Man walks again after surgery to reverse muscle paralysis

After four years of confinement to a wheelchair, Rick Constantine, 58, is now walking again after undergoing an unconventional surgery at University of California, San Diego Heath System to restore the use of his leg. Neurosurgeon Justin Brown, MD, performed the novel 3-hour procedure.

"Following a car crash, Mr. Constantine had a brain stem stroke that caused paralysis on the right side of his body. His leg muscles became so severely spastic that he could not walk," said Brown, director of the Neurosurgery Peripheral Nerve Program at UC San Diego Health System. "Our team performed a delicate surgery to reduce input from the nerves that were causing the muscles to over contract to the point of disability."

"After my injury, I was told I would never walk again. All I could to was move from my wheelchair to my bed or a chair," said Constantine, a former NASCAR crew member. "After surgery with Dr. Brown, I could put my foot flat on the ground to walk. With physical therapy, everything just gets better and better. I'm a firm believer in never giving up."

Read more

Source: www.sciencedaily.com
 

Animals boost socialization for kids with autism

Having a dog, cat or even a guinea pig nearby increases the chances that children with autism will engage socially with people around them, a new study suggests.

Kids with autism were more likely to talk, look at other people’s faces and make physical contact when in the presence of animals as compared to toys, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE. Moreover, the children laughed and smiled more and they were less likely to frown, cry or whine.

For the study, 90 kids ages 5 to 13 were divided into groups of three, each including one child with autism and two typically developing kids. Researchers observed the groups during several 10-minute play sessions where the children were either given toys or two guinea pigs to engage with.

In addition to seeing more socialization from the children with autism in the presence of the animals as compared to the toys, researchers found that the typically developing kids more frequently approached the children with autism when the guinea pigs were around.

It’s unclear exactly why kids with autism saw such benefits from the guinea pigs, but researchers suggested that it may be that the presence of the animals made the environment less stressful for them.

Read more

 

Source: www.disabilityscoop.com

 

The Rare Disease Day

Today the sixth Rare Disease Day takes place.

This year's slogan "Rare Disorders without Borders" emphasizes the need for international cooperation.

 

View the official video

 

Source: www.rarediseaseday.org

He said that disabled children "should be put down": the councillor has apologised but refused to resign

Collin Brewer, the councillor who said disabled children "should be put down", has apologised but refused to resign, claiming he "did nothing wrong".

 

Collin Brewer, an independent councillor in Cornwall, made the remarks to Theresa Court, advice services manager with Disability Cornwall, at an equalities event at County Hall in October 2011. Court made a formal complaint against him that has only recently been resolved.

 

Brewer has complied with standards board orders to apologise but said he had no intention of resigning. He told the BBC: "Clearly it has gone to the standards board to provide any penalty whatsoever and the penalty they imposed was to write a letter of apology.

"I have no intention of resigning. I don't think I have done anything wrong. I have apologised. I have been a councillor for nearly 26 years. I have always worked to the best of my ability."

 

Disability Cornwall called for Brewer's resignation. Court said: "I remember him [Brewer] coming over and asking what the stall was about. I was explaining to him about the parent partnership service when he said disabled children should be put down. He said they cost the council too much money.

"I felt physically sick. I was there with parents of disabled children at the time and I just had to turn my back on him. He is supposed to be an elected member representing public views and acting on behalf of the public. How anyone can come out with that is just shocking."

 

Read more

 

Source: www.guardian.co.uk/

 

Hiring Requirements Eased For Those With Disabilities

Traditionally, many people with disabilities have been required to prove their “job readiness” in order to be hired by the nation’s largest employer. Not anymore.
 

Under a new rule issued late last week, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said that people with intellectual, psychiatric and severe physical disabilities will no longer be required to provide certification that they are ready to work when applying for jobs with the federal government.

 

Previously, applicants were asked to provide a letter from a medical professional, vocational rehabilitation specialist or disability benefit agency assessing their ability to perform the job.

 

The move is intended to make it simpler for people with disabilities to join the federal workforce by removing an “unnecessary burden,” officials said.
 

Read more

Source: www.disabilityscoop.com/
 

Kelly Gallagher and her second medal of World Championships

Visually impaired skier Kelly Gallagher and her guide Charlotte Evans secured their second medal of the World Championships in Spain with silver in the Super-G.
 

Gallagher, who finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics, came third in the downhill event on Wednesday . "I'm delighted to take silver to add to yesterday's bronze," said Northern Ireland native Gallagher. "To take gold at some point would be a dream."
 

There was also a bronze medal at La Molina for team-mate Jade Etherington and her new guide John Clark. "I'm delighted for my team-mate Jade," added Gallagher. "She's had a difficult season and did really well today."

Etherington has an impressive record of 27 medals from 29 races, but had been struggling to find a guide in recent months. The 21-year-old had only managed two training runs with her new partner before the competition.

 

Clark is a former British international skier and world speed record holder. He has had stints coaching Olympian Alain Baxter, the GB snowboard team and, recently, the British Paralympic hopeful Heather Mills.

"[The race] was really exciting," said Etherington. "Me and my guide John Clark were kind of using this World Championships as a trial. We haven't been skiing that long together - it's only been two days. But it was the Super-G so we thought we'd try it out and we managed a bronze medal, so [I'm] happy about that."

Read more

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Disability studies gets boost in English department

The English department is looking to build a stronger cadre of professors in disability studies – a relatively new field that looks at how people with disabilities perceive and are perceived in society.
 

Ellie Challis

The English department will hire an associate or full-time professor in for the cross-disciplinary field that spans several departments, including education, law, literature and public policy. Disability studies has taken root in the English department over the last few years, though it is not yet offered as a major or minor.

 

That could change soon, department chair Robert McRuer said. He added that he hopes another speciality hire will build momentum for disability studies at GW and entice more graduate students to the program.

 

He said that while there are other professors who are interested in disability studies, he is targeting a top scholar to lift the department above its competitors.

Raed more

Source:  http://www.gwhatchet.com/

"It doesn't matter if you're disabled or abled, you can do it"

Santiago Osuna sounds like any other kid in Karate class. But the 10-year-old from Calgary has one unique characteristic that separates him from his teammates – he has cerebral palsy.

 

That means he moves a little slower, and can’t kick as high as most other kids in his class. Yet, he is determined to still make a mark. "Disability barely means anything," he says.

 

Despite his physical challenges, he has still been able to obtain an orange belt.

 

"Orange belt means you are in third level, so I’m in third level," he proudly explained.

Much of his success has been because of the support from his fellow classmates like Andres Gomez, who is also a friend.

 

"He doesn't quit because he's disabled — he just keeps going and going," Gomez explained.

 

Osuna says he’s competing next month in the U.S. where he’ll fight in a division for people with disabilities. Canada doesn’t have a similar category, but Osuna says he would still like to see other kids with physical disabilities join up.

 

"It doesn't matter if you're disabled or abled, you can do it," he says.

 

Source: www.cbc.ca/news/

Wear LOTS OF SOCKS!

Down Syndrome International invites everyone across the world to wear LOTS OF SOCKS on 21 March 2013 to raise awareness on World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD).

We want to get people talking about WDSD on 21 March, and we can do this if we all wear socks…BUT NOT JUST ANY SOCKS…brightly coloured socks, mismatched socks, long socks, printed socks, 1 sock…maybe even 3 socks (or EXTRA socks) for 3 chromosomes. Or if you don’t normally wear socks then wear them. Just so long as they are socks which are on display and people will ask you about.

AND WHY STOP AT SOCKS? Wear brightly coloured clothing if you like, say if it’s too hot for socks. The choice is yours, but we ask you to join us in wearing something which will help tell the world about WDSD.

It is easy to do, so whether you are at home, nursery, school, university, work, play, travel, holiday or anywhere, join in!

 

On 21 March 2013, wear LOTS OF SOCKS and invite all your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

More info: www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/lots-of-socks

Source: www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/

Disability and risk of violence

People with disabilities are at a greater risk of being the victims of violence and of suffering mental ill health when victimized.

 

A recent World Report on Disability highlighted violence as a leading cause of morbidity among disabled people. The research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Hind Khalifeh and colleagues from University College London and King's College London, is the first to assess the extent to which people with disabilities experience different kinds of violence and the associated health and economic costs.

 

The authors analyzed data from the 2009-2010 British Crime Survey to estimate the odds of a person with physical or mental disabilities experiencing physical, sexual, domestic or non-domestic violence. The survey did not include individuals with disabilities living in institutions.

 

On the whole, the authors found that, compared to those without any disability, the odds of being a victim of violence in the past year were three-fold higher for those with mental illness-related disability, and two-fold higher for those with physical disability.

 

The odds were similarly raised for physical and sexual violence, and for domestic and non-domestic violence. Their analysis also revealed that victims with disability were twice as likely to experience emotional difficulties following violence than non-disabled victims.

 

Across England and Wales in 2009, approximately 224,000 people with disabilities experienced violence, resulting in an excess economic burden of £1.51 billion. The authors state that overall, the prevalence and risk of violence they estimated in their study is consistent with reports from other countries such as the US and Taiwan.

 

According to the authors, their research highlights the need for clinicians to be aware of the greater risks of domestic and non-domestic violence among patients with all disability types, and of the increased risk of emotional difficulties among disabled victims. The study concludes, "Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of violence prevention programs in people with disability that address risk factors specific to this group, such as caregiver stress or communication barriers to disclosure."

 

SOURCE: www.sciencedaily.com/

Talan Skeels-Piggins

Talan Skeels-Piggins, the disabled alpine skier that refused to give up.

Despite many setbacks in life, including a motorbike accident in March 2003 which left him paralysed from the mid chest down, Talan has refused to give up. Having skied before the accident, Talan didn’t want to abandon his passion, so started using a sit-ski with the goal of competing in the Paralympic Games.

 

And that is exactly what he did. In 2010 Talan competed in the Winter Paralympics representing Great Britain in the men’s slalom, giant slalom and Super-G, taking 15^th place in the in the giant slalom. In addition to his achievements in skiing, Talan has worked to obtain a motorcycle race licence – the first paralysed rider to do so – and gone on to compete against able-bodied racers. He now also works as a motivational speaker.

Read the interview

SOURCE: disabilityhorizons.com

Great Britain's ice sledge hockey team will face Estonia

Great Britain’s ice sledge hockey team will face Estonia in a three-game series beginning on Friday 22 February at the Skoda Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia.

The series marks the start of a programme of international cooperation for both teams before the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships B-Pool in March in Nagano, Japan, host city of the 1998 Paralympic Winter Games.

Forward Kaido Kalm and defenseman Tarmo Enda will lead an Estonian team that’s hoping to qualify for the Sochi 2014 Paralympics after being knocked out of the A-Pool last season.

Coached by Andy Linton, Great Britain will be led by veterans Karl Nicholson and Ian Warner, as well as goalkeeper Rob Gaze, who had a top performance at December’s New Year’s Cup in Podolsk, Russia.

In addition to the series, athletes will take part in sessions with injured members of the Estonian defense forces, introducing them to ice sledge hockey. Disability sport experts from both countries will gather together in Tallinn to exchange experiences and ideas on how to strengthen para-sport activity in Estonia.

SOURCE: www.paralympic.org

In La Molina, the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing Worlds

The 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships were opened in the Sports Centre of Alp, a small village near La Molina, Spain.

From 20-27 February, 118 skiers from 29 countries will battle it out for gold in six events, just over a year before the next Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

“Since the 2011 World Championships in Sestriere a number of great rivalries have developed on the alpine skiing circuit and I expect these to take centre stage here this week,” said IPC President, Sir Philip Craven in his Opening Ceremony speech.

“I’m also delighted at some of the new young talent emerging and believe some of them will be surprise packages here in La Molina by coming out of nowhere to win a medal or even a world title.
“Such competition for medals and rankings is great news for the sport and I expect the performance levels of athletes to reach new heights at these Championships.”

READ MORE: www.paralympic.org/news/2013-ipc-alpine-skiing-worlds-open-la-molina

SOURCE: www.paralympic.org

Traveling Europe in a wheelchair

Europe is one of the most traversed continents on the planet. Travelers can find a variety of historical sites, vibrant nightlife and a melting pot of cultures from around the world.

If you plan to visit Europe in the near future and will be traveling in a wheelchair, these top European destinations should be high on your list.

London
Besides being a great starting point for tourists looking to roam around Europe, London offers a variety of accommodations for individuals in wheelchairs. The public transportation system within the city is very efficient.
An alternative to the bus system are taxis.
Wheelchair accessible standards maintained by the city are much higher than other areas in Europe.

Berlin
Berlin is a city that is rich with history and culture. Like London, Berlin offers convenient public transportation via buses for both wheelchair users. The metro subway system in Berlin is also an efficient form of public transportation and is equipped with seventy-seven different stations that are accessible via wheelchair.

Vienna
While Vienna's public transportation system could be improved for wheelchair bound travelers, you will find that most shops within the city are very accommodating to wheelchair users.
Most of the hotels, local boutique shops and restaurants within the city are wheelchair accessible. The Vienna Tourist Board provides a list of businesses that provide assistance for those who are wheelchair-bound.

Paris
Paris is a very wheelchair friendly city. Their easy-to-use metro rail system offers easy access to disabled persons via elevators at most of their stations and all of their public buses are equipped with ramps that are available for wheelchair use.

Venice
Venice is not as big as many people think it is and despite its vast amount of canals, is still quite accessible when using a wheelchair. Water taxis are the biggest form of transportation.
Because traversing the city may take a long time, wheelchair users should use water transportation services.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BY JESSICA BOSARI:
www.disabled-world.com/travel/europe/wheelchair-europe.php

SOURCE: disability.alltop.com

"I can speak to my family again"

A man who was left brain-damaged and paralysed after a vicious attack has been able to communicate for the first time in 20 years - thanks to an iPad.

Kevin Beverley, from Barnsley, was left severely injured after an unprovoked attack in his home town two decades ago.

His life-changing injuries included severe brain damage, broken bones, right side paralysis and he also lost the ability to speak, meaning he could only communicate by making noises and gestures.
But now, through the use of an iPad his life has been transformed as he is able to speak to his family and carers.

The 55-year-old, who attends the Carlton Centre in Barnsley, run by the Disabilities Trust, has been able to tell the staff about his likes and dislikes as well as ask for a cup of tea.
He does this by touching the screen to select the relevant letters to form words, and at the end of the first day he typed this message: "It is so good to be able to speak again."
He also plays games on the iPad to help improve his hand-eye co-ordination.

A spokesman from the trust said it was an "amazing result - Kevin had a voice to speak with. It is the first time he has been able to communicate with people in an effective manner for well over 20 years".

SOURCE: www.mirror.co.uk/

The quest for better prosthetics

Silvestro Micera is paving the way for new, smart prosthetics that connect directly to the nervous system.

For an amputee, replacing a missing limb with a functional prosthetic can alleviate physical or emotional distress and mean a return of vocational ability or cosmetics. Studies show, however, that up to 50 percent of hand amputees still do not use their prosthesis regularly due to less than ideal functionality, appearance, and controllability.

But Silvestro Micera, of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, is paving the way for new, smart prosthetics that connect directly to the nervous system. The benefits are more versatile prosthetics with intuitive motor control and realistic sensory feedback -- in essence, they could one day return dexterity and the sensation of touch to an amputee.

At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, Micera reports the results of previous work conducting a four-week clinical trial that improved sensory feedback in amputees by using intraneural electrodes implanted into the median and ulnar nerves. This interface holds great promise because of its ability to create an intimate and natural connection with the nerves, and because it is less invasive than other methods. It also provides fast, intuitive, bidirectional flow of information between the nervous system and the prosthetic, resulting in a more realistic experience and ultimately improved function.

"We could be on the cusp of providing new and more effective clinical solutions to amputees in the next years," says Micera, who is Head of the Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory at EPFL and Professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy. Micera and colleagues tested their system by implanting intraneural electrodes into the nerves of an amputee. The electrodes stimulated the sensory peripheral system, delivering different types of touch feelings. Then the researchers analyzed the motor neural signals recorded from the nerves and showed that information related to grasping could indeed be extracted. That information was then used to control a hand prosthesis placed near the subject but not physically attached to the arm of the amputee.

At AAAS in Boston, Micera also describes his recent activities to improve the efficacy of this approach and announces a new clinical trial starting soon as part of the Italian Ministry of Health's NEMESIS project, under the clinical supervision of Prof. Paolo M. Rossini. This new trial carries this research a step further by connecting the prosthetic hand directly to the patient for the first real-time, bidirectional control using peripheral neural signals. Though results are not yet available, the researchers hope to find still further improvement in the sensory feedback and overall control of the prosthetics with this new method.

SOURCE: www.sciencedaily.com

The legacy of Paralympics

A survey by the Sport and Recreation Alliance says that 96 per cent of UK Gyms report no increase in disabled membership since the Paralympic Games.

 

One of the biggest issues facing disabled people remains a lack of physical access, along with a significant skills gap within the leisure industry when it comes to working with people with varying impairments.

Less than a quarter of clubs said they had suitable facilities for disabled people to participate, suitably trained staff or the appropriate equipment, indicating that three quarters of clubs need some form of additional support in order to facilitate disabled participation.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Great Britain’s most successful Paralympians, told Disability Now's The Download that the problems are deep-rooted.
“There are still barriers for disabled people doing sport and joining clubs, whether it’s physical access or attitudinal access, from the disabled people as much as from the clubs. If you put that together with the fact that most disabled people have had a pretty bad experience of sport in school, they probably don’t know what to do, and it’s quite hard to ask. And then you’ve got the barriers of physical access and then sometimes people are a bit grumpy and they’re not very helpful, it is really, really hard to do it."
Baroness Grey-Thompson says that the leisure industry can do more to attract disabled people.
"I think gyms can do more. I think governing bodies can do way more. But also it comes back into school, unless you do some sport through school, unless your parents encourage you it’s not easy. And that cycle is going to take a very long time to break down.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB, conceded that many clubs and gyms had more work to do, but objected to the survey’s findings on participation.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BY PAUL CARTER: http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/article/paralympics-legacy-what-legacy

SOURCE: www.disabilitynow.org.uk

2013 Victorian Disability Sector Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2013 Victorian Disability Sector Awards: the Awards celebrate and acknowledge people who demonstrate excellence, passion, vision and a commitment to assisting people with disabilities to achieve their goals.

Nominations close Wednesday 13 March 2013.

Nominees for the awards will be shortlisted and invited to the Disability Sector Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 19 June 2013 which will be attended by the Minister for Community Services, Mary Wooldridge.

Members of the public can nominate an individual, team or organisation that has improved the lives of people with disabilities. Nominations are being accepted across nine award categories.

READ MORE: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-service-providers/disability/disability-recognition-awards/victorian-disability-sector-awards

SOURCE: www.dhs.vic.gov.au

The teacher that overcame disability to share her love of music

At 3 months old, doctors removed a tumor from her retinas, permanently scaring and damaging her vision. Everyday is a struggle, but she has adapted and now shares her love of music with elementary school students.

Growing up in Whitefish Bay, she grew fond of music and performing and refined her craft playing with youth symphonies and bands. Now, she tries to pass that love on to her fifth- through eighth-grade students at St. Robert School, where she has been a band teacher for the past six years.

“I’ve always known I’ve wanted to do music,” she said. “I’ve always been a band geek.”
But every day brings a new challenge.
At just 3 months old, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor attached to the retina on her right eye, which later spread to her left eye. Tryba was forced to go under the surgical knife to have it removed. “I’m very lucky they caught it in time,” she said. “It could have been much worst.”
However, the surgery left Tryba with severe vision loss, which isn’t correctable, she explained. She has virtually no use of one of her eyes.

“I’ve dealt with this my entire life, so I haven’t known it any different,” she said. “You adapt, and you just learn to make it work for you".

Today, getting students as excited about music as she was as a child means Tryba must adapt much of her teaching material, enlarging print and music and memorizing some of the substance.

“Through many instructors, I have come up with a system of markings and different colors,” said Tryba, who attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to obtain her teaching license. "There are a lot of high highs and a lot of low lows, but I love when you get to the concert, and you see all that hard work, blood, sweat and tears pay off."

READ MORE: http://shorewood.patch.com/articles/st-robert-teacher-overcomes-disability-to-share-passion-for-music

SOURCE: http://shorewood.patch.com/

Murder charge for Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius, the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, is facing a murder charge after his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed at his home in Pretoria.

Police were called to the house in the early hours of the morning, where they found paramedics treating a 29-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. She died at the scene.

Officers have recovered a 9mm pistol.

A 26-year-old man will appear in court on Friday.

Early reports said Mr Pistorius might have mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder at his home in the upmarket Silver Woods gated compound on the outskirts of South Africa's administrative capital. However, police say neighbours heard screaming and shouting around the time of the shooting, and that they had been called to investigate incidents of a domestic nature at the same house in the past.

READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21459240

"When I Walk" by J. DaSilva

In 2006, the 25-year-old, vital, handsome, talented Jason DaSilva was on a beach with his family when, suddenly, he fell down and couldn’t get back up. Doctors told him he had multiple sclerosis.

Jason decided to exercise more, but the problem just got worse. So he turned to his mom. She reminded him that he was a fortunate, privileged North American kid who had the opportunity to pursue the things he loved most—art and filmmaking. So Jason picked up the camera, turned it on himself, and began filming the slow, difficult decline of his body and the miracles he encountered along the way.

An emotional and inspirational documentary that is a pleasure to watch, When I Walk is an energizing and self-generating film experience whose creative engine is its young filmmaker’s determination to live and his ability to make sense of being plagued by a devastating disease through the art of cinematic storytelling.

SOURCE: www.wheniwalk.com

READ MORE: http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/60740/

Thoughts to control robot arm

Paralyzed Man Uses Thoughts Alone to Control Robot Arm, Touch Friend's Hand, After Seven Years.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC describe in PLoS ONE how an electrode array sitting on top of the brain enabled a 30-year-old paralyzed man to control the movement of a character on a computer screen in three dimensions with just his thoughts. It also enabled him to move a robot arm to touch a friend's hand for the first time in the seven years since he was injured in a motorcycle accident.

With brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, the thoughts of Tim Hemmes, who sustained a spinal cord injury that left him unable to move his body below the shoulders, were interpreted by computer algorithms and translated into intended movement of a computer cursor and, later, a robot arm, explained lead investigator Wei Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pitt School of Medicine.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130208124818.htm

SOURCE: Science Daily

The ability to live a long and healthy life

Anyone that has a disability has the ability to live a long, healthy life.
Those with disabilities do not have to be held back from going to school, voting, having children, marrying, playing and even working. Having a disability does not mean that they are unhealthy. They can live healthier by having more access to health care and living healthier lifestyles. In order for these individuals to be healthy, they have to get health care that meets their needs as a person, and not just someone that has a disability.

There are many things that can be done to change this such as improving your overall health and wellness, getting the best possible healthcare out there, and learning more tips about healthy living and being physically fit.

The person that has the disability can make sure that they are getting the best possible health care through many different means and check points. Make sure that you or someone with a disability that you know is getting the best out there.

• You should get to know your body and how you feel when you are and are not feeling well.
• Get regular screenings that matter such as colorectal, prostate and mammograms.
• Find out who the best of the best health care providers are that are in your area that can also meet your needs.
• Talk to your health care professional honestly and openly about any concerns.
• Bring all of your health records with you to the visit.
• You want to make sure that you have something in writing that the health care professional told you to keep records.
• Think through and write down all of your questions and concerns before you go to your appointment.
• You can find out even more information when you do the necessary background checks and research on your health care provider.

Tips for Living a Healthy Life with a Disability
Obesity is a big thing in those people that have disabilities compared to those that do not have them. This is true for both adults and children with disabilities. Obesity can have health consequences for all people.

• Use all medication wisely
• Do not use illegal drugs or smoke
• Be physically active every day
• Stay out of the sun for long periods of time
• Eat healthy food in healthy sized portions
• Get regular checkups
• Drink alcohol in moderation
• Talk with your health care provider for more tips and information

Tips for Being Physically Fit
In order for anyone to be healthy, adults should be physically active for at least 30 minutes each day for 5 days of the week. Children should be active for 60 minutes a day, for at least 5 days of the week.

• Set goals that you can reach for your physical activity
• Don’t give up, even if you miss a day you shouldn’t just quit. Just try again
• Track everything that you do
• Seek any and all support that you need from family and friends. You can even ask them to join in with you.
• Reward yourself each time you reach your goals.

SOURCE: www.disabilitynews.com

5 winner athletes

Bethany Hamilton, Jason Lester, Melissa Stockwell, Anthony Robles and Jim MacLaren: five athletes that overcame their disabilities. Because strenght, passion and heart are the steps to win.

Discover their stories!

Bethany Hamilton, a ispirational message of hope
She is a surfer, she began competing professional as a child. At 13, she lost her arm in a vicious shark attack but not her desire to surf. One month later she was back on her surfboard and two years later she won first place in the Explorer Women’s Division of the NSSA National Championships.

Jason Lester, If you don’t stop, you can’t be stopped
 was hit by a car when he was 12 and suffered, among many things, a paralyzed arm. Today, he can swim faster, ride further and run incredible distances. In 2009, he was named the ESPY award winner for "Best Male Athlete with a Disability" and the first male triathlete to win such an honor.

Melissa Stockwell, I can really do anything I want to do, missing leg or not
She is a war veteran with the U.S. Army and she lost her leg when a roadside bomb exploded during a convoy. Swimming was a part of her physical therapy but also of her rebirth. In the 2008 Paralympic Games for the U.S. team she became the record holder for the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter freestyle.

Anthony Robles "I didn't get into the sport for the attention. I wrestle because I love wrestling. But if I can help change somebody's life for the better…"
He was born without a leg, but he didn’t let that stop him from becoming a wrestling champion. In March of 2011, the All-American Arizona State University student won the NCAA championship title for the 125-pound weight class division.  

Jim MacLaren, a tragedy turned into a triumph
He missed his left leg after being hit by a bus on his motorcycle. When he woke from his coma, he took up swimming and learned how to run on a prosthetic leg. He eventually competed in the New York City Marathon and the Ironman triathlon. Although he later suffered another accident that left him paralyzed, MacLaren turned his tragedy into triumph by becoming a motivational speaker and life coach encouraging others to live their life to the fullest no matter what it takes.

Source: www.beliefnet.com

Sport: a right of every kid

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said that children with disabilities have the right to participate in their school’s extracurricular activities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Accordingly, the agency said that students with intellectual, developmental, physical and other types of disabilities should be afforded opportunities to play for their school teams with modifications, aids and services as needed.

However, in cases where accommodations would “fundamentally alter” the game or create an unfair advantage, federal officials said schools are obligated to create separate, but equally supported opportunities for kids with disabilities to participate. Examples could be a wheelchair basketball league or unified teams where students with and without disabilities compete together, they said.

“Sports can provide invaluable lessons in discipline, selflessness, passion and courage, and this guidance will help schools ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to benefit from the life lessons they can learn on the playing field or on the court,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

While students with disabilities have a right to participate in school sports, the Education Department made clear that they may have to meet certain standards of skill or ability in order to join a team so long as the criteria are not discriminatory.

The guidance spoke specifically to the responsibilities of elementary and high schools, but the Education Department said that colleges have a similar obligation to offer access.

Advocates for inclusion in school sports said the move could do for students with disabilities what Title IX did for women.

“OCR’s guidance is a landmark moment for individuals with disabilities, as it sends a loud message to educational institutions that students with disabilities must be provided opportunities for physical activity and sports equal to those afforded to students without disabilities,” said Terri Lakowski of the Inclusive Fitness Coalition.

Source: www.disabilityscoop.com