Abuse in Orphanages

Institutions are always breeding grounds for predatory behavior....

http://goo.gl/WXDs7j

Re “Cambodian Activist’s Fall Exposes Broad Deception” (news article, June 15): Luring poor and vulnerable families to give up their children in exchange for a better life for them in an orphanage is a problem not only in Cambodia but also around the world. Most of the estimated 8 million to 10 million children living in orphanages today have living parents and extended families. But often, empty promises of an education, better food or medical care are what push children into orphanages.

But the reality of life in an orphanage can be much more sinister. Children are physically and sexually abused. They can be trafficked for sex, illegal adoptions, labor, pornography and organs.

Donors need to stop funding the building of orphanages and instead fund programs that will keep families intact. A steady flow of donor dollars, which benefit those who own and run orphanages rather than children, guarantees the continued proliferation of them.

StoryCorps Looks To Record Disability Experience

http://goo.gl/9J4WF2

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act approaches next year, a new project is launching to encourage people within the disability community to share their stories.

The effort known as the Disability Visibility Project is kicking off Monday as a community partnership with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit that allows everyday people to record casual, one-on-one conversations in an effort to preserve history. The recordings are frequently featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

StoryCorps’ recording booth in San Francisco is making sessions available between July 10 and Dec. 13 specifically for members of the disability community to record their stories. Additional times are expected to be added leading up to the ADA’s 25th anniversary in July 2015.

What’s more, recordings produced at StoryCorps’ booths in Chicago and Atlanta as well as through the organization’s MobileBooth, which travels to communities across the country, can also be tagged for inclusion in the project.

“The history of people with disabilities rarely appears in textbooks,” said Alice Wong who’s spearheading the effort. “I’ve had the good fortune to meet so many fascinating and amazing people with disabilities who have been fighting for disability rights for decades. I believe their stories and the stories of everyday Americans with disabilities should be preserved.”


Google Glass Offers Disabled People Access to a Bigger World

There is a movement to demonize users of Google Glass. I imagine this will be combined with disability de-valuing to further punish PWD who use the device.....

http://goo.gl/aMIwFl

Ashley Lasanta has cerebral palsy, and for the first time in her 23 years, she was able to snap – and then share – a photograph, all without the use of her hands.

"It was awesome," she says. "I take pictures of just about anything."

The device she used wasn’t a traditional camera. It was Google Glass, the thumb-sized computer that's worn like a pair of glasses. With just a tilt or a nod of the head and a few spoken phrases, Lasanta can record videos, send emails, browse the web far faster than before, play games and, thanks to the wealth of recipes online, hang out in the  kitchen and help with cooking.

Disability Incarcerated: Imprisonment and Disability in the United States and Canada

http://goo.gl/MA4wro

"Provocative, original, and timely, this collection reveals inextricable links between disability and incarceration. Each study of confinement places disability in sustained dialogue with broader forces and identities, including race, gender, sexuality and class. Accessible prose and collaborative projects attest to the transformative power of activist scholarship."


UPDATE: Rules, Deaf Persons Interpreters' Act – June 11, 2014

http://goo.gl/kdFAEq

With the new rules for PA204 getting ready to take effect on July 7th, there are a lot of questions about what they mean and who's affected. MDCR is committed to helping you understand the impact of the rules on you and other stakeholders (schools, physicians, lawyers, and more).

In this space, we will soon have an FAQ, a timeline of when specific provisions of the rules will take effect and more. First up, we've posted a chart designed to help interpreters understand what their specific certification by level qualifies them to do under the new rules. Keep checking back for regular updates.

Find additional information on the PA204 rules at the links below:

Michigan Administrative Rules 393.5001-393.5095, "Qualified Interpreter, General Rules"

Agency Report, Narrative Excerpt (foundational principles and analysis supporting rules' intent)


National Council on Disability Urges Swift Ratification of the Disability Treaty after Supreme Court Decision

http://goo.gl/QMmjRP

On June 2, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Bond v. United States.  The decision removed one of the stated obstacles toratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and affirms the long-standing position of the National Council on Disability (NCD) that the US needs to expeditiously ratify the Disability Treaty. NCD is an independent federal agency that recommends disability policy to the President, Congress and other federal agencies.  


Cripple Please: I'm Black, in a wheelchair, and I have something to say about EVERYTHING!

http://www.crippleplease.com/

Now just as a refresher, MacGyver was a TV show that ran from 1985 to 1992 about a secret agent who basically solved complex problems in the field using everyday items like duct tape, paper clips, his trust worthy Swiss Army knife, and other items. So yeah, based on who he is and what he did, the original MacGyver had to be cripple in my opinion. Here's a test. When you think of a piece of bamboo, a wall hook, some glue, and sand paper, what do you think of? OK. Time's up. Anything? Well I think of something I made about a year and a half ago that I use around the house to do everything from reach coffee mugs, grab stuff out of cabinets, clean up, and much more. If I add a lanyard into the equation, I have the device I've used about a dozen times to pick up my cell phone and even heavier items off of the floor. In a nutshell, I've come up with a bunch of thrown together contraptions to aid myself in my day to day life.


Disabled couple appeals after housing case dismissed

http://goo.gl/iBEAY8

Nearly a year after a married disabled couple filed a federal lawsuit claiming both their caretakers and New York State violated their civil rights by failing to secure housing for them, a judge has dismissed the case — though the Riverhead couple’s family is still holding out hope, having already appealed the decision.

Paul and Hava Forziano tied the knot last May, after seven years of dating and a two-year engagement. The couple lived at two separate disability providers contracted by New York State at the time of their marriage, neither of which permitted the couple to live together once they married.