His writing style: Take "Small Steps"

By Stephanie Dunnewind

Seattle Times staff reporter
In "Small Steps," these issues include befriending a 10-year-old neighbor with cerebral palsy, dealing with protective parents, trying to graduate from high school, avoiding arrest for scalping concert tickets and hanging out with a teen rock star.

It will be interesting to see how neighbor with CP works in the plot.

Activist for the disabled enters Assembly race

From The Malibu Times:
Democrat Shawn Casey O'Brien, an activist talk show host and writer, this week entered the race for the 41st Assembly District (which includes Malibu) seat.

Ludacris Launches Cerebral Palsy Awareness Campaign

James Bartlett and SOHH.com report a unique story.

Studies show that while African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the U.S. populations, they account for almost 20 percent of all people with disabilities. More than 35 percent of African-American families reported having a family member with a disability in 2000.

I am not a listener of hip hop music but I am glad to see these numbers are coming out. I am surprised the numbers are that high. I hope these stories help disabled minorities awareness.

Clark's appearance exposes unease with stroke patients

I was surprised and pleased to see Mr. Clark's appears on television. See what you think about others comments and how they view society take on the show. If you agree or dis agree please comment, thanks.

Move To Work and Accessible/Affordable Housing

This is great news from Steve Gold:

MTW and Accessible/Affordable Housing - Information Bulletin # 100 (1/06)
>
> Twenty eight public housing authorities listed below have a "Moving to
> Work" (MTW) Agreement with HUD. Congress permits these 28 public housing
> authorities great flexibility in administering both conventional public
> housing and housing choice vouchers. These MTW public housing authorities
> can use their federal funds in ways that have not traditionally been used.
> For example, MTWs can far exceed the minimal accessibility and
> affordability mandates that non-MTW housing authorities must comply with.
>
> Here are some affirmative suggestions disability advocates could consider
> to increase the number of affordable and accessible units in these 28
> housing authorities. You must convince your MTW housing authority that
> implementing these are within their MTW authority AND helps them comply
> with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
>
> 1. Housing authorities can set rents and subsidies for housing vouchers
> in accessible units far higher than for nonaccessible units. Thus, in
> order to assure persons with disabilities have equal access to use a
> housing voucher, these housing authorities can IF NECESSARY set housing
> voucher rents, for example, well higher than 120% of the fair market rent.
> Most important for advocates, this change could be system-wide and not on
> a unit by unit basis, as exists presently. Are accessible units in your
> city too expensive for regular housing vouchers? Has your MTW housing
> authority requested HUD for permission system-wide to increase housing
> voucher subsidies for accessible units?
>
> 2. MTW housing authorities can offer unique services to private landlords
> to assure the availability of accessible housing for persons with housing
> vouchers. This could include providing grants for home modifications to
> achieve accessibility. Thus, if persons with disabilities with housing
> vouchers find a private unit that will accept the voucher but the unit is
> not accessible, these MTW housing authorities could make home modification
> funds available. This could be accomplished either with grants directly to
> landlords or through tenants, or with low interest loans to landlords.
> Has your housing authority begun such a program?
>
> 3. MTW housing authorities could establish priority housing for persons
> with disabilities who are in nursing homes solely because they cannot find
> affordable and accessible housing. These MTW housing authorities could,
> together with your state's Medicaid office, identify persons in nursing
> homes and provide them either with accessible conventional public housing
> or increased vouchers.
>
> 4. MTW programs could also use funds to determine how many persons with
> disabilities on SSI are residing in inaccessible private housing (as well
> as conventional public housing) and begin a citywide program to remedy
> this. These are only a few of the affirmative handles MTW programs could
> use for persons with disabilities. Each suggestion requires that
> disability advocates collectively decide what you need and then decide on
> a strategy to convince your MTW to implement it. Remember, allocations of
> MTW programs are the result of local organizing and education.
>
> Moving To Work Housing Authorities:
>
> Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta, GA;
> Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Baltimore, MD;
> Cambridge Housing Authority, Cambridge, MA;
> Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago, IL;
> Charlotte Housing Authority, Charlotte,NC;
> Delaware State Housing Authority, Dover, DE;
> District of Columbia Housing Authority, Washington, DC;
> Greene Metropolitan Housing Authority, Xenia, OH;
> Housing Authority of the City of High Point, High Point, NC;
> Keene Housing Authority, Keene, NH;
> King County Housing Authority, West Tukwila, WA;
> Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, Lawrence, KS;
> Lincoln Housing Authority, Lincoln, NE;
> Louisville Metro Housing Authority, Louisville, KY;
> Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Boston, MA;
> Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, Minneapolis, MN;
> Housing Authority of the City of New Haven, New Haven, CT;
> Oakland Housing Authority, Oakland, CA;
> Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia, PA;
> Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA;
> Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority, Ravenna, OH;
> Housing Authority of Portland, Portland, OR;
> San Antonio Housing Authority, San Antonio, TX;
> San Diego Housing Commission, San Diego, CA;
> Housing Authority of the County of San Mateo, Belmont, CA;
> Seattle Housing Authority, Seattle, WA;
> Housing Authority of the County of Tulare, Visalia, CA;
> Vancouver Housing Authority, Vancouver, WA

Viral Infection At Birth Linked To Cerebral Palsy

from:
www.sciencedaily.com
Source:
BMJ-British Medical Journal

Viral Infection At Birth Linked To Cerebral Palsy

Exposure to certain viral infections shortly before and after birth (the perinatal period) is associated with cerebral palsy, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

This is a great story. It is wonderful to see break-through research to a possible background cause.

Catching Up: Roseburg grad develops cerebral palsy therapy

TERESA WILLIAMS, twilliams@newsreview.info
Andrea Downing doesn’t know any children with cerebral palsy, but she’s working on a physical therapy device that will help them improve their coordination and control.

The 1998 Roseburg High School graduate recently received a $90,000 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to continue her research; she is the first Arizona State University student in the bioengineering department to receive the grant.

National grant aids student’s fight against cerebral palsy

Researcher is first recipient from the Biodesign Institute to receive this type of award

Andrea Downing dreams of developing therapies to help children with cerebral palsy – and she now has $90,000 to kick those dreams into overdrive. Downing, a graduate student at ASU, was recently announced as a recipient of the Ruth Kirschstein Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

A GODSEND FOR STROKE VICTIMS

By LAURA ITALIANO
January 2, 2006 -- British researchers are developing a hands-free walker for stroke patients that would use a harness to support the torso and wheels behind — not in front of — the user, the BBC reported yesterday.

Doctors at Oswestry Hospital in Shropshire hope to have a prototype ready for testing this year.

The walker, originally designed for cerebral-palsy patients, requires a user to lift it as he or she moves — a difficult maneuver for a stroke patient lacking full use of the arms.