Time to Walk the Walk

In my previous three blogs I have encouraged individuals with disabilities to change their attitude, be willing to take some risks and begin to try some different ways to make their lives a little easier. I talked the talk but now it is time for me to walk the walk and show you some things that I’ve done to adapt equipment for my use. Below is a materials list of items that will be helpful to have around for making adjustments to things you use.

Cable ties    Clamps    Clips    Compression bandage    Duct tape   Electric tape Friction tape    Foam    Hose Clamps    Pipe Insulation    PVC Pipe    Straps and Webbing    String  Shoelaces    Velcro    Wooden Dowels

My hands are normally in a loose grip position. It is almost impossible for me to grip anything tightly. In order to hold on tight my hands must be strapped on the object.  I noticed lacrosse and hockey players wrap tape repeatedly around the same spot on their sticks to prevent their hands from sliding off the stick, so I decided to try it. If you look at the attached video (Adapting a Broom) you will see how I use friction tape and a piece of wooden dowel to enable me to use a broom. The friction tape has been used to make what I call a “stop.” On a long handle, such as this broom, you should decide where you want your lower hand positioned and place the “stop” right there. Wrap tape repeatedly around the same spot until you have built up a raised area on the handle. Grip the broom as best you can. When your hand slides up the handle it will come to rest against the “stop” and prevent any further upward movement.

 At the top of the broom handle I have taken a small piece of wooden dowel, which I removed from a foam paint brush, and passed it through the hole.  If the handle does not have a hole have someone drill one for you. Then I attached the dowel through the hole using a rubber band. This enables my wife to remove the dowel if it gets in her way.

 We have a wire wreath-like birdfeeder which is filled with peanuts. We then hang the wreath outside for Blue Jays and other birds. They will pull the peanuts out one by one. As you can see in the video, the kitchen floor is quite a mess when I finish. So I use the broom I have adapted to clean up. Use this technique on other long handled tools like a mop, leaf rake and  garden tools.    Adapting a Broom

Do Politicians Take the Disabled Vote Seriously?

Part I
By Javier Robles

Am I invisible?  Is the group of people that I belong too a mere mirage?  Are we as people with disabilities only good for photo ops and feel-good stories?  How can it be that we do not seem to count when counting votes.  We as a group become non-existent.  So much so that when Barack Obama won the Presidency and mentioned people with disabilities in his speech; it caused a stir with people with disabilities. Amazing! Yet, not surprising.  Why?

Here is what I think.  There are two simultaneous issues going on between politicians and people with disabilities.  The first issue, concerns a historical struggle for survival by individuals who to this day are second class citizens.  The second issue,  surrounds political strategist and their clients (politicians) who are unable or unwilling to realize the potential of this group.  Let me explain.

Historically, the “struggle” has been about housing, institutionalization, discrimination, access and more recently jobs.  While this list is not exhaustive it offers a glimpse of some major struggles. The point is that we as a group are in a constant battle with society to maintain our independence. We push for laws to de-institutionalize (Olmstead) and laws for greater Access (Americans with Disabilities Act) and we fight for every dollar.  We are in an eternal state of chaos.  Fighting so hard to be free that we forgot all about the politicians we put in office.  Not that politicians have done nothing.  There has been progress in the last 100 years for people with disabilities.  However, as a group we progressed with  small victories, and many times specific to our particular disability. Like the Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936 which was passed to allow blind vendors access to Federal buildings.  There have been numerous registry laws state to state on Autism, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, etc.  But at the end of the day we continue to be ignored on a global scale.  Our power is reduced to statistics which point to one thing; people with disabilities do not vote.  Therefore, their overall needs are unimportant during election time.  Or are they?

Part II Next Week

Dealing With Risk

Kayaking           If you read my other two blog entries Attitude, Attitude, Attitude and Attitude Adjustment, hopefully you are beginning to understand that it is a combination of your attitude and an ongoing process that are necessary to begin to deal with some of your daily frustrations. There is another barrier to some people’s efforts to think beyond traditional methods of accomplishing an objective. That obstacle is the concept of failure. Dealing with life’s adversities often involves risk and along with risk comes the idea of success or failure.  We are often reluctant to take a risk for fear we may not be able to accomplish what we are trying to do and that implies failure. First of all, nobody always achieves what they set out to do.  Secondly, many individuals have the misconception that failure is bad.  However, failure if approached with a positive attitude, provides opportunity for learning and hence for growth. In a “60 Minutes” interview LeBron James was asked what advice he would give to young kids, his response was not to be afraid to fail. LeBron James said, “Don’t be afraid of failure. “

Making adaptive equipment often involves a learning process that includes a change in attitude. If you have an idea for creating a piece of adaptive equipment, pursue it.  Remember for all of us, thinking out of the box is a strategy that can lead us down the road to success. When making adaptive equipment try to keep things simple. Use materials that are readily available and make the tools multifunctional if possible. Do not let yourself become discouraged for very few things happen quickly. Learning to approach a task with a new outlook will take time. However, success breeds success and after awhile you will look at things differently. Look at a new situation not as a problem, but as a challenge needing to be addressed. Set your mind free of the cultural restraints which may prevent you from finding a solution.  The following poem hung on the wall in my classroom for years.

ONLY A PERSON WHO RISKS IS FREE
by Author Unknown

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams,
before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the
greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing,
have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they cannot learn, feel, change,
grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves;
they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.

~ from page 147 of the book “Addiction by Prescription”  by Joan Gadsby

Livin Large and Lovin It

It’s January 3rd 2K10 and after all the prep, pomp and circumstance, the holidays are a done deal. Time to take down the decorations, put away the leftover wrapping paper and throw out the leftovers (I am placing a personal moratorium on consuming turkey at least the next 4 months).
I usually don’t make resolutions because I hate breaking promises, especially to myself.
Undoubtedly you’ve probably already heard somebody declare their goal is to lose weight. If you haven’t – I certainly have, at least 10 times from 10 different people already.
I was minding my business today, washing my hands in the restroom and these two chicks were discussing their holidays and inevitably, the question was asked, “Did you make any resolutions?” Both of the ladies did not appear to have any discernible excess flesh but here is how their conversation went:
“Oh girl I have to lose some of this weight. I have just let myself go.”
“I know what you mean. I am getting as big as a house. All this weight is just not healthy.”
I looked up just in time to catch the one with her back to me jerk her head in my direction. When the other one saw me looking at them in the mirror, she grabbed her friend’s arm and dragged her towards the door. When they got to the other side they both began laughing.
I laughed too.
For anyone reading this who has never met me I am a big woman. Nothing about me is thin. The words “small” – “average” – “normal” – “regular” are generally not used when someone is describing me and not just because of the size of my body.
So, they thought they were laughing at me and I laughed along with them but for a different reason.
I don’t want to be small if it means that trying to humiliate someone would be something I would consider amusing.
I don’t want to be average if it means that how I look will become more important then how I treat people.
I don’t want to be normal if it means that my spirit will no longer be able to connect with anyone who is not like me.
And I definitely don’t want to be regular if it means I will forget that kindness, respect, understanding and love are what real beauty is about.

So, for 2010, I’m putting a red circle with a line through it on anybody or anything that tries to interfere with my believing that I have the right to cherish this wonderful life I have been given to live.