What I Really Mean Is…

 Disability  No Responses »
Mar 282013
 

Writers for The Onion understand the bullshit that we gimps have to put up with at times. For example: Amputee Inspires Others Not To Lose Limbs.

Choice quote:

“Bret has taught me that I enjoy walking quite a bit and that I would like to continue doing so in the future,” said family friend Leo Harris, 43, remarking upon how hard it would be to perform simple tasks such as getting into a car or putting on pants without the use of both legs. “I look at him and appreciate how much I don’t ever want to be an amputee or a paraplegic or bedridden or anything like that. It’s a lesson I really owe to Bret.”

I’ve often been told I’m an inspiration. And while I understand that it’s meant as a compliment, it often carries the subtext of “I’m glad I’m not you, you poor bastard.” The whole “inspiration” spiel is just the candy coating on a primal fear that most people are too polite to express, which is totally fine. I’m just glad to see The Onion call it out for what it is.

Making Accessibility Standard

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Mar 122013
 

On the heels of news that the latest Samsung phone will feature eye-tracking technology, the Times profiles uMoove, an Israeli startup developing its own eye-tracking software that can be used on a variety of mobile devices. Standardizing this technology would be good news for consumers. As much as I like my iPad and iPhone, I may eventually want to use an Android product or something else that isn’t even on the market yet. A standard eye-tracking interface would allow me to use whatever device I liked without losing any functionality. An open source solution would be even better, but that seems unlikely.

Batteries Included

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Mar 052013
 

Researchers have developed a rechargeable brain implant that can wirelessly transmit signals. If they can get this to work with something like Google Glass, I could finally realize my dream of watching, er, educational content in complete privacy. Because it’s important to have dreams.

I still worry about how upgradeable these devices will be. I don’t want to go through the fuss of getting something implanted in my skull only to discover that the next version has a built-in pleasure center stimulator. Perhaps firmware updates will be available.

The Cyborg Cometh

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Feb 192013
 

Keeping up with the latest developments in human machine interfaces may require a blog of its own before long. Over the past week, news came of a bionic eye receiving F.D.A. approval and clinical trials beginning for a prosthetic arm capable of delivering sensation to its user. I understand that years of research and development precede these announcements, but this tech seems to be advancing at a quickening pace. Five years from now, re-reading this post may be akin to reminiscing about the emergence of dial-up modems today.

Critic At Large: The Sessions

 Disability, Movies  No Responses »
Feb 182013
 

I finally got around to watching this movie about disability, sex, and love over the weekend. It recounts the true experience of Mark O’Brien, a Berkeley writer and poet with polio who yearns to experience sex and decides to hire a professional sex surrogate (Helen Hunt). John Hawkes is magnificent as the deeply insecure yet charming O’Brien. Of course, I would have preferred that an actor with a disability play the lead, but Hawkes plays the role with assurance. And Hunt really deserves to star in more films; few actors have the talent to handle a part that requires both intimacy and guardedness.

The movie itself is a bit disjointed. Scenes transition abruptly and the script sometimes relies too heavily on flashbacks. But several moments in the movie will have viewers with disabilities (or me, at least) nodding in recognition: the  bumbling confession of love to a caregiver, the painful realization that those feelings aren’t reciprocated, the persistent doubts that the loneliness will ever end. My own romantic and sexual misadventures differ in some respects from O’Brien’s, but I caught myself wincing and smiling a few times as the movie summoned memories of my own awkward efforts to find love, or at least a willing partner.

Dressed For Success

 Disability  No Responses »
Feb 112013
 

The Daily Beast introduces us to Jillian Mercado, a fashion blogger who also has a physical disability. Mercado discusses her experiences as an intern with Allure magazine and the accessibility challenges of covering Fashion Week. Her sense of style is also on display on her personal blog, which has some great photos of Mercado hobnobbing with the haute couture set at various fashion shows. As someone who owns a ridiculous number of beige and khaki pants, I admire anyone who can coordinate more than two colors at once. I look forward to hearing more from Mercado as she navigates a world where image is everything.

Fair Play, Ctd.

 Disability  No Responses »
Jan 292013
 

On the heels of last week’s directive instructing schools to include students with disabilities in athletics when possible, the Star Tribune looks at the progress Minnesota has already made in making extracurricular activities inclusive of everyone. While a gap still exists between rural and metropolitan school districts, Minnesota has a long history of maintaining adaptive sports leagues for students with disabilities. Other states may want to look to Minnesota as a model when establishing their own adaptive athletics programs.

If Wisconsin had had something comparable when I was a kid, I might not have been so contemptuous of gym class.

Losing An Ally

 Disability, Politics  No Responses »
Jan 282013
 

The news of Senator Tom Harkin’s retirement saddens me. The Iowa Democrat played an instrumental role in passing the the Americans with Disabilities Act and he has been a vocal advocate for people with disabilities during his long tenure. I can’t think of another national political figure who is so closely identified with disability rights, which makes it unlikely that someone else will fill the void Harkin leaves. And that’s unfortunate because people with disabilities still need strong, committed leadership on issues ranging from employment to health care.

Fair Play

 Disability  No Responses »
Jan 162013
 

The Times examines the growing trend of students with disabilities seeking the right to compete against able-bodied athletes in school sports. Some school districts are doing their best to accommodate these students while others have chosen a more confrontational stance. The fact that kids with disabilities are pursuing athletics is a hugely encouraging sign for an old gimp like me. It tells me that most kids with disabilities now take it for granted that they will be included in the classroom. Now, they want access to the rest of the school experience. School districts will always struggle to balance inclusion and fairness (especially as prosthetics and implants inevitably improve), but the kids who watched Oscar Pistorius compete in the London Olympics aren’t going to settle for watching from the sidelines.

Stephen Hawking, Man Of The Future

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Jan 092013
 

Wired is running an essay commemorating Stephen Hawking’s 71st birthday that imagines him as the center of a human-machine distributed network. The essay’s hypothesis is that how Hawking lives his life is increasingly reflective of how the rest of us live. Most of us use some kind of machinery to organize information, communicate with others, and get from Point A to Point B. Hawking simply uses atypical interfaces (a wheelchair, a talking computer, a nurse) that are foreign to most people. From the essay:

Hawking’s persona, his disability, and his embodied network thus becomes a window on our machines, the nature of work, and even our representation of scientific heroes. Popular media shows us that Hawking is a pure, isolated, once-in-a-lifetime genius; ethnographic analysis shows us that Hawking is not that different from other scientists even though he has a disability. In fact, it’s precisely because of his disability that we get to see how all scientists work … and how the entire world will work one day.

In other words, assistive technology neutralizes, to some extent, the barriers between disability and achievement.

Of course, Hawking’s fancy distributed network won’t mean jack when we finally face off in our zero-g deathmatch. I’ve got (relative) youth on my side and a killer left hook. Distribute that, Hawking.

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