Disability is Natural Free Press

***********************************

Books on Sale—Save on Holiday Shopping (for others or yourself)!

For a limited time, enjoy 15 percent savings on books and reduced prices on already-discounted book combos:

Disability is Natural: Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising Successful Children with Disabilities

Regular price $30.00; sale price $25.50.

101 Reproducible Articles: Revolutionary Common Sense for a New Disability Paradigm

This book is available in two versions:

101 Book only—enables you to make copies of the articles to share with others as a handout; regular price $25.00; sale price $21.25.

101 Book and CD—all the articles are included on a CD, enabling you to upload them to your computer, share with others via Email, etc.; regular price $40.00; sale price $34.00.

Disability is Natural Book and Disability is Natural DVD Combo

Regular price $52.00; sale price $47.50.

Disability is Natural Book, Disability is Natural DVD, and Poster Combo

Regular price $63.00; sale price $58.50.

Visit the Disability is Natural Online Store for great savings on books and book combos, and check out the posters, bookmarks, magnets, note cards, and other goodies that promote positive attitudes and new ways of thinking!

PLEASE NOTE: We'll be taking some time off to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, so orders placed between November 12th and November 22nd will be shipped on or about Friday, November 23rd. Thanks for your patience, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Featured Article:

A TIME FOR THANKS

 

As the Thanksgiving holiday nears, it’s time to reflect on the many things for which we’re thankful, and the importance of expressing our thanks. Words of appreciation like, “I’m thankful for you and what you do,” can make someone’s day and inspire more great deeds! I’m thankful for:

—All who use People First Language and promote positive images of people with disabilities.

—People who don’t use disability-words-turned-insults (like idiot, moron, imbecile, lame, retarded, etc.) and who don’t use disability words as metaphors (like “he turned a deaf ear,” “she was blind to...,” and so forth).

—Parents who have high expectations and dream big dreams for all their children and then do whatever it takes to support those dreams.

—People with disabilities who teach us what’s really important. (Click here to read the rest of the article.)

 

-----------

Please contact me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) if you have difficulty opening or accessing this article.

-----------

Copyright 2007 Kathie Snow; www.disabilityisnatural.com; all rights reserved. Permission is granted for non-commercial use of this newsletter and/or featured article: you may print and/or photocopy this newsletter and/or the PDF version of this featured article (in their entirety and unedited) to share with other individuals and list serves (non-commercial use only). As a courtesy, please let me know (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) how/when you use it. This is the intellectual property of Kathie Snow and is protected by Copyscape. Newsletter editors: The featured article may be purchased ($4.00) for republication in your newsletter, visit www.disabilityisnatural.com/store/page3.html.

********************************************************************

ET CETERA . . .

 

---PONDER THESE BITS OF WISDOM

The impossible talked of is less impossible from the moment words are laid to it.

Storm Jameson

 

Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.

Mignon McLaughlin

 

Once the state is looked upon as the source of rights, rather than their bound protector, freedom becomes conditional on the pleasure of the state.

Mary McCarthy

 

I change myself, I change the world.

Gloria Anzaldua

 

That which has been believed by everyone, always and everywhere, has every chance of being false.

Paul Valery

 

---NEWS TO USE

WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU IN HEALTH CARE ISSUES?

Reagan Lynch, a Sul Ross State University graduate student (in Political Science) is conducting a survey on the cost of health care and the concept of comprehensive health insurance, targeted toward parents of children with disabilities. According to Reagan, the results of the survey will be submitted to two conferences, and after completing the analysis of the data, Reagan will submit the report for publication and share it with others using a variety of methods, including sending it to presidential candidates. The survey should take about ten minutes and no personal information will be gathered. If you'd like to participate in the survey and assist in Reagan's research, please visit: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=816011. And if you have any questions please e-mail Reagan at rlyn227@sulross.edu.

 

HELPFUL TRANSFER DEVICE

Visit www.pakkie.com to see an interesting product for people who use mobility devices. It's billed as the "Pakkie Mobility Sling Rescue and Evacuation Device" —and it was designed by a person with a disability. The Pakkie can be used for every day transfers (including transferring from a wheelchair to an airline seat), as well as for emergency situations.

 

CITIZEN AMBASSADORS WANTED! Application Deadline: November 19, 2007

Thanks to Melissa Mitchell, Outreach & Training Coordinator, National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, Mobility International USA, for the following information she recently shared with me:

Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is currently accepting applications from highly motivated U.S. high school students with and without disabilities, who are ages 15 - 17 (by March 10, 2008), to travel to Manama, Bahrain with MIUSA staff, as citizen ambassadors of the U.S. during a 21-day leadership program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Participants will be welcomed and hosted in Bahrain by young Bahraini citizens and the Bahrain Disabled Sports Federation, and participate in workshops, panel discussions, cultural activities and site visits to discuss priority issues for youth with disabilities, including cross-cultural understanding, youth leadership, education and the role of young citizens with disabilities in civil society.

Individuals selected for the program will receive a generous program scholarship to cover international airfare, program activities and materials, meals, lodging, disability-related accommodations, health insurance and accessible transportation.

MIUSA exchange programs are inclusive of people with all types of disabilities, including people who are Deaf and hard of hearing, or have cognitive, visual, physical, psychiatric, systemic, non-apparent, or other types of disabilities. American Sign Language interpretation and materials in alternative formats will be provided. Other accessibility arrangements will be negotiated to ensure full participation.

Applications are available to download at: http://www.miusa.org/miusa-exchange-programs and alternative formats are also available.

Note: The inclusion of any websites, products, and/or organizations in this newsletter are for informational purposes only, and does not constitute endorsement.

 

---REVOLUTIONARY COMMON SENSE ARTICLES

Stimulate those grey cells with thought-provoking articles on the Disability is Natural—Revolutionary Common Sense page.

Meaningful Gift-Giving
The best gifts are those from the heart, and we all have much to give. Check out these ideas that can make a difference in someone's life this holiday season.

Advocate or Diplomat?
Which role will ensure greater success in our efforts on behalf of children and adults with disabilities? Maybe it's time to move from "pleading on behalf of" to negotiating from a position of equality.

Remember the Bicycle!
When your parents bought your first bicycle, did you know how to ride it? Probably not, but your parents bought it anyway—they presumed competence! Shouldn't we apply the same lesson when it comes to people with disabilities and the assitive technology devices they may need?

Curriculum Modifications 101
It’s pretty simple: under specil ed law, a child should not be denied placement in a regular ed classroom just because she needs curriculum modifications. And creating the appropriate curriculum modifications to ensure a student with a disability can learn successfully in the general ed environment isn't rocket science, after all!

Dream Without Limits
Hopes and dreams represent the daily fuel that keeps us moving forward. But when it comes to people with disabilities, "being realistic" is the name of the game. Let's take the leap of faith and dream without limits for the children and adults with disabilities in our lives...and imagine the possibilities!

Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal
Life—for many people with disabilities—is not unlike the lives of actors preparing for a play, but with one significant difference. For actors, opening night signals the end of the readiness phase. But for people with disabilities, the dress rehearsals—getting ready for the real thing (LIFE)—continue indefinitely. Let's move beyond this worn-out paradigm!

Early Diagnosis: Boon or Bane?
It seems just about everyone—physicians, educators, parents, and others—believes in the value of early diagnosis. Is it all it's cracked up to be, and could this practice actually cause more harm than good?

Home, Sweet Home and Other Welcoming Environments: In the Kitchen
Gadgets, doo-dads, and whachamacallits for food, drink, and in the kitchen can be invaluable tools for many people with disabilities (and people who don’t have disabilities, too)! This installation of “Home, Sweet Home” features ideas that may be helpful for a children and adults who have a variety of eating/drinking needs.

Look Before You Leap
On a regular basis, we weigh the pros and cons of many of our decisions. The same isn't true, however, when it comes to people with disabilities and their families accepting services. Maybe it's time we look before we leap into the arms of the service system!

Let's Stop the Hurt
Words matter—they can cut like a knife and cause permanent scars. All of us—those who say the words and those who hear them—can take steps to stop the hurt once and for all. Do we have the will to do so?

The "Right" to a Normal Life
Chasing after rights, entitlements, and benefits can often become the most important goal for parents of children with disabilities and adults with disabilities. But do these result in the outcomes we're hoping for? What about the "right" to enjoying a normal life?

 

 

---PRESENTATIONS

I'll be presenting in Arizona, Louisiana, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Missouri, North Carolina, Kansas, Oregon, and Washington in the coming months---visit the Presentations page for more details (and check back often for new dates/events that are added). Contact me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) if you'd like to know more about my presentations for your conference or organization, or click here for information about my new teleseminars.

 

****************************************************************

Thanks for your interest in new ways of thinking! Please contact us with your comments and ideas about this E-Newsletter, the Disability is Natural website, or anything else of interest. If you received this E-Newsletter from a friend and would like to subscribe, visit www.disabilityisnatural.com and sign up at the bottom of any page, or send an Email to kathie@disabilityisnatural.com with your request.

And thanks for all you do to create an inclusive society where everyone belongs!