Disability Futures

http://goo.gl/U0yLI7

A documentary following a special-education teacher as she prepares her students with autism to leave high school and enter adult life is set for its national television debut.

The film “Best Kept Secret” examines the transition process through the eyes of teacher Janet Mino and her six students at John F. Kennedy High School in Newark, N.J. over the year-and-a-half prior to their graduation in the spring of 2012.

Teaching at an inner-city public school where students’ options after aging out are limited, Mino is determined to find opportunities for her students to succeed in the community so that they don’t become homebound, institutionalized or homeless after graduating.

http://goo.gl/pJCtJF

Lipsitt said it means that many schools have eliminated resource rooms where children can go to get help in areas such as math, reading, writing and organizational skills. Many schools will have fewer speech, occupational or physical therapists, along with social workers and school psychologists, which means students who previously received speech therapy twice a week might only receive it once week, for example. And in some general education classrooms that had two teachers — one for the whole class and one specifically to support students with special needs — the special education teacher has been eliminated.

http://goo.gl/9hfZcs

More than 70 percent of those with disabilities polled said they had been abused and over 60 percent of family members indicated that their loved one with special needs had been mistreated.

In about half of cases, victims said they experienced physical abuse. Some 40 percent reported sexual abuse and nearly 90 percent of those who said they had been violated indicated they were verbally or emotionally harmed. Neglect and financial abuse were also frequently cited.

Interesting info about our eyes as well

http://goo.gl/YuisQw

Researchers have discovered a new compound that could potentially treat migraines by blocking light sensors in the eyes, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

News goes national

http://goo.gl/Y3D8UB

Next up on the chopping block in Michigan: news for blind people. The state is cutting fundingfor a service that provides free audio access to hundreds of newspapers and magazines, used by about 3,100 people in the state. The amount it costs? A whopping $52,000. The costs of losing it are significant, though:

http://goo.gl/MWyaAD

Obtaining independent housing with access to services in the community is a primary goal and value shared by people with mental illnesses. Having one’s own home —whether it is an apartment, a furnished room, or a house — is the cornerstone of independence for people. When a person has a decent, safe, and affordable home, he or she has the opportunity to become part of the community. With stable permanent housing, people with mental illnesses are able to achieve other important life goals,including improved health, education, job training, and employment.

http://goo.gl/YfgMRy

Allowing patients with the opportunity for more access to their health information can lead to improving patient engagement which ultimately leads to improved diagnosis.

Myth: Age will be a Hurdle for Adoption

http://goo.gl/mxi2l8

Text-to-911 service is currently available on a limited basis in a few locations across the country. Itcan provide a lifesaving alternative in many situations – where a person with a hearing or speech disability is unable to make a voice call, where voice networks are congested, or where a 911 voice call could endanger the caller. In fact, it has alreadysaved lives and thwarted crimes, including preventing a suicide in Vermont and, in Iowa, protecting women and children from abuse who were silently able to text for help.  

http://goo.gl/KaSwvP

If you met me, you’d never know I was mentally ill. In fact, I’ve gone through most of my adult life without anyone ever knowing — except when I’ve had to reveal it to a doctor. And that revelation changes everything. It wipes clean the rest of my résumé, my education, my accomplishments, reduces me to a diagnosis.

I was surprised when, after one of these run-ins, my psychopharmacologist said this sort of behavior was all too common. At least 14 studies have shown that patients with a serious mental illness receive worse medical care than “normal” people. Last year the World Health Organization called the stigma and discrimination endured by people withmental health conditions “a hidden human rights emergency.”

I never knew it until I started poking around, but this particular kind of discriminatory doctoring has a name. It’s called “diagnostic overshadowing.”

Language is weak, but ideas are interesting

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/with-wearable-technology-a-new-measure-of-independence-for-some-with-disabilities/2013/08/06/e258757e-fde4-11e2-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html

Until now, wearable devices to help people with disabilities were — by and large — developed by medical companies or garage hobbyists who gave little thought to a wider consumer market. New consumer interest in wearables, however, means that people will have access to cheaper, more versatile devices that can run specialized apps developed specifically for the needs of people with disabilities, said Greg Priest-Dorman, who is advising Google on the Glass project and has been making his own wearable devices since the mid-1980s.