Favorite disability related books - part 1

There are a lot of books out there outlining disability history. I haven't read them all, but I have read one that has always stuck with me. No Pity was the first book on disability history that I ever read. It was part of my Independent Livng class in college. I am so thankful this book was part of it because it opened me to a larger movement that I have never been aware of. It made me aware of the ones that had gone before me to bring about the ADA and IDEA. It also made me think about where things were going, and were I am a part of it.

The book explains the orgins of the movement from Ed Roberts days at UC Berkley up until the passage of the ADA. In his easy to read style, John Shapiro explains what happened without coming off too biased on the side of the rights movement. I liked that he took a lot of perspectives in the movement - those with physical disabilities, the Deaf, learning disabilities, and many others. I gave my only copy away to my successor as President of Advocates for Disability Awarenss, and I miss it. Hopefully they read it and passed it on themselves. I would really like to reconnect with this book. No Pity will always be the first book to open my eyes to the larger disability rights movement that I took for granted.

Thank you to our veterans

Since this day is Veterans Day, I want to send out my thanks to all of our veterans and current military. The sacrifice you have made for our country can never be repaid. Regardless of the situation, you answered our nation’s call for service with courage, honor, and bravery. I will always be thankful for what you did for us. Thank you for being there when we needed you.

Disability Social Networking Site is Created

Every person with a disability has experienced having a person ask if we know of someone with a similar disability. Sometimes it feels like people assume we all get together and hang out. Like there is an annual disabled convention or something.



As ridiculous as the ideas sounds, a part of me wishes there was such a connectedness between us. Realistically, people with disabilities have a lots of have a lot of barriers to getting together, socializing and such. There's the lack of transportation. Communication The internet is one way that we can connect, share experiences, get advice, give support and be supported in our lives. The folks at Disaboom are trying to take these ideas.

Disaboom is a place were people with disabilities can share their thoughts through blogs, gather and share experiences in discussions, and read articles about living life with a disability. Some different things about this social networking site is that there is a place were members can post reviews of the accessibility of buisnesses, restarants, tourist attractions and the like. They also have a Career Center that is under some development, and can potentially have resumes posted, on-line interviews, and other great features.

Its a great site, and clearly a work in progress. It only started this past summer, so there is a lot of growth and developing going on. But the potential is so great, I'm glad to be a community member myself. Check it out, its worth your time!

Autism Epidemic??

As a new parent, the statistics on autism are startling. I've sure you've seen the commercials of a mother strapping her kid into his car seat stating the chances of a child being in a wreck are 1 in 150,00 and having autism is 1 in 150. It makes me more aware as a parent of my child's behavior, looking out for tendencies in a 9 month old. I guess the ads’ mission is accomplished.

Maybe they did it too well.

The facts are clear as to the increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with autism. The rise is happening for a lot of reasons. One, the autism label is no longer the stereotypical "bangs head into walls" or "unable to relate to social situations”. Its a broad umbrella of labels. Another factor influencing the rise is that parents have found autism label provides children and adults with different services, and in some ways is more socially acceptable than other less "flattering" diagnoses like ADD. Some even say the heightened awareness makes parents and professionals interpret behaviors that are just temporary and part of that age as autism.

Whatever the reason, there is an increase, at the very least in awareness. What really gets under my skin is calling autism an epidemic. That’s a scary word to use. It brings to mind death, tragedy, and suffering. Something to keep those that I love away from. There is no denying the numbers are rising, but this is not the message I believe should be sent out.

I've always felt that disability is a function of our environment. And when our environment, our society, is looking to find a problem, it usually will. Some evidence suggests that this as been some of the case with the rise of autism. Rather than scaring ourselves or focusing on the negatives, we need to inform the public of the needs of people with autism. In my mind, that will change the environment in which people with autism live in and minimizes the effects of the condition. Statistics get our attention, but learning how we can make life better for others changes people’s hearts. The actions we take in fear to protect ourselves keep us from recognizing the solutions we can be a part of. Most folks see the stats, thank God their children are "normal" and go on with life, leaving parents, friends, and professionals and the person with autism responsible. If we don't reach to peoples hearts, show them how they can be involved in the solution, our environment will stay the same, and autism will always remain a disability.