Virginia's List

Golden Girls Episodes 5x01 and 5x02 "Sick & Tired"

tootwistedtv — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:36:52 -0500

I’m glad that Golden Girls brought attention to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome back in the 80s, but there was always one thing that bothered me about it. They devoted a two-part episode to Dorothy’s diagnosis, and then her CFS was NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. I realize it’s TV, and this was probably one of those “very special episodes” so common in the 80s, but it would have been nice if it had been mentioned more throughout seasons 5-7.

sasha-smithy: “When you can’t stand up, stand out.” Push...

tootwistedtv — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:24:36 -0500

sasha-smithy:

“When you can’t stand up, stand out.” Push Girls

JUNE 3RD SEASONE 2 BEGINS JUST FYI

Elderly Woman Dies in Court "Gasping for Breath" After Sheriff's Deputies "Callously" Refused to Give Her Medication, Daughter Claims

tootwistedtv — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:09:25 -0500

Elderly Woman Dies in Court "Gasping for Breath" After Sheriff's Deputies "Callously" Refused to Give Her Medication, Daughter Claims:

A woman died on a courthouse floor because Alabama sheriff’s deputies refused to give her her medicine - after arresting her for an old traffic ticket, the woman’s daughter claims in court.
Ayunna Johnae London sued St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles, jail administrators Austin Nash and Terry Marcrum, Southern Healthcare Partners, and its employee Jennifer Eisel, in Federal Court.

London claims her mother, Dwana Voncia London-Richardson, died gasping for breath in court after callous and unconstitutional treatment from the defendants.

Richardson suffered from asthma and other serious health problems, but the defendants refused to give her her medication, accused her of faking, and let her die in the courtroom, her daughter claims.

I can’t even.

i-need-that-seat: Boyfriend spotted this on his way home from...

tootwistedtv — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:29:53 -0500

i-need-that-seat:

Boyfriend spotted this on his way home from work. The only accessible parking space for this building is half taken up by a set of stairs to the front door. There’s no visible ramp to this building, although my best guess is that it’s in the back.

I believe that awning is for Folger & Burt Architectural Hardware Inc. Does the OP know if this is Folger & Burt’s parking? Because if it is, I’d like to contact them.

Ramps may be required in all new Austin homes

tootwistedtv — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:03:26 -0500

Ramps may be required in all new Austin homes:

AUSTIN — Soon, nearly every new home in Austin could come with ramps, first-floor bathrooms and special handles on the doors. It’s part of a proposal before Austin City Council called “visitibility,” to make houses more accessible for people with disabilities.

“I see this as an opportunity for even young folks who have to take care of their parents, if they ever have to do that and bring them to their home, at least they’ve got a place that they can visit,” said city planner Leon Barba.

Currently, Austin offers an incentive for these types of disability-friendly home designs under a program called S.M.A.R.T.

'Elite' flyer refuses to give up seat - National - NZ Herald News

tootwistedtv — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:32:38 -0500

'Elite' flyer refuses to give up seat - National - NZ Herald News:

A flight from Auckland was delayed when one of Air NZ’s “gold elite” passengers refused to give up her front-row seat to accommodate a wheelchair-bound woman.

Tanya Black, a 39-year-old television producer who broke her back after falling down a flight of stairs five years ago, says she was left humiliated when the woman kicked up a fuss, refusing to sit in two rows back for the hour-long flight to Wellington yesterday morning.

Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World

tootwistedtv — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:39:45 -0500

Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World:

They are 1 percenters who are 100 percent despicable.

Some wealthy Manhattan moms have figured out a way to cut the long lines at Disney World — by hiring disabled people to pose as family members so they and their kids can jump to the front, The Post has learned.

Not sure how reliable the NY Post is, but I came across this today. :-/

Sometimes I Wonder (Woman)...

tootwistedtv — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:29:10 -0500

Sometimes I Wonder (Woman)...:

The strange (and sometimes awesome) thoughts I have, as envisioned by Wonder Woman.

Here is a new Tumblr I started. Check it out!

Help! How Do I Ask After a Kid With Cerebral Palsy Without Being Weird About It?

tootwistedtv — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:31:20 -0500

Help! How Do I Ask After a Kid With Cerebral Palsy Without Being Weird About It?:

Q. High School Graduation: My son graduates from high school this month. There is a girl in the same school system who has severe cerebral palsy. She has been in the same schools as my son since kindergarten, and was mainstreamed into the classrooms; she even “graduated” along with the other kids in sixth grade. She is also a neighbor. Her parents are delightful, optimistic, friendly, and caring neighbors. But, as graduation approaches, the talk in the store when we meet other moms is always happy talk about college choices. Even this mom happily asks about other kids. I ran into her recently, and had this happy chat, but I felt self-conscious that I didn’t know how to ask about her daughter. I know there must be sadness that her daughter does not have the hopeful future that our kids have. I want to be kind and honest when we visit. How should I handle this?

A: I really dislike the way you put “graduated” in quotation marks as regards this girl’s movement through school. She had participated in school all the way through and has graduated every bit as much as more typical kids. Yes, she has a disability, but I don’t know, and maybe you don’t either, whether college is an option for her. What you do with this mother is talk to her as if she has a child who is now moving on in life, which is what she has. “So what’s Deirdre going to be up to after high school?” is a good opening once you’ve given her the scoop on your son.

Q. Re: High School Graduation LW: I grew up with a girl who had severe cerebral palsy. While her motor functions and speech were greatly affected, her cognitive abilities were not. She went to college after high school, got her degree, and now writes a monthly article for the local newspaper. She was extremely intelligent and has proven to do so much with her life. Please advise the LW to learn a little bit more about this condition if she would like to have a comfortable discussion with the parents about the girl’s plans.

A: Exactly. The letter writer apparently has no idea about the cognitive abilities of this girl. Other people are defending the use of quotations around the word graduation in referring to that sixth grade event as meaning it wasn’t really a graduation since it was from elementary school. OK, but the mother’s point pointedly was that this child hasn’t really been a functioning member of the class. That seems ignorant and even rather ugly.

Q. Re: High School Graduation: I have a son with cognitive disabilities who is mainstreamed. I think we should give the LW (who wrote “graduation”) a break. She is asking advice about how to handle the situation. She’s doing the best she can. Maybe she doesn’t understand this disability, but she is obviously trying. I’m just tired of people getting up in arms when others are trying to do the right thing, and they kind of do it in an awkward way.

A: Thank you for this. I agree that people can be awkward around this issue and that not getting offended at every stumble is the way to go. But the letter writer has known this girl and her mother for years so by now she should have developed a much more natural, relaxed way of talking to the other mother about her child.

I’d be interested to hear other people’s feedback on this situation.

States Get Ranked On Disability Services

tootwistedtv — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:19:52 -0500

States Get Ranked On Disability Services :

healthwellnessdisability:

The listing is part of a report set to be released Thursday by United Cerebral Palsy, which ranks disability services in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Texas is in the bottom 5. Why am I not surprised. :-/

Thief swipes disabled man’s motorized wheelchair

tootwistedtv — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:53:17 -0500

Thief swipes disabled man’s motorized wheelchair:

SAN ANTONIO -
Someone stole a motorized wheelchair from the 200 block of Barrera Street between 10:30 p.m. Monday and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Anthony Barrera relies on that wheelchair to get around outside his home. He has ALS, which is a disease that deteriorates muscle function.

“Everywhere I went, I depended on my scooter,” said Barrera.

Barrera’s wheelchair was locked and chained to his front porch where he has kept it for the last six years. He cannot keep it inside because his house is not wheelchair-accessible.

My sadness at this theft is compounded by the fact that the man had to keep his chair outside because HIS OWN HOUSE WAS NOT ACCESSIBLE.

UNACCEPTABLE!

Disabled People

tootwistedtv — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:15:55 -0500

sasha-smithy:

egalitarianbeauty:

This one is going to get a lot of hate. I despise the Americans With disabilities Act (ADA) and not for usual reasons. In the US we have many historical buildings that are being forced to retrofit and honestly ruin their historic nature to install ramps, elevators, etc… Not okay with this. It sucks to be disabled but it also sucks to ruin historic sites to make them ADA compliant. Would we install elevators in the Great Pyramids? It sucks, but sometimes if we don’t have the ability to do something we should admire it from afar instead of ruining it for our own selfish desires. Sorry if I offend.

FUCK YOU SO MUCH.

The ADA provides the BAREST MINIMUM. And fuck you for thinking people actually retrofit ~historical~ buildings to be accessible. Do you know how many shops I can’t get into? How many places I want to go with my friends but I can’t because a ramp instead of stairs is too damn fucking difficult?!

Fuck you for thinking that people actually build new buildings to even be accessible. Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you

Do you have a car? If I ever see it I’m keying the shit out of it and writing “THIS PERSON HATES CRIPPLES” on it.

wheeliewifee: quiltingqueer: Text is from page 6 of the...

tootwistedtv — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:46:42 -0500

wheeliewifee:

quiltingqueer:

Text is from page 6 of the Student Disabilities Services’ handbook:

Access to facilities to “enable a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity…” requires a request for modification. That’s funny, I just walk into buildings, but a student with a disability has to file a complaint, and provide proper medical documentation that they do, in fact, need a ramp to get into the building. Regardless of whether or not this process works, it’s demeaning, and far from equal.

And, as a disabled student, you must keep in mind that your rights might be an “undue financial or administrative burden” to one of the richest higher education institutions in the country. This doesn’t go both ways though, you will not be reimbursed on your tuition for the buildings and rooms you can’t access.

This is not “equal opportunity:” equal opportunity means being able to easily roll into your classes, and not have to worry that the door—which only opens manually—will be closed. It means not being late to class because you had to spend a half an hour looping around buildings in search for YOUR entrance. It means not getting stuck in the rain because you slid off the sidewalk, and no one can help because your entrance is hidden around back.

You can’t qualify equal. You can’t say you’ll make it equal unless it costs too much money. You can’t say it’s equal when people have to request to be allowed in. There is no such thing as separate entrances but equal opportunity.

(The top photo is the maze of ramps leading up to the back entrance of the brand new Paulson Center. There is no button to open the door.)

Other shit you don’t have to worry about? Whether or not YOUR path is well lit, whether or not it’s covered in branches, whether or not you have to take a more convoluted path because your college is fucking hilly and there aren’t good paths.

I’m looking at YOU Evergreen. The handicap ramp at night is terrifying because it’s down a hill from the lights, so it’s dark. It’s also entirely over hung with branches.

Then there’s the fact that a lot of the time the handicap buttons at the HCC are turned off. Or the fact that most of the time, you have to sit in the back of the class when you are using a mobility aid because you can’t do stairs. It’s not like there are people who have visual impairments and physical disabilities or anything.

*sigh*

My school likes to “forget” to shovel sidewalks, which has made it so I had to miss class before, because it was literally impossible to get my wheels through the deep snow.

There are a million other things I could bitch about, but Mike and the OP have done a brilliant job articulating for me.

Why Didn't UK Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson Get The Sport England Chair? The Reason Is Shameful.

tootwistedtv — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:20:53 -0500

Why Didn't UK Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson Get The Sport England Chair? The Reason Is Shameful.:

Quote from the article:

Grey-Thompson is in the UK House of Lords as an independent crossbench peer, which means that she is not aligned with any political party. The Telegraph characterizes her as a “well regarded both as an authority on sport and as a disability rights campaigner.”

She is also a vocal opponent of recent changes to the welfare system in the UK. Just a few weeks ago, she was supposed to have a live TV debate with George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, “the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters, equivalent to the role of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other nations.” An insider on the show said she was axed at the last minute because Osborne did not want to be shamed on TV.

It appears that her advocating for disabled people and/or people on welfare in the UK cost her the position.

Living With Disability: App that finds wheelchair accessible parking and toilets

tootwistedtv — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:01:26 -0500

Living With Disability: App that finds wheelchair accessible parking and toilets:

livingwithdisability:

Find wheelchair-accessible
toilets and parking spaces

Finding clean, accessible toilets and parking spaces when on the move can be a real challenge for wheelchair users. WheelMate is designed to change that.

Also available as a smartphone app, WheelMate gives you an instant overview of your…

[Image description: Rubik’s cube with white squares....

tootwistedtv — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:32:42 -0500

[Image description: Rubik’s cube with white squares. Braille is printed on each square.]

disabilityculturalcenter:

n-a-precedents:

Konstantin Datz - Rubik’s cube for the blind

WE NEED THIS AT DCC :D

Look at Me: Why Looking Past Disability Is Toxic for Relationships

tootwistedtv — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:20:07 -0500

Look at Me: Why Looking Past Disability Is Toxic for Relationships:

Beth Hopkins, huffingtonpost.com

If there’s one thing people love to do, it’s dream of their perfect mate. We might not all admit to it, but we’ve all done it, repeatedly. I’ve passed many an hour at a slumber party (and, in more recent years, over a cup of coffee) doing ju…

My fiancée suffered a debilitating stroke. How long before I can leave her?

tootwistedtv — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:01:31 -0500

My fiancée suffered a debilitating stroke. How long before I can leave her?:

The title is a tad misleading, but I would be interested in hearing other people’s thoughts on this issue.

Dear Prudence,
I am 40 years old and until recently a single father. A little over a year and a half ago, I met a woman who totally changed my perspective on life. I’d never believed in soul mates, but she made me a believer. We could complete each other’s sentences and had the kind of love that I’d never felt for anyone. After six months we bought a house together, merged families, and I proposed. Three months ago my fiancée had a major stroke, lost all function on one side of her body, lost her speech, and is disabled. She will likely never return to work or the life she had. She can now walk some and has regained some speech, but it is limited. Her arm still has no function. This has created a future that I had not envisioned nor signed up for. Every day is a reminder of what once was, and so is a constant source of hurt and pain. I am committed for at least a year, which is how long I knew her before her stroke, to assist her in regaining as normal a life as possible. But I cannot envision going through the rest of my life like this. I know she will be devastated if I leave, but I will be devastated if I stay. Additionally, I do not think it fair to my own child, who has a limited number of years remaining at home. This is a tragedy no matter what choice is made. I welcome your thoughts.

—Life Changes in a Minute

Dear Life,
However long you’re going to stay, make that time count. You say you want to help her recovery, so you should oversee a recovery boot camp. Our medical system can be good at saving people’s lives, but often these patched-up individuals are sent home to figure out the rest of their lives on their own. But for a stroke patient, particularly a young one, getting aggressive rehabilitation early is crucial. I hope you two have a support system of friends and family who want to help; if so, put them to work. Have them investigate the best treatments in your area for aphasia. Have them see what kinds of rigorous physical therapy is available. (Good places to start are American Stroke Association, the National Stroke Association, and the Stroke Network—and you can find support groups through these places for yourself.) Have someone be a point person to deal with the insurance company. Ask loved ones to stay with your fiancée so that you can get the respite you need to go out with friends, or go on a camping trip with your child. What you’re facing will be grueling, and it could be that your fiancée will remain severely disabled. It’s also possible that a year from now she will be in a remarkably different place.

When my younger sister was 30 years old, while she and I were on vacation together she suffered a massive stroke which left her unable to use the left side of her body. After she came out of surgery the doctor told me she would probably never be able to use her left arm. She learned to walk again and while she’ll never be a concert pianist, that arm now works. At the time her marriage was on the rocks, but her husband came home to help. The reconciliation failed, she says in part because she didn’t want someone who was there, as he was, out of pity. When I talked to her about your story, she had no words of condemnation for you. She said that you two being together for a little over a year was pretty light for something this heavy, and she understood that it’s particularly hard for a young person. There’s a lot of pain for both the stroke survivor and the caretaker. But three months out is too early to judge the extent of your fiancée’s possible recovery. (She also highly recommends the book Stronger After Stroke: Your Roadmap to Recovery by Peter G. Levine.) Even if you ultimately decide you can’t stay in the relationship, you still might be able to remain a close, supportive friend. You could also use a therapist of your own to help you work through what you can and can’t do. I hope in time the days get easier. And as they go by, keep checking in with yourself and ask, “What would I expect and want her to do if our situations were reversed?”

—Prudie

Texas State officials must increase facility accessibility

tootwistedtv — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:54:29 -0500

Texas State officials must increase facility accessibility:

Quote from article:

Texas State facilities should be made more accessible to students, faculty and staff members who have disabilities and illnesses that may hinder their mobility around campus.

Students, faculty and staff members who have disabilities and illnesses that restrict mobility may have a difficult time navigating the hilly Texas State campus. Trekking up the hills of campus may be no more than a simple workout for many, but it can be a daily struggle for those with mobility issues.

thisisableism: attemptingamazing: I’m sorry but shit like this...

tootwistedtv — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:41:21 -0500

thisisableism:

attemptingamazing:

I’m sorry but shit like this pisses me off.

“They’re just there for convenience, but other people are still allowed to use it, so you can wait.”

Some people can’t just “wait” for the elevator to come back down. In fact those who are abled should probably wait until the elevator comes back down.

This is ableism.

[Image Description: Facebook page for Northern Illinois University Confessions-I cannot stand it when people who don’t need to use the elevators do. Now I have an invisible illness so I understand that sometimes I don’t look like I need to use the elevator even though I do and that might be the case with some other people but you don’t need to have you and your 5 friends in the elevator with you leaving me to have to wait because the elevator is too full. Don’t use the elevator unless you need to. Please.

Commenter 1: We are paying thousands to come here…were gonna use what we want!

Commenter 2: ^ Do you even lift?

Commenter 3: I get where you’re coming from, but elevators aren’t reserved for people with disabilities much like handicap stalls aren’t, either. They’re just there for convenience, but other people are still allowed to use it, so you can wait.

Commenter 4: I live on the 3rd floor in Stevenson and I only take the elevator and I’m proud of it!]

Others can use elevators, but people with disabilities are supposed to have priority over them. Saying a person with disabilities can wait when another person is physically capable of using the stairs is not ok. Some people really can’t take the extra time/energy/pain it requires to wait for another elevator, which is why it’s very important that people with disabilities are always allowed to use the elevators. Generally, if someone says ‘I’m disabled and I need to use the elevator’ it’s time to make room for them.