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Olympics Seats Could Convert to Wheelchairs

September 28, 2009 | by

If Chicago wins the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, it could be a moving experience for thousands of disabled people around the world. That’s because a majority of the seats in the planned Olympic venue at Washington Park may be converted into wheelchairs for the destitute and disabled, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Designers plan to make the 80,000 seat stadium collapsible so that it won’t take up as much space once the games – should Chicago land them – are finished. That means nearly 50,000 seats will go elsewhere. So they’re hatching a plan that would convert the remaining seats into permanent wheelchairs. The idea belongs to Darren Brehm, a consultant for the Chicago 2016 bid team. Brehm has been wheelchair-bound ever since a 1990 car wreck left him paralyzed so he knows the value of this idea. keep reading »
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AAPD Wants Your Vote for the Best Disability Commercial

September 25, 2009 | by

American Airlines and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) are asking the public to help select the first winner of the “Altitude Award,” which honors the best U.S. television commercials featuring authentic depictions of people with disabilities. The finalists include Coca-Cola, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Chesapeake Services, Texas Lions Camp and the Courage Center. Companies and advertisers were asked to submit innovative, original television commercials that portray people with disabilities in a positive and progressive light. The public is invited to visit www.aa.com/altitudeaward and vote for their favorite commercial from the top five finalists. The voting starts today and continues through Oct. 23. The final five commercials are showcased in an online gallery for final public voting. The finalist with the most votes will receive the Altitude Award along with highly coveted free advertising onboard American Airlines planes. The Altitude Award-winning ad will be announced in November. keep reading »
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Wired: Hire Autistics for Better Results

September 25, 2009 | by

In WIred magazine’s The Smart List: 12 Shocking Ideas That Could Change the World, entrepreneur Thorkil Sonne says more companies should recruit autistics. Thorne, whose youngest son was diagnosed with the mysterious developmental disorder, says that in some jobs, an autistic person’s preternatural capacity for concentration and near-total recall can be more valuable than having good people skills. In Sonne’s native Denmark, as elsewhere, autistics are typically considered unemployable. But Sonne worked in IT, a field more suited to people with autism and related conditions like Asperger’s syndrome. “As a general view, they have excellent memory and strong attention to detail. They are persistent and good at following structures and routines,” he says. In other words, they’re born software engineers. According to the article, in 2004, Sonne quit his job at a telecom firm and founded Specialisterne (Danish for “Specialists”), an IT consultancy that hires mostly people with autism-spectrum disorders. Its nearly ... keep reading »
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College Advice for Students with Learning Disabilities

September 25, 2009 | by

For students with learning disabilities, applying to college is a daunting task. An article in the New York Times’ blog, The Choice, reports on a Nacac conference, “Supporting the Transition to College for Students with Learning Disabilities,” where educators tried to answer some of the nettlesome questions for high school counselors trying to guide students with disabilities — including dyslexia, ADHD and Asperger Syndrome — toward supportive colleges where they might thrive. While the Nacac conference was geared to high school counselors and college admissions officers, there was plenty of useful material for parents, too: * The Association on Higher Education and Disability found that just 28 percent of students with learning disabilities graduate. And only 25 percent of students with disabilities take advantage of the services available to them on campus. * Catherine Axe, the director of Disability Support Services at Brown University, said that it was illegal for colleges to ... keep reading »
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Disability Perceptions More Upbeat for 2012 Paralympics

September 22, 2009 | by

International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven believes that perceptions of Paralympic sport and towards the disabled in society are shifting to a more positive light, according to a U.K. Telegraph article. “Over the [last] eight years Paralympic sport has become something in the hearts and and minds of spectators and television audiences and it will be about growing that and building a relationship. People who say it is not a sport are usually people who have not seen it. When people look at [sprinter] Oscar Pistorius, they see him as an incredible athlete.” Craven believes London 2012, which began in the U.K., will give the Games a greater platform to start from. He hails from Lancashire and is a former British wheelchair basketball player, widely considered the best in the world in his day. “No one knew [the Paralympic Games] could create that spirit and that is now to come ... keep reading »
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Mad Men Exec Loses His Foot, then His Career

September 21, 2009 | by

An interesting scene on last night’s episode of Mad Men, which is set in the 1960s. A top executive at the Sterling Cooper ad agency — known as a “pure account man” — got his foot run over by (a drunk secretary on) a John Deere lawn mower. After he is rushed to the hospital, the doctors must amputate his foot. So the big wigs at the agency arrive at the hospital, and big wig #1 says, “He was a great account man. A prodigy. He could talk a Scotsman out of a penny.” Then big wig #2 says, “Now thats all over.” Don Draper tries to defend the amputee, but there’s really no discussion. Says big wig #2: “The man is missing a foot. How is he going to work? He can’t walk.” And big wig #1 pipes up, “The doctor said he’d never golf again.” Both big wigs agree ... keep reading »
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Speech Impaired Weigh In on Health Insurance Paradox

September 19, 2009 | by

The article in The New York Times about insurers refusing to pay for speech-generating devices has hit a sore point among the disability community. Today’s newspaper reserves a section for comments from people who use these devices, including Roger Ebert, the film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times. Says Ebert: I am one of those you write about who uses a computer voice after losing the power of speech as a result of cancer surgery. After trying an $8,000 custom device with little computing power and a small, dim screen, I tried the built-in speech software on my MacBook and found it much more practical … Anyone who uses a computer and has lost the power of speech knows that e-mail becomes invaluable. It’s stupid of insurance companies to insist on an inferior device costing 10 times as much. Augie Nieto, a former fitness champion who has ALS and is well known ... keep reading »
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New Campaign Asks Businesses to Hire People with Disabilities

September 19, 2009 | by

A group of disability organizations has launched the Campaign for Disability Employment to promote the hiring of people with disabilities. Actor Robert David Hall, who plays a coroner on C.S.I. and is a paraplegic, kicked off the campaign with a keynote speech at the U.S. Business Leadership Network conference in Washington, D.C. “I’m an actor, and while there are more sensible pursuits, it is our shared experience as people with disabilities that must and can bring us together.” Hall says. All people with disabilities want to work, “but assumptions can be killers” that inhibit this group from getting jobs, he says. The campaign centers around the theme “What can You do?” and seeks to reinforce that all people with disabilities want to work and that their talents will have a positive impact on businesses. Even so, in the weakened economy, people with disabilities are more likely to take a hit. ... keep reading »
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IBM Gives a Glimpse of the Future at USBLN

September 18, 2009 | by

The USBLN conference ended today and I want to thank John Kemp and the USBLN for allowing me to come and blog the event. I met some incredible people doing some extraordinary work and came away with lots of great story ideas. Because the convention center didn’t have wireless in the breakout rooms (or maybe it did, but I was unable to access it) I was unable to personally attend these sessions. But I have all the presentations and will do some follow-up interviews and report these stories in the weeks to come. I wanted to mention Dr. John Kelly, senior vice president and director of research at IBM, who spoke yesterday on some amazing IBM programs for people with disabilities. Dr. Kelly presented a visionary look at the future of the world at large through the prism of technology. He says that disability is just one of five emerging trends in the ... keep reading »
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Walgreens Wants to Hire 1,000 People with Disabilities by 2012

September 17, 2009 | by

Sometimes it takes a wake-up call to realize the right thing to do. That’s what happened to Randy Lewis, senior vice president of distribution and logistics for Walgreens. When he found out his son had autism, “it was a slap in the face,” he said. Having a child with a disability has changed Lewis’ perspective on the employment landscape for people with disabilities. “If my son is like 95 percent of the other kids out there with autism, he’ll never be offered a job.,” he says. Walgreen’s highest producing distribution center in the U.S. is in Anderson, S.C. In it, 40 percent of the 700 people have a disability such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and traumatic brain injury. We knew it would have to train differently, Lewis says. “They say once you’ve seen one person with a disability, you’ve seen one person with a disability. Everyone ... keep reading »
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