Britain updates Disability Discrimination Act
As of October 1, 2004, all public facilities in the United Kindom were expected to have made "reasonable" changes to ensure disabled people could use their services, incompliance with revisions to the UK Disability Discrimination Act.

'Access for disabled still poor on eve of new law,' Cambridge News, September 30, 2004.
The publication Therapy Weekly visited Cambridge city centre with disabled occupational therapist and Cambridge resident Nicole Buijsse. Of 19 shops, restaurants, banks and cafes they went to, mainly in Trinity Street, they found 14 of the 19 were inaccessible to wheelchair users.

Geoff Adams-Spink, 'San Francisco - Golden Gate to disability,' BBC News (UK section). With UK law on disability rights about to change on the first of next month, campaigners are pointing to the high levels of accessibility in San Francisco as a possible future for Britain. recently visited the city on America's west coast to find out just how accessible it is. San Francisco - when it comes to improving access for disabled people - has had 30 years' headstart on the UK. Not only has American disability rights legislation been on the federal statute books for 12 years, but California's own laws have been in place since the mid 1970s.

upcoming regional disability events

Dear Colleagues:

The local disability community has been officially invited to participate in Disability Awareness Week activities at Haverford College, as well the ‘Signs and Voices’ conference taking place at Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges in mid-November.  Let me know if you are interested in traveling together for any of these events.

More information appended below, or contact Kristin Lindgren klindgre@haverford.edu

Mike

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Mike Dorn, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Urban Education Program; Coordinator of Disability Studies
Institute on Disabilities
423 Ritter Annex
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Tel. 215 204-3373
Fax. 215 204-6336
http://isc.temple.edu/neighbor/dorn.html

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Signs and Voices: Language, Arts, and Identity from Deaf to Hearing
November 11-14, 2004
At Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges

All events are free and open to the public.
Interpreters (from English to ASL and/or from ASL to English) and CART are supplied at all events except those where they would not be helpful.

http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/dnapoli1/Signs-Voices.html

 

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From: Kristin A. Lindgren [mailto:klindgre@haverford.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 2:40 PM
To: mdorn@temple.edu
Subject: upcoming disability events

 

Dear Mike,

 

I'm writing to invite you and your Temple colleague to attend some upcoming disability-related events at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore. I've pasted links to the relevant websites below. The first one is the finalized program for the four-day tri-college conference entitled "Signs and Voices: Language and Identity from Deaf to Hearing." I believe I sent you this link over the summer, but it is now updated and complete. The second link is to the schedule for Disabilities Awareness Week at Haverford; these events begin next Thursday, Nov. 4, and include a demonstration and lecture on assistive technologies.  

 

http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/dnapoli1/Signs-Voices.html

 

http://www.cs.haverford.edu/daw/schedule.html

 

Hope your semester is going well!

 

Best,

Kristin

A Press Release from the Association of Assistive Technology Act (ATAP) Projects, http://www.ataporg.org

President Signs Assistive Technology Act

Victory for Millions of People with Disabilities Who Strive for Independence

(26 October 2004) President Bush yesterday signed the Assistive Technology Act
of 2004, which will ensure that individuals with disabilities throughout the US
and its territories have access to the technology they need to help them be
independent in school, at home, the workplace and in the community. This
legislation represents an important commitment to people with disabilities from
the President and the Congress.

For a copy of the Press Release Signing Press Release ATAP Signing
For a copy of the AT Act of 2004 in Microsoft Word AT ACT of 2004 in MSWord
For a copy of the AT Act of 2004 in PDF AT ACT of 2004 in PDF
To view a summary of the bill from the House Education and Workforce Committee Summary of AT Act of 2004
For a copy of the ATAP Press Release in MS Word ATAP Press Release in MS Word
For a copy of the ATAP Press Release Adobe PDF ATAP Press Release in PDF

Dear Colleagues:

The disability community has been officially invited to participate in Disability Awareness Week activities at Haverford College, as well the ‘Signs and Voices’ Conference taking place at Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges in mid-November. Let me know if you are interested in traveling together for any of these events.

More information appended below, or contact Kristin Lindgren klindgre@haverford.edu

Mike

Signs and Voices: Language, Arts, and Identity from Deaf to Hearing
November 11-14, 2004, at Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges
All events are free and open to the public.
Interpreters (from English to ASL and/or from ASL to English) and CART are supplied at all events except those where they would not be helpful.

From: Kristin A. Lindgren
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 2:40 PM
Subject: upcoming disability events

Dear Mike,

I'm writing to invite you and your Temple colleague to attend
some upcoming disability-related events at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and
Swarthmore. I've pasted links to the relevant websites below. The first one is the finalized program for the four-day tri-college conference entitled "Signs and Voices: Language and Identity from Deaf to Hearing." I believe I sent you
this link over the summer, but it is now updated and complete. The second link
is to the schedule for Disabilities Awareness Week at Haverford; these events
begin next Thursday, Nov. 4, and include a demonstration and lecture on
assistive technologies.

Hope your semester is going well!

Best,
Kristin

an update on my Christopher Reeve post

Hi Kim,

Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know what was happened with Christopher Reeve that day. Talk radio hosts, including Don Imus, have been creating more heat than light on this topic over the past week. I am going to post the message to the TU-DS site again so that other readers will be easily able to find this useful clarification. - Mike

~~~!!~~!~!!~!~~!O!~~!~!!~!~~!!~~~~

Michael Dorn, Institute on Disabilities

~~~!!~~!~!!~!~~!O!~~!~!!~!~~!!~~~~

Mike, I enjoyed reading through your blog. I did want to add in relation to your comments about whether Kerry actually had a phone conversation with Reeve. It sounds as if Reeve contacted Kerry and left a phone message, which is what Kerry said happened. Not that I don't disagree with the way the media and politicians are exploiting this issue, but I do think Reeve supported Kerry in bringing this issue into the forefront of the campaign. I think it's important to clarify this given all the misinformation out there.

http://www.christopherreeve.org/ChristopherReeve/ChristopherReeve.cfm?ID=903&c=10

Excerpt from Dana Reeve:
A Message from Dana Reeve
October 19, 2004

On Saturday, October 9th, Chris spent his last day of consciousness doing what he loved to do. He left a long phone message for Senator John Kerry lending his support and encouragement; he attended one of Will's hockey games, cheering as they won a huge victory, bursting with pride as Will was presented with the game puck for his outstanding playing that day. He and I spent the early evening on the phone and then he watched the Yankee game with Will and gobbled up one of his favorite meals, turkey tettrazini. His two grown children had just recently visited -- as they often do -- and we discussed in our phone conversation how great it was to have all of us together for his birthday two weeks before. Although he mentioned that his decubitus wounds were pretty bad and that he'd probably have to stay in bed the next day, he was not complaining -- his comments were, as usual, more of an observation than a complaint. He was excited about the upcoming release of his movie, The Brooke Ellison Story and very charged up about a recent visit to the Rehab Institute of Chicago where he had observed the Lokomat, a remarkable piece of automated locomotion therapy equipment used in a program we had funded through the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
Late that night, weakened by infection and the barrage of maladies which can accompany paralysis, his body failed him. At only 52, it was far too soon. There was much he still wanted to accomplish. There was much his children had yet to learn from him. It is completely unfair, but life can be that way. So, what do we do now? I look to Chris. When he was faced with grief and loss and feelings of injustice -- the feelings we are all experiencing now -- what did he do? He made a decision to carry on, to fight for his beliefs, to do for others what he couldn't do for himself. He reached into that enormous and beautiful and generous heart of his and gave us his life. We can at the very least try to do the same. We owe him that much.
With warm thanks,
Dana Reeve

Signed,
Already voted in WV :)
Kim Cordingly

From: "Lissner, Scott L" lissner.2@osu.edu
X-To: ADA-OSU ada-osu@osu.edu

THE FUTURE OF THE ADA AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, House Democratic Whip had the honor of delivering the Inaugural Tony Coelho Lecture In Disability Employment Law and Policy for New York Law School's The Labor & Employment Law program on Thursday 10/21/04. Titled "The Future of the ADA and the Employment of People with Disabilities" reviews the current status and future prospects for the ADA from his perspective as one of the members of Congress who helped deliver the ADA to theAmerican people in 1990.
In his talk, Representative Hoyer called upon Congress to reassert the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he charged was misinterpreted by the courts to dilute our civil rights. However, he noted thatthe current mood of Congress is hostile to this idea, and any changes can only come about as a result of a carefullyworked out strategy. Mr. Hoyer noted,

"As Al Hunt, the respected columnist for the Wall Street Journal, pointed out in a recent column: 'If you are blind, deaf, or in a wheelchair, the stakes on November 2nd are enormous.... The clearest evidence of that is the certainty that our next President will make crucial appointments to the federal bench, including possibly several appointments to the Supreme Court."

Hoyer's speech is downloadable at:
Transcript: http://www.nyls.edu/docs/hoyerremarks.pdf
Audio File: http://www.nyls.edu/pages/2786.asp

Hello Everyone,

I've been dismayed with the most recent rhetorical turn that the presidential campaign has taken, in the wake of Christopher Reeve's death. Unfortunately, the Kerry / Edwards campaign has been shamelessly using Chris Reeve's political support, and the sensitive topic of stem cell debate, to appeal to the AB and 'disability-friendly' community. This past weekend, the rhetoric went over the top, with Kerry's claim of a personal call from Reeve supporting his comments and performance in Friday evening's second debate. This 'call' was more likely an email to Reeve. Or was Reeve really in good enough health to speak with friend like John Kerry that soon before his death on Saturday?

And now we much endure John Edwards' pandering comments on the campaign trail in support of stem cell research, to the effect "... when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again." Ugggh! Who does that appeal to? Liberal do-gooders, but certainly not activists for disability rights. Kerry spoke of his support for Christopher Reeve's goal of walking agin in debate two. But when Kerry gets a little carried away, adopting Reeve's hyperbolic rhetoric as his own, it is embarrassing to then see John Kerry's own running mate making things worse. Much worse. Check out 'Oy Vey!' to see how this debate is playing with another disability rights advocate.

Keep an eye on this space for another post this evening after debate number three. Please feel free to post your thoughts and comments - following the hotlink below.

Mike Dorn
Coordinator of Disability Studies
Temple University

Bloglines - Trans-Generational Housing

A story on the increasing demands for multigenerational and livable communities. 

Rolling Rains Report: Precipitating Dialogue on Travel, Disability, and Universal Design

Trans-Generational Housing By rollingrains on News Here's some new lingo in housing: "Boomerang" and "Sandwich" What might these phenomenon mean might for universal design in private homes? ------------------------------ Boomerang Kids, Aging Parents Changing Housing Needs for Boomers A recent study conducted by Del Webb that shows many baby boomers anticipating empty nests can also expect that the nests won't be empty long. According to the 2004 Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey, 25 percent of the boomers polled anticipate their adult children will move back in with them, a pattern known as "boomeranging." Currently, more than 25 percent of Americans ages 18 to 34 live with their parents, according to U.S. Census figures, a number that is expected to grow. Additionally, boomers may also choose to house their aging parents who are no longer able or willing to live on their own, making them a "sandwich generation." These changing dynamics are expected to impact boomer housing needs. The survey found that those who may face both the boomerang and sandwich generation phenomena are interested in communities that can help them accommodate these changes. Baby Boomers (ages 40- 58) are more than twice as likely as those aged 59-70 to prefer an active adult community that is part of a multigenerational development. For more information, read the complete press release. http://www.pulte.com/pressroom/2004BabyBoomer/BabyBoomerNesters.pdf