Physical Issues

Internet an equalizer for people with disabilities

SOURCE Yahoo News by Glenn Chapman

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SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) � Sally Harrison is developmentally disabled, but on Facebook the 35-year-old woman is just like anyone else.

Victor Tsaran scours the Web at lightning speeds and loves his touch-screen iPhone in seeming contradiction to the fact that he is blind.

Internet gadgets and software are creating a virtual world of equality and opportunity for a large segment of the population once marginalized due to physical or mental impairments.

"It is not about being able to do everything; it is about being able to do what you possibly can given your condition and the technology available," said Tsaran, a project manager at Yahoo! 'accessibility lab.'

For Harrison, Facebook was part of transition that took her from highly-supervised confines of a group home to...

Finding friends for your special needs child

SOURCE One Place for Special Needs by Dawn Villarreal

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Kids want to have friends. But it's not so easy for special needs children to find meaningful friendships with others. Some children are shunned because of physical differences. Others have social and communication deficits that make it difficult to start and keep friendships. While it is impossible to address the nuances of every disability, here are some general tips toward finding friends for your child.

by Dawn Villarreal, One Place for Special Needs, September 2010

It can be done
As a parent of two special needs kids, finding meaningful friendships is near and dear to my heart. I have used all of these methods and it has helped me build a small group of close knit friends who are able to look past my children�s disabilities and form a genuine friendship.

It takes time, a little bit of detective work and being able to handle some rejection, but you can find friends for your child too!

Ask your child�s teacher
Your child�s teacher sees which children in the classroom go out of their way to talk to your child. They see the classmates who take the time to assist your son or daughter without asking. Ask who these children are and contact their parent. You can start your conversation like this:

�Mrs. Smith told me that your son and my son really get along in class. I�d love the chance for them to get together.�

Depending on the disability, it is up to you if you wish to disclose the disability at this point, at the start of the play date or after the play date. You can help spread disability awareness by creating a one-page info sheet on your son that explains the disability and how to interact in kid terms. Or purchase a kid friendly book on your child�s disability to loan or give as a gift.

Find the gems during birthday parties
If you can afford a birthday party and invite all the classmates, this is a great opportunity to see for yourself which children interact best with your child. The children that want to sit next to the birthday boy or girl are good candidates for future play dates.

A child that makes sure your birthday child is...

Strongsville: Families of developmentally disabled object to proposed law

SOURCE WKYC TV Cleveland, Ohio By Jennifer Lindgren

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STRONGSVILLE -- The City of Strongsville has proposed an ordinance some say would limit the freedoms of the developmentally disabled.

Ordinance 2010-096 will be up for public discussion in Strongsville next Tuesday, where many are expected to voice their opinions.

Attorneys for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, for one, will speak on the agency's behalf.

"As [the ordinance] is written right now, it is very restrictive. It violates the Fair Housing Act, it violates HIPAA and other provisions of federal law," said Dr. Terry Ryan, Superintendent for the CCBDD.

Dr. Ryan says the concern surrounds...

Suit against Hawaii over autism case is reinstated

SOURCE Honolulu Star-Advertiser By Ken Kobayashi

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A federal appeals court reinstated a lawsuit yesterday by the parents of two autistic daughters seeking money for what they say was the Department of Education's failure to provide them with appropriate special-education services.

The family's lawyers said the decision is important because it recognizes that the parents can seek recovery under the federal Rehabilitation Act when their kids are the victims of "deliberate indifference" by the department in failing to provide the services.

"This is a very far-ranging decision that clearly articulates the standards and opens the door to recover damages," said Susan Dorsey, managing attorney of the Levin Education Access Project.

State attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decision by visiting U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, who had granted the state's request to throw out the lawsuit. Hawaii's federal appeals Judge Richard Clifton was on the panel.

The lawsuit filed by the parents alleges...

U.S. to Freeze New Grants After Stem-Cell Decision

SOURCE Wall Street Journal By GAUTAM NAIK

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Blindsided by a court ruling blocking federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells, the U.S. government plans to freeze all new grants for scientists and impose other restrictions on this burgeoning area of science.

The National Institutes of Health said it has abandoned its planned review of 50 new grant applications, and will not proceed with a second-level review of about a dozen applications valued at $15 million to $20 million. Also frozen is a planned review in September of another 22 grant applications totaling $54 million.

The preliminary injunction against federal funding for the research was issued on Monday by Judge Royce Lamberth of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The judge said that federal funding violated a 1996 law prohibiting federal money for research in which an embryo was destroyed.

Embryonic stem cells, the size of a pencil dot, have long been both controversial and promising. Cells taken from embryos are special because they can turn into all the cells of the body. Researchers hope one day to convert these master cells into specific tissue types and treat an array of ailments, from spinal injuries and diabetes to Parkinson's disease, as well as to screen for new drugs.

Opponents maintain that such research, which leads to the destruction of the embryo, is tantamount to taking a life, and have opposed such experiments on ethical grounds.

The ruling represents a dramatic setback for stem-cell science in the U.S. In March 2009, President Barack Obama expanded federal funding of human embryo research, launching dozens of new stem-cell projects across the country. Since then, the U.S. National Institutes of Health has approved 75 new stem cell lines. The ruling could even make research on lines approved under President George W. Bush ineligible for federal funding.

The judge's ruling "potentially places all this in jeopardy," said Francis Collins, director of the NIH, in a conference call Tuesday with reporters. "It has the potential to do serious damage just at a time we were gaining momentum" in stem cell research.

However, scientists have already received some $131 million in grants to pursue the research in the current fiscal year and can continue to use the money until it runs out, the NIH said.

Dr. Collins and other scientists said the judicial ruling, provided it stands, could....

S.F. lawyer accused of fraud in autism care

SOURCE San Francisco Chronicle by Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

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A former partner at a well-known law firm and his marketing consultant wife were arrested Wednesday on felony charges of bilking the San Francisco school district and private insurers out of about $400,000 via fraudulent bills for treatment of their autistic son, officials say.

The San Francisco couple, Jonathan S. Dickstein and Barclay J. Lynn, both 43, surrendered Wednesday and are expected to appear in court this morning for arraignment on 30 counts of fraud, theft and conspiracy, authorities say.

They were briefly jailed Wednesday on $100,000 bail each but were released on bond.

"This was an elaborate scheme to defraud the school district and insurance companies out of a lot of money," said Chief Assistant District Attorney David Pfeifer. "They used this scheme to make money off their child's special needs - that's terrible."

Until this year, Dickstein, who graduated from Stanford and then Harvard Law School, was a partner at the internationally recognized San Francisco firm of Morrison & Foerster, specializing in intellectual property issues and the law surrounding life sciences. He has since started his own practice, according to his Facebook page.

He and his wife had arranged for the home care of their young son through another school district before transferring to the San Francisco school district. Under state guidelines, school districts are obligated to provide or compensate parents for home education of autistic or other severely disabled children.

By law, parents are required to....

ADA suits challenge Ybor businesses

SOURCE Tampa Bay Online By ELAINE SILVESTRINI

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TAMPA - As the country marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, some Ybor City business owners fear that the landmark law could devastate the historical community.

The ADA has been credited with removing barriers for millions of disabled people, allowing them access to jobs and public buildings.

But some small-business owners see a dark side of the law - the threat of financial ruin.

Unaware they had any violations and insisting they don't want to discriminate, the business owners say they are served with lawsuits and pressured into settling for thousands of dollars without being given a chance to fix problems.

Vince Pardo, manager of the Ybor City Development Corp., said the plaintiffs tell business owners the same thing: Pay me $15,000 and we're out of your hair.

"That's a settlement," Pardo said.

When Congress enacted the ADA, it didn't assign regulators to enforce the law. Instead, it allowed individuals to...

�Dead� Vet Wins War Over VA Blunder

SOURCE Military Advantage

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John Paul Scott wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

"It's in the computer system that you're deceased," repeated an official from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.

The 39-year-old Army veteran from Houston had been calling the VA's hotline twice a day for weeks to check the status of his disability claim. This time, on July 12, the VA official who answered the phone informed Scott he would no longer be receiving benefits because, according to VA records, he had passed away in April.

Scott suffers from vision problems traced to his service in the first Gulf War. In 2008, the VA had cut his monthly disability check by $2,000. Scott appealed. On June 25, he had finally won.

Now a bureaucratic blunder meant that Scott faced a Kafkaesque dilemma: As far as the VA was concerned, he was dead. His disability payments instantly halted. His medical prescriptions stopped. Scott, already in dire financial straits after the reduction in his benefits two years ago, feared he would end up on the street.

First thing the next morning, Scott...

Under ADA, is a sidewalk an essential service or an amenity?

SOURCE Star Telegram

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Does Arlington illegally discriminate against people who use wheelchairs?

Five years into a lawsuit claiming repeated violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it's still not certain what changes, if any, the city needs to make to sidewalks and parking lots.

But it does seem clear the case will probably land in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Richard Frame, a 25-year Arlington resident who became a quadriplegic after a 1999 traffic accident, said the suit started with his seeking better access around two hospitals and downtown.

Other plaintiffs joined with claims of missing or badly sloped curb ramps; impassable, noncontinuous or nonexistent sidewalks; and inadequate handicap parking in such areas as Abram and Division streets, California Lane, Randol Mill and East Copeland roads and Green Oaks and UTA boulevards.

U.S. District Judge Terry Means dismissed the suit in 2008. In an eyebrow-raising footnote, Means noted that Frame had filed 14 "accommodation discrimination" lawsuits, including against private businesses, and had voluntarily dropped most.

"Needless to say, the court is growing weary of Frame's ADA grievances," Means wrote.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld the dismissal -- but on Monday...

Disabled Social Security employees' lawsuit advances

SOURCE By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun

Plaintiffs allege the Social Security Administration thwarted promotions of disabled workers

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A group of disabled workers is moving forward with a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration alleging the federal agency discriminates against employees with disabilities by denying or limiting promotions.

An office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Aug. 25 affirmed a 2008 decision by an EEOC administrative judge that certified the case as a class action, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Monday. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and other damages as well as changes in policies and procedures that will improve career opportunities for disabled employees, according attorneys for the plaintiffs.

The federal agency could not be reached late Monday for comment.

The plaintiffs, roughly 2,000 current and former Social Security employees with disabilities, include those who applied for promotions on or after Aug. 22, 2005, and appeared on a government "best qualified" list but were denied promotions. Their disabilities include deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness and conditions affecting limbs or spine.

Ronald Jantz, a deaf Social Security employee who initially filed the lawsuit, has...