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NYS GOV. David Paterson: He's No FDR, But Does He have to be so Bad

N.Y. Governor Paterson
Blind to Tools of Success

By Deborah Kendrick

Several years ago, when I received some mystifyingly bad treatment at the hands of other people who shared my disability, a friend who was both black and blind comforted me with her insight. “Blind people can sometimes be like a basket of crabs,” she told me. “When one of them makes it to the top, the others scramble to pull him down.” Continued here

Commentary:

Paterson Says Equal Rights Too Expensive

By Peter S. Kahrmann

New York Governor David Paterson this week put a value on equal rights – too expensive.

Read the entire commentary

Disability Rights Group: 30 Years as a Force for Change

By Kathi Wolfe

Mary Lou Breslin, opening the door to DREDF's first office

Having breast cancer is no picnic.

It wasn’t a day at the beach five years ago, when Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) co-founder and senior policy advisor Mary Lou Breslin began outpatient chemotherapy for it. Breslin, who has polio.. DREDF continued

Mental Health Advocate Wants End on Her Terms

By Mike Reynolds

When Judi Chamberlin was born on October 30th, 1940, no one could have predicted how much she would revolutionize the nature of mental health care and treatment and the ways in which it would be delivered in the United States and throughout much of the world.

Chamberlin, who is currently writing about the last days of her life in her blog “Life as a Hospice Patient,” has been a strong voice for decades for the rights of people with mental illness to have control over their treatment.

Chamberlin continued click here

Commentary

Spanish Disability Organization Proving that ONCE is Enough

By William Loughborough

When ONCE (Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, the National Organization of the Spanish Blind) was founded in 1938 during Francisco Franco’s rule, the blind of Spain and the world were largely unemployed and many were beggars. Now, almost entirely because of ONCE, the blind of Spain are essentially 100% employed.

Full story on ONCE

From Hearing Loss to Sound Outlook

Living With a Cochlear Implant

By Amy Halloran

The device was surgically installed behind her right ear, which has no hearing capacity. The implant, which works to create new neural pathways in her brain rather than amplify sound like a hearing aid, allows her to use the telephone...

For on this story click here

First of two parts

Assistive Technology a Big Help to People Who Stutter

By John M. Williams

The 10-year-old pupil stands next to his desk. He is a normal-looking boy and is alert, energetic and full of dreams. Before he speaks, he weighs his words. In the past when he spoke, his speech was characterized by repetitions (li-li-like this), prolongations (lllllike this), or abnormal stoppages (no sound) between syllables.

Click here People Who Stutter

Obama Proposes an Extra $250 for Social Security Recipients

To compensate for the loss of a cost of living adjustment in January 2010, President Obama has proposed a one-time payment of $250 for senior citizens, veterans, and people with disabilities on Social Security benefits, calling it an addition to his stimulus bill “on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession.”

Full story on $250 payment

Living with Hemophilia: A Personal Story

By Kevin Irvine

I am a bleeder and have been for all of my 40 years. Please don’t be alarmed: It isn’t nearly as messy or freaky as it sounds. If it were, I probably wouldn’t have been married for eight years with a 3-year-old daughter. Full hemophillia story

People with Disabilities at Higher Risk for Swine Flu

By Barbara Bobbi Linn

IPeople with disabilities (PWDs), especially children, are at high risk for the H1N1 virus and should be among the first groups to have both the seasonal flu vaccination as well as the H1N1 immunization.

Flu story continued