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Getting Mobile this Spring

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:58:07 +0000

With warmer weather just around the corner, many people are preparing for Spring. This may include choosing plants for a garden, planning a weekend getaway or perhaps doing a little spring cleaning in and around the house.

Spring is also a great time to check your mobility devices and decide whether they need an upgrade or should be exchanged for a newer item that is more functional. Upgrades may include replacing those ugly tennis balls on your walker with new "ski" attachments. If you really want to get out there and start walking, perhaps upgrading your old aluminum folding walker to a rolling walker is an option.

Would you like to have more control over where you go, without having to rely on someone pushing you around in a wheelchair? Maybe now is the time to replace that wheelchair with a powerchair or electric scooter.

Manufacturers are beginning to realize that the disabled want functional as well as colorful and more fashionable mobility devices. If you're tired of using worn-out, unattractive and most importantly, barely-functional mobility devices, make this spring the time you replace those old items. Out with the old, and in with the new you!

Mobility Product Resources:

Portrayals of the Disabled in Pop Culture

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:02:56 +0000

The portrayal of the disabled in pop culture has not changed much over time. In many instances they are still the people who are to be pitied or used as a "teachable moment" in movies and on television. Rarely are they seen as strong, capable individuals who are living life fully despite their disability.

While there is plenty of blame to go around, it is interesting to note that there are few disabled working actors that the general public actually know by name. It seems that there are few scripts written by the disabled, which leaves it up to the imagination of the non-disabled writer to include them. Unfortunately, this may mean creating characters that aren't very believable, especially in the eyes of the disabled viewer.

I'm not sure why, in this supposed age of enlightenment, that the disabled are still treated as second class citizens, and even demonized by the non-disabled community on a global level. Why are they feared, yet equally pitied? The media has the power to promote positive change towards the disabled, and the disabled community has a responsibility to help them accomplish this task. If we are ever to be truly inclusive and congratulate ourselves on being broad-minded and not bigoted, we have to actually begin including disabled people in movies, television, books and on the Internet.

It isn't enough to simply acknowledge that the disabled exist among us. We need to look at the disabled with a fresh pair of eyes to see all of their possibilities, instead of quickly summing them up based on their limitations. It is time for the disabled community to seize the opportunity for change, and the time is now.

More on Pop Culture and the Disabled:

2012 Advocates in Disability Award

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:20:17 +0000

The HSC Health Care System is accepting applications for their 2012 Advocates in Disability Award (ADA). The award is given to disabled individuals between the ages of 14 and 26 who have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of the disabled and their families.

"The Advocates in Disability Award (ADA) is a program of The HSC Foundation, funded in part by the Sarah Beth Coyote Foundation. The selected recipient is awarded $3,000 in recognition of his/her past disability advocacy and will receive up to an additional $7,000 in funding support for his/her proposed project that focuses on serving and empowering individuals with disabilities."

Learn more about this award and how to submit an application online here: The HSC Foundation

Deadline for applications is February 28, 2012.

Spina Bifida Association College Scholarship

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:05:09 +0000

The Spina Bifida Association is offering up to six $2,000 college scholarships for the 2012 school year. The requirements are as follows:

Applicant must have Spina Bifida. A physician's statement of disability is required, and must be submitted on letterhead stationary of the hospital/clinic/office. Letter must include the physician's address and phone number.
Applicant must be an applicant of, enrolled in, or accepted by a four-year university, junior college, approved trade, vocational, or business school. A letter of acceptance is required. For those applicants who have not yet been accepted, final awarding of the scholarship is dependent upon acceptance.
Deadline to apply is Friday, March 9, 2012.

Learn more about this college scholarship and others here: College Scholarships for Disabled Students

Counseling Individuals with Multiple Minority Identities

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:19:36 +0000

Counselors often have to help clients who have more than one minority identity. A minority identity may include being disabled, Native American, a woman or an individual who is gay. Sometimes these minority identities intersect, and a counselor has to be aware of how these separate identities affect other areas of a client's life.

For example, an individual may be disabled, but they may also belong to other minority groups, such as a woman who is a Native American. The individual is all of these things, but separately, they affect how she relates to others within these groups.

Multiple Minority Identities: Applications for Practice, Research and Training, edited by Reginald Nettles and Rochelle Balter, is a handbook for the modern clinical practitioner and student. It explores a wide variety of individuals who have minority identities, including those in the disabled community. Of particular note is the case studies used to illustrate key concepts, and the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy, group psychotherapy, and positive psychology to treat clients.

Learn more about this new book here- Book Review: Multiple Minority Identities,

6th Annual Empowerment Forum for People with Disabilities

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:05:51 +0000

The 6th Annual Empowerment Forum for People with Disabilities will be held in Houston, Texas on February 2, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. "Come to learn more about Taxes, Banking, Budgeting, Owning your Own Business, Home Ownership, Preventing Identify Theft and more...."

The address:

1475 W. Gray

Houston, Texas

Contact: Cornelius Booker, Disability Program Navigator

713-692-7755 ext 1384

713-697-0635 (fax)

Website: Workforce Solutions

Kindle Fire - An Accessibility Device for the Disabled

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:51:12 +0000

When you think of the Kindle Fire, you may think that it is a handy device for playing game apps, surfing the Internet on the go or just reading a book. For a disabled person, such as myself, it has become more. This small device keeps me connected to my friends with social networking apps and the Internet (even when I'm sitting in a hospital or doctor's office), allows me to listen to audio books when I'm too tired to hold the Kindle with my hands, and even lulls me to sleep with a nifty alpha-wave sound app I downloaded.

I have many friends and acquaintances who have said they would never forgo their book collection, and as someone who collects antique books, nor would I. However, the Kindle Fire, as well as other Kindle e-reader models, have given me the ability to read books in a font size of my choosing, and to easily carry my library with me wherever I go.

If you've been sitting on the fence about purchasing a Kindle Fire or other previous models of the Kindle, check out my review of the device here: Kindle Fire for the Disabled.

Healing Through Natural Therapy

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:05:55 +0000

Are you one of the many people who suffer from a chronic skin condition such as eczema, joint inflammation or perhaps just bruise easily? If so, let me introduce you to Lou Paradise, inventor of Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream, as well as Topricin Jr., and Topricin Foot Cream.

Mr. Paradise suffered from bi-lateral carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by his two tours as a Marine helicopter combat and rescue crew chief in Vietnam. He was unable to sleep at night due to the pain, so he slept upright in a chair. Frustrated with his condition, he drew upon his medical knowledge to invent the topical healing cream known today as Topricin.

To learn more about Lou's discovery and the Topricin story, read Pain Relief Through Innovation - An Interview with Lou Paradise.

Fellowship Awards for Writers and Artists with Spinal Cord Injuries

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:44:35 +0000

A scholarship opportunity for writers and artists living with spinal cord injuries:

Long time Quality of Life grantee, Vermont Studio Center, has announced four four Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Fellowships for month-long studio residencies for artists and writers with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).
Each of these fellowship awards includes a $500 stipend for travel and expenses during the residency and, if necessary, a room, board, and travel stipend for a personal care assistant.
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Fellowships applications are due February 15, 2012 as part of VSC's fellowship awards deadline.
For a complete listing of fellowship awards available at VSC's February 15, 2012 application deadline, please visit the Vermont Studio Center's website.

Permanent Disability and Student Loans

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:19:33 +0000

Handling finances can be difficult, especially if you have the burden of student loans. While student loan payments can be deferred for economic hardship, an individual who is living on Social Security Disability may not be able to afford their student loan payments.

There is an option for those who are totally and permanently disabled, and receiving SSDI benefits - the student loan discharge. A student loan discharge will eliminate your student loan debt to the federal government. The application process can be a difficult one, not unlike applying for Social Security Disability. The application has to be approved by a panel of medical doctors, but in the end, it can ease worries when there is a financial hardship.

To learn more about the application process, as well as tips for getting through the paperwork, check out my recent article, Student Loan Discharge for the Disabled.