http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inspirational-boy-8-carries-disabled-3916872
In lecture this week, we watched a video of Chris Klein. Chris suffered from Cerebral Palsy, and talked about the struggle to be normal when having a disability. When faced with a disability it can sometimes be hard for a person to do the things they want. Well, Noah Aldrich is a normal 8 year old boy from Idaho and his brother is Lucas. Lucas suffers from lissencephaly, a rare brain condition that leaves him unable walk, talk, or eat by himself. When the local YMCA was holding a mini triathlon for kids, Noah wanted to compete with his brother. Noah helping his brother Lucas in the triathlon, completed the 200 meter swim, 3 mile bike ride, and 1 mile run. Lucas showed a look of excitement after the race. Hopefully this story of Lucas and Noah helps a person with disability not to shy away from what they want to do.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inspirational-boy-8-carries-disabled-3916872
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After looking at the interactive lecture for week 5, I am so interested in the life of one of the greatest scientists in the world who is also a person with disability. Stephen Hawking, who have achieve more than most of the normal people, has been diagnosed with neuro-muscular dystrophy which causes paralyze and therefore creating many difficult for him to live a normal life.
Stephen Hawking has generated the hypothesis of the start of the universe. His achievements has impressed many people and expired many people. He is a great example of self-determination. He was diagnosis with the illness when he was young. the illness is undefeatable so that he become paralyze for the rest of his life. Although he was unable to do many thing that normal people can do like run, swim, or even taking shower by oneself. He did not become desperate and decided to make effort to the field of science. He is goal oriented people and made decision by himself. He study hard and finally created the theory that seems the most convincing one for now of the origin of the universe. Stephen Hawking also is an authority in disability rights. The speech he made in TED has told us that when the god close a door for you, he will also open a window. The following link is an article talking about how the decease has change the life of Stephen Hawking. He says that when he have not been diagnosed with the illness, he feel bored and life is nothing important. But when he knows that he has got the illness and has no longer than 2-3 years to live. He knows that the life is good and he has many things that wanted to do. These goal has lead him to the great success afterwards. His experiences told us that sometimes illness is not a bad thing, it may provides motivations of living a better life. Stephen Hawking is now 72 years old and is still having the greatest mind in the world. http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/Health-Support/Illness-and-Recovery/Lou-Gehrigs-Doesnt-Paralyze-Stephen-Hawking.aspx#
While going through this week's interactive lecture I came to the Sue Austin video about her and her wheelchair. I found this video especially moving and it made me open my eyes to see a wheelchair as more than just a restraint to that person. In the video, Sue Austin uses words like restraint, pity, and disabled to describe a wheelchair. These are all words that most people would think of at first. She goes on to describe the wheelchair as a symbol of freedom and a "portal" to more than she could do before. This made me think a lot harder about the object and I realized how big of a freedom symbol the object really is. A person with the inability to walk can't experience the breeze of moving in their face or the freedom to go somewhere by themselves. A wheelchair gives them this ability and for Sue Austin it gave her the ability to get back in the ocean.
I work many people in my water walking program who spend their lives in wheelchairs. The cool thing about my service learning group is that it gives the people a chance to get in the pool and move by themselves out of the wheelchair. I think this is very important for them to be able to do. While the wheelchair is an assistive object and a symbol of freedom, it is important for someone who uses a wheelchair to lose the sense of dependability on the wheelchair and move by themselves in the pool. The smiles on their faces never go away in the pool and its awesome to see some of the participants gain a lot of confidence and independence in the pool. I also know a lot of people who need a wheelchair in the community where I live. While I was in high school I worked with another program that took kids who needed wheelchairs out turkey hunting. I am a big hunter and enjoy the outdoors so it was very fun to share it with these kids. There were wheelchairs that had guns attached to them and could be controlled with a joy stick and allowed for kids in wheelchairs to shoot by themselves. Shooting s bird gave the kids a huge sense of accomplishment and put on huge smile on their face after seeing the bird go down. It was an awesome and unique way to spend time with some of these kids and make their lives a little better however I could. AS far as the wheelchair goes itself, some of them were unbelievable in the places they could go. During this weeks lecture and reading and after reflecting on the things I thought about wheelchairs, I went from thinking restraint at first to freedom now. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unschooled-in-hard-knocks/ This week in class one of the things we talked about brain injuries and concussions. A lot of what was talked about was concussion problems with athletes and adults and how serious of a problem it is in sports. It always surprised me how little concussion symptoms in child athletes and sports we not talked about as much. This article is about how a big an issue concussions are for child athletes. The article states that, "about 144,000 people aged 18 and younger are treated every year in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for concussions." That is a lot of children a year being treated for concussions for it not to be talked about as much.
Head injuries are the biggest risk in playing football. running at high speeds and colliding with one another, a head injury is bound to happen. first a little history lesson on the evolution of the football helmet. 1903 is where the first helmet shows up in football. the helmet is a thin strap of leather. the helmet was rarely worn by the players, the helmet was originally designed to prevent the dreaded "cauliflower ear". when head injuries were still on the rise they started re-inventing the football helmet. a full leather helmet came out, a harder leather helmet came out. the helmets eventually became a rule of the game. they started using harder leather and plastic in the 1950s. eventually they came out with the face mask in the late 1950s. the evolution grew to what you see on the field today. It is true that these helmets have prevented numerous brain injuries but are the modern helmets really as effective as we have been lead to believe? In a CBS article I read I became questionable as to if these helmets really do protect against TBI as effectively as they say. The study revealed that the helmets currently used on the field may do little to protect against hits on the side of the head which can cause TBI. I was shocked when I read on average, football helmets reduce only 20% risk to brain injury when compared to mot wearing a helmet. The tests being conducted on the helmets in the construction and engineering puts its main focus on direct linear impact instead of putting some focus on rotational forces. This is not to depress how much helmets do in protecting brain injury. in the test, waring a helmet reduces your risk of skull fracture by 60-70% and reduces your risk of brain tissue bruising by 70%. In short, these helmets are a BIG BIG BIG help in preventing TBI but it just makes you think and question whether we can create a better helmet that is more effective in all of the aspects of force on the head. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/02/17/study-commonly-used-football-helmets-do-little-to-protect-against-traumatic-brain-injuries/
Going through this week's lecture, I found Sue Austin's video about the freedom of her wheelchair very powerful. Her story and artwork inspired me to continue to search for more forms of how individuals with disabilities showcase the freedom that wheelchairs allow them. Augie Webster, a 10 year old boy who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, came home from school and asked his mom to help him make wheelchair art. Based off of skateboard artist, Sean Greene, his family helped Augie create artwork via his wheelchair. After winning first place in his school's PTA art contest themed "Together We Can," Augie continues to make his Wheelchair Action Art on paintings, T-shirts, mugs, and much more. This story shows how individuals proudly show the world that his/her wheelchair is not a limitation, restriction, or confinement. Instead, Augie shows the world that his wheelchair is a part of him and allows vibrant freedom in his life. The link to Augie's website is below. There you can place special requests for what Augie can make you or just read and share his incredibly colorful story. http://www.wheelchairactionart.com/home It has only been in the past 60 years that wearing a helmet when riding has become common practice. Similar to American football, equestrian helmets have also undergone major research and development during this time to increase its safety and technicality. The American Society for Testing and Materials - Safety Equipment Institute must now certify the protection level of all helmets produced with the intention of protecting one's head. Helmets have evolved over the years, from looking as similar to the traditional hunt cap or top hat worn, to now embracing the technical side with exposed airways for ventilation and mesh. Unfortunately, many riders still reject the idea of wearing a helmet on a regular basis. They argue that their horse is "calm" and "totally trained", even that they've "been riding for years", and assert that nothing could possibly go wrong. The attached video speaks otherwise. Courtney King-Dye is an elite dressage rider (Think Rafalca in the olympics). She represented the U.S.A. in Beijing in 2008. However, in 2010, disaster struck. Courtney was riding one of her horses, and the horse slipped on the ground and they both fell. Courtney was not wearing a helmet, and her skull was fractured. She immediately slipped into a coma, where she remained for a month. Thankfully, Courtney did wake from her coma, though not without damage to her brain and cognitive functions. She had to relearn how to speak, how to do basic personal care activities, and how to use her limbs again. For an athlete at peak condition, it was an incredible journey that she had to begin. Since the accident, Courtney has made incredible progress, through traditional therapy and hippotherapy, which is where the patient works with a horse to improve their balance and coordination. She is also the spokesperson for a new organization called Riders4Helmets, which works to promote the use of helmets in all equestrian sports. Hopefully, by sharing her story, Courtney can convince others of the importance of wearing protective headgear to prevent more tragedies. After completing the interactive lectures for week 6, I gained a whole new perspective on the importance of communication and its essentiality in forming relationships. Without communication, there are barriers to forming relationships and it is much more difficult for an individual to express themselves in a way that allows them to live a complete and satisfied life. When watching Chris Klein's Ted Talk, I was especially interested when he discussed the obstacles he encountered in the first 6 years of his life when he did not have access to adaptive communication devices. In these years, he was unable to express himself. He could not express himself. He could not form relationships with the people around him. He could not tell his mother how much he loved her. After viewing this Ted Talk in its entirety, I was able to connect what I learned to my service learning project. For my service learning, I work in a pool setting with individuals that have physical and cognitive disabilities. One of the women that I work with during my Thursday shift is blind and nonverbal, therefore, unable to communicate to express her thoughts and feelings. Whenever I work with her, I always talk with her as I would with any other woman her age. I speak with her like the adult that she is. Although she does not have access to an adaptive communication device while she is at the pool, she acknowledges what I am saying to her by smiling occasionally or reaching for my hand. I know that she is completely aware of everything that we talk about and the more that we interact, the more I pick up about her variations in body language and what certain motions mean.
Below, I have attached the link to an article that discusses the importance of communication and how to communicate correctly with people that have different variations of disabilities. I found it all very relevant to this week's topics and the course in general. In the article, there is a section that covers the "do's and don'ts" of interacting with people that have disabilities. The article also contains a section called "The Ten Commandments of Communicating". Each of the commandments offers great advice that everyone working with people that have disabilities would benefit from reading. I hope you all find it just as useful as I did! http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workforcenypartners/forms/communication.pdf Traumatic Brain Injury Traumatic Brain Injury is an aquired injury to the brain caused by an external force. This results in different impairments in the brain, but due to these impairments many different functions are affected as well. There are 6 common areas of the brain that have significantly different effects on certain functions in the human body. These areas in the brain are the Frontal Lobe, the Parietal Lobe, the Temporal Lobe, the Occipital Lobe, the Cerebellum, and the Brain Stem. Frontal LobeThe Frontal Lobe is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere in the brain. One of the main functions of the frontal lobe is decision making as well as controlling behavior. When damaged, problems can arise in emotions, sexual activity and libido, initiating movement, sequencing, attention, problem solving and more. The following video is a woman who has a TBI to her frontal lobe, and she describes some of her experiences of difficulties she encounters. For example, she often forgets why she went into a certain room; she remembers walking there but doesn't remember why. Interestingly, you will notice that even though she has TBI in her frontal lobe, her circumstances are not that severe showing that depending on the injury and the amount of your brain it effects, you can have very different consequential functioning impairments. Parietal LobeAnother lobe effected by TBI is the Parietal Lobe, positioned directly behind the Frontal Lobe. This lobe is the main sensory tool for touch, as well as academic skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial orientation, directional understanding and more. This area is where dyslexia is developed. Due to damage of this lobe affecting spacial orientation and direction, one consequence of TBI to this area includes problems with balance. It may seem very easy for someone without Parietal Lobe Damage to stand on their hands with their feet against the wall, but someone with this condition may have great difficulty with this task. The video below is a demonstration of a woman with Parietal Lobe TBI attempting to do a hand stand against a wall and how she struggles to stay balanced. Temporal LobeThe Temporal Lobe is located underneath the Parietal Lobe and behind/under the Frontal Lobe. The main importance of this lobe is memory and especially short-term memory. Thus, people with TBI to the temporal lobe may have sufficient memory loss as well as problems with identification, facial recognition, selective attention, spoken word, and more. Also, Traumatic Brain Injury to the Temporal Lobe is the leading cause of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. The following video is not on TBI on the temporal lobe, but it is a blog cast about a woman with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and her problems with it. She keeps a seizure log and talks about how her sleep problems and dream problems all have to do with her Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. She has a 23+ seizure blog playlist about her Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Occipital LobeAnything seen by the eyes, including dreaming, is due to the work of the Occipital Lobe. This lobe is located at the back of the brain, behind the Parietal and Temporal Lobes. TBI to the Occipital Lobe can cause problems with vision, locating objects, hallucinations, reading and writing, and more.The following video was made by a group of college students to demonstrate the effects of what it would be like to have damage to the occipital lobe, including depth perception and color recognition. They even demonstrate what it would be like to not be able to recognize a book, and trying to identify it by using echolocation like a bat. Although I find this part of the video to be a little out of place, the rest of the video is very informative of the importance of the Occipital Lobe. CerebellumThe Cerebellum is at the base of the brain and on top of the spinal cord. It seems that this part of the brain deals with functions that were previously mentioned in all of the lobes including balance movement, coordination and motor skills. Other functions that the Cerebellum controls include equilibrium, fine motor skills, and postural controls, but the most important function of the Cerebellum is motor control. The video below is a speech by a man with TBI to the Cerebellum. He talks about his struggles with the condition; for example, he "dances like a grandpa" and had great difficulty doing karate because of loss of motor control. Brain Stem The Brain Stem controls functions that allow us to survive, and often we take it for granted. For example, it regulates body temp and homeostasis, breathing, swallowing, heart rate, etc. We never think about the part of the brain that controls these essential functions of our body, but when damaged it can be very detrimental. One consequence of Brain Stem damage is Vertigo. When I was in high school, I had a friend with vertigo and while walking she would often lost balance and fall and it was very difficult for her to walk straight. Also, she seemed to be very unable to focus her eyes on anything. The following video is of an old man and his experiences with vertigo, and how easily it is to be put off balance. Traumatic Brain Injury can effect one or more of the previous parts of the brain, and thus can have very detrimental effects to the body.
One of our readings from last week was the "Disability Gulag" which focused on disability rights from the perspective of a woman with a disability. One of the key points of that article was that Harriet, the author, and others had to fight to not be placed in an institution for individuals with disabilities. Harriet and her peers described being placed in an institution as a "gulag" because once you went to the institution you lost the majority of your freedom. While I was visiting family in Ohio a couple weeks ago, I came across an article in their Columbus newspaper entitled "Group says Ohio is violating Americans with Disabilities Act". As I read the "Disability Gulag", I thought back to this article I had read a few weeks before hand. There was many disturbing similarities. I was disheartened that 11 years after the "Disability Gulag" was written by Harriet, that there was still issues with the concept of institutions for individuals with disabilities.
A legal advocacy groups for individuals with disabilities in Ohio sent a letter to state officials arguing that the state of Ohio was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. They claimed that too many individuals are being kept in these institutions because the state is unable to provide the support they need to live and work within the community. The letter sent by this advocacy group included the stories of three disabled individuals in Ohio who live in institutions despite their strong desire to leave. The Americans with Disabilities Act states that all states must serve people with disabilities in setting that are appropriate to their needs and in a way that most integrates them into the community and in the least restrictive manner. Harriet describes how her peers and herself had to testify before a community to urge the government to provide them the funding they need to function within the community. Harriet states how it is easier for the government to squeeze individuals into institutions rather than to address their individual financial needs. This problem mirrors the argument made in the letter written by these Ohio advocates. The letter claimed that too many disabled individuals were in institutions or on their way into institutions when all they needed was financial assistance that would allow them to function and participate within the community. As I saw within both the Disability Gulag and this newspaper article, individuals with disabilities view institutions as a gulag because once you enter the institution you lose the freedom and your voice as an individual. One of the three individuals who shared their stories in the article described life in an institution as a "form of incarceration". The name "Americans with Disabilities Act" implies that the American people stand by those who are disabled. It is time for the government to stand by these individuals and give them the rights they deserve. Article: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/08/Group-says-Ohio-violating-the-Americans-with-Disabilities-Act_.html Letter: http://www.dispatch.com/content/downloads/2014/07/DRO_to_Governor_Kasich_et_al_re_ICFs-IID.pdf This week we learned that cerebral palsy is a neuromotor impairment. These impairments are abnormalities or damage to different areas of the body like the brain, spinal cord, or nerves which send impulses to the muscles of a person's body. Under the IDEA, cerebral palsy falls under that category of orthopedic impairments. The severity an Individual with cerebral palsy can range to either more or less severe involuntary movements of the body. From chapter 13 we learned the 4 most common types: spastic, athetoid, ataxia, and mixed. Spastic CP means muscles are tighter and cause an individual to experience uncoordinated stiff movements. Athetoid CP means movements are more contorted and abnormal. Ataxia CP causes a person to have poor balance. After watching Chris Klein talk about his experience with cerebral palsy and finding a different video about a woman with CP, I was fascinated to see the difference between the two individuals. Although they experience and talk about their lives differently, they strive for the same respect and understanding. Like I mentioned, Maysoon Zayid takes a different approach to how she discusses cerebral palsy, race, and equality. The stand-up comedian, actress, philanthropist, and advocate for individuals with disabilities, uses humor to change perspective about individuals like herself. Just like Sue Austin and Chris Klein, Maysoon is able to use a different tactic when it comes to discussing her physical disability that people often feel uncomfortable confronting. Growing up, Maysoon was told by doctors she would never walk because of the cerebral palsy. In her TedTalk she enlightens the audience with her humor while making it clear that race as well as living with disabilities is an important topic of conversation. On a serious note, I admire the very good points she makes, but I throughly enjoyed her amazing sense of humor.
After learning about disability rights and the progression of this movement in lecture, I became interested to see how far our society has come with this issue. I researched current cases that are happening on disability rights, and I was shocked to see that this is still a prevalent battle facing many people with disabilities. There seems to be a common theme among a few that I have read about; the person with a disability is not being treated in the same way as the other people without disabilities.
In recent years, we have seen many situations where former NFL players are suing the league due to lingering brain injuries after their retirement. There is an ongoing case where more than 4,500 retired NFL players are suing the league, claiming that they were denied information regarding the severity of head/brain injuries they experienced during their professional career. The two sides are working on a settlement, where the league would pay the former players who are currently suffering from conditions such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease; however, there are several players who feel that cash is not enough to "call it even". Many professional football players experience some form of traumatic brain injury after they retire, but are unaware of it due to lack of knowledge and
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/sports/football/nfl-concussion-settlement-divides-former-players.html?_r=0 Traumatic brain injuries are unfortunately a topic on which I am well versed. I am pursuing a degree in athletic training, and have worked frequently with athletes who have experienced concussion, a form of traumatic brain injury. The CDC defines concussion as, “a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. I have found that the severity of these injuries is not well appreciated, and in fact, often concussion is taken very lightly. Perhaps because concussion is considered to be a more mild form of brain injury that isn’t usually immediately life threatening. Although this may be the case, it remains that many individuals who experience cerebral concussion go on to experience multiple concussions later in life, herein lies the problem. Research by Guskiewicz et al. studies the the association between recurrent concussion and late-life cognitive impairment, and finds that individuals with “three or more concussions have a fivefold prevalence of MCI diagnosis and a threefold prevalence of reported significant memory problems compared to those without a history of concussion.” Research like this is mounting, and with the retirement of professional athletes we are starting to becoming aware of the severity of this injury, that being said, we are simply not taking concussion seriously enough. In this video entitled, “The League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis” the severity of concussion and disability that ensues is very blatantly documented. Although shocking, eye opening, and often hard to watch, this video is absolutely worth watching, and for me has been one of the most life-changing documentations regarding disability in sport and concussion.
The League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365093675/ http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16239884 CHARGE Syndrome, which is also commonly known as the CHARGE Association, is a rare genetic disorder that involves different medical and physical challenges. It is caused by a mutation in one gene, the CHD7 that is on chromosome #8, and this gene is known to be a regulator turning other genes on and off. Charge Syndrome occurs in about 1 out of every 9-10,000 births and even though it is genetic there hasn’t been a link found to the incidence of CHARGE and family history. For parents with one child with CHARGE it is said that the incidence of having another child with the syndrome is 1-2% but for the risk of children with CHARGE to have a child with it is said to be about a 50% chance, according to the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation’s Website. Since CHARGE is actually an acronym for the six characteristics commonly seen in those with the syndrome, in order for someone to be diagnosed as having CHARGE Association or Syndrome, they must show at least four of the following six characteristics. C - Stands for coloboma, which is a congenital condition that results from teardrop or abnormal shape of the pupil as well as other eye abnormalities that may leave an individual with difficulty seeing depth perception, visual acuity and even affect their eye's sensitivity to light. H - Stands for heart defects, and these can range in individuals as minor all the way to life threatening conditions A - Stands for atresia, or known as complications to the respiratory system R - Stands for retarded physical growth (I think they could update the acronym or use a better word instead of the R one) but it refers to the idea that some may have stunted growth in limbs or torso, and also may even have intellectual disabilities G - Stands for genital abnormalities, and while these are typically more common in males, the children with CHARGE often have incomplete or underdeveloped genitals E - Stands for ear defects and deformities that either can be in the middle, outer or inner ear, and these often cause hearing loss either in the mild form or even profound forms as well. I personally have never heard of such a condition as CHARGE syndrome, and I also don't know anyone personally with the syndrome but the book also included that children who have the syndrome, or have at least four of the above characteristics typically show high levels of anxiety or even have compulsive behaviors. Since the book didn't include a large section of information about CHARGE, I was curious to learn more so I visited their website, http://www.chargesyndrome.org/about-charge.asp to learn more information. I found that the most common characteristics shared among those with CHARGE syndrome are vision loss due to coloboma (seen in 80-90% of individuals), hearing loss and balance problems due to inner ear deformities (90% of individuals), cranial nerve abnormalities that leave individuals with lack or decreased sense of smell (90%-100% of individuals), and also swallowing and aspiration difficulties due to the cranial nerve abnormalities (70-90% of individuals). It also listed that 90% of individuals with CHARGE syndrome also have low muscle tone, and that it’s very common that due to this low muscle tone they also have scoliosis and a short neck. The website also includes reference points for parents and families as well as conferences, seminars, support groups, and other helpful websites. Below are some pictures of the characteristics that children with CHARGE Syndrome exhibit.
I found it very interesting to learn about the Disability Rights movement and the history behind this cause. In an article I read about a presentation at a Workers World convention, I continued to learn about the many ways individuals with disabilities faced, and continue to face, opposition and discrimination. The woman who spoke at the convention was a representative for the caucus of people with disabilities. She explains in the article that the caucus serves to address and remedy the many social and political issues that surround individuals with disabilities. Often times we view disabilities as a medical or psychological health issue, and neglect to notice how individuals with disabilities are affected in social and political aspects of daily life. The caucus' goal is to "strive to be highly respectful of, to learn from, and to build solidarity with each other."
In reading this article I learned about many issues that individuals with disabilities faced historically. For example, I learned about wage discrimination and how the 1938 Minimum Wage Act excluded individuals with disabilities. Although progress has been made, there is still some lingering evidence of such discrimination and exclusion today. In the work I have been doing for my service learning project, I have witnessed many of the ways that Disability Rights influence individuals with disabilities today. I have taken many bus rides on wheel chair accessible busses with the man I assist. It is wonderful that the city of Madison provides public transportation access to all persons, but I have also witnessed how this service is not entirely equal for those individuals with disabilities. To utilize a bus service that is wheel chair accessible in Madison, the bus must be scheduled days in advance. The city does a great job of making sure there are enough busses to provide this service throughout Madison, however, there is a level of inconvenience and required planning for individuals with disabilities that individuals without disabilities do not need to account for. Another way I have witnessed Disability Rights is through services provided by the VA hospital. I have learned about the various services, such as financial assistance for basic care needs, that the hospital provides for it's patients. These are only a couple of examples of Disability Rights being granted to Individuals with disabilities. There are tons of ways individuals with disabilities lives have changed throughout history through the enactment of various Acts and organizations that have formed. Unfortunately, however, despite the many political and social efforts made there is still much progress to be done. Article: http://www.workers.org/articles/2013/12/20/civil-rights-people-disabilities/ When Ben Jackson was born with cerebral palsy, doctors told his parents what they thought his life was going to be like. They explained that he might not even be able to take care of himself. As Ben grew up, he was very energetic and passionate about sports, where he really showed great determination and work ethic when attempting various sports, even if he was not good at any of them. When he was in middle school, he told his parents he wanted to take on wrestling “because he wanted to challenge himself both physically and mentally in one of the most demanding sports out there.” Ben lost all 24 of his matches in the first year of wrestling, but he did not quit. He noticed that every match he improved more and more. Ben wanted to stop being a victim of his disability and he was so persistent. He trained very hard, pushing himself to be the best he could be. “[He] didn’t know who [his] competition was going to be, but [he knew] that they weren’t up at 3 a.m. watching wrestling videos.” His next year in wrestling, he won his first match. He did not only attribute his success to himself, but to his family, coaches and teammates who continuously supported him. He then went on to attend college and began training for the 2016 Paralympic Games for weight lifting. In college, he is majoring in communications with the hopes of becoming a motivational speaker regarding disability issues in the future. Ben is truly an inspiration to all, to those with a disability and those without. Ben will never be finished and will continue to always challenge himself. “What keeps me going is the fact that I truly believe that I am capable of changing lives. I just want to be one of those people who is always remembered for leaving the world a better place than when I entered it.” -Ben Jackson http://matthewbraegelmann.efoliomn.com/Uploads/Developmental%20Disabilities%20Article.pdf In this week's interactive lecture about physical disabilities I was intrigued by the lady who learned to scuba dive and swim despite being wheelchair bound. It was amazing to see her effortlessly swimming underwater. I thought it was very cool how recreation helped her to redefine herself and view her disability in a new light. The article I have attached above discusses the benefits of recreational activity, specifically, the improvement of self - physical and social. With the aid of assistive and adaptive technology, people with disabilities are becoming increasingly less limited when it comes to recreational activity as is evident in the ted talk video. I think that recreational activity is obviously physically rewarding but also socially beneficial as well. People with disabilities are often ignored or avoided. Recreation offers a chance to socialize and build relationships. I believe that taking part in these activities also helps to alleviate the negative stigma attached to physical disabilities. Recreational activity can help to redefine a person's perception of self and show to others that they are not defined by their disability. The confidence and positive self-image gained through recreation can translate to other aspects of life and result in an overall improvement in the quality of life. After this week's lecture on Traumatic Brain Injury, I am interested in this disability because unlike other types of disability many times a TBI occurs when accidence happened on someone. I researched articles and stories to understand how these groups of people recover from the injury since they have been through a normal life. According to the textbook, Traumatic brain injury refers to temporary or permanent injury to the brain from acquired causes such as car accidents, accidental falls, and gunshot wounds to the head; it does not include congenital or degenerative conditions or birth trauma. Although a person can acquire a traumatic brain injury at any age, one of the highest rates is among teenagers and young adults from 15 to 24 years of age. A penetration injury, such as a bullet going through the brain, will result in certain specific effects. The effects of the injury are usually specific to the site of injury, with secondary effects occurring in other areas as a result of complications. Traumatic brain injury can also be caused by car accidents and falls. This type of injury, known as an acceleration injury, results in diffuse damage throughout the brain. Since there is certain possibility for people with TBI to recover from the disability, community contribution is helpful and contributes to the recovery plan. In the United States, there is an association named BrainLine where provides a sense of community, a place for people who care about TBI. Link: www.biausa.org/ BrainLine is a national multimedia project offering information and resources about preventing, treating, and living with TBI. BrainLine includes a series of webcasts, an electronic newsletter, and an extensive outreach campaign in partnership with national organizations concerned about traumatic brain injury. I have read many amazing stories from the website on how individuals recover from the disability and how their family and community help them throughout the program. In order to get more understanding on the process of recovery, I have viewed Matt's video from Youtube. Matt was involved in a motorcycle accident near Yankton, SD. Matt was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, SD and
subsequently life-flighted to Sioux Falls Mckennan Hospital where he is currently in ICU in critical condition. He suffers from a traumatic brain injury, lacerated liver and kidneys, road rash, lacerations and contusions to the face and head. Matt is currently in a comatose state and has been since the accident. Sedation is being used to control intra-cranial pressure with the goal of preventing potential brain damage. He has been fighting fevers, and has been on a ventilator since the accident. Prognosis is difficult to determine at this time. A long and difficult recovery are expected. From the video, it is observed that TBI recovery plan requires a man with strong mind like Matt, and also it needs assistance from family and community help. So we, as students in this class, can contribute to the plan by volunteer help. Also, individuals should pay attention to their daily safety in order to prevent themselves away from TBI. Autism spectrum disorders used to be attributed to bad parenting, known as the Psychogenic Theory. The belief that parental practices are responsible for autism has long been disproven, but the cause of autism is still unknown. According to the National Autism Association, genetic predisposition and environmental factors must BOTH be present for autism to occur. Some people may have a genetic predisposition such as mitochondrial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, methylation problems, transsulfuration issues, and toxicity. However, genetic predisposition alone is not believed to cause autism, but must be coupled with one or more environmental factors. Some of these factors include vaccinations, pesticide exposure, parental age, pharmaceuticals, and freeway proximity, among others.
What surprised me most from this article was the effect that freeway proximity has on autism. Mothers who live within 1000 feet of a freeway have been found to be two times more likely to have a child with autism. Prior to reading this article by the National Autism Association, I was unaware that such common environmental factors such as exposure to freeways and medicines ran such a high risk of developing autism. However, only those who are genetically predisposed to the disorder will be negatively affected by these environmental factors. In order to ensure everybody's safety, children should be screened for conditions such as mitochondrial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, inflammation, etc. By knowing if someone is genetically predisposed, efforts can be made to keep them away from the dangerous environmental factors, thus keeping them from developing the full-blown disorder. Link to article: http://nationalautismassociation.org/about-autism/causes-of-autism/ Link to Article (1): http://www.starbucks.com/assets/1d7de46ff5f845d89c01a81bebdbdb59.pdf Link to Article (2): http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197692 When I saw that the topic of blog posts this week consisted of Disability Rights I got very excited because of my experiences at Starbucks. Up until this summer, I was a barista at Starbucks back home in Milwaukee and at the State Street store in Madison. As a little piece of background, Starbucks is much more than a local coffee shop, but a company that strives to better the community and interactions between partners and customers. Most people think Starbucks is just a typical coffee shop, but behind the scenes is much more complex. At Starbucks on State Street, there is one employee who has Down syndrome, who we will name Callie. She comes into work twice a week and works on many cleaning and stocking tasks around the store. The community that the manager on State Street has made is incredible and ensures that this employee i accepted and appreciated every time she walks in and out of the store. Callie does have a job coach that will sit in the store and read a book or finish other tasks while she is finishing at work. This was a very different and interesting experience for me when she first walked into work, but Callie is so independent and hardworking. She never fails a task and is always looking for something to do or talk about with other partners. Having this experience really changed my preconceived views of Down syndrome that I had before and opened my eyes to a new understanding of the spectrum of disability. The Global Human Rights of Starbucks states under requirements that, “Starbucks promotes, protects, and helps ensure the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by all persons, including those with disabilities. Starbucks will not tolerate any behavior or actions within the core values of the company, nor is such conduct authorized by Starbucks employees, including managers.” People would typically look at this and act as if no one would actually abide by those laws or be submissive towards them because they want the most successful store. The difference with Starbucks is that this global rights initiative starts with the CEO, Howard Schultz. Schultz has created a precedent to be the best you can be within the company and give back to the community that has given back so much to you. Because Schultz has made this a priority, it creates a chain reaction to each manager, partner, and customer to develop a family. I am extremely fortunate to have been able to see this firsthand with Callie and ensure that she is part of my Starbucks family. Her work ethic has enhanced my knowledge on working with partners with disabilities and how to work with them properly. I believe that every business should have those with disabilities working in their offices to give everyone this knowledge. All companies should initiate a disability rights section of their manuals and give everyone an equal opportunity in the workforce.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/new-mouthguard-sensor-measures-football-players-chance-head-injury-based-impact-force-290350 As we saw with the "In the News" article added to the week 6 material, football has become a major health concern for many people. The physicality of the game puts the players at risk on each and every play. As a football player myself, and after talking to many other football players, I have found that the collisions that occur in the game can at times feel as though you have been in a car crash. That is a very powerful statement that should not be taken lightly; especially due to the fact that as mentioned in lecture, most TBIs are the result of car accidents or falls. If a fall can cause traumatic injuries, people are understandably worried about the violent and high impact his that take place in football. This article takes a look into new technology that is able to help diagnose serious brain injuries with 99% accuracy. They have created mouth guards with infrared light sensors that send signals when there is a major impact and the teeth clench into the mouthpiece. This technology is particularly critical due to the fact that many concussions go undiagnosed. Undiagnosed concussions are the result of either an unawareness that the individual has sustained the injury, or the individual simply do not want to let their team down. The latter is understandable, however brain injuries are very serious and should not be taken lightly. The mouth guard, and even new helmet, technology can help eliminate those reasons for undiagnosed brain injuries and help keep football players safe. The NFL has had many issues with traumatic injuries and players having issues after their careers. Many NFL players have claimed that they were unaware that their jobs could "turn their brains into applesauce." That being said, the NFL Is taking steps to address this major issue in the game of football. SImilar to the "In the News" article, the NFL has incorporated fewer full contact practices to eliminate the number of opportunities for high impact collisions. Also, from an in-game standpoint, the NFL has increased penalties and raised fines for hits that are deemed unsafe (leading with your head). Player health is a point of emphasis now in athletics and people are beginning to understand more about injuries and how they can work to prevent them from occurring. Unless things can be fixed, players will continue to place their bodies and their lives at risk each time they step on the playing surface. In lecture we learned about each of the different areas of the brain and what they control (Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Occipital Lobe, Cerebellum, Brain Stem). Brain damage to any areas can lead to a wide range of problems. Football, and the prevalence of concussions, has led to many traumatic injuries and even death (as a result or suicide). It is crucial that this matter is not taken lightly and we find a way to keep our players safe. As seen through Chris' Tedtalk, AAC (augmentative alternative communication) is extremely vital to those individuals who cannot produce verbal speech. I had the chance to meet and talk with one such individual - Kayla. This past week Kayla, a 21 year old girl, visited my AAC class at Marquette. Three years ago, a week prior to leaving for her first year of college, she was in a severe car accident. This accident left her in a coma for over 8 weeks and a very severe TBI. Now this young lady cannot properly use her oral/facial muscles to verbalize and communicate. This young girl is similar to Chris in that both cannot produce oral speech, although for different reasons. Both of these people also have AAC devices. The world of AAC is quite marvelous. Those suffering from TBI, aphasia (speech/language disorder resulting from a stroke), cerebral palsy, ALS, autism, Parkinson's, MS, locked-in syndrome, etc. all benefit from an AAC device; such a device gives these individuals a voice. Kayla in particular uses a device called the Lightwriter SL40. The Lightwriter SL40 is a speech-generating device, meaning it can speak anything the user types out. This device has a keyboard the individual types out his/her message with and a screen so that the communicative partner can see what the person is typing out before it is spoken to them. It also includes phone capability: the user can dial a number from the device and then use the device to type out a message that is spoken to the listener via phone. It is amazing to see Kayla using this! Another AAC device that I find mind-blowing is the Eyemax - this device operates via eye gaze. It is used with people that cannot use their hands to type, so it tracks their pupil movements and selects letters/words of the user's choosing to verbalize. This technology is so incredible! |