Hot Topics
Written by admin2 on November 6th, 2008Filed under: Uncategorized
“Hot Topics” after the jump…
A firefighter in New Zealand says he was sacked for depression.
Wheelchair athlete Aaron Fotheringham back flips his way into the Guinness Book of World Records. The first annual Prosthetic and Orthotic Wheelchair Classic tennis tournament hits it big. Ms. Wheelchair Nebraska 2009 is crowned, while a three-wheeled motorcycle designed and manufactured for wheelchair users rolls into town. Checking in with the Wheelchair Billiards National Championship. A “modern sophisticated wheelchair” that runs on electricity or fuel, converts into an instant bed, negotiates staircases, and—oh yeah—has a mosquito net. Disabled test drive wheelchair-friendly taxis in Bradford, UK. Volunteers perform needed repairs on Brenda Byrd’s wheelchair ramp. Quadriplegic builds career helping those with disabilities. Iran’s wheelchair basketball team suspended until January 1st, 2013. Police lift a guy out of his wheelchair, and find three high-capacity guns under his bum.
Young Aspergian entrepreneur hopes to turn cakes into computers. “Aspies” find fun together. That’s good, because colleges are seeing more autistic students enroll. N.Y. Jets rookie Dustin Keller pledges $100-per-touchdown to autism research. Football takes back seat to autism for Edmonton Eskimos’ Noel Thorpe. Death threats, hate mail: autism debate turns ugly.
Remembering the great Studs Terkel.
Homeless pet owners in Vancouver face refuge shortage. Five homeless people were found shot to death near some Los Angeles freeway ramps. Ex-homeless man hopes to raise $1 million in Atlanta. Change your socks, change the world.
25 free cataract surgeries performed in Malaysia. Kiwi wrestler refuses to let blindness get him down. A lawyerly litigator who’s legally blind. Yeah, but is he legally blind in his left knee?
Tania is young and sassy and clever and deaf. Tania says she loves AND hates technology. Deafness won’t stop Claire’s business dreams. There’s a cool new community forming over at Ning. But what the hell?—hundreds of UK soldiers are returning from Afghanistan deaf.
How OCD works.
Hey! How come MY psychiatrist never takes me to the North and South Poles??!
And hey! People with “qualified disabilities” like to gamble, too.
The freakonomics business case for managed death.
Actor Hector Elizondo pushes for Alzheimer’s awareness.
Sunshiny news: A Montessori school for people with dementia.
Repulsive news: Malnutrition is rife in Australian nursing homes.
Sue Leonard flamboyantly states: ditch the Ritalin kids, and just take a walk in the park instead.
An Indiana institute has received a $499,999 federal grant to expand and implement youth suicide prevention measures. A five-year-old boy will not be allowed in class on orders of the Malta Union of Teachers. Combined therapy is reported to ease anxiety in children.
The first woman in Canada to become a professor in psychiatry has died, at 85.
Anxiety Disorders Clinic uses virtual reality equipment to treat panicky patients. Man lives in coffin to cure his phobias. A is for art. A is for agoraphobia. And A+ is for Cynthia Reynolds. Man battles own mental illness, wins leadership prize. Toronto art show celebrates beauty of mental illness. John Grohol asks: How well do psychiatrists involve patients? Scattershot by David Lovelace gets more good press. One out of five adults experiences a panic attack. And in Kuwait, reducing social anxiety among college students is a must.
New dads can get postpartum depression, too.
MS diagnosis delayed in people with other health conditions.
Pastry chef-turned-social worker donates her time-and desserts!
Bobby Lee Ruston, 31, arrested in connection with burglarizing and assaulting a medical marijuana provider.
In Kandahar, handing out condoms can be fatal.
Friendly Faces
Jim Tobias blogs about Google’s leaps and bounds and about Instructables. Also, PDF is no longer gonna stand for Pretty Darn Frustrating.
In Planet Cancer news: If you’re in Australia on November 25 at 6pm Sydney time, tune in to this page.
Nic Askew wrote a poem on his iPhone and posted it to his website.
Hal Newman publishes a far-out article on Big Med, written by Francois Grey, called Catching quakes with laptops.
Hetty van Gurp’s sister Carolyn is working for peace, too.
Glenda Watson Hyatt is wrestling with doorknobs.
Anna Quon, Kemi Morrison, Kristine Erglis and Sheila Morrison are holding a hush-hush, closed-to-the-public, by-invitation-only Holiday Art Sale in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at the end of November. There will be some truly AWESOME art for sale, including “arty stocking-stuffers from $1.00 and up!” Free, non-alcoholic refreshments and nibblies will also be served. Email anna.quon@gmail.com for more details on where the event is being held…
On the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Jeff Moyers played at the Presidential Candidates Forum on Disability Issues. His son Kyle then edited and produced this wonderful YouTube segment.
Donna Williams is trying to help five people on the autism spectrum find jobs this month.
Creature Discomforts is about to launch yet another viral video game. Go play it—you could win a VERY amazing prize.
