The "Road to Freedom" bus travels the United States to raise awareness about the ADA.
From The Boston Globe: "The Rebirth of Braille"
CBSNews' 60 Minutes on the death of Timothy Souders:
Six months ago, Tim Souders was in solitary at the Southern Michigan Correctional Center. He was 21, serving three to five years. Though an investigation would show he needed urgent psychiatric care, Souders was chained down, hands, feet and waist, up to 17 hours at a time. By prison rules, all of it was recorded on a 24-hour surveillance camera and by the guards themselves.The right to grow up: Gordon of Gordon's D-Zone weighs in on the Ashley X case.
The tape records a rapid descent: he started apparently healthy, but in four days Souders could barely walk. In the shower, he fell over. The guards brought him back in a wheelchair, but then chained him down again. On Aug. 6th, he was released from restraints and fell for the last time. Souders had died of dehydration and only the surveillance camera took notice.
At the Medical Humanities Blog, a fascinating map illustrating private health care spending globally (shown at right) and a corresponding map of infant mortality. Brief visual description provided.A federal appellate court rules that "morbid obesity" alone does not qualify for workplace accommodation under the ADA.
A 2004 ADA case filed by the EEOC against Wal-Mart for discriminating against a workplace applicant with cerebral palsy gains news life as a federal appeals court reinstates the case.
The ongoing drama of the case between the New York Nassau County school district and a deaf boy who wants to bring his service dog with him to school continues. Previously, the police were called when the boy brought the dog with him.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, another story on lack of architectural access. This one interests me, in part, for how it contrasts with reports on disabled people who sue for changes rather than patiently attending meeting after meeting :
"The way you do everything changes," she says. "It's harder, but it's still worth living. A lot of times, it's the artificial barriers that get in our way."
Barriers, like when Latta's condo complex renovated the clubhouse in 1998 and forgot to install a wheelchair ramp.
The decision meant Latta had to miss bridge tournaments, homeowners association meetings and even dips in the pool.
The board finally purchased a portable ramp, after Latta's complaints, but they control its installation.
"So now, they own the key to my accessibility," Latta said.But Latta's life hasn't suffered.
Though this Washington Post article is just over a year old, it's a well-written description of the journalistic tendency to make disability into inspiration for the nondisabled masses.
A variation on journalistic treatment of disabled folks, The Village Voice's Valentine's Day report on a disabled man's search for love includes this visual description:He walks the streets stiffly. His feet, like a duck's, point inward with each step. His shoulders hunch up toward his hairy lobes, and pockmarks and pimples stretch from the tip of his short brown hair all along his jawline. If he looks slightly down—past his rounded belly, past the hand lying robotically rigid by his side—to the ground, his chin doubles. He checks out the girls that pass, one hazel eye following a tad faster than the other.
A well-written opinion piece by Penny Reeder on United States currency, the Bush administration, and their commitment to equality for blind folks:
And, the final third of you who have decided that “The Blind” really don’t deserve to be treated like everyone else in the country and the equivalent treatment provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 really don’t apply to “The Blind,” well, I’m going to introduce you to the Nation’s Capital-area’s ParaTransit system. I want to know what will happen when you try to give a MetroAccess driver your envelope full of currency. There’s no way he will accept a credit card even if you cheat and dig that out. And, if you don’t have the right change, your driver may – as mine did recently when I handed her a twenty instead of a one – threaten to “just put you off,” because you should know the rules, after all!
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a report on how bus service cuts affect the visually-impaired who rely on public transportation.
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