Interaction with horses helps ease mental health problems of some youth in New Zealand

From The Bay of Plenty Times in New Zealand:

Young people in the Western Bay battling depression and anxiety are among those reaping the benefits of weekly equestrian therapy sessions at Tauranga Riding for the Disabled (RDA).

Co-developed by Tauranga occupational therapist Gail Morley, the therapeutic care programme is designed to improve the self-esteem, confidence and self-belief among children aged 10 to 17 who are battling the challenges of mental illness.

Others face obsessive compulsive disorder, Aspergers and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Tauranga RDA chief executive Kat MacMillan said horses were successful in helping overcome mental illness.

"The people coaching are just a facilitator. Because it's a big graceful, potentially intimidating, animal it seems to stimulate the absolute natural reaction. If it's a fear they learn to overcome it, if it's empathy that may have been locked up, it suddenly triggers that empathy to come out. It cuts out all the nonsense that they've been using as self defence to protect their own feelings and they just get on with being who they really are."

The eight-week course covers topics including communication, relationships, responsibility, trust, independence, teamwork and achievement, finishing with a group dressage performance to music.

"It's amazing, the feedback we get from parents and the riders themselves is often fantastic," Ms Morley said.

The programme gives young people, who often struggle with behavioural and emotional problems, the chance to learn and experience being able to do and succeed at something independently.

"This course is designed to give these kids that feeling on a weekly basis while they're here," Ms Morley said.

In the second school term, Ms Morley and registered nurse Julie Jensen will run a programme called Girls Rule at Tauranga RDA which will use equine therapy to boost the self-esteem of six girls, aged between 12 and 14.

Ms Morley said the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association programme had been successful in America in helping treat eating disorders, addiction and with family violence survivors. The programme does not involve any riding or care of horses but uses interaction with the animals as a treatment for mental health.

All clients are referred to the programmes by Bay of Plenty District Health Board's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Proposed Texas law would give disabled veteran business owners an advantage for state contracts

From The Austin American-Statesman:

Texas veteran groups are pushing for a state law that would give businesses owned by disabled veterans an advantage when it comes to winning state contracts, a change they hope will spark employment for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Texas Legislature is considering several bills that would include service-disabled veteran-owned businesses under the state's designation for historically underutilized businesses, or HUBs.

Currently, HUBs are made up of minority- and women-owned businesses, and the Legislature requires state agencies to make "a good faith effort" to award a certain percentage of state contracts to them.

Veteran advocates say similar bills were stymied during the past two legislative sessions by pressure from existing HUBs, but this year at least two large HUB associations are supporting the change.

Jim Brennan, an Army veteran and president of the Austin business AAUSA Electric Supply Inc., has fought for the change in previous legislative sessions, and said this year could represent the bill's best chance at passage.

"We are woefully behind other states in recognizing and embracing service-disabled veteran-owned businesses," he said. "We have the second largest population (of veterans) in the country, and we have for all practical purposes done nothing in this regard."

State contracts represent the potential for big money for companies that qualify under the HUB designation: since 2008, the state comptroller has awarded more than $6 billion under the program.

According to the National Veteran-Owned Business Association, a dozen states have laws setting aside a certain percentage of state contracts to veterans or giving them preference in procuring contracts, and the federal government also gives preference to disabled veterans, along with minorities and women, when it comes to awarding contracts.

In North Carolina, a similar bill failed last year after lobbyists for minority businesses said including veterans could lead to court challenges that could topple the state's preferences law.

In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law giving veteran-owned businesses preference in the rare event that two bids were equal. Veteran advocates say the law has never been used.

Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, who sponsored one of the bills calling for the change, said the time is right for Texas to join the growing list of states with similar laws. "For those who have come back (from military service) disabled, it's hard for them to pick up where they left off, it's hard to compete," he said. "I thought this was a way we could honor them for their sacrifice."

Guillen also said that technical tweaks to the bill's language should make it more palatable to past opponents.

Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito, who authored a similar bill in 2009, said that bill ran into opponents who argued that including veterans in the HUB designation would "dilute the pool" of candidates for state contracts. Opponents said they did not object to separate criteria for veterans, but they opposed including them as "underutilized" businesses, Lucio said.

So far, public opposition to the bill has not surfaced.

Roy Mata, the president of the Texas Association of Historically Underutilized Businesses, said his group supports the inclusion of service-disabled veterans in the program.

"I think there are enough pieces of the pie out there," he said. "As long as all the HUBs are equal and held to the same standards, I think our HUBs will be OK with that."

Frank Fuentes, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association who also represents the state association, said his group would also support the inclusion of veterans.

"The HUB designation doesn't guarantee you will get a contract. You still have to fight for it," he said. "There's a misperception that it's a set-aside (for state contracts). It's not. It's an opportunity. It's just a goal." Fuentes noted that most of the time, the state does not meet its stated goals for state awards to HUBs.

State law sets various percentages for contracts that state agencies and universities should work toward awarding to HUBs, ranging from 11.9 percent of heavy construction contracts to 57.2 percent of special trade construction contracts.

Last year, the state reached its goal in two of six contract categories.

In 2010, the state comptrollers office awarded nearly 16 percent of the state spending, or $2.1 billion, to HUBs, according to the agency's annual report. As of 2010, there were 16,495 certified HUBs in Texas.

It's unclear how many veteran groups would register with the state if the bill passed. About 1,300 Texas businesses owned by service-disabled veterans are registered with the federal government, but a percentage of those are also owned by minorities.

Service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can face grim economic futures: The unemployment for veterans under age 25 who served in those countries is 20.9 percent, higher than the 17.3 percent rate for non-veterans in the same age group.

Ed Touchet, 53, an Army veteran and owner of Austin Architecture and Planning Associates , said the bill would have a "huge" effect on stimulating opportunities for veterans with disabilities.

"Especially with the economy, it's important for soldiers returning to see opportunities," he said. "I think it will cut off a lot of this hopelessness."

SSDI will soon run out of cash

From The Wall Street Journal:

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico -- The mountainside town of Caguas, Puerto Rico, has a unique feature: It has more people in its zip code receiving a disability check than any other in the U.S. In recent years, Puerto Rico has emerged as one of the easiest places in the U.S. to get payments from the Social Security Disability Insurance program, created during the Eisenhower administration to help people who can't work because of a health problem.

In 2010, 63% of applicants in Puerto Rico won approval, four percentage points higher than New Jersey and Wyoming, the most-generous U.S. states. In fact, nine of the top 10 U.S. zip codes for disabled workers receiving benefits can be found on Puerto Rico.

The SSDI is set to soon become the first big federal benefit program to run out of cash—and one of the main reasons is U.S. states and territories have a large say in who qualifies for the federally funded program. Without changes, the Social Security retirement fund can survive intact through about 2040 and Medicare through 2029. The disability fund, however, will run dry in four to seven years without federal intervention, government auditors say.

In addition to the uneven selection process, SSDI has been pushed to the brink of insolvency by the sour economy. A huge wave of applicants joined the program over the past decade, boosting it from 6.6 million beneficiaries in 2000 to 10.2 million in 2010. New recipients have come from across the country, with an 85% increase in Texas over 10 years and a 69% increase in New Hampshire.

Over the years, Puerto Rico's dependence on SSDI has grown particularly stark, exacerbated by the closure of factories and U.S. military installations, an exodus of skilled workers and a number of corruption scandals.

Seated next to a wooden statue of an angel in his office, Pedro Torres-Morales, a doctor in the south Puerto Rican town of Maunabo, described the situation as "a political problem, an economic problem, a health problem, a social problem."

To others, it's mainly a matter of abuse. "The mentality is that it's 'big, rich Uncle Sam's money,"' said Ivan Gonzalez-Cancel, a prominent Democrat and cardiac surgeon in San Juan who is planning to run for governor in 2012 for the New Progressive Party. He said the system is rife with corruption, something local and federal officials deny.

Unlike Medicare or the Social Security retirement fund, which provide benefits mostly based on age, SSDI decisions are based in large part on medical opinions, which can vary from doctor to doctor, state to state.

Because someone else pays the bills, local officials have little incentive to keep the numbers low. The feds have tried to enforce consistency, but the process relies heavily on the judgment of doctors and administrative law judges who hear appeals.

Benefits can be modest: In 2009, they averaged $1,064 a month. But the program opens up access for recipients to other government programs, multiplying the ultimate cost to taxpayers.

Anyone who spends two years on SSDI qualifies for the Medicare health program, which usually is available only for those 65 years old and older. SSDI recipients tend to remain tethered to the program for years, and the government's lifetime financial commitment averages $300,000 per person, estimates David Autor, an SSDI expert who teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "The system has profound problems," Mr. Autor said.

SSDI's financial woes pose a major test for the White House and Congress, which have been reluctant to tackle the budget-busting costs of entitlements.

Analysts who track the program say the only short-term way to save it without raising taxes would be to fold it into the fund that pays Social Security.

That would likely force retirees to face benefit cuts two or three years sooner than they otherwise would have done, because SSDI costs would diminish retirement funds.

Supporters say SSDI serves a vital need for millions of people who have paid into the system, qualify for the benefits and depend on the income. Some contend its problems can be fixed by raising taxes or by diverting money from the Social Security fund for retirees.

"This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family," said Nancy Altman, co-director of Social Security Works, a group that fights cuts in Social Security benefits.

Critics have raised concerns about the solvency of the program, backed by a report last year from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office alleging that the government was paying benefits to some people who didn't deserve them.

Millions of Americans fund the program through a portion of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax that's tied to their income.

The disability insurance trust fund was created in 1957 to provide a backstop to people who worked several years before suffering a debilitating illness or injury. Disability beneficiaries can now include those with cancer, chronic back pain, persistent anxiety and schizophrenia.

Applicants should no longer be able to work in a substantial, gainful way, and must provide medical records affirming the likelihood the applicant won't be able to work for at least another year, or that their health problems would eventually result in death.

The program has been a feature in agricultural, manufacturing and urban communities across the U.S., particularly where unemployment rates are high. As a percentage of total population, more SSDI money flows to West Virginia than anywhere else, according to government data. Experts attribute high concentrations there to unemployment and health problems related to manual labor.

Still, West Virginia has one of the highest rejection rates of applicants anywhere in the country, with just 36.7% of applicants making it into the programs on their initial applications last year, compared to a national average of 46.9%.

In 2005, SSDI began spending more money than it brought in through tax receipts. In 2010, the number of beneficiaries grew by 489,488, the largest one-year increase ever. It is projected to spend $153 billion on benefits and other costs in 2015, $22 billion more than it brings in through tax revenue and other income. Its surplus funds built up over the years are expected to be extinguished in four to seven years.

Puerto Rico has long had an outsize reliance on disability benefits. The island has had a double-digit jobless rate for most of the past 30 years, settling at 15.7% at the end of December. Doctors here say as people find it harder to get a job, they apply for disability benefits.

Even though Puerto Rico's population fell in the past 10 years, from 3.8 million people in 2000 to roughly 3.7 million today, the number of people on SSDI rose 25% from 2000 through 2009 to 188,298. The Social Security Administration sent roughly $163 million a month in SSDI benefits to Puerto Rico in 2009, the last available full-year data, accounting for 2% of the program's total spending.

In 2006, just 36% of applicants in Puerto Rico were approved for benefits. By 2010, the rate had rocketed. In December, 69% of applicants were approved, the highest one-month approval rate by any state or U.S. territory since 2002.

On a recent weekday, 20 people waited for their names to be called inside the Social Security Administration's third-floor office in Caguas under framed portraits of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue.

The pale-blue room looked like any other government office, with 22 customer-service windows and a white SSA seal on the glass door.

Twenty-seven miles away is the zip code with the second-most SSDI beneficiaries— 00767—home to the coastal town of Yabucoa and its 22% unemployment rate. At the end of 2009, 3,385 people, about 15% of its residents, received SSDI benefits.

Lissette Franceschi, from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, lost her job as a hospital nurse during a round of layoffs in 2008. The 54-year-old fell into a depression that she said required psychiatric help. "I had panic attacks, I couldn't go out alone, I couldn't drive," she said. "There was no way I could work."

Seven months after her layoff, in late 2008, she applied for SSDI and was denied for "insufficient information." Later, a bone scan detected she had an incipient form of arthritis, and she applied again in early 2009. In November 2010, she told her story to a judge, detailing her layoff, the depression and her arthritis. She was granted $1,084 a month in benefits, retroactive to when she filed in early 2009.

Marcos Rodriguez-Ema, chief of staff to Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, said he couldn't explain why the island's approval rate has spiked. He speculated more people were pursuing cases because it was harder to find jobs and decent health care. He said it wasn't the result of any change in policy on the island.

Beatrice Disman is in charge of the Social Security Administration's New York region, which oversees operations in Puerto Rico. She said the island has to follow national regulations. "They are not free to do things on their own," she said. "How you make a disability decision is the same in Puerto Rico as is it in New York, and they must follow the same rules."

She said a routine external review found that cases in Puerto Rico were decided accurately 99% of the time in 2010. One reason the approval rate has increased is that the government has hired more people in recent years to process applications for benefits, which has expedited the process, Ms. Disman said.

Government officials say there are a number of checks in place to prevent inconsistencies, including backup screenings conducted remotely, meant to stop people from obtaining benefits who don't meet federal standards.

Doctors, lawyers, and others say standards are left to the interpretation of the many officials involved in the process, which makes it easier for people to get into the system. The $1,000-a-month SSDI check can pay almost as much as a low-wage job in Puerto Rico, and it comes with access to health care.

Administrative law judges in Puerto Rico, who make decisions in cases that are initially rejected or need further review, approved full or partial benefits in 80% of the cases they reviewed in fiscal 2010, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. One judge in San Juan, Manuel del Valle, approved 98% of the cases brought to him during that span, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. del Valle, through a Social Security spokesperson, declined to comment.

Doctors in the area say applicants are still pouring into the system. Several said the SSDI program has become so large, and in some cases so dependent on medical opinions, that patients have worked out which doctors and government officials are less stringent, a phenomenon that lawyers in the U.S. said is also occurring in different parts of the country. They say this explains the high concentrations of beneficiaries in certain areas.

"I tell my secretary that I won't see someone in my office just to fill out forms for the Social Security Administration," said Carlos G. Diaz Silva, a doctor from the southern town of Ponce, who until recently headed the Puerto Rico chapter of the American Psychiatric Association. "It makes me very uncomfortable because there's already an economic consideration."

AAPD honors "Glee" at awards gala

From My Fox DC:

WASHINGTON - The creators of Fox’s hit show "Glee" want to make you laugh and think. The episodes are produced with messages about inclusion no matter what you look like, your sexuality or disability.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) held its 2011 Awards Gala March 15, which brought together leaders from government, business and the disability and civil rights communities.

AAPD honored Glee's cast and creative team for leading the way in how young people with disabilities are perceived in popular culture.

Actress Lauren Potter (pictured), who plays the role of Becky Jackson on "Glee," accepted the award on behalf of "Glee."

Potter has Down Syndrome and said she will use her fame to help change negative perceptions about people with disabilities and will work to stop bullying by teaming up in an anti-bullying campaign with abilitypath.org.

Indiana whiz kid with Asperger's, age 12, pursues astrophysics research

From The Indianapolis Star:

INDIANAPOLIS – When Jacob Barnett (pictured) first learned about the Schrodinger equation for quantum mechanics, he could hardly contain himself.

For three straight days, his little brain buzzed with mathematical functions.

From within his 12-year-old, mildly autistic mind, there gradually flowed long strings of plusses, minuses, funky letters and upside down triangles — a tapestry of complicated symbols that few can understand.

He grabbed his pencil and filled every sheet of paper before grabbing a marker and filling up a dry erase board that hangs in his bedroom. With a single-minded obsession, he kept on, eventually marking up every window in the home.

Strange, say some.

Genius, say others.

But entirely normal for Jacob, a true child prodigy.

"Whenever I try talking about math with anyone in my family," he says, "they just stare blankly."

So do many of his older classmates at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who marvel at seeing this scrawny little kid in the front row of the calculus-based physics class he has been taking this semester.

Elementary school couldn't keep Jacob interested. And college courses at IUPUI have only served to awaken a sleeping giant.

Just a few weeks shy of his 13th birthday, Jake, as he's often called, is starting to move beyond the level of what his professors can teach.

In fact, his work is so strong and his ideas so original, he's being courted by a top-notch East Coast research center. IUPUI is interested in him moving from the classroom into a funded researcher's position.

"We have told him that after this semester ... enough of the book work. You are here to do some science," said IUPUI physics professor John Ross, who vows to help find some grant funding to support Jacob and his work.

"If we can get all of those creative juices in a certain direction, we might be able to see some really amazing stuff down the road."

Teenage college student?

Developer of his own original theory on quantum physics?

Paid researcher at 13?

This is not what Jacob's parents expected from a child whose first few years were spent in silence.

Autism, Asperger's, genius?

Because he was diagnosed with a mild form of autism at the age of 2, it was natural for some to suspect that Jacob Barnett might be a savant, a condition made famous in movies like "Rainman." But experts interviewed by the Star say it's more likely that Jacob actually had traits of a child with autism or Asperger's disease.

"Oh my gosh, when he was 2, my fear was that he would never be in our world at all," said Kristine Barnett, 36, Jacob's mother.

"He would not talk to anyone. He would not even look at us."

Child psychologists assessed Jacob at the time and diagnosed behavioral characteristics of a borderline autistic child. He was impaired, they said, and had difficulty showing emotion and interacting with others.

"My biggest fear," his mom said last week, with tears welling up in her eyes, "was that he had lost the ability to say I love you to us."

By age 3, Jacob was the focus of a more intense evaluation from a team of psychologists, therapists and a diagnostic teacher.

Their report indicated that while Jacob continued to struggle with social activities and physical development, he was showing signs of academic skills that were above his age level.

Diagnosis: Asperger's syndrome, a somewhat milder condition related to autism.

After hearing this, Jacob's parents decided to pay closer attention to the things their first-born son was doing — rather than the things he was not.

For example, Jacob often recited the alphabet — forward and then backward. He used Q-tips to create vivid geometrical shapes on the living room floor. He solved 5,000 piece puzzles (rather quickly). And he once soaked in a road atlas and ended up memorizing every highway and license plate prefix.

And perhaps most amazingly, he could recite the mathematical constant Pi out to 70 digits.

"I'm at 98 now," Jacob said, interrupting his mom during an interview.

And then, a week later, he was up to 200 digits after the decimal point — forward and backward.

The Barnetts decided it was time to follow Jacob's lead, adopting a method that some parents of autistic children use — floor-time therapy — to help foster developmental growth. They let their children focus intently on subjects they like, rather than try to conform them to "normal" things.

For Jacob, that meant astronomy. As a 3-year-old, he loved looking at a book about stars, over and over again.

So off they went on a tour of the Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium at Butler University.

Kristine Barnett will never forget the day.

"We were in the crowd, just sitting, listening to this guy ask the crowd if anyone knew why the moons going around Mars were potato shaped and not round," she recalls. "Jacob raised his hand and said, 'Excuse me, but what are the sizes of the moons around Mars?'."

The lecturer answered and "Jacob looked at him and said the gravity of the planet ... is so large, that (the moon's) gravity would not be able to pull it into a round shape."

Silence.

"That entire building ... everyone was just looking at him, like, who is this 3-year-old?"

After that, the Barnetts began to feed Jacob's hunger for knowledge, through more books and more visits to the planetarium. By the time he was 8, he got permission to sit in on an advanced astronomy class at IUPUI.

Meanwhile, his math skills were reaching astronomical levels.

By the time he was in fifth-grade, Jake had become bored with elementary math.

He was coming home from school quiet, huddling in a safe space in the house and starting to show signs of withdrawing.

"I was really afraid we were going to lose him back into the world he was in when he was 2," said his mom.

That did not happen to Jacob, thanks in part to a third psychological evaluation done nearly two years ago that showed that this fifth-grader was not regressing, but was simply bored and needed to be stimulated — in a very big way.

As in dropping out of school.

"Indeed, it would not be in Jacob's best interest to force him to complete academic work that he has already mastered," said clinical neurophysiologist Carl S. Hale of Merrillville, Ind., in a report provided by the Barnetts.

"He needs work at an instructional level, which currently is a post college graduate level in mathematics, i.e., a post master's degree. In essence, his math skills are at the level found in someone who is working on a doctorate in math, physics, astronomy and astrophysics."

Encouraged by this new assessment, the Barnetts made the tough decision to enroll Jacob in IUPUI's early college entrance program that caters to gifted and talented kids — although, typically they are advanced high schoolers, not 12-year-old whiz kids.

"You could tell right off the bat, his performance has been outstanding," said professor Ross, who at age 46 with a doctorate from Boston University, has never seen a kid as smart as Jacob.

"When he asks a question, he is always two steps ahead of the lecture," Ross said. "Everyone in the class gets quiet. Poor kid ... he sits right in the front row and they all just look at him."

Jacob is driven by mom or dad from his home in Hamilton County to IUPUI's campus, where he attends classes a few days each week. In between classes, he spends time at the Honors College lounge, where he has become a go-to guy for much older classmates needing tutoring.

"A lot of people come to him for help when they don't understand a physics problem," said Wanda Anderson, his class partner. "A lot of people think a genus is hard to talk to, but Jake explains things that would still be over their head."

Despite this new experience, his parents insist that Jacob remain close with his friends in Westfield.

He likes playing video games ("Guitar Hero" and "Halo Reach" are his current favorites). He plays basketball with friends, has a girlfriend and recently attended his first dance.

A normal kid.

But then, late at night, when the TV is off, the homework is done and everyone in the house is sleeping — the numbers start to percolate again.

They percolate so much that he has trouble sleeping at night.

"A lot keeps me awake," he said. "I scare people."

The numbers that keep him from snoozing are the same that led him to develop his own theory of physics — an original work that proposed a "new expanded theory of relativity" and takes what Einstein developed even further.

His mom decided to send a video of Jacob explaining his theory to the Institute for Advanced Study near Princeton University— one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry.

That's where astrophysics professor Scott Tremaine does his work. Tremaine is an expert in the evolution of planetary systems, comets, black holes, galaxies.

In a letter back to the Barnetts, Tremaine confirmed the brilliance.

"I'm impressed by his interest in physics and the amount that he has learned so far," Tremaine wrote in an e-mail, provided by the family. "The theory that he's working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics.

"Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize."

Contacted by the Star, Tremaine confirmed the exchange of notes.

"I have seen a YouTube video in which Jake describes his theory and I have spoken with his mother and corresponded with both her and Jake by e-mail," said Tremaine. "I hope that Jake continues his interest in physics and mathematics in the future."

Homeless and mentally ill people in Michigan struggle to find their place

From The Grand Rapids Press in Mich.:

At 38, Lara Class never thought she would be living with her parents. But when she suffered a breakdown that led to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, she lost her job and her apartment in Washington, D.C.

Now, rebuilding her life, career and credit rating, Class is struggling to find an affordable place of her own in the Grand Rapids area.

Roland Tibbe (pictured) never dreamed he would have his own apartment, a light-filled sanctuary that overlooks the streets he once wandered.

“I’ve gone from hell to heaven,” Tibbe said, as he sat in a recliner and recalled the nights he slept in doorways, weighed down by depression and alcoholism. “That’s the only way I can explain it.”

The situations in which Class and Tibbe find themselves highlight the housing challenges that can surface when a person’s life is turned upside down by mental illness. Local agencies have crafted approaches to meet those challenges, though mental health officials say gaps remain.

The housing picture is complex, in part because mental illness encompasses such a wide range of conditions. About one in every four people has a mental illness in any given year, according to the Mental Health Foundation. They are part of the fabric of every neighborhood and every community, and most don’t need help securing a place to live.

But for those whose illness interferes with their ability to maintain jobs or relationships, or who encounter discrimination because of it, finding safe, affordable housing is no easy task. Yet it is crucial to recovery, experts say.

“They’re more likely to take their medications because they can focus on other aspects of life, like seeing a doctor and a counselor, getting involved in employment and contributing to the community,” said Paul Ippel, executive director of Network 180, the mental health authority for Kent County.

The housing challenges for people with mental illness are as varied as the individuals affected. No one solution fits all. But the programs developed to meet those needs share two premises:

Everyone deserves a home.

The consumer, not a case worker, is the decision-maker.

The “person-centered” approach represents a change in attitude over the past 15 years, said Pat Hawkins, a case manager for Pine Rest Mental Health Services. In an office at 339 S. Division Ave., she works with people who are considered chronically mentally ill. They have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression. About 60 percent to 80 percent also have substance abuse issues.

When she meets clients, she doesn’t assume she knows what they need; she asks them to tell her. What she hears repeatedly is, “They want their independence.”

Depending on the level of support they need in day-to-day living, the options range from independent apartments to adult foster care homes. Many choose an in-between option — subsidized housing facilities where they live independently but have support services available.

A popular choice is the four apartment complexes run by Genesis, a nonprofit formed in 1998 by the Inner City Christian Federation, Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids and Hope Network to provide housing for people with disabilities, including mental illness.

“They’re wonderful,” Hawkins said. “I would love living there.”

A social worker at each complex helps with problem-solving, paying rent, accessing benefits and other tasks. Using Section 8 vouchers, residents pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. About 85 percent of residents have annual incomes of $10,000 or less, so the subsidy is crucial, said John Wynbeek, executive director of Genesis.

The bad news is the waiting list for the 127 Genesis apartments can be as long as 10 years, Hawkins said.

Wynbeek said he was not sure how long the waiting list is today, but he acknowledged there are not nearly enough apartments.

“It’s frustrating because we get calls sometimes from someone in need, and they will present a valid need and a challenging situation, and I have to tell them, ‘You have to go on a waiting list. It’s multiyear, and we can’t help you meet your needs today,’” he said.

For those struggling with a severe and persistent mental illness who are not ready to live on their own, Hope Network provides facilities that help in the transition. Many residents come to the programs following discharge from a psychiatric hospital. Often, they have a history of trouble fitting into the community, said Pat Howe, the network’s vice president of behavioral health services.

The 26 homes in West Michigan provide a structured setting where residents receive treatment and help with daily activities. On average, they stay for nine months before moving into the community.

If a person has no money and does not qualify for Social Security disability, Hawkins said, often, the only place she can refer them is a shelter.

One of the biggest needs is housing for people who have a mental illness and a criminal record — a combination that is not uncommon, Ippel said.

“Frequently, people are using drugs or alcohol as an alternative to medication to manage schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” he said.

Those who have drug convictions are barred from federal housing programs, and most landlords will not rent to them. The same is true for those convicted of criminal sexual conduct or found not guilty by reason of insanity, Hawkins said.

“They really are shunned,” she said.

If a conviction occurred many years ago, a caseworker can sometimes persuade a landlord to make an exception. If not, Hawkins said she knows of one option: the Exodus Building, a nonprofit that opened in 2009 in the former correctional facility at 322 Front Ave. SW. It provides dormlike housing for men, as well as mentoring, job assistance and Bible studies.

Some people dealing with mental illness and substance abuse become caught up in a cycle of homelessness. Five and a half years ago, a program called Street Reach was launched to help them find permanent homes.

Social workers go into the Heartside area, visit missions and attend free meals to let homeless people know help is available.

“We don’t force treatment on them because some people might just not be ready for that,” said Howard Falkinburg, clinical supervisor. “We let them know who we are and what services we can offer. It might take several months before they make that leap.”

The approach has reached nearly 100 clients, providing mental health services, substance abuse treatment and help with housing. Its housing placement success rate is 65 to 70 percent, Falkinburg said.

‘God gave me this’

One of those success stories is Roland Tibbe, who contacted Street Reach in May 2008, after years of homelessness. Tibbe now lives in Verne Barry Place, a renovated building at 60 S. Division Ave. that provides 116 apartments for the homeless and disabled.

“God gave me this,” Tibbe said, as he opened his door to visitors recently. His bedroom, small kitchen and sitting room were neatly furnished with items rescued from Dumpsters and carefully restored: a table built from a lamp base and door panel; a clock repainted, a teddy bear washed and placed on a shelf.

“I’m an alcoholic,” he said. “I still drink from time to time. I go to the recovery center every day because I don’t want to drink.”

Tibbe, 54, talked about how he turned to alcohol in rebellion against a strict father but found it was a trap that dominated his life. For about nine years, he said he bounced from rehab to the missions to the streets, where he slept in doorways, under trees or in abandoned cars.

When Clyde Sims, a Street Reach worker, helped him find his Heartside apartment, Tibbe couldn’t believe he had his own home. Now, he said, he is determined not to lose it.

“I see my past life every day — people carrying bags,” he said, pointing out the window at the street four stories below. “I carried them for nine years. But I’m not going back.”

Housing challenges are directly tied to poverty, Network 180’s Ippel said. Some people with severe and persistent mental illness qualify for disability, which averages about $900 a month. A third of that goes to rent if they live in federally subsidized housing — but there is not enough available, Ippel said.

Even the mentally ill who are able to hold full-time jobs encounter challenges.

Class, who moved back with her parents, said she lived on her own for about 15 years after college, running group homes for the developmentally disabled. She was diagnosed with major depression as a college student, but she said anti-depressants never helped her much. Two years ago, she hit a low point.

“I finally had a horrible breakdown in Washington, D.C.,” she said.

As depression overwhelmed her, she resigned from her job and shut herself in her apartment. She didn’t check her mail or answer her phone. At times, she sat in the closet and cried.

“I was actively fantasizing about jumping in front of a subway train,” she said.

After a friend insisted she get help, Class was treated in a day program at a psychiatric hospital. She also met a psychiatrist who diagnosed her condition as bipolar, rather than depression, and prescribed mood stabilizers. The crying spells stopped, and she was able to get out of bed and move on with her life.

In the transition, Class moved into her parents’ comfortable Wyoming house.

“I was fortunate to have parents who were willing,” she said. “They have been absolutely amazing about it. Very few get that.”

Class now works as a peer support specialist at River Valley Crisis, a short-term residential facility run by Hope Network. Even as she helps the clients find housing, she faces a housing crisis of her own.

Her parents plan to sell their home and move to New Mexico. Earning $9.50 an hour and handling co-pays for medication and counseling, Class said she doesn’t know how she will find an apartment she can afford. The $200 a month she pays her parents is about all she can manage. She also worries about how her credit history was affected by her breakdown, when bills went unpaid.

“I don’t qualify for anything,” she said. “I work full-time. I don’t have Medicaid or Social Security disability. I’ve always been high-functioning enough that I haven’t done any of that.”

Many others face similar problems. They may be capable, talented, and smart, but symptoms of mental illness disrupt their work life, affecting their bank account and, ultimately, their housing options. Those on disability may earn only a limited amount before their benefits, including Medicaid, are cut off, Ippel said.

He said more flexibility is needed to accommodate people who can work part-time. That, in turn, would improve their ability to afford housing.

And the ability to secure housing in turn improves their mental health, said Howe, of Hope Network.

“We ultimately want to put ourselves out of business,” she said. People with mental illness “should have access to the community and live lives to their fullest potential, just as you and I do.”

Labour minister explains reform to protesting Czechs with disabilities

From Czech News Agency:

PRAGUE -- Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jaromir Drabek (TOP 09) has sent an open letter to Czech disabled persons in which he explains his planned social reform ahead of a demonstration that will be organised by the National Disability Council (NRZP) on March 22.

The NRZP criticises Drabek's reform, saying it would have "disastrous consequences" for people with disabilities.

Drabek writes that his draft reform triggered emotional reactions that were sometimes based on untrue myths or incorrect information. Sometimes, however, these reactions were justified, he admits.

The NRZP said Drabek's reform would affect first of all the employment of the disabled, families caring for a severely disabled person and free choice of social services. Moreover, persons applying for any support from the welfare system would be in a humiliating position, the council said.

Drabek declares that he has reached agreement with the NRZP and the Charter of Social Enterprise group on several changes in the reform.

He dismissed the information that certificates for persons with severe disabilities, whose owners have the right for free public transport and special parking places, would be abolished.

Drabek said the present system would only be changed by a new one, with different identity cards.

Similarly, he says, several benefits will not be abolished but only modified.

Drabek writes that the state will continue to pay most of the costs of the special equipment that persons need to compensate for their disabilities. He says a person applying for such devices would pay maximally 10 percent of their price.

He also writes that the system assessing whether a person is entitled to receive benefits would be more simple thanks to the reform.

Ireland launches modeling agency specifically representing people with Down syndrome

From RTE in Ireland:

The world's first model agency representing people with Down's Syndrome has been launched in Dublin this lunchtime.

The launch of 'I'm Able 2 Model' coincides with World Down Syndrome Day, when organisations worldwide promote awareness of the intellectual disability.

People of different ages - including children, teenagers and adults - have been selected to join the agency, which will be managed as a wing of 1st Option Model Management.

Working opportunities are anticipated in photocalls, advertising, catalogues and catwalk shows.

Models will receive the same fee for appearances as any other model.

A website has been created to showcase the 20 people chosen to be part of the agency at imable2model.com.

Ireland has one of the highest birth rates of people with Down's Syndrome in Europe - approximately 1 in 500 births, as opposed to 1 in 1,000 in countries such as the US, Spain and Norway.

Florida's teen amputee baseball player doesn't let getting cut from high school team get him down, he's now training even harder for the next tryout

George Diaz commentary in the Orlando Sentinel:

Anthony Burruto (pictured) could have easily gobbled up his 15 minutes of fame and forgotten his sense of purpose. It was quite the ego rush for a 16-year-old kid to answer calls from CNN, HLN, MSNBC and GMA (Good Morning America).

They were all chasing the same story: How exactly do you bounce a kid with prosthetic legs from a high school baseball team when he believes he's earned the right to play with able-bodied teammates?

The decision remains controversial more than a month after I chronicled Anthony's frustration after he was cut on the second day of tryouts at Dr. Phillips High School. Anthony has a bunch of people cheering for him, including a girl he didn't even know setting up a Facebook support page for him. He also has some people who think he's acting privileged and whiny.

But there's no sense in revisiting old news. Anthony certainly hasn't.

He's too busy proving his detractors wrong. He works out four days a week with a personal trainer who specializes in athletes who have physical limitations and military guys who are amputees.

"The kid has got an unbelievable attitude," Jim Borda said. "How could you not want to spend time with a kid like that?"

Anthony is not a charity case. He's never viewed himself that way. He's competed successfully in all levels of play as a pitcher, even though he was born without a shinbone in his left leg and without a fibula in his right leg. The media attention after he was cut allowed him to tell his story, without any filters of self-absorbed pity.

That's the point that some people missed with Anthony's story. He was never looking for a "disabled kid" mulligan. He simply wanted a fair shot. He never felt he got one.

That kind of competitive sports should be celebrated, not chastised.

"One closed door has opened many doors for him," said Diane Burruto, Anthony's mother. "If anything, it taught him to stand up for what he believes in, even if he stands alone he feels in his heart he was discriminated against, and he is fighting back. And it has opened doors for him all over the world."

He will be the motivational speaker at the annual dinner for Goodwill Industries in Ohio in May.

He will work out for former MLB star Gary Sheffield, who will evaluate him, as part of a deal set up by ESPN Radio 1080 this summer.

He has been offered a scholarship to a "very good "private school in the area. PS: It's not recruiting if he isn't playing.

He still attends Dr. Phillips, despite the icy relationship between the baseball coaches and some of his teammates. The brush-off from some teammates is what bothers Anthony the most, but if he wanted the easy out, he could have transferred by now.

Instead, he is in the gym, building leg strength, doing core work and trying to overcome his most significant challenge on the mound_ covering bunts. That appears to be the main concern for Dr. Phillips coach Michael Bradley.

"It's his loss," Anthony said of Bradley. "He's not going to stop me. He's just motivating me to train harder."

The end game for Anthony to play on a traveling team over the summer. He's still looking around, hoping somebody gives him a shot.

At 6-1 and 185 pounds _ he can also bench press 235 pounds _ Anthony isn't some wimpy kid crying for sympathy. Forget those prosthetic legs.

Today, he stands stronger than ever.

And he plans on trying out for the Dr. Phillips baseball team next season, too.

"And if I get cut," Anthony said, "it's going to be his loss once again."

Virtual conversations shown to aid social skills development among autistic adults

From UPI:

WASHINGTON -- Autistic adults who converse with a virtual partner may develop better social interaction skills, U.S. researchers suggest.

Cheryl Trepagnier and Corinne Bell, both of The Catholic University of America, Dale Olsen and Laura Boteler, both of SIMmersion LLC -- a software development company that creates human interaction simulations -- say more than half of those diagnosed with autism have normal intellectual capabilities yet struggle when interacting and conversing with others.

The study authors said autistic study participants who were not otherwise intellectually disabled interacted with virtual partners, were given onscreen dialogue options, and were scored on their ability to initiate, maintain and conclude a pleasant conversation on various topics.

"Over the past two decades, simulations have proven effective at helping people with a variety of physical and mental disorders," Brenda K. Wiederhold, editor in chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, said in a statement.

"This new application could make it so many with autism spectrum disorder could function more effectively in the larger world."

The findings are published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

In Minneapolis, six juvenile measles cases linked to parents fears of vaccination

From The Associated Press:

MINNEAPOLIS -- State health officials have confirmed six cases of juvenile measles this month in Hennepin County and caution more could be on the way in areas where parents have been reluctant to vaccinate their kids.

The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the fifth and sixth cases on Friday. Three of the kids are from the Somali community, where some parents have been afraid to immunize their children over fears of the vaccine's safety.

Health officials are racing to ease those fears and persuade parents to get their kids vaccinated.

"Contrary to misinformation that may still be circulating, the measles vaccine is safe and effective. Without it, the risk of disease is real," said Dr. Edward Ehlinger, the commissioner of the state health department. "Children can die from measles."

The health department first reported two weeks ago that it was investigating a case of measles in a Minneapolis infant. It reported three more cases Thursday and two more Friday.

Buddy Ferguson, a health department spokesman, said the six cases in Hennepin County are among children between 9 months and 4 years old. Three were unvaccinated, and two were too young to be vaccinated, he said.

While the measles vaccine is safe, faulty scientific research that has since been debunked alleged there was a link between the vaccine and autism.

Idil Abdul, the co-founder of the Somali American Autism Foundation in Minneapolis, said the misinformation led to fears that have become ingrained in the Somali community.

"Yes, measles is bad. Nobody wants measles. Nobody wants malaria, and certainly nobody wants autism," she said. What's frustrating, though, is there's no known cause of autism, and "it's not something you want to gamble on," she added.

Because a number of parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children, it's possible that more measles cases can surface, state epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield said. She said four of the six children were hospitalized, and all are now recovering.

Children are usually given the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella at 12 months of age, followed by a booster shot three to five years later. Because of the outbreak, the health department is now recommending that children get the booster shot only four weeks after the first one to increase their immunity, Lynfield said.

Symptoms of measles, which include a rash, fever and loss of appetite, usually appear eight to 12 days after exposure to airborne infectious droplets. The rash usually lasts five to six days.

Measles is still a dangerous epidemic worldwide, affecting 10 million people and killing nearly 200,000 people a year. However, it's been nearly eradicated in the U.S. Government statistics show that more than 441,000 cases of measles were reported in the U.S. 50 years ago. In 2008, there were 140 reported cases.

National Health Service refuses medication that helps with rare Pompe disease for Scottish woman

From The Daily Record in the UK:

Walking, climbing stairs, bathing and simple household tasks are very difficult for single mum Lynn Millar... she is one of a handful of Scots with Pompe disease.

If Lynn, 42, does not take the drug which eases the incurable muscle-wasting condition, she will be confined to a wheelchair and need round-the-clock oxygen.

But she is determined not to let her illness hold her back in her career and continues to work full-time as a supply chain team leader with Spirit Aerosystems, a job she's been in for 26 years.

When she is not at work, Lynn, from Troon, Ayrshire, is campaigning for the drug Myozyme to be available to all Pompe sufferers in Scotland.

And last week, she attended a rare diseases conference at the Scottish parliament.

So rare is the condition that only another 10 Scots have been diagnosed with it.

The expensive medication, which is not a cure but prevents it from worsening, is assessed on a case-by-case basis as it costs hundreds of thousands of pounds to treat one patient each year.

For Lynn, who was diagnosed with Pompe after developing a limp, it is particularly frustrating as she was refused the drug from NHS Ayrshire and Arran last year, and lost her appeal.

The mum-of-one said: "I walk with a limp because my legs have a weakness. But Pompe can affect every muscle in your body and it will get worse.

"I struggle with walking up hills or stairs, getting out of a chair. But I try to get on with life because I have a daughter.

"Lauren is great. She'll dust, vacuum and shop without moaning."

Lynn was diagnosed in 1999, the same year as Lauren was born. She worries every day about being wheelchair-bound and the impact it will have on Lauren.

"I don't want to hold Lauren back," Lynn said. "I know it will happen if I don't get the drug. That's why I am going to do everything I possibly can to get it."

Last year, Lynn met medical specialists from NHS Ayrshire and Arran where her case for Myozyme was heard. It was thrown out and Lynn appealed.

This was also rejected.

In a bid to have it overturned, and have the drug more readily available to Pompe sufferers in Scotland, Lynn has contacted her local MSP John Scott.

Lynn, who can't walk very far, added: "Every day, I try not to let it get me down but I feel angry and frustrated because I know there's something out there that could potentially help me."

Lauren, 11, has been forced to grow up fast and throughout her childhood has been responsible for many household chores.

But Lauren, who is in primary seven at school, does not mind. She said: "My mum is such a loving and kind person.

"If she got the drug, life would be very different and it would prevent her from being in a wheelchair."

Lynn's parents find it tough to watch their daughter struggle.

Mum Margaret, 64, said: "She deals with it as well as she can. She's not in pain but it breaks our hearts to watch her suffer.

"Lynn lives for Lauren. She wants a quality of life for her, more than herself, but that won't happen if she doesn't get the drug."

New Jersey plan would pay families $10,000 a year to take care of their disabled adult children

From The Star-Ledger in N.J.. Pictured is Kevin McIvor.

TRENTON, N.J. — The state is about to propose a solution to one of its most troubling social services dilemmas — the backlog of thousands of developmentally disabled adults waiting for as long as 10 years to get admission to group homes.

Under the plan, families would receive an annual stipend of at least $10,000 to take care of their disabled children on their own, alleviating some of the hardships for parents whose children have grown into adults with little prospect of a place in the state group home system.

The details of the plan come from state human services officials who have recently been briefing families on what to expect in the coming months. New Jersey will have to get federal approval and financial help to make the proposal work.

Twelve years ago, five New Jersey families decided to jump the state's infamously long waiting list for permanent housing for disabled adults and created a housing facility of their own. The move was unheard-of but today the state is considering a shift in policy that could make setting up independent housing more common. (Video by Adya Beasley / The Star-Ledger)

Adopting the new system amounts to a blunt admission that the state may never be able to fulfill a promise lawmakers and officials made a dozen years ago that the state would provide enough housing to whittle down a waiting list that consistently tops 8,000. That promise was supposed to be fulfilled in 2008, but the waiting list doubled.

Many families say they are buoyed that the state is finally addressing a problem that has only worsened each year.

"This is huge," said Lowell Ayre, executive director of the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens With Disabilities, an advocacy organization for group home providers. "We’ve been waiting for this for 10 years."

Christie administration officials say the state would still try to build group housing for the developmentally disabled, but the payment would help families acquire services such as part-time aides, pay for summer camp or buy vehicles with wheelchair access. Families could also pool their funds to set up housing arrangements on their own rather than wait for a state-sponsored group home to open.

There are 8,840 people with developmental disabilities in 2,200 state-licensed homes, according to the state. About 8,000 more are on a waiting list to get into group homes or receive services designed to meet their needs. Because of budget cuts, in some years 100 people on the list have moved into homes.

Many families abandoned hope long ago that their children would ever move into a group home, which state officials say cost about $120,000 each year to operate. As a result, few are being built or rehabbed and the waiting list just gets longer.

The stipends given to families under the new plan would not mean the waiting list will go away, and families can still remain on the list, human services officials say.

"This is going to give people hope," said Nancy Delaney of Convent Station, a critic of the current system and the mother of a 46-year-old son who saw the futility of putting their name on the list and bought a home in Whippany with four other families.

The state must first get approval from the federal government, which provides the Medicaid funds earmarked for people with developmental disabilities. State officials say they will seek federal permission to provide families an annual stipend of $10,000 to $15,000 — the exact amount has yet to be determined — to get whatever they need to help their child live more comfortably at home. Families will not actually receive any money but will be able to use the stipend on equipment and/or services authorized by the state. That would be in addition to $22,000 a person the state already spends on daily vocational and recreational programs.

The new plan would bring in more federal dollars — about $45 million in Medicaid matching funds that could be used to buttress the payments to families without having to increase spending by the state, said Pam Ronan, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, citing early estimates.

Delaney said she and other parents were relieved the state was willing to try a different approach.

"On the one hand, it’s discouraging to know the state is not putting together many group homes; they don’t have the money," she said. "On the other hand, I feel very upbeat. Giving people $15,000 is a good beginning."

Delaney said she hopes the money allows other families to provide the kind of housing her family has, describing a warm and supportive atmosphere in the home her son, Bob, shares with one man and three women.

"If you were to see them out in public, you would immediately see them as a family," she said. "If they go to a dance or dinner, they make sure the other one has a seat at the table. In the house, they will bring a cup of tea to each other."

Parents and advocates for the disabled have long pleaded for more supervised housing to enable people with autism and other developmental disabilities to live more independent lives. Parents and extended families are often the main caregivers until they grow old or infirm as their children languish on the list.

State officials said that with this new approach, they expect the wait to shrink over time, because three-quarters of the families on the list have told them that they would rather receive state assistance and take care of their child at home.

"Our goal is to not have a waiting list," Apgar told parents at a meeting in Morris Township. "For many people, the waiting list is not a great policy. Who wants to be number 4,000?"

Mike Brill of Howell, chairman of the New Jersey Family Support Planning Council, a family advocacy group, said he supported the new plan but noted it was just "an incremental improvement" over what we have today.

His son Marc, 37, was on the waiting list for 19 years and only recently started receiving work and recreational services from the state.

The new stipend "would not cover a lot," said Brill.

Some supporters of the plan also expressed concern the state will use the extra money it gets from the federal government to plug its huge budget shortfall. The state routinely transfers federal Medicaid money into the general fund, which pays for various state services from education to transportation programs.

"The big issue for us has been that all of the money from the waiver has to reinvested back into family supports, or it will fail," Arye said.

Bonnie Brien of Hillsborough, caregiver to her 25-year-old daughter, Rachel, and coordinator for the Family Support Coalition of New Jersey, is circulating a petition that more than 2,500 people have signed urging the state to use all of the new federal proceeds to expand the program.

Brien’s daughter has cerebral palsy and suffers from daily seizures. She needs help bathing, dressing and feeding herself.

"Every family needs helps," Brien said. "You really feel like you are an island at times. You become so isolated."

Brien is encouraged the plan would give families many options: "This puts money in the hands of the family to use it in the most meaningful way. Each family knows what’s best for them."

Dinah Fox of Madison, whose 22-year-old daughter, Robin, has autism, said she was gratified the state "was starting to address the problem in an efficient, constructive and positive way."

"Since Robin was probably 8 or 9 years old, I have lost sleep over what will be her future," Fox said. Weary at the prospect of waiting years for assistance, Fox said she and her husband leased a condominium six months ago, and the state pays for around-the-clock care. Fox said many families may not be able to afford to do this, and the cash would help. "I am hoping this is a watershed," she said.

Rough Riderz getting British wheelchair users off-road for fun

From Metro in the UK:

The wheelchair-bound riders are addicted to ‘four-cross’, relying on their finely honed reflexes to hurtle down trails in Scotland and Cumbria at up to 30mph on modified four-wheelers.

Phil Hall, who was paralysed in a motorcycle accident in Tenerife seven years ago, said the group can give mountain bikers a run for their money.

He said: ‘We play a game of cat and mouse with the able-bodied guys that come along. Where the trail bends they have to slow down to avoid smashing into the corner. But we’re hurtling into the bend and drifting the bike round on all four wheels.’

The 38-year-old from Preston said he was determined to try four-cross after seeing a US poster of a similar bike.

He couldn’t find anything in Britain, so he set up Rough Riderz.

Mr Hall said: ‘Once I started I was instantly addicted – it’s all I wanted to do.’

The price of the machines – £7,000 – can be prohibitive but the Riderz have a club bike which means they can run £125-a-day taster sessions in Whinlatter, near Keswick.

They plan to expand four cross across Britain.

Mr Hall added: ‘Getting airborne is tough but that’s what we do for pleasure – testing ourselves and pushing it to that limit’.

Texas teen with spina bifida finds her passion as a welder

From Scripps News Service:

Tiffany Rivera (pictured) turns heads when she lowers her welding helmet.

First, they stare at her tiny frame – 4 feet 9 inches.

Then they gawk at her welds – expert work for someone so young, her instructors say.

What they don’t see are Rivera’s daily struggles with the lifelong effects of a rare and often crippling disease: the 32 surgeries, the catheter tucked behind her jeans pocket, the diagnosis that her bowels and bladder will never function properly.

Born with spina bifida, the 17-year-old high school junior from Corpus Christi, Texas, has overcome adversity to become a top high school welder.

Rivera was diagnosed as a baby, and doctors feared she would never walk. From her first steps at 11 months old to her unlikely interest in a profession dominated by men, Rivera has spent her life defying expectations.

“I’ve been proving doctors wrong all my life,” she said. “Now, it’s time for me to prove statistics wrong.”

While some babies are diagnosed with spina bifida before they’re born, no one realized Tiffany had the birth defect until her first checkup.

A birthmark and an odd tuft of hair on her back tipped off Tiffany’s doctor that something was amiss, said her mother, Leticia Vasquez. He immediately sent Tiffany to see a neurologist.

The next morning, she underwent the first of many spinal surgeries to come. She was 2 weeks old, and it was the first time Vasquez had heard of spina bifida.

Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the spinal cord or its coverings don’t completely develop. It can be mild to severe, depending on the size, location and extent of the malformation, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While some people have no noticeable problems, others are paralyzed for life.

Like many of those diagnosed with the birth defect, Rivera’s sole lingering side effect is that she can’t control when she goes to the bathroom. She wore diapers until she was 9, and now laughs at how they were uncomfortably loud when she shifted in her seat in class.

Later, she had a catheter inserted in her bladder to help drain her urine, a much more discreet option for dealing with the complications with which doctors say she’ll struggle for the rest of her life.

Still, many people don’t realize Rivera has spina bifida, her mother said. At one spina bifida group meeting, another mother accused Rivera of being a completely healthy child, Vasquez said.

“I’m just a normal kid, but with spina bifida,” Rivera said. “I do everything a normal kid would do, too, and people are shocked by that.”

During her sophomore year, Rivera enrolled in welding class alongside her older brother, although welding was an unlikely choice for the self-proclaimed “girlie girl” whose favorite pastime is shopping at the mall.

Rivera swapped her carefully curled hair and strappy sandals for thick boots and protective welding gear, and fell in love.

“I could be having the worst day ever, and welding just takes my mind off everything,” she said. “When I’m welding, I’m singing in my head.”

Rivera said welding hasn’t always come easy for her. There have been times she grew so frustrated that she burst into tears.

Still, she said her struggles with spina bifida have made her tougher and taught her never to take life for granted.

That happy-go-lucky attitude, combined with her bubbly personality, has won over instructors and her male classmates who were at first skeptical that this tiny girl could master a trade populated by big men.

“What a cute little welder,” Ronnie Cuellar thought when he first met Rivera.

But after spending a summer welding alongside her in intensive welding courses, the senior had a newfound respect for the girl who had quickly caught up to him in class.

“I give any girl respect for doing this,” Cuellar said. “It’s dirty and dangerous. I have burn marks all over my arms, and I’m sure she does, too.

“It’s honestly a profession that was made for men. But she’s an independent woman, and I like that.”

Rivera is a year younger than Cuellar, an all-star in the welding class, but she’s only one step down from his expertise level. She has mastered the ability to weld plates and has started welding pipes, one of the few students to do so and the only girl in class to master the skill.

She’s eyeing welding schools in Harlingen, Texas, and, to her mother’s dismay, as far away as Phoenix.

Her first welding instructor, Don Linsteadt, said Rivera has a bright future in welding. Women welders often are in high demand, and her tiny stature allows her to fit in small spaces larger male welders can’t reach.

“I think she’s got a better future than the guys,” he said.