SPORK!: wheelchair

Showing posts with label wheelchair. Show all posts

Illustration by Victoria Borges

by Hollister Lindley

There are many kinds of disabilities. Some are invisible: Heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and many other ailments may cause you to wonder why a fairly mobile person parks in the handicapped spot, but they’re deserving of the space all the same. Some disabilities are clearer: people who don’t walk well but can walk a little, or perhaps navigate a manual wheelchair. For some, like me, finding an accessible restaurant in Richmond can be a nightmare.

...

A few of RVA’s accessible restaurants:

Acacia Mid-town, Can Can, Fleming’s, Kuba Kuba Dos, Lemaire, Metzger Bar & Butchery, Pasture, Patina Bar And Grill, Rappahannock, The Roosevelt, Secco Wine Bar, Southbound, Tazza Kitchen (Short Pump)

Read the whole article via the Richmond Magazine: http://richmondmagazine.com/restaurants-in-richmond/food-news/dining-with-a-disability/

By Anna Corbitt

As a user of a power wheelchair since I was five, I’ve become quite the expert on etiquette for interacting with someone in a wheelchair. As an extremely outspoken person, I haven’t hesitated to let people know that they should or shouldn’t do something with regard to a wheelchair. Here are some basic tips I believe everyone should take into consideration the next time they interact with a wheelchair user.

Don’t lean on my chair. I’m a firm believer of personal boundaries. I barely like it when people I’m fond of get inside of my personal bubble, let alone someone I have never met. I like that my wheelchair expands my personal bubble a little further than usual. Whenever someone invades that boundary — especially when I don’t know them — it makes me irritable. People tend to lean on my armrest or the back of my seat. How would you feel if you’re at a concert and someone you’ve never met puts their elbow on your shoulder? Some people wouldn’t mind, but most people would. It’s the same thing. My chair is a part of me because I rely on it so much. I spend about 75 percent of my day in my chair. It’s my legs, so please don’t treat it like another piece of furniture. Note: I have read some articles that say wheelchair users want to be perceived as separate entities from their wheelchair. Great! We’re all different and have different opinions. To be sure, ask the person. Don’t assume.

Respect my personal boundaries. Expanding off the first topic, respect my own bodily boundaries. One time I was standing next to my sister, talking to her and my dad, who was on the phone. My body language was not open and inviting. Someone still came up to me and held my arm (the one holding the phone). I stopped talking, looked at her and asked if she needed something. She just wanted to see how my arm felt. One, don’t interrupt my conversation to satisfy your own curiosity. Two, it is not OK to touch me. I barely hug my close friends. I’m not comfortable with being touched. This includes my arm, shoulder, leg (way too intimate) or head (which is patronizing).

Focus on me, not the wheelchair. So often, I hear various types of phrases that place emphasis on my wheelchair and not on me as a person. Common phrases directed at my wheelchair and not at me are as follows:

“Scooter girl.”
“Slow down or I’ll give you a ticket.”
“Hey speed demon.” (The person who says this uses it as a name, and I don’t think he’s ever used my name.)
“Do you want to race?” (When this happens, I let the person run ahead of me like a fool while I just sit there and wait.)
“Get out of the way!” This is commonly told to people around me, as though I’m going to slaughter anyone who dares get in front of me. Most the time, I’m just taking my time. If I have somewhere to go to, I’ll politely say, “Excuse me.”
“Do you know what this thing needs …”A rocket?! No. First, this “thing” is my wheelchair, which is used for allowing me to independently move around without having to ask someone for help. Second, my wheelchair is perfect and it does everything it needs to do. I don’t need any recommendations.

Don’t change your language use for me. Nothing makes it more obvious that you’re talking with someone “different” than when you change your usual phrases around the person. An example is, “Let’s go for a walk.” I’m not offended by someone saying “walk” instead of “roll.” Personally, I don’t like switching out words like that because it does place an emphasis on the fact that I use a wheelchair. I take my dog for a walk. If I took her for a roll, she wouldn’t be too interested...

Get the full list at Paraquad.

http://www.paraquad.org/blog/wheelchair-etiquette-8-easy-steps/

By Carol R. Steinberg

My family returned from a fabulous visit to Barcelona in mid-June. A month later, the news broke that the US Olympic Committee had pulled the plug on Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Games. This is an enormous missed opportunity for people with disabilities who live and work in Massachusetts.

The 1992 Summer Olympics transformed Barcelona, and that transformation has endured. Whatever our feelings about losing the Olympic bid, it’s important to know that the Games would have required our city to be far more wheelchair-accessible.

Boston still has an opportunity to learn from Barcelona. There, historic preservation was not an excuse for keeping barriers in place. We rode elevators in Gaudi-designed 19th-century buildings and in the middle of Roman ruins. Flat pavement has replaced cobblestones on all the winding roads in the historic neighborhoods. Beacon Hill residents should know that this did not diminish the neighborhoods’ charm, but only made us feel welcome.

For eight years I have proudly served on the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, which was created in 1968 to ensure that buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. Improvements are required in renovated buildings unless the board grants a variance, and historical significance is only one factor in that decision.

A building should not remain unwelcoming just because it is old. Nonetheless, those renovating historic buildings with grand front staircases — town halls, libraries, churches, colleges — constantly ask for variances, fearing that a ramp will destroy the structure’s aesthetics. They want wheelchair users to enter another way. It is time for this segregation to stop. Some talented architects have designed sweeping ramps that fit historic buildings perfectly. Look at the beautiful entrances at the Museum of Fine Arts and the John Adams Courthouse. The numbers of architects who do this must grow. Historical commissions must support them.

In Barcelona, the Olympics brought improvements that meant we could easily travel on buses and subways. Here, I fear using the T because a train may be misaligned with the platform or an elevator may be broken. Instead, I drive my hand-controlled van downtown and pay $36 to park. The facts say that my fear is rational and that improvement is essential: More than 70 rapid transit and commuter rail stations still lack access.

Snow isn’t a factor for Barcelona. If it were, would the city handle it the way Boston did last winter? Often I rolled to the end of a shoveled sidewalk, only to find the curb cut blocked with snow. Kind strangers would attempt to hoist my wheelchair over the piles or stop traffic to help me cross at a driveway. We must handle the snow so that everybody can get around.

A recent experience in Cambridge was all too typical. Before leaving home, I called the restaurant and said I was coming in my electric wheelchair. Because the chair is too heavy to be lifted over steps, I wanted to confirm that the entrance was accessible. My daughter had already done so when she called to make my husband’s birthday reservation, but I knew I should be certain. With some annoyance, the employee on the phone said that I would be able to get in...

Read more at The Boston Globe.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/08/05/time-get-serious-about-wheelchair-access/noE2IdoISqWHgeRenar2vN/story.html

By Erin Croyle and Stephanie Scawen

Most “able-bodied” people don’t think about disability, because they don’t have to. When they do, they rarely think it’s something that will happen to them.

That’s precisely why I wanted to reach out to an old colleague to get her perspective. Stephanie Scawen is a pistol of a woman with the mouth of a sailor and toned upper arms to rival Michelle Obama. She and I worked together at Al Jazeera English in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia a few years ago. Not only has she spent a majority of her life without a disability; she also has a unique perspective on being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis overseas and having more significant symptoms set in while living in developing countries that are not known for treating people with disabilities well.

She is a fellow journalist. So rather than having me write about her, she was wonderful enough to tell her story herself. I want to share her story now as we look back at 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act to show how far the United States has come and remind us why this law is so important.

So here is Ms. Scawen’s story, in her own words:

ON HER BEGINNING …
I was born in the UK, a scarily long time ago [she’s not quite 50] and brought up outside of London.

I studied journalism after high school. There were no real journalism degrees at the time, so I took a newspaper journalism diploma and began working at 19 on a weekly freesheet – the Hemel Hempstead Herald. Try saying my full name and the newspaper’s without getting tongue twisted!

After a few years I moved to London and began freelancing for the London tabloids (the Sun, Mirror, News of the World). There I met a guy and after a few years of dating we decided to try working overseas. Hong Kong was the first place my partner got a job, so we upped sticks and moved over in July 1996.

ON HER DIAGNOSIS …
My first MS symptoms began just as I was relocating. I didn’t know what it was then of course. But as I arrived in Honkers [Hong Kong] I had pins and needles in both my legs, and my skin was numb to the touch all the way up to my waist.

That was quite scary but the neurologist I saw then passed it off as ‘myelitis’ and said it would go away, which it did.

I wasn’t diagnosed until 2 years later when I was working temporarily in Singapore, with inflammation of the optic nerve. An MRI confirmed the diagnosis.

After I was made redundant [laid off] from my job in HK I spent about a year and a half being a dive bum [scuba diver] in French Polynesia and in the Philippines before Al Jazeera began operations in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia …. I’m now a Senior Producer/Reporter with them.

I had no disability to start with – the first 15 years or so – and carried on living my life as if I just had this annoying problem that occurred a few times a year.

ON BECOMING “DISABLED”…
The turning point was at the start of the Arab spring in 2011. I was in Doha [Qatar] helping cover the Egyptian protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak My left leg went into spasm, but I did not recognise it at the time as a MS attack, so did nothing about it. By the time my leg started to feel better I realised it was much weaker, but there was nothing I could do about it then.

A second attack at the end of that year left me with ‘drop foot’ and meant I had to start using a stick to walk securely without falling.

ON DISCRIMINATION AT WORK…
Up until this point, I had never mentioned to anyone except very close friends of my illness, mostly because I experienced discrimination from the outset. The HR manager of the company I was working for in Singapore [when first diagnosed] told the managers that ‘I would be too expensive to keep on’; so my contract was not renewed. (I only found out that later after I had returned to HK). I had by then got another much more rewarding job with Star TV.

I remember running into someone from the Singapore company some years later in HK, and I remember him seeming quite surprised that I looked completely normal …

It was very recently that I discovered true discrimination at Al Jazeera when someone complained that I was a safety hazard in the field because I needed to use a stick, which was completely ridiculous as I did not cover war zones (never wanted to) or anything which might require me to move quickly. This still rankles with me big time, as this person had never ever discussed my walking with me directly, and had just gone behind my back.

I had to tell my boss the entire picture, which I was not obligated to do legally, but I felt I was forced to. And as I have become more disabled I feel that attitudes towards my illness have hardened against me. I’m seen as ‘a problem’ not a person who has to take a bit more time doing something, or has to do things slightly differently.

People are amazingly narrow-minded. I’m not sure if this is because they can’t picture themselves in my situation, or because they think I should be tucked up in a nursing home. People don’t seem to believe that I still have a brain which works perfectly well cognitively and a mouth that is willing to explain my life to them if they bothered to ask.

Sadly people just assume...

Get the full story at Center for Family Involvement.

http://centerforfamilyinvolvementblog.org/2015/07/30/what-its-like-to-become-disabled/

By Carrie Ann Lucas

Seventeen years ago, my oldest daughter was in foster care, and not returning to her parents. She is my biological niece. I contacted her social worker, and expressed interest in being a permanent placement for Heather. What commenced was a 16 month long battle to get custody of her. My daughter’s social worker was convinced “there is no way that handicapped woman can care for this handicapped child.” With a great deal of advocacy from myself and others, as well as a judge that was less discriminatory, Heather was eventually placed with me.

At that time, I had been a classroom teacher for 7 years, teaching middle school and elementary students. I was teaching part-time, working part time as a youth pastor, and part time for a disability rights organization as an advocate. I had recently completed my master’s degree. I had spent my entire adult life at that point working with children. I was being denied custody solely due to my disability.

My story had a happy ending. Heather eventually came home, it’s been over 15 years, and she is doing fabulously.

I knew however, if I were having these issues, a well-educated mostly white woman, I knew other parents didn’t stand a chance when child protection systems have a target on them. I then went to law school, and now my legal practice specializes in representing parents with disabilities who are involved in child protection cases, and disability based child custody cases.

Disabled parents are highly over-represented in child welfare cases. In my court appointment cases, which are made at random, over 80% of my clients have disabilities. Disabled people are less than 20% of the overall population. Almost every single one of these parents have child protection involvement due to neglect, not abuse. Most of the alleged neglect is a result of poverty...

Read the full story at Disability Pride.

http://www.disabilitypride.com/2015/07/24/the-promise-of-the-ada-is-not-realized-for-disabled-parents-ada25/

By Bryan Lufkin

The world is tough place to navigate in a wheelchair. But finding ramps and elevators can be easier thanks to this handy map app that anyone can edit.

It’s called Wheelmap, and it tells you the accessibility status of public places all over the world. It’s free and grades locations in a traffic light-style, red-yellow-green scale of wheelchair accessibility. Developed by German nonprofit SOZIALHELDEN e.V., it’s now celebrating five years since launch. Since 2010, users have added nearly half a million entries across the globe.

Learn more at Gizmodo.

http://gizmodo.com/this-massive-open-source-map-makes-the-world-more-whee-1710196200

by LEANA WEN

May 17, 2014 2:13 PM ET

Katherine Streeter for NPR

Something curious was happening in the emergency room. Eight patients had come in within minutes of each other. Almost instantly, the junior resident, two interns and a medical student signed up for all of the them – except for one.

Half an hour passed, then an hour. As the senior resident doctor at the time, I supervised the others as they tended to the middle-aged man with chest pain, the elderly woman with a broken wrist and the teenage girl with a sore throat.

New patients kept coming in, and they, too, were seen quickly.

Still, there was that one patient everyone seemed to avoid, a man in his 20s with back pain. I watched as the medical student picked up his chart, then placed it back on the rack. Nurses, too, weren't going to his room. Finally, I assigned a team to care for him.

"We drew the short straw here," I overheard the nurse say.

The resident sighed. "I already ordered labs and an X-ray. It's going to take too long to examine him, so let's just get this started."

What was different about this patient? Was it a dangerous, contagious disease? A mental health problem marked by a violent streak? A history of weekly drunken visits to the ER?

No. All he had was a wheelchair.

He had been in a car accident five years before and was paralyzed from the waist down. He told me that he was used to waiting, to being the patient that providers avoided. His back pain was from a kidney infection, and it turned out that all he needed was an antibiotic.

Read the full article at NPR

(http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/05/17/313015089/doctors-ignorance-stands-in-the-way-of-care-for-the-disabled)

Thanks to the inspiration of three local men collaborating with the creativity of area educators, 48,000 students in 53 schools are enjoying a fresh approach to Ability Awareness this academic year. Founders of Del Corazon (From-the-Heart), Don Routh, Josh Routh, and Bill Wheeler, support the curriculum with informative videos, personal presentations, and the loan for a week to each participating school of 10 wheelchairs. Children learn to appreciate their own abilities and embrace the challenge of enabling others to realize their full potential. Also known as the Wheelchair Foundation Schools Project, the initiative fosters respect for the strengths of peers coping with intellectual, developmental, and physical challenges, while raising funds to send wheelchair to hundreds of individuals who would otherwise remain immobile.

The Wheelchair Foundation, established by Ken Behring in 2000, provides wheelchairs to people around the world who need but cannot afford a wheelchair. In many countries, a wheelchair costs a worker’s entire annual income. Todate, 955,000 wheelchairs have been delivered, bringing mobility, dignity, and hope to individuals aged two to over 102.

Since Bill Wheeler, founder of Blacktie Transportation, first invited Don and Josh to join him on a Wheelchair Foundation distribution trip, “the Three Amigos” have made 23 distribution trips to 14 Latin American countries, delivering 72,000 wheelchairs. Asked to identify his favorite trip, Josh insists: “All of them!” His father, Don, concurs. Each trip is different, every journey life changing.

Josh demonstrates to wheelchair recipients that their personal goals are achievable. Doctors predicted Josh, born with Cerebral Palsy, would be a quadriplegic incapable of speech. At 31, he spoke his first word: “Soup!” His indefatigable spirit continues to feed his father’s dedication. A graduate of San Ramon Valley High School, Josh relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Now 35, he lives independently, drives his own car to work, and has multiple sports accomplishments to his credit.

In Paraguay, From-the-Heart delivered a wheelchair to another Josh. Seeing his own son in the four-year old also coping with Cerebral Palsy, Don translated his parental experience into a message of hope for the mother. Recalling how grateful he would have been for the advice of a mentor, Don happily shares his experience, encouraging care givers to believe in the possibility that their charges will be, likeJosh, successful adults.

In spring 2012, Don Routh presented the concept of a schools program to Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi. Ahmadi immediately recognized the value. “The potential of this endeavor as a true service learning project was incredible, and it was obvious that the impact to all involved would be profound,” she comments. “The project allows our students to learn and apply their knowledge while serving others globally. “Six PUSD elementary schools participated the following academic year. Six teachers joined a wheelchair distribution tour that summer and all came back as zealous advocates of the program...

Read the full article at the Wheelchair Foundation

(http://wheelchairfoundation.org/blog/from-the-heart-embracing-the-ability-to-enable-others/)

SPORK! Similar Picks:

> Is it OK to offer help to someone with a disability?

> 27 Things You’ll Only Know If You’re A Wheelchair User

By: Paisley Hansen
writer at the Mobility Resource

Living with a disability can be difficult, and it's not just the medical costs or care requirements that are a burden. For many people, the lack of independence can be especially hard to swallow, especially if the disability occurred suddenly. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to improve life with a disability and to gain back your independence. One great way to gain back independence is through exercise.

Exercise

Exercise is not necessarily easy for anyone, but can be especially tough if you're living with a disability. Many kinds of disabilities can limit workout potential due to reduced range of motion, pain, disfigurement, confinement to a wheelchair, atrophied muscles, broken bones or other factors. This even goes beyond outward physical limitations and into metabolic and psychological disabilities. Some people struggle with chronic fatigue, muscle pains and mood disorders that can make working out seem like an insurmountable chore.

However, regardless of your situation, getting some exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Short of being completely paralyzed, most disabilities still allow at least some level of fitness activity. It might not be the 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise that experts recommend for the average person, but whatever you can do will improve your physical capacity and overall health. Furthermore, it could end up still having a dramatic benefit. If you spend a great deal of your time being immobile or you can't use a significant part of your body, your metabolic requirements aren't as high, so you get more from less activity.

If you feel too fatigued to work out, it's understandable if you don't want to expend the energy you have left for something more important. However, you should be aware that forcing yourself to do even a light workout can help. Research has found that exercise actually improves energy levels in those suffering from chronic fatigue. The first step is always the hardest, but persistence wins in the end.

Of course, the nature of your disability will determine what kinds of exercise you're able to do. You'll need to take this into consideration when choosing a gym or purchasing fitness equipment. If you still have decent control of your upper body, lifting free weights is a highly recommended activity. Begin with a low weight and gradually work your way up. The more you do this, the more you tone and condition your muscles. This can dramatically improve your strength and range of motion, allowing you to be more independent in your daily life.

Lifting Weights

Lifting weights also has other benefits. It helps prevent and reverse muscular atrophying, which is associated with chronic inactivity. Furthermore, it can increase bone density. If your disability resulted from broken bones, weight training can ensure that they heal properly and help reduce the risk of additional fractures later on.

Swimming

Swimming is another form of exercise that can greatly improve your independence. Since it's a low-impact activity that also allows you to float, it's ideal for people who are unable to stand. In addition, the water's temperature can reduce inflammation, resulting in lessened dependence on pain and anti-inflammatory drugs. Many people living with a disability also find physical therapy helpful, especially during the early stages. A qualified and well-trained professional will work with you to create a fitness regimen that fits your particular needs.

Accommodations

When considering exercise options, make sure that the you have have the right car accommodations. In order to get to the gym or the swimming pool, you may need a wheelchair van or a wheelchair ramp. These accommodations will make it easier to get to and from your work-out destinations. Also, be sure to check that the work out facilities have disability restrooms and elevators.

Gaining independence with a disability is possible. Working out a great way to help you feel better through moving your muscles and getting endorphins, no matter what kind of disability you have. Even if it’s just a light workout, the benefits will surely show you to adjust and live a healthier and more fit life.

Read more at Sporkability.org
Follow Paisley on twitter @PaisleyHansen
Read more of Paisley Hansen work at the Mobility Resource

Curious about installing a wheelchair ramp in your home? You’ve come to the right place. Installing a wheelchair ramp gives you and guests a safe and reliable way to access your home; anyone can use a ramp whether they need assistance walking or if they are in a wheelchair or scooter. Choosing the perfect ramp depends on the user’s level of mobility, time frame needs, and lifestyle. Below we have outlined the characteristics and compared the advantages of four residential wheelchair ramp models.

Read the full article at 101 Mobility
(http://101mobility.com/blog/wheelchair-ramp-house/)

SPORK! Similar Picks:

> How Does Society Perceive People In Wheelchairs?

> 27 Things You’ll Only Know If You’re A Wheelchair User

EMILY BADGER
FEB 10, 2014

The most accessible public transit systems – accessible to many people, to many neighborhoods, to many jobs – are not necessarily accessible to riders with disabilities. The word means something very different in these two contexts, whether we're talking about public transportation that serves a large number of people, or public transportation that does a good job of serving the specific needs of some of them.

Those goals, of course, aren't mutually exclusive. But often a vast gap exists between them, as you can see in the three GIFs below created by Patrick Stotz, Achim Tack and Julia Griehl. They took open-licensed maps of the subway networks in New York City, London, and Hamburg – originally created by Lars Hänisch, Jake Berman, and Matthew Edwards – and removed from the picture the names of those stops that agencies don't identify as being wheelchair accessible.

Viewed this way, these three extensive transit systems suddenly look sparse. "From time to time," the creators explain at Mappable.info, "it's useful and necessary to remind 'the public' about the limitations of 'public transport'."

Read the full article at the Atlantic

(http://m.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/3-depressing-gifs-illustrate-who-failed-transit/8350/)

Nov 28, 2013 12:32 PM EST By Camille H

(Photo: Army Medicine/Flickr) Doctor Paralyzed from the Waist Down is Still Able to Do Surgeries

An orthopedic surgeon who was paralyzed from the waist down still performs surgeries through the use of a stand-up wheelchair, according to the Daily Mail.

Dr. Ted Rummel, an orthopedic surgeon from O'Fallon, Missouri suddenly became paralyzed in 2010 after a blood-filled cyst burst in his spine.

After a year of rehabilitation, he went back to work and started operating on his patients using a traditional wheelchair.

Dr. Rummel told the Enquirer that his freedom has been a lifesaver. "When I'm able to do this, and I can get a piece of my life back, it's huge. It's so special," he said.

Read the full article at Parent Herald

(http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3092/20131128/doctor-paralyzed-waist-down-still-surgeries.htm)

Posted by Ru Porter on 12/02/13 | Filed under Opinion

To become famous, you have to have a uniqueness that separates you from everyone else. But in some cases standing out can be a hindrance – especially if you’re disabled.

The film, music and television industries are already highly competitive and for individuals with physical handicaps achieving a high level of success is even slimmer. Additionally, there aren’t many public figures to represent Americans with disabilities on a mainstream level, which is why networks like NBC would rather hire able-bodied actors such as Blair Underwood to play a paraplegic detective on their latest cop drama, "Ironside". The show, which was part of NBC’s Fall 2013-14 programming, is a reboot of a 1960's drama touting the same name; and chronicles the life of an undercover officer who gets injured and confined to a wheelchair. To some, Ironside’s premise may sound unappealing, but personally I thought the pitch was great – not just because Underwood’s character is disabled, but also because it shed light on a topic that rarely gets any shine.

Read the full article at Refined Hype

(http://www.refinedhype.com/hyped/entry/disabled-chances)

By Jo Berry

Navigating Sydney University’s hilly campus in my manual wheelchair I was overtaken, even overlooked, on a daily basis. Despite the fact I would struggle to propel myself along, rarely would a fellow student offer their help. Sometimes I’d even try to look pathetic to secure a push! Whenever I did ask for assistance I was always met with the same refrain: I didn’t want to offend you.

I have been in a wheelchair for years now. After a decade of incorrect diagnoses, I’ve been told I have severe connective tissue dysplasia. It can be really painful, and I’ve had 12 surgeries to mend various joints. Every night when I sleep I dislocate my collarbones and have to put them back in the morning myself. It’s a bit like my bones are held together by rotten elastic bands that have lost their stretch. Even my heart and organs are affected by my condition. These days, I use a motorised wheelchair as my shoulders are no longer strong enough to push a manual chair.

Read the full article at Daily Life

(http://www.dailylife.com.au/life-and-love/real-life/is-it-ok-to-offer-help-to-someone-with-a-disability-20131202-2ylsj.html)

The Huffington Post | By Ellie Krupnick & Rebecca Adams

It's no secret that the smooth, plastic bodies staring out of store windows aren't true physical replicas of the people who stare back at them. But there's no reason they can't be.

Pro Infirmis, an organization for the disabled, created a series of mannequins based on real people with physical disabilities, working with individuals like Jasmine Rechsteiner, a Miss Handicap winner who has spine malformations, and Erwin Aljukić, an actor with brittle bone disease. The project's title? "Because Who Is Perfect? Get Closer."

Read the full article at Huffingtonpost

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/disabled-mannequins-video_n_4379586.html)