Spinal Cord Resources Network » Outside America

New transport law in North Ireland

laura — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:50:16 +0000

For years the disabled have been complaining that taxis and bus drivers have refused service, charged extra to take them on board, or have just roared past them because they didn’t want to deal with a wheelchair on the bus. Finally a new law, the "Disability Transport Regulations" now require that taxis, buses and trains treat the disabled as any other able bodied passenger, including charging the same price and taking the as passengers. There have been many complaints over the years that mass transit workers refuse to help the disabled and many times drive past taxi and bus stops that people in wheelchairs are sitting in. Many people complained about empty buses blasting by eh bus stop without even slowing down because the driver did not want to deal with getting someone in a wheelchair onto the bus and locked down so they were safe during the ride. Many taxi drivers charged extra fees to load someone that was disabled into their vehicle and for luggage that they were required to put into the trunk because the rider could not carry them into the car themselves. This discrimination has made it very difficult for the disabled to get around the cities and to get to work or shopping centers. Trains were also on the list of transit workers that either refused to help the disabled by saying the lifts did not work or simply ignored people in wheelchairs. Those same companies are now required to have lifts and other equipment to safely transport the disabled. The "Equality Commission" has been playing a series of advertisements on tv and radio to let the disabled community know that they have new rights and transport workers know their new job requirements. It is hoped that these advertisements will get taxi drivers and bus drivers to realize that they must stop for disabled citizens and they cannot charge more money or refuse service simply because of the disability.

SCRN has written many articles about issues in Europe as the disabled were removed from airplanes because the pilot didn’t want them on board to taxi drivers refusing to take people in wheelchairs because it took to long to get them into the car. It is good that governments realize that the disabled should be treated no differently than the able bodied and should not get substandard service or be charged extra because of their injury or medical condition. It will be interesting to see how the advertisement blitz works and whether workers will actually take it to heart that they need to help those that cannot help themselves. It is not clear who will be doing the enforcement of the law, but they better have plenty of officers around to make sure things are working properly. People are creatures of habit and will not do more work or do things that they do not want to unless they are forced to. Secret officers should try to get on mass transit to make sure it is working properly and if not there needs to be stiff fines to be paid. Once a few workers get hit with big fines it will go through the grape vine that they have to follow the law or else.

Newly disabled in Haiti finding new life difficult

laura — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:45:48 +0000

Falling debris and collapsing building have created hundreds and perhaps thousands of disabled people. Many have have lost more than one limb, making it all but impossible to get around a country that never was very disability friendly. With few building standards to begin with, there are no ramps for wheelchairs and mass transit has no way of dealing with wheelchairs or those that use crutches or walkers to get around. Even those that are close to work or stores are finding movement to be difficult at best because of pot holes in roads and damaged sidewalks. Because Haiti is not a high tech country, most work is done with manual labor, the disabled are typically thrown aside and find that work is impossible to find. There are so many able bodied people looking for work that there is no reason for a businessman to hire a disabled person and deal with setting up a work environment to help that person. The earthquake has multiplied the problem because there are far fewer places to get work and there are now many more disabled people that are looking for work. Those that are newly disabled are running into their own problems of getting proper care in hospitals. Most hospitals have no rehab facilities at all and patients have no way to pay for prostetics, wheelchairs, walkers or even crutches. Plus significant time and effort need to be done to make sure the area of amputation is clean and properly cared for. If not the area can become infected causing sickness or the muscles in the area can become twisted making it impossible to fit a prosthesis. Haiti needs considerable help in the area of helping the disabled to get the immediate help they need, rehabilitation, and equipment to help them get around. The government was never good at helping the disabled and there was always a stigma with being disabled in a country that almost everything is done manually. With all the other help that Haiti needs, the disabled are the most at risk for not being able to take care of themselves after their injury and with no government safety net to pay for basic life items like food and water the disabled have a very poor diagnosis. (Source: Miami Herald)

The disabled are usually at the bottom of the poor, unable to pay for good medical care or housing. At least there are government programs in the United States to make sure that the disabled can take care of themselves and their families. Without these safety nets, the disabled have no way of working to take care of themselves or to pay for needed medical care or drugs. The government of Haiti will need to think about how they are going to care for people that cannot care for themselves. Just thowing the disabled to the wolves and forgetting about them is not the way to do this. Add the pubic stigma of being disabled and you have a recipe for disaster. With no government help and most companies refusing to hire the disabled and you have a group that is guaranteed to starve to death on an island that they have no way of getting off of. The United Nations has a significant group on the ground in Haiti that is used for peacekeeping but can and should be used to help the disabled. There should never be a group that is so shunned that they are allowed to starve to death with no medical help and no one cares. Especially where these people are disabled because they were the victim of a natural disaster, they did not create their problem, they are just trying to live through it. There must be rehab programs put in place to help the newly disabled to get the most out of their situation and to train them for jobs that they can do. Everyone wants to be useful and to work and take care of themselves and their family.

UK: Disabled see worst layoffs in decades

ghgeorge — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:40:42 +0000

Five percent of the disabled people that had a job have been laid off in the last 12 months as the ever enveloping recession hits all areas of employment. The job losses put the disabled people at risk in losing their cars and homes forcing them on the street or in nursing homes because there is no place for them. The disabled that are looking for a new job are finding out that the rolls of unemployed able bodied workers is also at the highest in years. So while they are competing with an ever increasing unemployed group the disabled are running into discrimination from employers that do not want to hire the disabled. There is a feeling that that the disabled will not work as hard as the able bodied and that they will have to modify the work area to help the disabled worker to do their job. Since no company wants to pay anything more than necessary for each worker it makes sense to get rid of the disabled workers as soon as possible and replace them with able bodied workers. According to reports fifty two percent of the disabled have experienced discrimination in the workplace. Because there are no laws that specifically protect the disabled from being replaced by the able bodied, it is expected that a larger percentage of the unemployed will continue to be the disabled until the economy improves or new laws are enacted to protect the disabled. For those that have a job, most find that the only jobs available are temporary jobs that have no benefits and are the first to be fired if the company cannot keep sales coming in. To make matters worse most disabled have little or no savings because of medical bills and other payments that the able bodied typically do not have to pay. This means that those that lose their jobs do not have anything to fall back on to pay the mortgage or car payment and run the risk that they will lose their only transportation to work or the doctor. (Source: The Independent)

Unfortunately the disabled are usually the ones that are the first to be laid off and that employers take advantage 9of those workers because they know how important the salary is. There are laws in place to protect the disabled so they will not be discriminated against but there are few agencies that are able to enforce the law. Even if the disabled person can prove that they have been discriminated against they need the money to hire a lawyer to go after the employer. If they do go after the company then they can be fired for other reasons. So most times the disabled just deal with the discrimination and hope that they can hang on to the job until the economy gets better and they can get another job.The government is working on a new law to protect the disabled workers called the "Equality Bill" and Parliament is discussing it. People that have been discriminated against are asked to contact their MP and let them know what happened and what could be done to fix the situation. Until this bill is passed into law the disabled will not have the same protections as the able bodied and will have to put up with unsavory managers that take advantage of their situation.

Book publishers try to bilk the blind

ghgeorge — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:38:17 +0000

Virtually all American companies tied to publishing books either on paper or electronically are fighting a proposal by the World International Property Organization to allow countries to share books that are in electronic format to be used by the blind. According to to the companies, the sharing of documents amounts to stealing their works even though these works have been paid for and were made available to libraries and other organizations that make them available to the public. The companies further complain that this treaty would diminish existing laws that protect the works from being pirated or otherwise stolen. The proposal would free up thousands of books to millions of blind people for little or no cost. The largest catalog belongs to the Library of Congress which has almost 500,000 titles that are available in universal Daisy format which includes both paper and digital braille. The books have been converted to braille by federal grants and donations and as such the publishers have been paid for their works. However, people cannot access books outside their borders such that bind people in the United States cannot gain access to books in Canada. The treaty would allow the blind to easily access all books that have been converted to braille regardless of where they are located. (Source: Wired Magazine)

It is sad that these companies are fighting to keep books out of the hands of disabled people across the globe. We all know that knowledge is power and that the better educated a person is t he easier time it will be to find a good job or continue in college. By tightly controlling what books are available to the blind, they are deciding what books the blind should read. The individual no longer has control over what materials they have access t, instead large corporations decide that and put whatever price tags for entry on these products so they can control the disabled. The Library of Congress, Google and the Gutenberg Project all pay the publishers to convert the books into electronic format so that they will be available to many people including those using electronic book readers and the blind. Those works are then placed in public libraries so that they are available to everyone. Evidently the book publishers believe that libraries are really large groups involved in stealing all of their works by making them available to everyone without charging them a fee.

The disabled are usually at the bottom of the economic ladder, trying to live off of Social Security Disability payments and eking out a life for themselves and their families. Most do not have money to purchase books at $15-$50 a pop, especially for technical or college texts. By making these available in formats like Daisy the blind can keep up with the latest trends and make themselves useful to the market for jobs. By locking them out of millions of titles available around the world you lock them out of works that everyone who is not disabled can access. This creates a group of underserved that can only access what companies deem they need to read rather than letting the consumers make that decision. What books and literature should we not allow the blind to read? How about the Jewish population or African Americans? Are we hiding books that show how the have been systematically discriminated against? Is this how we keep the disabled from ever moving up the economic food chain?

The fight against allowing people to read what they want is a scary idea that needs to be stopped. The free press needs to publish stories on what is happening to the blind so that advocacy groups can step in to protect the rights of the disabled in the United States and Europe. Wile you finish this article, think about what books you should not be allowed to read by corporate america.

Shopping harassments

ghgeorge — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:45 +0000

We have seen this before, but as the holiday season comes in full swing we all get to deal with salespeople pushing credit cards, extended warranties and trying to gain personal data including email addresses and phone numbers. This unemployment pushing 10.2% (as of Nov 2009) the last thing any of us need is another credit card and companies pushing them is just sick. Consumers end up paying huge sums of money in the form of high percentage rates and fees that are never fully disclosed unless you read all the fine print. What does this have to do with disabilities? It turns out that the disabled are marketed to for this kind of insanity much more than able bodied consumers. They realize that most of us do not have that much left over to buy electronic toys and other goodies let alone dealing with medical bills and hour and car repairs. So the swan song of credit is pushed on us and at the same time the sales people are trying to get personal data that they do not need. For regular purchases you do not need to give out your email or phone number as they will be used to market to you. That same data is sold to affiliates that will also market to you by sending junk mail to you, spam to your inbox and phone calls asking about products and services tied to credit. We do not need this and you should watch out for it. It is hard to stay away from stores saying they have huge sales that look good selling things that you really don’t need. The more cash oriented you stay the fewer bills you need to worry about so you can deal with medical and other issues. (Source: New York Times)

If you have any credit cards open with money on them you should be trying to pay them off as soon as possible. You cannot write off credit cards and if you are on SSDI, you don’t pay income tax so there is nothing to take off anyway. Unless there is a large price item that you need like a stove or dishwasher to replace the one that broke last month, save up for what you want. There are many groups trying to say they are here to help but end up creating even more debt that you do not need. The last thing you want to do is deal with bankruptcy because things got out of hand and now you are losing everything and trying to just hang on to the house. Watch the stores that you purchase from and ask them to be taken off of their marketing as well as their affiliate list. Virtually all companies sell your personal data you give them and won’t say anything about it. That is how you get a zillion letters for credit cards and other companies that you have never done business with but somehow have your address and other personal data. That should be scary enough for someone to make sure that these companies never have access to your address or email address.

The same thing goes for buying cards that you get from various companies like Winn Dixie. These cards are supposed to save you money by cutting costs of items you purchase. In this case Winn Dixie is paying you to let them track your purchasing practices. That information is then sold to the companies that you buy products from which then start to market directly to you. It is easy to fall into this kind of trap where you think you are saving money, but instead are selling your personal data to the grocery store. There are other cards like this used by companies around the world but they work the same way – your store is not there to save you money but to make money. They do that by either raising prices or by selling your data. Remember that companies are willing to pay for your buying habits, the produts you buy, days of week you do your shopping, how yo pay for your purchase, and how many items were on sale and did the sale make you buy more of the product than you normally do.,

Royal Bank of Scotland loses disability case

ghgeorge — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:52:10 +0000

In a landmark case that will change the way the disabled are treated in England, an 18 year old man tried to get the bank to modify their entryway so that he could use the bank from his wheelchair. After refusing to fix the problem, David Allen was forced to sue the bank in that the bank violated his rights under the Disability Discrimination Act which states that companies must make reasonable adjustments so that the disabled have the same access as those that are able bodied. The bank fought the case and lost not only this case, but a case that awarded Mr. Allen money and the refusal of moving the case to the Supreme Court. The company said that they had sent a letter saying that the were sorry for the inconvenience but he could do Internet banking from home so they didn’t need to do anything. Mr. Allen did not open an Internet account because he wanted face to face interaction with the bankers and did not want to be a prisoner in his home because the bank would not allow him in to do his banking. Three judges agreed and awarded Mr. Allen money for the violation of his civil rights, the bank has to pay for a ramp fore wheelchairs, and they have to pay for all legal costs. The bank still thinks that the letter they sent explaining how sorry they were was enough and the whole thing was over blown. However, this is a landmark case that will be used by others who have had their civil rights violated by companies that refuse to make their businesses open to the disabled. (Source: Times Online)

It is good to see that bills passed by the government to help the disabled are working as the Americans for Disabilities Act is working in the US. For years the disabled have been forced to live with the fact that the cannot shop or go to restaurants merely because they are in a wheelchair and the company does not want to put in a ramp or elevator. With this act, companies will need to take notice when a disabled person asks for help. It is obvious from the callous remarks by the bank that a mere letter is supposed to make a disabled person feel better that they should really be stuck at home on the Internet instead out with the rest of those that live in society. We are proud that Mr. Allen was courageous enough to take on a large entity as the Royal Bank of Scotland which was money, lawyers, and resources to try and bully these types of lawsuits. Everyone deserves to be out in public and to do everything that an able bodied person could normally do. We can’t stop shopping for food, banking, going to school, work or any of a wide variety of things that all people should have access to.

This case underlines the importance of these acts and laws that protect the disabled from those that hate them and are callous to what it takes to get around in a wheelchair. It is very difficult to get around in a city with a wheelchair only to find that the bank won’t let you in to do your business with them. Large companies in the US must have disability coordinators to work with the disabled so that companies don’t get into situations like this poor gentleman ran into. Lets hope that the disability act in England will be adjusted in the same way so that we don’t have managers and lawyers making stupid decisions merely because they want a interview room or feel that there are not enough disabled customers to make it worthwhile to them. Disabled people put up with enough just in life’s issues with being stuck in a wheelchair and the pain and suffering associated with medical issues without having to deal with idiots that take our money to stay in business. It takes a lot of gall to tell us that you really don’t want us around, but boy keep on sending your money to us.

The notoriety of this case will also let businesses know that if they do not follow the law they will be taken to task and made to do the right thing. The bank as fully willing to go to the Supreme Court so they wouldn’t have to put in a wheelchair ramp. Fortunately the three judges saw through their scam and stopped the case from moving farther up the court chain. This is a good day for those that work hard to help the disabled.

Ireland: Handicapped parking crackdown

ghgeorge — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:13:55 +0000

The Irish government is finally working on increasing the penalties for parking in a handicapped parking spot. Presently drivers only have to pay 80 Euros for parking in a handicapped spot, assuming that most police don’t write parking tickets for this because of the low penalty and no points against the driver. If the changes are made the driver of the vehicle would be hit with points on their record. Parking rates can be high in cities to the point that it may be cheaper to park in a handicapped spot than in paying for a regular spot. For those that think that it is no big deal in illegal parking need to see what happens to the handicapped if a spot is stolen. The person is locked out from shopping at a store or mall because their van ramp does not work in a regular parking spot. Why do we get to lose out in a life task because someone has decided that they don’t want to walk a little farther to the store? With the added points it will dramatically shrink the number of illegal parkers because few will want the extra added money from insurance companies or the potential loss of driving permission. (Source: Irish TImes)

Few people realize how important it is to have handicapped parking spots that are available to those that need the spots. To the able bodied it is no big deal walking a few more meters and since they use doors rather than a ramp they do not appreciate how do you get out of your vehicle when your door doesn’t open all the way. It is worse when you come back and someone has blocked your ramp door so that you cannot get back into your vehicle until the miscreant that has parked either illegally or improperly drops by to drive their vehicle away. We all deserve access to stores and other places that we can get to by driving. The handicapped lose that capability every time an able bodied person steals a parking spot and that is not fair to them or their family. While there is no law like the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) in the United States, but the UN does have a list of rights that the disabled should be guaranteed that most nations have signed. Since we cannot expect those in society to behave correctly and park in the spots given to them, the government must create penalties that are severe enough that it is not worth it to break the law. By adding points to the parking fine, drivers will indeed think twice before stealing that open spot that is right near the door.

H1N1 kills paraplegic man in Greece

ghgeorge — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:01:30 +0000

A paraplegic man that was suffering from liver problems died from complications brought on by the H1N1 virus. He was brought into the hospital with a high fever and was placed in intensive care. Unfortunately the virus quickly spread to his other organs which began to shut down. Doctors were not able to get control of the virus using anti-virus drugs before he died. More information has not been released by the hospital but Greek authorities plan on setting up a mass inoculation in the next few weeks. (Source: Kathimerini).

It is important that all disabled people that also have other medical problems including asthma, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes or other blood disorders immediately get a flu shot that includes H1N1. This virus attacks both the young as well as those that have other medical issues that reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. While the H1N1 has not yet transformed into the type of virus the world witnessed in 1918, we all must be vigilant. If you are disabled and are getting flu type symptoms it is critical that you see your primary physician. Do not wait until things become so bad that you need to go into the hospital. Anti-flu drugs work best when they are applied during the first few days of infection. The longer you wait, the less effective drugs are and the better chance of complications like pneumonia. Don’t wait until it is too late as your life may be in jeopardy.

It is also important to take care of yourself so your caregivers and family are safe.. Since the H1N1 virus is targeting both the young (children) and those that have strong immune systems it is critical that everyone be vaccinated. Parents don’t usually worry about colds and flu symptoms because their kids always bounce back quickly. That is not the case for H1N1. There are many cases in Europe and the US of the virus killing young children and young adults that are not the usual target of flu. Those that are old and have other issues that reduce the effectiveness of their immune system are the ones that need to worry. WebMD has an in-depth story of children dying of this dangerous flue, or needing extensive hospitalization. Kids that never have health issues are spending weeks in the hospital, many of those in intensive care making sure that their lungs do not fill with fluid before the body can fight back.

This is a scary virus that requires your attention. Do not think that you are immune or that no one you know has it. It can be carried by anyone, including people that do not appear to be sick at the time. It is important to get both the standard flu shot and H1N1 to make sure you are safe. Once you are infected the shot will not help you and those that procrastinate will find that anti-virus drugs like Tamiflu will not help either. To get more information on H1N1 go to wikipedia or to the CDC. Both sites have excellent write ups on the virus and what doctors can do to help you get past this flu season safely.

New nasal stem cells successful in transplantation study

ghgeorge — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:53:03 +0000

Researchers in Portugal and Wayne State University In Detroit, Michigan have finished a study of 20 patients with spinal cord injuries. All of the patients were at least paraplegic with one being tetraplegic were given the treatment which consisted of removal of scar tissue at the damage point in the spine and introduction of stem cells from their nasal passages. Using nasal stem cells reduce the chances of rejection the tumor formation because the cells are from the host rather than a foreign cell group. The study was unique because the patients all had their injuries for at least 18 months all the way up to 15 years. Typically no changes are seen in a patient with a spinal cord injury after 15 months. The changes were amazing and show that there is great promise in what the researchers have found. Out of the 20 patients that were in the study 13 patients improved based on standard measurements from rehabilitation. Ten patients now are able to move around using their legs with the help of walkers. One man now gets around using a knee braces and crutches. Another man gets around with knee braces and some help from a in home nurse. This procedure was performed in Europe as it has not been given the green light by the FDA. The researchers are now working with the FDA to make this procedure available to Americans who are disabled.(Source: WWJ Radio)

We are not sure if it is just a good year but we are reporting on major medical advances that are bringing dramatic increase in life to those with spinal cord injuries. We will be watching for information on these 20 patients as their become stronger and are able to do more because of rehabilitation. A real bonus is that the stem cells used are from the patient themselves, without the need of stem cells from donors like umbilical cord cells. By dramatically decreasing the chances of cancer or rejection and working hard on the rehab side these researchers have created a procedure that may get a large number of people out of their wheelchair. Many researchers have said that they were working toward getting to this point, but this is the first using heir own stem cells to actually get there.

For more information take a look at the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair where the research was reported. Note that the researchers are still looking for possible problems or issues with the procedure and are continually sending out questionnaires to those involved with the study. Since there is no long term study of this procedure there is no way to tell if there will be problems years in the future. That is the problem with research, you may get a major increase in functionality now but end up with problems in the future. This is one of the reasons why the FDA takes such a long time to finally give their ok to procedures started in Europe or Asia. They like to see several studies across many years that proves that the procedure is both safe and reliable. One of the last things you want to do is pay to put yourself through this just to find out that it either does nothing or creates a cancer that has it’s own issues.

US finally signs UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

ghgeorge — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:53:53 +0000

The United Nations passed a special convention for the rights of people with disabilities. During the Bush administration disabled advocacy groups all over the US asked the president to sign the convention but he refused during his 8 years in office. The convention outlined the basic rights of all disabled people on the planet and what countries, corporations, and individuals can do to help the disabled be useful and helpful members of society. (Source: AFB Blog)

Even though the United States passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1993 which gave back civil rights to those whose only crime is the inability to walk or use their arms. As the United States usually pushes that it is the sole country that helps those to gain their civil rights, no one was able to explain why they refused to sign the convention. After 141 countries signed the accord, the Obama administration has finally decided to show that the the US backs the social rights of all disabled people and recognizes that they deserve the same rights as the able bodied enjoy. Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the United Nations and Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama signed the convention for the United States, making it the 143rd nation to agree to follow the convention to open up civil rights to the disabled. After the signing the ambassador announced that the State Department will create a new senior position to deal exclusively with disability issues internationally. For the first time in 233 years, the United States has joined the world community in helping the disabled live more fruitful lives.

After dealing with many of the craziness of the Bush Administration and their inability to show the disabled any help it is wonderful to have a breath of fresh air from the Obama Administration. Regardless of which side of the political aisle you are on, everyone must agree that the disabled are individuals just like anyone else and should be given the same civil rights as the able bodied. The disabled had to deal with "ugly" laws through the 1970’s and still have to sue corporations that refuse to make building accessible, to hire the disabled, and refusing entrance to those with service animals. These are just a small number of problems the disabled deal with on a daily basis as people that do not want the disabled around pretend that the ADA does not exist and allow new homes to be built such that someone in a wheelchair could not live in it. There are laws that force builders to make sure that a paltry 5% of homes be accessible by a wheelchair to the first floor. Why not make it 100%? Why is it necessary to produce structures that have no easement for the disabled to use?

The disabled understand many of the issues that Black Americans deal with. Country clubs that disallow Blacks or the disabled are found all over the country. The rules are unwritten, but the lack of those of color or disability in these areas are a sad commentary that we have a way to go before we are all truly equal. Pundits scream that we are demanding "special" rights that no one else has and that the ADA should be rescinded. Perhaps they should be forced to live in a wheelchair for a week and see what we are up against. Life as the disabled is difficult because of medical issues, disability payments that do not allow you to feed a family of four in dignity, and cities and builders that create structure we can never enter. The ADA was a good start, and the Obama Administration signing of the UN convention shows that the United States can make good decisions that help everyone. Lets not forget about this and push forward so everyone can be the best they can be and live a life that is rewarding and successful.