ACCRA -- Ghana confirmed on April 18 that it had been granted the right to host the 3rd African amputee soccer cup of nations in October.
The amputee tournament, organized under the direction of the Amputee Football Federation of Africa (AFFA), is expected to attract 12 teams from the continent.
Countries like Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo DR, have already confirmed their participation in the competition.
Cornelius Adjah-Cofie, national president of the Ghana disabled sports, said his association was making frantic preparations to beat the deadline stipulated for the scheduled tournament.
"The signs of hosting a successful amputee soccer tournament are positive," he told Xinhua in an interview via telephone.
The African amputee tournament serves as a qualifying exercise for the 31st amputee World Cup in Japan next year.
The Black Challenge, nickname of Ghana's national amputee team, won the first ever African Cup in Sierra Leone in 2007 and placed 6th at the last World Cup in Argentina after a historic quarter- finals berth, the first by any African nation in the 60-year history of the games.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Ghana to host African amputee soccer championship
From Xinhua:
Chipolte Mexican Grill must become ADA compliant
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court turned away an appeal by Chipotle Mexican Grill on April 18 and left intact a federal appeals court ruling in San Francisco that said a nearly 4-foot barrier in a waiting line denied wheelchair users the right to see the food they were ordering.
The barrier "subjects disabled customers to a disadvantage that non-disabled customers do not suffer," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July in a case from San Diego County. The ruling came on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires businesses to treat disabled patrons equally and remove unnecessary obstacles.
Maurizio Antoninetti said in his lawsuit in 2005 that a 45-inch barrier at Chipotle restaurants in San Diego and Encinitas blocked his view of the counter, where customers can inspect each dish, choose their order and watch it being prepared.
Chipotle said it met wheelchair users' needs by bringing them spoonfuls of their preferred dish for inspection before ordering. But the appeals court said that doesn't match "the customer's personal participation in the selection and preparation of the food."
Chipotle argued that its accommodation was adequate and told the Supreme Court that Antoninetti lacked standing to sue. The company cited a federal judge's findings in 2008 that Antoninetti had sued numerous businesses over disability access and had not shown that he was sincere about intending to return to the restaurants if they lowered their barriers.
The high court denied review of the case without comment.
The restaurant chain, based in Denver, did not respond to requests for comment Monday. After the appeals court ruling, company spokesman Chris Arnold said Chipotle was retrofitting restaurants with "a new counter design that eliminates any concern regarding wheelchair accessibility."
Phoenix officials say ADA compliance will be difficult for the city
From The Arizona Republic
Several times a month, Thomas Vickery rides his gold scooter west along Bethany Home Road to Christown Spectrum Mall.
Last month, Vickery said he had to decide between riding on an uneven sidewalk on the north side of the street that has "precariously" steep slopes or risk being hit by a vehicle in an effort to bypass a yellow fire hydrant obstructing the sidewalk on the south side of the street.
Vickery e-mailed Phoenix requesting a solution and learned that his requested "sidewalk improvement project" could compete for funding in 2015.
Vickery, who has cerebral palsy, said he moved to Phoenix from Chicago because of its navigability. He does not own a vehicle, and his scooter is his primary means of transportation.
"I see the situation as a huge albatross around the neck of the city of Phoenix," Vickery said.
"That seems to be the way Phoenix government functions - reactive rather than proactive."
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires city governments to provide necessary infrastructure to ensure that people with disabilities can travel in a safe and convenient manner. Sidewalks must meet slope requirements. Curb ramps are required wherever a sidewalk crosses a curb.
If sidewalk obstructions exist and 3 feet of accessible space is not available, obstructions must be removed or relocated.
The city has known about the fire hydrant obstructing the curb ramp at Bethany Home Road and Third Avenue since January 2008, said city spokeswoman Sina Matthes.
The fire hydrant was added to a list of similar ADA barriers with a goal to relocate it in 24 to 36 months. But the Phoenix Water Department began relocating the hydrant just last week. Total estimated cost: $5,000.
Matthes said federal ADA guidelines do not include a time requirement because it is fiscally impossible for most local and state governments to meet full ADA compliance.
The city has a process to identify locations and works to make the projects ADA-compliant. In 2007, the street transportation department said ADA-compliance projects would cost $34 million over 20 years.
"The street transportation department works to research and address the (complaint) as soon as possible," Matthes said.
To date, "the department has identified 39,194 ADA project locations. Of that, 9,158 are now ADA-compliant."
Jennifer Longdon, chair of the Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues, said navigation issues, such as uneven sidewalks, accessible parking and public transportation, are a constant struggle for people with mobility issues.
"These (sidewalk) issues that impact people with disabilities impact people walking with baby strollers," Longdon said. "It's a much broader segment of the community."
In Nevada, activists use ADA to push for smoke-free casinos
From the Las Vegas Sun:
The latest skirmish in the battle to ban smoking in Nevada casinos is emerging around a little-discussed area of law more commonly associated with wheelchair ramps and handicap-accessible restrooms.
Alongside requirements that public buildings and workplaces be accessible to people with visible handicaps, the 20-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act offers similar protection for people with breathing problems such as asthma and a list of medical conditions exacerbated by secondhand smoke, such as hypertension.
In the years before smoking bans became widespread, some courts sided with plaintiffs who sought smoke-free restaurants and workplaces because of breathing problems. Many cases were settled, with defendants going smoke-free in the wake of lawsuits or state and local laws banning smoking.
Such cases have not gone far in Nevada, where smoking is permitted by law in most gambling areas. Activists blame a lack of public awareness about ADA protections, which were strengthened last month by amendments legal experts say will cover millions more disabled Americans. The new rules specify that medical conditions that rarely flare up and are controlled by medication are covered if they otherwise hamper a person’s ability to breathe and move.
“Because there’s no safe level of secondhand smoke, a business can’t reasonably accommodate a disabled person with a breathing problem” unless it prohibits smoking, said Karen Blumenfeld, an attorney and executive director of the New Jersey-based Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy.
Anti-smoking activists gathering in Las Vegas next month for a strategy conference on making casinos smoke-free say they will assist casino workers and customers in filing ADA complaints over secondhand smoke.
But some legal experts say Blumenfeld is wrong to think the ADA requires smoking bans.
Rather, federal law allows venues to ban smoking on their own as it “does not preclude the prohibition of, or the imposition of restrictions on, smoking.”
Such bans have been subject to legal wrangling over the circumstances of an individual’s disability within the specific venue in question.
Federal law doesn’t require employers to change their business models, only that they make a reasonable effort to accommodate the disabled, said Brian Pedrow, a disabilities attorney with Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia. For casinos that have long catered to smokers, a smoking ban would likely be considered unreasonable, although moving a worker to a nonsmoking area would probably fit the “reasonable accommodation” requirement under federal law, said Pedrow, who has handled cases on behalf of individuals as well as employers but hasn’t represented casinos. That might be a challenge for unionized casinos as seniority rules prevent workers from leapfrogging others for preferred jobs, he said.
If no comparable job is available and an employee is no longer able to work because of a breathing problem, employers are entitled to terminate the employee, he said.
Still, tens of millions of Americans are entitled to some assistance they might not have received before the government lowered the disability standard, Pedrow said, adding that more than 70 million Americans over age 20 have hypertension.
Advocates worry that disabled workers who depend on health insurance won’t want to rock the boat by seeking help. Nor will they jump to pursue lawsuits against employers who resist making changes or bury employees in paperwork, they say. Moving employees around is a poor remedy because smoke circulates through nonsmoking zones in buildings where smoking is permitted.
The economic hardship defense commonly cited by employers doesn’t hold up against growing evidence that businesses have survived and even flourished after statewide smoking bans, Blumenfeld said.
Advocates also have harsh words for regulators, claiming federal authorities have abdicated their duty under the ADA to protect the health of American workers and the public.
The health benefits of smoking bans and an abundance of evidence on the harms of secondhand smoke make smoking bans the obvious — and only — option for venues like casinos, Blumenfeld said.
Although the law doesn’t impose smoking bans, it requires that venues offer equal access to all people, regardless of disability, added Stephanie Steinberg, who runs Smoke-Free Gaming.
Historically, authorities and advocates focused on disabilities that were easier to identify and accommodate, such as adding ramps for those who use wheelchairs, she said.
Next month’s gathering of anti-smoking activists comes during a meeting of the ADA National Network, a federally funded agency that educates employers and the public about the ADA. The group is hosting training sessions at its annual conference at Paris Las Vegas.
“It’s unconscionable that a federally sponsored ADA symposium is being held at a place that permits smoking,” Blumenfeld said. “They should walk the walk.”
Thousands with developmental disabilities in NJ await housing
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Mike Festa is beaten down and losing hope that his son will be all right when he is gone.
It’s evident in the folder overstuffed with hundreds of documents that he keeps in the basement of his Toms River home, in his voice when he dials Trenton searching for answers, in his sigh as he describes the thousands of hours spent in a decade-long fight to find a suitable home for his 35-year-old autistic son, Michael (pictured).
Michael is sweet and sociable but subject to seizures and incapable of living on his own. He lives with his parents, who are his around-the-clock caretakers, but who also know they need to find a home that will provide for their son when they no longer can.
"How much time do I have?" asked Festa, who is 61. "I don’t know. My wife and I can pass any time. If we do, Michael becomes an emergency ward of the state, and then they put him anywhere."
And not necessarily a place suited to his delicate emotional needs — a thought that terrifies Mike and Joy Festa.
New Jersey considers Michael a priority for housing and services because his parents are older than 55. Yet he is but one of 4,879 "priorities" on an 8,000-person waiting list for people with developmental disabilities. The Department of Human Services, facing a severe housing shortage and an unrelenting budget crunch, was able to remove 229 names from the waiting list this fiscal year.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
In 2005, amid much pride and anticipation, the state created the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund, signed into law by Sen. Richard Codey when he was acting governor. It was expected to provide 10,000 new affordable housing opportunities for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness by dedicating $200 million to create new homes.
But six years later, $168 million has been spent to provide housing to 1,500 people with special needs, according to state officials. That’s 84 percent of the money to achieve 15 percent of the goal. The state Department of Community Affairs expects only another 500 units to be created with the remaining money.
That means thousands of people like Michael are growing old with their parents, while hundreds more, not fortunate enough to have caring or capable families, are warehoused in county hospitals or housed in shelters.
When the money is gone, infrastructure for special-needs housing will become nearly impossible to fund, said Ed Murphy, executive director of the Supportive Housing Coalition for New Jersey, which works to provide homes for those with special needs.
The state is not walking away from the problem. As reported last month in The Star-Ledger, Human Services is readying a proposal that would provide an annual stipend of at least $10,000 to families taking care of adult children with developmental disabilities. The money could be used to pay for part-time aides, summer camps or vehicles with wheelchair access, but it does not address the need for supervised care when parents die.
"The lack of decent, affordable housing is what keeps parents up at night," said Phillip Lubitz, advocacy director for the New Jersey chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "The question I hear over and over again is, ‘What is going to happen to my son or daughter after I am gone?’ "
State officials and activists agree the trust failed to create the 10,000 beds it promised for a number of reasons, including well-intentioned hyperbole that initially overestimated the number of beds that $200 million could create.
"I think it was unrealistic from the start," said Alison Recca-Ryan, director of the New Jersey Corp. for Supportive Housing, which tries to help communities create permanent housing for the homeless.
The economy also played a role. The law allowed the special-needs trust to fund up to 80 percent of construction costs for housing, but the hope was that other money — such as the balanced housing fund — would contribute more than 20 percent. The economy dried up those other funds faster than anticipated, leaving the special-needs trust to foot a larger percentage of each housing start.
The situation is further complicated by the Olmstead decision, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says federal law protects the right of disabled people to live in "the most integrated setting" safely possible.
Last year, in response to a lawsuit brought by the nonprofit advocacy group Disability Rights New Jersey, which alleges the state is violating the law by not reducing its 8,000-person waiting list, the state told a federal judge it was too broke to comply with Olmstead.
U.S. District Court Judge Anne Thompson ruled a trial would be needed to determine whether the state is justified in postponing a plan to move people out of state-run developmental centers because it can’t afford to pay for them. No date has been set.
The state continues to face legal pressure to find supervised housing for disabled people because of two other pending cases. Disability Rights is suing the state for failing to move people with developmental disabilities who want to live in community housing from state institutions. The state is in the midst of complying with a 2009 settlement, stemming from another lawsuit brought by Disability Rights, that requires New Jersey to spend $5 million a year to move medically stable patients from public psychiatric hospitals until 2014.
Lori Grifa, commissioner of the Community Affairs Department, which manages the trust fund, said she is optimistic the state will find a solution and be able to continue to build housing for those with special needs.
"We’re not in crisis mode," she said. "I’ve already begun looking at other places. Because of our concern about exhausting the fund, we have gotten very creative."
Grifa mentioned looking to municipal and federal governments for other pools of money, but she acknowledged that once the trust fund is gone, a reliable source will have disappeared.
"It’s an everyday conversation for us," said Kevin Martone, deputy director of Human Services. "Most would agree we don’t have enough funds to meet the demand."
If something were to happen to Mike and Joy Festa, the state would find a place for their son, but perhaps not an appropriate one.
"The frustration is indescribable," Mike Festa said. "I don’t think he’ll ever get placed — not in my lifetime."
Steven H. is what can happen when parents are gone.
Steven was the same age as Michael when his mother, who had taken care of him all his life, died. Unsure where to turn, Steven, whose last name is being withheld because of patient-confidentiality concerns, walked into the emergency room at Bergen Regional Medical Center, where he had been treated before.
"I didn’t want to go to a shelter because shelters are really bad," he said.
Diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and prone to bouts of depression, Steven, a New Milford resident, was given a bed on unit 12B in the behavioral health wing.
That was two years ago. Now 37, Steven spent 26 months in the hospital — even though doctors said he didn’t belong there — before he was able to find an appropriate home.
Bergen Regional has about 60 patients like Steven — people who have been medically cleared to leave but who have no place to go. Essex County Hospital has another 40, said Lucia Guarini, the hospital’s director.
It costs $400 to $500 per day to care for each of those patients, said Tom Rosamilia, vice president of behavioral health services at Bergen Regional — and taxpayers foot the bill.
"There is no question it is much less expensive for the state to keep someone in independent living than it is to keep them in a hospital," Rosamilia said. "Hospitals are for when you are acutely ill. You can’t move toward recovery if you are living in an isolated hospital environment."
It costs $250,000 a year to keep a patient in a state psychiatric hospital or institution known as developmental centers, according to the state Department of Human Services. On average, the special-needs trust spent $100,000 for each new housing unit.
Replenishing the trust is an investment that saves money in the long term, said Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), one of the fund’s original sponsors.
"That’s my argument," McKeon said. "This is money we can’t afford not to spend."
But it is also money the state does not have.
And though funds are running low, the need has not abated. In fact, the economy — in addition to depleting state coffers — has forced more people to reach out for assistance.
In addition to the more than 8,000 people with developmental disabilities on the waiting list, the special-needs trust is also geared toward the state’s homeless population, which totals more than 12,000.
People like Patricia M., who wanders Newark’s streets by day and sleeps in the city’s homeless shelters at night.
"It’s been a horrible experience," said Patricia, who spoke on condition that her last name not be printed. "I don’t know anyone who likes bouncing from place to place, the constant worry. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy."
Patricia, like Steven, was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She had stayed at a boarding house in Belleville, but when she could no longer pay, she and her few possessions were put in a van and dropped in front of her son’s house.
She banged on the door, she said, but no one answered.
"I knew he was home," she said.
Patricia is being aided by the Mental Health Association of Essex County, which is trying to find low-cost housing for her. The association relies on homes built with funds from the special-needs trust to create beds and opportunities for people like her.
"I can’t wait to have my own place," Patricia said. "There’s always something to do when you have your own place."
Susan Meyer is 36 and lives with her mother, Mary, in Ramsey. She has Asperger’s syndrome, a condition that makes it hard for her to process social cues. She works two days a week but cannot live on her own unless she can find a low-cost housing opportunity in a setting that can provide some social services.
Being able to leave the nest and being forced to cook and clean for herself would provide a measure of self-confidence and liberation that Susan said she has rarely experienced.
"Sometimes I wonder, ‘Am I worth anything?’ " Meyer said. "If I could live on my own, I’d know I was worth something."
That is why Codey said he is trying so hard to find some way, any way to recapitalize the fund. He said there are a number of options he is considering, including a state referendum.
"We want to live up to the commitment we made in 2005," said the Essex County Democrat, who pledged to finish the job and meet the goal of 10,000 housing opportunities. "We have 8,000 to go."
Codey is lauded for his role in creating the fund, which has helped open dozens of homes like the Rose House in Hanover Township. The 12-bed home cost $1.9 million to build and received $800,000 from the trust. Mark Kramer, the home’s executive director, said he received more applicants than he could handle and had to tell people to stop sending referrals.
Latisha Davis, who manages the Pointe, which opened in January in Morristown thanks to $612,000 from the special needs trust, had a similar experience.
"I have a file cabinet drawer full of referrals," she said. "They keep coming in every day. They are hoping we’ll have other special-needs housing … somewhere."
The requests come from agencies and advocates, from pleading parents and desperate siblings, who compete against one another for the few new beds that become available each year.
"Those beds are like gold," said Rosamilia of Bergen Regional.
They are precious and expensive, but McKeon argued that finding a proper home for these many thousands of individuals should be a primary responsibility of government.
"This continues to be something worthy of our support," McKeon said. "We have to ask ourselves, as a society, what will our priorities be?"
New Roosevelt Island statue to feature FDR in his wheelchair
A memorial statue of President Franklin D. Roosevelt seated in a wheelchair is in the works for Roosevelt Island.
The FDR Hope Memorial should be up in Southpoint Park sometime in fall 2012.
Artist Meredith Bergmann is designing the 5.5-feet bronze statue, which depicts the nation's 32nd president in his wheelchair, shaking hands with a young girl wearing a leg brace.
The site is near a historic hospital that pioneered treatment for survivors of polio, the same disease F-D-R had.
Roosevelt Island was named after the former New York governor in 1973.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Advertisers boycott Wonkette after it insults Trig Palin
At least nine advertisers have announced plans to pull their ads from Wonkette after the political blog ran a post making fun of Sarah Palin’s son, Trig (pictured).
Wonkette’s Jack Stuef wrote an item Monday poking fun at a poem that had been posted by Team Sarah for Trig’s birthday, with the refrain “Oh little boy, what are you dreaming about?” Stuef cracked: “What’s he dreaming about? Nothing. He’s retarded.” Trig Palin has Down syndrome.
It took about 36 hours, as David Weigel noted at Slate, but the conservative blogosphere, led by Big Journalism editor-in-chief Dana Loesch and Big Government writer Derek Hunter, picked up on the post and used it to drive a campaign to pressure Wonkette’s advertisers to drop the site.
Advertisers began announcing their plans to stop advertising on Wonkette via Twitter. By Loesch’s count, so far the boycotters include Papa Johns, Huggies, the Vanguard Group, Holland America Cruises, Nordstrom, Bob Evans Farms, Reliant Energy, DealSwarm and Coldwell Banker.
As Brand Channel points out, such boycotts are complicated because most of Wonkette’s banner ads are served by an ad network, meaning different ads appear each time users refresh the page.
Wonkette editor Ken Layne told Weigel that he had placed Stuef on probation.
The post has since been updated with an apology from Stuef:
UPDATE: I regret this post and using the word “retarded” in a reference to Sarah Palin’s child. It’s not nice, and is not necessary, but I take responsibility for writing it. For those who came and are offended by this post: I’m sorry, of course. But I stand by my criticism of Sarah Palin using her child as a political prop.
Update: Wonkette has removed the offending post.
"We have decided to remove the post as requested by some people who have nothing to do with Sarah Palin, but who do have an interest in the cause of special needs children. We apologize for the poor comedic judgment," reads an editor's note.
NY cops handcuff 7-year-old special education student after he becomes upset during Easter egg decoration
Cops handcuffed a 7-year-old at a Queens school after he became upset while decorating an Easter egg, his mom said.
Special-education student Joseph Anderson (pictured), a first-grader at Public School 153 in Maspeth, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in metal cuffs, even though his mother told school officials she was on her way to pick him up, mom Jessica Anderson said.
"He was crying and saying, 'I want Mommy,'" Anderson said. "Why handcuff him? Why get the cops involved? He's only 7."
The little boy has begun wetting himself in the middle of the day and throwing up since the April 13 incident, his distraught mom said.
"If he hears an ambulance, he runs under the bed and screams, 'They're going to get me,'" said the single mom. "He's really traumatized. I don't let him watch the news anymore, because if he sees cops, he cries."
City Education Department officials said school staff took the drastic step to protect the boy and his classmates.
"The school tried to defuse the situation and then called for outside assistance when there was a concern the child would harm himself or others," department spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said.
Anderson said the school called her about 12:30 p.m. to tell her Joseph - who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delayed speech and emotional problems - was not having a good day, and she said she would pick him up.
Turns out, things were far worse than she imagined. The boy told her he became upset because the color on the egg he was painting didn't look the way he wanted, and staffers threatened to send him to the hospital if he didn't calm down.
Scared, the boy then jumped up on the table and said, "I just want my mommy," his mother said.
Anderson didn't get there fast enough. She left her job in Manhattan and arrived at the Maspeth school at 1:45 p.m., but her son was already gone. She didn't find out about the handcuffs until she arrived at the hospital, and a nurse told her how upset her son had been.
"I was crying. I broke down," she said. "They know that my son is special ed. It's like they're trying to get rid of him, and it worked because I'm not sending him back there."
The NYPD defended cuffing the kid, saying in a statement that he was "acting in a threatening manner." A source also said he was waving scissors.
"He was a danger to himself and others in the classroom," a spokesman said. "He started spitting and cursing at the officers. The handcuffs were used to restrain the child because of his behavior. He was a danger to himself."
This is the third time the school has sent Joseph to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The school suspended the boy for two weeks.
Advocates say Joseph's trauma is not an isolated incident.
"I've seen far too many cases of kids this young handcuffed and thrown into ambulances for behavior at school," said Kim Sweet of Advocates for Children. "Just imagine being a little kid and having people come, clamp your hands behind your back and throw you in an ambulance."
The Daily News has reported several cases of handcuffing young children, including a 12-year-old Queens girl cuffed last year for doodling on her desk and a 5-year-old who was cuffed in 2008 for misbehaving in his kindergarten class.
Like many amputees these days, Oregon woman asks for badass prosthetic
When a severe infection caused Jan Schumacher, 58, of Portland Ore., (pictured) to lose her fingers, she preferred a functional prosthetic hand to a glossy silicone one that would look more natural.
"Jan came to us and told us she wanted something 'trick badass,'" said MacJulian Lang, a prosthetist and clinical director of Advanced Arm Dynamics in Portland.
Lang outfitted her with a prosthesis that looks more like a motorcycle glove than a prosthetic hand. The fingers move with a slight flex of a muscle in Schumacher's palm. Now, Schumacher is able to grab her coffee mug, lift weights, or even open a door.
And the glove-shaped prosthesis comes fully equipped with an iPod Nano – not because it serves any prosthetic purpose, but because it helps the prosthesis look "badass," said Lang.
Two million amputees currently live in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Amputee Coalition, an advocacy group. 570 people lose a limb each day.
Now, more of those patients say they couldn't care less about fitting in and hiding their amputations. Instead, many say they are embracing their circumstances and finding ways to flaunt them.
"Long gone are the days of the wooden leg," said Lang. "Much more often now people roll up their sleeves and show the prosthesis for what it is."
Before her amputation, Schumacher owned one of the largest bridal stores in Oregon. Her store, "Tres Fabu Bridal," handled nearly 1,200 weddings a year. But after her infection and subsequent amputation, Schumacher had to close her store.
"I went from owning a business, to not even being able to open a door on my own," she said. "For many of us, the experience has been so debilitating."
Schumacher considered wearing a prosthesis while undergoing rehabilitation. But she said she did not know what to expect.
"First you think of the hook, like Captain Hook. But I was shown an articulated hand, so that gave me hope," she said.
For many amputees, coming to terms with wearing prostheses requires the emotional process of owning up to the initial limb loss.
"They're not ready to have a solution for something that they're not accepting as a loss in the first place," said Amy Natisco, an occupational therapist at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Ore.
According to Natisco, some patients have higher than likely expectations.
"When people first think about receiving a prosthesis, their thought process is this is going to replace what they lost," she said.
While the prosthesis does help many patients regain parts of their function, it is not a complete limb replacement. Natisco says that more patients are likely to embrace their prosthesis if they have realistic expectations about what they can do.
"I love to see someone become more accepting of what their body is and what they're body can do," said Natisco.
She said about a third of the patients she worked with embraced their prosthetic with what she called a "hey look at me" attitude.
More than 3,000 patient care facilities provide orthotic and prosthetic services, according to the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association. In 2009, Medicare covered nearly 2.3 million prosthetic services.
While Hollywood movies make real-looking prosthetic limbs seem a long time coming, the technology is rising as a recent phenomenon. Movable and even experimental prosthesis that mimic real limbs have only emerged within the last five years.
Not all who choose to wear prostheses are outfitted with the latest devices.
"I think the technology, although it's improving, it's not readily accessible for all patients who need a prosthetic solution," said Natisco. "But as it becomes more available then more may feel empowered."
When Schumacher met with Lang, she said exactly what she was looking for.
"A lot of the natural hands just lay there and don't function," said Schumacher. "If I'm going to cover my hand, I didn't want to do it so I could look better. I wanted it to work."
Lang worked with Schumacher to create a hand that tailored to her personality. Lang says his company, Advanced Arm Dynamics, works independently with each of its patients to create a personalized prosthesis. That process helps some patients accept their prosthesis and overcome any feelings of shame, he said.
"They take their prosthesis and make it a part of themselves," said Lang. "Function is the driving factor, but if you can make something where a patient is part of the process, they take ownership of it more."
Schumacher won't stop showing off her new hand.
"The independence gives a little courage back," said Schumacher. "The prosthesis does give you back confidence."
She says she can cook for a group, and freely talks about the hand with her friends. And when she's over feeling fabulous about the hand she has now, she says she'll probably start looking for something better.
"I want to wear any and all of the newest things. I want to keep pushing the envelope," she said.
Man in Northern Ireland makes plans for 100% accessible lodge for holiday getaways
Northern Ireland's first all-year-round holiday getaway for disabled people, their friends and family is about to throw open its doors.
The purpose-built Strangford Bay Lodge on the shores of the Ards Peninsula is the brainchild of a former fork-lift driver from near Kircubbin.
Paul Toner, 46, cared for his wheelchair bound mother for more than 25 years.
"I suppose I saw it first hand how it can be a stigma to have an illness, never mind the desire to go and be normal like everybody else," he said.
"And just how difficult is it for people with disabilities to find somewhere to go on holiday in Northern Ireland so they can stay and feel that there's a comfortable environment for them."
That is something wheelchair user Alison Evans understands.
She said it would be "great to go somewhere for the weekend and not have to worry about anything".
She has tested Strangford Bay Lodge and said it was "totally accessible".
"On a nice sunny day you can go out and have a barbecue, you come inside and it is all totally flat," she said.
"The bathroom is great, there are walk-in showers and toilet and rails and everything.
"It is not like a hospital or somewhere like that, it is like a nice guest house."
Paul started work on the site after his mother died five years ago and every room has been catered to a disabled person's needs.
"The idea is set that we would combine space with an atmosphere that was non-clinical," he said.
"Each of the rooms is spacious.
"We have got a wheel-in wardrobe where you can come in if you have got a wheelchair and everything is at low level."
Paul has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds of his own money to build the retreat.
Nigel Hampton, from the disabled charity Enable, said Paul had to be commended for taking forward the initiative.
"It is often a lot more expensive to put in these adaptations to the building than any other private operator would want to do," he added.
Paul's neighbours are Pat and Russell Bell.
Pat said there was nowhere similar to Strangford Bay Lodge, when Paul was looking after his parents.
She said: "He would have loved to have had somewhere like this where he could have taken them.
"His mother would be so proud.
"He often says she is looking down and nods if things go wrong or gives him the thumbs up if things go right and I just think he is a great credit to his parents."
Russell said Paul had a hand in "every brick and every feature in the house" which had been driven by "his desire to have somewhere for disabled people".
"He has had that goal and that vision and it has kept him going through every single obstacle," he added.
The downstairs of the one-storey property is accessible to wheelchair users, but Paul had to forgo a lift in order to put in a specialised public toilet which is one of only five in Northern Ireland.
"I had hoped that I would be able to put in a lift to make the building 100% accessible, unfortunately I was left with the choice because of no government funding or no help from any other bodies," Paul said.
"Once we get running and we get the money together and we get the lift in, then we will be 100% accessible."
In Canada, autistic track star told he can't compete
In a number of ways, Andrew Towle (pictured) is exceptional. He was diagnosed with autism and started high school well behind academically, but the 19-year-old recently won a place on his school’s honour roll and on their track and field team.
Now he has been told he can’t compete – no exceptions.
The body that oversees high-school sports in Ontario says its eligibility rules are firm. Even though Andrew makes the age cutoff, and didn’t take a single Grade 9 class in his first year at Ottawa Technical Learning Centre, the federation has blocked him from competing this year on the grounds that he’s been in high school too long.
The eligibility clock began ticking the moment Andrew walked through the front doors of Ottawa Technical, the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations says, and his five years are up.
There are no appeals.
The decision was a shock to Andrew, his teachers, his coaches and family, who have watched him come a long way only to be sidelined by bureaucracy.
Most provinces have similar rules to Ontario’s, which match a student’s years of eligibility to the length of an average high-school career. Executive director Doug Gellatly says OFSAA receives about one inquiry a year from a student seeking to dispute their eligibility, and that they’re told the rules are firm.
That unbending approach could be tested in coming years. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among students has grown, and autistic athletes are finding a natural fit and a sense of normalcy in endurance sports.
“Why be this inflexible and bureaucratic with something that’s so important to these student competitors?” said Jonathan Towle, Andrew’s father. “It’s just very unfair.”
The rule that excludes him is meant to promote inclusion: OFSAA has put a five-year limit on eligibility so that more students get a chance to participate.
“We didn’t want to get into dealing with all kinds of different circumstances,” said Mr. Gellatly. “… We thought it was just better to have a clean rule, give them five years and beyond that give other kids the chance to participate.”
Andrew spent his first year at Ottawa Technical Learning Centre taking non-credit courses, bringing his academics up to speed in preparation for Grade 9. It was in his third year, on a whim, that he joined one of the track team’s practices.
“At my first ever practice race, I finished in last, and I told myself I got to do better,” Andrew said. “So I pretty much kept on going and my goal every time was to improve.”
A year and a half later, he was winning races. He was one of the top five long-distance runners in the Ottawa region and he won a spot to compete at the provincial championships.
It was about that time that his grades started improving. He made friends on the team and developed a sense of sportsmanship.
“Until running came along there wasn’t really anything he could identify with, now he can say, ‘I’m a runner,’ ” said Andrew’s father. “That’s really given his life a focus, it’s shown him that if he works hard he can succeed at things.”
Autistic people like Andrew often have learning difficulties. Growing up, he struggled with language and socialization, his senses were easily overwhelmed and he sometimes lashed out or lost his temper.
The disorder is marked by a withdrawal from the outside world – it’s Greek root, autos, means “self.” Andrew’s coach at the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, Vince Fay, believes this might explain why he has recently seen a number of autistic youth show an interest in the sport.
“I’m no expert, all I can tell you is that they seem to thrive,” he said. “… Anyone who runs, you sort of go into your own world.”
Andrew says he likes that there’s not a lot of body contact in running. He often runs to school, has completed six half-marathons, and hopes to one day be a part of the University of Ottawa’s cross-country team.
OFSAA should determine athlete eligibility on more of a case-by-case basis, according to Jim Denison, director of the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre and a professor of physical education at the University of Alberta.
“They should have some leeway to evaluate cases as opposed to a blanket five-year rule,” he said. “I totally understand why they’re doing it, they’re trying to do their best to … create a fair advantage for everybody, so it’s a difficult situation.”
In UK, blind man finds his calling as a plumber
Plumber Robert Ainsley-Raffel (pictured) is determined not to let his disability stand in his way of his career dreams.
Despite being born blind the 25-year-old trained as a plumber to a professional level, but he has now found his career chances dwindling, as employers are unwilling to give him a chance.
But undeterred Robert, from Hexham, Northumberland, remains resolute about his choice of trade and is planning to start his own business.
He said: “It has been quite disappointing that no one is willing to take me as an employee but if anything it has made me more determined.
“The thing that people learn very quickly about me is that I will not take no for an answer. If someone says I can’t do something I will set about proving them wrong.”
On top of the blindness, specialist equipment such as a talking tape measure can cost Robert up to ten times more, whilst health and safety regulations have seen him turned away from colleges.
But determined Robert did gain a level 2 qualification and plans to set-up his own business under the trade name ‘Snappy Plumbin’ in the next year through the Access to Work scheme.
He said: “There are not many people who want to push the boundaries. But one day I hope to take on a visually impaired apprentice of my own, to give them a fighting chance.”
Robert moved out of his family home aged 21, where he took his first step towards getting into the trade and moved to Doncaster to train as a level 1 plumber in 2009, before gaining his level 2 qualifications in Carlisle.
He said: “Whilst I was living in Doncaster a plumbing friend came to fit the radiators and I just thought to myself why not?
“When I visited the college one of the tutors told me that there are certain aspects of the job that you need visuals for but 85% of what you can do is still open to a blind person.”
Penny Hefferan of the Blind Business Association Charitable Trust has been helping Robert along the way since they began contact three years ago.
She said: “Unfortunately blind people are the last category of people that employers want to take on, which makes it incredibly demoralizing for Robert.”
The BBACT also provided Robert with a mentor in Ian Parkin, 54, who was a trained plumber himself when he lost his sight to a hereditary disease 10 years ago.
He said: “Robert has worked hard and will have to continue to work hard to succeed in this industry; half the battle is getting people to trust you and actually give you the jobs.”
Robert has done the odd job for friends and family but is still waiting to make his big break.
ABC News reports on use of angioplasty for MS
Almost six years after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Sharon Richardson (pictured) heard that blockages in neck veins draining blood from her brain could have triggered the debilitating disease, which is marked by fatigue, weakness and pain. She quickly took to the web to investigate the theory, proposed by Dr. Paolo Zamboni, a vascular surgeon in Italy, in April 2009.
Two months later, Richardson was one of the first MS patients in the U.S. to undergo testing for the blockage, called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI.
"I had what's called a 'pancake vein,'" said Richardson, 68, describing the 3-inch stretch of flattened jugular vein that was apparently slowing the flow of used blood from her brain.
Drawing from a study of 65 patients in Italy, Zamboni concluded that inflating flattened, twisted or blocked veins in the neck with a balloon -- a technique called angioplasty commonly used to widen arteries narrowed by atherosclerosis -- improved MS symptoms. Despite the study's limitations -- it was small, unblinded and had no placebo group -- Richardson believed the theory made sense and had two wire mesh stents implanted into her jugular vein to puff it back out (the standard balloon angioplasty wouldn't hold in her 99 percent flattened vein).
She felt better instantly.
Zamboni's exciting but preliminary results and the personal testimonies of people like Richardson prompted MS patients worldwide to clamor for the unproven procedure, which costs about $10,000 and is not covered by insurance. But most neurologists agree it's too soon to tell whether clogged veins play a role in triggering MS, and whether Zamboni's fix, dubbed "liberation therapy," has a role in treating it.
"It certainly is an active area of debate," said Dr. Timothy Coetzee, chief research officer for the National MS Society. "As with many emerging areas in MS research, I'm hopeful that investing in research and exploring this hypothesis will give us the answer to the question, 'What is the role of CCSVI?'"
But some patients believe neurologists and other MS researchers have a financial stake in knocking down the CCSVI theory and keeping MS under their purview. Using online forums, they argue that MS drugs represent a multi-billion-dollar market that a simple one-time fix, such as unclogging neck veins, would squash. Some forums, including the Canadian MS Society's Facebook page, were even shut down after anonymous users posted nasty, threatening comments about liberation therapy skeptics.
The latest research, reported Friday at the annual American Academy of Neurology meeting in Honolulu, suggests that not everyone with MS has blocked neck veins, and not everyone with blocked neck veins has MS -- a finding that some researchers argue pokes holes in the CCSVI theory. But Richardson and her daughter, Carrie Rich, (pictured) believe otherwise.
Rich, who accompanied her mom to every test and procedure, decided to have her neck veins tested. Sure enough, she had a blocked jugular vein just like her mom did. And although she showed no MS symptoms, a brain scan revealed hallmark MS lesions in her brain. Like her mom, Rich had a stent inserted to open the narrowed vessel. She remains free of MS but often wonders where she would be if she hadn't been tested for the CCSVI.
"I will always wonder, especially because it runs in my family," said Rich, 39.
Rich, a mother of two, said she'll one day have her children tested for CCSVI, too.
But Coatzee said it's impossible to conclude, based on a single case, that blocked veins cause MS and that treating them prophylactically might prevent it.
"I think it's very early in this process for us to make that leap," he said. "I think it's an important observation, and I think we should facilitate those studies."
Rich said she'll be disappointed if the CCSVI theory turns out to be wrong because she'll be back at square one: living with MS and not knowing what to do about it. But she has no regrets about having angioplasty.
"I don't know if having a stent in my neck means I'll never have symptoms of MS or that I won't get more lesions," Rich said. "What I do know is it makes sense to me. All of the research, to me, makes sense. A blocked vein can't be good, whether it's causing MS or not.
Richardson, who is president of the CCSVI Alliance -- an organization with the slogan "Opening veins, opening minds" -- agreed more research was needed to uncover the true role of CCSVI in MS. She said she never expected angioplasty to cure MS, but thinks it could ease some symptoms in certain patients.
In 2010, the National MS Society and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada pledged a combined $2.4 million to examine the role of CCSVI in MS and, hopefully, lay the CCSVI debate to rest for good. But it could be a while before neurologists, radiologists and patients are all on the same page about CCSVI.
"Each study brings up more questions than answers," Richardson said, as she left her exercise class. "But more information is always positive."
In Washington state, disabled kids let their talents shine in show
In the eyes of the crowd in Puyallup on Saturday, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler couldn’t hold a candle to Zion Tualatai, 11, and Austin Darr, 13.
As Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” blared in the background, the two boys showed off their walking abilities on stage in a darkened auditorium filled with hundreds of spectators.
Sure, the boys got a bit of support from the physical therapists close at their sides. But it was Zion and Austin who were lifting their feet, using their own strength and their own balancing skills to carefully step forward and pause on cue.
When their performance ended, they basked in thunderous applause from the appreciative audience. The fifth annual Celebration of Our Stars, held at Emerald Ridge High School on South Hill, featured the talents of more than 70 special-needs children.
The performers included clients at the Children’s Therapy Unit at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, as well as students in Puyallup’s SAIL program at Kalles Junior High and E-Sail at Ridgecrest Elementary.
Many of the children have muscular dystrophy, speech delays, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or other cognitive and neuromuscular disorders that hinder their ability to participate in typical childhood activities.
“They don’t get the soccer trophies or the dance recitals. This is a recital for them,” said Good Samaritan physical therapist Sara Kerrick, one of the show organizers. “… They’re on stage for who they are, and not for who they aren’t.”
Zion’s talent of walking across the stage was indeed an accomplishment for the boy, who has cerebral palsy, said his parents, Florence and Eric Lolagi of Edgewood. Though he sometimes uses a wheelchair, Zion has been walking for a couple of years, but is still learning how to bend his knee and stop walking.
“He has good balance. He hardly ever falls,” his mother said. But, she added, “Usually he just walks and if he’s putting on a coat or something, he doesn’t really know how to stop, so walking and stopping is a big thing for him.”
That’s why his performance Saturday, which incorporated stopping on cue, was all the more impressive.
“I think he did great,” Eric Lolagi said.
Other children sang, told jokes and danced. One boy traced letters on an iPad; a girl deftly stacked cups in an assortment of pyramid shapes. Virginia Godinez, 61/2, sang “You Are a True Friend,” with her 51/2-year-old brother, Gideon. The girl has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and heart problems, among other things, said her mother, Amie Godinez. When she was born, doctors said she might not ever walk, Godinez added, as Virginia ran around the reception area after the show. She has performed in all five talent shows.
“There’s always a lot of reflection this time of year as we’re watching it. We remember the journey we’ve had, where we’ve come from,” said Godinez of Graham. “Every year we get to see the progress of the other kids, too, and it’s just amazing. It gives us hope.”
Leah and Michael Molnar of Puyallup proudly watched their son Matthias, who turns 6 next month, perform “Ring Around the Rosey” with other kids.
“I did my show,” said Matthias, who has William’s Syndrome, a rare genetic, multi-system disorder that causes sensory, developmental and other challenges. “I got a trophy.”
He and the other performers each received a trophy with two shiny stars, engraved with “Celebration of Our Stars 2011.”
Saturday was the fourth time Matthias participated.
“The first year when he came out for the finale, and everyone clapped, he threw his hands over his ears and started crying. He got scared. It was so loud,” Michael Molnar said. “But now, this year he was fine. That’s definite progress he’s making.”
Lady Gaga apologizes for R-word use
Lady Gaga's got yet another bold statement to make: An apology.
The pop star came under fire after she dropped the "R bomb" -- calling plagiarism accusations against her "retarded" -- in an interview.
Following the fracas, the "Judas" singer told Perez Hilton: "I consider it part of my life's work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance. My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional. An honest mistake requires honesty to make," Gaga, 25, said.
Quoting her smash hit "Born This Way," she concluded: "Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today."
In her expletive-laded chat with NME, Gaga (real name: Stefani Germanotta) complained of speculation that "Born This Way" was a rip-off of Madonna's "Express Yourself."
"I'm a songwriter," she said. "I've written loads of music. Why would I try to put out a song and think I'm getting one over on everybody? That's retarded. What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about." ( LOL! Weird Al spoofs Gaga)
The term "retarded" is "extraordinarily offensive and inappropriate," Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc (a nonprofit advocacy group for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities), told Us Weekly last August, after Jennifer Aniston made a similar quip.
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