disABILITY Information and Resources

Jim Lubin’s disABILITY Information and Resources Pages. One of the largest collections of resources for all types of disabilities. The pages provided here are meant to serve as a resource to provide useful information and guidance for all people dealing with disabilities. This site is an encyclopedia of links that provide information concerning disability products, research, organizations, events, and politics. Also includes links to chat rooms, databases, and resources not on the Web.

RERC on Wheelchair Transportation Safety

RERC on Wheelchair Transportation Safety, University of Pittsburgh. Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wheelchair Transportation Safety

Experimental Surgery For Paralyzed Kids

BACKGROUND: A new surgery is helping patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury or were born with spina bifida regain control of their bladder and bowel function.

Spina bifida is a serious birth defect that occurs when the tissue around the spinal cord doesn”t close properly. The spinal cord pushes through the opening, damaging nerve ends. It affects two out of every 1,000 births.

After birth, surgeons close the opening but scar tissue is left behind, which can cause neurological problems. As kids grow, they must have a detethering procedure to trim away the scar tissue. Continue Reading »

Are disabled teachers getting a raw deal?

Riccardo Paffetti was left paralysed after a sledging accident but six months later he is teaching again. Other disabled teachers aren’t so fortunate.

It is the weekly PE lesson for years three and four at Cobden Primary School at Farnley in inner-city Leeds. But today’s session is special because, after a six-month absence, their class teacher, Riccardo Paffetti, is back with the eight- and nine-year-olds, organising a game of short cricket. Only last time he was able to run in and show them all how to bowl. Now he is doing it from a wheelchair. Continue Reading »

Spinal Network – The Total Wheelchair Resource Book

The 4th edition of New Mobility magazine’s Spinal Network: The Total Wheelchair Resource Book, the definitive resource for anyone who uses a wheelchair is now available.

This 400-page guide provides information on health, adaptive sports and recreation, accessible travel, disability rights, relationships and sexuality, fertility and parenting, adaptive technology, spinal cord research and much more. Continue Reading »

People with disabilities can still have that drive

For most people, driving is a symbol of independence and freedom. It’s also often necessary for work and for obtaining the necessities of life. It helps maintain our ability to socialize or take a long-anticipated vacation.

Unfortunately, an illness or injury can sometimes make it difficult for drivers to return to the road. Fortunately, there are people who can help. Continue Reading »

Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act Signed by President Obama as Part of Omnibus Public Land Bill

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation expresses appreciation to Congressional co-sponsors for passing first legislation specific to the paralysis community

SHORT HILLS, N.J., March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the national, non-profit organization dedicated to finding cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries and improving the lives of people living with paralysis, applauds President Obama for signing the Omnibus Public Lands Bill. Passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 25 and the U.S. Senate on January 15, Title XIV of the Bill contains the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act. The Act was named for the late Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana, whose courage and grace in the face of adversity, coupled with their extraordinary activism, were an inspiration to millions around the world. Continue Reading »

Ms. Wheelchair Virginia Pageant 2009

Contestants gathered from all over the state for a very special pageant in the Valley Saturday. It’s the 2009-2010 Ms. Wheelchair Virginia pageant.

The event was held at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville to celebrate the accomplishments of Virginians with disabilities.

Contestants say it’s a great way to get together for a good time, while inspiring and motivating others. Continue Reading »

Understanding disabilities brings Travis Roy to Reading middle schools

On Wednesday, March 18, the Understanding Disabilities program will present Travis Roy as a speaker for the Coolidge and Parker Middle Schools. Roy is the Boston University hockey player who, 11 seconds into his first collegiate hockey game in the fall of 1995, was in an accident that cracked his fourth and fifth cervical vertebra, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

Roy returned to Boston University less than a year after his accident and graduated four years later with a degree in public relations. In 1997, with the help of sportswriter E.M. Swift, he wrote his autobiography titled “Eleven Seconds,” which tells the story of his accident and rehabilitation. His book was recently updated and is currently in its sixth printing. Continue Reading »

Freshman takes spinal cord injury in stride

Brooke Rallis came to the University of New Hampshire in high hopes of being considered an equal among the thousands of freshmen.

Standing at 5 feet 3 inches with her crutches, Rallis underestimated the tribulations that would come with a large-walking campus in the New England Region.

In June 2006, when she was 16 years old, Rallis was just like any other teenager. As she played a game one day, a game like “Simon Says,” she was told to “hit the deck” and ended up falling forward and tore an artery in her neck, which resulted in a blood clot and stopped the blood flow to her spinal cord. Continue Reading »