Aimee Mullins on Language

Aimee Mullins, whose inspirational talks we've highlighted in the past, recently hosted another on the power of language. Mullins begins her talk with a discovery she made in the thesaurus when she looked up the word "Disabled: crippled, helpless, useless, wrecked, stalled, maimed, wounded, mangled, lame, mutilated, run-down, worn-out, weakened, impotent, castrated, paralyzed, handicapped, senile, decrepit." She challenges the notion that disability is necessarily negative by demonstrating the potential of adversity -- in her case, being born without shinbones -- to encourage human development.

You can watch the video on TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity.html.

Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction

The Native American Community Center of Bloomington will host a Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7pm. The dinner will take place at the IU Neal Marshall Black Culture Center on Jordan Street.

Admission to the Native American Community Center fundraiser, which is only $5, gets you:
-a light meal, including traditional Native foods from several tribal nations (deer stew, grape dumplings, cornbread, fry bread and finger foods)
-entry into raffle for a sheep sculpture by Ruby Growler-Smith (Diné/Navajo)
-ability to bid on arts and crafts items, many by local artists
-singing and jingle dancing
-knowledge you have helped a good cause!

All profits will go to the Native American Community Center's rent fund. $4800 will cover a year's worth of office space.

If you are on Facebook, please visit the event page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=301781281684&ref=mf.

Siblings: You're Stuck with Each Other, So Stick Together

Siblings: you're stuck with each other, so stick together by James J Crist, Elizabeth Verdick, and Steve Mark is a small paperback to teach children how to appreciate and respect their siblings. Every page is covered with colorful cartoons to keep young readers engaged. The book covers the resentments felt by youngest, middle, and oldest of the children in a family, how to recognize your siblings' good points, how to express yourself constructively, how to share space and privacy, and other aspects of getting along. The writing is at a level appropriate for older elementary and middle school students.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Email us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at your local library through WorldCat.

YMCA Adaptive Sports

The Monroe County YMCA is offering two adaptive programs in volleyball and basketball for persons with disabilities. Adapted basketball will be offered on Thursdays starting on February 25 through April 15, 2010 and will focus on skill development, understanding of game strategies, and teamwork. A combined volleyball and basketball class will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting February 23 through April 15. Skill development, understanding of game strategies, and teamwork will be the primary focus.

For more information, contact Kevin Thompson at the YMCA at (812) 332-5555. You can also visit the Monroe County YMCA website for directions, hours, volunteer opportunities, and other youth and adult programs available. To read more about physical recreation for people with disabilities, check out some of our resources:

-Fun with messy play
-Canoeing and kayaking
-Adapted physical education and sport
-Active start: a statement of physical activity guidelines for children birth to five years

SSI and Disability: Quick Review Diagnoses

Yesterday, Cathleen Weber of the Community Health Education department at Bloomington Hospital advertised this piece of news:

The Social Security Administration has, for some time, had a list of 50 diagnoses that allowed people to get a "quick review" and immediate social security income or disability benefits (days vs. months or years). As you can imagine, this is imperative for some people with a limited life expectancy, children who need significant medical care, some cancers, etc.

Today the Social Security Administration released the attached news release adding an additional 38 diagnoses to the initial list, including early onset Alzheimer's Disease. This was a huge lobbying effort and a great success and will benefit many families.

The SSA press release is linked below, along with a National Public Radio blog segment about it. For those of you working in areas that help diagnose people (they had added several diseases affecting children) keep these handy and use the list to educate and advocate. Please feel free to share widely.

Link to initial list of 50 diagnoses: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

Link to SSA Press release and expansion list of 38 added effective March 1, 2010: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pr/cal021110-pr.html

NPR Blog segment Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/02/social_security_expands_disabi.html?ft=1&f=103943429

Still no power

Hello, we are still without power, but hopeful that we will be able to reopen tomorrow morning! In the mean time, check out this recent story at NPR on a new diagnosis for children who would have been labeled as having bipolar disorder in the past.

CeDIR Closed Today

Due to power outage, CeDIR will be closed today. Please email us your questions and requests and we will get back to you as soon as possible!