Help is right around the corner. Now you can get latebreaking news through your e-mail before it’s hot off the press. United Spinal urges Action readers to subscribe to our new monthly United Spinal E-newsletter. The newsletter will keep you informed of the most current news and happenings at United Spinal and up-to-date on the […]

Samuel Raccosta, 6, enjoys himself while learning to
play tennis at the Sports Spectacular for Children in
Philadelphia.
By Jennifer M. Rodriguez
Everyone Had a Ball at the 2nd Annual Sports Spectacular
United Spinal Association and Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia hosted the 2nd Annual Sports Spectacular, a day loaded with activities for dozen of children with spinal cord […]

Education and Disability

Melissa Pitts and her twin sons Alex (in chair) and Ryan,
who are beginning kindergarten this month.

Misc.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: A Plug for Higher Education
DIRECTOR’S NOTES: The Journey
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Value Added
RESEARCH FRONT
Device Enables Man with SCI to Control Objects with Thoughts
MS Drug Tysabri™ Return Heavily Restricted
New Joint Effort to Fight Spina Bifida Among Hispanic […]

I used my column last month to thank our retiring executive director, as well as two board members who also retired from service. This month I’m pleased to officially welcome three new board members: Denise A. Mc Quade, Donna L. Messinger, and Laura G. Schwanger.

The theme of this month’s Action––education––coincides with one of our major programmatic endeavors: the annual conference of our three professional associations dedicated to spinal cord injury. Through these conferences we hope to ensure that physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers (and this year, physical and occupational therapists, as well), are upto- date on innovative treatment modalities […]

Something appeared on the face of this magazine last month that I never thought I’d see. It’s on the cover of this month’s Action, as well, in the black rule below the logo: a price—$2.50.
If you’re a member of United Spinal, don’t worry. You’ll always receive Action for free. The price and the […]

Device Enables Man with SCI to Control Objects with Thoughts
The journal Nature recently reported that scientists at Brown University in Rhode Island have successfully enabled an individual with spinal cord injury (SCI) to control objects cognitively using a sensor implanted in his brain.
Previous research with brain implants had succeeded in enabling users to […]

Victory for Stem Cell Advocacy––Despite President’s Veto
On July 18, the United States Senate passed the “The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act” (H.R.810) by a vote of 63 to 37. Passage of this important legislation was a great victory for stem cell research advocacy but, unfortunately, President Bush vetoed the bill the following day. H.R. […]

Alex Pitts was born quadriplegic, his twin brother Ryan was not. This month they will be entering kindergarten together. Like most twins, they have many similarities, but their levels of ability and needs are very different. How will this affect their experience at school?

By Rob Ingraham

Six years ago, Melissa Pitts gave birth to twin […]

United Spinal played a pivotal role in improving the education of physicians in the field of spinal cord injury medicine.
By Terry Moakley
Much of what United Spinal does is education. Our Web site, publications, and brochures are all developed to give you the information needed to make it through another day successfully, and […]

For a puppet troupe dedicated to sensitizing school children (and adults) to people with disabilities, the medium is the message.
By Lori A. Wood
The oldest Kid on the Block was inspired by one of special education teacher Barbara Aiello’s students, Anthony, a wheelchair-user with cerebral palsy.
“At the time, Anthony was being integrated […]

Camp Courage, in the wilds of Minnesota, is a place for every ability to learn and have fun.
By Tiffiny Carlson
Garrison Keillor had it right when he said Minnesota was a land unto itself. With its 10,000 lakes and abundance of untouched forests, it’s the kind of place where a storyteller can close his […]

An anthropologist explains what disability studies is—and why he thinks it could be so much more.
By William J. Peace
Disability studies is among the hippest and newest fields in American academia. As a college student would say, disability is cool, worthy of intense academic debate and serious scholarship. In the last decade, disability studies […]

A cross between a classroom and an employment agency, Lift, Inc. trains and helps place people with disabilities in the information technology field.
By Carrie Smoot
Tabitha Estrellado graduated in May 2006 from Pace University with a B.S. in computer science and a 4.0 average. When she’s not thinking about computers or on the job as […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Everyone can do something productive. Even if you have limited mobility following an accident or illness, there are still many jobs you can perform. Maybe you can no longer do the work you did before, but you can rejoin the work force doing something else. Going back to school might jumpstart that […]

By Ziggi Landsman
Trying to decide on a new cushion lends itself well to confusion and anxiety. There are a large number of cushions being offered up in every conceivable shape, size, and form. While it’s impossible to answer the age-old question of which cushion is the best, it’s possible, at least, to set you on […]

By Ed Lash
“Laughter may not be the best medicine, but its positive effects on your mind and body are no joke.” –Mayo Clinic Health Letter
One day in 1862, Abraham Lincoln was meeting with his closest advisors. He read a humorous piece aloud to them, but Lincoln was the only one that laughed. “Why don’t […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti
It’s not always pleasant to think about, but even if we don’t have pets, we are never the only species living in our homes. Mold, mildew, bacteria, and other microbes can invade a home and cause serious illness for the human occupants–– headaches, allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems. Sometimes the problem […]

by Kathleen M. Muldoon
My heart pounded. My stomach twisted and lurched. I glanced at the clock and then at the teacher who graded papers while keeping an eye on his stopwatch. By my calculations, I had about 13 minutes to answer the 30 remaining questions on the social studies portion of the statemandated test […]

By Tom Scott
MLB All-Star Fanfest
The United Spinal Mets and Yankees wheelchair softball teams participated in the 2006 Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Fanfest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. United Spinal players joined representatives from other wheelchair softball teams from across the country, hosting clinics and exhibitions games for the thousands of fans in attendance.
“United […]