You do what you have to do...

Ahhh, the accessible London Underground
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86598108@N00/345522486/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86598108@N00/345522488/

Blind Model

Well, I've covered a blind acupuncturist, now it's time for a blind model. This English news cast covers a young lady who's currently attending school in Bolivia to become a model.

Return on Disability

Interesting new tool for "organizations to measure their performance and return on investment in serving the market of people with disabilities."

It appears that disability as a consumer group might be getting some interest. This statement notes that disability is a potential market of 1.1 million people and "minimum aggregate annual income of $1 trillion in the U.S. alone."

Not that any multinational CEOs or CFOs are reading my blog, but I'm glad to see the disability population getting some consideration as a large potential market. Now, if we can get the same consideration (and cohesion) as a political force....

David Patterson, NY's Governor a "disability case"

Interesting article from Poynter Online (Everything you need to be a better journalist) talking about how most media has covered David Patterson's rise to NY Governor as a initially a racial issue, and later as the state's first blind governor.
Governor Patterson had some frank words about race and disabilty for the NY Times in 2006 "'Every single white political consultant that I ever worked with likes to promote my disabilities. And I suspect it's to mitigate race -- to give me, in their eyes, an honorary white status." and reportedly "disparaged efforts to make him a 'disability case'.

I like his frankness and honesty about the coverage he's received. Its good to see the issue put out on the table. Its excellent to see someone with a disabilty in such a high profile position, but Poynter summed it up as such;

"Let's take heed of his words, and avoid labeling him either black or disabled. Just governor will do. "

Free AT for print disabled from Bookshare.org and Don Jonston partnership

"Bookshare.org and Don Johnston have announced a partnership to provide qualified print disabled students with a free text reader to access electronic books from the Bookshare.org library." <link to article><Press release>

Physical education and disability

Interesting study of physical education text books and their depiction of disability in sports and physical education. I can't say that I was surprised by the results that the textbooks "overwhelmingly reinforced the hegemonic notion that sport is a realm for the non-disabled."
<Link> to the full article.

"My Stroke of Insight" -Jill Bolte Taylor

Firstly, TED stands for Technology Engineering and Design, and "brings together the worlds most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist. I had read about her speaking at TED about her personal experience of having a stroke and watching "her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding--she studied and remembered every moment."
I am so excited that they have posted it to the TED site, so enjoy her fascinating talk.

On this page there was a related video, "My history of Electroshock Therapy" which is the story of a surgeon who has a very intimate experience of electroshock therapy, aka Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).
Visit TED to view their collection of amazing and fascinating people.