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The events surrounding the 2000 presidential election increased our nation’s awareness of the disparities in voting practices and procedures for many Americans across the country. This heightened awareness resulted in the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), the purpose of which is, through changes in the voting process (i.e., voting machines, voter registration, provisional ballots, training for polling place workers), to make voting and the electoral system as inclusive as possible, particularly for individuals with disabilities.
But HAVA is not the first time Congress has [...]
President’s Message – An Introduction
Tribute to a Mentor and Friend
Taking the Pressure Off
Virtual Reality Meets the Road in Kessler Research Project
A Stimulating Idea
United Spinal Files ADA Complaints Against Long Island Rail Road,
PNC Bank and NJ Citizen Action Launch New Self-Reliant Loan Program
The Costs of Being Disabled
Living in the State of Stuck
Jon Weems’s Joyful Noise
As I assume the presidency, I have been reflecting on the numerous changes our organization has undergone in the past few years and the changes we still are faced with. The changes in the overall membership are mirrored in the Board of Directors.
June 29, 2005 marked the last Board meeting for some of our Board members who did not get reelected or chose not to run for another term. Among the latter was Carlos Rodriguez.
A highly decorated Korean War veteran, Carlos was injured in 1950, when our organization was only 4 years old. A very young Carlos was instrumental, along with other young, energetic veterans, in putting this organization on the map. Carlos, ever the leader, was at the forefront of such important legislative initiatives as Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI), Home Improvements/Structural Alterations (HISA), and Automobile Adaptive Equipment. He also helped spearhead [...]
United Spinal Association teamed up with the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS) to present the first in a projected series of consumer-oriented, one-day medical seminars, Life After Spinal Cord Injury: A Dialogue About Maintaining Health, on Friday, June 17, 2005, at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, New Jersey. Addressing key medical issues affecting people with spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D), specifically pressure ulcers and wheelchair seating, the seminar was a vehicle for communication between medical professionals who led the presentations and people with SCI/D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist Dr. Maria Schultheis has discovered an unexpected admiration for the video game industry. More specifically, she appreciates the technical skills of their engineers, especially their ability to create realistic, incredibly complex interactive environments. And while it’s unlikely that she’ll be hooked on Grand Theft Auto anytime soon, Schultheis doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge that the gaming industry has been the driving force behind the rapid growth and sophistication of “virtual reality” systems, which she and a team of researchers are putting to unique new uses at the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation (KMRREC) in West Orange, New Jersey.
The principle behind functional electrical stimulation (FES) is similar to the one that enabled Luigi Galvani, the 18th Century scientist now memorialized in the term “galvanic response,” to make disembodied frog legs “kick” on his laboratory table. Galvani found that he could make frog leg muscles contract simply by sending a current through them. In life, the frog’s (or any organism’s) muscles contract when the brain sends neurologic impulses to them by way of the spine.
Flawed renovation projects at several commuter rail stations in New York and a New Jersey “bed and breakfast” have galvanized United Spinal Association’s legal team, prompting formal complaints to the federal Department of Justice charging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Program Counsel Kleo King said that United Spinal attempted to resolve the problems amicably, but negotiations had stalled. “Unfortunately, progress was at a standstill, so we had to proceed to the next step—filing an ADA complaint.”
Stair glides, wheelchairs, and breathing equipment are just a few of the many highpriced items that people with disabilities need to make their lives easier. For residents of New Jersey, a new loan program—”The Self-Reliant Loan” program—has been developed to help individuals with disabilities purchase these assistive devices and equipment that will not only improve accessibility in their everyday lives, but provide a greater level of independence and self-reliance, as well.
Have you ever been at wit’s end wondering how you’re going to pay your bills, or make your monthly rent? And if you have children, how are you going to afford to send them to college? On top of this, how are you going to pay for all that and your health care bills at the same time?
Living in the State of Stuck (How Assistive Technology Impacts the Lives of People with Disabilities) by Marcia J. Scherer, PhD, is one of the most informative, most realistic and best-written books on disability issues related to individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and cerebral palsy (CP) that I have read in 28 years as a disability advocate and journalist.
“The main theme of my music is believing that you can achieve anything you want,” says Jon Weems, a United Spinal member from Roanoke, Virginia. Lyrics from his song “Shake the World” illustrate this theme.
I want to shake the world
And I have no plan to stop
I’m gonna leave the past behind me now
I’m shootin’ for the top.
With his album, Ordinary Man, Weems hopes to do just that.
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