Oregon State University Study: Social Media Creates Stigma and Stereotypes

Includes both text and a short video. I wonder if they screened for bots producing stigmatizing messages....

https://goo.gl/WL8Axh

With the help of a software to analyze comments and sentiments posted on the social media, a group of researchers have found that more than half of the tweets by private Twitter account users contained stigma. This is especially true when pertaining to Alzheimer's disease and the people who are suffering from this condition.

This new software was developed by the researchers from Oregon State University to analyze social media comments and to better understand the human behavior and tendencies that can cause stigma and reinforce stereotypes, Science Daily reported.

The newly developed software is said to be applicable to other questions related to science research, and according to the researchers, most people make the mistake of overlooking the power of social media to surpass the type of verbal or face-to-face communication that everybody has gotten used to. People do not think of the way that their posts or comments would actually make an impact to the readers

United Airlines made me ABANDON my mobility device at the gate before my honeymoon

An astounding story of the rule of petty bureaucracy over accommodation and people with disabilities....

https://goo.gl/vRZcUY

I did everything right, according to both United and TSA’s disability policies. The TSA told United it was OK.

But that still didn’t ensure I could travel with the device that lets me get around. And it didn’t save my honeymoon from near-ruin when I was threatened with arrest.


Summer Camps Must Reasonably Accommodate Children with Disabilities

https://goo.gl/D3XEjN

With summer approaching, parents and camps alike are making plans for terrific, fun opportunities for young campers to learn new skills and grow in their confidence and abilities. The United States Attorney’s Office has taken the opportunity to increase the understanding of camp organizers and parents about the law that pertains to camps which ensures that all children are welcome, especially those with disabilities. To help ensure that children with disabilities are allowed the opportunity to attend summer camp, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recently sent the attached flyer to hundreds of summer camps located within the District of South Carolina reminding them of their responsibilities and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

Under the ADA, summer camps, both private and those run by municipalities, must make reasonable modification to enable campers with disabilities to participate fully in all camp programs and activities. This generally means that children with disabilities are entitled to attend any camp or activity that non-disabled children attend, that camps must evaluate each child on an individual basis, and that camps must train their staff in the requirements of the ADA.  Camps are obligated to pay for the cost of any reasonable modifications necessary for disabled children to participate in camp activities, and parents should not be charged any additional fee beyond standard camp enrollment costs.


Disabled Sue Oregon for Service Cuts

The Future for all of us????

https://goo.gl/31GuGf

Thousands of disabled Oregonians will be hurt by inexplicable cuts to in-home services, a disability rights group claims in a federal class action.

Five people with disabilities, using pseudonyms, sued the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Office of Development Disabilities Services over the cuts which began last September. Three plaintiffs have autism spectrum disorders, and two have cerebral palsy.

They say the cuts violate their due process rights, and “put some members of the class at serious risk of segregation and isolation, in violation of the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.”

“The defendants supplied no individualized explanation for those cuts, justifying them only by citing to an opaque needs assessment tool, whose operation is not explained in the notice or anywhere else,” the complaint states.

Why We Must Not Go Gently Into The Night

https://goo.gl/Oseg1k

Of course it is personal, I tell him.  It's about our lives, the lives of my children, the lives of members of my community.  We're here to debate the worth of our lives and argue that we must be assisted to live before we're assisted to die. 

He doesn't understand.  I can see it in his eyes.  Why would you want to die?  Who would make you die if it was against your will?  My eyes meet the eyes of another woman, and she patiently explains more.  Slowly, carefully.  But still he looks confused.

We're trying to cram a thousand complex messages into twelve minutes worth of sound bites, and it's impossible. 
'It's not possible to explain that the concept of 'intolerable suffering' in the legislation is flawed, because half of us live in poverty, are victims of abuse, have no access to care and support - our 'intolerable suffering' comes often not from our disabilities but from external sources.  We don't have time to explain the concepts of ableism and how daily discrimination impacts upon our lives and often causes our deaths.  Or how we often want to die because our lives are of such poor quality - although mental health conditions are outlawed under the legislation, most of us experience poor mental health as a consequence of marginalisation.   
Our degenerative disabilities make us eligible for a fast path to the grave, despite the careful weasel wording in the Bill - all disabilities arise from a 'medical condition'.  And they will absolutely not understand that their 'safeguards' are meaningless to us - their trusted medical professionals are often our executioners because of their perceptions of our 'quality of life'.  We are switched off in hospitals every month.' 


Part One: How to Work Part-Time While On SSDI or SSI

This contribution and a follow-up in about a week were authored by Deanna Power.......

You can find the follow-up article at http://normdelisle.posthaven.com/how-to-work-part-time-while-on-ssdi-or-ssi

Working while on disability benefits can feel like a tricky feat to achieve. Because the approval process can be lengthy and stressful, some applicants may worry that attempting to work may jeopardize their benefits. 

However, the SSA encourages both SSDI and SSI benefit recipients to try working if they feel able. In fact, both have work incentives in place specifically for those that wish to try working while still receiving their benefits. You might be able to start working part-time while still receiving monthly disability insurance. 

SSDI, SGA, and Trial Work Periods 

Many people with intellectual disabilities can receive SSDI if their parents are disabled or receiving Social Security retirement benefits. While SSDI is a great benefit for those enrolled, sometimes recipients feel as if they’d like to start working. While there are limitations to the nature of work that can be done, the SSA collaborates with any recipient looking to do so. 

Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) 

Recipients of SSDI are not allowed to make more than $1,170 per month in 2017 (or $1,920 for people who are blind) to still be qualified as “totally and permanently disabled”. This number (referred to as SGA) is the same amount that applicants must fall under in order to qualify for SSDI in the first place. Those who make more than the SGA without informing the Social Security Administration (SSA) can have their benefits revoked. However, recipients can choose to enter a “trial work period” instead. 

Trial Work Periods 

Trial work periods are temporary work allowances that permit SSDI recipients to find work while still receiving benefits. This work period is nine months long and does not have to be used consecutively (i.e. 5 months attempted at one job, 4 months attempted at another job one year later). Any month where an SSDI recipient earns more than $840 is considered a trial work month. Regardless of earnings, SSDI workers still receive full benefits during these nine months. If the recipient decides to stop working after this time, they can still receive full benefits as they did prior to the trial work period. However, they can also opt to keep working for slightly different benefits if desired. 

Extended Periods of Eligibility 

Those who continue working after a trial work period enter into a 36-month “extended period of eligibility”. During this time, SSDI recipients can continue part-time work without permanently losing their benefits. Recipients continue to get SSDI benefits for every month where they earn under the SGA. During months where earnings surpass the SGA, recipients do not receive their SSDI payment. 

If the recipient chooses to keep working after this 36 months, they will no longer receive SSDI. However, if the disability returns and again prevents the worker from continuing as normal, the SSA gives former recipients a 5-year grace period during which benefits can be started again. This is called “expedited reinstatement”. 

SSI, Income Evaluation, and Work Incentive Programs 

SSI functions slightly differently than SSDI, as it benefits people who may never have held jobs previously. Not only are recipients encouraged to return to work while on SSI, but the government has multiple programs in place to help recipients acclimate and train for new jobs as well. 

SSI Income Limit

Just as with the initial application process, the income limit for SSI recipients is $735 for individual applicants and $1,103 for couples. When income is evaluated to see if it qualifies, the SSA will only count half of a recipient’s earned income after the first $85, giving recipients incentive to return to work if possible. For example: for a man who makes $1000 in a month, the SSA subtracts $85, then divides the remainder ($915) in two. The SSA counts his income as $457.50 (instead of $1000) and subtracts this from his monthly SSI benefits check. There are also exclusions for certain other forms of income, such as SNAP benefits (food stamps) or student loans.

Aside from providing benefits while recipients work, the SSA also provides multiple options to recipients who need help returning to (or starting) a career. 

Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) 

PASS plans are free and available to all SSI recipients. They allow people to set aside funds to purchase services, classes, or equipment necessary for recipients to learn a trade, go to school, or return to work. These funds are not counted as assets when the SSA figures out your monthly SSI checks, so recipients have a way to save without their benefits lessening. 

Ticket to Work Program 

The Ticket to Work program is also available to everyone getting SSI. Recipients are helped into vocational schools or employment training services provided by their state to learn trades that may help them find work. Because the process is more lengthy and in-depth, it is intended for SSI recipients that are looking to work full-time and develop a career. 

Keeping in Contact With the SSA 

Regardless of program or method, any recipients of disability benefits must stay in constant contact with the SSA to report income and changes in medical status, if necessary. Every month, the SSA must see any pay stubs or changes in employment status to ensure that your earnings still qualify you for your benefits program. If the SSA discovers unreported earnings, it is possible to lose benefits altogether, so it is very important to keep them up-to-date when looking to return to work.

Many older adults will need help with managing their medicines and money

https://goo.gl/BrP1kD

In a study of nearly 9500 individuals aged 65 and older who did not need help in managing medications or finances, many needed assistance as time went on.

Over 10 years, 10.3% of those aged 65 to 69 needed help managing medications and 23.1% needed help managing finances. These rates rose with age, to 38..2% and 69%, respectively, in those over age 85. Women had a higher risk than men, especially with advancing age. Additional factors linked with an increased risk for both outcomes included a history of stroke, low cognitive functioning, and difficulty with activities of daily living.

The findings highlight the importance of preparing older adults for the likelihood that they will need assistance with managing their medicines and finances.

"These aspects are very important to patients' life and are not traditionally assessed in practice," said Dr. Nienke Bleijenberg, lead author of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society study. "It is important that professionals ask about these serious daily functions at an early stage to reduce the consequences and burden of these impairments."


My "Speial Needs" Entourage

https://goo.gl/S4kCcv

I hate to say it, but I’m rapidly becoming one of those “special needs” people. Whenever I write or say “special needs” I always put it in quotes because, I don’t know, it just seems like the kind of thing that should always be put in quotes.

But the older I get the more crippled I get. And the more crippled I get the more “special” my “needs” become. Pretty soon I’m gonna need an entourage of specialists to follow me around and meet my “special needs.”

Here are some of the job titles:

Waker upper. These are the people who will follow me around carrying cattle prods and or Taser guns. Because now every night I have to sleep hooked up to bulky-ass breathing machine because I go through long periods where I stop breathing while I’m sleeping. I call it Old Cripple Syndrome. And when the doctor prescribed the machine for me he told me I’d better not ever sleep without it, not even for one night, or my brain might get starved for oxygen and that could cause me to have a heart attack or stroke. And he said I’d better not even doze off while riding in the car or reading or anything without being hooked up to my machine. And now I hate that doctor for being honest with me like that because now I’m paranoid about spontaneously falling asleep. It’s terrifying to think about what might happen to me if my brain was deprived of oxygen, even for a few minutes. I might turn into a republican.

So the job of my waker-upper will be to remain alert and vigilant and if I ever doze off without my machine, shock me back to consciousness.


The Power of 504 (full version, open caption, English and Spanish)

https://goo.gl/5faegV

The award-winning 18-minute documentary video, which captures the drama and emotions of the historic civil rights demonstration of people with disabilities in 1977, resulting in the signing of the 504 Regulations, the first Federal Civil Rights Law protecting people with disabilities. Includes contemporary news footage and news interviews with participants and demonstration leaders. Available in open caption, audio descriptive and standard formats.


Assisted Suicide, The Musical could change your mind on euthanasia

https://goo.gl/LIzICh

Carr describes Assisted Suicide: The Musical as a "TED talk with show tunes" and, if the musical theatre can be a bit amateurish, Carr's oratory is brilliant and persuasive. I thought I knew where I stood on the assisted suicide debate, but her fierce intelligence, erudition and sardonic wit left me much less certain.

A vaudevillian opening number lightly mocks the liberal bandwagon Carr is up against, and the best song – a duet between Carr and the Pope – makes clear the bemusement this left-wing progressive feels at being surrounded by conservative allies.

It's a show that probes the rhetoric of "choice" in relation to suicide, exposes abuses in jurisdictions that have euthanasia laws, and reveals questionable tactics in the global "right to die" movement (including whitewashing "suicide" into less confronting euphemisms).

One strong objection Carr raises is that giving assisted suicide the imprimatur of law, society and the medical profession will force disabled people, especially those in pain, to live with an exit sign over their heads. An internal debate Carr has with her alter-ego reveals how she might avail herself of the "right to die" in a moment of weakness.