Sunshine After Rain
Decision, Settlement Fit Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration of AD
“Wounded Warrior Bill” Sails Through Congress
States and Scientists Fill Leadership Void Left by Feds
Misconceptions: Fatherhood and SCI
Remembering Justin Dart
The ARM Increases Independence for People with Disabilities
Structured for Success
Assistance Centers Can Answer Your ADA Questions
Members Inspire Students at P.S. 107’s Career Day
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Writer Sherrance Henderson scored with her first novel based on her own experiences after spinal cord injury. Sherrance Henderson’s first novel Sunshine Has Rain (Imperious Press, 2004) traces the journey of Channa Renée Jones, a self-absorbed, materialistic woman who must re-evaluate her life after spinal cord injury (SCI). Supreme Court Affirms That the ADA Applies to Foreign-Flagged Cruise Ships In a closely-watched interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Supreme Court, on June 6th, reversed a Fifth Circuit Court decision that Title III of the ADA does not apply to foreign-flagged cruise ships without clear Congressional intent. Writing for the 6-3 majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy explained, “To hold there is no Title III protection for disabled persons who seek to use the amenities of foreign cruise ships would be a harsh and unexpected interpretation of a statute designed to provide broad protection for the disabled.” United Spinal Association, [...] With extraordinary speed, the “Wounded Warrior Bill”—designed to help support severely injured soldiers and their families during the rehabilitation process—sailed through both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on May 11. While the federal government watches from the sidelines, the states are racing to secure funding for stem cell research. Stem cell research advocates are concerned that this approach is leading to a fragmented and uncoordinated policy, limiting significant progress toward researching one of the most promising areas of medicine. Given the federal government’s lack of leadership on this critical issue, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently recommended guidelines to strengthen oversight of research with human embryonic stem cells. Readers of Orbit are likely familiar with the grim statistics relating to disability: that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in the United States is 66% and even higher (87.7%) among those considered to have severe disabilities. These figures indicate that, despite passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act over a decade ago, not much has changed for people with disabilities in the job marketplace. Cultural attitudes toward people with disabilities are also slow to evolve. My column this month will deal with one persistent area of attitudinal obtuseness-the misconception (pun intended) that people with disabilities, specifically men with spinal cord [...] As people celebrate the ideals of independence and freedom this month, those with disabilities should take time to remember Justin Dart, Jr., one of the initiators of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is 15 years old this month. A Spoiled Rich Kid “He was a very spoiled, rich kid,” his widow, Yoshiko, says. “That’s how he described himself. He broke all the rules that he could.” His grandfather, Charles Walgreen, founded the Walgreen’s drug store chain. His father Justin Dart, Sr., joined the Walgreen Company, later starting his own companies, Rexall Drug and Chemical and Dart Industries. Justin’s mother, Ruth, [...] I have seen many movies with robots’ manipulative arms moving an infinite number of ways. Their strength enables them to crush an enemy’s wrist, pick up tools, pull down walls, and operate machines. Oddly, robots in movies are often on the side of evil and usually defeated in the end. Still, audiences love this science fiction, and many of us dream of having robots of our own to free us from drudgery. Now engineers at Exact Dynamics (www.exactdynamics.nl) have really developed an Assistant Robot Manipulator (ARM) to increase all aspects of independence for a person with a disability. If you’re involved in a lawsuit stemming from your spinal cord injury, a smart decision at settlement can protect your financial security for decades. United Spinal Association has had a relationship with the Northeast Americans with Disabilities Act & Information Technology Center (ADA & IT) Center for many years. We have worked as an organization with this group, but we’d like to tell you, our members, of the services they offer that may be helpful to you. Friday, May 20, 2005 found P.S. 107, in Flushing, New York abuzz with excitement. Myriad visitors, some with props-a horse, several dogs, and a handcycle-were roaming the campus for career day, an annual event orchestrated by Guidance Counselor Nora Tomei. Once again, United Spinal was proud to participate in this event, this year with representatives Laura Schwanger and Damon Rozier among the 52 invited speakers, which also included a TV news anchor, chocolate maker, district attorney, police officers, and special agents for the FBI and homeland security. |
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