Assisted Suicide and the Rights of the Disabled

by Lennard Davis

All Things Considered, September 27, 2005 · In a few weeks, the Supreme Court hears a case on Oregon's assisted-suicide law, which disability-rights activists are arguing against. Commentator Lennard Davis, a professor of disability studies, is concerned that lobbying against assisted suicide might not really be in the best interests of the disabled.

Belly dancer shakes cerebral palsy limits

Srianthi Perera
The Arizona Republic

Neena Nour was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy when she was 6. Doctors said she would be unable to dance, roller skate or balance.

Her determination proved them wrong.

Nour, 20, whose real name is Christina Pope, dances in the classical Middle Eastern belly dance tradition, known as raks sharki, and has been practicing her profession for four years.

Former school being revamped to offer disabled housing

REGINALD JOHNSON, Correspondent
BRIDGEPORT — A nonprofit health organization plans to turn an abandoned city school into the first housing complex in Fairfield County serving people with disabilities who can live independently.

United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Connecticut is renovating the former Roberto Clemente Elementary School on Pembroke Street to create 25 units of housing.

Taking the sting out of health costs

By Christina Pazzanese, Globe Correspondent

Last week, representatives from a consortium of pharmaceutical companies, doctors, local community groups, and patient advocates gathered at the South End Community Health Center to announce the launch of a new program to help people get free and low-cost medicine.

Stories of everyday Americans recorded in traveling trailer

By BETSY TAYLOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

In addition to the traveling recording booths, two others have been stationed in New York City since 2003, where they are gathering accounts that include people's memories from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But the life stories collected in the mobile booths have been as varied as the nation. A wheelchair-bound woman with cerebral palsy talks about struggles with love: "There's armor between you and the opposite sex." A happily married man says his wife is like a beautiful song, while he himself is a "busted, old radio."

The StoryCorps project is scheduled to be in St. Louis through Sept. 26. On Thursday, Missouri Historical Society president Robert Archibald sat down with the city's former and first black mayor, Freeman Bosley Jr., now 51, for the first interview in St. Louis.

This is an update to the original story

Fundraising wheelathon

A wheelchair-bound church-goer has performed a wheelathon around Dundee to raise money for new plans to create disabled access to his local church.

Using an electronic scooter, Danny took off from Dickson Avenue and travelled around the most of the city including the city centre, Dens Road, Logie Street, Ancrum Road eventually finishing at the Church on Charleston Drive.

Top 8 Reasons HCI is in its Stone Age

I think this is an interesting article. It shows how much work there is yet to do, in regard to creating a better computer interface.

Man with Cerebral Palsy Swimming for Funds

From WLNS.COM
A man with cerebral palsy is swimming all day to raise money to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Despite having cerebral palsy, MSU alumni David Schipp is swimming laps at MSU's IM outdoor pool.

Mercury Rising?

From Richmond.com
Quick, painless and, for the women who came out on Thursday, necessary. According to the Sierra Club, which sponsored the free event, one in six women of childbearing age already has enough mercury in her body to put a fetus at risk of developmental disorders and learning disabilities.

Wheelchair cabs headed here

Rogers and his wife, who both have cerebral palsy, enjoyed something many able-bodied people take for granted: the ability to be spontaneous and not live life according to a timetable.

Researchers identify molecular anchor that allows bacterial invasion of central nervous system

A single molecular anchor that allows bacteria to invade the nervous system may hold the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis, a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine study has found.

Govt gives $500,000 for cerebral palsy

Prime Minister John Howard has announced $500,000 federal government funding to further cerebral palsy research.

Mr Howard made the announcement at the Spastic Centre's diamond anniversary ball in Sydney.

Mr Howard and his wife Janette joined a crowd of 400 at the Grand Ballroom at Luna Park to celebrate the organisation's 60th birthday.

The funding would go to the establishment of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, which will be run by the Spastic Centre.

The foundation will fund research, treatment and prevention strategies for the condition, which has no known cure.

"As an additional source of support I'm very pleased to announce the commonwealth government will contribute $500,000 to the foundation," Mr Howard told the crowd.

The Spastic Centre was established by Audrie and Neil McLeod in 1945 to support people with Cerebral Palsy, a physical condition that affects movement.

Volunteer workers help disabled New Eagle man

It is good to see individual volunteerism is alive. Look around today and get involved.

By Emma Jene Lelik
For The Valley Independent

Mike Claybaugh, of Charleroi, saw a need and he responded.

When he learned an acquaintance, Andrew Shemasek, of New Eagle, was in declining health and wheelchair bound, he decided to build a ramp to the front door of Shemasek's trailer home.

With the aid of his brother, Matt Claybaugh, and a friend, Craig Furlong, they constructed a 23-foot ramp leading from the front yard to a front porch. They also built the 12x6-foot front porch of matching lumber.

Shemasek, 44, is unable to stand or walk well for any length of time, so he depends on his wheelchair to get around.

Kids with Cerebral Palsy to Be Tested on Underwater Treadmill

From the what will they think of next department.

Newswise — Dr. Don Morgan is anxious to test his underwater treadmill, because he believes it will help children with cerebral palsy gain greater strength in their lower extremities, lessen their level of fatigue, and perhaps raise their level of mobility.

Morgan, a professor in the health and human performance department at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), in Murfreesboro, and expert in exercise science, has always been fascinated by the energy demands of locomotion. He began his work with athletes, primarily long-distance runners. With funding partially provided by the U.S. Olympic Committee, he conducted research on the design and construction of athletic shoes.

“I realized, however, that it wasn’t just athletes who have to move—everybody has to move in order to function in society,” Morgan said. “I looked at a study funded by the National Institutes of Health that examined how physical growth impacted the energy demands of walking and running in children.