THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Message From the President

Dear Members & Friends-

We do not yet have a speaker lined up, although we hope to have one scheduled at meeting time. If no speaker is available, a video will be shown. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

In December we will have our annual Christmas Party. See calendar for details.

- David Allgood

From the Internet –ed

DISABILITY INSIDER, LLC RELEASED VIDEO GUIDE THAT MAKES APPLYING FOR SOCIAL
SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS EASIER

Disability Insider, LLC announced the release of its new product, Social Security Disability Video Guide—Adult Initial Application. This 79 minute video on DVD revolutionizes applying for Social Security disability benefits by showing adult applicants how to apply, and how to properly complete complex application forms. Designed by Social Security disability experts with over 40 years combined experience in the program; it takes the guess work out of applying for benefits.

With Social Security reform in the news these days, little attention has been paid to Social Security’s disability programs. The Social Security Administration administers two main types of programs for the disabled. In 2004, the Title II program (SSDI), for disabled workers and their dependents, paid 68.4 billion in cash benefits. Over 2.6 million people filed for Social Security disability in 2004, and that number is growing yearly as aging baby boomers increasingly become disabled due to medical conditions.

The Social Security disability application process is complicated by Social Security’s strict definition of disability, difficult application forms, and for some, a

long and complicated appeals process. Many applicants who are denied at the initial level are ultimately allowed on appeal. An applicant may choose either an attorney or another qualified individual to represent them during their application process, though if an individual is awarded benefits, this representation can cost them up to $5300 in past due benefit payments.

Keith R. Holden, M.D., a physician who consulted for Florida’s Department of Disability Determination Services for seven years, says, “This type of product is long overdue for millions of disabled individuals who apply for Social Security disability every year. There are many books devoted to the subject, but they require reading even more material before completing the application forms.” Dr. Holden, a founding partner of Disability Insider, LLC, believes this video will increase applicants’ chances of a fair and accurate decision by making sure they submit a complete application. Dr. Holden says, “In my experience, many applicants are denied at the initial level because they don’t understand how to complete application forms in a way that clearly explains how their disability limits their ability to work. The disability case worker never gets to actually see the person applying, so it’s important that application forms show how the applicant’s function is limited. This video should help alleviate that problem.”

The video covers the mandatory 10-page “Disability Report Form SSA-3368-BK”, the mandatory 8-page “Function Report Form SSA-3373-BK.” All forms are included on the DVD as a PDF, and are available to download from Disability Insider’s web site.

Using the video, applicants complete these forms at their own pace and in the convenience of their own home. They then either submit the forms to their local

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THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Derby City Area Chapter
of the
National Spinal Cord Injury Association

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.

***

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT
David Allgood - (502) 589-6620

VICE PRESIDENT
Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206

TREASURER
Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865

LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE
Dr. Bill Kraft – (502) 582-5865

FUNDRAISING CHAIR
Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER
Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368

PAST PRESIDENT
Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206

BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE-
Mike Perry
Kelly Young

NSCIA
DERBY CITY CHAPTER
NEWSLETTER

Editor- Barbara Davis

Contributor- David Allgood

VIDEO GUIDE, CONT’D

Social Security office, or use the completed forms as a guide when applying online or by telephone. The video breaks down complex topics into simple language, and lets applicants know what to expect during the disability decision process. Its easy-to-follow format gives advice on how to answer questions in ways that increase applicants’ chances of a correct decision. For millions of disabled individuals applying for Social Security disability benefits, this product is a lifeline in a sea of red tape and complex application forms.

For additional information, visit www.DisabilityInsider.com.

The following is condensed from an online Newsweek Magazine article titled, Some Big Ideas—ed

Mind Over Matter
By Eric Page

Sever your spinal cord and you lose control of your arms and legs. But what if the brain could bypass the spine altogether? Researchers are already working on a ‘mind chip’ that might transmit brain signals directly to the limbs.
In neuroscientist John Donahue’s lab at Brown University, Matthew Nagle, paralyzed from the neck down in a stabbing four years ago, had a tiny silicon sensor implanted in his brain’s motor region. The chip sent signals from Nagles’s neurons to a computer. Nagle was able to direct the on-screen cursor to send email, draw a circle and even play Pong. More significantly, he could open and close a robotic hand.
Donahue envisions similar chips controlling not just prosthetics but actual paralyzed arms and legs. There’s a long way to go. For starters, he must make the technology portable (currently it fills his lab) and find a way to implant the chip without extensive surgery. But for people suffering from spinal cord injuries, the tiny chip could change lives.

THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Refrigerator Calendar
*2005

NOVEMBER

7th - Elderly & Disabled Advisory Council Meeting
Mon 1:00-2:30 p.m.; TARC; 1000 W. Broadway; Board Room.

21st - NSCIA Derby City Area Chapter meeting; 4th floor activity room; 6:30 p.m.
Mon Frazier Rehab; 220 Abraham Flexner Way

19th - Metro disAbility Coalition Meeting; 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.; PVA Office on Goss Avenue.
Sat Speaker to be announced; if questions, contact Terri Leasor at 589-6620 or at mdclouky.org

DECEMBER

5th - Elderly & Disabled Advisory Council Meeting
Mon 1:00-2:30 p.m.; TARC; 1000 W. Broadway; Board Room.

19th - Christmas Dinner; 6:30 p.m.
Mon Highland Court Apartments, Richmond Drive

17th - Metro disAbility Coalition Meeting; 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.; PVA Office on Goss Avenue.
Sat Speaker to be announced; if questions contact Terri Leasor at 589-6620 or mdclouky.org

For More Information Call
David Allgood, 502-589-6620

THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

The following are from the Internet –ed

DISABLED SUE CHICAGO OVER SIDEWALK RAMPS

A group of disabled people sued the City of Chicago, saying it violated federal law by failing to make sidewalk ramps accessible to people in wheelchairs.

The class-action suit, filed Monday in U. S. District Court in Chicago, claims many sidewalk ramps that have been installed are too steep to use while many sidewalks have no wheelchair-accessible ramps.

The suit, which asks for unspecified damages, calls on the city to install properly pitched ramps while doing other street and sidewalk repairs, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“These sidewalk barriers often cause pedestrians in wheelchairs to use the street, further endangering their own physical well-being as well as creating hazards for drivers,” said Jo Holzer, executive director of the Council for Disability Rights, which is also a plaintiff.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Daley said the legal department was reviewing the suit and declined to comment.

A NORMAL DÉCOR INFLUENCED BY HIS DISABILITY

Elmer and Mary Bartels are pleased when a visitor says their house appears ordinary. That means they have achieved what they desired—to have a home that appears like everyone else’s despite the fact that Elmer, a longtime commissioner of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and advocate for people with disabilities, is a quadriplegic. He has relied on a wheelchair since a hockey accident while playing for his Colby College fraternity team in 1960.

Although he needs help getting in and out of bed and showering, and he is driven to work and back in his accessible van, he says his home life is as “normal” as possible, and that is their goal.

“There are people who have all kinds of gizmos, but we decided to live like everybody else,” Mary says. The two, married nearly 44 years and living in this home 40 years, have been working at this together “as a great team,” says Elmer. They met the year of his accident at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital when Elmer was undergoing rehabilitation and she was his nurse. At 71, she is 4 years older than he.

The two started their married life in Maine, where Elmer completed his undergraduate degree, then moved to Somerville while he attended Tufts University. A few years later, they relocated to Bedford while he worked for MIT, later switching to a position at Honeywell until the appointment to his current position in 1977.

“We didn’t intend to come out this far,” recalls Mary, who worked with a real estate agent to find an accessible home back in 1965. But when she saw this “flat ranch with one step” into the house, she knew it was ideal. “All we had to do was put a ramp out front,” she says.

However, over the next several decades, they’ve renovated four times, adding a family room, a playroom, and building a new garage; updating the kitchen; and, finally, constructing a sunny master bedroom with a convenient, accessible bathroom for Elmer. The bathroom has a shower seat and a Hoyer lift that transfers him in and out of the seat as well as his bed, a lovely oak design the two sleep in. Until last year, they didn’t require the Hoyer; Mary moved her husband for 43 years until a heart bypass put an end to that. Other than the bathroom, none of the renovations had anything to do with his limitations; rather, they were to provide more space for themselves and their children. They have two adult daughters and a granddaughter.

The kitchen renovation was for Mary, who felt the original kitchen was too congested. One day she “got out my coal chisel and knocked down the brick wall” separating the kitchen from the entryway, a room that doubles as a den. When Elmer returned from work that night, “the bricks were outside,” she says. They hired a contractor to finish what she started and add an island and new cabinets. The quiet property on a circular street includes grounds that Elmer likes to frequent in nice weather. “I usually find him in the pine grove reading,” says Mary. Or else in his home office, decorated with a loon theme, with everything from wallpaper border, a loon lamp, and a loon chair cushion resting on a Colby College chair in one corner. He also collects high-end duck decoys. Mary collects lighthouses, birds, and Byer’s Choice carolers. The loons and ducks remind Elmer of favorite times in Maine, where he spent summers as a boy at Camp Agawam, and later joined the board.

“Unfortunately, most people with disabilities are poor, and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to escape that,” says Elmer, adding, “I have chosen to live as normal a life as I can despite the fact that I have a disability,” he adds, stressing, “Disability ain’t the story—it’s in spite of disability.”

THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Also from the Internet….ed

PROJECT HELPS FARM FAMILIES TOUCHED BY DISABILITY By Chuck Rafferty

Brian Bard accepted researcher Ron Jester’s invitation to roll his wheelchair up on to the Ventrac Freedom 300 tri-wheeler and take a spin. Bard was apprehensive at first, but he soon discovered the Freedom 300 is really easy to use.

“At my level of disability, I didn’t think I’d be able to use it, so it’s amazing.”

Ron Jester directs the Delaware-Maryland Agrability Project. Ventrac donated the Freedom 300 to Agrability. Jester says they will be made available to farmers in wheelchairs for a free trial.

“Agrability identifies the farmers with disabilities, then we introduce them to assisted techniques so they can continue to farm. Because the last thing a farmer thinks about when he becomes disabled is giving up the farm.”

Agrability partners with the Centers for Independent Living, Easter Seals, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore mobility to farmers with paralysis or amputations. It didn’t take much to convince Brian Bard.

“I want one. It’s neat. It really is.”

“The watch words of Agribility….when disability strikes a family, everything changes, except perhaps the desire to continue farming.”

The following tips were gleaned from a variety of articles found on the Internet –ed

CREATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS

A tree pruning saw attached to a 30-foot bamboo pole allows a wheelchair user to trim his tree branches.

Straws customized for individual needs can be made from Plexiglass tubing. Cut, heat and bend as needed. These straws can be used for drinking in bed, at work, etc.

One wheelchair user says the legrests from manual chairs make good reachers.

Sip and puff mouthpieces are cheaper from a dental supply company — 100 for $3 .

Use the button hook/zipper pull cuff for cleaning finger nails, and ripping shrink wrap off of CDs.
PAM cooking spray makes transfers easier when sprayed on the transfer board.

Stretched out coat hangers make good reachers.

FOR SALE !!!!

*Invacare Action Power Chair; 5yrs. Old; elevating leg rest, reclining back; used only 10 hrs due to changing medical condition; $1500 or best offer. Call LeRoy at 964-0285

*2003 Ford F-250 lift-equipped green/gray van; leather seats, TV, DVD player. Playstation hookup, am-fm radio. Rick Miller, 937-2245.

*Shower Chair; 2 yrs old, negotiable; 2 RoHo cushions; low profile; $150 each; Invacare 900 Action Power Chair; 4 yrs. Old; $600. Call 448-5296.

*RoHo High Profile 16x16 cushions; $160; 589-6620.

*Ford 1997 Econoline Van; 100,140 mi; $16,000. Hunter Green-gray; new tires & brakes; "loaded"; call 270-786-4547; ask for Dale.

*Cookbooks for Sale : Recipes compiled by Chapter members; $10:00. Call David @ 589-6620.

*Video tapes for sale . Various topics related to spinal cord injuries. Call David Allgood or Buddy Lawson.

***If assistance is needed to pay for any of the above items, contact Kentucky Assistive Technology Loan Corporation at for information on loans at 5% interest to qualified candidates.

THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

You are cordially invited to join us!

The Derby City Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
consists of people with spinal cord injuries and similar physical conditions, their family members, friends, and
professionals or other interested parties.

We meet:

WHEN- Third Monday of every month from 6:30 to 9:00 PM
WHERE- Frazier Rehab Center , 4th floor Dining Room
220 Abraham Flexner Way

If you wish to be a member, donor, and/or be on the mailing list of the Derby City Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association please complete and mail the following form to the address below