The normality trap

http://goo.gl/78o55z

You’ve probably encountered fellow travellers who are strikingly out of the ordinary, sometimes quite distressed, scattered among the urban landscape where they seem to have a social forcefield around them that makes crowds part in their presence.

If you’ve ever worked in a hospital or support service for people with psychological or neurological difficulties, you’ve probably met lots of people who are markedly out of step with the mundane rules of social engagement.

They seem to talk too loud, or too fast, or too much. They can be full of fantastical things or fantasies. They may be afraid or angry, difficult or disengaged or intent on rewind-replay behaviours. Their dress can be notable for its eccentricity or decay.

So why don’t we see people like these in anti-stigma campaigns?

......But there’s more to mental health than normality.

Important Social Security Information for Same-Sex Couples

http://goo.gl/RfRqkR

On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Therefore, Social Security no longer is prevented from recognizing same-sex marriages to determine entitlement or payment amount.

Social Security has published new instructions that allow the agency to process more claims in which entitlement or eligibility is affected by a same-sex relationship.

This latest policy development lets the agency recognize some non-marital legal relationships as marriages for determining entitlement to benefits. These instructions also allow Social Security to begin processing many claims in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages or non-marital legal relationships.  We have consulted with the Department of Justice and determined that the Social Security Act requires the agency to follow state law in Social Security cases. The new policy also addresses Supplemental Security Income claims based on same-sex relationships. Your same-sex marriage may affect your SSI eligibility or payment amount.


Use a Braille display to read and enter text

http://goo.gl/dMdelJ

You can use a Braille display to read and enter text in Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Drawings.

Enable Braille support

To enable Braille support, follow these steps:

  1. Open a document, presentation, or drawing in Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. (Firefox isn't yet supported.)
  2. If you haven't already enabled screen reader support, press Control + Alt + Z (Windows) or Command + Option + Z(Mac).
  3. Press Alt + / (Windows, Chrome OS) or Option + / (Mac) to open a menu search.
  4. Type "Braille" to locate the Enable Braille support command. You'll hear "Enable Braille support, not checked."
  5. Press Enter. You'll hear "Braille support enabled."


Feelings of depression in children may be exacerbated by growth hormone treatment

http://goo.gl/FHkR3b

Short, otherwise healthy children who are treated with growth hormone (GH) may become taller, but they may also become more depressed and withdrawn over time, compared to children the same age and height who are not treated with GH, a new study finds.

"Daily injections, frequent clinic visits and repeated discussions about height might exacerbate instead of improve psychosocial concerns in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) who are otherwise healthy, and give them no cognitive improvements," said lead author Emily C. Walvoord, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.


10 Tips for Filling Out an SSA Benefits Application When You Have a Brain Injury

Good advice for anyone filling out any SSA disability benifits application

http://goo.gl/k4Ey7O

Social Security benefits applications are lengthy. A lot of people applying for benefits feel stress directly from their disability or because their finances are strained. Stress can make anyone forgetful or sloppy. If you are already forgetful, disorganized or have trouble keeping track of steps, you need some good strategies before your start an important process like this.

Disabled Recipients of Social Security Fund Face Hefty Benefits Cut

http://goo.gl/ktSpO0

Congressional gridlock is threatening the already thin lifeline of Social Security benefits that nearly 9 million disabled American workers rely on to feed, clothe and shelter their families.

Known as SSDI, the trust fund is one of two administered by the Social Security Administration (the other is for senior citizens), and its reserves will run dry in late 2016, if lawmakers don’t act sooner to shore them up. But the timing is poor; it falls in an election year and experts say it could become a target for political infighting as Americans gear up to go to the polls


Project will bring hidden history into the light

British Disability History-Same fight, different accent........
http://goo.gl/w8eQlx

She said Grove Road was “truly groundbreaking”. It was designed in the 1970s by the disabled activists Ken and Maggie Davis, and “came about at a pivotal moment in the story in the fight for independent living, which is particularly pertinent in today’s landscape of cuts to the Independent Living Fund”.

She also picked Chiswick House, because it is “such an evocative space and when you move around the grounds you can almost hear the voices of the individuals who lived there whilst it was a private asylum, which is the little-known history of this stately home”.

And she picked out the Liverpool school because Edward Rushton, its founder, “was such an extraordinary man”.

She said: “He is better known for his role in the abolitionist movement but he also was a huge campaigner for disabled people and I’m interested in how you can campaign for multiple causes and have multiple interests and facets  to your identity.”

National Data Confirm Cases Of Restraint And Seclusion In Public Schools

http://goo.gl/bTlywv

The practice of secluding or restraining children when they get agitated has long been a controversial practice in public schools. Now, new data show that it's more common than previously understood, happening at least 267,000 times in a recent school year.

NPR worked with reporters from the investigative journalism group ProPublica, who compiled data from the U.S. Department of Education to come up with one of the clearest looks at the practice of seclusion and restraint.

In most cases, the practice is used with students with disabilities — usually with those who have autism or are labeled emotionally disturbed. Sometimes the students will get upset; they might even get violent. To calm or control them, teachers and aides might isolate them in a separate room, which is a practice known as seclusion. Or they might restrain them, by holding or hugging them, or pinning them to the ground, or use mechanical restraints, such as a belt or even handcuffs.


15th Anniversary of Olmstead Decision is Next Week!

http://goo.gl/tfvdgB

June 2014 marks the 15th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark civil rights decision inOlmstead v. L.C., finding that the unjustified institutionalization of people with disabilities is illegal discrimination.  While many cases are resolved without involving the courts, during the last 15 years, the lower courts have had the opportunity to apply Olmstead in a number of contexts, resulting in decisions furthering community integration for people with disabilities.   This issue brief examines the legacy of Olmstead, with an emphasis on legal case developments and policy trends emerging in the last five years and the related contributions of the Medicaid program. Medicaid is important because of its unique role in financing the home and community-based services (HCBS) that enable individuals in institutions to return to the community and those at risk of institutionalization to remain in the community with support.