Rock band video game adapted so wheelchair users can rock on

Innovators at Kinetic Communications have rigged the popular video game Rock Band so it is now accessible to wheelchair users.

Instead of a drum pedal that cannot be operated by those without foot movement, the DIY modification is a doorbell to work as the kick drum button and screwed to a drum stick.

Not the most beautiful modification in the world, but it got their wheelchair user buddy drumming for about $20, the folks at Joystiq say. They have easy-to-follow modification instructions on their Web site.

Low birth weight girls at higher risk for autism

Bloomberg reports new research that says that autism occurs in low birth weight baby girls at a higher rate than similar-sized boys.

The study published in the journal Pediatrics suggests risk factors for autism vary by sex.

"Baby girls weighing less than 2.5 kilograms, or about 5.5 pounds, had 3.5 times increased risk of autism and baby girls born more than seven weeks early had a 5.4 times increased risk. Boys born small or early didn't have a significant difference in their risk of being autistic," the according to the study.

"This research indicates that boys and girls have different risk factors for the disorder," said study author Diana Schendel, a researcher for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We know that low birth weight and pre-term birth are among the biggest risk factors for developmental disabilities,'' Schendel said. "The higher prevalence of autism supports monitoring these children carefully for behavioral problems.''

Babies born with low birth weights are likelier to have bleeding in the brain, lungs that are more likely to collapse, heart problems, and vision loss.

The study looked at children born from 1981 to 1993 in Atlanta, who lived to 3 years of age, and were still living in Atlanta at ages 3 to 10. More than 550 children with autism were paired to normal children born in the same year.

Fox News sexpert dispels myths about sex and disability

First, who knew Fox News had a sex expert?

Second, who knew that Fox News would be the purveyors of fairly accurate information about sexuality and disability?

Its sexpert, Yvonne K. Fulbright, says emphatically that disability can be sexy and says societal attitudes need to change. Here's her list of society's wrong-headed, negative assumptions about disabled people and sex:

1. People with disabilities aren't sexual beings.
2. People with disabilities are undesirable.
3. Good sex can only be spontaneous.
4. People with disabilities can't have "real" sex.
5. People with disabilities shouldn't worry about sex.
6. People with disabilities aren't sexually adventurous (or if they are, they're perverted).
7. People with disabilities shouldn't have sex.

As she eloquently explains in her debunking of these myths: "Let's not forget, people with disabilities have bodies, brains, feelings, libido ... all of which make them incredibly sexual beings."

First British woman to play wheelchair rugby in Paralympics

Josie Pearson

Josie Pearson, 22, will become the first British woman to play wheelchair rugby for Britain in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, according to the Hereford Times.

She is also the youngest member of the 12-member British wheelchair rugby team. Few women play the hard-hitting sport also known as "murderball," which was featured in an Oscar-nominated film of the same name in 2005.

She became a wheelchair user five years ago, after she broke her neck in a car accident that killed her boyfriend.

Pearson's also a wheelchair racer in the 100m, 200m and 400m, but has curtailed her training in those sports to concentrate on rugby. She began playing rugby less than three years ago and has just returned from playing at the International Wheelchair Rugby Super Series in Australia.

"I picked up the basics pretty quickly," said Pearson, who plays for the Cardiff Pirates team.
"I'm still pretty new to the game but I love it. It's an adrenaline sport and a brilliant sport. The guys are welcoming and I never felt singled out just because I am a girl.

"We need more girls to play because there's only a handful of us. The sport is growing phenomenally fast but we still need more girls and more publicity."

Northern British Columbia communities enhance accessibility

Brandy Stiles illustrates how accessible

city buses are in Prince George, B.C.

A new initiative called Measuring Up The North (MUTN) aims to make northern British Columbia communities more livable for all residents, The Prince George Citizen reports. The project involves 34 communities and seven regional districts to focus on more accessible transportation and housing.

"The entire project is looking at accessibility and inclusion of all disabilities and seniors," said MUTN project director Laurie Ringaert, a universal design consultant and researcher. "Ultimately, it will make better design for all citizens."

For example, power-operated sliding doors that benefit wheelchair users also help others in the community.

"If you're pushing a baby carriage or you're pushing a cart in and out, you don't expect to have stairs at that entrance. And stores wouldn't want it because it would really slow down the number of people going in and out," Ringaert said.

Low-floor buses with ramps provide access for a disabled or elderly person and for anyone who finds it difficult to make it up a high step.

As for housing, unlike office buildings, private homes are not required by code to be accessible, which causes a problem for a rising population of seniors who may have trouble finding accessible and affordable housing.

"We're building houses that people can't get into," Ringaert said. "We're forcing people to move into nursing homes. What we have to look at is making every home to have at least one entrance with a no-step entrance, a wider door and a bathroom on the main floor. Then we can at least go visit each other."

A goal of the MUTN project is to advocate that communities pass bylaws to ensure newly-constructed houses are "visitable," Ringaert said, explaining the high rate of injuries that happen on stairways to both disabled and able-bodied people.

Human rights committee finds hospital violated laws by putting a man with mental illness in solitary confinement for 20 years

The Associated Press reports that the Staunton, Va., Western State Hospital's local human rights committee found that the facility violated laws governing the use of seclusion by holding a mentally ill patient in solitary confinement for 20 years.

But the committee said that the hospital did not violate laws concerning abuse and neglect.

Although the patient, identified as a Hispanic man in his late 50s, lived in solitary confinement in the hospital, he was allowed to go on outings with family members into the community.

One of the patient's attorneys, Nathan J.D. Veldhuis, said the family believes the hospital used solitary confinement "simply for administrative convenience."

"One of the greatest ironies in this case is that fact that he is somehow not dangerous enough to be released into the community unsupervised, under the watch of his family, but he is so dangerous that he must be locked in a room at all times once he's back in the hospital," Veldhuis said.

Veldhuis said the family would like to place the man, known as C.C., into a community treatment center but fear that his years without socialization could hurt those efforts.

"That fact that he has been in this place for so long is really going to make any type of transition a difficult thing," he said. "To be secluded and isolated from other human beings, in our view, is damaging by itself."

C.C. has been in solitary confinement for long periods of time since 1988 and has lived there permanently since 1993, his lawyer says.

Designing for disabilities

A bag cane

Forbes magazine recently featured a number of new products being designed for people with disabilities and others with mobility impairments. Many take into account universal design principles.

Forbes Web site has a photo slideshow of many of the new products.

The article focuses on the new design line from Michael Graves, 73, a well-known architect and designer who became paralyzed in 2003. The first group of products in the Michael Graves Active Living Collection will arrive in July.

Using his new experiences with disability, Graves designed the line "to help seniors--and others with physical limitations--cope at home and in the community."

Caring.com also had a Q&A with Michael Graves.

New radio program for people with disabilities in Australia launched

Radio show presenters, Nikki Portland,

Suzanne McGreevy and Mary Albury

A digital radio program in Queensland specifically for people with disabilities was launched June 5. The weekly show will focus on the shared experiences and challenges facing disabled people in Queensland, the ABC radio network in Australia reports.

The program's hosts (pictured above) all have cerebral palsy and say they hope to provide information and reduce feelings of isolation among their disabled listeners.

Topics such as employment opportunities for people with disabilities, disability services available and societal attitudes about disability will all be discussed, according to the Unviersity of Southern Queensland (USQ), whose community radio station, Phoenix Radio, is hosting the show.

The program, "Ipswich Connections," is named after its location, west of Brisbane. The hosts hope their weekly show will have a much wider reach - possibly international, because it will be available via the USQ Web site.

"We're going to interview a lot of people and we're going to talk about how people can get jobs like if they're disabled and to get people to call in and talk to us about our problems, co-host Nikki Portland says.

Co-host Mary Albury says, they want "to give people with disabilities a voice and promote people with disabilities and what's going on. We're hoping our show will help them by connecting them to services that maybe they can use and feel like they are connected to a community or a part of something."

International Spy Museum to become more accessible to people with visual impairments

School for Spies exhibit

International Spy Museum

After a June 3 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., will become more accessible to people with visual impairments.

Indiana University reports that Ray Bloomer, director of education for the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University, provided DOJ and the museum staff with technical assistance about how to better meet the accessibility needs of visitors with visual impairments.

Bloomer, who is blind and is a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, said "the settlement agreement requires the museum to provide for increased program access by including such design features as the provision of tactile maps of the museum and floor plan that visitors can borrow; qualified audio describers for any requested museum audiovisual presentations, computer interactives or exhibits; qualified readers to read labels in all exhibitions; and a representative sample of objects, models and/or reproductions of objects to communicate the main themes of the exhibitions for tactile examination, accompanied by audio description."

"This is a wake-up call to other museums," Bloomer said. "It lets people with disabilities, in particular those who are blind or have low vision, know that they have a right to receive equal benefit and enjoyment of the museum experience."

Michael Hughes first blind housemate on UK "Big Brother 9"

Michael "Mikey" Hughes, 33, a radio producer from Ayrshire, Scotland, has been announced as one of the housemates for the UK reality show "Big Brother 9." Hughes will be the first blind person to participate.

The Daily Telegraph says, "Mikey was born with Stickler's syndrome, a rare genetic condition which left him partially sighted. He was rendered totally blind after haemorrhaging during an operation to remove a cataract when he was 23. He works as a producer for Insight Radio, a station set up for blind and partially sighted listeners. He describes himself as 'zany.'"

Hughes wrote a narrative about his life here and describes some of the negative attitudes he has endured as a blind man. Hughes worked as a Research Associate with Proctor and Gamble, and then became a researcher for BBC Radio's "Good Morning Scotland" before his current position with Insight Radio. He has also performed occasionally as a stand-up comedian.

Dental care for disabled people grows more scarce in California

Cuts to California's Denti-Cal program are expected to go into effect in July and more reductions are planned, and people with disabilities who are on Denti-Cal already have enough trouble finding dentists who even know how to care for patients with disabilities, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Dr. Paul Glassman, co-director of the Pacific Center for Special Care at the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco, says "few dental schools teach students how to care for patients with disabilities. Over the last 12 years, the USC School of Dentistry has required every student to spend a week working in its Special Patients Clinic, one of the few clinics dedicated to patients with disabilities. But most dentists in private practice haven't had that kind of experience."

Also, low Denti-Cal payments for a person with a disability who is already under-employed or unemployed can mean few financial resources to pay for dental care.

A "dwindling numbers of dentists accept Denti-Cal patients because reimbursements are among the lowest in the country," according to the LA Times. "They will fall even lower under a 10% rate cut scheduled to go into effect July 1 as part of the Legislature's efforts to reduce the state budget deficit. And Denti-Cal doesn't pay extra for the additional time that goes into treating a patient with disabilities."

"You're asking dentists to do something they're not well-trained to do, that's going to take a lot of time, and they're going to be paid a third of their normal rate," Glassman said. "It's no surprise that a lot of people aren't lining up to do this kind of work."

And some dental care for people with disabilities requires hospitalization because the person requires general anesthesia to have a tooth pulled, a cavity filled or even just a cleaning. Many dentists don't have staff privileges at hospitals.

Two deaf rabbis ordained

Darby Leigh

Darby Leigh, 35, became the first deaf rabbi ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College last week and one of the few hearing-impaired rabbis in the country. The Jewish Week says this is "a milestone that points to the increasing diversity being found within all pockets of Judaism today."

“The acceptance/inclusion of Jewish Deaf by the Jewish community has been progressively [better] since 1990 when the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was signed,” said Steve Brenner, president of the Washington Society of Jewish Deaf. “More and more local Jewish agencies are providing interpreters for lectures and meeting. The same thing applies with synagogues ... [that are] more empathetic to the needs of Jewish Deaf people.”

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati also ordained its first deaf rabbi in 15 years, William Tepper, 50, last weekend. Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe became the first deaf woman ordained there in 1993.

“It’s incumbent upon Jews to demonstrate compassion, understanding, be accommodating and give the best of themselves, not just to other Jews but to all people with whom we share God’s earth and our streets, parks, stores, schools and everything,” Rabbi Tepper says.

“The Jewish people have a responsibility to embrace and welcome, so every constituency, young, old, able-bodied and challenged, have access to the most meaningful Jewish experience, so he or she can live the most meaningful Jewish life.”

Grandfather creates Web browser for grandson with autism

Zackary Villeneuve surfs the net.

John LeSieur, a Las Vegas resident who in the software business, saw how useless traditional Web browsers were to his 6-year-old grandson, Zackary, who has autism, so he built one specifically for children with autism and is now distributing it for free, The Associated Press reports.

Zac found the huge number of options presented by the computer frustrating.

But the Zac Browser For Autistic Children that LeSieur built "greatly simplifies the experience of using a computer," The AP reports. "It seals off most Web sites from view, to block violent, sexual or otherwise adult-themed material. Instead it presents a hand-picked slate of choices from free, public Web sites, with an emphasis on educational games, music, videos and visually entertaining images, like a virtual aquarium. It essentially takes over the computer and reduces the controls available for children like Zackary, who find too many choices overwhelming."

Zac's mother, Emmanuelle Villeneuve, reports that he can start the Zac Browser himself. "He enjoys listening to music through the program and trying puzzles — things he always liked before but hadn't been able to explore online," she said from the family's home in suburban Montreal.

New report on the term "wheelchair-bound"

The wheelchair-using cartoon character, Leeder O. Men,
is definitely not "bound" by his wheelchair!
Cartoon by John and Claire Lytle, www.dizabled.com.

By BA Haller

© Media dis&dat blog

If you've read this blog a few times, you know how much I despise the term "wheelchair-bound" -- it's inaccurate, stereotyping, patronizing, etc. I wrote about it in detail a few weeks after I first started the blog.

It's now almost six months since I began Media dis&dat, so I thought I would update everyone on the use of the term. I wish I could report it's gone away, but my Google alert finds at least one use of it each day in news stories or blogs (usually it's about three to 10 a day), and I have been writing the blog for about 170 days. And this is just what Google alerts find; I know it appears in news media stories that aren't searched by Google alerts.

Another reason to update you on this term is the sad passing of Harriet McBryde Johnson, who had a congenital neuromuscular disorder and saw her wheelchair as a form of liberation. She too couldn't abide the phrase "wheelchair-bound," and you can hear Harriet discuss the topic in an interview she gave at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

"I love wheelchairs, and can you imagine how confined or bound I would be if I didn't have one. I would have to be toted in people's arms all the time or dragged around in a sedan chair," Harriet said, explaining she never understood some newly disabled people's resistance to wheelchairs. "If they would just go with it, it would be an easy way for them to get from place to place and continue living their lives."

Stanford grad students solve quiet hybrid car problem for blind people

In 2007 the National Federation of the Blind reported that hybrid cars, because they make little noise at slower speeds, posed a hazard to blind pedestrians

"I'm used to being able to get sound cues from my environment and negotiate accordingly. I hadn't imagined there was anything I really wouldn't be able to hear," said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind's Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. "We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn't hear it."

Now two Stanford University graduate students have solved that problem by creating a soft, high-pitch hum that can be heard when the silent electric motor of the hybrid is engaged.

Everett Meyer, co-founder of Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics, who will graduate next week with an M.D./Ph.D. degree in immunology, and fellow founder Bryan Bai, who also will graduate next week with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, say that adding the sound is a public safety issue, especially for blind people who use their hearing to maneuver.

The Palo Alto Daily News says the California blind community already supports their invention.

"The specter is that any time you cross a street, you don't know if it's safe to cross. ... That's a fundamental change that's happened only in the past few years,'' said Brian Bashin, a member of the California National Federation of the Blind's Quiet Cars Committee. "In the previous 100 years, cars have always made enough noise.''

The patent-pending system designed by Meyer and Bai still will be quieter than most gasoline-engine cars.

"At less than 50 decibels, the sound is practically inaudible inside the car. But the system externally emits a soft engine noise from four speakers attached to the vehicle's front and rear," the Daily News reports.

The sound system plugs into the hybrid's computer system and takes less energy than a car radio.