THE
PRESIDENT'S HOLIDAY LETTER
December 2004
This time of year provides an opportunity
to wish everyone a happy holiday season and to consider a number
of related
issues. The consumerism of our Thanksgiving holiday sometimes
obscures its origin as a time to give thanks for surviving,
for being with family and friends, and for having a pretty
good year. The upcoming Hanukkah and Christmas holidays celebrate
the victories of faith and hope over fear and despair. New
Year’s Day has come to mean many things but certainly
is an opportunity to start afresh.
At AAMR we have much to be thankful for this year. Our journals
continue to be ranked at the top of the field. We had a successful
Annual Meeting in Philadelphia last June that focused on realizing
the new vision of community health supports for persons with
intellectual disabilities. The proceedings of the preconference
on the evidence base for health promotion guidelines are being
prepared for publication. The innovative Supports Intensity
Scale is generating a great deal of interest as agencies begin
adopting and using it. When the books are closed we expect
to have survived another year successfully and to have made
some financial progress. The AAMR family of members and friends
gathered around our thanksgiving table is still large, and
plans are well underway to add some new young faces in the
coming year.
At AAMR we will also celebrate our own victory of faith and
hope as we finish our 128th year of existence. Generations
of well-meaning AAMR leaders did the best they could during
their time to advance the science and practice of our field.
We keep faith with our history when we continue their efforts
to change AAMR and adapt it to fit the realities of our present
time and the hopes and dreams of the people with intellectual
disabilities whom we are honored to serve. Our membership is
voting on a major reorganization plan that will make AAMR a
much more responsive and participatory association in the years
to come. This re-invention of AAMR will position us to maintain
our professional leadership in the decades to come.
The holiday celebrations traditionally involve the exchange
of gifts to commemorate the spiritual gifts that are the basis
of Hannukah and Christmas. Let us remember to celebrate the
gifts that all of us bring to our human society, particularly
the spiritual gifts we receive from our friends with intellectual
and other disabilities. Let us also share with our families
and friends the gifts of ourselves during this holiday season.
At AAMR we are grateful for the gifts our members give us through
their continuing support and faith in our leadership. I would
be remiss as AAMR President if I did not also encourage readers
of this letter to remember AAMR in your holiday gift giving,
and promise to be a responsible steward of whatever monetary
gifts you entrust to our care.
What will the new year bring? One thing we know it will bring is a new Congress
in Washington. The extremely partisan and hotly-contested elections are behind
us and we must look forward to trying to achieve our policy goals with this
new Congress. From my perspective, our prospects do not look good. During 2004
we lost many battles, won a few, and did the best we could on some others (like
IDEA). In 2005 Medicaid funding for people with disabilities will be threatened
as never before, and funding for other key programs (such as employment and
housing) will likely be jeopardized as well. Anyone interested in having an
impact on these issues should plan now to come to Washington for our Disability
Policy Seminar February 28-March 2, 2005 (see our website for details).
In my opinion, this is the time for all of us to hold fast
to the things we believe in and argue for them as strongly
as we can. We are going to lose most of the battles we fight
but we must not lose our integrity. Majorities can afford to
compromise, but minorities (like us) must stay true to our
core values. The work will be hard and often discouraging,
but let us not forget to find joy in the struggle to do what
we can to shape public policy to reflect our values. I suggest
that we try to become "happy warriors" joining together
with our friends and colleagues to advocate for our beliefs.
I came of age in the 1960’s, when the hippie movement
and the anti-war movement came together and demonstrated how
happiness, affirmation, advocacy and action could combine to
change the world.
And we must come together. The elections reminded us that
many people do not care about the issues we believe in. "United
we stand" can also mean that all of us in the disability
community must unite to work for our shared goals. In 2005
we will have an historic opportunity to come together in Washington,
September 21-24, to advance our mutual agenda. AAMR will join
with 12 other disability associations in a joint meeting that
will focus on development of leadership and policy in our field.
This joint meeting will represent the 2005 Annual Meeting for
AAMR and for all of the other associations involved. Thousands
of professionals, families, self-advocates, policy-makers and
others will come to Washington determined to reshape our world.
I hope you will join us.
David L. Coulter, M.D.
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