Tuesday, September 27, 2005
This just in....On the new family Amazing Race the dad on the Shroeder family just stated and I quote,"Too bad we don't have any handicapped children to push into the traffic and block the other cars. " Hmmm...obviously we will NOT be rooting for that family!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
sports access day
adam and I are driving back from sports access day. it was so so-kind of a loong drive for the lil shin dig but there were nice people not many kids though........it was so hot we didn't really play anything but checked out tennis horse back riding and looked at the pool but there really wasn't organized adapted swimmin...still good times. wish we would have brought the dogs cuz they had a cool dog park! well i'm out! we r in the movie theater now- gonna see the exorcism of emily rose! i'm pumped cuz it's supposed to be good! and our lil spontaneous selves just dropped by on the way home. it's nice to rest my brain:)
Thursday, September 22, 2005
a lil update on da world of Kara

Thought I'd drop my blog and do a lil updating....well mostly I've been reading-what feels like millions of pages..It just takes constantly staying with it to keep up with my classes...This week was interesting too as the hurricane made its approach earlier in the week--it sucks so much more when it's during the week instead of the weekend! We actually did prepare this time-got gas, candles ready, flashlights, batteries, food, water, saved ice, cleaned out the coolers, did all the laundry dishes...got the house ready and then nothing happened! Well EXCEPT for Tuesday morning was really bad weather and I wasn't able to make it to class--the drive was quite daunting! I had written my professor the day before though about how I live in south Dade and we got it worse than the Broward area (where I go to school) and she let me know it was ok......and that she'd have someone take notes..that was a pleasant accomodation as my chair does not have a propeller! So Tuesday and Wednesday I caught up on my reading.....been doing research on disabilty as a culture because I think I'm going to do my first directive study and possible individual student research on a topic related to that.....I'll share a lil about the book I'm reading now when it's done.
Today was a busy day....psychopathology in the morning, then a research meeting for the Multicultural Research Group (MRG-said Merge) which is voluntary for students to get together who have the common interest of researching in the multicultural area...we can join on other people's projects and help out in different roles/caliburs at the same time getting help on our specific interest....it's a good way to work on getting publications because you are constantly working and getting support/supervision on research according to your interest and beyond class assignments...you can present it at conferences, seminars, or to the journals as papers...SO that was cool. I'm going to sign on to one project about developing a program for mulitcultural youth who are obese--based on cultural differences in obesity and eating habits...It definitely fits with my interest in children/adolescents and it'll be a good way for me to learn the reserach process..then when I am ready to lead my own project I'll be a little better prepared..SO that was lunch.
THEN.....I had my favorite class of the week-multicultural diversity..another good one and then home for the night-I'm always SO tired by Thursday so I'm feeling that right now. But just one more class tomorrow-assessments and then let the weekend begin!
Last weekend I was quite proud to get out and be social! Adam, Panch, and I went out to watch our friend Ariel aka DJ Aereo Assault:-) open for his first night at a huge club downtown.....unfortuneately we didn't know it was also the club's first night-the grand opening! SO it was CRAZY CROWDED! And even though we were on the list..they weren't letting anyone else in-the fire marshall was on the way! So we went to another club in the Grove instead-it was a fun night and so good to relax and hang out. This weekend we've got super fun plans to celebrate my ATHENS ANNIVERSARY! Saturday will mark a year from my event day in Athens last year..I can't believe it's been that long. and HOW fitting that we'll be volunteering at Sports Access Day which is a day to promote sports for people with disabilities in Broward County. I went two years ago just after we moved and met alot of cool people in the area so I'm really looking forward to it..can't wait!
Well-that's all for me! Here's a picture from the weekend. I want to wish my Aunt Jane a VERY VERY VERY Happy Birthday! Been thinking about her today and hope she had a good one. Will write again soon!:-)
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Help me out here!
trail_sign1_1.jpg (JPEG Image, 413x353 pixels)
What the heck? Click on this link....can one of you walkers give me a hint~who in the world thought of this and then thought-->hmm....a random sign would be mighty appropriate........perchance it serves as a beacon at night and I just have been beckoned yet.....oh well!
What the heck? Click on this link....can one of you walkers give me a hint~who in the world thought of this and then thought-->hmm....a random sign would be mighty appropriate........perchance it serves as a beacon at night and I just have been beckoned yet.....oh well!
Kennedy poses tough questions for Roberts on disability issues
Lowell Sun Online - TODAYS HEADLINES
Looks like Senator Kennedy is lookin out for the rights of wheelers....I've been researching the background of this candidate and his history as a lawyer has definitely not been supportive of ADA--he has worked on several cases to narrow the law extensively.....It's not looking good.
If you'd like to read specific cases here's a compilation of Roberts' record on disability from the American Association of People with Disabilities.....
http://www.aapd.com/News/SCvacancy/updateroberts.html
Let me know what you think:-)
Looks like Senator Kennedy is lookin out for the rights of wheelers....I've been researching the background of this candidate and his history as a lawyer has definitely not been supportive of ADA--he has worked on several cases to narrow the law extensively.....It's not looking good.
If you'd like to read specific cases here's a compilation of Roberts' record on disability from the American Association of People with Disabilities.....
http://www.aapd.com/News/SCvacancy/updateroberts.html
Let me know what you think:-)
Friday, September 09, 2005
DisneyHAND - Our Partners
DisneyHAND - Our Partners
Thought I'd share some good news too on relief activities. The Disney company is sending movies, DVD players, and characters to visit some of the major shelters.....nothing like a lil Disney to brighten a kid's day:-) Or my day for that matter!
Thought I'd share some good news too on relief activities. The Disney company is sending movies, DVD players, and characters to visit some of the major shelters.....nothing like a lil Disney to brighten a kid's day:-) Or my day for that matter!
Monday, September 05, 2005
"Lord knows nothing's less dignified than sitting in a wheelchair." and "...sitting in a steel prison...." -Jerry Lewis
"My kids cannot go in the workplace. There's nothing they can do." -Jerry Lewis
"If you found out you had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, you might as well put a gun in your mouth." -Jerry Lewis
"...Pity. You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair, stay in your house." -Jerry Lewis (Click on the link in the entry below to HEAR him say these words and then (more importantly) hear the response of a disability rights activitst.
So, I thought I'd start this destined to be a rambling post with a few of the infuriating quotes from Jerry Lewis which have led me to declare him one of my few enemies! Every year this day gets closer and sure...I think like the rest of us..happy thoughts of a day off or maybe a picnic, but I also in a way dread the day. As others have said, "It's the worst day to be a person with a disability in America." I'm not sure I agree there is a bad day to be a person with a disability as I'm proud of my culture and identity every day. But it is a very frustrating day knowing that as I type, as I study to be a psychologist today, as I drive, as I live independently, as I live as an ADULT.......he will be spreading so many damagine messages all day long. It is also very frustrating to know how successful and highly watched the telethon is each and every year. Imagine the possibilities if Jerry spread messages of disability pride, accessibility, and inclusion.
With figures like 54 million dollars raised in under 24 hours and 36% of Americans recognizing Jerry Lewis as the celebrity with the most recognizable cause...this problem becomes even MORE of a contribution to the oppression faced by people with disabilities.
Some people-even friends-respond with suggestions that I should really calm down, not worry about it, there's not much you can do, it's one day, and it does raise money for research....but research for what? Not living with a disability, but to eventually erase our culture.....that is the underlying focus of the telethon because the founders don't believe life with a disability is worth living. So, if counteracting that way of thinking in whatever small way I can isn't worth getting a little ryled up about.....I don't know what is!
"You life begins to end when you stop speaking up about the things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Someone I would MUCH rather quote.
So what have I done about it today? Well, first I vowed not to watch it and of course, I've tried to spreak that message to my family and friends. I must admit I momentarily broke that vow for about 2 minutes...just long enough to see the Harley Davidson company giving rides to children with muscular dystrophy saying "These kids have hope that one day they'll be able to ride a motorcycle." Well...uhhh...yeah-hopefully they do since when they grow up there's already plenty of adaptations that would allow them to ride or DRIVE a motorcycle." But of course, that picture couldn't be painted.....it has to be this far off dreamy land that through money the ever great able bodied world could give us the pleasure of living more like them. Well, then I snapped to my senses and recalled my promise and turned it off......I am improving! One year I tried to watch it and take note of all that participated deciding to ban anything they did in future from my life. I decided that was pretty negative and not really productive....not to mention it made me really cranky on my day off!
So, I've tried to express my feelings on this not as a ball of bitterness which is a close cousin to he pity that Lewis preaches...but as a contributing AULT member of society NOT anyone's "kid" (well except my mama and papa) I hope that someday my voice and the voices of my friends with disabilities will be heard enough to stop the telethon's oppressive and discriminatory messages from being spread even one day a year. It's my dream that more people will see that life is definitely worth living with and without a disability and that people with disabilities can be excellent employees, employers, friends, leaders, parents, and fellow Americans. Other countries have long ago recognized the negativity in the messages of the telethon. The MDA in Canada rasies money in a positive way without the message of pity. America is not being a leader on this front. I do hope to do more in the future to fight for the end of the MDA Jerry Lewis telethon.......With Jerry's statements year after year after year, it is MUCH too late for any apologize conveniently worded by CBS executives. Jerry has made abundently clear how he views people with disability and worse-how he has decided most people do. America needs to have the chance to see more of the other side of the coin...not pity but independence, dignity, and pride. So I leave you with yet another of the remarks Jerry Lewis has shared with the world on his view of people with disabilities....This one especially hit home with his remarks on disabled sports. I had deleted this a few times-moving it up in this post with the other quotes so that I could end on an uplifting note of hope. But today is a day that you should be fired up and at least a little frustrated and angry about this. We all should.
"I know the courage it takes to get on the court with other cripples and play wheelchair basketball, but I'm not as fortunate as they are," Lewis wrote, halfway into the piece. He had so far managed to include nearly every term or concept offensive to disability rights advocates, and his next sentences would work in the others: "I'd like to play basketball like normal, healthy, vital and energetic people. I really don't want the substitute. I just can't half-do anything. When I sit back and think a little more rationally," he continued, "I realize my life is half, so I must learn to do things halfway. I just have to learn to try to be good at being half a person."
*Leave me a comment:-)
"My kids cannot go in the workplace. There's nothing they can do." -Jerry Lewis
"If you found out you had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, you might as well put a gun in your mouth." -Jerry Lewis
"...Pity. You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair, stay in your house." -Jerry Lewis (Click on the link in the entry below to HEAR him say these words and then (more importantly) hear the response of a disability rights activitst.
So, I thought I'd start this destined to be a rambling post with a few of the infuriating quotes from Jerry Lewis which have led me to declare him one of my few enemies! Every year this day gets closer and sure...I think like the rest of us..happy thoughts of a day off or maybe a picnic, but I also in a way dread the day. As others have said, "It's the worst day to be a person with a disability in America." I'm not sure I agree there is a bad day to be a person with a disability as I'm proud of my culture and identity every day. But it is a very frustrating day knowing that as I type, as I study to be a psychologist today, as I drive, as I live independently, as I live as an ADULT.......he will be spreading so many damagine messages all day long. It is also very frustrating to know how successful and highly watched the telethon is each and every year. Imagine the possibilities if Jerry spread messages of disability pride, accessibility, and inclusion.
With figures like 54 million dollars raised in under 24 hours and 36% of Americans recognizing Jerry Lewis as the celebrity with the most recognizable cause...this problem becomes even MORE of a contribution to the oppression faced by people with disabilities.
Some people-even friends-respond with suggestions that I should really calm down, not worry about it, there's not much you can do, it's one day, and it does raise money for research....but research for what? Not living with a disability, but to eventually erase our culture.....that is the underlying focus of the telethon because the founders don't believe life with a disability is worth living. So, if counteracting that way of thinking in whatever small way I can isn't worth getting a little ryled up about.....I don't know what is!
"You life begins to end when you stop speaking up about the things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Someone I would MUCH rather quote.
So what have I done about it today? Well, first I vowed not to watch it and of course, I've tried to spreak that message to my family and friends. I must admit I momentarily broke that vow for about 2 minutes...just long enough to see the Harley Davidson company giving rides to children with muscular dystrophy saying "These kids have hope that one day they'll be able to ride a motorcycle." Well...uhhh...yeah-hopefully they do since when they grow up there's already plenty of adaptations that would allow them to ride or DRIVE a motorcycle." But of course, that picture couldn't be painted.....it has to be this far off dreamy land that through money the ever great able bodied world could give us the pleasure of living more like them. Well, then I snapped to my senses and recalled my promise and turned it off......I am improving! One year I tried to watch it and take note of all that participated deciding to ban anything they did in future from my life. I decided that was pretty negative and not really productive....not to mention it made me really cranky on my day off!
So, I've tried to express my feelings on this not as a ball of bitterness which is a close cousin to he pity that Lewis preaches...but as a contributing AULT member of society NOT anyone's "kid" (well except my mama and papa) I hope that someday my voice and the voices of my friends with disabilities will be heard enough to stop the telethon's oppressive and discriminatory messages from being spread even one day a year. It's my dream that more people will see that life is definitely worth living with and without a disability and that people with disabilities can be excellent employees, employers, friends, leaders, parents, and fellow Americans. Other countries have long ago recognized the negativity in the messages of the telethon. The MDA in Canada rasies money in a positive way without the message of pity. America is not being a leader on this front. I do hope to do more in the future to fight for the end of the MDA Jerry Lewis telethon.......With Jerry's statements year after year after year, it is MUCH too late for any apologize conveniently worded by CBS executives. Jerry has made abundently clear how he views people with disability and worse-how he has decided most people do. America needs to have the chance to see more of the other side of the coin...not pity but independence, dignity, and pride. So I leave you with yet another of the remarks Jerry Lewis has shared with the world on his view of people with disabilities....This one especially hit home with his remarks on disabled sports. I had deleted this a few times-moving it up in this post with the other quotes so that I could end on an uplifting note of hope. But today is a day that you should be fired up and at least a little frustrated and angry about this. We all should.
"I know the courage it takes to get on the court with other cripples and play wheelchair basketball, but I'm not as fortunate as they are," Lewis wrote, halfway into the piece. He had so far managed to include nearly every term or concept offensive to disability rights advocates, and his next sentences would work in the others: "I'd like to play basketball like normal, healthy, vital and energetic people. I really don't want the substitute. I just can't half-do anything. When I sit back and think a little more rationally," he continued, "I realize my life is half, so I must learn to do things halfway. I just have to learn to try to be good at being half a person."
*Leave me a comment:-)
Jerry Lewis Vs. Disability Rights Activists
Jerry Lewis Vs. Disability Rights Activists
Click to hear in his own words and the response of disability-rights activists' response.
Click to hear in his own words and the response of disability-rights activists' response.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Friday, September 02, 2005
Finished week one!
I just got home from finishing my last day of my first week of classes...I'm pretty darn happy we got out just a few minutes early as I am VERY tired! I got gas on my way home to make sure I have some because two stations are out here in Kendall-ever so worrying to me with how much I'm using to drive to school! My class today was on intelligence assessment-the professor seems pretty laid back compared to the others but there's still a TON of reading and we each have to check out this IQ test briefcase to complete our reading assignment--we have to recheck it out every three days! That's kind of a pain-especially lugging that around..I think I need a service donkey to carry my books! During the semester I have to give the WAIS to one adult and the WISC to a child...those are both IQ type of tests..just to learn how to give these, score, and interpret them...but we aren't allowed to share the results which is understandable but I'm sure the volunteers will be curious..I would be!
When I got home, I got a really cool phone call from the OI Foundation-We've started work on the BeFit campaign...I am co-chairing the project with Sean Stephenson and it should launch this week. I'm super pumped about it and will devote a whole blog to it tonight....for now-I MUST nap! It's rainy here and I need just alil rest before I have to start reading readin reading..........
Bye for now,
Kara
When I got home, I got a really cool phone call from the OI Foundation-We've started work on the BeFit campaign...I am co-chairing the project with Sean Stephenson and it should launch this week. I'm super pumped about it and will devote a whole blog to it tonight....for now-I MUST nap! It's rainy here and I need just alil rest before I have to start reading readin reading..........
Bye for now,
Kara
