Programs to Aid Mentally Disabled Could Receive a Boost in Funding

The Virginia General Assembly is considering a sharp increase in funding for community living programs for people with mental disabilities, continuing the state's efforts to reverse long-standing gaps in care.

The increase is being led largely by Republican budget writers in the House of Delegates, who announced a plan yesterday to increase state spending by $38.1 million over two years for programs for people with mental disabilities. The money would allow 800 people with such conditions as Down syndrome to live in group homes close to their families, or receive in-home nursing or other local services, instead of being placed in state institutions that are predominantly in the southern and western parts of the state.

The House plan rivals more modest proposals by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and the state Senate; both have offered enough money in their budgets for 150 additional people to receive vouchers that pay for their care through Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and the disabled. Members of both chambers will review the plans and negotiate a compromise, which must be approved by Kaine.

"We felt we had to continue our investment to these families," said Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News), who helped develop the plan. "We've taken some time to address our waiting list, and we wanted to continue the progress we've made."

Until several years ago, Virginia moved slowly in providing community placements and services, which generally are about half the cost of institutional care. In 2002, a national study found that about one in four Virginians with mental or developmental disabilities lived in institutions, twice the national rate.

Over the past four years, however, the state has added more than 1,350 group-home slots to address what many lawmakers acknowledged was the state's poor track record.

But the state still has a waiting list of 4,056 people, about half of whom are considered in urgent situations, such as an elderly parent taking care of an adult child. Advocates said that in a tight budget year, the potential for hundreds of additional slots shows a change in how the state is addressing issues of people with mental disabilities.

"This does show how far we've come," said Nancy Mercer, executive director of the Arc of Northern Virginia, which advocates on behalf of people with mental disabilities.

The differences in the three proposals are significant. If the House plan were to pass, for instance, Fairfax County and the city of Falls Church could help 93 people obtain community placements and services. If Kaine's or the Senate plan were to pass, the county and city would receive five slots.

Source: Washington Post

TURN Community Services Assists Disabled Citizens

This workroom is used to provide on-site employment sponsored by Smead to TURN clients.

By: Cathy Wentz
Residents with disabilities in the Cedar City area have a wide variety of services available to them through TURN Community Services.
Susan Johnson, director of operations for TURN in Southern Utah, said the agency provides any service that allows an individual with disabilities to remain integrated in the community where they live. Those services include family support services for a young child living at home as well as transition services for students in the schools and employment.
There are services for adults who live with their families, residential services and day programs, in individual or group settings, to assist disabled citizens who are unable to work. One of those programs is a day care program for situations where disabled citizens require daytime supervision such as someone suffering from age-related Alzheimer's Disease as well as other problems.
"We really try to tailor it to what the state offers and what we can offer," Johnson said.
She said TURN owns a small building next to its main office in Cedar City with some residents living there. However, their residential areas are all over the city, with many of the people that TURN helps renting their own apartments, and the agency goes to them.
Johnson said it is easier for TURN to own the property for some of its group homes because they can be maintained better for those who require 24-hour service.
"And we can do rent control and keep them low-cost," Johnson said.
She also said they work very closely with local housing authorities to make sure the people they serve qualify for available housing subsidies, and that their homes fit into those categories.
Linda Reeves is Director of Program Services for TURN, and she runs the rural program that provides services to disabled people at their homes in areas such Panguitch, Kanab and Beaver. Reeves also runs the day program in Cedar City.
She said the day program brings in individuals that do not have work skills to come in and learn skills and have a safe place to participate in activities rather than just sitting at home.
"They can be with their friends and visit," Reeves said.
She also said TURN tries to place individuals in jobs in the community if possible to see how they do.
"If they are able to work in an outside job, then that's our goal," Reeves said.
There is also a workroom on the premises where TURN clients can be employed making file folders for Smead, a local company.
Johnson said TURN got its start in 1973 when a group of parents from the Salt Lake City area had children with disabilities and wanted them to receive services in their own communities rather than having to be placed in institutions. Those parents got the program started in the Salt Lake area.
Johnson said TURN has merged with other non-profit organizations in Southern Utah and has grown that way. She said one of the organizations with which TURN merged in Cedar City was Iron Parke Corporation. That happened in 2001.
She said TURN has also merged the Association for Retarded Citizens of Washington County, which is located in St. George. She said that ARC is doing advocacy work, but not providing services at this time. TURN took over the provision of services in the Washington County area.
Johnson said TURN had an acronym a long time ago when the organization first began. She said the group continues to use the word TURN because they like the idea that people can turn a corner, turn their lives around and turn dreams into reality.
Although Johnson said she does not know the specifics about the first federal aid TURN received, the group that started TURN wanted to get more community-based programs and the government provided some funding for that. She said she believes they found a program that would help them get started, incorporated as a non-profit organization, and have been expanding ever since.
Johnson said most of the funding for TURN is through Medicaid-sponsored programs. The organization has contracts with the Department of Services for People with Disabilities through the state's human services department. She said the state provides funding directly to individuals who choose TURN, which is contracted as a Medicaid service provider, to assist them with the services they require.
Johnson said TURN has a contract with Five-County Area Aging, and receives grants for some of its programs such as housing.
"We also have some really nice donors in the business world who have helped with some of our programs," Johnson said. "In a non-profit (organization) you pretty much run by the skin of your teeth, and then try to get people to help you with donations."
Johnson said as a non-profit company, TURN is always faced with the fact that it will be looking for funding. She said although the SPD is wonderful resource for funding, they provide only the minimal amount needed, and not everyone served fits into that category.
She said the organization does its best to stay consistent with the growing economy in the area and provide good wages and health benefits for the staff.
"That's always a challenge," Johnson said.
TURN Community Services is located at 295 S. 300 East in Cedar City, and can be reached by phone at 586-1128.

Source: Cedar City Review

Disabled day care centre to close

A day care centre for disabled adults in Gwynedd is to close despite a protest by supporters.

Canolfan Segontium in Caernarfon is attended by 24 adults, many with severe disabilities.

Protestors said the care at the centre was exceptional and there was concern about what would happen to the people who used it if it closed.

Councillor Dai Rees Jones said the closure was not to save money but to improve the care of individuals.

Will and Dilys Parry Williams travelled to the meeting at Caernarfon from their home at Tregarth near Bangor.

Their daughter Rhian Mai, 37, has attended the centre since she was 18.

I can say, hand on heart, that this decision has not been taken to save money Dai Rees Jones, councillor

Mr Parry Williams said he was very disappointed the council was not looking at building a new centre, but rather at finding places for those who attended at various other locations in the county.

"My daughter has had the same carer, Karen Owen, since she started at Segontium, and we consider her part of our family," he said.

"Our daughter has a severe disability and although I have great respect for the other establishments within the county I don't think they have the facilities to care for her.

"What those attending the centre need is continuity of specialist care."

Cheryl Williams from Bethesda has a sister, Sharon, 49, who attends the centre.

"I don't think the council has thought through the closure properly.

"I accept the building where they are is unsuitable but what we need is another centre."

Elizabeth Pitts, from Llanberis has two daughters who attend the centre - Linda, 34 and Janet , 33.

'Individual care'

"There is no-where else where they can go," she said.

Social Services portfolio holder councillor Dai Rees Jones said the decision was taken so that the level of care could be improved - on the basis of individual need.

He said the council had not contacted families beforehand because there had not been anything concrete to say.

There was, he said, some money available if alternative care could not be organised for those attending the centre, and another centre needed to be built.

"I can say, hand on heart, that this decision has not been taken to save money," he added.

 

Source: BBC News

Hundreds of Disabled and Seniors at Capitol to Protest California Budget Cuts to Life Sustaining Services and Income

By Jovan Agee

After the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office today released its report on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2008-09 state budget, hundreds of Californians—all people who use or advocate for the state's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program—criticized the unnecessary and drastic proposal for 18 percent cuts in vital domestic services. Those cuts would mean that low-income people with disabilities and seniors lose precious hours of help with meal preparation, clean-up, housekeeping, laundry, and food shopping, all of which make it possible for them to avoid or delay costly and unnecessary institutional care.

"Which day of the week should I go without my meals, Mr. Governor? That's what you and other lawmakers are asking me to decide if you go forward with these cuts," said Herb Meyer, 76, a disabled consumer of IHSS services in Marin County.

Individuals eligible for IHSS services have disabilities, are 65 or older, or blind, and are unable to live safely at home without help. The IHSS program uses state, county and federal funding to enable IHSS consumers to hire a caregiver. Most of the people who use IHSS also rely on federal funds called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and state funds called State Supplementary Payments (SSP). They are among the 1.2 million blind, aged and disabled Californians who, who rely on this income for all of their living expenses; they cannot afford to pay for the home care services the state is proposing to cut.

People who rely on IHSS for home care and SSI/SSP are the targets of multiple cuts in the proposed state budget: the IHSS cut, no Cost of Living Adjustment for SSI; elimination of crucial Medi-Cal services; and cuts to other services and programs they rely on, including Adult Day Health Centers, and Adult Protective Services, among others.

Budget system must change to protect the poor

The coalition of home care supporters who rallied today at the state Capitol spoke out against the domino effect of multiple cuts and the unfair targeting of the poorest Californians.
"We need a fair balancing of this avoidable deficit crisis with a combination approach that includes raising revenue," said Frances Gracechild, Co-Chair of the Quality Homecare Coalition and Executive Director of Resources for Independent Living. "These across-the-board cuts are callous. When it comes to valuable programs like IHSS, state officials should stop blaming it on overspending. Increases in IHSS are largely pushed by demographic changes – California is growing and more people are living longer."

"For all those lawmakers who preach about performance-based budgeting, take a look at the IHSS program," said Joan Lee, Gray Panthers Statewide Liaison. "It saves the state money. It is not only a program that fits with what Californians expect for the most vulnerable residents of our state, but is responsibly managed and a good deal."

"Some of the tax relief that was prematurely given during the early Schwarzenegger administration should be returned by Californians who can afford yachts and expensive, luxury cars," said Bill Powers, Vice President of the California Alliance of Retired Americans.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut taxes when he first came into office by what is now nearly $5 billion annually, and has never made up the revenue lost. Reinstating the "car tax" at the center of the Governor's first election in 2003 would have produced more than $20 billion for the state coffers by 2008.

Previous attempts to cut IHSS failed

Since elected in 2003, Schwarzenegger has made other proposals to cut funding to the state's IHSS program, all of which lawmakers have rejected. IHSS routinely earns bipartisan support because of the savings it produces—keeping people safely in their homes and avoiding costly institutional care. The Legislative Analyst has estimated in past years that the annual average IHSS cost per person is $9,924, whereas the annual average cost of nursing home care is about $60,000.

"The IHSS program has always received bipartisan support, and is widely praised as a model state program for helping the elderly and disabled live independently," said Tyrone Freeman, President of SEIU United Long-term care Workers Union and Chair of the California Homecare Council. "So why attack the funding for this program now? Lawmakers should lead state residents to understand why raising revenue would uphold our nation's and California's values? It makes no sense."

Violation of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision
The cuts to IHSS and Medi-Cal and SSI/SSP also undermine California's compliance with the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead, in which the Court told the states that unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"How can the governor say he upholds the state's responsibilities to comply with Olmstead and at the same time cut the services which are at the very heart of any compliance?" said Deborah Doctor, Legislative Advocate at Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI).

The cuts also harm workers who provide home care.
"We object to the Administration's prediction that IHSS providers will continue to provide these for free," said Senior Assembly Member Lola Young. "Home care is work and deserves to be compensated. We'll see a higher rate of worker turnover, a loss of services, and a reduction in their quality of life. Workers in the IHSS program already live in poverty and many are eligible for food stamps. Few have access now to health insurance."

"The Governor believes that family providers will continue to do the work for free," said Laura Reyes, President of United Domestic Workers/AFSCME. "I have two problems with that assumption: First, almost half of all providers in this state are not family providers, but they too will be uncompensated for their work. Second, family providers help the state achieve savings through the IHSS program just like non-family providers so why is the Governor trying to target this group of workers. If there were no family and non-family providers the IHSS program would fail to exist and we would see budget deficits like the one this year every year because you would have over 400,000 elderly and disabled people receiving care at a much high cost."

"The cut in IHSS hours means consumers will have a more limited supply of home care providers, making it difficult to remain safely in their homes and possibly forcing them into institutions such as nursing homes," said Gary Passmore, Executive Director of the Congress of California Seniors.

The 2005 report, 'Living Wages and Retention of Homecare Workers in San Francisco' by Candace Howes, shows that wages and especially benefits have a significant impact on the retention of providers. In San Francisco, when wages increased to $9 per hour and comprehensive health insurance was added in 1999, the one-year retention rate for new providers increased from 33 percent to 61 percent between 1998 and 2003.

Because of the Governor's cuts, some IHSS providers will lose their crucial health benefits; the cut in just a few hours of work could put them below the eligibility limits set by the Public Authorities to qualify for health benefits (San Francisco requires 25 hours of service per month and Marin requires 85 hours of service per month).

Background on IHSS

County social workers assess people for IHSS and can authorize up to 283 hours per month of services. Services include housecleaning, meal preparation, laundry, grocery shopping, personal care services (such as bowel and bladder care, bathing, grooming, paramedical services, accompaniment to medical appointments, and protective supervision for individuals whose mental status or cognitive functioning poses a threat to their safety and well-being). IHSS is the largest publicly funded nonmedical program in the nation designed to help impoverished people with disabilities, the elderly, and blind live safely at home.

The proposed cut is a double-hit on consumers in shared living arrangements who have already had their hours reduced. When IHSS consumers live with a roommate or attendant, the assessment of need for domestic and related services related to their safety is pro-rated and reduces the number of hours approved under the program.

Many consumers receive the maximum number of hours authorized for domestic and related services through the IHSS program:

Meal Preparation 8.68 hours/week
Meal Cleanup 1.75 hours/week
Laundry 2.50 hours /week
Shopping For Food 1.00 hours/week
Other Shopping Errands 0.50 hours/week
Total Hours per Week 14.43 hours/week
Total Hours per Week Cut at 18% Equals -- 2.60 hours/week

"The growth occurring in the IHSS program while partially due to changing demographics, is a positive indication that more people are receiving services in the community instead of being placed in nursing homes," said Ed Andreas, Chair, Nevada Sierra Regional IHSS Governing Board.

Proposed cuts contradict state's expensive IHSS Quality Assurance initiative; endanger safety
The Administration's IHSS Quality Assurance Initiative required the State Department of Social Services to develop Hourly Task Guidelines (HTGs), a standard guide and tool for county social workers to accurately and consistently assess service authorizations on a statewide basis and authorize services and time more equitably throughout the state. The HTGs established a normal range of time for certain tasks and a guide for granting time inside and outside the guidelines as appropriate to meet the unique needs of IHSS recipients.

The proposed cuts contradict those Quality Assurance Hourly Task Guidelines

"This proposed 18 percent cut to domestic and related services completely undermines the entire concept of conducting individual assessments to provide sufficient hours to—as the law requires—'ensure the health, safety, and independence of the recipient,'" said John Wilkins, an IHSS consumer in Fresno County and Co-Chair of the Quality Homecare Coalition.

Jovan Agee is the political and legislative director for the United Domestic Workers of America in Sacramento.

Source: California Progress Report

Disabled passengers face long wait

Disabled rail passengers in Kingston could be facing a seven-year wait to use two of the busiest stations in the borough, despite the Government granting money to improve access at the sites earlier this month.

New Malden and Worcester Park stations have been granted a slice of £370million from the Department for Transport, rumoured to be over £1million, to make the platforms step-free, but upgrades are not scheduled for completion until 2012 at the earliest.

An 18-month feasibility study will take place at the stations to determine what changes are required to allow less mobile rail passengers such as wheelchair users, older people and parents with pushchairs better access to the platforms.

 

Ann Macfarlane, vice-president of the disability charity Kingston Centre for Independent Living, said she was currently unable to use either station because of her wheelchair and said speed was of the essence.

She said: "It's important that the sooner before 2015 this can be put into place the better, as it means we might be able to go to work, meet our friends and do all the things that people expect to be able to do.

"The design will need looking at because a lot of stations are being made step-free so you can get on to the platform but not necessarily on to the train, so you can go and wave someone off but can't actually travel.

"It's a real inconvenience at the moment because you have to think very carefully in advance about planning your route."

The money was successfully bid for by station owner South West Trains and will also be used to provide facilities such as hearing induction loops, passenger information screens and improved lighting.

A spokesman said: "It's not ideal - it's a long time but we realise that it can't happen overnight and it's something that is worth doing properly.

"Lots of stations were built years ago, when the needs of disabled people weren't thought about so much in society, but it's time to bring these stations into the 21st century."

Source: Wimbledon Guardian

Special Ed. Activists Complain Lincoln High Not Suitable for Disabled Students

Special education activists say the new Lincoln High School in South San Diego does not meet the needs of physically disabled students. They say the situation is causing a separate but unequal learning environment. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has the story.

Lincoln High is San Diego's newest and most expensive campus. It's divided in half by a steep bank of concrete stairs. As a result, physically disabled students go through a cumbersome process every day. That process includes having another person unlock a series of gates and a long trip around the baseball field. 

Doreen Dias Pesta is a special education worker. She says at least one student was denied a class because of the access issue.  

Pesta: From the hassle of having to get her up there, she did not get that class. And that is not right because our children's education should not be tailored around access.

Dias Pesta says adding a ramp would solve the problem.

San Diego school officials say the campus is not violating any federal laws because there are still ways for the students to get around on campus. 

Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.

Expo to focus on serving disabled

More than 100 organizations that provide services and products for people with disabilities will answer questions and distribute information at the Arizona Disabilities Expo.

Among the groups are the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Arizona Spinal Cord Association, Happy Tails Assistance Dogs and Wheelchair Getaways.

Doug Goddard, director of a Florida-based fishing program for kids and adults with disabilities, will speak at the event.

 

Details: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday at Phoenix Convention Center, Hall G, 33 S. Third St. Free. Susan DeNova, 602-470-1802, ext. 114, or www.azdx.com.

Man pleads to beating mentally disabled 15-year-old son

A Nageezi man pleaded guilty in district court Monday to beating his 15-year-old son with extension cords and jumper cables because the mentally disabled teen would touch himself in public.

Darrell Dennison, 39, pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree attempt to abuse a child, and could face up to 18 years in prison.

Dennison initially had been charged with first-degree child abuse, which carries a mandatory sentence of 18 years in prison if convicted, so prosecutors offered the plea bargain to give the man the chance of having the sentence reduced by the judge.

"The question is whether we can prove great bodily harm, which gets us to the first-degree (charge)," Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien said. "If you don't have great bodily harm you go straight to a third-degree. It's kind of a compromise."

Prior to the plea, the case was set to be decided by a jury Thursday.

"With the plea he's still at 18 years, but none of it's mandatory," said attorney Terry Walker, representing Dennison. "That from a legal standpoint is clearly in his best interest — that allows us the chance to present what I believe are mitigating circumstances to get him less than the 18 years."

Walker declined to comment on what those mitigating circumstances are.

Following the "spanking" incident Dennison, who is a single parent, was arrested in August 2007, after police found his teenaged son had welts and bruises all over his back and face.

After talking to the teen, police learned the man had his son pull down his pants during the beatings so he could also whip his bare body.

"(The victim) said he tried everything to make his father happy, but his father was still angry," arrest documents state.

When questioned on the beatings by police, the man admitted to hitting his son, according to police reports that quote him saying, "I went too far and took my frustrations out on him ... I deserve what I deserve."

"As we understand the facts of the case, we're talking about a single parent, raising a mentally disabled child, who was having parental difficulties more difficult than what a normal parent might encounter — however, that does not excuse his behavior," Prosecutor Eric Morrow said.

A sentencing hearing is set for March 3.

"There are some very specific things going on with his son," Walker said. "It was because of the sum total of the circumstances that had been going on for many, many, many years. I do not believe that he is a predator in the way we usually think of a predator."

Source: The Daily Times Farmington, New Mwxico

UK Government: Disabled people reap the rewards of the Disability Discrimination Act

RDATE:19022008

Public knowledge of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) increased significantly between 1996 and 2006, and according to new research released today, the Act has improved the lives of disabled people across the board - from their access to public transport to shopping at their local grocer.

The research uses data from the Disability Module of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Survey between 1996 and 2006 which looked at awareness of the Act, access to goods and services, access to transport (2005, 2006) and renting or buying a home.

It shows that over 70% of people are now aware of the Act by name, compared to only 40% in 1996, a year after DDA was first introduced.

Other key findings of the research are:

* 77% of disabled people reported that they did not have any problems using public transport

* 79% of disabled people in paid work said they had no trouble accessing goods and services compared to 59% of those not in paid work

* 80% of disabled people had no difficulties when shopping

* Less than 1% said they had been refused the sale or rental of a property because they were disabled.

 

* Awareness of the Act was higher among the wider population than among disabled people

* Those over 65 years old were less likely to know about the Act.

Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire, said:

"It is reassuring that awareness of DDA increased considerably between 1996 and 2006, as it plays an important part in protecting disabled people from discrimination in all areas of their lives. I'm particularly pleased to see the Act making a real difference to the everyday lives of disabled people - whether it's getting on a bus or going to the corner shop.

"The Government has shown its commitment to enforcing the civil rights of disabled people by significantly improving the original Act in 2005. It means that those with long term illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV infection, are now protected from discrimination. Public bodies also now have to actively promote the equal rights of disabled people.

"It is unacceptable that anyone is discriminated against or is excluded from using a service because of their impairment. We will continue to champion the rights of disabled people as we move towards giving them the same choice and control over their lives as the rest of the population."

Notes to Editors

1. The Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was passed in 1995 and aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. It protects disabled people in a range of circumstances, including employment, education, transport and the provision of goods, facilities, services and premises. Only those defined as disabled under the Act are entitled to its protection. Some provisions became law for employers in December 1996 while others have been added over time. The DDA 2005 amended the 1995 Act to place a duty on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. The Disability Equality Duty came into force on 5th December 2006.

2. ONS Omnibus Survey

The Omnibus Survey is conducted monthly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It asks approximately 1,500 to 2,000 adults questions on a number of different topics that vary from month to month. Data for the ONS Omnibus survey is collected by face-to-face interview, from a stratified random sample of individuals aged 16 years and over, living in private households in Great Britain.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funds a module on the ONS Omnibus survey that asks questions regarding the self-reported health and disability status of respondents. The main aim of the disability module on the ONS Omnibus Survey is to provide details of the experiences of disabled people in their day-to day lives and of the level of awareness across the whole population of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995).
 

3. Definition of disability used in the report

For the purposes of this analysis the definition used for a disabled person is someone who is likely to be covered by the DDA, which is calculated in the dataset by individuals' responses to the first six questions in the disability module of the ONS Omnibus Survey. This figure is not to be considered as a measure of prevalence of disability but instead it identifies a population that are likely to be covered by the DDA.

Office for Disability Issues Research Report 001 - The Disability Discrimination Act:

Analysis of Data for the ONS Omnibus Survey 1996-2006 is published on 19 February 2008. The reports are available on the ODI website http://www.officefordisability.gov.uk

CONTACT: Department for Work And Pensions WWW: http://www.dwp.gov.uk

((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).

This is a news service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service ©2006. This content is for your personal use only, subject to Terms and Conditions. No redistribution allowed.
 

List of five well known and famous people who use and used wheelchairs

Stephen Hawking - Professor Stephen Hawking is a well-known example of a person with MND, and has lived for more than 40 years with the disease. Stephen Hawking: The internationally renowned Physicist, has defied time and doctor?s pronouncements that he would not live 2-years beyond his 21 years of age when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); also known as Lou Gehrig?s disease. The symptoms are very similar to those of CP, Hawking cannot walk, talk, breathe easy, swallow and has difficulty in holding up his head. Hawking, 51, was told 30 years ago, when he was a not-very-remarkable college student.

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 ? April 12, 1945), He was the 32nd President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms of office. In August 1921, while the Roosevelts were vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Roosevelt contracted an illness, at the time believed to be polio, which resulted in Roosevelt's total and permanent paralysis from the waist down. Roosevelt refused to accept that he was permanently paralyzed. He tried a wide range of therapies, including hydrotherapy. Fitting his hips and legs with iron braces, he laboriously taught himself to walk a short distance by swiveling his torso while supporting himself with a cane. In private, he used a wheelchair, but he was careful never to be seen in it in public. In 2003, a peer-reviewed study found that it was more likely that Roosevelt's paralytic illness was actually Guillain-Barr�yndrome, not poliomyelitis.

 

Theodore DeReese Pendergrass, Sr. (born March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Pendergrass' career began when he was a drummer for The Cadillacs, which soon merged with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Melvin invited Pendergrass to become the lead singer after he jumped from the rear of a stage and started singing his heart out. On March 18, 1982, in Philadelphia, Pendergrass was involved in an automobile accident when the brakes failed on his Rolls Royce and he hit a tree, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down with a spinal cord injury. After completing six months in rehabilitation, he returned to the studio to record the album Love Language, featuring the 1984 ballad "Hold Me", a duet with a then-unknown Whitney Houston.

 

Christopher Reeve - Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 ? October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He portrayed Superman - Kal-El - Clark Kent in four films, from 1978 to 1987. In the 1980s, he also starred in several films, including Somewhere in Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), The Bostonians (1984), and Street Smart (1987). In May 1995, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in an accident during an equestrian competition. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries, and for human embryonic stem cell research after this accident. He founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Reeve died at age 52 on October 10, 2004 from cardiac arrest caused by a systemic infection

 

Itzhak Perlman - (born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and pedagogue. He is one of the most distinguished violinists of the late 20th century. Perlman contracted polio at the age of four. He made a good recovery, learning to walk with the use of crutches. Today he uses a wheelchair or walks with the aid of crutches on his arms and plays the violin while seated. Critics say it is not the music alone that makes his playing so special. They say he is able to communicate the joy he feels in playing, and the emotions that great music can deliver.

 

Source: Disabled World

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health

Expert links additive to cell damage. (May 27, 2007)

 

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.

Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA."

A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited".

Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date.

"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."

He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.

Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government..

 

source: The Independent 

York unveils new public toilets for disabled people

FOUR special toilets and changing facilities for people with disabilities are to be opened in the city.

City of York Council has approved plans to develop the new facilities, called Changing Places, as part of a drive to become an "accessible city" for people with disabilities,.

The first Changing Places will open on Friday at the new Explore Centre in Acomb.

Further facilities will open in Walmgate, Silver Street and Hungate Civic Centre.

The news comes as York's infamous Splash Palace prepares to close its doors.

Bill Hodson, the council's director of housing and adult social services, said that suitable toileting and changing areas were needed throughout the city and the council was committed to delivering these for the people who needed them.

He said: "This is a very positive start in meeting people's very specific needs to help them access the city.

"Proper toileting facilities are extremely important and will help more people enjoy York's many amenities.

"It is our aim to have a Changing Places available within a ten-minute walk around the city centre."

Changing Places are toilet facilities for people whose needs are not met by a standard disabled toilet.

They include a tracking hoist system, a height adjustable changing bench and adequate space in the changing area for the disabled person and up to two carers. They also have a centrally placed toilet with room either side for the carers and a screen or curtain to allow the disabled person and carer some privacy.

Coun Sue Galloway, Liberal Democrat executive member for adult social services, said she was delighted that better disabled facilities were finally put in place.

She said: "It has been a long-held wish of mine that we could find a way to provide changing facilities for the disabled in York ever since a resident from Wallsend, Northumberland, wrote to me in 2005.

"At the time she said that she loved visiting York with her disabled daughter and would like to spend more time here but was unable to do so because of the lack of toileting and changing rooms. I shall now be writing to update her on our progress."

The decision comes after the planned demolition of the Splash Palace next year.

The building, at the south end of Parliament Street, opened amid a blaze of controversy in 1992 as part of a wider revamp of the city centre.

But it drew much criticism from locals and tourists, and the state of the toilets there has been a constant source of dismay.

The toilets are to be replaced by a new block which is to be provided in Silver Street, off Newgate Market.

Source: York Press

Deputy Arrested For Dumping Disabled Man

The deputy accused of dumping a man out of his wheelchair was arrested Saturday morning.The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued an arrest arrant for Charlette Marshall-Jones after a video showed Jones tipping a paralyzed man, Brian Sterner, out of his wheelchair during booking at a jailhouse.Jones turned herself in to the Orient Road Jail at 5 a.m. Saturday morning. She bonded out at 6:18 a.m.

Jones faces charges of abuse of a disabled person, a third-degree felony. If convicted, she could be sent to prison for five years.

Source: Welsh Orlando

Calculating Social Security for Disabled Children

We have two daughters who are autistic. I understand that when they turn 18 they will be eligible for Social Security payments at a rate of half of my anticipated benefit. Since there are two children involved, will they reduce each other's benefit or my future retirement benefit? I am 50 years old.

My wife hasn't worked for pay for many years. Would the benefit calculations for our children be increased, decreased or unchanged if both parents had paid into the system?

Steve Lester
Winter Park, Fla.

Social Security payments to your family may be impacted because of limits on family payments, but your retirement benefits would be intact, according to Mickie Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore.

Actually, your children may be eligible for benefits today, depending on your financial situation. From birth to age 18, children may receive monthly payments under the Supplemental Security Income program, or SSI, if they have impairments that meet Social Security's definition of disability for children, and if your family's income falls within certain limits.

If your daughters aren't eligible for SSI currently because you and your wife have too much income, they may become eligible for SSI at age 18. At that point, your income will no longer be counted in the financial limits. To qualify, your children can't do what Social Security calls "substantial" work, meaning they are unable to earn more than $940 a month. (There are different limits for people who are disabled because of blindness.)

At age 18, your daughters also may qualify for a benefit based on your work record. But they will have to wait until you start collecting Social Security retirement benefits to qualify for those payments. Under the Social Security Disability Insurance program, or SSDI, adult children age 18 or older may receive monthly payments if they meet three conditions:

The impairment or combination of impairments meets Social Security's disability definition.

The disability began before age 22.

One of the parents worked long enough to be insured under Social Security and either is receiving retirement or disability benefits or has died.

Even though the rule of thumb is that dependents get half the worker's retirement or disability-benefit amount, the actual amount depends on three factors: the worker's earnings record; the timing of the worker's retirement-benefit claim; and the number of dependents. If you start collecting Social Security retirement payments before your "full retirement age," which you can look up at ssa.gov under "Plan Your Retirement," you permanently lower your monthly benefit amount.

If your family includes more than one dependent, as yours would, the benefits paid to you and your dependents would be combined into a "family benefit amount." That amount could be less than the payments the worker and separate dependents would receive if the benefits were paid separately. Your family could get as much as 180% of the retired worker's benefits, but the exact amount depends on a complex Social Security formula. The worker's benefit wouldn't be reduced, but the dependents' benefits could be reduced proportionately if your family's total benefit exceeds the limit.

And, as you suspected, if your wife went back to work, she might be eligible for a larger benefit: The maximum family benefit doesn't apply to spouses when each spouse is collecting retirement benefits based on his or her own work record.

But again, your dependents' benefits could be affected depending on the individual situation, so it's a good idea to check with your local Social Security office (which you can locate at www.ssa.gov) for information specific to your situation.

For more general information, go to Social Security's Web site, ssa.gov, and look up "Benefits for Children" (Publication No. 05-10085), "Benefits for Children with Disabilities" (Publication No. 05-10026), "Supplemental Security Income (SSI)" (Publication No. 05-11000) and "Disability Benefits" (Publication No. 05-10029).

Source: Wall Street Journal