ROLLING PROUD by Andrew Levinson

“Down Under” Care

Australia as an example for health care reform in the United States?

Yes, as surprising as it may seem, Australia is taking major steps to reform its long-term care and support system for people with disabilities. A federal policy wonk by the name of Bruce Bonyhady, who has two sons with Cerebral Palsy, has been pushing for a compulsory National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) that would be publicly-financed and would cover people with all kinds of disabilities.

The major problem in Australia is that the “safety-net” for people with disabilities is incomplete. An Australian with a disability does receive financial support in the case of a disability that results from a workplace or motor vehicle accident. However, for other people with disabilities, there is no such security. There is the threat of being institutionalized, if one’s family is unable, both financially and emotionally, to care for the person with a disability.

The NDIS would help to cover the expenses of various areas of daily life, including healthcare, education, and employment. This proposal is being studied by the Australian federal government’s Productivity Commission and recommendations are due in July 2011.

This begs a question: Why are Americans with disabilities stuck with the prospect of the CLASS Act program? The CLASS Act program, as mentioned in a blog by Paula Span of The New York Times is voluntary long-term care legislation that is primarily a middle-class benefit and is meant for disability that may occur down the line. To explain it further, the CLASS Act only provides benefits for those working for five straight years and for those who receive a large enough salary to afford to pay monthly premiums. Lastly, you need to understand that the CLASS Act will only cover a maximum of $100 per day, depending upon the severity of one’s disability.

Yes, that’s right. The CLASS Act would still leave people with disabilities with some expenditures toward long-term care and definitely wouldn’t be enough to cover 24-hour care either.

This would work well for employed, middle-class people, when they retire, for instance, and need some help with daily tasks. However, the CLASS Act does not eliminate the dependence on Medicaid faced by lower-income, younger people who have severe disabilities and, therefore, need immediate care, which they cannot afford on their own. Let’s remember that this dependence on Medicaid forces people with disabilities to impoverish themselves.

It’s time to be honest: As good as it may sound, we’re not all moving to Australia. Also, no one can predict when the next time to make significant changes to our health care system will be, with all of the controversy and money involved in doing so. When health care reform passes this time around, let’s be sure that we, as people with disabilities, can truly celebrate it. We need true long-term care coverage in the United States now.

Attitude Adjustment By Rich Fabend

My wife Marge, Foxy and Me

The radical physical and mental changes I went through following my accident were overwhelming. My mental rehabilitation lagged behind, slowed by two major thoughts. I had retired seven months prior, at age 55, looking forward to spending the years ahead pursuing the recreational activities I enjoyed so much. One of my biggest concerns adjusting to my new life was the belief that I would not be able to return to the activities which provided me with quality of life. I also feared my most productive days were behind me and I would simply exist for the rest of my life. The change in my outlook began during a recreation field trip to the Denver Zoo. I was accompanied on this field trip by my daughter and two grandchildren. As I watched my grandchildren running around and listened to their questions and the talk of others around me, I began to realize I still had much to share.

The ongoing process of mental recovery was greatly influenced by my former association with the martial arts and Project Adventure.  The martial arts stress the mind body connection, focusing one’s mental energy and looking at issues as challenges to be solved rather than problems with which to be dealt.  Project Adventure “… is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or only a few feet above the ground. High elements are usually constructed in trees or made of utility poles and require a belay (being a attached to a safety line) for safety.”   (wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropes_course)  PA helped me understand what success and failure mean, including commitment and alternative ways of solving problems. The importance of the mind, the thought process and one’s attitude facing challenges became very clear to me. When trying to accomplish a task I believe it is human nature to rely on a method which has been successful in the past. This often encourages us to use only limited means to accomplish a particular goal. If I asked 10 people, most anywhere in the United States, to catch a fish chances are almost all of them would grab a fishing pole since this method has been successful and therefore widely used in our culture. Initially when dealing with the challenges placed on people by a disability, I think they often try to solve problems using the same skills they used before their impairment. This approach can create extreme frustration and an acute awareness of the limitations placed on them by their condition. In reality, if we think about it, there are usually many ways to solve a particular problem. If I presented the same challenge of catching a fish to 10 people who were selected from different cultures around the world we would probably see a wide variety of approaches to accomplishing this task.  Fish might be taken with a spear, bow and arrow, casting a net, using a gill net, with fish traps, use of hands (one hand method is called Noodling) or use of another animal like a cormorant. With this example it becomes apparent that there are a lot of different ways to accomplish a given task. So learn to think outside the box and experiment with different approaches.

My introduction to adaptive equipment began one day when I dropped a piece of paper on the floor. Because of my level of injury I was constantly dropping things and then having to call my wife or nurse to pick them up for me. I knew something had to change. How would my attitude toward picking up that piece of paper affect me?  If I decided I could not pick up the paper, chances are it would foster a negative feeling of defeat which then could further my disability.  It took me quite awhile including a lot of failure and frustration to reach the point where I am today.  If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.  How many times have we heard that?  I have learned over the last ten years that if you have an open mind and an active brain you can always find different ways or methods to solve most of the challenges we face. It is just a matter of how much thought, time and perseverance you are willing to commit to the process.  Check out my website www.handihelp.net for some of the methods I have come up with.

Kissing: The New Black By Odeon Black

Kissing: The New Black

By Odeon Black

People with disabilities often think about making love, some think about having love made to them.  Yet, kissing always seems like a side dish in the love making scenarios.  Always an appetizer never the main course that’s what three different individuals told me, two women, one man.  They said that they really never thought about it-like they were preprogrammed to think about the end result only.  What is the normal end result? You ask. A mind-blowing orgasm!  In weather terms, the Tornado that brought Dorothy to Oz.  In party terminology, the cork popping off a champagne bottle and In Las Vegas lingo hit the Jackpot (hard).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the big “O”, whether you are a man or a woman.  I have had them and often the lady I am with has them.  However, many of us have forgotten the basics.  We forgot the time we longed for the “first kiss”, it was the most important event in our life.  I dare say it was the big “O” and the old steam train that makes so much noise in black & white movies.  If it was a small peck on the lips or a sloppy first French kiss, we felt it in our soul.  The first girl I remember kissing, smelled like bleach.  I still remember her, anytime I smell bleach.  However, I cannot remember her face, only her sweet kiss.  One minute.  Forever ingrained in my memory.

A kiss can also be a way of being erotic without having to “go all the way”, for someone with a disability this can really be a game-changer.  When our disability makes it difficult to have those “table toppling”, “wall smashing” and might I add dangerous, sex scenes we see in the movies, there is kissing.  Many, individuals use it as a form of prolonged foreplay, while others have reported actual orgasms from kissing.  Here are some great quotes I managed to find which help us redefine “the kiss”:
‘Twas not my lips you kissed
But my soul

~Judy Garland

“May I print a kiss on your lips?” I said,
And she nodded her full permission:
So we went to press and I rather guess
We printed a full edition.
~Joseph Lilientha

Kissing is like drinking salted water.  You drink, and your thirst increases.  ~Chinese Proverb

Her kisses left something to be desired… the rest of her.  ~Author Unknown
Kisses kept are wasted;
Love is to be tasted.
There are some you love, I know;
Be not loathe to tell them so.
Lips go dry and eyes grow wet
Waiting to be warmly met.
Keep them not in waiting yet;
Kisses kept are wasted.
~Edmund Vance Cooke

Amazing, what we have forgotten about the simple act of kissing.  The depth and complexity of kisses abound and we should try to find them.  We should close our eyes again and remember the first time, even if it smelled like bleach.  With that said I leave you with my own kiss poem, enjoy and happy smooching.
A kiss can this year be  a nicer find than gold,

As you place your lips on mine fireworks explode upon my soul.

I had forgotten how to kiss and thought of just one goal.

But finding my lost kiss was a wonder to behold.

Kiss me with your kisses and suck away my soul.

-Odeon Black

What is normal? By Kelly Rouba

A few weeks ago, I was invited to lead a discussing on finding employment at a Center for Independent Living (CIL) in New Jersey. As someone with a mobility impairment, I know quite well how difficult it can be to find a job. I’ve had to overcome a lot of barriers to get where I am today, and I am happy to say that I love my job and my employer.

Unfortunately though, many employers are not capable of looking beyond a person’s “disability” in order to appreciate his or her “abilities”—no matter how talented he or she may be. Over the years, I have discovered a few ways in which individuals can prove their self worth and as I prepared to offer my advice to those at the workshop, the executive director of the CIL asked the group how they would respond if a Human Resources representative asked them about their disability. One girl who had a cognitive impairment quickly piped up and said, “I don’t have a disability. I am normal.”

With that, a silence fell upon the room as everyone was taken aback. I know I was. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. We SHOULD all be considered “normal” and not referred to by our “special needs” or “disability.” In fact, a few people I know who have a disability prefer to call themselves “differently abled.”

While this phrase may or may not appeal to you, it’s a step in the right direction. It would be great if society could evolve enough to start celebrating each other’s strengths and stop focusing on the weaknesses. Imagine how productive we could be?

The other day, one of my friends said that everyone has a disability—they just don’t always realize it. It is true that we all have our inabilities—some are just more obvious than others. And it’s unlikely that you would want someone to harp on your limitations. This only makes people feel worthless and does nothing to make them want to rise to the challenge or help them grow as a person.

So let’s not forget that we are all “unique” in our own way, and because of that, we all have something special to offer. Here’s to being normal!