MOM ACCUSED OF THROWING SIX YEAR OLD SON WITH DISABILITIES INTO CANAL TO BE EATEN BY CROCODILES

PEOPLE

 

Mom Accused of Throwing 6-Year-Old Son with Disabilities into Canal to Be Eaten by Crocodiles

The child's body was recovered the next day

By Samira Asma-Sadeque  Published on May 7, 2024 04:07PM EDT

 

Police in India have arrested a couple after recovering the partially-eaten body of their 6-year-old son whose mother is accused of throwing him into a canal known for having crocodiles, according to multiple reports.

 

Savitri Kumar and her husband Ravi Kumar were arrested on murder charges in connection with the incident, which took place on Saturday night in the Indian state of Karnataka, local police say, according to The Hindustan Times, Outlook India, and The Times of India.

 

The boy, identified as Vinod, had a hearing and speech impediment, per Outlook India, The Times of India and CNN’s India-affiliate News 18.

 

His partially-eaten body was recovered from the jaws of a crocodile the following day, police said, according to The Hindustan Times and News 18.

 

On Saturday evening, following an altercation where Ravi allegedly blamed his wife for having a child with disabilities, Savitri allegedly threw 6-year-old Vinod into a canal which connects to a river known for its crocodiles, per police, The Times of India and The Hindustan Times reported.

 

After neighbors alerted police, a brief search was carried out before it was halted for the night, the outlets reported.

 

The search resumed on Sunday morning, when police found Vinod’s body with several bite marks and a hand missing, police said, according to The Times of India and News 18.

 

Police allege Ravi had been harassing Savitri and demanding she "throw the child away" because of his disabilities, per The Times of India and WION News.

 

"My husband is responsible. He kept saying let [Vinod] die,” Savitri told reporters, according to Outlook India. “If my husband keeps repeating such things, how much torture could my son endure? But he kept repeatedly telling me to let the child die," she said.

 

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. 

DESIGNERS TRANSFORM HEARING AIDS INTO COOL ACCESSORIES

Fox News

 

All ears for 'sexy' hearing aids: Designers transform key devices into cool accessories

Fashion-forward attachments are removing the stigma around hearing loss, say experts

By Amy McGorry Fox News

Published January 9, 2024 5:00am EST

 

Hearing aids have come a long way from the ones our grandparents used to wear.

 

Some designers have added "bling" to hearing devices, transforming them into fashion statements rather than obligatory items to be hidden.

 

Fox News Digital spoke to several audiologists who often refer their patients to these designer merchants — including independent vendors on Etsy, Instagram and other websites — to find unique accessories that personalize and beautify their hearing aids.

 

Available designs include diamond-encrusted attachments, crystal or silver charms and chains — even superhero charms for children.

 

Some vendors even offer colorful and pearl-clasped molds worn around the ear to help people accentuate their style.

 

The jewelry is typically attached through a clasp that hugs onto a piece of the hearing aid, several of these vendors told Fox News Digital.

 

"Not only do they look stunning, but our chains and cuffs offer a functional purpose by keeping the hearing aids from falling off the ear. They are also perfect for physically active individuals or sports enthusiasts," the Indiana-based designer company Deafmetal USA states on its website.

 

Not your grandfather's hearing aids

 

Suzannah Parker, owner of Purple Cat Hearing Aid Charms in Colorado, began designing charms and jewelry attachments for hearing aids when she became aware that her daughter was hard of hearing and needed to be fitted with hearing aids when she was three years old.

 

Worried that her daughter would be teased by others, Parker began looking for ways to make hearing aids a fun experience.

 

"I was able to fashion a way to hang earrings safely from the tubing of her aids," Parker told Fox News Digital. "She loved them and so did the people in her audiologist’s office. She was so proud to show them off to strangers."

 

Parker began making these attachments for other children and later launched her company.

 

"I decided to do what I could to help make other girls and boys proud to wear their aids, to make it fun and to maybe stop bullying," she said.

 

Parker also designed attachments to hold the hearing aids in place and even attach to clothing in case they fall out.

 

"The charms are a doorway to the conversation about hearing aids and what they are."

 

"My goal is for hearing devices to be looked upon as normally as glasses are," she told Fox News Digital.

 

Another designer, Florida-based Nikki Seagraves, told Fox News Digital that she creates hearing aid charms to help instill confidence and pride in those who wear them.

 

"The charms are a doorway to the conversation about hearing aids and what they are, while still focusing on the fun," said Seagraves, who launched a company called Whatnot and Wonder.

 

"It gives other people an easier way to ask about hearing aids instead of shying away or making assumptions."

 

Multiple audiologists told Fox News Digital that these fashionable hearing aids may have growing appeal to younger adults, among whom hearing loss is becoming more prevalent.

 

"Hearing loss is being detected in those in their 40s due to noise population," Dr. Tanya Linzalone, an audiologist on Long Island, New York, and an adjunct professor in the Speech and Communications Department at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, told Fox News Digital.

 

In addition to the more fashion-forward designs, advances in Bluetooth technology could help younger adults adjust to the notion of wearing hearing aids, Linzalone said.

 

"They don’t have to finagle the device like their grandpa’s volume wheel," Linzalone said.

 

Hearing loss can be socially isolating, said Dr. Leslie Rosenthal, director of speech and audiology and an audiologist at LIJ Northwell Health Hearing and Speech Center on Long Island, New York.

 

While a hearing aid is a necessity for some, Rosenthal believes it can double as an accessory — and that all patients, from children and young adults to older individuals, should wear them proudly.

 

"You don’t have to hide your hearing loss or your hearing aids — there are options now," she said. 

 

Linzalone agreed that hearing aids have evolved a great deal over the decades.

 

"When I started over 34 years ago, hearing aids were only available in skin colors or hair colors to make them as invisible as possible," she told Fox News Digital. "Now they come in colors like purple, fire engine red, neon green and yellow."

 

Others reiterated that hearing aids have come a long way in terms of both features and style.

 

"Many are discreet and even fashionable — similar to today's trendy headphones," Dr. Maria Pomponio, an audiologist at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, told Fox News Digital.

 

"Ultimately, we hope that aesthetic changes to these devices will be useful in reducing the stigma associated with hearing loss and hearing aids."

 

Hearing loss affects about 60.7 million Americans age 12 and older and over 15% of adults 20 and older, according to a November report by the National Council on Aging.

 

The condition affects some 31% of people age 65 and older and 40% of those 75 and older.

 

One of the major obstacles in addressing hearing loss is patients’ noncompliance with wearing a hearing aid, experts told Fox News Digital.

 

"If you bought it and don’t wear it, it’s useless. If making it more cosmetically appealing helps, then go for it," Linzalone said.

 

People have a fundamental need to belong, said Dr. Nancy Frye, Ph.D., a psychologist and professor of psychology at Long Island University in Brookville, New York.

 

"Because of that, people are reluctant to do things that might make them feel like they don't fit in with others, including wearing a hearing aid," she told Fox News Digital.

 

In some cases, people might opt to miss out on conversations and downplay their hearing loss rather than stand out, Frye added.

 

Decorative hearing devices could satisfy an individual’s "need for uniqueness … as opposed to threatening their need to belong," while also fostering connections with others, the psychologist said.

 

Unaddressed hearing loss contributes to social withdrawal and isolation, Dr. Jamie Cluna, an audiologist at Stony Brook University Hospital, agreed.

 

"Older adults with hearing loss are also at a greater risk for depression, cognitive decline, falls and dementia," she told Fox News Digital.

 

What to know when purchasing hearing aid accessories

 

Dr. Ashutosh Kacker, an ear, nose and throat doctor, and Dr. Haley Bruce, an audiologist — both of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City — cautioned that if a person uses charms or accessories that attach to their hearing aid, it is important not to cover the microphone, as this will interfere with the hearing aid's effectiveness.

 

For those who prefer more subtle hearing aids, audiologists said the devices are becoming more discreet and tech-savvy.

 

Some can even be adjusted through a smartphone app.

 

Regardless of their style preferences, experts recommend consulting with an audiologist to be fitted properly for the hearing aid device.

 

"An audiologist needs to communicate with their patients … and have a lifestyle analysis to pick the right unit for them," Linzalone told Fox News Digital.

 

Based on their needs, preferences and activities, different people may need different types of aids even if their hearing loss is the same, she added.

 

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health. 

MASS ABORTING OF BABIES WITH DOWNS' SYNDROME AMOUNTS TO EUGENICS

National Review

 

Mass Aborting of Down-Syndrome Babies Amounts to Eugenics

By WESLEY J. SMITH

January 13, 2024 10:52 AM

 

The New York Times’ “The Ethicist” column this week features a would-be father asking if prenatal testing for conditions such as Down syndrome amounts to eugenics. The answer, predictably, is no. From, the column:

 

block quote

None of these scenarios are morally troublesome, in my view, and none are naturally described as a matter of eugenics; they involve nothing like compulsion and aren’t aimed at raising the “quality” of the human gene pool. The same applies to you. You’re not hoping to affect our common genetic stock (people with Down syndrome rarely have children, though the rate of Down syndrome in their children is quite high when they do). What you are considering, then, isn’t a eugenic choice.

block quote end

 

This is too narrow a view of what constitutes eugenics. Eugenics is more than trying to control the health or other attributes of a general population. Rather, it reflects an all-too-commonly promoted mindset that some people are better or have greater value than others, and that an acceptable answer is to make sure disfavored persons are never conceived — as in the old eugenics of the early 20th century — or never make it out of the womb as occurs today (or even, serving as a justification for infanticide as justified by utilitarians like Peter Singer).

 

But certainly, The Ethicist is correct that prenatal testing, per se, is not eugenics. Indeed, it can be a splendid way to reveal the need for prenatal treatments or to allow parents time to prepare for a child with special needs.

 

Readers may remember that was the approach taken by Todd and Sarah Palin. When they learned their youngest child Trig has Down syndrome, the testing allowed them to absorb the emotional shock and then joyfully welcome their son with open arms. And for that, they were subjected to seething vituperation.

 

But prenatal testing can also be used for eugenics purposes, such as sex selection abortion or the extinguishment of babies with Down, dwarfism, even cleft palate, in the womb. Indeed, many genetic counselors push parents whose gestating baby tests positive for Down or other genetic conditions to abort. That’s eugenics, at least broadly understood. And it doesn’t matter that the government isn’t forcing the issue.

 

Some countries push (but do not require) universal prenatal testing at least implicitly for that explicit purpose. In Iceland and Denmark, for example, Down syndrome has been nearly eliminated because almost all such babies are aborted. If that isn’t eugenic cleansing, I don’t know what is.

 

At least The Ethicist mounted a modest defense of people with Down:

 

block quote

It’s important to distinguish between rational worries about your children’s future and anxieties that reflect prejudice against people with disabilities. It isn’t unreasonable to worry about having a child who can’t have a long and rewarding life. But that’s simply not true of most people with Down syndrome. Parents of children with Down syndrome have written at length, and often hearteningly, about their experiences. Before you decide to terminate a pregnancy on this score, make sure your decision is genuinely informed.

block quote end

 

The mass aborting of babies with Down is one of the tragedies of our age. And if you doubt that, consider the difference between the number of people with Down fifty years ago compared with today. We are the poorer as a society that so many of these wonderful, loving people are denied their birth.

 

 

 

-- 

TEEN WHO SUFFERED LOSS OF LEG IN ACCIDENT CALLED LAZY AND TOLD TO MOVE FROM TRAIN SEAT

Fox News

 

Teen who suffered loss of leg in accident is called 'lazy child' on train, ordered to 'get up' from seat

Some 15,000 reactions and 2,000 comments have come in to date on an unfortunate travel situation

By Maureen Mackey Fox News

Published September 9, 2023 8:13pm EDT

 

A teenager shared an unfortunate personal story on Reddit — and in a very short time has elicited some 15,000 reactions and 2,000 comments from others on social media who responded to the post.

 

"A few years ago," wrote the young woman, identifying herself as a 16-year-old, "I lost my left leg in an accident."

 

She's "been using a prosthetic leg since then," she said, "and because my family is well [off], it is a pretty advanced one to the point where it just looks like I just have two normal legs whenever I wear long trousers."

 

 

She added, "Which I usually do because I'm really self-conscious about showing my prosthetic."

 

She continued to share her story with others on the subreddit known as AITA ("Am I the a--hole?"). "These days," she wrote, "I can pretty much do anything I like without issues — walking, running, going upstairs, etc."

 

The teen also said that her "main issue is keeping my balance when there are sudden changes in movement, in places like trains and buses. Which is where the topic of this post comes in," added the Reddit writer, who goes by the username "Swimming-Contact6122."

 

"I was riding the train and sat down in the seat reserved for disabled, elderly and pregnant women," she said (she did not share her location).

 

"It was pretty busy," she added, "so there were no other seats available."

Later, after a few stops, she said "a woman came up to me telling me I needed to move, because she needs that seat and I shouldn't be sitting there."

 

The teenager said she responded that she "was sorry — but I needed the seat myself."

 

The woman, the teen continued, "got all argumentive that I just need to get up, because the seat is meant for the elderly and I'm just a lazy child who is more than capable of standing."

 

So the teen again "apologized," but said that she "really needed the seat myself."

 

The teen said the woman then "left and got the train conductor, who also told me to get up from the seat."

 

The teenager then shared what she did next.

 

"I was really done with being treated this way now, so I rolled up my trouser leg, showed my prosthetic — and told her I wasn't going to move," she said.

 

At that point, added the teenager in her Reddit post, the woman who had been bothering her "suddenly got very red-faced and mumbled something before she got off at the next station."

 

The teen asked others on the social media platform if she was wrong for the way she handled the awkward and difficult situation.

 

She added, "I could have said, ‘I have a prosthetic,' right away, but it's a really touchy subject for me and it makes me feel very self-conscious."

 

She also shared, "That's why I always wear long trousers so nobody can see or has to know."

 

Fox News Digital reached out to a psychologist for insight.

 

Said Dr. Jayme Albin, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York, "Being sensitive to someone’s story and potential disability is always important, so I don’t think it was quite right for the passenger to assume that the young woman didn’t belong in the seat and try to assert her authority."

 

Added Albin, "However, I will say this. If a person is going to ask for, or use, areas specially designated for people with disabilities, then he or she should be prepared to share that they're part of the group and that they need special assistance."

 

Dr. Albin also said, "It doesn’t mean they need to make themselves vulnerable or let anyone know their story — but they do need to let them know the situation."

 

Wrote one responder on the subreddit, earning 16,000 "upvotes" alone for this comment, "We're all built differently. I'd have just pulled up my pant leg and been like, ‘You f---ing serious?’ But you did it differently and more politely than [most] would have done."

 

Added the commenter, "You cannot possibly be an a--hole for handling it more graciously than most would."

 

Wrote another person in reply to the original post, "Seriously … what’s up with people thinking that young people can’t possibly be disabled or in pain?"

 

This same person went on, "I had a friend of a friend in college who had to get surgery, as she’s deaf in one ear. One of her professors wouldn’t accommodate her. She showed up to class with her hair messy and the part that was shaved for surgery, with fresh stitches on her head and all."

 

The same writer added, "You could legit be dying and old people think you can walk it off, [or] you’re exaggerating, you’re lying [or] it can’t possibly be that bad."

 

Continued this same commenter, "Imagine if we treated the elderly that way. It wouldn’t be fair, right?"

 

Wrote another person in response to the teen's story, "No one is obligated or entitled to know your disability. You shouldn’t have to ‘prove’ that you belong in a disabled space. Some disabilities are less obvious or even invisible."

 

The commenter finished with, "This woman and especially the train conductor had no right to question you this was. It was inappropriate and unprofessional."

 

Yet another responder to the tale wrote, "You are not required to tell the world your situation. She forced your hand. Maybe she will think twice next time."

 

Said someone else in a simple statement of sympathy, "I’m sorry this happened to you."