discrimination was present the court would have reacted harshly.

This might be an interesting case to follow - especially since it's not really the parents pushing this, it's other advocates.

Well, the answer you'll almost always get from a lawyer - and what I said in my first post, above - is "I'd have to see all the facts...." But we don't have all the facts. IF the situation is as presented, I would suspect either intentional discrimination or, more likely, simple unwillingness to accommodate any variance from their usual drill. Small-mindedness often effects discrimination, whether the small-minded person consciously intends it so or not. We ran into this a lot the year HRH was so ill with the onset of her rheumatoid arthritis. The IB program didn't have a rule that handicapped kids weren't welcome or allowed to enroll. They were just inflexible. I wonder if our experience would be different after a year and a half of all academic programs having had to adapt to remote learning due to COVID mandates. HRH was maintaining better than the required GPA, and doing all the work, but was only able to attend classes in-person an average of 3 - 4 days per week. IB had a flat, no-exceptions policy that 15 absences per school year, even if medically necessary/excused, resulted in removal from the program. Not incidentally, IMO, after becoming disabled, HRH was the ONLY student with a visible disability in the IB program, which is not surprising, given that the IB program was located in a school that was a designated "historic building," which therefore had no reliable elevator (the elevator existed but routinely was not or perhaps could not be maintained in functioning condition). Classes were spread over 2 buildings, 3 floors in one and 2 in the other, for no reason other than a desire to have the academically high achievers socially integrated with the mainstream students. So, for purely non-academic reasons, an entire PUBLIC school program, for which HRH had qualified through a very competitive process and remained qualified, was closed to her once she became disabled.

[phillygirl]

Terrible experience for her and I’m sorry. My niece had a shorter, but similar experience in elementary school when she had her hip surgery. It was several steps to get in the school and several more to get to cafeteria or the second floor. Her mom had to carry her into the school and do the same during the school day. But this only lasted about 1 month and then she was able to use crutches. Still a bit dicey though.

[scott]

Well, the answer you'll almost always get from a lawyer - and what I said in my first post, above - is "I'd have to see all the facts...." But we don't have all the facts. IF the situation is as presented, I would suspect either intentional discrimination or, more likely, simple unwillingness to accommodate any variance from their usual drill. Small-mindedness often effects discrimination, whether the small-minded person consciously intends it so or not. We ran into this a lot the year HRH was so ill with the onset of her rheumatoid arthritis. The IB program didn't have a rule that handicapped kids weren't welcome or allowed to enroll. They were just inflexible. I wonder if our experience would be different after a year and a half of all academic programs having had to adapt to remote learning due to COVID mandates. HRH was maintaining better than the required GPA, and doing all the work, but was only able to attend classes in-person an average of 3 - 4 days per week. IB had a flat, no-exceptions policy that 15 absences per school year, even if medically necessary/excused, resulted in removal from the program. Not incidentally, IMO, after becoming disabled, HRH was the ONLY student with a visible disability in the IB program, which is not surprising, given that the IB program was located in a school that was a designated "historic building," which therefore had no reliable elevator (the elevator existed but routinely was not or perhaps could not be maintained in functioning condition). Classes were spread over 2 buildings, 3 floors in one and 2 in the other, for no reason other than a desire to have the academically high achievers socially integrated with the mainstream students. So, for purely non-academic reasons, an entire PUBLIC school program, for which HRH had qualified through a very competitive process and remained qualified, was closed to her once she became disabled.

Wow, that's terrible.

A lawsuit in your case would have been a good way to get some reforms. Too bad you didn't have Legal Aid doing it for you.

I see your point and I agree with you.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Wow, that's terrible.

A lawsuit in your case would have been a good way to get some reforms. Too bad you didn't have Legal Aid doing it for you.

I see your point and I agree with you.

I thought about suing, but frankly, we had all we could say grace over to get her the medical care she needed and keep her from losing an entire year of school. By the time they pulled the plug, we were both so exhausted, we decided to let someone else fight that fight. She enrolled in the hospital/homebound program through her zoned school, and eventually, since she was way beyond what was being taught in that program, we ended up doing a combination of Florida Virtual School, home schooling, and math only on campus at her zoned school. Then we moved to California, and they accommodated her 504 plan with no problem, so she was able to finish up in full-time on-campus school her senior year. She did not, however, get academic credit for the college-level work she did in Florida, as she would have if she had been allowed to complete IB.

I now have a healthy kid, and she finished high school, but no thanks to Pinellas County.