Respecting individual needs and appreciating personal experiences will help us all see beyond the disability and help create a stronger, more supportive and welcoming community.

Communicate Better With Disabled People

Following are some tips that you should keep in mind when communicating with disabled people.

• Treat people with a disability with the same respect and consideration you have for everyone else.
• Don’t assume what a person can or can’t do.
• Speak to people with a disability directly, not through their carer, assistant or interpreter.
• Ask before you help – don’t just jump in.
• Can’t understand what’s being said? Don’t pretend – ask again.
• Take some time – people with some kinds of disability may take a little longer to understand and respond.
• Some disabilities are invisible. Get to know people.
• Guide dogs are working dogs. Never pat or speak to a guide dog while it’s wearing a harness.

Other Useful Communication Tips

• When talking with a person with a disability, speak directly to that person rather than through a companion or sign language interpreter who may be present.
• When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands. People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands. (Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting.)
• When meeting a person with a visual impairment, always identify yourself and others who may be with you. When conversing in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking.
• If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen to or ask for instructions.
• Treat adults as adults. Address people who have disabilities by their first names only when extending the same familiarity to all others. (Never patronize people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head or shoulders.)
• Leaning or hanging on a person’s wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person and is generally considered annoying. The chair is part of the person’s body space.
• Listen attentively when you’re talking with a person who has difficulty speaking. Be patient and wait for the person to finish rather than correcting or speaking for the person. If necessary, ask short questions that require short answers, a nod or a shake of the head. Never pretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so. Instead, repeat what you have understood and allow the person to respond. The response will clue in and guide your understanding.
• When speaking with a person in a wheelchair or a person who uses crutches, place yourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation.
• To get the attention of a person who is hearing-impaired, tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips. Not all people with a hearing impairment
  can lip-read. For those who do not lip-read, be sensitive to their needs by placing yourself facing the light source and keeping hands, cigarettes, and food away from your mouth when speaking.
• Relax. Don’t be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted, common expressions such as “See you later,” or “Did you hear about this,” that seem to relate to the person’s disability.

What Is Medicaid Health Insurance?

Medicaid is a program funded by states and the federal government to provide various insurance coverages for low income citizens including families, children, elderly and the disabled.

What Is Medicare Health Insurance?

Medicare insurance is the nations largest health insurance program. Medicare coverages include people age 65 and over, disabled persons under 65 and persons with permanent kidney failure.

Other Medicaid Disability Insurance Details

• Individuals must have a certain basic income to qualify for Medicaid. While Medicaid is techniclaly administered by the federal government, states are allowed to set their own qualification rules. As a result, qualification requirements for Medicaid might vary from state to state.
• Disabled people covered by Medicaid are covered for hospital services, x ray services, home health care services and dental insurance for children as well.

Other Medicare Disabled Insurance Details

• The coverage for Medicare is divided into two parts. Part A is the Hospital Insurance and Part B is the Medical Insurance.
• Part A is usually designed for those over the age of 65.  If you have this type of Medicare, you do not have to pay an insurance premium as you have probably paid for it via taxes while you were working. However, if you have never worked or have not paid Medicare taxes then you might have to pay a certain amoutn of premium to be insured with Medicare Part A disability insurance. Part A Medicare insurance covers hospital care, nursing care and hospices.
• Part B Medicare insurance covers a variety of health services including but not limited to physicians, outpatient vists and all therapists that are considered absolutely essential for medical purposes.

These are the basic differences between Medicaid and Medicare.

Basketball In Wheelchairs

Wheelchair basketball is played by thousands of disabled people across the world. This disabled sport is governed by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as a disability sport.

The IWBF has 82 National Organizations for Wheelchair Basketball, each participating in wheelchair basketball actively all around the year. As per the IWBF’s statistics, over 100,000 people across the world enjoy this popular disabled sport. Some of these players simply enjoy it for recreational purposes while others play professionally and even represent their country at international levels. Whether you are a man or a woman or even a child, you can play wheelchair basket ball too.

It must however be noted that wheelchair basketball is not just a casual sport and is in fact a very cometitive disabled sport and as a result, it is not surprising that it is one of the mot popular disability sports at the quadr-annual Paralympic Games.  Participants from several countries participate in the Paralympic Games, some of the most common including USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Japan. The winning country receives the Gold Cup for Wheelchair Basketball.

Basketball In Wheelchairs: Other Details

Wheelchair basketball first started being played in the 1940s through a rehabilitation program at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England. It has since developed and grown into an internationall well known disability sport. While it was initially known as Wheelchair Netball, it finally developed into what is today known as Wheerlchair Basketball.

In addition to the Paralympics, players of wheelchair basketball also compete in several other events. One of the most important competitions for his disabled sport is the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship (WBWC).  It started in 1973 and was first played in Bruges, Belgium and the championships wre won by the team from Great Britain.  The next WBWC is due to be held in 2010 and will be hosted by Birmingham, England.

Showering, bathing, shaving, brushing your hair, brushing your teeth. Though these are activities that many take for granted, people with limb differences can find them very difficult to do alone. Your daily grooming routine is made up of movements that require hand and wrist dexterity and flexibility, arm extension and rotation, balance, strength and coordination. When these movements are difficult or painful, grooming can be a frustrating or even risky experience without the aid of assistive devices.

Unfortunately, because assistive devices for independent living are produced by only a small number of manufacturers and there is only a small market for them, they can be expensive. Moreover, Medicare does not cover the cost of bathing equipment, including bath seats, hand-held shower heads or grab bars.

With a little thought and ingenuity, however, you can find ways to do these activities with homemade or easily available and inexpensive aids. You shouldn’t neglect safety for convenience, however.

Disability Safety: Dental & Hair Care

Prosthetic hands and hooks often do not grip small or thin items as well as the human hand does. As a result, these items might be difficult to control or might slip out of your prosthesis. A simple and inexpensive solution for this problem is to add thicker, less slippery handles to such items as your toothbrush, comb, hair brush, bath brush and flossing device.

If you can’t find these items with readymade built-up handles, you can make their handles larger and easier to grip by wrapping them with a short section of foam rubber tubing. Or you can simply insert some of the items into a bicycle handle grip. Also, if your prosthetic device has a limited range of motion and you can’t quite get to those hard-to-reach spots with your bath brush, try attaching it to a wooden dowel or a flexible wire.

An easy technique for brushing your teeth without arms is to use a battery-powered toothbrush. If you can get toothpaste on it, turn it on, and get it in your mouth, you can use your mouth to move it around inside, letting the vibrating toothbrush do the rest.

Flossing with the traditional string-style floss would clearly be difficult for a onehanded person. Today, however, a onehanded person can take advantage of the newer “tuning fork” flossing tools, which do not require two hands.

If you have no hands and normally dry your hair with a hair dryer, you can mount it on the wall and simply move your head around in front of it until your hair is dry. The bracket that holds the dryer should allow movement, however, so that the dryer can be tilted in various directions.

When it comes to shaving, an electric rotary razor is much kinder and gentler than a blade. Flexible-headed razors require less hand movement to reach awkward places, and are often bulky enough to be used with a prosthesis.

If you use a wheelchair at the sink, any exposed pipes underneath should be wrapped to avoid burning your legs. Whether you’re seated or on your knees in a locked wheelchair, a folded towel or a thin pillow on the front edge of the counter will make long periods at the sink much more bearable.

Finally, you’ll probably like to look at yourself in the mirror to make sure you don’t leave toothpaste on your chin or unknowingly leave the house with “bad hair.” Two simple ways to make sure that you have access to a mirror where you need it is to install a full-length mirror or to mount a magnifying mirror in a convenient location, preferably next to an electrical outlet.

Safety Tips For Disabled: Grab Bars

Grab bars help support you while you are getting in and out of the bathtub, reducing your risk of a fall. They can be installed on the walls or on the side of the tub. Wall-mounted grab bars, installed properly into walls that are in good condition, are considered more stable than tub-mounted bars. Tub-mounted bars don’t require structural support from a wall and have the added advantage of easy removal, but they must be used with caution because they can easily (and suddenly) detach if fastened incorrectly. Test them carefully in advance by applying force in several directions before relying on them for support.

Although they come in different shapes and sizes, grab bars have common safety characteristics and requirements. Flanges on the ends of the bar should have sturdy screws for installation, preferably into wall studs. There should be enough room between the bar and the wall for you to get a good grip. They should be made of plastic or rust-resistant metal, with a rough surface to prevent slipping.

Keep Things Handy

Bathing is easier if everything you need is close at hand. If you bathe in a tub rather than showering, you can buy or make a shelf to sit firmly on the edges of the tub to hold soap, brushes or a magazine.

A more flexible option is a wire-frame shower caddy with suction cups that can be attached wherever you wish. You can also find a variety of rings and hooks to add more items to the caddy; the classic “soap-on-a-rope” is always handy, and some squeeze bottles of soap and shampoo are designed to hang on a hook as well. Other soaps and shampoos are available in pump dispensers.

Slippery When Wet

One of the most common problems that amputees encounter is maintaining balance while bathing and climbing in and out of the bathtub. Most tubs don’t have adequate slip-resistant finishes. To reduce the chance of a slip injury, your bathtub floor should have either a rubber mat anchored with suction cups or nonslip adhesive strips. Bath strips should be placed close to each other so that very little of the bathtub floor comes in contact with your foot.

Various floor materials respond differently to being wet. Some new ceramic tiles and rubber-based linoleum have better slip-resistance. Keep the floor clear of rugs or small objects on which you could slip or trip, and use cleaning products that don’t leave a slippery film.

Showering Tips For Disabled Safety

Scalding is another hazard of showering. Always check the water temperature before you get into the shower. This is particularly important for people with diabetes. Diabetic nerve damage can leave your feet numb and unable to feel heat, cold or even pain. And if you can’t feel pain, you might not notice any blisters until you have an infection.

You might want to try one of the many hand-held shower heads on the market, particularly if you shower in a seated position. Handheld units also allow getting into the tub without stepping directly into a stream of water, reducing the chance of slipping. Some models are made of rubber to fit over the tub tap, while some require installation but allow more freedom of movement. Make sure you can reach the mounting bracket from your seat and that the hose is long enough for you to spray all parts of your body. The handle should be easy to grip, and any knobs or controls should be easy to use (even when wet).

For more ideas, consult an occupational therapist or independent living specialist in your area. These professionals are trained to work with people of all ages and levels of ability to identify and recommend assistive devices or methods to help them cope with daily living activities

Mobility Aids For Disabled

There are a variety of mobility aids available for disabled people. We have listed some of these here.

Transfer Boards

Tansfer boards are mobility aids designed for disabled people who have limited strength and have trouble moving from one seated place to another. Transfer boards help transfer individuals, from say a wheelchair to a sofa and come in different shapes and sizes depending on the type of seat.

Seat Assists

Seat assists are designed are turntable type of devices designed to help people who have trouble getting out a seated position. User sit on the device which swivels and enables the suer to easily get out of their seated position. Some seat assists are designed like recliner chairs and help users get out of their seats the same way. Seat assists

Patient Transfer Aids

Patient transfer aids are yet another type of mobility equipment. They are poles that can be attached to the floor to help patients move out of their seated position. Users hold on to the pole and lift themselves out of their seated position independently. For those who have no or limited use of their legs, patient transfer aids also come with leg straps that can help with moving out of wheelchairs easier. Some patient transfer mobility aids also come with non slip mats, completel reducing the risk of any falls.

Bed Assists

For disabled people who are largely confined to their beds, bed assists are ideal because these disability aids help users get out of bed. Some common bed assist mobility aids are are mattress elevators that help raise the users head and also have adjustable backrests etc for maximum comfort. Other common bed assists include footboards and rope ladder hoists.

Bathlift

For users struggling to have a bath, a bathlift mobility aid can help. These mobility equipments help users get in and out of the bath. These devices are like lifts that are controlled by a handset and are lowered and raised to help the users get in and out of the bath. Bathing is a personal experience and by using a bathlift, users can gain a large amount of independence and not require help while bathing.

These are a few of the disability aids available, and there are many more available out there.

Infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth-2) and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth (ages 3-21) receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.”

IDEA is not a new concept. It previously existed under the name Education for All Handicapped Children Act but has grown considerably since.

More than 6 million children in the U.S. receive special education services through IDEA.Despite receiving large amounts of funding from the federal government, many states continue to doubt the importance of special needs education and do not believe it is necessary.

The U.S. Dept. Education, 2005a regulations implementing IDEA states: “…to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities including children in public or private institutions or care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.”

The IDEA is a civil rights law however, states are not required to participate if they do not wish to. However, in order to encourage and assist states in complying with IDEA requirements, the Act has made funds available to all states that adopt at least the minimum policies and procedures specified in the IDEA. These policies concern the education of children with disabilities. Since the inception of IDEA, all American states have participated. However if a state does not provide appropriate education facilities, the federal government currently does not impose any strict fines or penalties.

The definition of related services in the IDEA includes, but is not limited to: transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and *mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. The term also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

According to the United States Department of Education, for children with disabilities who have been suspended for 10 days total for each school year, including partial days, the local education agency (LEA) must hold a manifestation determination hearing within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct following either the Stay Put law which states that the child shall not be moved from his or her current placement or interim services in an alternative placement if the infraction was deemed to cause danger to other students.

References:

IDEA – U.S. Department of Education

Understanding Children With Disabilities

Watch for facial expressions
Children often use unique facial expressions, sounds and body language to communicate. For example:

• Smiling, frowning or pouting
• Babbling, laughing and crying
• Turning their head away to mean ‘no’
• Using their eyes to point to people or objects.

Listen to your child’s messages
It is important to remember that:

• Nearly every sound and action your child makes is meaningful
• All children communicate differently.

Respond to your child

• It takes patience to learn to interpret your child’s messages. It will help if you:
• Act confidently when you know what they want
• Respond to all of your child’s sounds and actions
• Place yourself face-to-face and level with your child
• Imitate any sounds your child makes
• Copy any words they say
• Keep your sentences short and simple
• Make communication fun. Use bright colours and noisy toys to attract your child’s attention.

Talk to your child’s therapist about the most suitable physical positions and activities for your child.

Hold and carry your child – but let them move
Try to hold your child in a way that will let them develop strength, balance and let them look around. You can:

• Hold the child’s body against you but leave their arms and legs free
• Make a ‘chair’ out of your arms for your child to sit in.

How to make dressing time easier
Positions that may make getting your child dressed easier include:

• Lying your child on their stomach, side or back
• Sitting them on a chair or on your lap
• Standing them between your legs.

Nappy changing
Nappy changing may be difficult if your child’s legs are stiff. To help you can:

• Bend their knees to separate their legs
• Place a small pillow under their head.

Use different sitting and lying positions to build strength

Sitting and lying in different positions helps develop strength, for example:

• Lying on their side lets a child use their hands and feet
• Lying on their stomach strengthens back, neck and arm muscles
• Sitting on the floor with their legs straight stretches leg muscles
• Sitting on a chair develops upper body strength – make sure their feet are flat on the floor or footrest.

Encourage standing and movement
Regular standing and movement are needed for muscle strength and healthy bones and joints. You can help your child by:

• Using a standing frame if your child is unable to stand independently
• Placing a favourite toy just out of reach to encourage them to roll, crawl or walk.

Things to Remember With Your Disabled Child

• Learning starts at birth but children learn the most in early childhood.
• A child with a disability may take longer to tell you what they want.
• If you talk about daily activities like shopping it helps your child’s language to grow.
• Your child should sit as upright as possible at mealtimes.
• Your child’s therapist can help you choose the most suitable positions and activities for your child.

Senior Adult Day Care: What Is It?

According to Help Guide, “Adult day care is a planned program of activities designed to promote well-being though social and health related services. Adult day care centers operate during daytime hours, Monday through Friday, in a safe, supportive, cheerful environment. Nutritious meals that accommodate special diets are typically included, along with an afternoon snack.”

Adult day care centers may be run by the state or federal government or can be privately operated as well.

Senior Adult Day Care – Purpose

As per the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA) there are more than 4000 adult day care centers across USA. The proliferation of centers over the past two decades corresponds to the “mushrooming demand for home and community based services” to meet the needs of a rapidly escalating elder population. Many wonder what the purpose of an adult day care center. It is in fact pretty much the same as a child care center, except this one is designed for adults and for caregivers of disabled elderly people. Adult day care services prove extremely useful and helpful and serve many purposes.

• They provide welcome recreation and socialization opportunities to adults.
• They provide caregivers a achance to take a break, much the same way child care centers provide breaks to parents.
• Caregivers who have to work and are unable to care for their wards during the day find adult day care centers very useful and helpful.

Adult Day Care Services Provided

Adult day care centers provide a variety of services including but not limited to the list below:

• Arts and crafts
• Musical entertainment and sing-a-longs
• Mental stimulation games such as BINGO
• Stretching or other gentle exercise
• Discussion groups (books, films, current events)
• Holiday and birthday celebrations
• Local outings.

As the primary care giver for a disabled elderly patient, if you are looking for a break, an adult day care center might just be what you need.

References:

Adult Day Care Centers – Help Guide

“If I regarded my life from the point of view of the pessimist, I should be undone. I should seek in vain for the light that does not visit my eyes and the music that does not ring in my ears. I should beg night and day and never be satisfied. I should sit apart in awful solitude, a prey to fear and despair. But since I consider it a duty to myself and to others to be happy, I escape a misery worse than any physical deprivation.” – Helen Keller

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“I discovered early that the hardest thing to overcome is not a physical disability but the mental condition which it induces. The world, I found, has a way of taking a man pretty much at his own rating. If he permits his loss to make him embarrassed and apologetic, he will draw embarrassment from others. But if he gains his own respect, the respect of those around him comes easily.” – Alexander de Seversky

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“Not only do physically disabled people have experiences which are not available to the able-bodied, they are in a better position to transcend cultural mythologies about the body, because they cannot do things the able-bodied feel they must do in order to be happy, ‘normal,’ and sane….If disabled people were truly heard, an explosion of knowledge of the human body and psyche would take place.” – Susan Wendell

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“One always overcompensates for disabilities. I’m thinking of having my entire body surgically removed.” – Douglas Adams

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“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” – Stephen Hawking

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“We all have a disability of some kind; all are lacking in one way or another. Saul has an injury to his leg. What if his personality was deformed? How much worse if his soul was lame? Preachers or teachers look for the good in all of us. (Bless them for doing so.) I don’t see a cripple. I haven’t met anyone yet who isn’t handicapped in some way. So what’s the big deal? Don’t hide your deformity. Wear it like a Purple Heart.” – Georgiann Baldino

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“Disability is not a brave struggle or ‘courage in the face of adversity.’ Disability is an art. It’s an ingenious way to live.” – Neil Marcus

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“The goals of our public welfare program must be positive and constructive. [The welfare program] must stress the integrity and preservation of the family unit. It must contribute to the attack on dependency, juvenile delinquency, family breakdown, illegitimacy, ill health, and disability. It must reduce the incidence of these problems, prevent their occurrence and recurrence, and strengthen and protect the vulnerable in a highly competitive world.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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“New information and communications technologies can improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, but only if such technologies are designed from the beginning so that everyone can use them. Given the explosive growth in the use of the World Wide Web for publishing, electronic commerce, lifelong learning and the delivery of government services, it is vital that the Web be accessible to everyone.” – Bill Clinton

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“I congratulate President Obama for taking some time today to remember the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  There is no place in our society for prejudice of any kind, yet it was not that long ago when Americans with disabilities were often not given equal rights and opportunities.  Whether the cause was ignorance or indifference, it was not acceptable.  We can all take pride in how much the ADA has accomplished, which is evident every time you attend a sporting event, ride the subway, or go to work.  Yet, there is always more to be done, which is why it’s good not only to celebrate our successes, but to look forward at what still must be done.  As long as we never forget that every life is a miracle and each person has something to contribute, we will finish the job.” – Statement from Former President George H.W. Bush on the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act – July 24 2009.

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The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is an Act of the United Kingdom and it was set up to provide legal action against disability discrimination. This disability discrimination policy is applicable in relation to employment, education, service providers, and transportation. It is illegal to be less favorable to anyone due to their disability, or refuse to make reasonable adjustments in the case of service provides, under this disability discrimination act.

The Disability Discrimination Act has been amended several times but it basically comprises of all the disability discrimination rights of an individual. The act clearly defines a disability and the nature in which they are affected and are to be assisted. It further defines the responsibilities of each business, entity, service provider or a particular individual to prevent disability discrimination.

Disability Discrimination Rights

In addition to the basic civil rights of any ordinary individual, disabled people have additional disability discrimination rights which are designed to provide an equal opportunity for them. These rights are clearly defined under the Disability Discrimination Act. Every effort is being made to fight disability discrimination worldwide. Through the implementation of a disability discrimination law that states all the specific requirements of businesses and employers, disability discrimination can be reduced considerably. Legal action can be taken against those who do not abide by these laws.

The disability discrimination rights of an individual are required to be protected by:

• Employers: are required to provide special assistive devices or make reasonable adjustments to help disabled workers adjust to the level of their co-workers. Disability discrimination must be prevented by all members of an organization which include managers, supervisors, and co-workers.

• Educational Institutions: are required to assist in the special needs of disabled students through the provision of assistive technologies and other special education devices. Special arrangements are required to be made by making minor changes to existing classrooms, teaching methods and test-taking facilities.

• Service Providers: are required to make minor adjustments to their establishments to accommodate the needs of a disabled individual. Disability discrimination laws are strict about precise measurements of parking lots, restrooms, corridors and other such areas. Service animals are to be allowed in every establishment by disabled individuals who are authorized      to have them.

• Transportation: Public transportation facilities cannot be denied to disabled individuals due to their condition and disabled travel must be made possible. Severe disability discrimination penalty may be given to those who refuse to provide service to them.

The disability discrimination act of 1995 was first introduced as a further extension of other discrimination laws that already existed. However, these laws did not deal with disability discrimination in a direct way. Thus, with the passage of the disability discrimination law, a lot has improved within the disabled world. Fair treatment and equal opportunity must now be given by all and to all under this disability discrimination act. Disability discrimination rights have now been explicitly stated and are thus easier to fight for. It has indeed been a big step forward to help the disabled community.

References:

1. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – Office of Public Sector Information
2. The Disability Discrimination Act – Direct.gov