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We have experienced about a 15% increase in membership since January, and our membership numbers continue to rise. During the Disabilities Expo held in New Jersey in late April, we signed up 89 members in one day. Many of our new members are women and, for the first time in our organization’s history, we have signed up kids below 18 years of age.
As our member totals increase and our membership demographics change, we continue to seek ways to provide service to all our members. This entails not only varying our programs, but also expanding our activities [...]
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience “walking” again. I have not been able to move my legs independently and have been paralyzed from the waist down for the past 22 years due to multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Albert Lo invited me to come up to the West Haven VAMC to try out the Lokomat in February when it was delivered. The 4-hour drive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to West Haven, Connecticut had never been so short; the traffic jams along I-95 were inconsequential. My excitement grew exponentially in anticipation. I could not imagine what to expect, only that [...]
Despite a new law requiring new accessible cabs, and in face of a civil action calling attention to the problem, New York City has yet to make available taxis for all.
On April 16 and 23, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) opened some 664 bids for a total of 300 new yellow taxi medallions being auctioned by the city.
A law passed by the City Council last year required the TLC to set aside 9%, or 27, of these medallions as restricted to wheelchair accessible taxi vehicles; however, this law [...]
I remember that May morning well. The year was 1993. I walked into my office, sat down before my desk and started typing. At 9:15, from nowhere, a slashing pain started from my fingertips in my left hand and rapidly spread up my left arm straight to my heart. The pain was excruciating. I thought I was having a heart attack. I was short of breath and scared.
I stopped typing, grabbed my left wrist and called, “Lisa!”
Lisa, my wife, responded, “What’s wrong?”
“I think I am having a heart attack!”
Lisa quickly ran up the [...]
The following is excerpted from testimony United Spinal advocates presented on April 30 to the New York State Taskforce on People with Disabilities and Standing Committee on Housing.
For most people, locating, securing and maintaining affordable housing is an arduous task, but for many New Yorkers with disabilities, affordability is only half of the housing dilemma. People with disabilities need housing that accommodates their disabilities. For people with mobility impairments, this means that housing accessibility is a main concern, as their dwellings need to allow them to independently enter, exit, use [...]
Too many people with disabilities are vulnerable to physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Awareness of the problem is a step toward solving it.
People with disabilities are more likely to be victims of domestic violence and abuse by their loved ones than are the rest of the population. This is true of physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, overdosing or withholding medication, stealing money, immobilization, financial abuse and denying necessary equipment. People with disabilities are more likely to be abused for a longer duration and to suffer abuse from more than [...]
At its January 14, 2004 meeting, the Access Board-the federal agency required by law to develop design standards for access by individuals with disabilities-unanimously approved new guidelines concerning access to facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The approved rule overhauls the existing ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), which were first published in 1991. They cover the construction and alteration of facilities in the private sector (places of public accommodation and commercial facilities) and the public sector (state and local government facilities).
The rule also revises guidelines for [...]
Fraud in the power wheelchair industry is a real issue. Medicare payments for power wheelchairs have increased by nearly 450%, from $289 million in 1999 to $1.2 billion in 2003. While it is imperative to root out fraud and abuse in the power wheelchair industry, it is equally important to ensure beneficiary access to power mobility devices. Power wheelchairs play an integral role in assisting millions of Americans who are disabled and/or elderly live independent lives, and allow them to be active participants in, and positive contributors to, our communities. [...]
The staff of the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center (SCDRC), located at the Bronx VA Medical Center (VAMC), would like to introduce you to the first in a series of articles on research being performed on the consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI). The featured article this month is on testosterone replacement therapy in persons with chronic SCI.
The focus of research at the SCDRC is the secondary medical conditions associated with SCI. Injury of the spinal cord affects many systems of the body and causes widespread consequences, one of which is a reduction of circulating testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone largely responsible [...]
Access Board Issues Polling Place Checklist
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), state and local governments must ensure access to their programs and services, including voting. The U.S. Department of Justice, which regulates and enforces these requirements, has issued an accessibility checklist for polling places. This new publication is designed to help local jurisdictions in selecting sites for polling places through an evaluation of architectural accessibility. With the checklist, users can identify barriers to access and determine how best to address them. Based on the ADA’s design requirements for buildings and facilities, the checklist covers access to [...]
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