Disability Matters Series

Martha Foley talks with Aileen Martin of the Center for Independent Living in Watertown about the changes in thinking and policy surrounding people with disabilities, and how things have changed in the last 40 years.

Elizabeth Folwell is an editor of Adirondack Life magazine. She lost her sight unexpectedly... She'll be sharing her audio diary over the next year.

To start our series, Disabilities Matter, this week, we look at everyday life. First, we meet Casey and her family. Casey's a little person; she was born with achondroplasia dwarfism. In just the last year, they've retro-fitted the kitchen and bathroom to give her more independence at home. It may be like dropping a pebble in a pond. Martha Foley has their story. More...

“Group home” is a loaded term. They’ve been criticized for being too large and impersonal, encouraging neglect or dependence. One alternative is the Individual Residential Alternative, known as an IRA. In an IRA, four to six disabled people will live together in a regular house, with 24-hour staff to take care of them.

There’s a new IRA that just opened up in Potsdam for four women. Each of the women has some kind of developmental disability. Amber Treise is cognitively impaired and legally blind. It’s not the first time she’s tried to live alone. Gregory Warner joined Amber this past April as she checked out her new house for the first time. More...

How many times have you heard this: "If you don't have a car, you can't get around in the North Country." Buses are few and far between. Taxis are scarce and expensive. Most towns are not designed with the pedestrian in mind. It can takes hours, or even a whole day, to run an errand or make an appointment that in a car would take minutes. And limited transportation options restrict job opportunities. For people with disabilities, and especially people who use wheelchairs, these problems are magnified. Accessible vans and ambulettes are plentiful for Medicaid funded trips to the doctor or case manager. But there are few – if any – options for the errands and visits and excursions of everyday life. People with disabilities are too often restricted to their homes, isolated from and invisible to their communities. As part of our series Disability Matters, David Sommerstein reports on one man's efforts to get around on his own. More...

Wil Hansen got his driver's license on the third try when he was in his mid-20s. He has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. It mostly affects his legs. He drives with his hands. He and his dad installed a $450 hand control system in his Ford Contour in just a couple of hours. Wil took David Sommerstein for a demo to the gas station and the bank.

Public schools are the crossroads where the community at large and people with disabilities meet. The ideal? Kids learn from each other about their differences and similarities; all reach their potential. Parents dreams are fulfilled. And the school budget passes with barely a ripple in the tax rate. But it isn't that easy. Martha Foley talks with Andrew Pulrang, of the North Country Center for Independent Living in Plattsburgh.

Public schools are playing a bigger role in the lives of people with disabilities. Federal law requires that schools provide children and young adults with a free and appropriate education until the age of 21. Sometimes that means a therapist helping a student for an hour each week with a speech problem. In rare cases, kids need full-time, one-on-one assistance, or even a residential program. In New York state, roughly a quarter of the average school district’s budget now goes to helping students with special needs. With education budgets strained and local property taxes a subject of controversy, spending for disability programs is often controversial. But as Brian Mann reports, new resources and better teaching strategies are helping young people achieve goals that once would have been inconceivable.

Up to 70% of disabled Americans of working age are unemployed. Two-thirds of those unemployed say they want to work. But barriers to employment include accessibility of worksites, under-education, and public misperceptions about how capable people with disabilities are. And employers don’t have time to devote to extra training some people may need. Craig Young is a success story…he’s 20 years old, and store manager at the Family Dollar in Gouverneur. He says he couldn’t have imagined holding the job a year ago. Greg Warner has his story. More...

Women with Turner’s Syndrome—the disease affects only women—have a damaged X chromosome. Symptoms include infertility, depression and health problems, such as brittle bones and heart ailments. Rebecca Shaney lives in Watertown. She wasn’t diagnosed with Turner’s until she was 28. When she was 29, she got her master’s degree in French. Rebecca is, in her own words, obsessed with French. She’s always wanted to be a French teacher. She has taught after school and tutored and been a sub, but she’s never landed a full time teaching job. Meanwhile she’s cleaned offices, washed dishes, and cashiered. She’s currently on disability for a broken hip. She lives well under the poverty line. Rebecca had another job interview this month; we gave her a tape recorder the week before. She brings us this audio diary.

The official dedication of the Thomas O'Shaughnessy Center for Assistive Technology at SUNY-Potsdam is Friday afternoon (4 pm) in Satterlee Hall. Tom O'Shaughnessy taught in the School of Education at Potsdam from 1979 until his death in 2002. He was well known for his expertise in assistive technology and his work with special education teachers and children in the North Country. The new center will provide special technology for students with physical and learning disabilities. Linda Reece is an Occupation Therapist for the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. She spoke with Todd Moe.

Jeff Reifensnyder, of the Massena Independent Living Center, thinks dropping the distinction could benefit senior citizens,and the disabled community. More...

It's something we all face – growing older. For many of us old age will mean diminished eyesight, hearing, memory and mobility. The U.S. is aging – fast. There are more people over 65 now than ever before, and the segment of population 85 and older is growing the fastest. A Georgia Tech study a few years ago found that the percentages of people with disabilities increases significantly with age – 14 percent by age 40, 30 percent at 60 and 46 percent at age 70. Maintaining independence is a tricky part of growing older. Independence is important to people, but it's not always easy with diminished abilities. And as Todd Moe reports, it's not always easy to talk about, either.

Todd Moe talks with Susan Zabriskie, president of North Country Access Cycling. The group is organizing a bike, wheelchair and handcycle race in June in Jefferson county. North Country Access Cycling is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA.

The first week of the new Disability Matters series, a year-long Sound Partners collaboration with North Country centers for independent living that explores disability issues and access to services in the region, culminated in this hour-long call-in program with guests Andrew Pulrang, executive director of the North Country Center for Independence; Kim Massaro, coordinator of school-to-work transition teams; and Kelly Wight, a community placement coordinator; and host Martha Foley. All fouteen feature stories that aired this week can be heard on the Disability Matters topic page, along with a growing selection of resources for those concerned with disability matters.

Yesterday, vendors of electronic voting machines peddled their wares to Board of Elections supervisors at their regional meeting in Syracuse. They're competing for a massive contract – one company’s machines will be chosen to outfit poll stations around the state for the 2006 elections. Under the Help America Vote Act, the federal government has promised $220 million to buy the machines and train poll workers.

Lots of people are concerned with which machines state legislators choose to buy. They include people with disabilities, who traveled to Syracuse yesterday to test the machines for accessibility. Sue Morrow is a blind woman who lives in Watertown – she works at the Independent Living Center. She spoke to reporter Greg Warner last night after she got back. First she described how she votes now.

The St. Lawrence NYSARC Community Players present Murder on the Menu, an original theatrical production, Saturday night (7 pm) at SUNY-Canton's Kingston Theatre. The players are individuals with developmental disabilities from all parts of St. Lawrence County. the evening will also include music, poetry and monologues. Todd Moe talks with Andrea and Michelle Quinell of St. Lawrence NYSARC about the debut production.

More than 12,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded since combat began in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, about half of them were injured severely enough to prevent their return to duty. When they return home, these soldiers face a double challenge. They have to cope with the mental trauma of war. And they have to reshape their lives to accommodate a new disability. As a part of our year-long series Disability Matters, David Sommerstein reports on an adaptive cycling program that helps amputees return to physical and mental fitness. More...

BOCES of Franklin, Essex and Hamilton counties will lay off nearly 30 special education teachers and teachers aids next year. The BOCES teaching staff provides support to kids with special needs in nine districts. As part of our ongoing series Disability Matters, Brian Mann spoke with Jan Fitzgerald about the cuts. She heads a statewide program based in Tupper Lake called Parent to Parent. Her son, John, is a student at Saranac Lake High School who receives one on one support from BOCES. Fitzgerald says she thinks special ed classes will see few actual changes with more teachers working directly for local districts.

All this year we’re reporting on people with disabilities in our series, Disability Matters. For so many of the people we’ve met, their computer has had a transforming affect on their lives. Studies support this: people with disabilities spend much more time on the internet than non-disabled people do. And they’re far more likely to say that the internet has significantly improved their quality of life, kept them informed and connected to the outside world.
But people with disabilities are also less likely to be able to afford a computer. And currently, New York State will not pay for a computer unless specifically work or school-related. That wouldn't have helped Chuck Wright and Maureen Norcross.
Theirs a sort of online love story. They fell in love on a disability chatroom. Now they’re together on eBay, as well. He makes clocks out of recycled computer parts, she carves and paints wood. They’re part of a workshop at the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce called the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative. The Cooperative is a finalist for a global award for microenterprise initiatives. This Saturday, the group is heading down to New York City for one of the largest one-day street fairs in the country. More...

The Depot Theatre is doing something new—an audio described performance for the visually impaired. NCPR's Resident theatre critic Connie Meng spoke to Artistic Director Shami McCormick about the process.

Lack of public transportation hits rural people with disabilities hard. In Essex County, advocates say the lack of wheel-chair accessible transportation violates the law. More...

This year, North Country Public Radio is focusing on people and families who live with disabilities. This morning, we begin an audio diary series with the Hannons, a family in Saranac Lake. Kathy and Mike Hannon have two daughters, Rachel and Michaela. Twelve year old Michaela was born with spastic cerebral palsy.
In the weeks and months ahead, they'll be sharing their experiences, talking about the ways that Michaela's disability changes their daily lives. This first diary is narrated by Kathy Hannon, a school teacher who works in Lake Placid. We'll also hear from her daughter Michaela. Their audio diary was produced by Brian Mann.

Next Monday: Getting Michaela ready for a day at school.

Every morning, families across the North Country get their kids ready for school. For children with disabilities and their parents, the ritual can be far more complicated than just eating breakfast and brushing teeth. As part of our yearlong series, Disability Matters, the Hannon family in Saranac Lake is keeping an audio diary about their life. Kathy and Mike Hannon's daughter Michaela was born prematurely with spastic cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair and her ability to speak is extremely limited. Kathy and Michaela take on the most important chore in getting ready for a school day: preparing to communicate with the outside world. Their audio diary was produced by Brian Mann.

For parents with severely disabled children, life can be a constant struggle with social service agencies, doctors, and schools. In this rural area, finding the best care for kids also often means expensive and exhausting travel. Kathy Hannon is a teacher. She lives in Saranac Lake. Her 12-year-old daughter Michaela suffers from spastic cerebral palsy. In this week's audio diary, Kathy describes a recent trip to see a specialist in Pittsburgh. She says parents like her make the journey looking for medical answers but also looking for hope.
The Hannons' audio diary series is produced by Brian Mann with technical help from Joel Hurd.

Thousands of families in the North Country have school-age kids who live with disabilities, everything from dyslexia to muscular dystrophy to attention deficit. Public schools are a front-line resource, providing a remarkable range of services, therapies, and specialized education. Good programs can make all the difference, helping a child to reach a productive, engaged life. But navigating the bureaucracy and finding the best strategies for each child can be a daily struggle. Kathy Hannon is a special education teacher who lives in Saranac Lake and works in Lake Placid. Her daughter Michaela lives with spastic cerebral palsy. Michaela, who is twelve years old, uses a wheelchair and a voice machine that helps her to communicate. In this morning's installment of the Hannon's audio diary, they offer a glimpse of the ups and downs of the education system as seen from the inside.

New York State has long been criticized by disability advocates and parents for pulling too many disabled students out of regular classrooms and putting them into self-contained "special ed." classrooms. There students learn in a closed and controlled setting with other students with disabilities. Recently the number of self-contained classrooms has dropped dramatically. State mandates have led a lot of districts to cut their self-contained classrooms and bring students into regular educational settings. But there is still a role for self-contained classrooms, and they're still the way many students with disabilities experience the school year. Gregory Warner visited a self-contained classroom in the Potsdam middle school. The class is taught and staffed by workers from BOCES. The students come from as far away as Madrid and Parishville.

According to a state report issued this week, twelve percent of the students in New York's public schools are enrolled in special education programs. Children living with disabilities are expensive to educate. Their services often cost twice or even three times as much as a child in general education programs. Advocates here in the North Country say the pay-offs are worth it. Many children who might have been unproductive and unemployed are now learning important life and job skills. Some are able to go on to college. But even supporters of disability education programs agree that Federal support for local school districts is lagging behind. A new set of Federal mandates is set to go into effect this year. As Brian Mann reports, local taxpayers are likely to pick up the tab. More...

This week, we’ve heard stories of students in special education in New York State—all different: inclusion, mainstreaming, self-contained. How does one student end up in general education classes, and another in a special classroom? Is there a right, or a wrong, way of special education? Andrew Pulrang is executive director of the Independent living Center in Plattsburgh. He is an advocate for people with disabilities. He has a physical disability himself. And he’s got first hand experience of schools in New York, and Washington State. He spoke with Martha Foley.