posted on May 1, 2008 - 9:52am
After Hurricane Katrina sent two pine trees crashing through our home, friends said, “It could have been worse.”
And they were right.
We could have lost our entire home. Jim, my husband, could have been unemployed. Weston, my son, could have spent his entire freshman year attending high school in Texas.
posted on September 1, 2003 - 3:08pm
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Whether preparing elaborate holiday meals, huddling over homework, reading the morning paper or chatting with friends, people usually make the kitchen the busiest room in the house.
Kitchens for everyone are universal
A college freshman in a power chair is the first in her school’s history to go through sorority ‘rush’
posted on December 10, 2009 - 6:16pm
On one of her first days at the University of Missouri, freshman Gabriella Garbero achieved campus-wide notoriety when her father Matt passed out in her dormitory.
He wasn’t impaired -- other than being dehydrated and not having eaten for most of the day, and having diabetes, which he found out about from that experience. The stress of helping his daughter get settled into college life probably...
Funds from the Affordable Care Act are now available in most states to help people move out of, or avoid, institutional care
posted on May 6, 2011 - 3:38pm
The federal government is moving ahead with plans to expand access to home and community based services for individuals who receive Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced in April that $3.7 billion in federal funds will be made available to implement the Community First Choice Option, a provision of the new health care law (the Affordable Care Act) which...
Buy new, rent or fix up a used motor home or trailer, then take your accessibility with you on vacation
posted on January 1, 2012 - 12:20pm
Correction: An earlier version of this article had the incorrect website and phone number for Bridgeview Manufacturing. The story was revised to reflect the correct information.
Barbara Graztke loves to vacation and enjoys traveling six to eight months out of every year. But she finds hotels uncomfortable and doesn’t like to fly. She visits family and friends across the country, but is unable to...
A state rehabilitation program remodeled my bathroom — and my life
posted on March 31, 2011 - 11:44am
I never thought I would be so excited about getting a new toilet, sink and shower. But my new fully wheelchair-accessible bathroom has made such a difference in my life, my attitude and my outlook that I can truly say this makeover has been a life-changing event.
More than 10 years ago, I received a diagnosis of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Over the years, I’ve...
Tips for achieving quality of life and independence by living with paid personal attendants and their familes
posted on December 31, 2009 - 1:19am
A wise friend at my Quaker meeting once told me, “It’s a ministry to offer help, but it’s also a ministry to accept help.” Let’s just say that my life situation has given me quite a lot of opportunities to exercise the ministry of accepting help!
I was born with type 2 spinal muscular atrophy and left home for graduate school at age 25 never having had anyone except my mother help me with my...
posted on July 1, 2009 - 3:30pm
The high number of recent property foreclosures, driven by an uncertain economy, is taking a particular toll on people with disabilities who rent homes, condos and apartments.
People with disabilities often require ground-floor dwellings and close proximity to medical services, equipment providers, caregivers and accessible means of transportation. These requirements — plus difficulties with...
posted on July 1, 2009 - 2:34pm
Who doesn’t love recess? Remember those school days … you sat at your desk with your feet dangling from your chair, dreaming of the moment when the teacher would let you and your friends go to recess? Rain or shine, you got a well-deserved break from your daily routine, and you made the most of every second of it.
Short, free guide answers questions about the ADA and other disability rights laws
posted on July 13, 2009 - 4:27pm
“Individuals with disabilities are a protected class under civil rights laws, and it is the one protected class that anyone can join, usually involuntarily, at any point in their lives.”
So says attorney Jacquie Brennan, the author of a new guide to disability rights laws, The Disability Law Handbook, that recently was released by the Southwest Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center...
