"Television with a Conscience"

The Television Academy of Honors will pay tribute to eight TV episodes "with a conscience" on May 5th, 2010. The criteria for the selection was, broadly, demonstration of the "power of television to change attitudes and lives...These programs concern vital issues ranging from capital punishment to racism, prescription drug abuse and trafficking, autism, the military escort for fallen service members, physician-assisted suicide and important disability issues."

Here are the eight episodes announced, with plot synopses.

CSI, "Coup De Grace": The team investigates the accidental shooting of an off-duty cop by another cop, officer Danny Finn, whose unabashed racial bias raises the possibility that the shooting was no accident

Glee, "Wheels": Glee advisor Will Shuster challenges the club members to spend a week without walking to better understand their fellow member Artie, who has paraplegia. The group takes it one step further and prepares a full song and dance number in wheelchairs. A student with Down Syndrome is also selected for the cheerleading squad, whose usually caustic coach has a sister with the same condition.

Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?: An HBO documentary that tells five stories of children, ages 6-15, who are coping with grandfathers or grandmothers suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Explorer, “Inside Death Row”: An episode in this National Geographic expose interviews three inmates in Huntsville, Texas as their dates of execution draw near, and follows the stories of their families and loved ones as they deal with death firsthand.

Private Practice, "Nothing To Fear": Pete and Sam of Oceanside Wellness struggle with the issue of assisted suicide, as a former colleague with stomach cancer faces a slow, painful death.

Taking Chance: Another HBO movie, this film is based on the journal of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, who volunteered to escort the remains of fallen Marines to their homes in the United States.

Unlocking Autism: Discovery Health will air this documentary on April 6th. Unlocking Autism will "voyage into the lives of some of autism's most fascinating characters and learned more about the challenges and successes of overcoming the still mysterious disorder known as autism."

Vanguard, "The Oxytocin Express": Jouranlists venture to the "main source of an illicit prescription drug pipeline." The documentary tracks the trail of the potent narcotic from Florida to Kentucky, where overdoses and addiction run rampant.

You can view some of these episodes online from the official station websites. Here are links to Wheels on Fox and The Oxytocin Express on Hulu.

Disability Awareness and the Internet

A column in today's Mercury News, a Silicon Valley publication, highlighted the latest efforts of Yahoo! to educate web designers and developers about the importance of universal design.

The author, Mike Cassidy, visited the Yahoo Accessibility Lab, where he was asked to simulate the effects of having a stroke by typing with one hand while holding a ball. The lab also employs blindfolds and vision-altering goggles to simulate visual impairments. Alan Brightman, one of the two founders, says, ""My goal in having people come in here, is that when they walk out of here, they don't see the world in the same way ever again."

Yahoo and other companies have been taking steps to make websites compatible with screen readers, on-screen keyboards, and navigable by keystrokes only.

You can read the article here: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14698496.

For more information about accessible technology, see the following resources at the CeDIR Library:

DO-IT: Universal access to computing (VHS)

The universally designed classroom: accessible curriculum and digital technologies

Teaching every student in the Digital Age: universal design for learning

Ivy Tech Event: "Free Your Mind From Hidden Disabilities"

Next week, from March 25th to the 31st, Ivy Tech Bloomington will celebrate Disability Awareness Month with a series of activities for the "Free Your Mind From Hidden Disabilities" event.

The activities will take place between 10:00 am – 6:00 pm in the 2nd floor Rotunda of Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington’s main campus. Activities will focus on discovering what it's like to have a hidden disability. Organizers have secured several of CeDIR's most popular books and DVDs (Inside Dyslexia, Living Along the Autism Spectrum, The Boy Inside) for display and viewings. The event is free to the public.

For more information, contact Sue Gauck at sgauck@ivytech.edu or call 330-6046.

Disabilities At Work on Internet Talk Radio

On April 14th, a talk show streamed through the internet called Disabilities At Work will debut on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. The show will air every Wednesday at noon and will focus on broad areas of interest to people with disabilities, their advocates, and employers.

DAW Radio will spotlight businesses that go 'beyond compliance' in finding and hiring qualified people with disabilities, or who support people with disabilities through philanthropy or in other ways. The show will feature corporate VIPs, successful service providers, educators, PWDs with interesting stories, authors, researchers, government officials, elected representatives, and the occasional celebrity.

Show organizers are now searching for topics, ideas, suggestions, sponsors, comments, or speakers. Learn how to contribute by visiting their website at DisabilitiesAtWork.org. You can also contact Disabilities At Work via email at info@DisabilitiesAtWork.org, Twitter, or their Facebook page.

Volunteers Needed

The Center for Possibilities, a non-profit organization whose mission is to "improve the quality of life for young children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families," is looking for volunteers for this Friday's "Diva Day."

The Center for Possibilities is located in Hobart, Indiana, and is preparing for its 50th Anniversary Gala Event. Volunteers will do hair, make-up and nails for the women in the Center's Adult Program. No experience or supplies necessary--just one hour of your time!

If you're interested in helping out, email Michelle Higel at mhigel1@yahoo.com.

Keeping Disability Benefits after a Child with Disabilites Becomes an Adult

An SSD attorney in Chicago, Jeffrey A. Rabin & Assoc, released an article clarifying the rules of SSI today. "Many parents may believe that their disabled children will be able to continue receiving Social Security disability or SSI payments once they have reached 18 years old," it begins. "However, this is not necessarily true. The federal government uses a different standard to determine disability status for children than it does for adults. Once disabled children turn 18, they will lose their benefits if they do not meet the adult disability standards."

The authors detail how disability is determined for children and adults, and how parents can prepare for the transition across the 18th birthday. You can read the article here: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/keeping-disability-benefits-after-a-disabled-child-becomes-an-adult-141078.php

For more information on SSI, look into this title from the CeDIR library: Nolo's guide to Social Security Disability: getting & keeping your benefits. Email us for details on how to check it out.

Next Tuesday: ADA Audio Conference

Next Tuesday, March 16th, the ADA will conduct a free audio conference on "Conducting Effective Accessibility Surveys."

This audio conference will explore the requirements to conduct accessibility surveys by business, government, and educational institutions to ensure that they meet the requirements of the ADA. Topics to be covered in Part 1 include what and how to measure, who is qualified to do a survey, and what tools are available to support surveys. A panel of experts, including Bill Hecker and Susanne Brueyere of Cornell University and Don Brandon of the DBTAC-Northwest ADA Center, will share their "lessons learned" and "tricks of the trade."

The public has several options for participating:

-A free viewing will be offered at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Building L from 2:00 – 3:30 pm. For more information, contact Matt Norris or Vicki Pappas at adainfo@indiana.edu or call 855-6508.

-Teleconferencing, real-time captioning, or real-time streaming audio over the internet. For more information, see the ADA's page on these options: http://www.ada-audio.org/ProgramInformation/services.php

Also mark your calendars: Part II of the course takes place April 20th.