Disability

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• For Kids With Autism, ‘Inner Speech’ Key To Problem-Solving

  Disability Scoop

  Michelle Diament

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:25 pm

  Teaching kids with autism to talk things through in their heads could dramatically improve their ability to deal with everyday problems, new research indicates.

• Unfairly treated by Social Security Judge?

  Disability Tips

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  16 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  If you feel that you were treated unfairly by the Social Security judge, you can file an “Unfair Treatment Complaint” and ask that Social Security review what happened. Someone who was not involved in your case will review your complaint and take action, if appropriate. While there is no guarantee that Social Security will find that action is needed, you will be notified before Social Security closes the matter. Keep in mind that filing an unfair treatment complaint does not appeal the judge’s decision. If you were denied and want to appeal the denial, you still need to…

• Siri Comes Up Short for Deaf and Speech Impaired

  disability news | assistive technology | disability employment

  Branden Kornell

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm

  I recently bought an iPhone 4S. I was anxious to try out Siri, the (supposedly) game-changing voice recognition software. Siri is great at some things (fetching the weather), reasonably good at others (setting up reminders), and relatively hopeless at many other things (it’s fallback to anything it doesn’t know how to do is to suggest [...]

• Unemployment And Social Security Disability Claims

  Illinois Social Security Disability Blog

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:22 am

  Can I Get Unemployment Benefits While I Am Trying To Get Disability?The question above has been more mainstream these days, with the economy struggling and people finding it difficult to obtain gainful employment. It has become so mainstream that The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on the issue stating, "The higher unemployment rate this year accounts for 3,000 additional people applying for benefits(disability) each week." The article went on to explain that "people have been doing this out of desperation."A claimant does not typically have any financial issues to worry…

• The Badass Conference with Captions

  deafmomworld.com

  DeafMom

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 pm

  Have you seen the line up for the Badass Conference? Jon Morrow Tommy Walker Seth Godin Jonathan Fields Julien Smith Brian Clark And that’s just some of the folks who will be speaking at the Badass Conference on Thursday, January 26 and Friday, January 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. EST.  Everyone is donating their time and services, including SpeechText Access, a brand new company that is providing captioned access for the conference. Bill Graham, founder of ALDA, put this access together.  SpeechText Access is a company that trains people with disabilities and veterans to provide captioned…

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  deafmomworld.com

• The Badass Conference with Captions

  DeafMom

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 pm

  Have you seen the line up for the Badass Conference? Jon Morrow Tommy Walker Seth Godin Jonathan Fields Julien Smith Brian Clark And that’s just some of the folks who will be speaking at the Badass Conference on Thursday, January 26 and Friday, January 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. EST.  Everyone is donating their time and services, including SpeechText Access, a brand new company that is providing captioned access for the conference. Bill Graham, founder of ALDA, put this access together.  SpeechText Access is a company that trains people with disabilities and veterans to provide captioned…

• The Sunset I’ll Never Forget

  DeafMom

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:08 pm

  I was cleaning out my iPhone and I came across the photos that were taken the day of my Dad’s memorial.  For as long as I live, I will never forget that brilliant sunset that streaked across the sky when Jen and I went for a walk that day.  Perhaps I was just soaking in the energy of that day and my awareness was just heightened by a sense of loss, but I’m grateful for the gift of that masterpiece.       And how appropriate is it that I came across this poem that I wrote in junior high, while cleaning out my desk today: A dash of red, Flames of fire, Smears of…

• What I Learned from Physical Torture

  DeafMom

  9 Jan 2012 | 10:04 pm

  I heard horror stories about physical therapy so I was kind of dreading the whole process after my ACL reconstruction surgery. The first visit went pleasantly enough.  ”Oh, it’s not too bad,” I told my family and friends after the initial knee manipulation. The second visit was a different story. I nearly jumped off the table when the therapist began massaging my incisions. One in particular was a bit swollen and extremely painful. “You shouldn’t be feeling this much pain,” the therapist said as she continued to press down on the incision. “Looks…

• Deaf and Barefooting Worlds Collide

  DeafMom

  29 Dec 2011 | 11:10 am

  Four years ago, Jodi Cutler and I connected in the blogosphere as parents of deaf/hard of hearing kids and bloggers.  Her blog,  An American Mom in Tuscany: Jordan’s Cochlear Implant Story chronicles her life in Italy with her son, Jordan.  After years of connecting via the written word, I gave her a call and we talked on the phone for the first time.  The ZVRS interpreter had amazing skills and the conversation flowed smoothly.  I was so excited to finally connect with Jodi via phone. After we ended our conversation, I quickly thanked the interpreter and was about to hang up. …

• Happy Birthday Diego: The Honor of Attending a Birth

  DeafMom

  21 Dec 2011 | 11:15 am

  Diego is two today, but the memories of his birth are as fresh as ever!  Happy birthday Diego! For six long days, Juliet’s labor started on and off. Every night, I tucked my phone under my pillow, waiting for the vibration that would signal the real deal. On Mon., Dec. 21, the phone sprang into action and I awoke at 6:30 a.m. to a text saying that the contractions were pretty strong and that the midwife was on her way over. We agreed to wait until the midwife arrived and then see if I should be on my way. Juliet and I met a few years back, when her daughter, Paula, was a toddler. I…

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  ScienceDaily: Disability News

• New understanding of chronic pain

  22 Jan 2012 | 2:24 pm

  Millions of people worldwide suffer from a type of chronic pain called neuropathic pain, which is triggered by nerve damage. Precisely how this pain persists has been a mystery, and current treatments are largely ineffective. But scientists, using a new approach known as metabolomics, have now discovered a major clue: dimethylsphingosine (DMS), a small-molecule byproduct of cellular membranes in the nervous system. In their new study, the scientists found that DMS is produced at abnormally high levels in the spinal cords of rats with neuropathic pain and appears to cause pain when injected.

• How immune cells move against invaders

  19 Jan 2012 | 3:32 pm

  Scientists have discovered the unexpected way in which a key cell of the immune system prepares for battle. The finding, they said, offers insight into the processes that take place within these cells and could lead to strategies for treating conditions from spinal cord injury to cancer.

• Saving dogs with spinal cord injuries

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm

  Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug currently being tested by researchers — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.

• Umbilical cord stem cells converted into brain support cells

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:43 pm

  Researchers have succeeded in converting stem cells from umbilical cords into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases.

• No walk in the park: Factors that predict walking difficulty in elderly

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:08 pm

  Researchers have found that the likelihood of becoming disabled with age increases with the following factors: having a chronic condition or cognitive impairment; low physical activity; slower gross motor coordination; having poor lower-extremity function; and being hospitalized. Women are also more likely than men to become disabled in their later years.

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  CRIN News Feed - Home - English

• UNITED STATES: Clemency urged in Louisiana child life without parole case

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:57 am

  The Louisiana authorities should grant clemency to a woman serving a life sentence without possibility of parole for a crime committed when she was a child, Amnesty International said today as the state Pardon Board meets in Baton Rouge.

• SYRIA: Activists report 'terrifying massacre' in Syrian city of Homs, with dozens killed

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:50 am

  A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday.

• RUSSIA: Doll 'protesters' present small problem for police

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:43 am

  Police in Siberian city ask prosecutors to investigate legality of protest involving display of toy figures holding miniature placards. But activists say they have no choice but to adopt creative measures of protest.

• JORDAN: Teen activist jailed for burning king's picture

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:31 am

  Activists have criticised the ruling, saying that burning an image of a member of the royal family as a political statement should not be criminally prosecuted, as to do so sends a chilling message that criticising the king is off limits.

• JAPAN: Legislation on Hague pact must ensure children's best interests

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:54 am

  Legislators have drafted domestic laws required to participate in the Hague Convention, which sets rules for international child custody issues.

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  CRIN News Feed - Resources - News Home

• INDIA: Engineer develops online map to show horrors of gender abuse

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:26 am

  [NEW DELHI, 26 January 2012] - A villager in southwestern India has developed the country's first online mapping platform that documents the multitude of abuses, rapes and murders committed daily against women there, to awaken people to the extent and horrors of such crimes. Despite st

• VIOLENCE: UK troops quizzed over Afghan 'child abuse'

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:16 am

  Two soldiers arrested and questioned over allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" involving 10-year-old boys.

• UNITED STATES: Clemency urged in Louisiana child life without parole case

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:57 am

  The Louisiana authorities should grant clemency to a woman serving a life sentence without possibility of parole for a crime committed when she was a child, Amnesty International said today as the state Pardon Board meets in Baton Rouge.

• UNITED STATES: Govt changes definition of rape

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  Men and boys are now identified as victims of rape, which was previously unaccounted for.

• SYRIA: Activists report 'terrifying massacre' in Syrian city of Homs, with dozens killed

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:50 am

  A "terrifying massacre" in the restive Syrian city of Homs has killed more than 30 people, including small children, in a barrage of mortar fire and attacks by armed forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Friday.

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  Do It Myself Blog - Glenda Watson Hyatt

• Amazon Kindle Sales Ranking Takes Off

  Glenda

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:53 pm

  BREAKING TRIVIAL NEWS…in the past couple of hours, the Amazon sales ranking for my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself shot up from #67,557 in the Kindle Store – after being at about #797,998 for weeks – to #41,004! And I have screenshot to prove it: I usually don’t pay much attention to the sales ranking; ranking does not not necessarily equate to dollars, which, really, is the only one number that really counts But when it jumps 26,553 points in an hour, that caught my attention! Thank you to the Kindle readers who made that happen. In the next hour, my book dropped slightly to…

• Amazon Kindle: Still Believing Great Opportunity Exists for Self-Published Authors

  Glenda

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:01 pm

  Last month Amazon announced Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select – "a new option dedicated to KDP authors and publishers worldwide, featuring a fund of $500,000 in December 2011 and at least $6 million in total for 2012! …" Understanding that early adopters would have a greater chance of substantially gaining from this opportunity, I opted in right away by making my autobiography I’ll Do It Myselfavailable through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows eligible U.S. Amazon Prime members to borrow the book. I would earn a royalty – based on a percentage – for…

• Behind the Scenes of a Tweetchat with the Left Thumb Blogger

  Glenda

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:16 pm

  A tweetchat – a chat held on Twitter; typically with a guest host sharing an expertise with a specific group indicated by a hashtag (#). By the very nature of Twitter, anyone interested can participate in the chat. Thanks to Association for Women in Communications (AWC) organizer and my friend Sheila Scarborough, yesterday I had the pleasure of guest hosting #AWChat, sharing my expertise in web accessibility. Prior to the chat, I prepared my responses to Sheila’s questions as a series of tweets in SocialOomph – a handy tool for scheduling tweets and other such tasks. I also copied my…

• Enough of Others’ Success Strategies! 2012 is the Year for Mine, Based on Balance

  Glenda

  10 Jan 2012 | 7:35 pm

  Since choosing this self-employed, solopreneur route – or, more accurately, having the decision, more or less, made for me – I have spent much time reading, observing and listening to how other entrepreneurs and business owners have found success. Strategies, methods and formulas that have and haven’t worked have caught my attention. I have tried implementing a few, and have discarded many others that didn’t fit or make sense for me. Last week I watched a news clip on our local self-made billionaire Jimmy Pattison, the sole owner of the third largest private company in Canada. His net…

• Changes are Brewing for a Healthy and Balanced 2012

  Glenda

  30 Dec 2011 | 5:25 pm

  2011 was amazing! I had record year for travelling: Honolulu, Austin and San Diego with an unscheduled quick sleepover in  Phoenix, Mississauga, Portland and Los Angeles. My travel agent even suggested that it now might be worthwhile to get an air miles card. I had the opportunity to present at South-by-Southwest (SXSW), the 26th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN 2010) and Successful Online Business Conference (SOBCon); I had the pleasure of meeting new friends and happily reconnecting with old ones. However, all of this – and more –…

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  Blisstree » LIVE

• Afternoon Links: Prep A Quick And Healthy Dinner

  Emily Moorhouse

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:29 pm

  • Master the art of resilience. (HuffPost Fitness) • Ways to prep a quick, healthy dinner. (fitsugar) • A quick fix for feeling down in the dumps. (The Stir) • Can you make your husband change? (YourTango) • How to handle your debt. (HuffPost Women • How to handle difficult people. (YouBeauty) • Vegetable cocktails you should try. (Organic Authority) • Health and fitness books you should buy. (Well + Good) Post from: Blisstree

• 6 Reasons Why Your Period Might Be Irregular

  Hanna Brooks Olsen

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm

  Contrary to what you may be inclined to believe by the period-shaming media, your monthly flow is not embarrassing, not blue, not consistant, and often, not monthly at all. In fact, for most women, at some point in their lives, unusual menstruation is the norm–and that perfect, 28-day cycle is an illusive creature, like a hormonal unicorn leaping over rainbows of body-positive tampon ads off on the horizon. But even with that knowledge, when your period does something unpredicted, it can still be worrisome. I asked Heather Corinna, Founder and Executive Director  of…

• Why Snooki Should Promote Exercise And Diet Instead of Zantrex3

  Briana Rognlin

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:15 pm

  I’ve already written about how amazing it is that Snooki‘s new Zantrex commercial features the same music as Jessie Spano‘s caffeine pill breakdown. Now it’s time for me to have a serious talk about her new body and why I’m so bummed that she’s peddling diet drugs instead of focusing on all the other hard work she’s been doing to get healthy. Snooki has been showing off her newly toned (albeit badly photoshopped) body on Twitter since December, and she even appeared on Ellen reporting on her new—dare I say it?—healthy habits, like working out…

• Anti-Obesity Program Horrors: They May Cause Eating Disorders

  Deborah Dunham

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:40 am

  A new poll says 30% of parents have seen at least one worrisome behavior in their children that could be associated with an eating disorder—and they’re blaming it on school-based anti-obesity programs. Of course, lowering childhood obesity rates is a good thing, but it seems a lot of school programs are taking a dangerous approach: Instead of teaching kids how to life a happy, healthy lifestyle through positive role models, they teach them how not to be obese. The difference—inspiration vs. fear—makes all the difference between controlling obesity and, it appears, eating…

• Obese Docs Less Likely To Diagnose Obese Patients

  Elizabeth Nolan Brown

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  Whether a doctor’s weight interferes with his or her ability to diagnose patients is a question I would normally consider stupid and insulting. But new research shows this actually might be the case—at least when that diagnosis is obesity. According to a study published this month in the journal Obesity, doctors who were overweight or obese were far less likely to diagnose obesity than docs in the normal weight range. The study, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 500 doctors across the United States. Researchers found doctors with a ‘normal’…

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  Rolling Around In My Head

• DNA

  28 Jan 2012 | 4:13 am

  Joe's father was a lovely man. Full of the love of life and with a generosity of spirit that was so natural to him that it had to be coded into his DNA. He had a harmonica, and could play. He loved to both tell a joke and hear a joke. He worked hard. He played hard. And, maybe most important of all, he loved his family. He was terrific around children and seemed to have a natural ability to know just what to do to make them laugh, just what to do to make them feel loved. A remarkable man.Whenever he came to visit us, either in University when we were students, or to Toronto when we were first…

• Superfast

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm

  When Ruby found out we were going to see her in the morning she asked, 'Do we have to come to Toronto?' I told her, that we were coming to Ottawa. She asked if we were staying at their house, an odd question because we never do. I said we were going to be in a hotel. She's been in a lot of hotels with us so I reminded her, 'It's the hotel with the long hallway where you get to run superfast.' She knew immediately which hotel it was and got excited.After all she likes to run superfast and she knows the hotel has a pool. So she asked, 'Wanna see me run superfast right now??' I asked her how I…

• Solutions (Two)

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm

  We made the decision quickly. Without even much of a second thought. What with the International Day of Mourning and Memory, and all the posts regarding that day, there has been so much emotion expended. Along with that, I've been doing a literature search on people with intellectual disabilities as witnesses in the justice system. This is in preparation for doing an article demonstrating that Self Esteem, Sex Education and Abuse Prevention classes taught to people with disabilities give them the words with which to tell what has happened to them and the self esteem needed to fuel courage in…

• FYI

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:11 pm

  There has been a bit of controversy going on over at 'The Canadian Weblog Awards' and you might want to pop over there to see what's going on. For those of you who might be confused. In Canada we have two very different blog awards. The Canadian Blog Awards, where you went to vote for me and where I won Best Personal Blog (thank you) is one where readers vote. 'The Canadian Weblog Awards' are a juried award system where readers votes aren't part of the process. Janet, who might be the Janet who comments here sometimes, raised the point that all the bloggers who write about physical and…

• Right Now

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm

  Right now I'm eating left over pizza. Double sauce, double cheeze, double hot peppers and pineapple - it's good even cold. I love cold pizza.Right now I'm flipping through an Italian translation of one of my books, it came out a while ago but I just recieved a copy of it now. I can't read a single word in it but it's very, very cool.Right now I'm writing an email to a person with whom I had a fight several years ago and with whom bonds have been reestablished. It's a funny, silly email, the kind that you send to people just for fun.Right now I'm listening to a message on the phone from Ruby.

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  Half Soled Boots

• Down With Synthetics!!

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:41 pm

  For years I've been lauding the merits of natural fibre. I remember in the early 1990s, trying to find yardage for sewing that had no acrylic, polyester, nylon, and so on.And NOW look what they've discovered.Billions of fleece items made from recycled pop bottles don't look quite so good now, huh? It turns out you can run from plastic, but you can't hide. When are they going to just stop making this stuff? The day after Never, I'm thinking. And my poor children, and yours, are going to have to deal with the toxic shit we just keep buying, wearing, and throwing away.And cancer? I bet cancer is…

• Oh -- sorry 'bout that.

  20 Jan 2012 | 9:36 pm

  I sort of forgot about the internet. This was me last night, while washing dishes: "Wha--? Oh my goodness! I have a blog!" Oopsie.I haven't talked much about Christmas this year - except to laud Amazon.ca gift cards - but here is a little sample of Yule 2011.My seven year old set up her doll for a nice nap. Looking at this baby's "bottle", and when I remark that my daughter considered Rescue Remedy a matter of course for her baby's nap, it becomes obvious that I had high-needs children.I was in Kaboodles a week before Christmas, spotted these little crank-driven music boxes, and threw them in…

• Ever In Your Favour

  7 Jan 2012 | 8:27 pm

  I love it when I get Amazon gift cards for Christmas. I always have a huge wish list going, and there's nothing quite so satisfying as clicking "Add to Cart". This year, I ended up with $100 at Amazon. Fun! So I spent Christmas afternoon intermittently basting and browsing.I managed to come in wondrous close - $99.63 in total, with two knitting books, a DVD, and a hardcover box set of The Hunger Games trilogy.I haven't watched the DVD yet, the knitting books can wait...but I read the whole Hunger Games back to back in two and a half days.WOW.First off, let me admit that I had never heard of…

• In Retrospect

  31 Dec 2011 | 12:38 pm

  EDIT: Dave reminded me that my post "Peace be With You" was nominated for Best Blog Post in the Canadian Blog Awards. I squeaked through into Round Two, so if you'd like to vote for me that would be great. (If, of course, you think the other four posts are not as good as mine. You must vote with your conscience, and you only get one shot at each poll.)I have been sitting here for forty-five minutes halfheartedly clicking around the web, and I ended up on my own blog to answer the question (asked by myself - the only interested party) of how many New Year's Eve posts I have written.One!I'm…

• You're a Mean One.

  28 Dec 2011 | 2:08 am

  We went to the city yesterday. We had some gift cards to spend, and since Chapters online can be hard to navigate, we took the kids to the brick and mortar store.Woodgrove Center Mall a week ago was a happy and bustling place, filled with (mostly) pleasant, excited people who smiled at you when you made eye contact. "Merry Christmas!" was a euphonic chorus on my ears.And now, Baby Jesus is looking around going "Hey! Where'd everybody go?" Fast forward a few days, to December 27.  ALMIGHTY. Those people are cranky!! I mean, they are MAD cranky! This one guy went past me in the food…

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  My Private Casbah

• Yes, There ARE Bigots in the LGBTQIA Community

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:24 am

  I'm just going to jump right in here and explain what's wrong with the way this supposedly liberal writer used the term "redneck". In a letter that Mitchell S. Gilbert wrote to a Tennessee politician who has been engaging in homophobia, he said,"Why do southern red-necks open their mouths and advertise to the world how incredibly simple, bigoted and foolish they are?"The term "redneck" is a lot like the term "cracker" or "honky". Sure, it's perfectly okay for people to use those terms about themselves, but it's certainly not okay to use them as pejoratives that are then applied to others.My…

• For Science!!

  12 Jan 2012 | 3:51 am

  Today, a dear friend passed along a link regarding a project in Oaxaca that seeks to save Mexico's native corn varieties. Maybe it was because it's 4 a.m. and I can't sleep. For whatever reason, I'm in a cranky mood and I felt motivated to talk about something from my past that I'm still a tiny bit bitter about. And this friend is really, really easy to open up to, so that might have something to do with it, too. It was my pre-cancer life when I was on my way to...what? An exciting future as a botanist or geneticist or pharmacologist? I'm so far from that person now, that I sometimes find it…

• For People with "Solutions" to Obesity That They Just Won't Keep to Themselves

  4 Jan 2012 | 4:01 am

  I've been thinking more and more about the comments I read on the HuffPo article that I blogged about a few hours ago. It wasn't a surprise to see an abundance of people making comments like, "Just put down the fork", "Just eat fewer calories than you burn", "I hate seeing people eat excessively" and "nobody made you eat, so it's all your fault that you're fat." Although it's exactly what you see every time there's an article about obesity, it still bothered me a lot. There's so much that I wanted to tell these asshats.My partner's grandmother died of lung cancer. She never smoked. Her…

• Georgia Thinks Shaming Children Sounds Like a Great Campaign

  4 Jan 2012 | 3:42 am

  HuffPo features an article about a new campaign going on in Georgia. They titled it, "Georgia Anti-Obesity Ads Say "Stop Sugarcoating" Childhood Obesity". I think that's disingenuous. It's actually a campaign to shame children who are considered obese and their parents. The picture you see here is just one of their ads.I think it's disgusting and abusive. That ad is just the tip of the iceberg for these hateful people. They've managed to come up with several others that are just as bad and some that are much worse. I'm not going to post them here, because I just don't want to see that on my…

• California comes up with an ingenious way to fix its mistakes

  3 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm

  CalWORKS recipients losing due to parent paymentsCalifornia's CalWORKS welfare program is meant to help the state's neediest families. The cash assistance, usually a few hundred dollars a month, is available only to people with children who have trouble meeting basic needs such as housing, food, clothing and medical care.One of those people is Fresno County resident Clarence Ayers, who receives $334 each month to help raise his 14-year-old great-granddaughter, Irene. So Ayers was shocked when officials informed him in July that they would be cutting Irene's monthly stipend to make up for…

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  Sunny Dreamer -- We write to taste life twice...

• Sunday Top Ten: Historical or Legendary Figures

  22 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am

  I've been in the blogging mood lately, but because of more pressing assignments and jobs needing done on behalf of SALN and the ICDD--I just haven't been able to everyday like I've wanted to. I just hope in February and March I can get some time to myself to devote to my blog and other writings. This weekend I made up a new meme for myself, but anybody can join in. I call it the "Sunday Top Ten." All you have to do is list (in order) the "top ten" things that come to your mind when you view the chosen picture, question or topic. Today's question is: Who are you favorite historial or legendary…

• Morning With the Flu

  24 Jul 2011 | 12:00 am

  Morning With the Flu Moving day Moving slowly this morning Morning Glory Morning, noon and night Night owl on the hunt Night of a full moon Moon crater Mon walking Walking to the bus stop to wait Walking to school School board School bell Bell, Book and Candle Bell signaling the end of the school day Day of the Dead Day of rest Rest and relaxation Rest to fight another day Day and night Day-to-day events Events to come Events marked on a calendar Calendar girl Calendar up on my wall Wall-to-wall bookshelves Wall up a dead body to hide a crime Crime and Punishment Crime will always be found…

• Facing the Fear of Dreams

  24 Feb 2011 | 12:00 am

  Life in the self-advocacy world has been pretty busy lately and will continue to be so for the next couple of months. As for my life, specifically, the last few weeks have been stressful. But I'm no shrinking violet; I'm doing my darnedest not to be one at least. I've just gotta take a few deep breaths, reign in my roaming mind and organize my unruly thoughts in a to-do list, for I realized yesterday I've been acting so scatterbrained the past week.

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  Blob

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-22

  dnw

  22 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  The DDA in Aust is a injust farce! – Jetstar win prompts calls for disability law reform http://t.co/l3fkpzjs #disability #dda #tokenism # Getting cake …. (@ Regency Plaza) http://t.co/Rs97QRQh # Slides : 15 Commandments for Government Agencies on Twitter… http://t.co/blvaU86f #gov2 #twitter @myen #fodder # We need to stop reinventing the wheel! : Free Skype 'much better' than Labor's $7.2m telehealth grant http://t.co/RNSe95uW @myen #fodder # TED imperatives 1.Be interested. 2.Be generous. 3.Be interesting. 4.Connect. The TED imperatives http://t.co/Zcaemets…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-15

  dnw

  15 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  Don't let your life pass you by : Failure is never as bad as regret. http://t.co/NWf3HXFx # And so I leave the orifice….. # I think @m_rochford needs one of these … http://t.co/YhiBYC3N #toys #skuba # @myen 2012: The year when the customer holds the conch – confused of calcutta http://t.co/snKighnO #key #customer #fodder via @jobsworth # @kirkib Did you see this? : Japan Subculture Research Center http://t.co/LZglRvM0 (via @cameronreilly, and @NathanaelB) # @KirkiB Cake.. yeah yeah.. you'll have to wait. Geez.. whos Bday is it anyways! in reply to KirkiB # Telework…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-08

  dnw

  8 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  Improved disability legislation takes effect – David O'Byrne, MP – Tasmanian Government Media Releases http://t.co/6pm3Ool5 #disability # Reading: Why I’m excited about 2012 – confused of calcutta – http://t.co/8blmkeJW by @jobsworth # Awesome pics RT @LindaStone: Reality check: what #photo graphers are willing to do to get a great story. http://t.co/lhrGAyxG # Hey @kirkib [sro] @fergushogarth LA arson: A turning point for police use of Twitter, social media : http://t.co/av9HgB6E #yam # Slow down fast : Taking 18 Minutes Day Towards A Year-Long Focus…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-01

  dnw

  1 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  This is what a 5MB hard drive looked like in 1956 (note: required a forklift). http://t.co/0TSnwpPk (via @summify from @shelisrael, @McDawg) # @jobsworth Not looking too good for us ozzies mate! in reply to jobsworth # Back at the orifice… all nice n quiet… # Gee.. was that 3 years ago! “@McDawg: @fang @dnwallace @rpg7twit & I did a podcast in June 2008 abt #openscience http://t.co/V1jPOvzL #OA ?? # @heatus Ohh..I dunno… it might be a very valid way to talk about work sometimes But of course I *love* all my work colleagues in reply to heatus # So, my work colleague who…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-12-25

  dnw

  25 Dec 2011 | 5:53 am

  In for the night. Everything alright. (@ Ashford Hospital) http://t.co/UmILphBl # Networks and Food.. nom : Flavour Networks Shatter Food Pairing Hypothesis  – Technology Review – http://t.co/He1jSaXD # Funny. To get your Hump Day started: Death Star Canteen http://t.co/5A47FeAc @kirkib via @kentnewsome # Australia forgets about Accessibility? – Man with no Blog http://t.co/2j2Ep0sB #accessibility #wcag # PM – Urgent reform needed so courts don't discriminate against the disabled 21/12/2011 http://t.co/Z57loEDf #disability # Where Germs Lurk on Planes…

• 

  brokenclay.org/journal

• Unexpectedly Upright

  Katja

  1 Jan 2012 | 6:02 pm

  Multiple sclerosis is a strange, no, bizarre, disease. To review: for many (most) people, MS is a relapsing-remitting disease. Attacks (relapses), which can have a variety of symptoms, hang around for days, weeks or months, and then go away (remission). Remission may mean that the person is free of all symptoms of the attack, or some of the symptoms may remain, usually at a less troublesome level. When we read about MS, we read about relapses lasting at least 24 hours and at most a month or two. We read about remission being a long term thing, years or even decades for many people. At some…

• More Home Modification

  Katja

  6 Dec 2011 | 10:24 am

  Mitch has a couple of great posts (with photos) about his home modifications at Enjoying the Ride: Home Improvements – #1 Home Improvements – Installment #2

• Disabled? Want Sports Equipment?

  Katja

  25 Nov 2011 | 9:02 pm

  The Challenged Athletes Foundation is now accepting grant applications. If you’re disabled and want to get into sports, check out what CAF funded last year, and apply for a grant. Grant applications are due on December 1st.

• Sometimes You Just Want a Pair of Jeans

  Katja

  7 Oct 2011 | 8:13 pm

  Stylish, well-fitting jeans are tough for anyone to find. By some estimates, the average women tries on over a dozen pairs before finding one that she’s willing to pay for (and then, if she’s me, she finds it still doesn’t fit very well). For women who use wheelchairs, the search is even harder. Pockets and rear embellishments are hard on your backside. Because you’re always seated, the front bunches up and the back slides away from your waist, leaving you with a constant fear that your undies are on display for everyone to see. The legs ride up, and even tall girl…

• Accessible Travel Tips

  Katja

  28 Sep 2011 | 4:05 pm

  Wheelchairtraveling.com has published my Travel article as Accessible Travel Tips – check it out and the many other great articles on the site!

• 

  Disability Studies, Temple U.

• Have you ever....?

  Penny L. Richards

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:56 pm

  So I've seen this idea twice recently, in other contexts... a tire with text or art carved into the treads. Here it is at the blog Letterology, in a detail from an illustration from 19c. Paris. The rider has a tank of ink attached to the back of his three-wheeled cycle, to continuously coat the tires and print words on the pavement as he rides... Ink would probably make this an illegal device

• January 17: John Stanley (1712-1786)

  Penny L. Richards

  17 Jan 2012 | 12:07 pm

  [visual description: a portrait of composer John Stanley, apparently in middle age, wearing a white powdered wig and a brass-buttoned coat; his eyes are noticeably scarred]Born on this date 300 years ago today, in London, English composer John Stanley (best click that link before or after Wikipedia goes dark on 18 January). Stanley was blind after a fall in early childhood. The boy turned out

• Sighing again

  Penny L. Richards

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:58 am

  So let me get this straight...If parents walk into a children's hospital and ask for a highly unconventional series of surgeries to remove healthy tissue and organs, limiting their daughter's growth... a series of surgeries that would never be performed on a nondisabled child... the answer is, fine, because she's developmentally disabled?BUT, if parents walk into a children's hospital and ask for

• Call for links, January Disability Blog Carnival: "Words"

  Penny L. Richards

  3 Jan 2012 | 5:12 am

  Emma at Writer in a Wheelchair was the first to claim hosting duties for the Disability Blog Carnival in 2012. And now she has the call for submissions for January's edition up:this year I've decided that a focus word might be a good thing to have along with my goals for the year. And the word I've chosen is Courage.For the carnival this time round I thought it would be interesting to know

• Disability Blog Carnival #79 is up NOW!

  Penny L. Richards

  31 Dec 2011 | 5:44 pm

  It's been up for a day or two already, but it's still fresh and worth a visit (or two, or ten). Check out the December edition at After Gadget, where the theme is "Disability and Occupy," and the entries are grouped to subthemes, like "Occupy Activists with Disabilities" and "Educating Occupies about Disability and Access Issues." (In case you think it might be all happy tales, there's also a

• 

  Fred's Head from APH

• Portion Cooking Spoon with Measuring Grooves

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:28 pm

  Portion is a magical device. You see, when a measuring cup loves a spoon very much, they make a Portion! Let's say you're making that blue box macaroni and cheese. Measure your milk using the handle, which holds up to 1/4 cup. Then use the spoon to add a half teaspoon of taco seasoning or perhaps a tablespoon of chopped sundried tomatoes to spice things up. Once you have your ingredients in place, use Portion to mix everything together. Perfection and with only one dirty utensil! Measures wet or dry ingredients, then lets you stir them Handle measures: up to 1/4 cup Locking silicone spout for…

• My Favorite Colors

  18 Jan 2012 | 3:29 pm

  by Donna J. Jodhan For as long as I can remember, yellow has always been my favorite color; as a child when my vision was just a bit, as a teen when I received much more, and even now when I have precious little. Yellow has always reminded me of happy things and happy times. When I was a kid, I had to have a yellow cup, a yellow plate, and a yellow saucer and a yellow bowl. I loved and cherished my yellow Sunday dress, the one that I wore to church. I adored my yellow jersey, and my yellow bathing suit. Mom and dad had to always buy me something yellow; the yellow beach ball, the yellow water…

• Do Professors Really Understand?

  18 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm

  by Donna J. Jodhan When I was at university which was many years ago, I must say that as a whole, most professors understood that in order to complete my courses, I had to have access to texts and that I had to be given a bit of extra time to write exams. They also understood that we all had to go the extra mile to ensure that my texts were on time and that I could understand charts, diagrams, and graphs. When I was at university, there were no online courses and my texts were either given to me on tape or in Braille. Lectures were all conducted in the classroom and I was able to get the full…

• Oldies but Goodies: The "Established" APH Product Series

  13 Jan 2012 | 2:07 pm

  by Monica Turner As a Field Services Representative, one of my responsibilities is to go to conferences and exhibit APH products. Oftentimes I will display many of the new and exciting products that we have to offer in order to provide consumers an opportunity to see the items firsthand before making the decision to purchase them. While it is wonderful that APH has been producing so many new products over the past several years, I find that I'm not often able to take along as many of the wonderful, older products that we still have available. We give you information about our new products…

• Perkins School for the Blind Pioneered the First Physical Education Program in the United States for Students with Blindness or Visual Impairment

  13 Jan 2012 | 1:41 pm

  When Samuel Gridley Howe opened the school’s doors in 1832, he was immediately troubled by his students’ poor health. In that era, children who were blind were customarily treated as invalids and were prevented from doing anything for themselves. Fearing they might be injured, their families discouraged them from enjoying physical activity. As a result, children who were blind were often weak and vulnerable to every illness. Perkins is pleased to announce that a collection of digital images from the Perkins Archives is now available to be viewed online at Physical Education at Perkins

• 

  The Gimp Parade

• Health care and non-compete agreements

  Kay Olson

  9 Jan 2012 | 7:21 pm

  Two years ago this week I got caught up in a legal dispute that briefly threatened my life. Obviously, I'm still alive, but a version of what happened to me could happen to anyone who consumes health care in America, so I figure people should know a little about it.First, a little background on me: Because I have a sort of muscular dystrophy that weakens my diaphragm muscles, I've used a trach and ventilator to breathe for the past six years. Generally, lungs react to this artificial breathing set-up by making secretions that must be suctioned out of the lungs several times each day by a…

• Friday Music: Mark E. Smith and The Fall

  Kay Olson

  3 Apr 2009 | 12:12 am

  The times they are a-changin', just a little, I think. The music news site TwentyFourBit reports:"Taking the stage in a wheelchair after your hip breaks for the second time is pretty punk rock, we think."Image description: A black-and-white photo of Smith giving a grimacing smile or snarl to the camera. He's 52 now (though he looks older) and missing a couple teeth. When Mark E. Smith, lead singer and sole original member of the post-punk rock band, performed with his current line-up for The Fall this past Tuesday and Wednesday, he sang first from the wheelchair he is currently using and…

• Sara

  Kay Olson

  30 Mar 2009 | 11:50 pm

  There are those people online that you never get to meet but suspect could be your very best friend if they only lived closer. I tend to work them into daily offline conversations sometimes, with references that don't sound as strange as they used to ten years ago: My Friend From Chisago County (only she doesn't live in Chisago County anymore), SuezBoo in South Africa, The Dancer in NYC, Sara in Massachusetts (you know, the one who takes photos of love potatoes).You hope to travel, meet for lunch. You trade notes and laugh out loud, long-distance, at their clever crush-worthy minds.You are…

• Friday Music: Bradford Cox, Deerhunter, Atlas Sound

  Kay Olson

  6 Feb 2009 | 12:47 am

  "I've always been a leader of awkward people," Bradford Cox says.Cox, lead singer (and also guitarist, keyboardist and player of various other stuff) of Atlanta band Deerhunter and solo-project Atlas Sound, is a musician whose personal appearance, live stageshow presentation, music media critiques and band song lyrics all bubble over with a freakshow differentness developed from the experience of adolescent illness and disability. Cox has said as much himself.Image description: A color photo of Cox against an all-white background. He's sitting, knees bent and arms upraised, facing the camera…

• Winter at the Gimp Compound

  Kay Olson

  1 Feb 2009 | 9:17 pm

  The holidays and the new year went well for me, though my computer needed some repairs that kept me from writing here for about a month. Happily, and for the first time in my 40 years of experience with expensive electronic equipment, my computer was still under warranty (by about five days!) and I got the disc drive replaced for free. Merry Christmas to me!I had my feeding tube removed just before Christmas because I haven't needed it in so long and it seemed like the right time. In retrospect, I might have had it taken out a while ago if I'd understood the size and shape of it inside me a…

• 

  My Disability Blog

• Social Security and Medical Record Information

  Disability Blogger

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:31 am

  Social Security Disability and SSI disability decisions have two fundamental aspects to them. For adult claims, they are both medical and vocational in nature. That is to say, they are based on the information obtained from a person's history of medical treatment, as well as their history of work activity (in the case of minor child applications for SSI disability, replace work activity with

• Should You buy a Toyota Prius Hybrid? I wouldn't. Maybe you shouldn't either

  Disability Blogger

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:23 am

  I have a friend who has been driving a generation 2 Toyota Prius since 2005. From the start, he's raved about the car: the fact that its environmentally responsible, that it's made by Toyota and, thus, has outstanding reliability and good resale, and, not least of all, the fact that it saves money at the pump.My friend stopping making such comments about two weeks ago when his Prius essentially

• Calling Social Security about a Disability Exam that was scheduled

  Disability Blogger

  9 Jan 2012 | 10:37 am

  Someone recently asked the following: "I'm trying to assist a person who was sent a letter about some kind of disability exam, but he lost the letter and the contact number to schedule an appointment. Is there a central number to call".I answered back with the following:This individual most likely received an appointment letter for a consultative examination. A consultative exam, or CE, is

• More Disability Claims in a Faltering Economy

  Disability Blogger

  6 Jan 2012 | 2:28 pm

  I came across an article that discussed the spike in disability claims and the point of the article was to contend that both social security disability and SSI disability have become de facto extensions of unemployment benefits. I believe I may have read this in the Wall Street Journal, though I'm not quite sure where I read it. Is this true? No. Filing for disability benefits with the social

• Social Security Hearings Offices institute a new secrecy policy

  Disability Blogger

  28 Dec 2011 | 11:10 am

  NOSSCR, the national organization of social security claimant's representatives, has reported on a new policy being adopted by ODAR, the office of disability adjudication and review, collectively known as the social security hearing offices. Apparently, the identify of the ALJ, or administrative law judge, will be kept a secret until the hearing--from the claimant's as well as their

• 

  WordPress.com News

• Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension

  Christopher Finke

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pm

  Want to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button…

• Your Stats Have a New Home

  Andy Skelton

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am

  Are you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too.  Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will…

• Reblogging is Back!

  Erica Johnson

  22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm

  As we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your…

• New Theme: Newsy

  Philip Arthur Moore

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pm

  It’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you…

• Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place

  Erica Johnson

  19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm

  If you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…

• 

  Rolling Rains Report

• Access Northern California (ANC): Year in Review 2011

  Scott Rains

  21 Jan 2012 | 1:42 pm

  Have you heard of Access Northern California (ANC)? As a Board member I get the inside story. Read about last year's accomplishments by Bonnie Lewkowicz of ANC:Completed the Wheeling Cal's Coast website which experienced 7,000 visitors in 2011.Added a trails feature to the Access Northern California website.Partnered with Open Doors Organization based out of Chicago to conduct 35 customer service trainings for Amtrak service employees.Partnered with Berkeley Center for Independent Living to conduct disability awareness trainings for the Oakland Airport and Alameda County Probation…

• CONFERÊNCIA Sudi 2012 - SUSTAINABILITY & DISABILITY (Portuguese)

  Scott Rains

  21 Jan 2012 | 12:39 am

  CONFERÊNCIA Sudi 2012 - SUSTAINABILITY & DISABILITY Sustentabilidade & ACESSIBILIDADE SUDI 2012 Conference: http://sudi.mgt.unm.edu/12 e 13 de junho - Manaus, Brazil -- Conference Chair - Raul GouveaCoordinators in Brazil:Regina Cohen, Cristiane Duarte e Izabel MaiorNúcleo Pró-AcessoPROARQ/FAU/UFRJwww.proacesso.fau.ufrj.brTema: "Criação de empregos em uma economia verde." Descrição: A Economia Verde vai criar um ponto de inflexão na economia global, levando a uma nova geração de produtos verdes, serviços, tecnologias e inovações. A área…

• Obama on Tourism Today

  Scott Rains

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:39 pm

  Obama on Amerca's #1 service export - tourism. How will it be accessible and inclusive? Bill Forrester has one answer below. An Economic Model of Disability And Inclusion View more documents from Scott Rains

• The Seven Principles of Universal Design in Georgian

  Scott Rains

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:26 pm

  The seven principles of Universal Design in Georgian. Visit Georgia with Parsa: http://parsa.ge/ Universal Design-7-Principles-Georgian View more presentations from Scott Rains

• Hey, That Limb Is Missing! Debunking Disability Stereotypes In Advertising

  Scott Rains

  19 Jan 2012 | 6:43 pm

  From Michael Janger:In advertising, the inclusion of people with disabilities is a double-edged sword: is it intended to highlight the disability, or the person, or both? If the disability is highlighted, it is usually because the business is selling products that accommodate the disability. For companies that do not directly sell to people with disabilities, utilizing a person with a disability in an advertisement is a delicate exercise, because popular culture in America today tends to exclude people with disabilities from its meme. The good news: this is not the 1950's, as people…

• 

  Pipecleaner Dreams

• The Glorious Winds of Change!

  Ashley's Mom

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  History was made in my home state of Virginia yesterday - history that will improve the lives of people with disabilities. Virginia has been ranked 47th out of 50 states in service to people with disabilities. The US Department of Justice believed change was needed and sued the state. A settlement agreement was reached and it marks the beginning a real, substantive change. A huge, huge thank you to all the advocates who made this all possible!You can find the story all over the national press, but this from CNN sums it up very well:Washington (CNN) -- In a closely watched case with…

• Hello, My Name Is....

  Ashley's Mom

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  An incredible Dad that I know through Facebook published a picture yesterday of a business card he ordered for his severely disabled daughter. Here it is:We've all dealt with the stares from people who don't understand or are curious about our children with significant needs. According to this dad, Roy:"The card does two things. There's an icebreaker to remove that awkward feeling when people first meet a disabled person and an easy and private way to learn all they want to know. The website also gives them several ways to stay in touch."And he provides an example from something he personally…

• Special Exposure Wednesday

  Ashley's Mom

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  Cooper is growing at an alarming rate! He has gained an average of 2.5 pounds a week since we brought him home on Christmas Eve. Today he is 12 weeks old!Here he is the day he joined our family!

• Not A Skill Set I Want

  Ashley's Mom

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  Being the parent of a child with special needs, especially when some of those needs are medical and life threatening, is a difficult job. There is absolutely no doubt that we need help sometimes. We need nursing care for our children – we need specialists like neurologists, gastroenterologists, therapists, and such – we need for our friends to sometimes help ease the burden by bringing us a meal, helping with our other children, or even just being available to lend an ear. But ultimately, the care of our special needs children, as long as they reside in our homes, falls to the parent(s).

• Falsely Accused?

  Ashley's Mom

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  I believe one of the biggest fears of parents of children with disabilities is being falsely accused of child abuse or sexual abuse of your child. This is an even bigger worry for parents of children who are non-verbal, or single parents raising children of the opposite sex.Check out this story posted by Roy Ellis, a father to 11 children - A Dad's Nightmare Over False Sexual Abuse Charges.I, too, have been accused of child abuse. My now 21 year old daughter honed the art of false accusations. Jessica was (and still is to a degree) a child who would erupt in outbursts of rage and aggression.

• 

  DISABILITY NEWS - Google News

• Services help students with disabilities after high school - Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

  Google Inc.

  28 Jan 2012 | 4:06 am

  Services help students with disabilities after high schoolWisconsin Rapids TribuneDo your students with disabilities have questions like, where am I going to live after high school? Can I afford to live on my own? How am I going to get around town? What will I do for a job? Do I need help handling my money?and more »

• Chicago Social Security Disability Attorneys Unveil New Website - DigitalJournal.com (press release)

  Google Inc.

  28 Jan 2012 | 1:13 am

  PR Web (press release)Chicago Social Security Disability Attorneys Unveil New WebsiteDigitalJournal.com (press release)As part of its effort to help disabled Illinois residents obtain the benefits they deserve, the Chicago Social Security Disability attorneys of the Disparti Law Group, PA, have launched a new website.Cleveland Social Security Disability Attorneys Establish New WebsitePR Web (press release)all 6 news articles »

• Assistant Secretary Martinez Meets With Disability Employment Leaders at ... - MarketWatch (press release)

  Google Inc.

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:54 pm

  Assistant Secretary Martinez Meets With Disability Employment Leaders at MarketWatch (press release)WEST ORANGE, NJ, Jan 27, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), came to Kessler Foundation on Friday to learn more about employment programs supported by and more »

• DOT fines Spirit $100000 for disability violations - Sun-Sentinel

  Google Inc.

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:18 pm

  Reduced Mobility Rights (blog)DOT fines Spirit $100000 for disability violationsSun-SentinelBy Arlene Satchell, Sun Sentinel The US Department of Transportationsaid Friday it has fined Spirit Airlines $100000 for violating federal rules protecting air travelers with disabilities. The Miramar-based low-cost carrier did not appropriately record DOT fines Spirit Airlines over disability complaintsThe Hill (blog)Spirit Airlines fined $100000 over disabled passengers' complaintsLos Angeles TimesUS Carrier Spirit Airlines Fined For Disability ViolationsReduced Mobility Rights (blog)Business…

• Lawmakers join effort to curb use of 'R-word' - DesMoinesRegister.com

  Google Inc.

  28 Jan 2012 | 4:05 am

  Lawmakers join effort to curb use of 'R-word'DesMoinesRegister.comShe and pal Jessica Evans, right, have intellectual disabilities. / David Purdy/The Register The national “R-Word” campaign aims to educate Americans about the pain caused by disparaging use of the word “retarded.” The campaign, sponsored by Special and more »

• 

  I hate stairs

• A dream

  Blake Watson

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:50 pm

  So with this in mind, I began to reach out to people of this marginalized community to get to know them more. And then I had epiphany number 2: These people are brilliant and amazing. Actually that doesn’t encompass it well enough, the are BRILLIANT and AMAZING. Yes, all caps is needed here. The people I met are super intelligent, creative, patient, passionate and compassionate. They have discovered methods and tools to accomplish many of their goals, which are usually the same as yours and mine. Yet, despite being able to prove the desire and skill to do what drives them for a living, they…

• “Life Rolls On” in review: Two atrophied thumbs up as high as I can muster

  Blake Watson

  12 Jan 2012 | 10:39 pm

  As with many tasks, SMA gradually took away my ability to comfortably read from the printed page. Not because of my sight. But because it became increasingly hard for me to hold books open in a comfortable position for reading. I had been contemplating an e-reader for some time. And when the Kindle Touch was released in November, it offered the best of both the e-reader and tablet worlds. That is because it uses E Ink technology to simulate ink on paper, which I prefer to a backlit screen, and it is operable by touch, meaning I can tap lightly just about anywhere on the screen to turn the…

• 12 months, 12 journeys, 12 lessons

  Blake Watson

  20 Dec 2011 | 9:49 pm

  A quick shoutout to my friend Marissa at Abled Is. She is undertaking a fascinating exercise in empathy in 2012 by getting to know a new person each month who has a health condition or worthy cause that needs to be learned about and shared. She’s calling it “12 Months, 12 Journeys, 12 Lessons”. I’m thrilled that she has asked me to be one of the 12 participants in order to share about my condition, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It’s going to be interesting and fun and I can’t wait to see who all she interviews. Stay tuned. See the very raw video explaining…

• Social novel writing and inclusion

  Blake Watson

  20 Dec 2011 | 9:36 pm

  It’s well into December, almost Christmas actually, but I suppose that it’s never too late for a NaNoWriMo farewell post. Anyone who follows me on Twitter, Facebook, or this very site knows that for the entire month of November I was occupied running a marathon. Fifty thousand words in thirty days. For the second year in a row I did not officially win the event (which is to say that I did not get to 50,000 words by midnight November 30). But I certainly had fun and I made it much further along than I did during my first year in 2010. I also found that National Novel Writing Month is an…

• Imagine Conference 2011 – Day 1 Keynote

  Blake Watson

  16 Oct 2011 | 7:01 pm

  I am going to attempt to document as much of what I learned at Imagine Conference 2011 as I can, starting with the opening keynote. This was my first time attending the conference. In fact, I’m surprised that I had not heard of it before. I can’t say how long the conference itself has been around, but I can tell you that it is put together by the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities and that organization has been around for over 20 years (according to my conversations anyway). I learned a lot, saw a lot of good speakers, and came away with a better perspective of…

• 

  Pushing The Limits

• Eddie Izzard gives his support to 30,000 miles around the world in a wheelchair

  Andy Campbell

  11 Jan 2012 | 12:02 am

  Eddie Izzard went for a run once, a very, very long run. In 2009 he set off from London to run around the UK in aid of Sport Relief. He ran 43 marathons in 51 days, at least 27 miles each day, 6 days a week for 7 weeks straight, covering 1132.5 miles (When you’ve already run 1132 miles, that last half mile is pretty important). When I found out he’d be practically running past my house I decided to head out to join him for a while on my handcycle. I met him at the side of a road in Scotland, as he plodded along alone on one of those grey, drizzly days that makes up 90% of…

• Earthporn:The UK and Ireland

  Andy Campbell

  7 Jan 2012 | 6:27 pm

  George Mallory is famously quoted as having replied to the question “Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?” with the retort “Because it’s there”. Which is probably the best answer in world history. There’s something in our nature that makes us want to go out and see things, “Because it’s there” has to be the simplest and most honest way to describe that relentless itch to just go and see as much of this amazing world as possible.  Holed up infront of a computer, or pre-occupied with work and a million other distractions, it’s easy…

• Night of Adventure, Leicester Square

  Andy Campbell

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:07 am

  If you have an interest in travel and adventure then you need to check out Night of Adventure, an evening of fast-paced Pecha Kucha style presentations from some of the best adventurers around today, in support of Hopes and Homes for Children. Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit chat) originated in Tokyo as a quirky way to make to make presentations more creative, engaging and fun, no death by powerpoint allowed. Each presenter has 20 slides to get their message across, automated to show for just 20 seconds each. The results are really fun, concise and fast-paced presentations that you…

• Video: A sunday stroll in scotland

  Andy Campbell

  5 Dec 2011 | 8:20 am

  Going 30,000 miles around the world in a wheelchair is a perhaps stretching the definition of a stroll, but everything has a beginning. When I do eventually set off next year to go around the world it’ll be very much in keeping with a simple desire; to just wander around the countryside and enjoy the outdoors. Being able to just impulsively head out the door and enjoy a sunday stroll on a nice winter’s day is one of the best things in the world, it can be a bit more complicated when a wheelchair’s involved but really that just makes it even more…

• Adventure Travel Show 2012, London

  Andy Campbell

  29 Nov 2011 | 8:00 am

  I’ll be giving a talk and presentation at The Adventure Travel Show in Olympia, London on saturday the 28th January 2012. Come along and say hello! More details (and cheap tickets) inside. The Telegraph Adventure Travel Show is the UK’s biggest and only show totally dedicated to adventure travel and epic journeys. With a packed schedule of FREE inspiring talks from the experts, the event has an emphasis on reviving the true spirit of travel in its most adventurous form. I’ll be giving a talk on the motivation behind my adventures, why I keep going into what are rather…

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  Disability Scoop

• Teens With Autism Avoid Email, Social Media

  Shaun Heasley

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:26 pm

  Even as teens with autism use television, computers and other screen-based media more than their peers, new research suggests that they're shunning some of the Web's most popular offerings.

• Institutions To Close Under Deal With Feds

  Michelle Diament

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:23 pm

  In what Justice Department officials are hailing as their third landmark ADA agreement in as many years, one state will make strides toward enhancing community living for people with disabilities.

• For Kids With Autism, ‘Inner Speech’ Key To Problem-Solving

  Michelle Diament

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:25 pm

  Teaching kids with autism to talk things through in their heads could dramatically improve their ability to deal with everyday problems, new research indicates.

• State Special Education Rates Vary Widely

  Ben Wieder, Stateline.org

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:05 pm

  Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, but it has every other state beat by one measure: A higher percentage of its students are in special education than anywhere else.

• Most Parents Pleased With Role In Child’s IEP

  Michelle Diament

  24 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm

  Developing a special education program for any child can be a contentious process, but new research suggests most parents are satisfied with their inclusion at IEP meetings.

• 

  Disability Tips

• Unfairly treated by Social Security Judge?

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  16 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  If you feel that you were treated unfairly by the Social Security judge, you can file an “Unfair Treatment Complaint” and ask that Social Security review what happened. Someone who was not involved in your case will review your complaint and take action, if appropriate. While there is no guarantee that Social Security will find that action is needed, you will be notified before Social Security closes the matter. Keep in mind that filing an unfair treatment complaint does not appeal the judge’s decision. If you were denied and want to appeal the denial, you still need to…

• Amputation and prosthetics: from coming to peace to a celebration of differences

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

   This is a great episode of The Moth podcast which showcases true stories, told live. Here is Aimee Mullins discussing overcoming her families fear that show her prosthetics would make her ostracized, to expectations that continued to haunt her even after success as an athlete and model. The Moth: Amy Mullins – A Work in Progress Give it a listen! photo credit: Andrea Rinaldi

• 2012 SSI benefit increases

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  2 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are going up in 2012. After three years of no cost of living (COLA) benefit increases, benefits are finally getting nudged upwards from a maximum of $674 per month for individuals (and $1011 per month for couples) to $698 for individuals and $1048 for couples.  photo credit: charlieambler

• What medical records cost in your state

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  26 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am

  Here is a great site that lists all of the medical record charges by state. I have previously written about what it costs to get your records in Colorado. Colorado’s regulation is contained in 6 C.C.R. 1011-1, Chapter 2, Part 5.2.3.4 5.2.3.4 Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a representative of the patient, other than a “personal representative” as defined in the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) § 164.502(g), with the patient’s written authorization, shall pay for the reasonable cost of obtaining a copy of the patient’s record, which…

• What does a critical case review look like?

  Tomasz Stasiuk

  19 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am

  I have previously discussed expediting Social Security disability cases for Dire Need. I recently came across the worksheet that Social Security uses when evaluating these cases: This includes consideration of the following issues: Terminal illness. Wounded warrior. Compassionate allowance. Dire need. Suicidal/homicidal ideation cases. Here is a link to the HALLEX for the form. Note: this a form Social Security uses internally. You do not need to use this to request consideration as a critical case. All you need to do is write a letter to the SSA office working on your case and state why…

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  Disability Blog

• Pulmonic Stenosis and Receiving Social Security

  Disability Advocate

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:34 am

  Heart Stenosis Your pulmonary artery is what takes blood from your heart to your lungs. When your heart beats, your right ventricle (lower right chamber of your heart) contracts and pushes blood out of your heart in to your pulmonary artery. Located between the lower right chamber of your heart and your main pulmonary artery is a heart valve that is known as the pulmonic valve. What your pulmonic valve does is prevent blood from leaking back into your heart in between your heartbeats. Your pulmonic valve is made up of three thin leaflets when it is normal. When your pulmonic valve is…

• Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Disability Benefits

  Disability Advocate

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:28 pm

  Your thoracic outlet is a part of your body above the top of your rib cage. Your thoracic outlet is located between your neck and your chest. Bodily structures that include Your esophagus, trachea and blood vessels and nerves that lead to your arm and neck region are some of the structures that pass through your thoracic outlet. Lying within your thoracic outlet are the arteries that are underneath your collar bone (subclavian artery) that take blood to your arms, a network of nerves that runs to your arms (brachial plexus), your first rib and your collar bone (clavicle). Thoracic outlet…

• Factor V Leiden Thrombophilia and Receiving Disability

  Disability Advocate

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:59 am

  Factor V Leiden thrombophilia is an inherited genetic blood clotting disease. Factor V Leiden thrombophilia means that you will have an increased tendency to develop abnormal blood clots (thrombophilia). If abnormal blood clots do occur, they will form mainly in your veins. In many instances, if you have factor V Leiden thrombophilia, you will never have abnormal blood clots take place. However, in other cases, you may see abnormal blood clots form that may bring about long-term, chronic health problems or become life-threatening. Are you one of those who is having chronic health problems…

• Frame Syndrome Osteomalacia and Receiving Social Security

  Disability Advocate

  17 Jan 2012 | 12:41 pm

  Osteoid is a bone protein matrix that is composed mainly of type 1 collagen. Osteoid builds up due to the fact that it does not mineralize properly when you have osteoblast or mineral dysfunction that is insufficient. Your growth plate becomes irregular, thick and wide when the newly made bone of your growth plate does not mineralize. This results in a clinical diagnosis of rickets. This is true only in the case of children because adults do not have growth plates any longer. Osteomalacia occurs when your remodeled bone does not mineralize. Osteomalacia is a condition that takes place in all…

• Infective Endocarditis and Disability Benefits

  Disability Advocate

  17 Jan 2012 | 12:33 pm

  There are four chambers and four valves that are located on the inside of your heart that are lined by a thin membrane that is known as the endocardium. Endocarditis is inflammation and/or infection of this inner layer of your heart. Endocarditis also usually affects your heart valves (prosthetic or native valves). Infective endocarditis, which is also known as bacterial endocarditis is one of the kinds of endocarditis. Somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people are affected by infective endocarditis each year in the United States. Even though infective endocarditis is not a common disease,…

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  Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Blog

• Friday Fun

  Bob Kraft

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:12 am

  The Web site NeverLikedItAnyway is a clever one. It's basically a resale site, where people list items of jewelry or clothing, among other things, and visitors can buy those items directly from the sellers. The clever part is that the items are gifts from former spouses or significant others. After the relationship breaks up, the sellers put up funny little notes about why they decided to sell the products. Here's one example: The Product: Adrienne Vittadini Black Leather “Jeff” Boot Size 8.5 Back zip boot Low heel New in the box The Story: His name was Jeff. He turned into a…

• Only Three 2012 Trucks Receive Highest Safety Scores From IIHS

  Bob Kraft

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:24 am

  Newsday/Tribune Media Services reported, "Only three pickup trucks -- the Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra and Honda Ridgeline -- have been named Top Safety Picks for 2012 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)." According to the IIHS, "The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover and rear crashes based on ratings in Institute evaluations." From the American Association for Justice press release.

• AAJ Assails Supreme Court Ruling That Credit Repair Firms Can Require Binding Arbitration

  Bob Kraft

  25 Jan 2012 | 5:27 am

  The ABA Journal reported that the Supreme Court "has ruled that consumers who received the Aspire Visa credit card are bound by a mandatory arbitration provision in their applications." Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion in the case, CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the only dissenter. The class-action lawsuit under the Credit Repair Organizations Act featured plaintiffs who claimed they were promised $300 in available credit for a low-rate Aspire Visa card, but were charged $257 in fees during the first year, noting that the Act…

• Texas’ New Insurance Chief Being Watched by Consumers, Lawmakers, and Industry

  Bob Kraft

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:25 am

  Texas has long had one of the weakest insurance departments in the nation — a department controlled by the insurance industry, and not at all helpful to consumers who have complaints. But now there is a new head of the department, and we can at least hope for improvement. However, so far there does not appear to be much reason to expect a shift from protecting insurance companies to protecting insurance consumers. The Dallas Morning News ran a profile of Eleanor Kitzman. Here are excerpts: Five months on the job as Texas’ top insurance regulator, Houston native and former insurance…

• U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

  Bob Kraft

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:11 am

  Here's a rule that's long overdue — make doctors disclose the payments they receive from drug companies and medical device manufacturers. Knowing that your doctor has just accepted a pile of money from a hip implant company right before he says you need a hip implant might cause you to get a second opinion. The details of this story were published by the New York Times. Here are the opening paragraphs: To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting,…

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  Finding My Way: Journey of an Uppity Intellectual Activist Crip

• Intersections

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:20 pm

  Some editions of the Disability Blog Carnival have talked about intersections. The intersection between disability and feminism or religion for example. I've always had a hard time with these and usually skip those.But today, today I learned something about the intersection of bipolar and CP that is invaluable to me. I shouldn't go to the gym when I'm manic. But of course I wasn't manic in the least this morning. I got home though and the first thought that came into my head was "I feel like death." Not anywhere near the way I felt like death here, but on that spectrum. I haven't slept in 2…

• I Wish

  22 Jan 2012 | 11:12 pm

  Most of the time I like the fact that I'm crazy. I may quibble over the labels in my head -- am I really bipolar, or am I just depressed? Is my anxiety a seperate thing all together, or a package deal? -- but I generally like myself. Or at least I generally accept myself. That's not to say I don't set goals, don't want to be a better person, but I've always been at peace with my disabilities. Ask me as a kid if I could take a pill that'd cure my CP would I? And I don't think I've ever in my life said yes. I've been asked this question many times.I've never said either out loud or in my head…

• I Love Using the Internet for Good

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:28 pm

  Right now, I'm irritable. I'm in one of those moods where it's everything and nothing. It's things I've complained about here before, and things I won't bother complaining about. I'm Just IRRITABLE! I'd blame it on the mood disorder, but you can't blame bipolar for everything. I think I'l have to blame "human being disorder."Anyway, one of my new favorite things I discovered a few months ago is using the internet for peer support. And you're probably gonna say, "That's not new, such and such has had a website for 15 years!" But I argue there's a big difference in the value of support from…

• 6 Questions on Passion

  14 Jan 2012 | 3:43 pm

  I've wished in the last year that I'd taken some time to be reflective / introspective about my life and after spotting this meme on Jay's blog I decided to take the opportunity.What puts a smile on your face?Following what makes you truly happy is a wonderful way to figuring out what you were put on Earth for. Think about something that you do or that perhaps you used to do that brings you total happiness!Furry creatures like dogs, cats and horses, NOT mice or squrils or things like that. 18 months ago I was visiting my brother all the way in California and one of his cats curled up on the…

• Communication, or, How People See You

  4 Jan 2012 | 10:08 pm

  So yesterday I attempted to discuss my communication difficulties with my shrink, however I did a crappy job of conveying what it was I wanted help trying to improve, because I have communication difficulties.So then today I went to OOO, and I was like, well ok, I have to come up with something to talk about, so i might as well ask people how to rephrase what it was I had been trying to say. Except I'm afraid I didn't make much sense as I was kind of tongue tied and tripping over my words. The thing I'm worst at ... well the thing I'm 2nd worst at, besides cleaning, is communication.After…

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  disability news | assistive technology | disability employment

• “If London Can Run an Accessible Fleet…”

  Suzanne Robitaille

  18 Jan 2012 | 8:19 am

  Two prominent disability organizations responded to the January 5 New York Times Op-Ed by Matthew Daus, a former chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission regarding the availability of accessible taxis in New York. I had written a post about the Op-Ed, saying that Daus’s proposed plan — to create a “dial-a-ride” [...]

• Siri Comes Up Short for Deaf and Speech Impaired

  Branden Kornell

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm

  I recently bought an iPhone 4S. I was anxious to try out Siri, the (supposedly) game-changing voice recognition software. Siri is great at some things (fetching the weather), reasonably good at others (setting up reminders), and relatively hopeless at many other things (it’s fallback to anything it doesn’t know how to do is to suggest [...]

• NYC Needs to Mellow over Accessible Yellow Cabs

  Suzanne Robitaille

  5 Jan 2012 | 2:33 pm

  There are 13,000 taxis plying their trade each day in New York City, yet people with disabilities have no “meaningful access” to them: Only around 230 cabs, or 2%, are accessible to people using wheelchairs. So when a U.S. judge ruled in December that the city would need to come up with a way to [...]

• Hire Gauge Reveals ROI Around Inclusive Hiring

  Megan McDonnell

  12 Dec 2011 | 9:51 am

  If you’re running a business – small, medium-sized or large – you should check out Think Beyond the Label’s Hire Gauge. I would argue it’s a must. Hire Gauge is the first-ever online tool to calculate the return on the investment (ROI) your organization can generate from hiring qualified workers with disabilities. For a typical [...]

• Labor Dept. Sets 7% Hiring Goal for Disabled Workers

  Suzanne Robitaille

  8 Dec 2011 | 11:04 am

  The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a move it calls necessary for helping more people with disabilities get hired amid a dismal unemployment rate: A new rule that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to set a hiring goal of 7% for the employment of people with disabilities. The new rule, if passed into [...]

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  disability news | assistive technology | disability employment

• “If London Can Run an Accessible Fleet…”

  Suzanne Robitaille

  18 Jan 2012 | 8:19 am

  Two prominent disability organizations responded to the January 5 New York Times Op-Ed by Matthew Daus, a former chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission regarding the availability of accessible taxis in New York. I had written a post about the Op-Ed, saying that Daus’s proposed plan — to create a “dial-a-ride” [...]

• Siri Comes Up Short for Deaf and Speech Impaired

  Branden Kornell

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:03 pm

  I recently bought an iPhone 4S. I was anxious to try out Siri, the (supposedly) game-changing voice recognition software. Siri is great at some things (fetching the weather), reasonably good at others (setting up reminders), and relatively hopeless at many other things (it’s fallback to anything it doesn’t know how to do is to suggest [...]

• NYC Needs to Mellow over Accessible Yellow Cabs

  Suzanne Robitaille

  5 Jan 2012 | 2:33 pm

  There are 13,000 taxis plying their trade each day in New York City, yet people with disabilities have no “meaningful access” to them: Only around 230 cabs, or 2%, are accessible to people using wheelchairs. So when a U.S. judge ruled in December that the city would need to come up with a way to [...]

• Hire Gauge Reveals ROI Around Inclusive Hiring

  Megan McDonnell

  12 Dec 2011 | 9:51 am

  If you’re running a business – small, medium-sized or large – you should check out Think Beyond the Label’s Hire Gauge. I would argue it’s a must. Hire Gauge is the first-ever online tool to calculate the return on the investment (ROI) your organization can generate from hiring qualified workers with disabilities. For a typical [...]

• Labor Dept. Sets 7% Hiring Goal for Disabled Workers

  Suzanne Robitaille

  8 Dec 2011 | 11:04 am

  The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a move it calls necessary for helping more people with disabilities get hired amid a dismal unemployment rate: A new rule that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to set a hiring goal of 7% for the employment of people with disabilities. The new rule, if passed into [...]

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  Illinois Social Security Disability Blog

• Confusing Social Security Disability Denials

  22 Jan 2012 | 7:10 pm

  The overwhelming majority of applicants applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are denied benefits. In some cases, it is not in the best interest of the claimant to appeal the claim. Yet, the majority of the time claimants should follow through with an appeal. An appeal keeps the claim alive and pushes the case through the disability process. Almost all denial letters note that the claimant has 60 days to file an appeal. However, some denial letters are quite confusing.My firm receives calls from clients and prospective clients on a…

• Unemployment And Social Security Disability Claims

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:22 am

  Can I Get Unemployment Benefits While I Am Trying To Get Disability?The question above has been more mainstream these days, with the economy struggling and people finding it difficult to obtain gainful employment. It has become so mainstream that The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on the issue stating, "The higher unemployment rate this year accounts for 3,000 additional people applying for benefits(disability) each week." The article went on to explain that "people have been doing this out of desperation."A claimant does not typically have any financial issues to worry…

• Best December Social Security Disability Blogs

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:18 am

  For December's "Best Social Security Disability Blogs" of the month, we listed our top 5 blogs by Social Security disability lawyers nationwide:Social Security Disability System Faces Independent Review In 2012 -North Carolina lawyer Hardison on his Hardison & Cochran BlogThe Second Time Around -Maine lawyer Gordon Gates on Social Security Disability Lawyer BlogAsperger's Syndrome And Filing An Indiana Social Security Disability Claim -Indiana lawyer Scott Lewis on Indiana Social Security Disability Lawyer BlogPotential Clients And Representation -Illinois disability lawyer Aaron Rifkind on…

• Location And Social Security Disability Benefits

  26 Dec 2011 | 10:21 am

  We have all heard that location matters when applying for Social Security disability benefits. Recently, a survey was released on the number of individuals age 15-64 receiving disability throughout the United States. While some counties in Missouri have nearly 25% of the individuals who receive disability benefits for example, towns in Utah have less than 4%. Unfortunately, regardless of whether you hire a Social Security disability lawyer to represent you with your claim, a lot of weight is placed on where your claim is adjudicated and by what judge. The survey is above.

• New Blog And Website 2012

  17 Dec 2011 | 1:34 pm

  For the past 11 months, I have been working on revising my law firm blog and website to better meet the demands of readers and people wanting to know more about Social Security disability benefits. To that end, starting in the beginning of 2012 get ready for a site that will integrate the Illinois Social Security Disability Blog with socialsecuritydefenders.com and will bring with it a massive amount of resources and disability benefits related information. The resources will range from low cost housing and medical information in Illinois and Nevada to the disability benefits process and the…

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  HEALING THROUGH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

• Elevation

  Cathy

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:06 am

  detail of hand-panted textile _____________________________ ” It is important to have a sufficiently elevated life condition so that you will be able to calmly accept whatever happens in life, striving to put problems into proper perspective and solving them with a positive attitude. Happiness blossoms forth from such a strong and all-encompassing life condition.” — Daisaku Ikeda _____________ I installed a new support in my bathroom.. Keep in mind that I am an artist And care deeply about aesthetics. So- WHAT is a girl to do with the VISUAL ASSAULT Of this elevated commode…

• The Fall

  Cathy

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:13 am

  detail of ceramic sculpture ___________________________ As a gymnast in my youth my events were the balance beam, floor exercise and uneven parallel bars. These are not team sports. Success in each depends on a laser-beam confidence and will. I think back on what it took to walk, spin, leap and roll on 4 inches of wood standing 5 feet off the ground. The action and spiritual quest of harnessing interior worlds to behave and serve me in a desired outcome is territory I have never tired of. Back then, a fall was humbling. These days it is life threatening. It’s all the same, though.. same…

• Pretense

  Cathy

  15 Jan 2012 | 9:52 am

  textile design, silk jersey, 1985 ________________________________ I lived in the seedy part of Boston’s South End in the 80′s creating hand-painted textiles for men’s and women’s wear. I was surrounded by people eager to shock, startle and roar their way through life by separating themselves out from the masses in some way and finding a smidgeon of identity in this way. Oh my goodness… I felt so lost and uncool. I came to work each day and built an energetic bubble around myself and communed with color and brushes, dyes and fabric. I have spent my life trying to…

• RE-FINE

  Cathy

  9 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am

  monoprint, 30″ x 40″, 1990 __________________________ I see that when I intake the correct (for me) ‘food’ I have more than enough energy to live well. My goal is to nurture this precious gift of Life With attitudes, activities and awareness; Each acting as clean fuel For my Self As QUEEN! Of my personal landscape. I could easily regard the outward impression I may leave people with: that a severe narrowing is taking place as my body shifts into ‘needs-support-to-function’ mode, as a truth. The thing is- I am unsure of much of anything that fits into the…

• “I’d Call AAA…..”

  Cathy

  31 Dec 2011 | 10:56 am

  detail of painting __________________ It is New Year’s Eve day and instead of a recap of my year, I feel like telling you about the most recent event that made me really happy.. Sort of a ‘talisman moment’ to guide my year as I see it. Instead of making a list of resolutions, I will use the feeling of what I am about to tell you to move into a new year and know I want more of THIS: My brother, sister-in-law and niece and nephew came to visit me. They drove from Denver in their motor home with the two dogs, jeep in tow and many tools to help me make my new and beloved home…

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  The ROHO Community

• Durable Medical Industry’s Proposal to Fix Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program

  The ROHO Group

  18 Jan 2012 | 5:00 am

  Guest blog post by Bob Vogel The current Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) competitive bidding program is deeply flawed and jeopardizes wheelchair users ability to get the seating and mobility equipment we need. Furthermore, competitive bidding will put the entire Durable Medical Equipment (DME) industry in jeopardy. Dave McCausland, Senior VP of Planning & Government Affairs for The ROHO Group explains that 244 leading economists, including several Nobel Prize winners, have examined the current competitive bidding program and all signed a document stating that the current…

• Irony of the best-known wheelchair user

  The ROHO Group

  4 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  Guest blog post by Bob Vogel Ironically, the best-known wheelchair user these days doesn’t even use a wheelchair. Non-disabled actor Kevin McHale plays Artie Abrams, a 16-year-old high school student in a glee club who became a paraplegic in a car crash at age eight. Each week over eight-million TV viewers tune in and watch Artie on the hit TV show Glee on FOX Broadcasting NetworkHiring a non-disabled actor to play Artie has stirred up a lot of controversy in the disability community. The huge TV audience, along with the controversy prompted New Mobility Magazine to name Artie as their…

• Christmas with the Mermaids (Manatees)

  The ROHO Group

  21 Dec 2011 | 5:00 am

  Guest blog post by Bob Vogel Bob and his daughter, Sarah, steer the pontoon boat before they snorkel with manatees Rays of sunlight broke through early morning mist as I piloted the pontoon boat toward an area where the gentle giant manatees are known to congregate. Our eyes combed the calm waters looking for swirls created by the mammal’s huge, flat, mermaid-like tail. “I see a swirl! Look there’s another!” shouted my daughter Sarah and her best friend, Alyssa, as they excitedly watched a mother and her calf swim by the boat. Dropping anchor, we donned our gear, I transferred to my…

• Try Out a New Adaptive Sport this Winter Season

  The ROHO Group

  7 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am

  Guest blog post by Bob Vogel Winter is here, temperatures are falling and so is the snow. This is Mother Nature’s way of telling wheelchair users “I’ve covered the outdoors with an amazing accessible blanket of snow and ice. Switch from wheels to skis or skates, and come out and play!” Adaptive gear for winter sports has evolved to the point where people with almost any disability level can actively participate. It’s time to grab your warm clothing, choose your preferred method of gliding, skating or sliding and play in the winter wonderland. Here are some ideas. Adaptive Downhill…

• Gift Ideas for the Holidays

  The ROHO Group

  6 Dec 2011 | 5:00 am

  The holiday shopping season can be a little intimidating, especially when you’re trying to find the perfect gift for the person who has everything. We’ve compiled a few ideas for an assortment of interests to help inspire your wish list and gift giving this year. Now, we aren’t endorsing these products, nor have we tested them. We just thought that they looked pretty cool.   Children Wheelchair Pals Wheelchair Pals are fun and practical by covering the armrest for extra comfort while adding personality to the wheelchair. ($29.95)         Build-A-Bear…

• 

  Hate to Bother

• Dedication to Work

  Matti L.

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm

  I often wonder how strong my dedication to work is. I worked for a long time and for many companies, before I started my re-education. I think during 7-8 years I was unemployed for a few months only, everything else was holidays. I might not have been as lucky if I stayed at one place, but I was always willing to move if the good opportunity to develop my career and income occurred. So I could say I’ve had good dedication for work, not for companies that provided it.   The work I did was challenging in different way then, it was about how much I could do in certain amount of time…

• Well-being fruit cocktail

  Matti L.

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm

  Well-being plays a good part in my Thesis, the grand goal of being alive and kicking human being. Or at least it has been my goal since I noticed I’m partly non-happy without any good enough reason to be so, lack of vision I guess. I think it’s easy to say “I feel fine/well/ok” without really thinking how it comes to be so and it would be good to stop to think about it now and then since there lots of reasons to feel good. I’m a crappy cook (as the poor souls who must eat my man-made food someday would confess) so forgive me this expression, but according to some…

• Fly of the oddball

  Matti L.

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm

  I’ve been a bit of an oddball most of my life, not fitting very well to my surroundings. On my teens I felt more comfortable at library than at some  youth center or cafe (gotta love that environment, empty corridors full of books), after teenage I catched up by being hyperactive and social and now I work and study where I rarely see other men. I know they exist on other working units and school corridors & on magazine covers, but quite many around me are women (I study away from my social circles and here I’m bit too lazy to get connected). Don’t need numerical…

• Point to view or viewpoint

  Matti L.

  24 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm

  Are you looking for point to view or viewpoint? Funny word for not native english speaker, since I can’t present it like that in my native language. Actually got it from yesterday when I was thinking “from what point should I begin a new with this writing again, been so long it’s hard to find place to start”. Since I wrote a lot about disabilities at the beginning, I kinda headed the wall in there. Not because I did things well or wrote about everything I could, but because the angle I’m looking at things slightly changed. Still feel passionate about disability…

• Back on business

  Matti L.

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

  Time to get back on business, since I’ve kind of forgotten all about blogging lately. It’s sure been some time since I’ve written here, kind of “goodish” excuses for that since I’ve come to my last year on school. 2 and half years behind me, one in front of me. Did a lot during that time, been at deciding positions on some projects and bookkeeper for some “do-gooders” and even on school. And of course time spent working on the side.   “What has all of that taught me” I often ask myself, late at night before I go to sleep. One…

• 

  Need Project blog

• Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

  15 Jan 2012 | 12:22 am

  I love the movie Forrest Gump. It has some parts I believe they could have left out, but for the most part I really enjoy it. Of course, the movie is a fun way of retelling modern history. They did an amazing job of integrating sixty years of America’s past into a two-hour film. Not only do they weave historical fact seamlessly into the story, but I think you get a sense of what people on all sides of the events were feeling about what was happening. The other reason I love this movie is the character of Forrest himself. The actor Tom Hanks does an amazing job playing a simple man; not…

• Hallmark Christmas Movies

  15 Dec 2011 | 10:22 pm

  It’s been said, jokingly, that in every movie ever made there are really only ten different plots. Let me give you an example. A woman is in a bad marriage; the man is either abusive or just not a good husband, but the woman is a saint who stays in the marriage because she feels it is the right thing to do. There is, however, a kind, intelligent, good-looking young man down the street who has never quite managed to find that truly special person. Just possibly, this “boy next-door” is someone from her past whom she never expected to see again. When these two serendipitously…

• Here they come again!

  14 Nov 2011 | 8:58 pm

  Of course, I’m talking about the holidays! Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner: so let the craziness begin. Why is it that we can be perfectly sane all year long, but throw in a few days of being with family and all hope of sanity is gone?  What is it about family that can make full grown adults like us act like elementary school playground adversaries? And the food! If someone doesn’t make the gourmet potatoes or grandma’s green bean casserole, World War Three will break out! In some families, it can come down to who cooks what, and how it is…

• This is just like me

  14 Oct 2011 | 10:19 pm

  I had a crazy thing happen to me this month. My middle son and daughter are in their high school’s marching band. (Don’t talk to me about how old I feel right now, with my youngest in high school).  Of course, since both of them are in the band, we are heavily involved. My wife is the band boosters’ secretary and I am working in the pit crew; we carry all the equipment to the field. This means we show up early to band events and help.  A month ago we showed up for a football game because the band was playing during the game and at halftime. I was driving my truck,…

• The Contrast of Youth and Age!

  14 Sep 2011 | 8:06 pm

  I think I have mentioned in a previous post that I am a channel flicker. I love it, but it drives my wife crazy! I will watch three or four shows at a time, mostly things I have seen before so I don’t need to see every moment of the show. I can just flick back and forth between the best parts of each show and get the satisfaction of seeing all of them. Sometimes the shows I am watching mold together is some strange way to create a theme. This isn’t limited to movies, it can include just about anything; cartoons, concerts or even soccer on the Spanish channel.  It can be a…

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  Disabled Lifts

• Pride Lift Chairs – Can They Give You Better Mobility?

  Wayne

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:26 pm

  by Dean Forster Pride lift chairs are designed to help people move from a sitting to a standing or to a reclining position. These chairs come in various models, designs and features. They are ideal for people who have problems shifting from one posture or position to another, like the physically handicapped and those with hip, knees and joint problems. Lift chairs or lift recliners from Pride Mobility Products come in four product lines; Elegance, Heritage, Classic and Specialty. Each line has a series of models with their own features and specifications. They also come in different…

• Pride Lift Chairs Get You Up and Going

  Wayne

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:15 pm

  by Kalia West If you have trouble getting up from a seated position, pride lift chairs can be a great help. Many people suffer from disabilities that do not allow them to rise up from the seated position easily. This may be the result of a chronic physical issue such as arthritis, which affects millions of people everyday and limits their mobility in a number of ways. Hands and fingers affected by the disease limit the ability of a person to grasp objects effectively and without pain. Backs are another area of concern and range of motion can be limited in a way that does not allow a person to…

• You Can’t Go Wrong with Pride Lift Chairs by Pride Mobility

  Wayne

  26 Jan 2012 | 12:27 pm

  by Matt D Murren One thing you can be sure of, when you invest in the Pride company, you can be certain that you are getting the absolute best quality of mobility lift chairs available on the market today. Pride lift chairs by Pride Mobility Services goes by the motto of “Experience the Luxury”. The power lift chairs are made of the finest quality of fabric or leather upholstery. Lift chairs are built on an electronic hydraulics system which, at the touch of a button, you are slowly and gently eased to a sitting or standing position from the chair. When you want to sit down,…

• What are the Advantages of Pride Lift Chairs?

  Wayne

  26 Jan 2012 | 12:17 pm

  by Kaila West Pride lift chairs have become an important part of senior life. They help senior citizens get more out of life and be more independent. But lift chairs aren’t just nifty little gadgets that make getting out of the chair easier; in many cases, lift chairs are a necessity for maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a senior citizen. Here are just a few of the advantages of Pride lift chairs. The most obvious benefit of the lift chair is that it helps elderly individuals get up and out of their chair without any assistance. This lets seniors hang onto their independence so they…

• Wheelchair Lifts

  Wayne

  3 Jan 2012 | 7:16 am

  by Dave Mccullough Butler Mobility Products is a Pennsylvania manufacturer of premium quality Inclined Platform Wheelchair Lifts (IPLs), Vertical Platform Wheelchair Lifts (VPLs), Courtroom Rostrum Wheelchair Lifts (CRLs), Church Sanctuary Wheelchair Lifts (CSLs),and Dumbwaiters. They are rugged, sturdy units with UL® and CSA certified components. Butler Mobility Inclined Wheelchair Lifts and Vertical Wheelchair Lifts come standard with battery backup and a quiet, powerful new power unit. The Inclined Platform Wheelchair Lifts have a lifting capacity of either 500 pounds or 750 pounds.

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  Handicapped Equipment

• One Handed Can Openers

  admin

  19 Jan 2012 | 11:51 pm

  A one handed can opener is a perfect addition to any kitchen. A one handed can opener operates a little differently than a normal can opener. Typically, a one handed can opener operates by being squeezed with one hand. An individual places the cutting wheel along the inside of the can’s rim, squeezes the can [...]

• How Hard Plastic Toilet Seats Benefit the Disabled

  admin

  10 Jan 2012 | 12:26 am

  Hard plastic toilet seats offer a wide array of benefits to people suffering from disability or injury by making their lives easier. The right toilet seat can add convenience to a home, minimize pain, eliminate stress and save time and money. Benefits of Hard Plastic Toilet Seats They’re very cost effective depending on your needs. [...]

• Solving Leg Problems with Compression Stockings

  admin

  1 Jan 2012 | 8:44 pm

  Compression stockings are specially designed hosiery items constructed with elastic or rubber fibers. They fit the lower limb snugly to provide either graduated or even pressure that helps to increase blood circulation and reduce swelling. They are used in treating varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, fluid retention and DVT or deep vein thrombosis. The stockings [...]

• Sitz Baths Used For Relaxing Therapies

  admin

  29 Dec 2011 | 1:45 am

  A sitz bath is an accessible, relaxing therapy that can help ease and treat a number of health ailments depending on the temperature of the water used. For treating hemorrhoids, muscle soreness, painful testicles or ovaries, and even for mental and emotional pregnancy healing, a hot sitz bath (water between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit) [...]

• Toilet Seat Lifts

  admin

  26 Dec 2011 | 1:47 am

  For the elderly or disabled, it can be difficult to stand up from a toilet seat, even with the typical handicap seats meeting ADA requirements. Increasing independence is an important part of increasing the quality of life and using the proper seat lift will help with both. Rather than rushing to invite yet another caregiver [...]

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  Wheelchair Accessibility Blog and Disability News

• British Adventurer Embarks on Trip Around the World in a Wheelchair

  Guest Author

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:23 am

  Andy Campbell is a British adventurer who refuses to let a little thing like needing a wheelchair get in the way of his dreams. In fact, Andy is about to embark on a journey like no othe–circumnavigating the world using his arms. His journey will take two years and involve his wheelchair, a paraglider, and a kayak. The trip is a fundraiser to support a non-profit group dedicated to making outdoor adaptive equipment available to those with disabilities who could not otherwise afford it. Eight years ago, Andy fell during a rock climbing expedition and since then has had to rely on a…

• Living with a Disability: A Global View

  Guest Author

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pm

  It’s easy to assume that the rights and benefits available to disabled citizens in the United States might be the norm, but in some areas of the world, a disability is a life sentence–a “crime” punishable by the loss of basic rights like education, employment or community participation. In many countries, a disabled family member is considered a burden or a shame, or the community lacks any resources for those with disabilities to lead productive lives. But many countries are working to end stereotypes and provide accessibility and opportunity to all of their citizens.

• Accessible Gaming: Why Don’t We Hear More About It?

  Guest Author

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:47 pm

  Blogger Jacqueline Geller recently posed a question to readers on the site ComplexityGaming.com: “Is game accessibility something that should be discussed more often within the video game industry?” We wonder, why it isn’t? It’s not that accessible gaming is not mainstream, thus unknown to most gamers. As video game popularity grows, so does the interest in accessible gaming, and developers have definitely taken notice. According to Media Access Australia, there are mainstream gaming options and new access initiatives that allow gamers, regardless of ability, to enjoy…

• Tracking Wolves with an All-Terrain Wheelchair

  Roseanne

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:11 pm

  On a glacial ridge overlooking 1,400 acres of forest and wetlands of Treehaven in Tomohawk, WI, Meg Lynch and several other University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students are out and about in the snow-covered forest, learning to identify and preserve wolf tracks. In the past, Meg would likely not have been able to participate in the field study portion of her biology program. But a grant has made possible the purchase of a new, all-terrain wheelchair with four-wheel drive that easily tackles the brush and snow. “I’m grateful to have this chair, because I wouldn’t be here without this…

• Researchers Discover Second ‘Culprit’ Gene Linked to ALS

  Guest Author

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:44 pm

  Recently, Northwestern Medicine researchers discovered a mutated gene that causes the breakdown in the recycling system for cells in the brain and spinal cord that causes ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease). Now they have done it again, finding yet a second gene that may help lead to treatments for those living with the disease. Patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease have proteins that build up abnormally in the motor neurons of the spinal cord and cortical and hippocampal neurons of the brain. In a healthy system, there is a recycling process that…

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  TheCpChic....

• Pan Handling for Jobs?

  ClaireTheCpChic

  26 Jan 2012 | 12:33 pm

  I’m tired of people telling me I should be happy with what I have. Unless they have rolled a mile in my wheelchair, they shouldn’t judge me from their private jet. Now if they were flying me to Hawaii on a pity vacation, they are welcome to tell me how wonderful my life is all the way there. Here’s my thing, right or wrong, I will not feel complete until I’m working and earning what my peers are earning. I think you can appreciate all your blessings and yet feel disappointed that you’ve not met your mid-life goals. I even think my not settling may be one of my best characteristics,…

• Sleep, Resistance is Futile, Eventually

  ClaireTheCpChic

  19 Jan 2012 | 1:19 pm

  I have a love/hate relationship with sleep. There are a few schools of thought that think, because of my cerebral palsy, I need a solid eight or even more hours of sleep, to really be at my maximum physical peak. Which I’ve got to tell you, isn’t that great. This theory is mostly pushed by my husband who only needs six and can function on four. I hate this because I keep thinking if I had four more hours a day, I’d be so much more productive, never mind the 10 hours I’m supposed to be productive, these four would surely push me over the edge. With my husband, I personally think he…

• Why I need all the exercise equipment “As Seen On TV”

  ClaireTheCpChic

  12 Jan 2012 | 1:33 pm

  In researching today’s blog, I found one website where you can buy every single thing you have ever wanted to buy from those “As seen on TV” commercials. Score! I bet if I look hard enough, there’s a single button that will just allow you to put all the items in the cart automatically. Oh what a happy day. Plus how cool would it be if all the items came in three giant crates, filled with bubble wrap? Nirvana… Like everything else I do, it started out with good intentions. Because of my disability, it’s hard to find an exercise regiment I like. Note the ending two words. Not that I…

• According to the Mayan Calendar Stephen Hawkins Or Joey Travolta Might Call Soon

  ClaireTheCpChic

  5 Jan 2012 | 11:58 am

  I’m tired of not getting jobs I’d be perfect for. I’m even more tired of not getting jobs I’m over qualified for, so in 2012 I’ve decided just to buy lottery tickets and apply for dream jobs and see what happens. If all else fails, I can pray that the Mayans were right. I’m serious. (no I’m not, but I needed to say “I’m serious” for dramatic effects. So just read along. There’s no need to call for a Crip intervention by my closest friends, unless we can have it on a warm beach with cabana boys, then I am in a very bad way and need to be talked down.) Sorry, I digress.

• Please Let It Be Love At First Sight

  ClaireTheCpChic

  29 Dec 2011 | 10:00 am

  Sometimes I wonder at what point does my husband tell new people about me? That we’ve been married for 15 years. That I’m a writer. That I’m still way out of his league, and that I have cerebral palsy. Because you know they almost always give him that pity head tilt. What a good man to marry a poor, however hot, disabled chick. It must be kinda weird introducing me. I’m not saying that in a bad way, just one of them realities. The best introduction I’ve ever heard of myself was “Hey this is Claire, ask her what she majored in incollege.” Communications. My speech impairment of…

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  Enabled Kids

• It’s Dinner Time: How To Get The Kids Eating Healthy

  EK News

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

  Children are the biggest critics when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. They often love their sweets, junk food and anything and everything that is unhealthy. As a parent, [...]

• The first steps to improving a child’s drooling

  Natan

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:29 pm

  For many parents of children with special needs, drooling is a common yet difficult issue to address. When a child is young, it is normal for him to drool as [...]

• Babies read lips while learning to talk

  EK News

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

  A baby’s ability to learn to talk is more than simply hearing sounds–it also includes reading lips. New study suggests that this occurs during the stage when a baby’s babbling [...]

• A poem of thanks to teachers

  Mari

  18 Jan 2012 | 9:55 am

  Gratitude One day I met a teacher My mentor than my friend She has been there through the tough times My gratitude I send No matter what my challenge She [...]

• Breastfed babies ‘are more cranky and cry more’

  EK News

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

  UNITED KINGDOM – Experts advise new moms that it is normal for babies to cry more if they are breastfed. The Medical Research Council (MRC) team says that their irritability [...]

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  About.com Learning Disabilities

• Depression and Learning Disabilities

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:55 am

  Many people are affected by depression. Nearly seventeen million people in this country are estimated to be affected by this disorder each year. Many people with depression also have disabilities. Not everyone who has a disability develops depression, but many do. Learn about the signs of depression and when to seek help.

• Disability Round-Up

  15 Jan 2012 | 9:27 am

  In this week's features from About.com's disability Guides, read about a hospital that denied a kidney transplant on the basis of a girl's intellectual disability. If that makes your blood boil, and you would like to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities, consider becoming an advocate. For the classroom or at home learning, find tools for teaching high frequency sight words and phonemic awareness.  And while it is flu season, if you've recently stopped taking antidepressants and feel as if you're getting sick, it might be discontinuation syndrome.

• What Is Reading Fluency?

  7 Jan 2012 | 5:52 am

  Reading fluency refers to the ability to read with adequate accuracy, speed, expression, and automaticity. Reading fluency is very important to one's overall ability to understand, or comprehend, what is read. Reading fluency is often a problem for readers who have dyslexia or learning disabilities in reading. Learn  more about this all-important aspect of learning to read.

• What Is Oppositional Defiant Disorder?

  7 Jan 2012 | 5:49 am

  Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically emerges in childhood and can last throughout adulthood. Children with ODD display behaviors that are challenging to parents and educators. For example, they demonstrate aggression and purposeful misbehavior. They usually have difficulty interacting appropriately with peers and adults. The frequency and severity of their behavior problems causes difficulty at home and at school.  Learn more about oppositional defiant disorder.

• New Year's Resolutions for Parents of Learning Disabled Students

  1 Jan 2012 | 3:59 am

  Losing weight, saving money, and getting a better job are usually among the top New Year's resolutions for many of us. As the parent of a child with learning disabilities, here are a few more you may want to add to that list. Find more great New Year's resolutions in the All About Parenting Blog Carnival hosted on the Parenting Teens site on January 1st....Read Full Post