Summary from the event description:

“In his recipe for Pea Soup à la Quadriplegia, Paul Bendix advises to crush garlic with your wheelchair tires and cut up carrots with your teeth. So begins his offbeat and frequently humorous account of life with paralysis. Mugged and shot in the spinal cord at age 21, Bendix recounts working at jobs with one unfeeling hand, wheelchair journeys through suburbia, and perils of taking a shower in France. He looks straight at the hand he’s been dealt and the fierce complexities that have come with it.”

The white paper describes what is happening currently in online programming, what the new law means for current and future content and the business case for making online programming more accessible.

For more information and to download the white paper go to: http://abledbody.com/online-video-captions/.

The tip sheet can be found at: http://ncdj.org/tip-sheets-for-reporters/

The criticism leveled most often at journalists is we have amnesia. We get incredibly excited over things like tsunamis, hurricanes and oil spills and then we tend to forget them even while real suffering continues.

The same thing happens with large societal issues. There is certainly an argument that we got smug about race relations in this country until President Barack Obama’s campaign and election highlighted some ugly realities. Intense personal experience in the last six weeks has made me realize journalists and society have suffered severe amnesia on the issue of disability in America.

Your first reaction is probably similar to my view prior to July 21. “Thank God, the American Disability Act fixed all the mobility problems the disabled face every day.” Horse hockey. I am here to testify that without the ADA disabled folk would be totally lost, but wipe the smug look off your mugs because the disabled still face a long, uphill climb because the ADA is being followed only “technically.” I fear the remaining challenges will get worse because minimal compliance now seems to be the standard. And from my perch, journalists are totally oblivious to the fact that new buildings are being built that are incredibly difficult to navigate.

Some background seems necessary. I was born with a congenital birth defect called Arthrogryposis multicongenita. My parents were horrified and worried I would never walk. After 13 surgeries in 16 years and countless casts and braces I was, while not normal in carriage and stature, certainly functional. Functional enough to run a major metropolitan newspaper for 20 plus years in one capacity or another.
For most of my adult life I never, ever, wanted to be considered handicapped.

There were two reasons. One, I wanted to be judged along with everybody else and wanted no breaks. Secondly, I always felt like a bit of a handicapped dilettante. When I was a kid, crutches, wheelchairs and braces were either toys, or hurdles to leap to show people I could not be stopped. As an adult I felt that as long as I was mobile I wasn’t “really” handicapped. People in wheelchairs and other assistive devices were challenged in ways I knew I could not appreciate.

I now have just a bit of that appreciation

On July 23, after years of terrible ankle pain I elected to have the bones in my left ankle fused. (The right ankle will follow in December.) Suddenly in my 61st year I was using a wheelchair, a motorized scooter and a modern contraption alternatively called a knee walker, knee scooter, knee stroller or leg caddy. The idea is you put your injured leg on a knee rest and push with your other leg just like my grandson does with his little scooter. In fact, four-year old Collin knowingly patted my scooter the first time he saw it and said with passion, “nice scooter, Grandpa.”

My leg surgery has caused “the scales to drop from my eyes.” It is time for journalists to intentionally use the same method I accidentally used to discover that the ADA minimums have left a world that is an obstacle course to navigate. Journalists need to spend a week in wheelchairs and something like a knee scooter to genuinely understand and communicate that we need to reconsider the ADA. Sure, curb cuts, ramps and others ADA commandments have helped, but there is so much more that could be done.

Here are some of the things such an undercover operation would reveal.

The ADA apparently does not require that every door in a new building have an automatic door opener. Many, many doors in public buildings must be opened manually. I am far more nimble in my current condition than a quadriplegic or a paraplegic and I still struggle and twist myself into a pretzel to open many doors. The only other option is to wait for the kindness of strangers–a risky and demeaning proposition.

ADA minimum standard restrooms in public buildings and private restaurants are no treat either. There is often no maneuvering room at all and here’s one I would never have thought about on two legs: if a stall door opens out, the person in a wheelchair is screwed. You can’t close the $%^#$% stall door. Builders, either make sure stall doors open in or put enough spring on them that they bounce back!

And then there are macadam walkways, stone tile floors and rugs, all of which make navigation damn near impossible on one of these knee scooters.

And, don’t forget private homes. I was shocked to discover that my own Scottsdale home has a four-inch “lip” at both the front and back doors. I had honestly never noticed nor appreciated that.

I said above we need to reconsider the ADA. The reason is the minimum standards of the ADA are often being used as a bludgeon. Architects, contractors and building supervisors know the minimum standards and far too many refuse to take one single step beyond the minimums. I have begun to pray there is a special place in hell for anybody involved in construction who ever utters the phrase “well it meets ADA minimum standards.” In that room in hell they would all be forced to live for an eternity from a wheelchair in the buildings they designed and built!

There is an alternative. As a Twitter follower, I am quite sure it was Elaine Clisham, tweeted to me when I complained about the state of things, universal design might be the answer. Universal design is a concept that would make buildings barrier free and usable for everyone.

I certainly understand that all news is personal and my perspective has been dramatically altered by my recent experience. But that’s sort of the point. Journalists live their own lives absorbed by the next societal train wreck. They do not spend enough time studying stories that have slipped off the front page but still affect thousands.

I am convinced genuine journalistic investigation would reveal that the ADA did great things, but it is clearly time for a facelift. Further, such an investigation would inevitably show that “the minimums” are not nearly enough to make public and private spaces navigable for the handicapped. Finally aggressive journalists need to probe “Universal Design” to see if it is a feasible alternative to the “minimalist” approach the experts now seem to employ.

In reaction to a new poll released today, a disability advocate calls for more representation of people with disabilities in the media to close the gap between those with disabilities and those without. “One out of five people in America has a disability of some sort so we should see one out of five people portrayed with his disability,” said Carol Glazer, president of the National Organization on Disability.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability released the results of the 2010 Survey of Americans with Disabilities. The poll was conducted by Harris Interactive and measured the gaps between those with and without disabilities. These differences were in the areas of employment, income, education, health care, transportation, Internet access and socializing.

Although there were significant gaps in employment, health care access and transportation; the survey found the gap narrowed or eliminated in education and political participation respectively. “Where political participation goes, so does legislation change follow,” Glazer said.

Detailed results of the survey and presentations are available at www.2010disabilitysurvey.org.

The first tip sheet gives a good overview of the ADA and other federal disability laws. It includes a survey she created for her investigative story on disability access in the St. Louis area while at the Post-Dispatch.

The second tip sheet is a good primer on U.S. Census Bureau disability statistics. It includes information on the 2000 Census, work disabilities and other Census Bureau data. The tip sheet also has other statistical resources from the federal government and private organizations.

The tip sheets can be found at: http://ncdj.org/tip-sheets-for-reporters/

When Suzanne Robitaille was first approached to write a book about assistive technology, she found the idea rather daunting.

The author, Suzanne Robitaille

In such a niche industry and with thousands of options for general consumers, it’s no wonder. Still, Robitaille, an advisory board member of the National Center on Disability & Journalism, is no stranger to the world of assistive devices. As the founder and editor of Abledbody.com, she is an expert on all things techie and a go-to resource for publications like The Wall Street Journal and Disaboom.

“The more research I did, the more I realized that this was a book I was meant to write,” Robitaille says. “There was nothing on the market that spoke about technology for people with disabilities, from a purely consumer lifestyle perspective.”

In short, it didn’t take long for the former BusinessWeek.com columnist to find her footing.

Robitaille’s book “The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology and Devices” mixes products and reviews to provide a useful roadmap for individuals with disabilities.

“The editors thought this would be a unique way to showcase the products, especially since it’s so hard to visualize technology,” she says. “I also felt that I needed to use real-life examples of people with disabilities (though names were changed) to really hammer home the point that there are people who are blind, deaf, mobility impaired – all going to work at their respective jobs and having to figure out innovative ways around their obstacles.”

Robitaille found her passion for writing at a young age. After losing her hearing at 4 years old, she had to adapt to a whole new world of communication. It wasn’t until after completing both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree that she encountered her biggest challenges.

“I couldn’t even take a job interview over the phone,” she says. “Having to lip-read made it difficult in meetings. I had note-takers and interpreters during college, but that’s not always available in the workplace.”

Forced to once again adjust her expectations, Robitaille turned to the most obvious and accessible medium.

“I tried to focus instead on the things I could do – like write,” she says. I also grasped new media very early on because it was such a visual enterprise.”

Suzanne Robitaille reads from her book at a recent event at the New York Public Library

In 2002, Robitaille received a cochlear implant, a surgically implanted electronic device. This “ultimate assistive technology” allowed her to hear on the phone and made her less reliant on lip-reading, she says.

She still needs captions for TV, “and I can’t enjoy the movie theater,” she says, but it’s a start, and more improvements are likely as the popularity of Web programming continues to grow and the industry changes.

Robitaille sees the digital glass ceiling for those with disabilities rising, if not exactly disappearing.

“It’s definitely going to be more Web-based, where a person will be able to download their unique profile from any computer or cell phone in the world,” she says. “I anticipate more mainstream companies will get in the accessibility game by following a universal design philosophy to make sure their products are useable by everyone.”

In her research for “The Illustrated Guide,” Robitaille found a number of flaws in assistive technology, the biggest one being high cost.

“[The cost of certain products] makes it hard for me to ‘recommend’ them, especially when they’re not covered by insurance, and I’m speaking to a demographic that’s traditionally lower-income,” she says. “These are specialized gadgets for a small population.”

Robitaille says insurance companies often aren’t willing to pay for newer devices that could help erase obstacles in everyday life or even help someone land a job.

“A speech-generating device costing upwards of $6,000 is only covered if the ‘cool’ parts, like e-mail and Web, are stripped out,” she says.

Is there a solution for the small marketplace and consumer divide?

“There are so many mainstream products that could be accessible if the manufacturer had thought about the principles of universal design, where a product is designed from the ground up to be accessible to everyone,” she says.

For example, the Kindle can provide books that are read aloud, but it is not navigation accessible for those who are blind. Amazon has said it will come out with an accessible version this summer, she says.

As technology improves, Robitaille is open to a potential “Illustrated Guide” sequel in the future.

“I’d like the opportunity to update the book every few years,” she says. “I can see a second or third edition, for sure, and I can also see myself writing related books on disability in the workplace and life-space. If not, I’ll keep on writing for Abledbody.com so that I can continue to inform and educate.”

To read more about Robitaille, visit Abledbody.com. For more information about “The Illustrated Guide to Assistive Technology and Devices,” click here or visit Amazon.com.

Robitaille and her publishers at Demos have made “The Illustrated Guide” available in Braille and synthesized audio formats here.

Cassandra Nicholson earned a B.A. In Journalism from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2008. In addition to freelance writing in her spare time, Nicholson now works for the Cronkite School and the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

In a recent Los Angeles Times article, one reporter noted, “So the White House was knocked off-stride when Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was forced to issue a public apology for using a derogatory word for people with learning disabilities.”

It appears that this reporter, and undoubtedly many who will inevitably cover this story, aren’t aware of the difference between intellectual disabilities and learning disabilities. It might be surprising to many in the media and public to learn that many students with learning disabilities may in fact be twice exceptional — which means, that in addition to having a learning disability, they are also gifted.

The association with the word used by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and learning disabilities is incongruent. An intellectual disability (old medical term “mentally retarded”) is not the same as a learning disability. In fact, the definition of dyslexia provided by the International Dyslexia Association states quite the opposite: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of languages often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities…”

In an effort to raise awareness and share resources regarding dyslexia, my daughter and I created the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHGo-64dXJc

Additional information on learning disabilities can also be found on the National Center for Learning Disabilities LD Basic’s web page: http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics

In recent years, much progress has been made in the ability to recognize and provide appropriate interventions, remediation and/or accommodations for person with learning disabilities. However, the recent commentary by many reporters over Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s poorly chosen words underscores that there is still much work to be done in raising awareness in the media and general public as to what learning disabilities are — and what they are not.

Darla Hatton, the mother of a child with dyslexia, is a presenter on reading and assistive technologies, and a certified reading specialist. Hatton wrote this blog entry for the NCDJ.

Health care reform is a hot topic in the media right now and issues involving Medicare, Medicaid and general health care are vitally important to many disabled persons. This webinar will provide an important perspective for the health care debate.

The 60-minute webinar will begin at 2.00pm Eastern; 1:00pm Central; 12:00pm Mountain; 11:00am Pacific; 10:00am Alaska and 8:00am Hawaii.

There is no fee and no pre-registration for this webinar which is open to everyone. To join the Webinar visit:

http://www.tinyurl.com/PASElluminate

It is recommended that you visit this link before hand, as the Webinar software (Elluminate) needs to be downloaded to your computer, which can take a few minutes.