Disability Futures

Following are "aging in place" home ideas for under $500.

Replace the old shower head with a handheld shower on a hose.

If possible, buy one with a "trickle control" on the handle that lets you turn the water flow to a trickle so you don't waste water while "soaping up."

If you're handy and can screw it on yourself, the cost is less than $100. If you have a plumber install it, cost will be about $175- to $200.

Install a sturdy grab bar on the wall where you step into the shower or tub. At one of big box stores you'll pay $30 to $60 for a nicer bar. If you have a pro install it, expect to pay $175 to $200 per bar, including the bar itself.

And more.....

Human echolocation is simple science that can be easily understood and put into practice in a very short time. Soon, you will have an entirely new perspective on your surroundings and a whole new confidence level in your life. There is no need to rush into it or practice in public if you are not comfortable. Learn the concepts on your own time, in the comfort of your own home. Echolocation can be a great supplement to other forms of O&M, using it once in a while as necessary, or it canbe one of your primary modes of orientation allowing you to see in great detail and even go “sight-seeing”.

We wish to engage in dialogue with you about the serious concerns we have over Ms. Tucker’s work in her previous position at Compassion & Choices that has placed members of the disability community in significant danger.

As you probably know, many prominent disability rights organizations across the U.S. have taken formal positions opposing assisted suicide laws. The legalization of assisted suicide is a very serious problem, and is of the utmost importance to many in the disability community. Ms. Tucker’s actions have significantly and directly aided in establishing assisted suicide laws, and she has materially contributed to the efforts toward their further legalization, in state after state. While Ms. Tucker’s work on pain relief is laudable, it is overshadowed by her work toward the legalization of assisted suicide through her leadership role at Compassion & Choices.

In an article in The Atlantic, Lawrence Carter-Long and David M. Perry chronicle several tragic instances of people with disabilities victimized by the police: individuals with cerebral palsy forcibly arrested because officers thought they were drunk; a deaf man Tasered repeatedly because he couldn’t hear the police. The list is unending, and each case involves police mistaking disability for noncompliance.

The disability community recently crafted the hashtag #DisabilitySolidarity to discuss crucial aspects of life for people with disabilities, specifically for people of color. Countless users tweeted about prejudice, intersectionality, and police discrimination.

While most police officers do receive training on “the special needs population,” the problem is they are trained to defuse situations by issuing commands, such as “Drop that!” and “Get on the ground!” When officers encounter individuals who are unable to follow or understand these commands, like those with mental or physical disabilities, impatient officers can react quickly and forcibly—often with deadly consequences.

A typical U.S. homeowner who is 65 or older has the financial means to pay for 3.5 years in a nursing home, 6.5 years of assisted living or nine years of home care, the report states. However, the typical renter only has enough wealth to pay for two months of assisted living. Nursing home care would deplete a typical renter's assets “in a matter of weeks.”

These numbers are especially troubling considering that baby boomers who currently are in their 50s have lower homeownership rates than preceding generations, and homeownership rates fell during the financial downturn among those approaching retirement. Also, “if current income distribution holds,” the ranks of low-income older renters will swell by 2.6 million by 2030, according to the report.

We’re zooming in on the autism through many lenses in our upcoming new Zoom Magazine. In our first issue, Conner…a young man of few spoken words…interviews Dr. Temple Grandin. Watch the preview for more and follow us on Facebook and twitter so you’ll be the first to know about our premiere issue release in October.

A glass monument has been publicly opened in Berlin to 300,000 victims of the Nazis with mental and physical disabilities or chronic illnesses.

The 24m-long (80ft) blue, glass wall is in front of the Berlin Philharmonie building, where the office housing the Nazi "euthanasia" programme once stood.

It is the fourth monument in the German capital to victims of the Nazis.

In the past 10 years, memorials have been erected to Jewish, Roma (Gypsy) and gay victims.

Under Adolf Hitler's initial programme, the Nazis killed more than 200,000 people from early 1940 to August 1941, focusing on patients in mental health clinics and care homes.

It was known as T4, after the Tiergartenstrasse 4 office from which it was directed.