Puppets teach kids about living with disabilities

By KEN RITCHIE
The puppets, characters in "The Kids on the Block," used jokes and lighthearted skits to teach about living with disabilities, including having cerebral palsy and being deaf, and encouraged children to ask questions and learn more about disabilities.

Disabled woman struggles to find local transportation

By LISA MARTÍNEZ - THE GAZETTE
Marlene Fitzgerald has cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition that weakened her muscles so much that she needs a wheelchair to get around. But the combined weight of Fitzgerald and her wheelchair exceeds the 600-pound limit the city sets for its vehicles equipped with mechanical lifts.

Lack of funding threatens to put Tradewinds Foundation in dry dock

By Paula Sheil
Record Staff Writer
Published Sunday, March 27, 2005

STOCKTON -- A crane with a sling lowers Fred Hess into the racing dinghy. His legs dangle uselessly. When he's strapped in place, his right hand maneuvers the 8-foot sailboat with a joystick.

With the same fortitude and perseverance, Hess has brought the thrill of

small-boat sailing to other disabled and disadvantaged adults and children. Last year through the Tradewinds Foundation, Hess and his sailing pal, Jeff Breen, both

62, filled a whole fleet of colorful little sailboats with smiles.

Forum hears concerns about disability act

By Adam Pracht
Iowa City Press-Citizen


It was just her voice that kept Angie Creech from being a student teacher. Just her voice, but her bosses at a fast food restaurant wouldn't let her take orders. Just her voice, but it has led people to judge her intelligence before they know her.

Planning is key when travelling with health problems or disabilities

Roger Ward
Canadian Press

TORONTO -- Able-bodied people face travel hurdles when something unexpected like the bankruptcy of Jetsgo occurs, but for the infirm or disabled even attempting to travel often proves difficult.

Library brings toys to kids with disabilities

By Pat Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
More than 2,000 toys make up the Mobile Toy Library. It's a cornucopia of fun and learning for children who have disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, autism, or hearing or sight impairment.

The mobile library is operated by the United Cerebral Palsy Center inMission Valley. Parents of children with disabilities can check out toys at 16 sites throughout San Diego County.

Exceptional Olympics brings out cries of joy

By SANDY STRICKLAND
Staff writer

Nancy Corbin wiped her eyes as her granddaughter laboriously inched her specially adapted walker across the finish line.

"You know, that seems like such a little thing, but it's such a big achievement for her," she said of 7-year-old Corbin Gressman, who has cerebral palsy and recently took her first steps.

Standing Tall

Monday, March 21, 2005
By Angela Stewart
Newhouse News Service

For most of his life, 13-year-old, Kenny Fdyfil of Jersey City has been unable to do things other kids his age enjoy. Until recently, he got around mostly by using a wheelchair or a walker.

"It was kind of hard. I couldn't walk around as much, my muscles were stiff and my legs would get tired," said Kenny, who was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that affects his body movement and muscle coordination.

Brain Research To Help In Fight Against Cardiovascular Disease

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, supported by the British Heart Foundation, are studying blood flow in the brain to further medical understanding of cardiovascular disease.

Dr John Quayle and Dr Tomoko Kamishima, from the University’s Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, are investigating why blood supply to the brain becomes inadequate during serious illnesses, such as strokes. Approximately one in eight people are diagnosed with a disease of the heart or circulatory system in the UK each year and more than a 100,000 of these cases result in death.

Medicaid dilemma hits home

Jennifer Bundy
The Associated Press

Monday March 21, 2005

When Tucker Lewis was born 11 years ago, his brain was deprived of oxygen long enough to cause damage. He has cerebral palsy, cognitive delays, vision and physical impairments.

Tucker and his Morgantown family rely on the Medicaid Title XIX Waiver program to pay for night nurses, therapy, respite care, and residential habilitation, which allows his parents to be paid for the hours each day they train him on specific objectives like dressing, grooming and hygiene. Families can receive up to about $1,000 a month.

"It keeps Tucker at home with us,'' said his mother, Debi Lewis. "With his sleep disorder, somebody has to be up with him all night.''

Melatonin may prevent brain damage

By Janelle Miles
16mar05

A POPULAR treatment for jet lag may hold the key to preventing brain damage and death caused by oxygen starvation to babies during childbirth, Australian research suggests.

Monash University scientists have shown giving pregnant sheep the hormone melatonin before depriving the foetus of oxygen can protect the lambs from brain damage which in human babies can result in cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and even death.

Wheeling through the treetops

By JAMI KUNZER
jkunzer@nwherald.com

People who use wheelchairs should be able to climb trees, too.

With that concept in mind, work on the state's first wheelchair-accessible treehouse will begin by fall 2005 at a park in Barrington.

Children, adults, seniors, or anyone who feels like hanging out in a tree soon will have the chance.

"It's a very simple concept. We take a lot of things in life for granted, those of us who are not disabled," said Dan Feeney, a board adviser for Forever Young Treehouses. The nonprofit group based in Vermont will build the estimated $450,000 treehouse through a partnership with the Barrington Park District and the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association.

WHAT IS THE National Disability Sports Alliance?

The National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA) is the
National Coordinating Body for competitive sports for individuals with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and survivors of stroke. NDSA was originally formed as the United States Cerebral Palsy Athletic Association (USCPAA) in 1987. NDSA also provides programming for other physically disabling conditions such as muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis.

Teen named Miracle Network champ

By Kevin Grasha
Lansing State Journal
EATON RAPIDS - For most of his life, Eric Lownsbery relied on crutches or a walker to get around.

The 15-year-old from Eaton Rapids was born with cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that causes loss of muscle control. As he grew, his feet turned in and his back arched - making walking more and more difficult.

An innovative surgery changed his life.

In May 2003, he underwent a 16-hour procedure at Sparrow Regional Children's Center at Sparrow Hospital. Surgeons broke his hip bones and repositioned them. They cut his leg muscles and made them longer.