Wanna Go For A Spin?

When I first met Ashley and her then-foster mother, Linda, she was quick to point out all the things Ashley couldn’t do. I, on the other hand, take a much more positive approach to life, and envisioned all the things Ashley would be able to do.

Linda either didn’t understand or chose not to seek out the supports that could make a significant difference in Ashley’s life. There had been no early intervention – Ashley was two years old when I adopted her – no therapies of substance – an absolutely no planning for a future involving anything other than constant caregiving.

One of the stories Linda related to me was how a doctor once told her Ashley would never be able to drive a car. Linda said she replied to the doctor, “Well, of course not, she’s blind”. Linda thought it ludicrous that anyone would even suggest there may be a chance for Ashley to independently navigate a vehicle.

Well, you know what, Linda – you were wrong! A student team in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering is testing a vehicle aimed at giving the blind an opportunity to drive!

A retrofitted four-wheel dirt buggy developed by the Blind Driver Challenge team from Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory uses laser range finders, an instant voice command interface and other methods to guide blind drivers as they steer, brake and accelerate.

The vehicle has been tested by folks who are totally blind, and according to Wes Majerus, of Baltimore, the first blind person to drive the buggy on a closed course at the Virginia Tech campus earlier this summer, "It was great!"

Read more about this remarkable step towards more independence for people who are blind, here and here.

Oh, and just so you know, Ashley is already deciding what color car she wants :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful…

• for the tasty zucchini bread Miss Amy made for us last Saturday and the brownies she made yesterday. I think I’ll keep her!


• for the great time Chip, Ashley, Corey and I had at Busch Gardens last Sunday


• that Mr. Baldwin’s worthless grandson was caught after stealing one of Mr. B’s checks and trying to cash it at the bank. I have never in my life seen such awful family members….


• for all the tomatoes ripening in my garden that will soon become homemade tomato sauce. We will be able to enjoy them this coming winter also.


• for the way soft grass feels on bare feet – one of the joys of summer, one of the joys of life


• for the way my cat, Winky, curls up at the foot of my bed each night when I go to sleep. That’s much better than the way my other cat, Kitty Carlisle, wants to curl up around my head.


• for all the new kinds of flavored sparkling water on the market. My current favorite is pomegranate cherry from Target


• for ceiling fans. On these super hot summer days, even the air conditioner doesn’t seem to cool enough. I need air moving.


• that Big Brother is back on tv. It is one of my summertime vices


• that Mr. B is still with us and not in too much pain yet

And here's the zucchini bread recipe!!

Zucchini Pineapple Bread

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend in pineapple and zucchini. Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Cool on wire racks.

Special Exposure Wednesday

As just one more example of why Chip is the best brother in the whole world, he recently bought our family passes to the Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia. He did this because he knows how much Ashley loves amusement parks, especially all the wild rides. Because of the poor economy, our family is not able to take a vacation this summer. Chip thought that the passes would bring us a summer full of fun and not cost as much as a vacation.

These pictures from our first day to the park, last Sunday, say it all. Ashley is thrilled and loves her brother very, very much!!



She was sad to leave at the end of the day but also looking forward to our next trip this coming weekend!



Be sure to check out all the other Special Exposure Wednesday shots at 5 Minutes For Special Needs!

HeartAbility

I originally wrote about HeartAbility for 5 Minutes For Special Needs back in April, and this is an update on how things are going...

So often these days, I see news reports about people getting arrested for shoplifting food. I have to believe it is because the economic crisis has impacted so many families and left them desperate. But in an effort to help, my youngest daughter, Ashley, is trying to make a difference.

Ashley has a canvas bag on which she painted a big red heart. Each week, I give her $10.00 to go to the grocery store to buy non-perishable foods. We then drive to our local food bank to drop off the food. Ashley even helps stack what she bought on the food bank shelves.

Even though Ashley is deafblind, currently has three brain tumors, needs a wheelchair for long distances, and has 2-3 seizures each day, she is a perfect example of how all our children, regardless of their level of ability, can make a difference for people in need.

But this is not just a one way street. While Ashley is in the grocery store, she is learning to find items without any vision. She is learning the concept of exchanging money for goods and services. She is learning math and how to ensure she gets the right change. She is learning the value of her money, and she is honing her communication skills. And most importantly, she is learning that we must all take responsibility to make our world a better place.

Ashley is making a difference, and I ask that each of you also consider encouraging and assisting your children to make a difference. I would love to hear your ideas or what you and your children are already doing. If anyone is interested in starting a HeartAbility effort in their town, just let me know. I can provide promotional material and graphics.

I just really don’t want to hear any more stories about people stealing food…

Hear! Hear!

Fair Pay for Caregivers

Heartening

Sometimes I wonder if all the battles I fight for Ashley’s rights are really making a difference. I think so, but there are not always tangible benefits, especially when I seem to fight some of the same battles over and over again. But after reading the following story about Harold Snider, I am heartened.

Mr. Snider’s parents went to battle for him beginning when he was in the third grade. Read the following article from the Washington Post to see what a difference that made for Mr. Snider, and for people with disabilities everywhere, and know that you also, as a parent to a child with a disability are making positive differences every single day.

Harold W. Snider, 61, a prominent advocate for the blind who helped craft legislation that expanded the civil rights of Americans with disabilities and aided in the launching of an audible newspaper service, died June 26 at his home in Rockville after a heart attack.

While growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Snider said he was forced out of regular third-grade classes because he was blind. His parents sued the Duval County school system, and Mr. Snider became the first blind student in the county to graduate from public school.

The experience launched Mr. Snider's interest in advocacy, and in the mid-1970s he reportedly became the first blind employee of the Smithsonian Institution. As a handicap program coordinator for the fledgling National Air and Space Museum, he worked to make the facility a vivid experience for the sight-impaired.

"You can't look at the spacecraft, so you touch it, or you hold a model of it or a raised line picture of it," Mr. Snider told United Press International in 1976. "You can't see an airplane, so you hear its engine roar."

In 1978, he started Access for the Handicapped, a District-based consulting company for guidance on policy, technology and resources for people with disabilities. Through his company, he worked on projects for people with disabilities around the world, including Zambia, Ecuador and South Korea.

After Mr. Snider worked for the Republican National Committee on disability issues, President George H.W. Bush appointed him in 1990 as deputy executive director of the National Council on Disability. In that role, he served as a liaison among the council, the White House, Congress and the media.

He also helped draft the sweeping Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which broadened civil rights already protected in earlier legislation. The act guarantees protection of disabled people from discrimination in the public and private sectors and regardless of whether agencies or businesses receive federal aid.

After Mr. Snider left the council in 1992, he worked in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind to develop NFB-Newsline, a free dial-to-listen newspaper and magazine service that includes daily editions of The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal among its more than 250 publications. It debuted in 1994 and claims more than 50,000 users.

In addition, Mr. Snider was a former chairman of Montgomery County's Commission on People With Disabilities.

The Call of the Sirens

Even though my career has been spent in the technology arena (I am a computer engineer), my electronic gadget quotient is low. For instance, I don’t mind and even sometimes enjoy listening to records – you know, those vinyl things. And, even though we have FIOS TV, and way too many channels for me to even remember, I usually end up watching network TV. It drives my 18 year old son crazy when I come to him and ask him to unravel the mess I sometimes make of the TV/FIOS box/Blueray Player/DVD Player/Sound System. Even worse in his mind is that I have a cell phone with lots of bells and whistles, and all I use it for is to make and receive phone calls. But all that may be about to change!

For several years my son has been extolling the virtues of the IPhone. So far our cell carrier does not offer that phone, but as soon as my son’s contract is up, he’s headed to the other carrier that does offer the IPhone. One of the reasons is that there are hundreds of ‘applications’ available for the IPhone.

Now remember, since all I do is make and receive calls, the lure of the applications has yet to call to me. This week, however, I saw three different news stories discussing IPhone applications specifically designed for people with sensory disabilities. The sirens are calling to me….

First, one company has two IPhone applications, one for allowing sight-enabled people to learn Braille. Just the fact that they used the words “sight-enabled” sucked me right in. That same company also offers a fingerspelling application.

Another company has developed an IPhone case that enables people who are blind to access the touch screen feature of the phone – extremely interesting but please don’t tell Ashley about this just yet!

And finally, another new application called soundAMP allows the IPhone to act as a modified hearing aide.

I just may have to reconsider my make/receive cell phone calls approach to life!