Disability Futures

The study, Disorientated and Immobile: The Experience of People with Visual Impairments During and After the Christchurch, New Zealand 2010 and 2011 Earthquakes, was recently published in the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. It involved 12 face-to-face interviews conducted after the September 2010 quake, but prior to the fatal 2011 February quake. Then, in February 2012, seven of the original participants were re-interviewed about how more than a year of earthquakes had affected their lives. Three staff members from the Blind Foundation were also interviewed in April 2011. The paper was co-authored by Dr Good and Dr Phibbs, along with Kerry Williamson, a research assistant from the Ministry of Justice.

Dr Phibbs says the research, a first of its kind in the world, highlighted the importance of communication and technology, personal and agency support, orientation and mobility, health, rebuilding independence, rehabilitation, coping and resilience.

“Participants demonstrated creative problem-solving abilities, resilience and community spirit. However our findings indicate that older visually impaired people are among the most vulnerable in disasters, and more work needs to be done to prepare them,” she says.

“I could hear crockery falling and breaking in the living room and in the kitchen and I thought ‘I don’t know what to do.’ I’ve been told many, many times during an earthquake go and stand under a door jamb but I couldn’t even get there.” – Anonymous research participant.

“This is the first time people with vision disabilities experiences of sequential earthquake activity has been tracked both before and after a catastrophic disaster anywhere in the world, and the results of our study provide a rare insight into the impact of disasters on those who are older and living with vision disabilities,” Dr Phibbs says.

Google Doodle paid homage on Monday to what would have been the 78th birthday of pioneering disability campaigner Ed Roberts — who fought throughout his lifetime for people with disabilities to have the right to fully participate in society — with artwork featuring the activist giving a lecture from his wheelchair.

The late American activist was paralyzed from the neck down after contracting polio at the age of 14. “I watched Ed as he grew from a sports-loving kid, through bleak days of hopelessness, into self-acceptance of his physical limitations as he learned what was possible for him to accomplish,” his mother Zona Roberts said, according to Google. 

(T)here are also so many cheap and even free ways to better equip a house for those living with vision loss, from mild to severe.  Let’s break it down room by room with some tips for making your home safe and suitable.

The kitchen

The kitchen can be the scariest room in the house for someone with vision loss. It’s intimidating. Cooking, and even simple tasks like getting a glass of water, can seem daunting, depending on the level of visual impairment.

When it comes to cooking, there’s no reason to make it hard on yourself. Cooking over open flame might be too much, so opt for easier methods of cooking – like slow cooking. Products like the Instant Pot take a lot of the work out of preparing meals. You can use it as a pressure cooker, a traditional slow cooker, a rice cooker or a steamer. You can even sauté in it. The amount of cooking you’ll do in it will make the price tag worth it over time.

In January 2016, I took part of a round table entitled The Disabled People’s Protagonism in the Arts. It was organized by Paula De Renor, one of the directors of the international performing arts festival Janeiro de Grandes Espetáculos (January of Great Performances). This roundtable was our third collaboration working with disabled artists, and it was a huge success. Many conversations blossomed from there.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be blind and deaf? Here’s your chance to find out.

We invited visitors to Perkins School for the Blind’s Facebook page to submit questions for Perkins’ spokesperson Jaimi Lard, who was born deaf with severely limited vision. With help from her tactile sign language interpreter Christine Dwyer, here are Jaimi’s answers to those questions.

What’s it like to be deafblind?

Two sisters documenting the jerks and perks of living #TheDisabledLife. If you have a topic idea or want to contribute, send an Ask or Submit your own work! Blog and artwork by Jessica and Lianna. You can now e-mail us at thedisabledlife@gmail.com. 

"Welcome to our internet abode! Most posts are just based off our life experiences. To the able-bodied: other people with disabilities may or may not agree with our views. And that's cool! Because us disabled folks are people too, with a wide range of opinions on stuff. On that note, to all folks, enjoy our blog!" 
- Love: Jess & Li

Emergency Preparedness is a subject that is relevant and discussed several times throughout the year, as there are different risks during different seasons. Unfortunately, too many people don't take the time or minimal effort to become prepared prior to an emergency. This past few weeks included many examples of the types of events that require us to be prepared.

Earthquakes and flooding around the globe required many people to evacuate and find shelter elsewhere when their homes or communities were destroyed.

In many of these disasters, people were unprepared for such unexpected emergencies. Examples of that were plentiful during media interviews in shelters after the Tennessee towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge burned at the end of November. Many victims had mere minutes to evacuate, escaping with only the clothes they were wearing at the time. Those interviewed were not bemoaning the loss of their property, despite the destruction of over 700 structures; they were simply thankful that they and their family members were able to escape.

Those of us who are paralyzed and require the use of mobility devices or specialized transportation, perhaps public transportation, may not be able to move out of the area as quickly when an evacuation notice is issued. We are at increased risk, but can reduce that risk by being fully prepared to shelter in place or to evacuate early if an emergency situation appears likely to require an evacuation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled a list of items that are considered to be a necessary part of each household's Basic Disaster Supplies kit. The availability of these items can make it possible to shelter in place for several days in the event of emergencies that make it impossible to leave the home. Prolonged power outages, loss of water supply or road closures due to flooding or snow are just a few examples of what might make sheltering in place necessary.

For people who are paralyzed, some additional items that are not on the FEMA list should be added. These and other critical items that might be needed after evacuating should be stored in a "go bag" that is immediately available whenever we must leave our homes in an emergency. As an example, my go bag is stored in the entryway closet in a red duffel bag so that it will be more visible when leaving the home in an emergency. There may not be time to search through supplies to assemble the contents of a go bag that would be useful during several days in a shelter.

The U.S. Access Board has issued new accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) under section 510 of the Rehabilitation Act. The standards provide design criteria for examination tables and chairs, weight scales, radiological and mammography equipment, and other diagnostic equipment that are accessible to people with disabilities. They include requirements for equipment that requires transfer from mobility aids and address transfer surfaces, support rails, armrests, and other features. The Board developed the standards in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration.

"The new standards will be instrumental in ensuring access to health care services," states Regina Blye, Vice Chair of the Access Board. "The Board is pleased to fill this gap in accessibility because diagnostic equipment has remained problematic for many people with disabilities due largely to the lack of design specifications for making such equipment accessible."

Barriers to diagnostic equipment include equipment height and other dimensions, the lack of supports and features necessary for transfer, and the characteristics of contact surfaces. The standards address these as well as other features such as operable parts and patient instructions. The provisions are organized based on use position (standing, lying down, or seated) and whether transfer from wheelchairs is necessary. In addition to the final rule, which includes a discussion of the requirements and background on how they were developed, the Board released an assessment of the benefits and impacts of the standards and an overview of the rule.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with mental health disabilities and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) from discrimination within the criminal justice system.  Pursuant to the ADA, state and local government criminal justice entities—including police, courts, prosecutors, public defense attorneys, jails, juvenile justice, and corrections agencies—must ensure that people with mental health disabilities or I/DD are treated equally in the criminal justice system and afford them equal opportunity to benefit from safe, inclusive communities.  Nondiscrimination requirements, such as providing reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures and taking appropriate steps to communicate effectively with people with disabilities, also support the goals of ensuring public safety, promoting public welfare, and avoiding unnecessary criminal justice involvement for people with disabilities.   

The ADA also requires State and local governments to avoid discriminating against people with mental health disabilities or I/DD in administering services, and to serve people with these disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.  Effective implementation of these requirements will help people with these disabilities receive the community-based services they need.  Furthermore, increased collaboration and improved resource allocation between criminal justice agencies and disability service systems can also help reduce the social, vocational, economic, and educational disparities people with disabilities experience.

This document highlights opportunities to increase ADA compliance and positive community outcomes through improved policies, effective training, use of data, resource allocation, and collaboration between criminal justice entities and disability service systems.  The Department of Justice hopes this technical assistance will promote the safety and welfare of both individuals with disabilities and criminal justice personnel.