“Social media has the potential to provide an array of new opportunities to people with disabilties. But when it comes to sites such as Twitter, more needs to be done…”
“The Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League (PHAMALY.org) is a theatre group and touring company that performs throughout the greater Denver area. PHAMALY was formed in 1989 when a group of former students of the Boettcher School in Denver, Colorado, grew frustrated with the lack of theatrical opportunities for people living with disabilities, and decided to create a theatre company that would provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to perform. As a not-for-profit membership organization, PHAMALY is dedicated to producing traditional theatre in nontraditional ways.”
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Quoting a Nov. 22 blurb written by John Moore, the Denver Post’s Theater Critic:
The cast of the handicapped theater company PHAMALY was surprised by the attendance last week of big-time comedian Josh Blue at a performance of their “Vox Phamalia: Re-Dux,” a night of collaborative comedy sketches about living with disabilities. Blue, who has cerebral palsy, was a winner of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”
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The family of an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has accused the Blackpool Transport tram company of abandoning her on a day out after they refused to carry her wheelchair back from the seafront.
Has the whole darn world gone bonkers??
Philip Patston’s been telling naughty naughty jokes again.
To see what we mean…click here.
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Meet other Ballsy Palsies
Meet other Wheelchairmen of the Board
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MAPLEWOOD, N.J. — “Circle six, parry four, parry, riposte,” Mickey Zeljkovic chanted, running Bianca Hollywood, 13, through her fencing moves.
Bianca has spina bifida and a pronounced S curve to her spine. But when she wears her mask and lamé, the underjacket that conducts electricity during fencing bouts, she can compete with fencers who can walk, as well as those who cannot.
“It’s a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of time to learn some of the moves,” she said after her session at the New Jersey Fencing Alliance.
The fencing club, in this suburban Essex County township, is developing what are believed to be the only wheelchair fencing classes for young people in the Northeast. Mr. Zeljkovic, who has coached Tariq al Qallaf, an adult world-champion wheelchair fencer, trains a handful of young people in the program, which began in May.
At the club’s headquarters, essentially a 17,500-square-foot room that holds 200 able-bodied competitors some weekends, the wheelchairs are secured to brackets that keep them from moving. Each bracket costs up to $8,000 and positions the duelers an appropriate distance from each other (determined by the fencer with the shorter reach).
The wheelchair-adapted sport traces its roots to veterans returning from World War II, and is only recently attracting followers among young people, with training programs in Atlanta, San Antonio and San Diego, among others. There are now only 27 wheelchair athletes in the United States Fencing Association, so the staff at the club believes there is ample opportunity for young people who start now to reach national-level competitions and even the Paralympic Games.
George Janto, president of the fencing club, hopes to have at least a dozen young fencers in training this year, and is looking for more participants, whose training and competition costs would be covered by the club and its fund-raising efforts. His first six fencers have conditions like spina bifida and cerebral palsy, as well as spinal cord injuries, and were … Continue reading this story on nytimes.com
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“Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men. Mo Bros, supported by their Mo Sistas, start Movember (November 1st) clean shaven and then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache. During Movember, each Mo Bro effectively becomes a walking billboard for men’s health and, via their Mo, raises essential funds and awareness.”
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By now, most of you already know the indomitable, the unsinkable, the mind-bogglingly entrepreneurial Mr. Philip Patston.
Here’s an October 20th video clip of Philip onstage at The Thirsty Dog, in Auckland, New Zealand reciting poetry (with Tony Lewis on blues harp):
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Check out Philip’s awesome work @ philippatston.com
Then…
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Glenda Watson Hyatt shares her experiences living with cerebral palsy to motivate and inspire others to think about how they perceive their own situation and their own world around them. She does all this by typing with only her left thumb!
Quoting the great Glenda Watson Hyatt:
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One thing about being in a loving and supportive marriage is taking an interest and learning about one another’s hobbies and passions. One of Darrell’s interests is watching car racing, particularly NASCAR. Over the years I have learned way more about NASCAR racing than I ever thought I wanted to know.
Sunday afternoons during the season typically finds Darrell watching the televised NASCAR race. I watch a few laps with him, ask a few pesky questions—Why was a caution called? What does [insert racing terminology] mean? How many more laps?—then I carry on folding cloths, cleaning the cat box or tweeting with friends before going back to watch a few more laps with my hubby.
While watching one race, Darrell mentioned that his dream was to ride in a NASCAR and to feel the speed.
For a guy who was heartbroken at 16 because he was not able to learn how to drive, even with hand controls available, because of his double vision and lack of depth perception, his dream had extra meaning.
I filed away that tidbit.
Then, during a race earlier this spring, I received an email from… [Continue reading this post on Glenda's blog]
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Quoting ablegamers.com:
Facial mouse is a piece of software that gets the human-computer interaction without the use of hands, cables, sensors or other device. The interaction is done by using a camera and software that recognizes the movement and gestures of the face. HeadDev is a free facial mouse developed by Vodafone Spain Foundation and the Spanish Foundation for the Integration of Disabled that works with any standard webcam. HeadDev is specially designed for people with severe motor disabilities Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord Injuries, Muscular Dystrophy, etc., because the system only uses the nose or facial movements as the mouse pointer to simulate a standard mouse. Although this software has been developed to handle desktop applications, it can also be used to play games that meet certain requirements:
- No time limit to complete the levels
- Can be controlled with mouse only
- Has no need for quick repeating of mouse clicks or very precise movements
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Here are some examples of free games that meet these characteristics:
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Here’s a YouTube clip:
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