People with disabilities will have additional protections against discrimination when they travel by air, as the result of a new rule issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that strengthens the existing regulation implementing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and extends it to foreign airlines.
The new rule will apply to foreign air carriers operating a flight that begins or ends in the United States. It applies to U.S. air carrier operations worldwide. Passengers flying to Europe, Asia, or other destinations on foreign air carriers now will have similar protections against discriminatory policies and be entitled to the same accommodations as passengers flying on U.S. carriers. DOT will also be better able to take enforcement action against a foreign carrier if it discriminates against an individual because of his or her disability on flights to or from the United States.
The new rule will also make it easier for passengers to use medical oxygen during flights by requiring airlines to allow the use in the passenger cabin of portable oxygen concentrators that meet applicable safety, security and hazardous materials requirements for safe use aboard aircraft and it will provide greater accommodations for passengers with hearing impairments. It will require airlines to include easy-to-read captions for the hearing-impaired in its safety and informational videos.
Airlines also must promptly provide the same information to hearing- and vision-impaired passengers that it provides to other passengers in airport terminals or on the aircraft – such as information on boarding, flight delays, schedule changes, weather conditions at the flight’s destination, connecting gate assignments, checking and claiming of baggage, and emergencies. The rule does not specify how carriers should make this information available to passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The new rule will be effective in one year to give carriers enough time to begin implementing its provisions. The text of the final rule is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2004-19482.
Finally, DOT will seek further comment in a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) about whether airlines should be required to provide medical oxygen to passengers upon request. The SNPRM will also address subjects such as accessibility of airline web sites, automated ticketing kiosks, and in flight entertainment systems.
Children represent roughly 20 percent of all people who use the shelter system.This includes unaccompanied youth and children in households with adults. Although this is a lower percentage than that of children among the U.S. poverty population (35 percent), the number of children who not only are poor but also become homeless is a cause for concern.
Fourteen percent of all homeless adults who accessed a shelter during the six- month time period are veterans. While underrepresented among the poverty population, veterans are overrepresented in the homeless shelter population when compared to the general population.
A significant proportion of the sheltered homeless population is disabled. Sheltered homeless adults are more than twice as likely to have a disability when compared to the general U.S. population. Approximately 38 percent of adults who used a shelter between January 1 and June 30, 2006 had a disabling condition compared to 30 percent of the poverty population and 17 percent of the total U.S. population.
Homelessness disproportionately affects minorities, especially African Americans. Minorities constitute one-third of the total U.S. population and about half of the poverty population, but about two-thirds of the sheltered homeless population. African-Americans are heavily overrepresented in the sheltered homeless population, representing about 44 percent of the sheltered homeless population but 23 percent of the poverty population and only 12 percent of the general population.
Whirlwind Wheelchair International is a not-for-profit organization that develops wheelchairs that can be made and used in developing countries where accessibility, paved roads, and curb cuts may still be a dream for local wheelers.
Their latest development, the Roughrider, was designed to take some of the “rough” out of wheelchair use in these countries.
Check out the video:
While most USA wheelies crave shorter and lighter wheelchairs, a longer wheelbase and even a heavier wheelchair in general are often a very good trade off in places where it can make the difference between being a usable wheelchair or an ornament.
It looks like Bischoff & Bischoff of Germany have struck at both ends of the mobility scooter spectrum with their new products.
The Orbis, a mobility scooter for use in difficult terrain and curb hopping, and the Agil, a lightweight transportable mobility scooter that can be folded up and tossed in your trunk.
Here’s the scoop on these world-apart scooters.
The Orbis packs four wheel spring suspension and a speed of up to nine miles per hour. Not bad for a street cruiser! The manufacturer claims that it has curb climbing ability and can deal with difficult terrain as well as take 12 degree inclines.
Tossed in for good measure is a horn, light, blinkers, cane holder, and two rear view mirrors. And yes, leather upholstery on the seat. Hey, who would buy a scooter that didn’t have leather upholster?
Here’s the Agil, the lightweight. Weighing in at around 61 pounds, the Agil folds up to fit in a car trunk. This spidery little scooter can get you around at pinch under 3 mph. Not blazing, but blazing is not what this bantom weight is about.
There are not too many goodies packed into Agil for obvious reasons but you do get an angle adjustable seat and a small footprint and tight turning radius.
There is a good deal of activity these days in the field of robotics. Much is dedicated to use by commerce but some of the effort is also being aimed at production of robots that can be utilized by people with disabilities, but what does the person with a disability want done? Communicating with a robot and instructing it has been a problem. At present, verbal commands are not easy for robots to interpret
“A team of researchers led by Charlie Kemp, director of the Center for Healthcare Robotics in the Health Systems Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, have found a way to instruct a robot to find and deliver an item it may have never seen before using a more direct manner of communication - a laser pointer.
El-E (pronounced like the name Ellie), a robot designed to help users with limited mobility with everyday tasks, autonomously moves to an item selected with a green laser pointer, picks up the item and then delivers it to the user, another person or a selected location such as a table. El-E, named for her ability to elevate her arm and for the arm’s resemblance to an elephant trunk, can grasp and deliver several types of household items including towels, pill bottles and telephones from floors or tables.”
El-E is a purpose dedicated robot. Just like old rover it will fetch and bring on command and it is being designed specifically for people with disabilities.
“To ensure that El-E will someday be ready to roll out of the lab and into the homes of patients who need assistance, the Georgia Tech and Emory research team includes Prof. Julie Jacko, an expert on human-computer interaction and assistive technologies, and Dr. Jonathan Glass, director of the Emory ALS Center at the Emory University School of Medicine. El-E’s creators are gathering input from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) patients and doctors to prepare El-E to assist patients with severe mobility challenges.”
The Georgia Tech and Emory research team is now working to help El-E expand its capabilities to include switching lights on and off when the user selects a light switch and opening and closing doors when the user selects a door knob.
Go fetch it Rover! Hmmm, no, I meant go gettum Georgia Tech!
If you are thinking of hitting the road in a rented adaptive van or vehicle then check this out. A new post in Action Online with tips on renting an accessible vehicle.
“As more and more wheelchair-users take to the road in pursuit of adventure, many prefer the peace of mind that comes with being behind the controls of a vehicle modified to fit their needs and equipped for the long haul–– wherever the destination may be. Let’s face it, the last thing most of us want to deal with on vacation is public transportation, especially if you’re planning your own itinerary and would like to visit attractions and tourist spots at your own leisure.”
Approximately 250,000 Filipino men joined the U.S. Armed Forces just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For the duration of WW2 they shared the same hardships as their American counterparts. After the war they were denied veterans benefits.
The Filipino troops served as combat soldiers. They served with honor, distinguished themselves as hardcore troops, and were killed in great numbers. The enemy often preferred to execute captured Filipino troops rather than take them POW.
Washington promised them the same health and pension benefits as their American brothers. Even after the war, in October of 1945, Gen. Omar Bradley, then Administrator of the Veterans Administration, reaffirmed that they were to be treated like any other American veterans. That has never happened.
“ there is a legal and moral compact between this nation and our defenders.”
Paul Tobin, President & CEO, United Spinal Association
It is a national disgrace that these heroes and their families be cast aside and denied the benefits that they have justly earned.
Here is information from the Veterans Administration fact sheet.
Citizens of the Republic of the Philippines who serve today in the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible for VA benefits under the same criteria as other U.S. military veterans. However, eligibility for VA benefits for Filipino veterans who served in recognized units of the Philippine Armed Forces – especially during World War II – is not so clear-cut.
Congress is presently bickering over this issue. You can help get the swift passage of H.R. 760 and S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, and S. 1315, the Veterans Benefits and Emoluments Act of 2007. The new laws would grant full recognition of the sacrifices that Filipino veterans made in the service of the U.S. during World War II by entitling them to VA health care, disability compensation, pensions, survivors’ benefits, and full burial benefits.
Some things just get tougher all of the time. Copping out used to be a lot easier for some wheelchair users but inclusion, accessibility, and adaptive devices have made it ever more difficult to bounce out of those humdrum chores that no one likes to do.
Mowing the lawn has always been one of those chores that doesn’t lend itself well to pairing up with a wheelchair. Push a wheelchair and mower at the same time across traction-less grass and uneven turf? Not if you can help it.
Here comes some good luck for the couch potatoes. You can now give your lawn a haircut from your wheelchair, or your porch, or from your couch. Now that’s real bad news isn’t it?
Husqvarna has just introduced its new Automower hybrid powered robotic lawn mower.
This sleek cutter is as green as a St. Patrick’s Day hat. Its hybrid power plant runs on a combination of solar power and electricity and ninety percent of the Automower is made from recycled materials.
Just place a cable around the perimeter of your mowing area and turn it loose. It stays within the boundary and out of the tulips while cutting grass to a fine mulch that stays on your lawn as fertilizer. That means no having to empty bags. When all is done the Automower will head straight to its charging station and call it a day.
You can’t beat that for knocking off a nasty chore.
