Disability Resource Digest
Volume 8 Issue 2 February 2008
ADA Paratransit: On-Time Performance and No-Show/Late Cancellations - "This webcast is the second in a series of five monthly webcasts on ADA Transportation featuring Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). This webcast will focus on two important topics in paratransit service under the Americans with Disabilities Act: on-time performance and no-show/late cancellation policies and practices. The webcast will discuss important determinations from the Federal Transit Administration related to these topics, as well as some best practices in transit operations in these areas."
http://www.ilru.org/html/training/webcasts/handouts/2008/01-30-MG/abstract.html
BBC subtitling spreads - "More news on the subtitles front, you lucky lucky people. In addition to the programmes available via the iPlayer, which is the BBC's seven-day catch-up service, subtitled content is also being made available on some of the various BBC platforms."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/access20/
Bloggers Take on Web Accessibility - by Paul Schroeder (AFB). "A few weeks ago, I posted about NY Times blogger David Pogue's acknowledgement of the inaccessibility of technology gadgets. I was thrilled to see Pogue mention the accessibility issue and also to see the larger discussion about the accessibility of cell phones, iPods, and other gadgets that unfolded. This week Wendy Bounds, another accomplished blogger from the Wall Street Journal, is talking about another important issue—web accessibility. In the post, Bounds encourages businesses, bloggers, and web designers to ask themselves an important question: Is Your Web Site Blind Friendly? She explains how the NFB/Target lawsuit has brought about a push to make sure web sites are compatible with screen reading software used by computer users who are blind and offers ways to test the accessibility of your site (including a link to AFB.org, which was great to see."
http://www.afb.org/blog/blog_comments.asp?TopicID=3348
Calendar announcement: Mark Your Calendars for the 2008 Accessible Technology On-line Seminars - (HeathResourceCenter). "The DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center is sponsoring a new on-line seminar series on accessible technology in 2008. The goal of the series is to increase awareness on technology accessibility for people with disabilities. Each session will be held from 1:00pm-2:00pm Central Time. Please note the time will be different if you live in a different time zone. This on-line series will utilize an internet based conferencing system. The Online Conferencing System is a fully accessible integrated data and voice medium that enables users to conduct workshops over the internet from just about any computer with a network connection and web browser. Participation is enhanced with use of a personal microphone."
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/node/641
Canadian Transportation Agency decides in favour of one-person-one-fare policy - "The Canadian Transportation Agency has ordered Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet to adopt a one-person-one-fare policy for persons with severe disabilities who travel within Canada by air. The airlines have one year to implement the policy. The tribunal's Decision means that for domestic services, Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet may not charge more than one fare for persons with disabilities who
· are accompanied by an attendant for their personal care or safety in flight, as required by the carriers' domestic tariffs, or
· require additional seating for themselves, including those determined to be functionally disabled by obesity for purposes of air travel."
http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=371549&categoryid=1&category=News+Releases
Reaction to Landmark Canadian Transportation Agency Decision: Disabled Canadians Jubilant to Have Transport Barrier Removed - "Today the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) released a landmark decision concerning the right of individuals with disabilities to travel by air without having to pay for a second seat, for an attendant or other use, to accommodate their disability. In a historic decision in the 'One Person, One Fare' case, the agency has recognized the right of these individuals to have access to a second seat when traveling by air in Canada without having to pay a second fare."
http://www.ccdonline.ca/publications/media-releases/011008.html
The Hunting Game - by Julienne Dallara (NewMobility). "Fairly recently I became aware of a little-noticed news story about an island off the California coast, near Santa Barbara, that was being proposed as a preserve for hunting excursions by disabled veterans. Being somewhat familiar with the rough but beautiful uninhabited islands off the coast of Southern California, my interest was piqued. Hunting opportunities for returning war veterans with the government picking up the tab? Score one for the good guys! But my idea of who the good guys were would change from one side to the other many times as I investigated this story."
http://www.newmobility.com/articleView.cfm?id=11065
New NCPAD Document: Planning for Inclusion: Implementing an Accessibility Management Program in a Parks and Recreation Business Model - by Jennifer K. Skulski (ncpad). "While major federal disability rights legislation has mandated disabled access for more than 30 years, people with disabilities are still experiencing significant physical and programmatic barriers at recreation facilities and parks, as well as being denied the equal opportunity to participate and benefit comparably to people without disabilities. Most public park and recreation agencies want to comply with the law; unfortunately, though, there is a lack of understanding as to how to incorporate the federal requirements into the daily operation of the organization."
http://www.ncpad.org/newsletter/newsletter.php?letter=72§ion=1065
Thanks, Facebook! - by Guest Blogger, Caitlin McFeely (AFB Communications). "Over the past few months, AFB's Communications Department has spread the word about AFB through the 'Cause' application on the social networking site Facebook. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, the Cause application allows individuals and organizations like AFB to explain their mission, invite other 'Facebookers' to join and learn more, keep individuals up to speed on issues, and raise money. . . Many blind and visually impaired users of Facebook, including Michelle, have noticed some flaws with the site. One of the biggest problems still revolves around the CAPTCHA—the visual verification tool used to keep spam out of sites that provide online services. While it was great that Facebook added e-mail and audio alternatives to the
CAPTCHA, Michelle noted these options don't always work: specifically, the audio alternative is difficult to comprehend."
http://www.afb.org/blog/blog_comments.asp?TopicID=3371
Touch the Invisible Sky: Exploring the Cosmos in Braille - "Images from NASA telescopes are jewels of the space program, marvelous to behold. But how do you behold them when you can't see? The answer lies between the covers of a new NASA-funded book written in Braille, Touch the Invisible Sky. In an inspiring forward to the volume, blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer writes, 'Sight ... is only one of the many tools with which to experience the marvels of the world.' Touch the Invisible Sky uses Braille, large type print, and tactile diagrams of celestial images observed by space telescopes Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer to reveal the cosmos to the blind and seeing-impaired."
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/15jan_touch.htm
Deborah Orr: We must protect disabled people against this wave of barbaric and hateful crimes - (Independent). "Brent Martin's story should, and could, have been a story of quiet success. The 23-year-old had struggled in his short life with his learning difficulties, and those struggles more than once had become so serious that he had been compelled to spend long periods in psychiatric hospitals. Even a generation ago, such a history might have condemned a young man to an institutionalised life. But we are more enlightened now, in theory at least. Martin, released in spring of last year into the care of his family, was recognised as a man who was quite capable of living independently, supporting himself through work, paying his taxes, living and loving like the equal member of a civilised society that he was, or should have been."
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/deborah-orr/deborah-orr-we-must-protect-disabled-people-against-this-wave-of-barbaric-and-hateful-crimes-775617.html
The Hate Crime Dossier - No Hiding Place - (DisabilityNow). "As Disability Now launches its new hate crime campaign, we publish here for the first time our disturbing dossier of crimes against disabled people. Categorised by impairment, we also outline the responses given to us by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) police forces concerned."
http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/the-hate-crime-dossier
How support grew to ban 'retarded' from state books - by Hugh Lessig and Kim O'brien Root (dailypress). "Erin Thompson lives with Down syndrome, but she refuses to use the "R" word. She and others want the state of Virginia to follow suit. Legislation is moving through the General Assembly to remove the phrase 'mentally retarded' from thousands of pages of state code. The new phrase would be 'persons with intellectual disabilities.' Last week, the Senate Education and Health Committee unanimously endorsed the measure after hearing from Thompson, who is 21, and 31-year-old Jill Egle' of the Arc of Northern Virginia, an advocacy group. A similar bill has already cleared a House panel. A rally at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church — near the General Assembly — on Monday attracted about 500 people and was intended to focus attention on a broad range of mental health issues."
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-news_language_0122jan22,0,2475393.story?track=rss
Including the disabled - (Times of India). "The disabled people in our country still remain an invisible group in a political wilderness. A vast number of 40 to 90 million of our people are excluded from existing programmes. Studies show that they are the poorest of the poor, the most illiterate and shunned by society. The policy process is a political process. Since Independence, the disabled have been classified with other vulnerable and weaker sections of the population such as women, the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/Including_the_disabled/articleshow/2670108.cms
JRC Officials Ignored Watchdog, Destroyed Videos Of Student Shocks - by Dave Reynolds (Inclusion Daily Express). "A Massachusetts state Senator is calling for a full investigation to find out why officials at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center ignored instructions from a watchdog agency and destroyed videotapes of two residents being zapped dozens of times as part of a prank. The tapes reportedly showed how staff at the home operated by JRC took the teenagers from their beds at 2:00 in the morning of August 26, then delivered electrical shocks 77 times to one resident and 29 times to another over the next three hours. The teens were told they were receiving the two-second skin shocks, which have been described as a 'hard pinch' or a 'bee sting', because of misbehaviors during the dinner hour the previous evening. . . Last week, the Disabled Persons Protection Commission issued a report based on its examination of the incident. One investigator said that when she asked for a copy of the tapes, JRC officials refused, telling her that they 'did not want any possibility of the images getting into the media'."
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/01/23/012308majrc.htm
Mum Credits Disability Rights Advocates With Blocking Daughter's Sterilization - by Dave Reynolds (Inclusion Daily Express). "Disability rights advocates are being credited, or blamed, for stopping a controversial sterilization operation from happening. Doctors are refusing to perform the hysterectomy and appendectomy on 15-year-old Katie Thorpe that her mother had requested. Last October, Alison Thorpe announced that she had arranged for a doctor to remove her daughter's uterus in order to keep Katie, who has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, from experiencing 'the discomfort and the indignity' of decades of menstruation. Ms. Thorpe also wanted her daughter's appendix removed because her daughter would not be able to tell her if she were to ever have appendicitis. That doctor said he was just waiting for approval from legal experts. Disability rights groups in the United Kingdom and elsewhere expressed outrage, and responded that forcing the procedure on Katie would cross a line that could lead to more young people with disabilities being sterilized for social rather than medical reasons."
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/01/17/011708ukthorpe.htm
PBS Exposes Psychiatric Drugging of USA Children - (mindfreedom). "This summer, FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria set out to answer a question that has been troubling parents, doctors, and government regulators: Why are millions of American children being prescribed increasingly powerful, behavior-modifying drugs that have not been adequately tested in kids? In 'The Medicated Child,' airing Tuesday night, Gaviria takes us deep inside the world of child psychiatry where a debate is growing about how early to diagnose mental illness in children, and which drugs are safe for treatment. At the heart of the story is the dramatic rise of a controversial new diagnosis--bipolar disorder--which, until recently was thought only to exist in adults, but now has been found in over one million children, including a growing number of toddlers."
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/youth-mental-health/pbs-on-psychiatric-drugging-youth
EASI Interactive, Live Webinars - (easi). "EASI is producing 3 series of Interactive Webinars on specific accessibility-related topics. You can listen to the presenter, and watch as the presenter pushes Web pages and also ask questions yourself. The new series is Webinar Snapshots consisting of short focussed presentations dealing with issues most relevant to beginner and intermediate creators of accessibility content. The other 2 are hour-long presentations covering general topics and frequently dealing wwith more advanced materials. One series is free to the public providing an overview of up-to-date information about current events in accessibility. The other series is fee-based, (currently $195), and usually consists of a set of 4 presentations providing detailed, hands-on, skill-based experience with applications that facilitate creating accessible output."
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm
TechMatrix - "The TechMatrix is a powerful tool for finding assistive and learning technology products for students with special needs. . . . TechMatrix 2.0 is an initiative of the National Center for Technology Innovation and the Center for Implementing Technology in Education. With many additional products and research citations, it is greatly expanded and easier to use."
http://www.techmatrix.org/
Employment
Building on the Ticket: A New Paradigm for Investing in Economic Self-Sufficiency for People with Significant Disabilities - (HeathResourceCenter). "Summary: The Ticket to Work Panel released its final report to the President and Congress. Included are five recommendations including the idea of extending the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment program through 2014, creating a panel and an advocate position within the Social Security Administration to enhance beneficiary perspective, publish the final rule, create a demonstration project and examine the impact of changing the disability definition."
More Info: http://www.hcbs.org/moreInfo.php/nb/doc/2124
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/node/638
Comparison of Employment Disability Discrimination Claims with Other Statutes Across U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission and Fair Employment Practice Agencies Nationally - by Susanne M. Bruyere Dr., Cornell University Andrew J. Houtenville S Antonio Ruiz-Quintanilla. "Although 15 years have passed since the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) became effective, significant employment disparities for persons with disabilities persist. It is important to assess how employer policies and practices may contribute to this disparity. Analyses of employment-related discrimination claims and subsequent legal outcomes are an important source of information about where and how disability employment discrimination is perceived to be happening. Examining the disability employment discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Fair Employment Practice Agencies (FEPAs) within states can inform an understanding of where specific issues continue. This research uses the EEOC's Charge Data System (CDS) (later called the Integrated Mission System, IMS) to explore difference between the filing of discrimination claims at EEOC offices and state FEPA offices. To date, most analyses of these charges have occurred on the EEOC charge data only. Yet of the 328,001 disability employment discrimination charges filed across both agencies during 1993 – 2003, almost half (46 percent) of these charges have been filed in FEPA offices. Analyzing both sets of data provides a fuller picture of disability employment discrimination claims nationally and subsequently further informs our understanding of where problems may be occurring in the implementation of the ADA Title I provisions."
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/edicollect/1243/
Strategies For Employing People With Disabilities - by Allan Appel (Scipp News). "Employees with disabilities perform better on the job and have a lower turnover rate than those without disabilities. That's the assessment of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, which also rates such employees as consistently meeting or exceeding business performance standards. Here are some measures for employers to include candidates with disabilities in their overall employment objectives."
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJAN08/nf012508-7.htm
Walgreens - Hire & Hire - (Ability Magazine). "When you stop by Walgreens to pick up a prescription or a few toiletry items, you don't see what's going on beyond the shelves, beyond the brick and mortar. What you don't see is that the corporation has been busy at work creating distribution centers that employ impressive numbers of people with disabilities. Chet Cooper, ABILITY Magazine's editor-in-chief, recently spoke with Walgreen's Randy Lewis, the senior vice president of distribution and logistics, who detailed how his company is tapping into a new talent pool."
http://www.abilitymagazine.com/Walgreens.html
Ethics
Electronic Tagging - Enabling Or Disabling People With Dementia? - (Medical News Today). "The latest sign of over zealous Big Brother or the future for empowering people with dementia? When electronic tagging was suggested as a way of tracking people with dementia it sparked a nationwide debate on the ethics of assistive technology. Now the Alzheimer's Society [UK] is launching a new policy on electronic tagging and safer walking technology and people with dementia and their carers are being asked to speak out."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93150.php
When disability becomes illegal: "We can screen abnormalities out before birth, but should we?" - by Rebecca Atkinson (Ouch). "In the days before IVF, ultrasound or the genome project, if you were expecting a baby you pretty much got what Mother Nature gave you. If your child had no arms or a cleft palette, you wouldn't know about it until it was born. By that point, it was far too late to decide that it wasn't the 'type' of baby you were expecting and send it back. . . . To many people the idea of having some degree of 'choice' over the 'type' of baby they have seems perfectly logical, especially if it avoids the 'pain and suffering' which most people equate with disability. But what if you flip the idea on its head? What if you want to exercise that 'choice' in the opposite direction and, for instance, have a deaf baby? Is it okay to 'screen in' as well as 'screen out' deaf or disabled embryos? The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill that's currently passing through the House of Lords says not."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/closeup/designing_babies.shtml
2007 Person of the Year: Chantal Petitclerc - by Laura Kaminker (NewMobility). "Canadian wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc is unquestionably the world's fastest woman on wheels. In the 2004 Paralympics, she achieved a clean sweep of all five women's wheelchair track events, taking the gold medal for each race. In 2007, Petitclerc continued to dominate her sport, winning every major national and international event and setting two world records. Every world-class athlete must be driven to succeed. Petitclerc's pursuit of excellence, however, cannot rightly be described as single-minded. Along with being an elite athlete, the 38-year-old racer is also a gifted public speaker, a popular television personality and an appreciator of the arts. Whether encouraging young people — with and without disabilities — to play sports, or serving as an athlete-ambassador to communities ravaged by war, Petitclerc is actively engaged with the larger world."
http://www.newmobility.com/articleView.cfm?id=11068
"Defining Moments" Essay Series: Ruth Sloven - (cfids.org). "I come from hardy stock. Benjamin and Pauline, my Greenberg grandparents, were children of sodbusters who homesteaded in North Dakota. My roots grow deep in that soil and my spirit blows wild and free, just like the wind, whipping across the prairie. But I had never thought of myself as a pioneer, taming a new frontier, until I answered the telephone's shrill ring on November 2, 2006. 'Congratulations!' my father said. 'We just saw a story about chronic fatigue syndrome on NBC Nightly News."
http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2008/010905.asp
Free guide to Chicago for the disabled - "Chicago is offering a new free guide for visitors with disabilities called 'Easy Access Chicago.' Basic visitor information for city attractions like Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Wrigley Field and the Sears Tower are all in the guide, along with details on accommodations like ramps and elevators, handicapped parking, Braille signage and assistive listening devices, and accessible bathrooms, counters and ticket windows."
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hhtb8PFNyBgGEoxWNuQS18iR1Naw
Rambling of Disabled Housewife - "This blog is about life of disabled people and other topics related to disabled. Disabled persom is like a different species human being from a "normal" person. Some of them come to life with some abnormalities, some become disabled later in his/her life because of an accident, not just road accident, maybe they contracted cronic diseases leading to disablities."
http://atiesya.blogspot.com/
You sexy thing - (DsabilityNow). "'Her disability had made her feel like a non-person, like a non-sexual being, and she was very articulate at expressing exactly [how] the pictorial could serve not only her, but other people with disabilities. As a way of saying, we're human beings, too, and sex is a natural part of being alive with a disability or without.' Hugh Hefner's statement about Ellen Stohl's contribution as the first disabled Playbunny for Playboy (Ability Magazine, 1987) is something I can relate to. Unless a part of the disabled community or the art and disability circle, many people have only subconsciously made connections between disability and sexuality. My artwork with Sarah Murray attempts to highlight the importance of seeing people with disabilities as sexual beings."
http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/you-sexy-thing
Canada's Health-Care System Comes in 30th: Study - "Another study has been released to the media to confirm what Canadians have known for some time: our health-care system sucks. Ours isn't the worst in the world, only the worst among many nations. When compared with 30 countries in the same developmental ballpark as our home and native land, Canada comes 30th. Yes, 30th. That's how we finish in the 'value-for-money' category of the medical sweepstakes. Dead last. We do a little better in other categories, according to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, the Canadian think-tank that released a joint report with the Stockholm/Brussels-based Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP). Their current rating, the latest in a series that started in 2005, has the Canadian system 23rd in the area of 'consumer sensitivity.' There are, apparently, seven countries on the Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index whose health-care systems are even less user-friendly than Canada's. That's the good news. The bad news is most countries on the list, 22 to be exact, have systems that are more user-friendly."
http://www.fcpp.org/main/publication_detail.php?PubID=2041
Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2008 - (Frontier Centre for Public Policy). "Canada has been brought into the annual pan-European Index, which has been published by the HCP since 2005. It was done on terms that treated Canada like any European state. The starting point was the Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI), with 29 nations, which was published on October 1, 2007. Austria emerged as the overall winner. by then, research regarding Canadian data was partially conducted for the expansion of the EHCI into the trans-Atlantic Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index (ECHCI). In the following, Canada is consequently looked upon as one out of 30 national healthcare systems. In this first edition of the Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index, Canada places 23rd out of 30. With respect to clinical Outcomes, Canada compares well with the best performing healthcare systems. In terms of Generosity, with the exception of the provision of sight restoration surgery, Canada performs poorly, and in the areas of Patients' rights and information, Waiting times and accessibility, and the Provision of pharmaceuticals, Canada's performance is in the bottom tier. These factors, combined with a very high level of spending on healthcare, contribute to putting Canada at the bottom of the Bang-for-the-Buck (BFB) scale."
http://www.fcpp.org/main/publication_detail.php?PubID=2025
The chair workout - (Guardian Unlimited). "Among the usual deluge of fitness DVDs, celebrity and otherwise, that emerge at this time of year, there is one that stands out from the rest. Like many, it encourages its viewers to work out in the comfort of their own living room, performing a varied routine of stretching, strengthening and toning moves. What makes it different, though, is that its presenter, Leanne Grose, is an amputee who instructs and performs the fast and furious regime of her Chair Workout from her wheelchair."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2244679,00.html
Indicators of Well-being in Canada - "Indicators of Well-being in Canada gathers data from different sources and presents a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the well-being of Canadians and Canadian society. It also shows how this picture may be changing over time. Whether you are a student, a researcher, a community volunteer, a public servant, or someone who is simply interested in knowing about this country, there is information here for you."
http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/home.jsp?lang=en
Health at a Glance 2007: OECD Indicators - "This fourth edition of the Health at a Glance report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides the latest comparable data and trends on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. It provides striking evidence of large variations across countries in indicators of health status and health risks, as well as in the inputs and outputs of health systems."
http://www.oecd.org/document/11/0,3343,en_2649_37407_16502667_1_1_1_37407,00.html
Non-Traditional Exercise as a Way of Preventing Secondary Conditions - Part II - (ncpad). "The New Year is a time to invest in "New Year's Resolutions" that include goals toward an improved quality of life and a commitment to health and fitness. Achieving these goals may be more enjoyable than you had imagined if you explore the opportunity to participate in non-traditional forms of exercise. This month's column examines yoga for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the effect it has had in reducing the secondary condition of fatigue."
http://www.ncpad.org/yourwrites/fact_sheet.php?sheet=587
Save the Canadian Health Network - "Help keep your friends and family healthy. Preserve Canada's number one source of non-commercial bilingual health information. On November 8, 2007, CHN affiliates were informed that, as part of the Public Health Agency of Canada's mandate to cut $17 million in grants and contributions, the program would be shut down at the end of the fiscal year (March 31, 2008)."
http://www.friendsofchn.ca/
'Wellness' atlas looks into what makes a healthy life in B.C. - by Craig McInnes (CanWest News Service). "Wellness is such an ugly word. It reeks of messy seaweed wraps, aromatherapy and weird diets. But I guess I'll have to get used to it, since the awkward antithesis to 'sickness' is increasingly being adopted as the word of choice for the pursuit of what used to be called a healthy and happy life. The Wellness Letter, which has been published since 1984 by the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, defines the word as meaning 'more than simply the absence of sickness. It is optimal physical, mental and emotional well-being, a preventative way of living that reduces -- sometimes even eliminates -- the need for remedies'."
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=8c768dd2-21c1-4f3a-a68a-321785f0aac3
http://www.geog.uvic.ca/wellness/ (The British Columbia Atlas of Wellness)
Special needs trust can protect inheritance - "Parents and relatives who leave money in their wills to a disabled child may have the best of intentions, but can do more harm than good, according to experts. If a child with special needs or a disability has more than $2,000 in the bank, he or she can lose government benefits. For that reason, many lawyers, financial advisers and advocates for the disabled recommend that families set up a special-needs trust to protect a child's assets."
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/NEWS03/801160372
Media
The 8th London International Disability Film Festival - "Launched in 1999, the Disability Film Festival has grown in size, quality and impact every year. In 2005 the festival comprised 47 events over five days with audiences totalling 2,600. This year it returns to BFI Southbank with a new creative team and a host of fresh ideas to put it firmly back on the map. The festival has served as a model for other Disability Film Festivals in Finland, Canada, Greece and Turkey and we are delighted that our refurbished venue offers complete disabled access."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/94855.php
Exhibit celebrates the beauty of the disabled - (AllAfrica). "In a bid to change the way society looks at disabled people and to celebrate their beauty, the City of Cape Town is to launch a photo exhibition featuring French models with various forms of disability. The dramatic photo exhibition, which will take place from 2 to 29 February 2008, will be officially opened by the Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille on Friday as part of the Suidoosterfees to promote cultural exchange."
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801281215.html
Music Within - (AbilityMagazine). "Actress Melissa George read through the script for Music Within, as she would any other project she was considering. But by the closing pages, she knew she had to make the film. She would play Christine, the love interest of activist Richard Pimentel, in a story that struck her as hauntingly familiar. Similar to Pimentel, her father had been injured in Vietnam, sustained a condition marked by constant ringing in the ears along with hearing loss. 'It really affected his life,' George says of her father. The uncanny connections didn't end there: During the shoot for Music Within, due out this fall, the Australian actress learned that director Steve Sawalich's stepfather is the founder of Starkey Laboratories, maker of 'the smallest hearing aid ever,' George says. 'We would like to help your dad out,' Sawalich told her. So her father flew to an affiliate in Western Australia, got fitted for the hearing aids and walked solidly into the world of sound for the first time in decades."
http://www.abilitymagazine.com/Livingston.html
Resource/Literature: Wordgathering - (HeathResourceCenter). "Wordgathering is an online journal of disabilities-related poetry produced by members of the Inglis House Poetry Workshop. The workshop is a collaborative of writers with disabilities who reside at Inglis House in Philadelphia, Pa. The workshop has been meeting, sharing and critiquing poetry for the past nine years. In addition, they have worked to promote the writing of poets with disabilities through their annual poetry contest, chapbook productions, and, most recently, Poetry and Disabilities Conference. The workshop is is also affiliated with Dispoet, a blog for the discussion of disability and poetry. Writing by individual members may be viewed at the workshop website , as can the winners of the 2007 Disability Poetry contest."
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/node/669
"Rolling": A Documentary - (HeathResourceCenter). "Reference Points: Physician and filmmaker Gretchen Berland gave video cameras to three Los Angeles residents who use wheelchairs and asked them to document their everyday lives. The result is Rolling, a frank and witty documentary that sheds light on the daily challenges of living with limited mobility. Galen Buckwalter, a clinical psychologist who became paralyzed when he was 17, is one of the participants in the film. He mounted a camera to his wheelchair and chronicled his life - from doctor's visits to family camping trips. Buckwalter identifies himself as a 'proud gimp,' and voices his frustration that, not only is he defined as disabled, but he is also expected to 'feel and act disabled.' Though the film began as Berland's attempt to document the experience of using a wheelchair, she says, 'In the end, it's really about life. It's not about feeling sorry for someone with a disability.' The documentary was featured on National Public Radio's 'Talk of the Nation' and more information and short clips from the documentary can be found at their web site, http://tinyurl.com/2oqqps"
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/node/637
Common Drug Review Has Another Chance to Prevent Needless Blindness for Tens of Thousands of Canadians - (cnib). "CNIB launched the Right to Sight advocacy campaign today to encourage Canadians to ask the Common Drug Review (CDR) to recommend a breakthrough treatment for the leading cause of vision loss in Canadians. Without a recommendation for Lucentis, which is being reconsidered on January 23, 2008, tens of thousands of Canadians will not be able to afford the only clinically proven treatment that in many patients can restore vision caused by wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)."
http://www.cnib.ca/en/news/archive/01092008-righttosight.aspx
MS - In Children - (Ability Magazine)." For decades, multiple sclerosis was considered an adult disease that didn't show up until a person—usually a woman—was somewhere between 20 and 40 years old. Now it turns out that five percent of the 400,000 Americans who get diagnosed with this disabling neurological condition are children. MS attacks the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, and can cause a range of symptoms, including fatigue, tingling sensations, difficulty walking and vision and memory problems. Usually, these episodes come and go, but worsen over time. In children, MS can have profound effects on cognitive development, performance in school and relationships with friends and family. Recently, ABILITY Magazine editor-in-chief Chet Cooper visited the West Coast's only pediatric MS center, housed at the University of California, San Francisco, to talk with founder Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant."
http://www.abilitymagazine.com/MSinChildren.html
Nervous System Can Reorganize Itself and Use New Pathways to Restore Walking after Spinal Cord Injury - "A UCLA study demonstrates that the nervous system can reorganize itself after spinal cord injury and use new pathways to restore the cellular communication required for walking. Published in the January edition of Nature Medicine, the discovery could lead to new therapies for the estimated 250,000 Americans who suffer from paralysis following traumatic spinal cord injuries."
http://www.canparaplegic.org/en/Research_32/items/37.html
Canadians in Context: Persons with Disabilities - (Indicators of Well-being in Canada). "The persons with disabilities section provides information on the Canadian Population with a Disability, Type of Disability, and Children with a Disability."
http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/indicator.jsp?lang=en&indicatorid=40
Centre will break down barriers to understanding disability - "Better support for people with intellectual disabilities will be an outcome of a unique new research and teaching centre based at The University of Queensland. The Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Support, an Australian-first initiated by the Queensland Government, will expand national and international knowledge of intellectual disabilities and severely challenging behaviours, and improve the skills of people working in the field."
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=13768
Disability in Australia: acquired brain injury - by Louise O'Rance and Nicola Fortune (AustralianPolicyOnline). "Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a common cause of disability among people of all ages. Disabilities related to ABI are often complex and may cause limitations in many areas of life. This bulletin examines ABI in Australia: its causes, the prevalence and severity of disability related to ABI, and the needs of people with ABI in various aspects of life. It also provides a profile of people with ABI who currently use specialist disability services funded under the Commonwealth."
http://www.apo.org.au/linkboard/results.chtml?filename_num=191521
European networking in disability studies - "Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study (involving research and training) that addresses disability as a human rights issue and supports the full participation and equality of disabled people. Its models and theories (e.g. the social model of disability) construct the situation of disabled people as a social problem, with social causes. Its methods promote the participation of disabled people and their organizations. Critical Disability Studies is well established throughout the world, with research centres, international conferences and an extensive research literature. . . . The rationale for networking at the European level is to promote critical disability research throughout the European Research Area. There have been several attempts to establish European networking in disability studies (e.g. from a meeting in Belgium in 2000 to the creation of a new European Journal of Disability Research in 2007). In a submission to DG Research in 2005, the European Disability Forum emphasised the 'need for the creation of a network of academic experts in the field' to 'assist in EU policy development and data gathering'."
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/projects/euronetworking/index.htm
National Council on Disability to Discuss Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities in New Orleans - "The National Council on Disability (NCD) will hear presentations on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center, 859 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 29, 2008, at 1:15 p.m. These presentations are open to the public and the media."
http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/national-council-disability-discuss-emergency-preparedness-people-disabilities_437047_1.html
National Disability Policy: A Progress Report - "On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), it is my duty and honor to submit NCD's National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, as required by Section 401(b)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. This report covers the period from December 2005 through December 2006. It reviews federal policy activities by issue areas, noting progress where it has occurred and making further
recommendations where necessary to the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government."
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/NationalDisabilityPolicy_A_Progress_Report.html (Web version)
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/pdf/20080115_NCD_ProgressReportComplete.pdf (PDF)
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/doc/NCD_Annual_Progress_Report_121007.doc (Word)
National Council on Disability Releases National Disability Status Report Citing Progress and Challenges - (PRNewswire-USNewswire). "The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released its annual report, National Disability Policy: A Progress Report (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/NationalDisabilityPolicy_A_Progress_Report.html or http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/pdf/20080115_NCD_ProgressReportComplete.pdf), noting progress where it has occurred and making further recommendations where necessary to the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080115/pl_usnw/national_council_on_disability_releases_national_disability_status_report_citing_progress_and_challenges
National Council on Disability Says No Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Having Positive Impact - (HeathResouceCenter). "The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released a report http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/index.htm analyzing the progress of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that says students with disabilities are no longer ignored. To that end, NCLB and IDEA have had a significant, positive impact."
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/node/673
New signs of the times for deaf learners – by Stephen Naysmith (The Herald). "Hundreds of deaf pupils could benefit from a project that is building a suite of new sign language symbols for scientific terms and concepts. Edinburgh University's School of Education has developed glossaries for British Sign Language (BSL) covering biology, physics and chemistry. The school's Scottish Sensory Centre had already produced more than 80 individual signs for mathematicss in a pilot project."
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.2000723.0.New_signs_of_the_times_for_deaf_learners.php
Open science, open access and open source software at Open Medicine - by Sally Murray, Stephen Choi, John Hoey, Claire Kendall, James Maskalyk, Anita Palepu (Open Science). "Open science is emerging as a collaborative and transparent approach to research. It is the idea that all data (both published and unpublished) should be freely available, and that private interests should not stymie its use by means of copyright, intellectual property rights and patents. It also embraces open access publishing and open source software (rather than proprietary software, which limits others' use of source code and data analysis methods)."
Some of this month's article's are:
· Enriching our Understanding of Medicare
· Healthy Reasoning About Canadian Health Care
· Up Close and Personal: Poverty and Human Development
· Clinic entrance interviews: a new method to assess needs after a sudden impact disaster
· Prokinetic drug utility in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux esophagitis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
· A systematic review of studies comparing health outcomes in Canada and the United States
· Past, present and future: experiences and lessons from telehealth projects
http://www.openmedicine.ca/
Reorienting Disability Research - (National Council on Disability). "On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), I am pleased to submit a report entitled Reorienting Disability Research. The report synthesizes recommendations by researchers and consumers toward a disability statistics policy that is more meaningful and useful in light of the paradigm shift
precipitated by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which NCD originally proposed." (1998).
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom//publications/1998/reorienting.htm (Web version)
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/pdf/20080115_NCD_ProgressReportComplete.pdf (PDF version)
Foundations of therapeutic recreation: Perceptions, philosophies, and practices for the 21st century - by Robertson, T. & Long, T. (2008). "The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. The book is divided into three parts:
· Part I includes an introduction to Therapeutic Recreation, including career and professional opportunities as well as places, models, and modalities of practice.
· Part II takes a closer look at potential areas of practice, including trends and issues as well as the effect of demographics and economics on the profession.
· Part III considers the mechanisms for intervention, including developmental disabilities, aging, youth development, orthopedic and neurological impairment, and mental health. Additionally, an entire chapter, co-authored by NCPAD Information Specialist Sheila Swann-Guerrero, is devoted to wellness through physical activity.
This is the first introductory therapeutic recreation textbook written entirely within this century, and with collaboration from both new and seasoned professionals within the field, this book stands to share tested and successful interventions as well as push new barriers and challenge the status quo."
http://www.ncpad.org/newsletter/newsletter.php?letter=72§ion=1068
Technology
Company's Award-Winning Sound Enhancement Technology Proven to Provide Superior Performance Over Other Technologies; Patent Will Enhance Able Planet, LINX AUDIO Brands - (EarthTimes). "Able Planet, a company founded on the principle of hearing preservation, enhancement and superior sound performance, today announced it has been awarded a patent for its innovative LINX AUDIO technology. The technology, originally developed for use in a new generation of top-of-the-line hearing aids, delivers superior sound quality and maximum clarity. It also increases the perception of loudness without forcing users to crank up the volume to potentially damaging levels."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/companys-award-winning-sound-enhancement-technology-proven-to-provide-superior-performance,261752.shtml
First Cell Phone that Reads to the Blind and Dyslexic Released by Joint Venture of Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind - (Business Wire). "K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc., a company combining the research and development efforts of the National Federation of the Blind and Kurzweil Technologies, Inc., today unveils an exciting product line that will revolutionize access to print for anyone who has difficulty seeing or reading print, including the blind and learning disabled. The company's world-renowned reading software has been especially designed for and paired with the Nokia N82 mobile phone to create the smallest text-to-speech reading device in history. . . This truly pocket-size Reader enables users to take pictures of and read most printed materials at the push of a button. Blind users hear the contents of the document read in clear synthetic speech, while users who can see the screen and those with learning disabilities can enlarge, read, track, and highlight printed materials using the phone's large and easy-to-read display. The combination of text-to-speech and tracking features makes interpreting text much easier for individuals with learning disabilities."
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080127005020&newsLang=en
Microsoft Provides Accessibility Programming Model to Industry Group Devoted to Interoperability and Accessibility - (PRNewswire)."Microsoft Corp. today committed to contribute its UI Automation specification to the Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA), a new engineering working group dedicated to making it easier for developers to create software, hardware and Web-based products that are accessible to people with disabilities. The UI Automation specification describes Microsoft's latest accessibility framework technology, and will help developers include advanced accessibility functionality into implementations designed for use on any operating system."
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTH03017012008-1.htm
( New Conferences)
Canadian
24th International Seating Symposium - March 5-8, 2008 | Vancouver, British Columbia. "This international symposium addresses current and future developments in the areas of seating, positioning and mobility. Topic areas include service delivery, product development, research and evaluation. The format for the symposium will include plenary, poster, instructional and paper sessions. Extensive opportunities are provided for networking with colleagues."
http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/24th_Seating.htm
Eighth International Conference on the Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations - June 17-20, 2008 | Montreal, Quebec. "Welcome to website of the Eighth International Conference on the Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations. This Conference is to be held in Montréal, Canada 17-20 June 2008. This conference will address a range of critically important themes in the study of diversity today. Main speakers will include some of the world's leading thinkers in the field, as well as numerous paper, workshop and colloquium presentations by researchers and practitioners."
http://d08.cgpublisher.com/
CHHA - IFHOH, Congress 2008 - July 2-6, 2008 | Vancouver, British Columbia. "The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People invite you to attend the International Congress for persons with hearing loss to be held in Canada at the fabulous Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center in downtown Vancouver. Programs will be of interest to all persons with hearing loss, and to those who live, work and are part of the lives of persons with hearing loss. This Congress is a 'must' if hearing loss has touched your life."
http://www.chha-ifhohcongress2008.com/
Vision 2008, the 9th International Conference on Low Vision - July 7-11, 2008 | Montreal, Quebec. "In 2008, the 9th International Conference on Low Vision will be held from July 7 to 11 in Montréal, one of Canada's major cities. The Institut Nazareth & Louis-Braille (A Rehabilitation Centre specialized in visual impairment) and the University of Montréal's School of Optometry will oversee the organization of this Conference in partnership with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) under the auspices of the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR)."
www.vision2008.ca
21st RI World Congress - Disability Rights and Social Participation: Ensuring a Society for All - August 25-28, 2008 | Quebec City, Quebec. "The international community is facing a unique opportunity to drastically improve the living conditions of hundreds of millions of people with disabilities by implementing the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This treaty provides the framework for the development of good policies, actions and projects which can have a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities all over the world. People with disability, their family and friends, human rights advocates, experts, government representatives, service providers and civil society leaders from all over the world will gather in Quebec City, Canada from August 25-28, 2008, for the 21st RI World Congress to discuss key disability issues and build partnerships."
http://www.riquebec2008.org/
Third ICOH Conference on Psychosocial Factors at Work - September 1-4, 2008. | Quebec City, Quebec. "The Third ICOH-WOPS international conference "Psychosocial Factors at Work: From Knowledge to Action" will take place in Québec City, September 1-4, 2008. The two first International ICOH Conferences on Psychosocial Factors at Work were held in Copenhagen in 1998 and in Japan in 2005. Both conferences were highly successful attracting more than 300 international researchers in the field. The 2008 conference will address four major themes: Preventive interventions; Disability management and Return to work; Psychological harassment at work; and Public policies on mental health at work. Papers will include mental health, musculosqueletal and cardiovascular diseases; quantitative and qualitative methodology. We hope that you will attend the Conference and it will be a pleasure to welcome you."
http://www.icoh-wops2008.com/Afficher.aspx?langue=en
U.S.
23rd Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference - March 10-15, 2008 | Los Angeles, California. "The 23rd Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference invites submissions of papers for this conference to be held March 10-15, 2008 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott and Renaissance Montura hotels. The 'CSUN' conference is the world's longest-running and largest conference of its kind on the topic of assistive technology and the positive impact on persons with disabilities. The conference draws more than 4,500 persons annually who attend sessions, visit the exhibit halls, and participate in affiliate meetings and informal gatherings."
http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.html
5th Annual International Conference for Positive Behavior Support - March 27-29, 2008 | Chicago, Illinois. "The 5th International Conference on Positive Behavior Support is an international conference dedicated to promoting research-based strategies that combine applied behavior analysis and biomedical science with person-centered values and systems change to increase quality of life and decrease problem behaviors. The Association of Positive Behavior Support (APBS) is made up of professionals, family members, trainers, consumers, researchers, and administrators who are involved and interested in positive behavior support."
http://www.apbs.org/conference/chicago/default.html
From Innovations to Practice - April 14-15, 2008 | Cambridge, Massachusetts. "This state of the science conference brings together participants from the USA, Canada and an estimated 25 nations into an exciting learning community, integrating research, practice and innovations. Goal of Conference: To highlight efforts and practices directed at making recovery a real possibility for the broadest group of individuals with psychiatric disabilities and to promote the mainstreaming of those practices into 'everyday operations'."
http://www.bu.edu/cpr/conference/index.html
2008 Mobility Planning Services Institute - April 21-24, 2008 | Washington, D.C. " The MPS institute offers intensive training and planning activities that result in plans each team can take home to improve services in their communities. The training component of MPS is provided by industry experts serving as faculty for breakout sessions. Interspersed with the learning sessions are hands-on team working sessions. In a relaxed setting, Institute faculty facilitate an interactive learning environment where team members can openly discuss challenging issues and plan solutions."
http://projectaction.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ESPA_mobility_planning
Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, & Disability: Looking Back & Thinking Ahead - April 22-23, 2008 | Columbus, Ohio. "The Eighth Annual Multiple Perspectives conference continues the university's efforts to bring together a diverse audience to explore disability as both an individual experience and social reality that cuts across typical divisions of education & employment; scholarship & service; business & government; race, gender & ethnicity. This year's theme 'looking back and thinking ahead' is meant to encourage presenters and participants to consider topics, methods and programs from fresh perspectives."
http://ada.osu.edu/conferences/2008Conf/callforpapers2008.html#utmost
Toward Culturally Responsive Disability Services: An International Conference - October 6 and 7, 2008 | Niagara Falls, New York. Conference themes are:
· Cultural competency education and training (pre service and in service)
· Best practices in providing culturally responsive services in the disability and health services
· Acquiring and strengthening cultural competence through international experience
· Research on cultural competency
http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/conference2008/index.html
IDA 59th Annual Conference - October 29-November 1, 2008 | Seattle, Washington. "The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a scientific and educational nonprofit organization concerned with dyslexia and related language and learning difficulties. The IDA Annual Conference focuses on the latest advances in these and related fields. IDA is interested in a broad spectrum of research and practical presentations along these lines. The objective of the conference is to bring up-to-date information to a diverse audience that includes educators, researchers, physicians, psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, administrators, parents, persons with dyslexia, and others."
http://www.interdys.org/AnnualConference.htm
Overseas
4th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology – April 14-16, 2008 | Cambridge, United Kingdom. "'Creating a better balance of work, living and leisure, for disability and ageing' The workshop theme 'Designing Inclusive Futures' reflects the need to explore the issues and practicalities of design that is intended to extend our active future lives in a coherent way. This encompasses design for inclusion: in the workplace; for businesses; for the individual and of products in these contexts."
http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/
11th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs - July 9-11, 2008 | University of Linz, Austria. - "Over the last decades the advancement in Assistive Technologies (AT) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have significantly influenced the life of people with disabilities. According changes in awareness and understanding of disability as well as social and legal frameworks, driven by Disability Rights and Independent Living Movements led to what is known as eAccessibility, Universal Design or eInclusion."
http://www.icchp.org/overview
Disability Studies Conference - September 2-4, 2008 | Lancaster University, United Kingdom. "The fourth international disability studies conference will take place at Lancaster University, UK. The purpose of the conference is to bring together researchers, practitioners, policy makers and activits to share and debate research, ideas and developments in disability studies. A call for papers and posters will be issued in January 2008. The closing date for abstracts will be 30th April. Submissions are particularly welcomed from students, activists and first time presenters, activists and first time presenters. We seek to provide a supportive environment for people making their first conference presentations and to be as accessible as possible to all delegates."
http://www.disabilitystudies.net/?content=3
19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics - July 5-9, 2009 | Paris, France. "Every four years, the World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics represents a unique and irreplaceable event attended by experts from around the world to discuss the latest findings in the field of ageing. The 19th congress, which is taking place in Paris in 2009, is particularly important, as it coincides with an ideological u-turn. Lifespan extension and the
growing number of elderly people, once considered as catastrophic, are now viewed as an indisputable progress."
http://www.gerontologyparis2009.com/site/view8.php