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Panel talks of hidden disabilities

November 9, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

This past Thursday, The Invisible Disability Discussion panel, consisting of four students, related the problems and virtues coming with disabilities that cannot be observed by others.

“Hopefully people will learn how to think about disabilities differently after this panel,” said Dr. Adam Meyer, director of the Disability Resource Center.

“I think it is much more difficult to discuss an invisible disability,” he added. “As soon as someone with a wheelchair comes into a room they are effectively telling you their disability.”

The panel consisted of freshman Marlee McGinnis, who is diagnosed with epilepsy; Joan Stauffer, a therapy major with ADHD; Jess Robinson, who suffers from chronic pain and Mike Strasko, who admitted in the beginning he was anxious about the panel due to his anxiety and OCD.

via The Eastern Echo.

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Paralyzed man gives disabled kids hope through yoga

October 28, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

“My name is Matt. My legs are a little skinnier than many,” admits Matthew Sanford, a complete stranger to the wide-eyed youngsters in wheelchairs and hospital beds assembled in the auditorium of Chicago’s Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The young onlookers, all with disabilities, know nothing about the yoga this 45-year-old’s about to teach them. What they know — instantly — is that Sanford is one of them because he’s instructing from a wheelchair.

Affectionately calling his audience his “tribe,” Sanford guides his wheelchair to each patient to thoughtfully inquire about his or her disability (“What’s going on?” “What have you been told?”).

via Paralyzed man gives disabled kids hope through yoga :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Mind and Body.

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Wheelchair Flash Mob Proves Dancing is for Everyone

October 7, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

Amid the lunch and business crowd walking through Tower City Friday, there was another group setting the scene for a big message about diversity.

More than 100 local dancers joined members of the Dancing Wheels Company in a flash mob. The dancers hit the floor, some on two feet and others in wheel chairs, to send the message that people with disabilities are just like everyone else.

The Dancing Wheels Company was founded by Mary Verdi-Fletcher 30 years ago. She was born with a disability and uses a wheelchair, but always wanted to be a dancer.

“It’s a physically integrated dance company which means we integrate people with all abilities. We are professionally trained dancers, we consider ourselves sit down dancers, those in wheelchairs, and stand up dancers,” Verdi-Fletcher explained.

Read more and see the video by clicking here: Flash Mob Proves Dancing is for Everyone, Sends Message Through Movement – WJW.

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by Admin Dawn

New Comic Hero: Muslim Boy in Wheelchair

October 1, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… well, this time it’s something a bit different: The latest comic-book hero will be a wheelchair-bound Muslim boy who lost his legs in a landmine accident, reports the AP. The Silver Scorpion began to take shape when a US philanthropist, inspired by President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world, gathered a group of disabled American and Syrian kids to talk storylines.

Read more here: New Comic Hero: Muslim Boy in Wheelchair – Silver Scorpion the brainchild of disabled US, Syrian kids.

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Parent of special needs child ‘exhausted’ by education struggles

September 30, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

Six-year-old Alana Ybarra started attending Willow Creek Elementary School in Tomball when she was three-and-a-half.

One of 751 special needs children in the district, Alana has a specialized legally-binding individual education plan, or IEP, in place to make sure her educational needs are constantly met.

Alana’s mother, Alma Duldulao-Ybarra, said not only is Alana’s plan not being followed, but the district has not listened to what is best for her daughter.

Alana is a quadriplegic due to cerebral palsy. She is wheelchair-bound and unable to speak, her mother explained. She has chronic lung disease and a visual impairment that gives her “pockets of vision, like Swiss cheese.”

Though she is unable to speak and coordinate her movements, Duldulao-Ybarra said she can tell her daughter is very bright.

Read more here: Parent of special needs child ‘exhausted’ by education struggles > Tomball Magnolia Potpourri > News Archives > Houston Community Newspapers Online – News Around Town.

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‘I’m different’ an ArtPrize exhibit dedicated to special needs children

September 30, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

For the sake of every special-needs kid who wants you to know he or she is a kid first and special-needs second, I am just going to ask you to print out the next paragraph and take it with you to ArtPrize:

Enter the Trade Center Building at 50 Louis Street NW from the northwest door. Follow the signs reading “Open Concept Gallery” to a freight elevator, and ride it to the sixth floor, taking care not to pinch your fingers in the double doors. Exit and walk east into what looks like a former ballroom. You’re there.

Against the south wall there, you will find a row of six wheelchairs with six shadow boxes resting on them, an ArtPrize entry that its creator says has nothing to do with winning, unless you count the heads she is trying to gather and have fathom the sacred space that is a part of every child — special-needs or not.

Read more here: ‘I’m different’ an ArtPrize exhibit dedicated to special-needs children | MLive.com.

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Disability rights activists cause partial White House lockdown

September 27, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

A group of nine disability rights activists handcuffed themselves to the fence surrounding the White House on Monday afternoon, briefly causing a partial lockdown of the residence’s north grounds, according to a Secret Service spokesman.

Several of the activists were in wheelchairs or motorized carts, the spokesman said.

One man was arrested for disorderly conduct and assault against a police officer, the spokesman added.

The protest did not affect President Barack Obama’s mid-afternoon departure from the South Lawn aboard Marine One. Obama was headed for a Democratic fundraiser in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The protesters, the spokesman said, belong to an organization called ADAPT, which works to draw attention to disability issues.

Read more here: Disability rights activists cause partial WH lockdown – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

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Fighting back: Disabled self-defense with new DVD

September 20, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

Some of the more vulnerable persons in society may now have a better chance to defend themselves with the help of a new DVD.

Secure Living Online has recently produced “Cane-Fu: Moving Beyond Disabilities” to help guide those confined to a wheelchair or cane dependent individuals to protect themselves in the event of an attack.

“It’s the very first DVD of its kind” said Clifford Crandall, who is on the board of directors for Secure Living Online. Crandall said he realized after teaching self-defense for over 20 years for women, children and men, that they had not covered those with disabilities.

“This knowledge is good for everybody,” he said. “People with disabilities are preyed on and it’s a sad note for our society, but it has to be dealt with.”

Crandall, who is a grand master with over 45 years of martial arts training and founder of the American Martial Arts Institute, said it took about two years to put the DVD together. He said much of the DVD is about taking the proper precautions for secure living, with the second portion focused on what to do in a physical attack.

Read more here: Fighting back: Disabled self-defense with new DVD – Herkimer, NY – The Telegram.

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Common considerations for interacting with those who have disablities

September 20, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

While standing at her usual spot waiting to catch the train on her way to work, a friend of mine noticed a man sitting in a wheelchair near one of the local coffee vendors. She watched him struggle to reach for a particular magazine on the rack and wondered if she should have gone over and offered to help. She admitted that as she observed him, she began feeling sorry for him. Soon a woman walked up to him with two coffees in hand and they quickly became immersed in a business-related conversation.

Suddenly my friend realized for the first time that the man was wearing a business suit and that this woman was likely a co-worker. She watched as the two individuals interacted with one another with ease and suddenly felt foolish for thinking that the man was helpless and was unable to participate in typical daily activities, such as taking the train into work or sharing a coffee with a co-worker over a conversation. As I listened to her story I realized that her reaction to the man in the wheelchair is similar to one that most people have experienced at some point in their lives.

Read more here: Delco News Network: Serving Delaware County.

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Miracle League plays ball

September 14, 2010 in Special Needs News by Admin Dawn

After weeks of practice, West Pembroke Pines Optimist Miracle League players recently took to the field to begin their fourth season.

Proud parents packed the stands like at any little league game, but the Miracle League is a bit different as its players have conditions like cerebral palsy or Down syndrome.

To accommodate players’ needs, the Miracle League plays its ball games on a special field at Rose G. Price Park, 901 NW 208th Ave.

The rubberized field is designed to allow players to use wheelchairs, and it’s painted green and white to create the appearance of grass and base striping.

Read more here: Miracle League plays ball – Pembroke Pines – MiamiHerald.com.

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