Category: Disability Perspectives

Those who have read Don DeLillo‘s classic novel "White Noise" will recall his designation of the start of the university’s calendar year as "the day of the station wagons".  The entire campus is suddenly overrun with family cars as bewildered parents and their respective happy or diffident children unload the "stuff" that all Americans believe they can’t live without.

As I embark on a new year of teaching at the University of Iowa I find myself wondering if perhaps the immense amount of "stuff" that college kids are unloading might mean that materialism is the new "reasonable accommodation" for "normates".  You see, "normal" people seem to need a lot of items just to keep their normative lives in trim.  Gone are the days when a kid could move into a dorm room with a steamer trunk and a typewriter.  (That’s what I took with me to college believe it or not.)

Nowadays everyone needs his own microwave, refrigerator, HD TV,; computer, popcorn maker, mini component stereo with iPod connectivity, cell phone, coffee maker, and these are just "the basics" as the normates like to say.

Normal life is now as complicated as maintaining an iron lung.  I picture the new dorm residents lying prone under this mountain of gadgetry and status life accouterments and I feel a bit sorry for them.

The poet Gary Snyder used to say that one shouldn’t own anything you could not leave out in the rain.  I have it on good authority that Gary now uses a "Mac" so there it is: even a Buddhist poet needs to keep up with the times.

Activists in the disability rights community have long been arguing that "disability" is a social construction, and one has to wonder on the day of the station wagons if perhaps the high price of American normalcy is a bit too dear.

I travel with a guide dog and I need to use a talking computer and sometimes I feel bad that I need to ask for accommodations.  But I’m starting to get it.  American daily life is just one big commodity accommodation and by jimminy if you don’t have your own entertainment and appetite devices , well you might as well just stay at home.

SK

Spread the word!

WHEELCHAIR ATHLETES AT THE OHIO STATE FAIR ROLL FOR THE PRIZE
Sponsored by the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability
Sunday, August12 From 1pm to 5pm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kidnetic Energy is Ready! You’re Invited to Our OPEN HOUSE!
Sunday, August 12th from 5:00-7:00p.m

Thank you, Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, OSU for the above info.

For more information…

Continue reading “Local Sports, Liesure & Disability Events: Sunday, July 12”

My friend Kenny Fries, author of The History of My Shoes, among other wonderful books, has recently published an op-ed piece in The Washington Post.  The editorial, entitled "Running Outside the Lines" is about Oscar Pistorius, the sprinter from South Africa who runs on two prosthetic legs.  He refers to himself as "the fastest man on no legs" and as you may already know, he has successfully petitioned the Czars of the running world to compete alongside able-bodied runners.  Whether Oscar Pistorius will be allowed to continue competing against "the normates" remains to be seen and the debate over the pros and cons of engaging in sports with the aid of prosthetics is raging.  Kenny Fries brings his unique perspective to this story: he is a disabled walker and a student of the history of physical difference.  Ultimately the issues involved are more philosophical than utilitarian: baseball players use ever bigger gloves, but in the early days they wore no gloves at all.  The Boston Celtics wear sneakers that grow larger and more technologically advanced with every season.  In the end, one has to ask, what’s a prosthesis?  Who in the world of sports wants to be normal?  No one wants to be normal.  Athletes get paid to be post-normative, or supra-normal.  Many of them will cheat and use illegal steroids to achieve a competitive and super-natural edge over their competitors.  As technology changes so does the nature of human sport.  Heck, even the sports change.  No one ever thought about snowboarding when I was a kid.  Now its an Olympic event.

I believe that competitive sports will be more interesting when we abandon the cult of the perfect body and imagine new paradigms of competition.  If the able-bodied runners believe that Oscar Pistorius has an unfair advantage with his high tech prosthetic legs, then they could wear stiff splints and learn to run the way he does.  Why not?  Personally, I know some darned good blind golfers.  Maybe everyone on the PGA should wear occluders that limit eyesight.  I think this would make golf much more interesting.

SK

More….

Kenny Fries on Oscar Pistorius at Disability Studies, Temple U

Oscar Pistorius – Lucky Or Unlucky? at The King SPEAKS

Oscar Pistorius – Science and Engineering vs Training.  The first and only evaluation of ALL the evidence at The Science of Sport

Oscar Pistorius: Able or Disabled? at Run Bulldog Run

14-year old Alex "Big Al" Moshenko, of course! 

Article: Taking Autism to the Airwaves, Maryalice Demler,
Anchor/Reporter

What also makes his show, Al’s Wrestling Talk, unique is that while Alex talks about
wrestling superstars, he also talks about how he’s spent most of his
young life wrestling autism. And he hopes to inspire others to overcome
their limitations.

"That’s what I want, to help a lot of other kids
who have autism, too.  Because I found my talent, I’m sticking to it,
and I’m not going to stop," says Alex.

Alex celebrated his 14th birthday not too long ago.  I meant to post a Happy Birthday wish to him but somehow missed the opportunity.  But it’s never too late to post a "Happy Belated Birthday" now is it?

Happy Belated Birthday Alex!

The following message was forwarded to us by Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University.  Here it is in its entirety:

—–Original Message—–
From: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 4:09 PM
To: Grossman, Paul
Subject: Urgent Action Alert: Sponsors Needed for the ADA Restoration Act

Support Needed Now to Restore ADA Rights

July 23, 2007–This Thursday, July 26, on the 17th anniversary of enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) will introduce the ADA Restoration Act of 2007.

Court decisions have seriously eroded the rights of people with disabilities under the ADA, creating a Catch-22 that allows employers to say a person is "too disabled" to do the job but "not disabled enough" to be protected by the law.

People with conditions like mental illness, epilepsy, diabetes, HIV, cancer and hearing loss who manage their disabilities with medication, prosthetics, hearing aids, etc. – or "mitigating measures" – are viewed as "too functional" to have a disability and are denied the ADA’s protection from employment discrimination.

People who are turned down for a job or fired because an employer mistakenly believes they cannot perform the job – or because the employer does not want "people like that" in the workplace – are also denied the ADA’s protection from employment discrimination.

This Is Wrong!

Congress should correct this to ensure that the courts will interpret the ADA fairly, and as Congress intended.   Many voices are needed now to help Congressmen Hoyer and Sensenbrenner gather as many original co-sponsors as possible to show strength and support for this effort.

Please Act Now!

Call your Representative immediately at 202-224-3121 and ask him or her to become an original co-sponsor of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. (You can also get a direct phone number at http://www.congress.org.) Ask your Representative (or the staff member you speak to) to contact Representative Hoyer’s (ext. 5-3130) or Sensenbrenner’s (ext. 5-5101) office today to sign on as an original co-sponsor.

Forward this Action Alert to your network to get as many people as possible people to call their House member immediately with the same message.

What if you miss Thursday’s deadline? Not to worry! Co-sponsors will still be needed after July 27th, so do call your Representative’s office.

Here are talking points on the ADA Restoration Act and, below, a sample telephone message for seeking original cosponsors:

"Hi. My name is_______ and I live in ________. I would like Representative______ to be an original cosponsor of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. A Dear Colleague letter was just sent to you on Friday, July 20 from Representatives Hoyer and Sensenbrenner to let you know that they will be introducing the ADA Restoration Act this Thursday, July 26, the 17th anniversary of the original enactment of the ADA.
"People with disabilities are still too often treated unfairly in the workplace. When they go to court with a claim of discrimination, they are treated unfairly again, often by a court that says they do not even have disability and are not eligible for coverage under the Americans with Disabilities Act – even when they have been fired or refused employment because of their disability! The ADA needs to cover the people the U.S. Congress originally intended it to cover when it was passed in 1990, people with mental illnesses, epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, intellectual and developmental disabilities or cancer. But that is not what is happening now. 

"Please solve this problem by becoming an original cosponsor of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007."

* * *
If you find our Action Alerts and Reporters useful, please consider making a contribution in support of the Bazelon Center’s advocacy for people with mental disabilities. You can donate safely online at http://www.bazelon.org/support.

David, from Growing Up With a Disability, has put up an amazing post chronicaling his trip to Costa Rica as an ambassador for Mobility
International’s 2007 US/Costa Rica: Youth Leadership and Cross-Cultural
Perspectives on Disability Rights Exchange Program.

His post is a wonderfully organized slide show actually.  The photos are beautiful and the "show" is enhanced with David’s comments and reflections, and music – it’s a "must see" really if you ask me. 

Come to think of it, I think this is must see [with]tv material!  David, I hope you don’t mind if I pass this along to Howard Renensland and Hal Rosengarten.  I have a feeling they’ll be equally impressed.

~ Connie

Thanks to Monica Moshenko for this tidbit: 

Soon to be interviewed is Henry Winkler, actor, producer, director and author whose work has won the attention of audiences and critics worldwide. 

"In 2003, Henry began writing a series of children books with his
partner Lin Oliver for Penguin Putnam Publisher, entitled, Hank Zipzer:
The World’s Greatest Underachiever. Inspired by the true life
experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a
classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the
high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.
The first eight books of the series have sold over a million copies
nationwide."  Read more here for info on this and other fascinating interviews…

Did you know that –

DisAbility
News & Views Radio Show

is a proud recipient
of the 

2005
Achievement Award for Public Awareness

by the

New York State

Development
Disabilities Planning Council

Thanks to Ruth of Wheelie Catholic we’ve discovered yet another ambitious project (besides with[tv] that is) –

This one is called Disapedia and what better way to sum it up than to borrow from the "About" page:

We are a community of individuals creating a collective disabled
knowledge. We are of the opinion that each disabled individual has a
piece to the puzzle that is living life with a disability. It is our
hope that by combining them together we may one day help someone arrive
at their own solution.

This site appears to be growing by leaps and bounds.  Go see. 

Eighth Annual

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion &
Disability

April 22 and 23,
2008

On the Columbus Campus of

The Ohio State University

CALL FOR
PRESENTATIONS (Proposals are due October 31, 2007)

The Eighth Annual
Multiple Perspectives conference continues the university’s efforts to bring
together a diverse audience to explore disability as both an individual
experience and social reality that cuts across typical divisions of education
& employment; scholarship & service; business & government; race,
gender & ethnicity. The annual theme is meant to encourage presenters and
participants to consider topics, methods and programs from fresh perspectives.

Conference information past programs and updates can be found at:
http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm to be on the mailing list for the
conference send an e-mail to ADA-OSU@osu.edu. 

For more information and submission guidelines: Download call_for_papers_save_the_date.htm