In Virginia, Air Force vet denied real estate exam because of service dog

From WUSA-TV:

WALDORF, Md. - Air Force veteran Edward Halstead was turned away from a Virginia real estate exam on Veterans Day because the company managing the exam would not allow him in the testing room with his 13-pound service dog Marino (pictured).

"The irony of it being Veterans Day, I even chose Veterans Day to take the test," Halstead told 9News Now.

"When I showed up I was informed that I would not be allowed the test because I had my service dog with me and I explained the Americans With Disabilities Act allows Marino, my service animal- he is not a pet- to go with me anywhere the public is allowed," Halstead said.

Marino has a better sense of timing than Halstead at times, and is able to remind him when it is necessary to take his medication.

The company that administers the test says it allows service dogs but says it must have notice in advance.

"They must follow a procedure and that procedure is to contact us and submit the proper request for a special accommodation, " said company representative Shawn Snell.

Halstead's position is that he needn't do so under provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Government offices were closed for Veterans Day and could not provide guidance for this story.

"It's quite fair. I have four children and all four of them have served in the armed forces. Two are still serving, so I have a particular appreciation for veterans," Snell told 9News Now.

Snell says Halstead can return and take the test- with Marino- at no extra charge, and Halstead says he will accept the offer.

" I spent a lot of time and put in a lot of effort into studying and being prepared for today at 12 o'clock," Halstead.

Now, he'll prepare again.

In Taiwan, 1,000 people protest for rights of people with disabilities

From Focus Taiwan News Channel:

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Some 1,000 disabled people, their families and activists took to the streets Sunday to demand better social welfare and rights for the disabled, the largest protest of its kind in Taiwan in a decade, the organizer said that day.

The protest brought together more than 20 disabled groups and was the first time groups comprised of people with hearing disabilities and mental illness have marched on the streets to voice their grievances, said spokesman Hsu Chao-fu.

Protesters in wheelchairs held placards that read "I want barrier-free restaurants," "I want barrier-free schools," and "I want work rights" to express their discontent with the government over the slow pace of improvements in these areas.

Rain began to fall shortly after the march began, with passersby cheering the protesters on.

The group was demanding that the government increase disabled-friendly facilities at restaurants, hotels, on public transport, in schools and office buildings, Hsu told CNA.

"If a disabled person doesn't even have a chance to interview for a job, how will he or she have an opportunity to be employed?" he asked.

"Government policies should not just give disabled people wheelchair ramps, bathrooms and parking spaces, but should consider the needs of the disabled in every aspect," Hsu added.

The government should also ensure that disabled students are assigned personal assistants at school, allow disabled people to retire and receive a pension at the age of 50, and take action to get rid of the stigmatization suffered by mentally ill people, said the spokesman.

"It is not only about the disabled, but also about the elderly and children in our country," said Hsu. "We want to let the world know that Taiwan is not a backward country."

The group marched from the Taipei Main Station to the Presidential Office passing the Control Yuan, Executive Yuan, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education, where they submitted petitions in support of their cause.

For those with disabilities, a new entrepreneurial spirit in Florida

From the Orlando Sentinel. Pictured is Ayla Topgul, a seamstress who became disabled through her years of work in the industry, at her Angora Design Studios.

If you think the job market is tough for the able-bodied, consider the case for those with disabilities.

In Florida, estimates of the jobless rate among disabled, working-age adults — including large numbers of young, severely injured soldiers returning to civilian life — run as high as 50 percent.

To address the problem, nonprofit organizations and government agencies recently have begun pushing an option that many with disabilities may have once thought unlikely: becoming entrepreneurs.

"We're seeing a major influx of people saying, 'What I really want is to start my own business,' " said Rogue Gallart, president of the Central Florida Disability Chamber, a nonprofit created in 2009. "We work with clients across the board to help them write their business plans and then assist them in finding the funding they need.

"Essentially, we're a business incubator."

With expert advice and grant money available for startups, the chamber already has helped write 17 business plans and has 20 more in the works. As the only organization of its kind in the state — and one of the few in the country — it now handles referrals from throughout Florida.

Businesses run the gamut from Internet-based companies to street-corner food carts to construction companies.

"They are wonderful," said Ayla Topgul, an expert seamstress and designer. After more than 40 years in the industry, she couldn't find work because shoulder, back and foot problems limited her mobility — and her job options.

"I am happy now."

Topgul lost her home and car during the years she spent trying to get someone else to hire her. Turned down on her initial application for federal disability payments — a relatively common occurrence — Topgul didn't bother appealing.

"What she really wanted was to work," said her daughter, Aydan Topgul. "She said to me, 'What am I supposed to do? I can't just sit around all day.' And she can't. She always has to be doing something."

The 63-year-old Topgul went first to Workforce Central Florida, which sent her to the state's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which ultimately referred her to the Central Florida Disability Chamber. There, the two-person staff analyzed her notion of starting her own business, wrote a business plan, secured a state grant of $85,000 for industrial sewing machines and other startup costs, and helped her find a storefront.

Opened last year, Angora Design Studio in Winter Park is still trying to make a name for itself, and it is just now at the break-even point. But Ayla Topgul is thrilled.

"I know I do good work for people," she said, pointing out meticulous alterations, handmade lace and a series of custom and intricate wedding gowns. Adds her daughter: "If you show her a picture, she can make it."

Keys to success

Family support is often critical to the success of a business venture, Gallart said. New businesses typically lack the means to hire outsiders, so having someone who will either pitch in for free — or help with living expenses while the entrepreneur is building a customer base — can be the difference between making and breaking a young enterprise.

Although the chamber's track record is too short to be definitive, so far about 95 percent of the businesses launched are still open.

Peter Schoemann, a Central Florida attorney who created a National Chamber of Commerce for Persons With Disabilities before realizing the issue needed a more localized approach, said Gallart's organization is "a fantastic place." In fact, his group is now getting requests from New York; Washington, D.C.; and Texas to replicate the Central Florida model.

But entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, he cautions.

"You have to have willpower," he said. "It's one thing to have a good idea. It's another to be willing to put in the effort 24-7 to run your own business."

And for those receiving government disability payments, there is a strong disincentive, Schoemann said.

"It blows my mind the way the current system is set up: The moment you earn more than the ridiculously low income allowed, you're going to risk getting kicked off. Yet that's long before a new business owner can make enough money to survive."

'More determined'

On the flip side, Schoemann said, many entrepreneurs with disabilities are more determined than their typical able-bodied counterparts. Often, they've spent years — or even a lifetime — overcoming barriers.

For Bill Miller, a 35-year-old Lake County quadriplegic, the inability to walk, sit up, move his arms or take care of his own physical needs has only magnified his drive to succeed. Injured in a freakish fall at age 20, he belatedly returned to college online, completed a bachelor's degree in business administration with a 4.0 grade-point average and is now working on his master's degree in entrepreneurship.

In the process, using a voice-activated computer, he also has worked as a movie reviewer for a Leesburg newspaper and helped to invent and market the IKAN Bowler — a wheelchair-mounted device that allows quadriplegics to bowl. The invention, pronounced "I can," empowers even those who navigate with a sip-and-puff mouthpiece to aim and release a bowling ball, giving them a rare recreational outlet and much-needed fun.

"Right now it's an extremely tough market, and this is not a low-cost product," Miller said of the 30-pound bowler, which sells for $699. "Right before the recession hit, we were just starting to turn a profit."

Miller sees his future in teaching, both online and in a classroom. And his ultimate goal, he said, "is to be a contributing member of society. I don't want to be supported by taxpayers."

VA joins effort

Toward that end, the Department of Veterans Affairs also is pushing an agenda of self-employment for its disabled veterans. The National Science Foundation recently awarded a three-year, $100,000 grant to Maitland-based Blue Orb Inc., parent company of the keyless-computer-keyboard maker orbiTouch. The device allows those without fine-motor dexterity in their hands to easily navigate a desktop computer.

Partnering with the VA, orbiTouch is enlisting veterans and others with disabilities to foster their entry into the world of entrepreneurship.

For 42-year-old Rodney Cruce of Orlando, a service-disabled veteran, the efforts can't come quickly enough. After more than two decades in the Army and deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, he left in 2009 and soon discovered he lacked the connections and networking in civilian life to quickly grow his business, On Point Saliency.

The security and crisis-management company, which trains business personnel planning to travel or operate overseas, has impressive credentials and expertise. But Cruce still struggles to get face time with corporate decision-makers.

"Part of it is the recession," said Cruce, a former Army commander. "But that [lack of connections] really has been the hardest part.

"I don't want anybody to think I'm asking for a handout — because I'm not — but I just want to be as successful in the civilian sector as I was in the military."

In Twin Cities, Center of the Margins festival at Mixed Blood Theatre spotlights people with disabilities

From The Twin Cities Daily Planet:

Mixed Blood continues its inaugural Radical Hospitality season with Center of the Margins festival, a trio of plays that are either about people with disabilities or feature actors with disabilities.

The festival, which runs November 11-27, includes the world premiere of Ken LaZebnik’s On the Spectrum, about autism, Gruesome Playground Injuries, a love story by Pulitzer-nominated playwright Rajiv Joseph featuring two deaf actresses, and My Secret Language of Wishes, by Cori Thomas.

As with all the shows at Mixed Blood this season, the festival offers free tickets on a first-come, first serve basis (by giving contact information online or at the door) or guaranteed tickets by paying $15 dollars in advance. (People with disabilities can make complimentary guaranteed reservations by calling the box office or emailing boxoffice@mixedblood.com.)

Playwright Ken LaZebnik, who was commissioned by Mixed Blood to write On the Spectrum, says it is the third play he’s written about autism—he also wrote Theory of Mind and Vistibular Sense. The subject is a personal one for him, since he has four nieces and nephews who fall at various ranges “on the spectrum.”

Theory of Mind premiered at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and was later produced and toured by Mixed Blood. It sparked an online discussion about autism as a civil rights issue, LaZebnik says, and about whether autism is a disability or difference. Mixed Blood’s artistic director Jack Reuler was very intrigued about the discussion, and about a year and a half ago asked LaZebnik to write a play using that issue as the starting point, according LaZebnik.

To develop On the Spectrum, LaZebnik tried to engage and hear the voices of the online community, in addition to drawing from his personal experience with his nieces and nephews.

In the play, a young man who has autism but is high-functioning develops a romance with a woman who is very much based on one of the women from the online forum: an activist whose stance is “this is my world, you deal with it. I’m different but this is who I am,” LaZebnik says.

Part of the play involves an online chat between the two characters, and it’s staged so that the two characters are going about their daily lives while their dialogue is projected as supertitles, according to LaZebnik.

LaZebnik hopes that his play isn’t didactic, but raises a question while being a human piece. It’s a romance between two characters, and “it should not be taken as a propaganda piece one way or another,” he says.

My Secret Language of Wishes by Cori Thomas has had four productions, but Thomas says the production at Mixed Blood “feels like it’s a premiere” because it’s the first time she’s been involved in the whole process.

Thomas got the idea for the play when she was walking through Times Square in New York. She observed two young women: an African-American and a white woman. The white woman was holding the black woman’s hand, and helping her walk. “She was quite disabled,” Thomas says of the African-American woman. “I was surprised to see them alone. There was something about them that I found compelling.” Thomas almost followed them, because she was curious about where they were going. “There was something unusual about a white woman taking care of a black woman,” Thomas says.

The play centers on a 17-year-old African American woman with cerebral palsy, and the custody battle over her between a young white woman, her caretaker, and an older, black woman who has money and is of the same race. Aside from her experience in Times Square, Thomas was also inspired by a custody battle she went through when she was going through a divorce, and her daughter was six. Thomas was an actress, and her husband argued that she couldn’t provide for the child because she didn’t have a stable job, so she gave up acting.

The script deals with the idea of parenthood issues of race, class, and disability, Thomas says. In most of her work, Thomas writes about people of different races and backgrounds. “I don’t write a play about all white people or all black people,” she says. “I break down certain walls.”

Finally, Aditi Kapil directs Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph, who was nominated for a Pulitzer for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Kapil says that the play wasn’t her first choice for the festival. In early talks about Center of the Margins, Kapil wanted to do a show with Alexandria Wailes and Nic Zapko, two deaf performers she believes are brilliant and don’t work enough. Her idea was to do a show entirely in ASL, and searched for the right two-woman play that would showcase them.

“I went on the hunt for two-woman scripts,” Kapil says, “but I couldn’t find the perfect fit. A lot of two-woman shows are mother-daughter plays.” That wouldn’t work, she says, because the actresses are near the same age.

Then she remembered Joseph’s play, which was originally written for a man and a woman, but somehow it seemed a perfect fit for the actresses’ energies as performers. “I felt casting two women really enhanced the themes of the play in amazing ways,” Kapil says. Basically, the play is about two people who are best friends but also in love, though it never works out, Kapil says.

She contacted the playwright, and told him that it would require three tiny script tweaks, and changing one character from Doug to Dag. “You’d think it would be a really difficulty to change one of the characters, but in the moment we are in right now, we had to do virtually no script changes.” Aside from changing one of the character names from “Doug” to “Dag,” they also removed a reference to male genitalia, removed a song, and changed one reference to a character being a boy, according to Kapil. Joseph was very supportive of the script changes, she says.

While there are a handful of deaf theaters that do work that cast deaf actors in plays about people who are not deaf, usually the productions imply that the characters played by deaf actors are not deaf. For instance, Deaf West’s production of Big River, about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, didn’t imply the two boys were deaf, they were just telling the story through deaf theater.

In Gruesome Playground Injuries, the deaf actresses don’t pretend to be hearing. “It’s rare what we are doing,” Kapil says. “We’re prioritizing the deaf experience of the play, which is virtually silent.” Apart from a harp score that plays between the scenes, the play doesn’t have any sound during the scenes.

When asked if casting deaf actresses in a play not written for deaf actresses is similar to the idea of color blind casting, Kapil says that is. “There are these amazing artists that just don’t work enough,” she says. “These are two of the best actresses I know. I want to work with them all the time. They just don’t work as much as they should. Theaters don’t know how to make use of them, because of lack of imagination…these amazing voices are absent from the cultural dialogue.”

Kapil hopes that more theaters would think more creatively about using deaf actors, including not just using them in plays that are about the deaf experience. “I don’t see why any time we see a deaf performer we just hear about their experiences being deaf,” she says.

Kapil likens it to her own experience as a multicultural writer. She’s not necessarily interested in telling the story of her identity all the time. “Any time I get offered a commission where I’m told 'we want you to write about your own experience,' that’s not enough of a hook…there’s a lot more complex stuff I have to say,” she says.

New York City HopStop subway app aimed at wheelchair, stroller users

From The Huffington Post:

NEW YORK -- An online service that provides transit directions in several cities is now giving New Yorkers an option to avoid stairs.

HopStop partnered with Fit Pregnancy magazine to identify stations and routes that have elevators and other features for wheelchairs and strollers. In some cases, that could mean taking buses and avoiding subways. Or it could mean getting off the subway a stop or two early.

HopStop offers transit directions in more than 50 cities, mostly in North America. Travelers enter their starting location and destination just as they do when seeking driving directions at Google and other sites. HopStop then offers the best ways to get there by public transportation.

The stairless option is currently available only in the New York area. HopStop plans to add other markets this year.

Maryland agency left $38 million unspent on disabled people needing care

From Maryland Reporter:

The beleaguered Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA), with thousands on its waiting list for care, left $25 million in state funding unspent over the last two years, and wound up having to return the money to the state’s general fund.

The agency also had a $12 million surplus in its federal Medicaid match, meaning there was a total $38 million left over.

The surpluses had apparently been going on for some time, leaving millions in the kitty that were supposed to be spent on people with some of the most severe physical and mental disabilities, many unable to care for themselves.

“It’s really unconscionable,” said Frank Kirkland, who took over as DDA’s director in August. He said that he and the top brass at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene were upset, and launched an investigation, which is continuing, about how the money went unspent, apparently accumulating over several years, and hidden from auditors.

The agency serves about 21,000 people with a budget of $830 million, including $488 million from the state.

“We’ve also made changes in financial management,” Kirkland said. He would not say if anyone got fired.

“We’ve made needed changes,” he said.

“This is money that could have gone to services and that’s unconscionable,” said Kirkland, who has held similar positions in New Jersey and West Virginia. He said he’s already met with members of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, who were upset about the funding problems “and they should be.”

“It was horrifying to learn the news,” said Laura Howell, executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Services and chair of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition. “People with developmental disabilities depend on the state for critically important services and those services have been underfunded for many years,”

“To learn that funds were unspent in light of that underfunding was just devastating to both people who receive services and their families and the agencies that support them,” she said.

After years of lobbying by advocates for more funding from higher alcohol taxes, the DDA will get a $15 million boost in fiscal 2013 from the new 9% sales tax in July, far less than the amount the agency couldn’t find a way to spend in previous years.

“We had no idea that this mismanagement was taking place,” said Nancy Pineles, developmental disabilities managing attorney for the Maryland Disability Law Center. “What’s very hard to swallow is that at the same time that the services were underfunded, we were advocating our support for the alcohol tax.”

“It’s incredible,” said Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee who’s taken a particular interest in the developmentally disabled. “In an agency dying for money, this level of incompetency — it’s terrible.”

Kasemeyer, D-Howard and Baltimore counties, and the others said Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein and Kirkland helped defuse the anger at the situation by calling them and meeting with them to tell them what was going on.

“Thankfully, I have a lot of faith in Sharfstein,” Kasemeyer said. “I trust him.”

“After he called me, he fired the [chief financial officer],” the senator said.

Kasemeyer said that his committee and the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over health issues, would likely have a joint hearing on DDA at the end of the month. Finance Chairman Thomas Mac Middleton said that after all the attention the legislature was giving to disabilities, “your first impression is you’re outraged,” but “you want to hear from both sides.”

Kate Fialkowski of The ARC of Maryland noted that the Maryland ranks 43rd in the nation in spending on services for people with developmental disabilities.

“Current funding is woefully insufficient,” Fialkowski said. “Insufficient funding means that people can’t get out of bed, can’t leave their homes, and there are people who are living in situations of crisis. With such a pervasive and pent-up need, obviously we are outraged that under-spending could happen.”

According to letters sent to legislative leaders in late October by Warren Deschenaux, the legislature’s policy chief, and a response to that letter by Sharfstein, the unexpected surpluses came to light as the agency was closing out its books in July for fiscal 2011.

Sharfstein wrote: “When we learned of this abrupt change, the department: 1. Assigned new individuals to review the finances of DDA; 2. Requested an investigation by our office of inspector general; and 3. Attempted to hold on to as much of the surplus as possible as possible to provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities.”

Sharfstein said the surplus resulted from inappropriately charging fiscal 2011 expenses to fiscal 2010. When the department reversed this bookkeeping maneuver, fiscal 2010 then showed a surplus, which had to revert back to the state. The federal surplus could be rolled over.

“The underlying problem appears to relate to challenges in the budgeting and payment process in the DDA program, dating back several years,” Sharfstein wrote. “We are hiring new fiscal personnel, reassessing our current budget process, and developing a plan for an upgraded accounting system.”

Sharfstein promised Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch that he would provide quarterly updates until the matter is resolved.

According to Deschenaux’s letter, “DDA created improper purchase orders in the state’s accounting system to avoid reverting funds to the state’s general fund. This practice violated the yearly closing instructions” from the comptroller’s office “since this spending did not qualify as a valid encumbrance.”

Management problems are not new at the DDA.

Legislative auditors two years ago issued a scathing report saying DDA failed to seek $3 million in federal reimbursement it was due, and also overpaid care providers $3.6 million.



In January of this year, DDA Director Michael Chapman, appointed in 2007, was asked to resign, according to a department spokesperson. Kirkland replaced him in August.

Donald Galloway, disability rights advocate for minorities with disabilities who won right for blind people to serve on juries, dies

From The Washington Post:

Donald Galloway, 73, a civil rights advocate for minorities with disabilities who won a lawsuit against the D.C. government for the right of the blind to serve on juries, died Oct. 3 in a hospice in Santa Barbara, Calif.

He had metastatic prostate cancer, said his wife, June Galloway. The Galloways lived in the District and were visiting family in California when Donald Galloway died.

Mr. Galloway, who had been legally blind since an accident in childhood, had an eclectic career. He was a folk singer as a young man, received a master’s degree in social work and, in 1978, became Jamaica’s Peace Corps director.

He retired in 2009 from the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs as program coordinator for the Americans With Disabilities Act. He joined that department after serving from 1987 to 1998 as manager of the disability affairs branch of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development.

In 1991, he showed up at D.C. Superior Court after receiving a summons to serve on a jury and said he was turned away when he arrived with a guide dog. He was told a blind person would be unable to observe the demeanor of witnesses and read through troves of evidence, if required. He sued the District government.

“I don’t have to see a gun,” Mr. Galloway said at the time. “I could feel the gun or have someone describe it to me. They are making the assumption that I can’t perceive or make judgments.”

In 1993, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green ruled that blind people could not be automatically excluded from a jury. She said exceptions could be made on an individual basis, especially involving cases where jurors must evaluate loads of documents.

Donald Galloway was born March 21, 1938, in Washington and raised in Annapolis. At 13, he was injured in one eye with a bow and arrow while playing. Because of improper treatment, his wife said, nerve damage affected the other eye and led to complete blindness by age 16.

He attended the Maryland School for the Blind and completed high school in Los Angeles, where his family moved. He was a 1967 graduate of California State University at Los Angeles and in 1969 received a master’s degree in social work from California State University at San Diego.

In the mid-1970s, Mr. Galloway worked in Berkeley, Calif., as director of peer counseling at the Center for Independent Living, which encouraged self-sufficiency among the disabled.

He later was executive director of the Governor’s Council on the Handicapped in Denver, followed by an appointment from 1978 to 1980 as Peace Corps director in Jamaica. His wife said he was the first blind country director, but a Peace Corps spokeswoman said she could not confirm that from the organization’s records.

Mr. Galloway was subsequently turned down for an administrative job with the Foreign Service because of his blindness. He sued and reached a financial settlement with the government, his wife said. He went on to direct the Center for Independent Living in Washington.

Mr. Galloway served in leadership roles on many commissions and panels on disability rights. As a volunteer, he had spent the last 15 years as president of the National Federation of the Blind’s Washington affiliate.

His first marriage, to Julia Townes, ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, June Williams Galloway of Washington; a son from his first marriage, Kevin Galloway of San Marino, Calif.; two children from his second marriage, Makini Galloway of Maui, Hawaii, and Ade Galloway of Philadelphia; two sisters; four brothers; and six grandchildren.

Gunshot survivor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords tells her story of recovery in People magazine, new memoir

From Extra TV:

After she was almost killed in the Arizona shooting that left six dead and 12 others wounded, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is opening up to People about her astounding recovery.

Giffords, 41, and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, share personal photos and an excerpt from their new memoir, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope."

In one emotional passage from the book, Kelly recalled the first time his wife tried to speak, but could not. He writes, "Gabby was sitting in her wheelchair, tears running down her face. She was hyperventilating, absolutely panicked. Gabby motioned with her left hand, waving it by her mouth. It didn't take me long to figure out what was wrong."

Speech is still difficult for the Congresswoman, and she has lost 50% of her vision.

Giffords suffered a gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 8, 2011 after a man opened fire outside a supermarket where she was holding a constituent meeting.

The issue of People hits newsstands Nov. 11.

Some disabled people in Japan take on WWF-style wrestling

From AFP:

TOKYO — With his sleek sunglasses and camouflage pants, Japanese wrestler Makoto Tsuruzono gives off an air of invincibility as he tries to goad his opponent into attacking him.

When the bell rings and the match begins, the unfortunate "Chest Man" can do little but try to fend off the blows raining down on him from Tsuruzono's muscular arms.

Both men are wheelchair bound, but see their disability as no bar to life as wrestlers.

"I can say with pride that no one can defeat me in the ring of handicapped pro-wrestling. I have the confidence in myself," said a victorious Tsuruzono, 34, as he sat in his wheelchair.

"You can live with pride if you feel you are second to none when doing something, no matter how trivial it is."

Tsuruzono and "Chest Man" were two of the 18 wrestlers -- men and women with and without disability -- taking part in a WWF-style event in Tokyo organised by handicapped wrestling group "Doglegs".

The competition attracts contenders with a variety of challenges, ranging from psychological problems to those like Tsuruzono whose left leg was amputated and whose right is withered.

One of the bouts pitted "The Blind Giant", against a profoundly deaf opponent.

Others featured a man with chronic depression and an alcoholic, as well as a number of confrontations between people with varying levels of paralysis.

Organiser Yukinori Kitajima said he has faced opposition over the twice-yearly bouts since he started them 20 years ago.

"We have received calls of complaint in the past, with some people saying a show like this was unpleasant and that they didn't want to see the handicapped around in public," he said.

The able-bodied Kitajima, who used to work as a carer, strongly objects to how the handicapped are treated in Japan.

"The Japanese traditionally tend to treat the mentally or physically disabled as something that should be kept out of sight.

"But they have their own desires. They want to make money and date girls, living freely just like their peers," he said. "They aren't tame sheep.

"Do you think they are happy just living life on welfare from the state?

"I want to help change society by showing disabled people doing something like this and fighting in the ring."

And for some first time spectators, watching half-paralyzed men and women punching and kicking each other really did change their opinions.

Takatsugu Suzuki, one of about 200 spectators at the bout in western Tokyo, said he had mixed feelings about the fights.

"We are physically and mentally able but sometimes feel compelled to hold ourselves back at work or in our everyday lives," said the 38-year-old business school student.

"They fight with real energy, which I suppose is a way of communicating how they feel. I felt encouraged by watching it."

He said it was uncomfortable to watch a man with a dislocated neck, but also inspiring.

The match, in the "miracle heavy class" division, was fought by a man whose neck was supported by a brace and a 36-year-old woman with partly paralysed legs and arms. Medical staff stood by at the ring side.

Yasuyuki Kaneshige, 31, a loyal Doglegs fan who has been wheelchair bound since childhood, said he enjoyed the wrestlers' powerful performances.

"I think this is a great way for the handicapped to express themselves openly in public," he said. "I might think about getting in the ring myself."

Kitajima said he was aware that the Doglegs may look like a freak show to some people. But he stressed: "The wrestlers are all volunteers."

Koji Onoue, director general of the Japanese chapter of the Disabled Peoples' International, said he is fully behind disabled wrestling "because it shakes up stereotypes".

"The handicapped once lived in corners of hospitals or care homes, but many now feel confident enough to come out into society and face new challenges," he said.

"They should not feel they have to hide their bodies or be ashamed."

Masako Yano, 63, said at first it had been tough to see her disabled son, Shintaro, in the ring.

"But once I started watching it, I found myself being entertained," she said, adding she had always felt uneasy about how Japanese people treat the disabled as if they are untouchable.

As she sipped a beer with her son following his unsuccessful bout against Kitajima, she admitted to being frustrated when he loses.

But she is also fiercely proud of him.

"My son is never the same as the healthy ones because he has many disadvantages and inconveniences.

"But in the ring, he can stand as an equal to his rival."

Bill Murray takes on FDR in new film set for release next summer

From USA Today:

A towering array of talent has portrayed Franklin Delano Roosevelt in movies and on TV, including Ralph Bellamy, Jason Robards, Jon Voight and Kenneth Branagh.

But English director Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Venus) had just one name on his ballot to fill the role of the 32nd president in next summer's Hyde Park on Hudson: Bill Murray.

"It is one of those parts like Hamlet," Michell says. "You don't do it unless you get the right actor."

Murray, infamous for playing hard to get with filmmakers, responded to the script in record time, Michell says. But getting a definitive yes or no required some patience.

"It was a very complicated dance and made life difficult for me while prepping the film," says the director. "I wouldn't have done it without him. But after a year of waiting, I received a wonderful text that said, 'Yes, I'll do it.'"

Once committed, Murray was the picture of professionalism while shooting the story about the historic visit to the United States by England's King George VI (yes, the same stuttering monarch from The King's Speech) and Queen Elizabeth in June 1939, three months before the start of World War II. "He rose to the challenge magnificently," Michell says of his star.

That includes handling FDR's paralysis, the result of a late-life bout with polio that was kept hidden from the public.

"We put Bill in touch with people who have polio and with a physiotherapist, who made calipers and taught him how to walk with them," the director says. Murray also worked on embodying the FDR spirit. "He captured the voice of the man, the tilt of his chin, that trademark cigarette holder and his way of spreading confidence,"

The script, based on a radio play, concentrates on the historic public event — the first time a reigning British monarch visited the United States — and how Anglo-American relations improved considerably after FDR and wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams) played host to the royals at their estate in Hyde Park, N.Y., following a more formal gathering in Washington, D.C.

There is also behind-the-scenes drama, as the long-suspected affair between FDR and distant cousin and family companion Daisy (Laura Linney) is explored.

Michell adds that while Hyde Park on Hudson is not a comedy per se, there is plenty of humor "as two cultures crash into each other."

No more so than when the Roosevelts treat their guests to an old-fashioned picnic, featuring the then-exotic Yankee treat, hot dogs. "The hot dogs are an integral part of the story," he explains. "The conundrum is explored of whether the royals should publicly eat a hot dog and possibly be set up for ridicule by consuming a strange and slightly socially embarrassing object."

Department of Justice begins investigation into Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, probing whether Milwaukee's state-administered voucher system is discriminating against students with disabilities

From The Huffington Post:

The Department of Justice has begun an investigation into Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, probing whether Milwaukee's state-administered voucher system is discriminating against students with disabilities. In response, the state is arguing that federal obligations don't apply to Wisconsin's voucher schools, according to a letter obtained by The Huffington Post Nov. 3.

Milwaukee's voucher system, which allows low-income students to attend private schools using tax dollars, came under fire in June for allegedly discriminating based on disability. The complaint ultimately led to the Department of Justice investigation.

Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction responded to the DOJ Sept. 27 in a letter that has not yet been made public.

DPI argued that since voucher schools in Milwaukee are run on state funds, they are not subject to federal anti-discrimination laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act's Title II, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. DPI is using this legal reasoning to explain why it doesn't have responsibility beyond state law for students with disabilities in schools that accept vouchers as part of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.

In regards to the anti-discrimination laws, "DPI has no policies or procedures that reference the obligation of participating MPCP schools to comply … because there is no such obligation," the DPI's letter stated.

The DOJ investigation began in response to a complaint filed in June by the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation and Disability Rights Wisconsin against DPI.

The complaint alleged that the voucher system segregates students with disabilities from Milwaukee's voucher system, keeping them in public schools. The real numbers of students with disabilities in Milwaukee Public Schools has declined over the years, but its proportion within MPS has increased while private, voucher schools absorbed 23,000 primarily non-disabled students.

The June complaint also recounted stories of several students who say they had been turned away from voucher schools based on their disabilities. For example, an ADHD-diagnosed student was told by a school that it wouldn’t admit him if he did not take medication for the disorder even though his mother had decided he did not need medication.

The outcome of the Wisconsin case could have broader implications as states seek to expand their voucher programs.

Pennsylvania's state senate recently passed a bill that would create the state's first voucher program. Ohio also recently passed a law that creates a special-needs-only voucher system. And Indiana, which last year created the country's largest statewide voucher program, touted its "most expansive first year voucher program" in a press release Thursday.

"Hoosier parents are more empowered than ever before in our state," Indiana schools chief Tony Bennett said in a statement.

In Wisconsin, Milwaukee's voucher program expanded into Racine Unified School District this year, doubling the size of the state's program for the 2012-2013 school year.

On Aug. 17, the DOJ began its investigation in Wisconsin, following up on the June complaint by submitting a questionnaire to DPI. The DOJ's letter inquired about the state's practices and responsibilities toward special-education students in voucher schools.

The state's Department of Public Instruction and superintendent Tony Evers claim that vouchers in Milwaukee are funded with state, and not federal, funds. Parents of voucher-eligible students, determined based on their income bracket, choose where to enroll their child. The department then makes four payments to the parents that can only be cashed to the child's school.

But, like other private schools in Wisconsin, voucher schools do receive some federal funding, such as through the National School Lunch Program. Private voucher schools also receive some funds from the federal government through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, who heads Disability Rights Wisconsin, said he was surprised by

DPI's September letter pushing back against the DOJ investigation, since DPI has previously acknowledged flaws in the way its voucher schools handle students with disabilities.

"We had been under the impression that DPI was concerned about the fact that the Milwaukee voucher program was not serving children with disabilities," Spitzer-Resnick said in an interview Thursday. "They were actively putting out the data and expressing concern publicly. To see a legal statement saying they don't believe the ADA and 504 applies is really surprising. We think it's legally incorrect."

In its letter, DPI attached a federal Education Department Office of Civil Rights letter from 1990 and a State Supreme Court decision saying that voucher schools were not public schools. But Spitzer-Resnick said that these documents mean little, as the program has changed drastically since then.

"These voucher schools receive federal school lunch money at the very least," Spitzer-Resnick said. DPI's own letter referenced Title I federal money some voucher students receive under ESEA.

DPI is declining to comment further for now.

"US DOJ has not completed their inquiry, nor issued an opinion/decision yet, and as it is an open inquiry, we will refrain from commenting further about it," DPI spokesperson Patrick Gasper said in an email to HuffPost Thursday.

DPI noted that it does not collect extensive data on the expulsion, retention and transfer of students with disabilities. DPI similarly could not answer a question concerning the proportion of students with disabilities enrolled in the individual voucher schools.

But based on a statewide exam administered to voucher schools for the first time last year, DPI attached a spreadsheet showing the aggregate amount of self-identified students with disabilities who took the exams to be 174 out of 10,649 total students.

The tangible difference between voucher schools' accountability in serving students with disabilities under state or federal law is huge, Spitzer-Resnick said, and the right to equal opportunity education among all students is at stake.

"When you have a system in Milwaukee that shows huge disparities, you have to start with monitoring," he said. "There's no system in place to determine if special ed kids are attending voucher schools. If they are, are they [later] rejected? There's no system for telling parents if you're rejected, here's what you should do."

The DOJ declined to comment Nov. 3.

Emerging market of people with disabilities is impressive

From MediaBizBlogger by Vincent P. Staskel, M.S., a retired Legal Rights Advocate and Consultant. His 32-year career has included working on IDEA, ADA, SSA Claimant Legal Representation, and Media Arts Inclusion in the not-for-profit, business, and governmental sectors. He is presently very active in the promotion of performers-with-disabilities in the entertainment industry. Vince can be reached at vin3a@verizon.net.

Introduction

There are many interesting and positive trends in marketing to persons-with-disabilities (PWD) that the disability media should heed.

First and foremost we must utilize and advertise to the pwd community. We are a part of the community and know how important the purchasing power is of these consumers. Although the recent 2009 Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) report of $1 trillion a year in spending has been criticized as "happy fluffy numbers" because it included family and friends. That should be the point of the study. Disability spending DOES include family and friends. They are themselves consumers and/or supporters in the cause. Do not overlook them in your marketing strategy. Even if there is some fluff this is still powerful consumerism;

What To Look For

The second phase of the marketing strategy is to identify either "disability friendly" or "disability owned/operated" products and services. It's a lot easier to sell accessible travel agencies then taking an unknown travel agency and proceed at your own risk. Here of course the trust in the information is very significant coming from one of us!

Do not shy away from medical suppliers, pharmaceuticals, or advocacy organizations because they may promote the "Medical Model." In all honesty even as an early activist I still needed those basic needs of everyday disabled life. Especially now that we are reaching older age, yours truly included. These companies are ripe for advertising revenues.

Promotion Is Key

Our philosophy of promote one and all are promoted is a driving force in our marketing strategy. Every opportunity to Share information, events, and products increases tremendously within the pwd community. Take advantage of those social media postings that show great marketing potential. Again, they are disseminated to all persons viewing the web page including our supporters mentioned above.

Disability Media outlets do an excellent job presenting pwd performances, publications, special events, and products. Co-sponsoring and ad trade-offs are wonderful ways to get the word out. Both outlets benefit with cross promotion. This expands our sales and audience coverage area. The Hotel Industry reported a very impressive 14 per cent increase in income after making and advertising accessibility renovations. Yes in fact disabled consumers do buy when accessibility is known.

Points of Consideration

Recent Disability Marketing Statistics reveal that of the 54 million persons with long-term disability;

- 73% are the heads of households

- 46% are married

- 58% own their own homes

- 77% have no children

- 48% are principal shoppers.

The aggregate income of persons-with-disabilities tops $1 trillion. As these disability marketing statistics show this is more purchasing power then the pre-teen and teen markets combined. If you include families of pwds companies can reach four out of ten consumers in the disabled community.

Conclusion

As baby boomers age and we see an inclusive media ascendancy of performers, producers, writers, and filmmakers coupled with an emerging disability media industry there is a huge marketing potential.

We are very confident there is a bright future developing within the disabled community. Just watch and listen.

Utah man who was real "Rain Man" inspires disability awareness in media award

From The AP:

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City man who inspired the film "Rain Man" will be honored with the naming of a new award for increasing awareness of disabilities in society.

Mayor Ralph Becker says the legacy of Kim Peek (pictured) will be recognized during a ceremony Nov. 3.

The Peek Award for Disability in Media will annually honor a person who has helped shape the perception of disabilities.

Peek, who died in 2009, spent 20 years promoting respect for disabled people and improved educational opportunities for children with special needs.

Temple Grandin, the subject of a recent award-winning biopic, will be the first award recipient.

Screenwriter Barry Morrow will present the award and donate the Oscar statuette he won for "Rain Man" to be permanently displayed in the city.

New University of Vermont program helps students with intellectual disabilities think college

From the University of Vermont. In the picture, Taylor Terry participates in Professor Youngok Jung's childhood development course, an opportunity made possible for her and other students with intellectual disabilities, via the Think College Vermont program.

Stirling Peebles is beaming. She just received a B-plus on her first paper in Written Expressions and is starting to believe she can handle college-level coursework. Previous attempts at other institutions proved frustrating, but a new program at UVM for individuals with intellectual disabilities, called Think College Vermont, has the budding screenwriter on the right track.

“I love the college experience: making friends, socializing and learning a lot,” says Peebles, who has Down syndrome and wrote her paper on what it’s like living with the chromosomal abnormality. “I would like to continue on and get a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a focus in film. Think College is a great opportunity for students like me to pursue their dreams to go to college.”

Launched in the fall of 2011 after the Center on Disability & Community Inclusion (CDCI) won a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Think College Vermont is an inclusive, academic, social and vocational program for students with intellectual disabilities seeking a college experience. The initiative is one of 27 such programs nationwide currently funded by an $11 million federal program designed to open doors for individuals with intellectual disabilities by improving their employment opportunities and ability to live independently.

The initial cohort comprises four students who take nine credits of coursework, including one primary academic course, a socially focused course like yoga or art, and an internship in an area they hope to work when they graduate with a Certificate of Professional Studies from Continuing Education. Program coordinator Kiersten Hallquist organizes the schedules and activities of the nine UVM undergraduates who serve as mentors and provide academic support, logistical planning and social support so students experience all aspects of college life.

“Vermont has been at the forefront of the inclusive education movement in the United States since the 1980s," says Susan Ryan, principal investigator of the grant and executive director of UVM's CDCI. "We would never have a project here at CDCI that in any way that supports segregation. Think College Vermont is an extension of our other Center projects.”

Ryan, a professor of early intervention & special education with 35 years of experience in special education, says an earlier $15,000 mini-grant allowed UVM to position itself to compete for the larger federal grant. Ryan included Johnson State College as a partner on the grant and allocates $50,000 annually to the school to run a smaller-scale version of Think College. Since the grant money can’t be used for tuition for students, Ryan says Think College relies on Ellen McShane, student financial advisor, to help students identify funding and put together financial packages.

“This project brings those of us at UVM a bit closer to being the social justice institution to which we aspire,” says Fayneese Miller, dean of the College of Education and Social Services. “It is another door that has been opened, this time for a group of people who are rarely spoken of within the context of higher education. I am pleased and honored that Susan Ryan and her colleagues care enough to speak on behalf of people who sometimes cannot advocate for themselves.”

Gainful employment is the goal
Leah Boardman is on a 15-minute break from her Think College internship as a baker and prep cook at the University Marché in the Living/Learning Complex. She talks with pride about working at the Marché and touts it as the best place to eat on campus. Her goal is to work in the food industry when she graduates and already has a part-time job at Pillsbury Manor, a senior housing community in South Burlington.

“I’ve been cooking and baking with my mom since I was five years old,” says Boardman as she eagerly heads back to work before her break is over. "I like everything I do here, but I prefer baking. I’d really like to work in a restaurant (after graduation).”

The primary goal of the federal program Think College is to increase the quality of employment for its participants. Youth with intellectual disabilities who participate in postsecondary education are 26 percent more likely to exit their program with employment and 73 percent more likely to earn a higher weekly income.

Bryan Dague, program coordinator for Think College Vermont and a CDCI employee since 1992, is responsible for helping students land successful jobs by providing training and technical assistance in the areas of supported employment and transition. The Vermont State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is a partner in the grant and provides $600 per semester to help students through the program and onto a better career.

Inclusionary learning is a two-way street
Another goal of the program is for mentors to help socialize Think College students through peer-to-peer interactions. In return, mentors and undergraduates who share classes with Think College students learn what it’s like to live with a disability. Youngok Jung, assistant professor of early childhood education, says the addition of Think College student Taylor Terry to her childhood development course has been a valuable addition to the class.

“It’s really rewarding to see the little amounts of progression toward independence that have happened in such a short amount of time,” says sophomore social work major Devon Miles who mentors Taylor. “A lot of the time we just talk about things that most students would talk about. The socializing is an important aspect of the program.”

Amber Casterlin, a senior nursing major, says she tries to push Peebles out of her comfort zone to try new things, but sometimes that motivation flows in the opposite direction, like when Peebles invited Casterlin to play racquetball with her. “I definitely get just as much out of this as Stirling does,” says Casterlin. “I’ve really felt the value of this experience and have truly benefited from Stirling educating me on what it’s like to live with Down syndrome.”

According to Peebles’ mother, Giovanna Peebles, Vermont state archeologist and director of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the mentoring piece was lacking at other institutions and has been critical to her daughter’s success at UVM. “One of the reasons we were so excited about the program was because the level of support was exactly what she needed,” says Peebles. “Stirling has always wanted to go to college, and UVM was willing to give students like her with alternative learning styles a chance. With the support of a mentor in the beginning to help her adjust to college life, she’s quickly becoming self-sufficient, and that’s the primary goal.”

Santa Cruz, Calif., studio hopes to build a community for artists with disabilities

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel. In the picture, artist A.J. Redmond shows some of his drawings at Claraty Arts Studio and Gallery.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Tucked away quietly on Seabright Avenue, a short distance from the bustle of Soquel, is an inconspicuous building. If it wasn't for the small sign outside announcing it as the home of "Claraty Arts Studio and Gallery" it would be easy to keep walking.

But what Claraty Arts is doing is much bigger than the humble space it resides in. Claraty Arts is a studio for artists with developmental disabilities, and more importantly, it's a community building space for people who have often times been pushed to the wayside.

"This is probably the only group of people that aren't taught they have a history. In fact this group isn't even told they have a disability," said Andrew Pereira, executive director of Claraty Arts. "They know they're different but no one ever talks to them about it."

Pereira, along with studio manager Adam LaVoy and gallery curator Christopher Sicat, are hoping to get a conversation going about the treatment of people with developmental disabilities. Good intentions, Pereira said, are just not enough when it comes to facilitating change.

"Devalued groups go through a process and sociologists call it identity construction. It's never really been done with this sort of group so what we're trying to do [is give] these folks a space to really get to know who they are and embrace their disability," Pereria said. "We're trying to teach them is to learn about your disability, accept your disability, embrace your disability and redefine yourself, redefine a collective identity, as different devalued groups have done."

Walking into the first room of Claraty Arts, statistics and facts stand out in bright colors against clean, white walls. The viewer is immediately asked to consider the marginalization of people with developmental disabilities.

Enter the next room and you will see walls and tables displaying work by people such as Robin Blake who has completed a series called "Blind Eye," inspired by Helen Keller.

While curious passersby and interested attendees may not know what to expect from Claraty Arts, what they can expect is complex, creative and aesthetically pleasing pieces of art.

"I want people to be surprised by what they see," LaVoy said. "I know people are coming in expecting 'special art' or art that, 'well you know that one's pretty good for someone with a disability' and I think they expect everything to have an asterisk."

Pereira said that through art they've seen breakthroughs with clients, who have often times been silenced. One woman completed a series of porcelain doll paintings, a reference to a childhood where she was continually treated as fragile.

It is through such creative processes that clients of Claraty Arts have been able to express themselves, while excavating and unearthing aspects of their identity.

"Some of the contemporary art practices of today are dealing with process oriented artwork," Sciat said. "So this becomes a social sculpture in which the collective is not necessarily looking for results, for finished artwork but a continuum of creating identity through art."

But art is not just a mode of expression for the artists, it's a moment of reflection and further education.

"Trying to get that conversation going is difficult, and the art we found was a way for being to get more comfortable and ease into it," LaVoy said. "It's a really great vehicle for artists to put out their self-expression but it's a really great vehicle for people who are willing to meet them in the middle and talk about disabilities, or identity, or group construction, or what is sometimes horrific history."

Taking its name from Nell Claraty, a woman who was institutionalized at the age of 9 in Sonoma, Claraty Arts is promoting self-expression as a part of a personal and collective identity development.

"[Nell] comes from this drab gray world of the institution she was behind these walls for 70 years and then she comes to Santa Cruz and redefines herself," Pereira said. He explained that once released, her world exploded with color - she would dress herself in leopard print and purple without a second thought. "She is in a sense our muse, because it's never too late to define who you are and reject the stereotypes society may put on you."