The "Badass Project" - Feel Good Fridays

I have not been able to write a Feel Good Friday post for a few weeks, but when I saw this website, I knew I had to get back on the wagon.

Straight from the website, "The Badass Project exists to share these amazing people with the world. To celebrate the ways in which they kick it. And to put the excuses that most people make in their proper place."

It is a compilation of interviews of people with disabilities doing very cool things. Things that, the founder Johnny says, people might think they shouldn't be doing.

There are many good ones on here, but I will highlight one for today.

Michael McKeller is a motivational speaker and daredevil. He decided that being born with spinal muscular atrophy would not stop him from doing things he enjoyed.
To read Michael's full story and to check out his video, click here. You won't be disappointed.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Bookshare Success Story

This blog post was sent to me from Bookshare's Blog. It is a great success story about obtaining books in electronic format with relative ease.

Graduate Student Finds Books in Bookshare


Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Let's Hear It For The Little Guy - Feel Good Fridays

I always root for the underdog. Always. I want to support the person or group that no one things can win the race, game, competition, ect. So when I read Richard's story, I was ecstatic.

In an effort of full disclosure, my family and I know Richard personally through his non-profit organization, Able West Inc. Every summer my father participates in the LBI Wheelchair race that Able West sponsors and stays in contact with him during the year.

The cliff notes of Richard's story are this. In 2003 he received a statement from Medicaid that indicated that the government agency paid for 700 hours of services from Maxim Health care that he never received. 700 hours!

He went to the Medicaid help line for support, but was told that his case would be looked into. When he heard nothing, he searched and found an attorney in Maryland, Robin West, of no relation, and she filed a whistle blower lawsuit.

An investigation was established that encompassed 43 states, and resulted in Maxim paying $150 million in penalties.

Richard will be receiving about $10 million from this settlement. To read the full article, click here.

The importance of self advocacy is what keeps repeating in my mind when I think about Richard's case. If he was not persistent, Maxim's fraud would never have surfaced. It is imperative that we teach our consumers self advocacy to help them improve their lives.

Let's hear it for the underdog!

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

The Ah- HA Moment! - You know you want one - Feel Good Fridays

For the past few weeks I have been re-learning some software that I knew well about 4 years ago, but due to lack of use, had forgotten how to use. Additionally, I am learning how to use some software that I never been exposed to before; therefore, it is brand new.

What became apparent to me as I was working through this is that I forgot how frustrating it can be to learn something new; especially when you need to know it well and the intention is that it not for your own use, but that you teach it to someone else. I feel like I did when I was first started writing lesson plans and figuring out how to manage my class. It was frustrating and there were growing pains, but over time, just like anything else, I learned how to do it, and how to do it well.

I think that having this experience is not a bad thing; in fact it was a very good reminder and should happen more often. This feeling is how our students feel often and it can be easy for us to forget that. Being frustrated learning something new reminded me that patience is essential, solid teaching plans are critical, and cutting yourself or someone some slack and allowing adequate time to learn something is absolutely necessary. Ah, HA!

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Fostering Independence - A Follow up - Feel Good Fridays

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this blog post regarding fostering independence in our students with special needs.

I am pleased to report that this same student was able to get her computer up and running with the help of HP tech support on her own. She was really excited and it was obvious that she felt a sense of empowerment. I was very happy for her.

In the same vein of fostering independence, my two year old's new favorite phrase is, "I do MYSELF". This phrase is said with such regularity, it is startling to me. The things he wants to do himself range from getting his shoes and brushing his teeth to cooking dinner and using a key to open our front door.

Now what was I saying about fostering independence again...

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

I locked my keys in the car - Feel Good Fridays

I am neurotic about making sure I don't lock my keys in the car. This neuroses comes from the fact that I greatly dislike not being able to pick up and go when I want to.

Well, I locked my keys in my car last week. It happened in the most ridiculous way. I was putting my rolling cart into my car after an appointment, and had my keys in my hand. Inadvertently, I hit the key fab thinking I pressed the unlock button. I tossed my keys onto the drivers seat, finished putting the cart in the car and closed the door. That is when I heard the beep which means that all the doors are locked. Of course I tested them, just to be sure.

I CAN NOT believe I was that dumb.

Thankfully, I was still in my consumer's driveway. So I walked back up to the house to ask to Google the number for AAA. I did, I called, and they said they were running on a 60 MINUTE delay. Great. So I thanked the consumer and told them I was going to wait out by the car.

A few minutes later, the consumer emerges from the garage with a wedge, a rubber mallet and a wire hanger in hand. He said he has bailed out his friends and wife several times and he would be happy to try and open my doors, rather than make me wait for AAA.

I am hesitant, but grateful, so I tell him to go ahead. In about 5 minutes my car doors are opened and I am calling AAA to cancel the call.

I told him I really, really appreciated his help. He told me that I am helping him and so he is just returning the favor. He said "I can't do what you do, and you can't do what I can do. It all comes around in the end".

Words to live by.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Fostering Independence - Feel Good Fridays

I greatly value my independence. I am aware of my abilities as well as my limitations, but I want to do whatever I can for myself.

I believe that many of the students with special needs that we serve are never taught the value of independence and they don't have an accurate understanding of what they can do for themselves. This was evident to me this week.

I was working with a student who just completed her second year of community college, and she was having technical problems with her computer. I was working with her on learning two assistive software programs, but obviously if the computer is not working properly, the training can't go on.

She wrote me an email telling me about the problems she was having. I suggested that she contact tech support, and I gave her the phone number and the reference number to her case. She wrote back and told me that she was busy today but she would have her mom call. Right, a student who is transitioning into a 4 year school to finish her bachelor degree is going to have her mom call tech support. To be blunt, this really tweaked me. This student is very capable of picking up the phone, explaining what is wrong and finding out what options are available to her under her warranty.

I wrote her back and told her, in gentle terms, that she should be the one to call tech support, not her mother.

I wasn't sure what would happen, but it ends up that she took my suggestion and wrote me an email to give me an update on the status of the machine. I wrote her an email that I was happy she had contacted tech support and that she should be proud of herself for doing that.

I will be seeing her next week, so we will see what happens with the machine, but that really isn't the point. The point is that she was able to do something she either didn't think she could or didn't want to, but was able to step up to the task with a little prodding.

I think this is vitally important to teach our students skills that foster independence. Our goal should be, that at some point, the don't need us. That they are able to use the tools that we have given them or taught them to accomplish tasks. And that they are able to do what they can for themselves, and ask for help when they really need it.

Happy Friday!

Technology for Prostheses - Feel Good Fridays

I am a NPR junkie. I usually listen to various programs as I travel in the car. Yesterday I was listening to Fresh Air, with Terri Gross. She was interviewing Hugh Herr; a scientist who had both of his legs amputated after a catastrophic mountain climbing accident.

Herr is the former director of the Biomechatronics Group at the MIT Media Lab, his group specialized in creating prosthetic devices.

You can listen to the full show here or read the transcript here.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Audtions for ALL!, Feel Good Fridays

I am a theater appreciator, possessing no talent to act. I am absolutely on board with this newest community theater venture from Angela Anderson, in cooperation with the Theater Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. You can check out the Facebook events page here.

Don't have a profile on Facebook? Well here is all the info you need.

Auditions for ALL!
When: Monday, August 15, 6:30pm-9pm
Where: Philadelphia Room of William Way Community Center
1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA
Websites: Facebook Event, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia
Contact: anderson.angela.marie@gmail.com


From the event page:
"Join the community theatre movement presenting shows that represent our ENTIRE beautiful society.

We want to bring everyone together, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual preference, or physical ability.
We want to see EVERYONE!

...For the audition, we want to see YOUR best performance. After the auditions, a play will be selected and cast based on the abilities of those who auditioned!

Please bring a prepared monologue. (Cold readings will also be available.)

Also, bring your IDEAS!! This is a community theatre movement for *you* - we want to hear what you have to say!

*******
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:
Productions will be accessible, both physically and in attitude, for the full participation of people with physical and emotional challenges and disabilities.

William Way is fully wheelchair accessible.

Those organizing the event have extensive education and experience working with people with disabilities in varied capacities.

We speak poor to moderate American Sign Language. (Because of finances, no interpreter will be provided at this event, but you're welcome to bring someone to interpret or volunteer to interpret.)

Please encourage any friends with disabilities in the Philadelphia who want to participate in theatre to attend the auditions. No experience required!!
*******

We are funding this event through Classic Baked Goods by Angela Anderson. Please visit the Facebook page if you enjoy delicious sweets and would like to contribute!

For more information, or if you would like to help out, please contact anderson.angela.marie@gmai​l.com.

Auditions will be open and first-come-first-serve, so if you have a scheduling conflict and must audition at a certain time please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you."

Enjoy and may the best cast be selected!

CEO's that are approachable - Feel Good Friday

Have you ever sent a letter, either of complaint or complement, and never recieved a reply? How annoying is that? Well, if you send a letter/email to Steve Jobs, you will get a reply.

A mother of a 9 year old girl in Australia wrote Jobs to tell him what a difference the iPad has made in her daughter's life. He not only responded, but asked if he could share her daughter's success story.

I thought that was pretty cool. Many app developers are like that too. They value feedback from consumers and want to improve their product. Lesson learned, it never hurts to give feedback and who knows, you just may get a response.

To read the full article, click here.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Panera Bread doin' Good - Feel Good Friday

I live in a part of the state that doesn't have a lot of big box stores or chain restaurants. Over the last two years we joined the ranks of the rest of the state with new commercial development that led to BJ's, Costco, Olive Garden, IHOP and Target. Before this we had to travel about 30 minutes either north or south to shop at one of these stores or eat at one of these restaurants. This did not bother me, as I hate shopping, and would rather cook 9 times out of 10 than go out.

However, when I read this article, it made me wish I had access to this specific Panera Bread (St. Louis Bread Company).

Basically, this store a community cafe and their business model is designed to help people in need. It works like this. You order your sandwich. You are told what the "suggested funding" is (regular price) and you can pay that price or you can pay whatever you want or can, less or more. All additional proceeds beyond overhead and expenses are donated. They offer vouchers for volunteers to work for an hour and recieve a free meal. It looks to be a vibrant community gathering space.

You can see a video of it below:



I hope they are able to implement this model in their stores around the country; maybe even in my corner of the state.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

A Final Graduation Story - Feel Good Friday

As June comes to a close, as with it graduation season, here is one more pretty amazing story to share.

Austin Whitney, 22, graduated from UC Berkeley this spring with a dual major in History and Political Science. The summer in between his graduation from high school and the start of his freshman year, Austin's spinal cord was severed at the hip in a car accident, resulting in paraplegia from the waist down.

Austin, clearly being a man of strong will and determination, began his freshman year on time and graduated in four years.

During his junior year, he began working with members of the Robotics and Human Engineering Lab, a research group at UC Berkley. They began working on developing exoskeletons or wearable robotics to enable Austin to walk during Berkley's graduation.
It was many, many months in the making, but Austin did walk on graduation day.

Read the full article here.

Check out this video. Share it with anyone aspiring to work in the field of engineering. Anything is possible.




Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Graduation Season - Feel Good Friday

Tis the season for graduations, from preschool to college. This video is from last year, but the message is and will be relevant forever.

Eric Duquette's Salutitorian graduation speech was featured on ABC news. Enjoy and congratulations to all students who graduate this year.

Watch the video here.

Get Outside and Bike! - Feel Good Fridays

I love to bike ride. I am lucky to live in an area of the state that is bike friendly and also offers a plethora of bike paths as a safe haven from "visiting summer drivers".

I have thought about how difficult it would be for me if I couldn't ride my bike; so when a colleague forwarded me this story, I had to write about it.

Rob Thompson is a young man who experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident. His father, Dave Thompson, built a tandem bike that could be part of Rob's road to recover (pun completely intended).


Read the full story here.

Maybe not all TV is bad....Feel Good Friday

Many people who know me, know that I am NOT a big fan of TV. However, when Assistive Technology is being discussed on TV I guess I subscribe to that.

Carly Fleischmann, a young woman who has been diagnosed with Autism, was featured on CBS's The Talk day time show. She was brought on the show to discuss how she uses Word Q, a word prediction program that has auditory feedback, to communicate. I have spoken with people who watch this show and said not only were they inspired by Carly, but wanted to find out more about Word Q. I thought that was pretty cool.

I am glad that Carly found a tool that is working for her and is allowing her to communicate and participate in the world around her.

If you want to watch the video on Youtube you can check it out below.





Enjoy and Happy Friday!

And We're Back with a Success Story...Feel Good Friday

After a brief hiatus, this weekly blog post is back.

I had the pleasure this week of working with a 4th grade student who has mild CP in a school district in southern New Jersey. The primary goal for my consultation was to explore writing supports with this student since writing is such a laborious process. Yesterday we began a trial of Write Online. I have written about my experience with another student previously. This student was very excited that she could input words into her document with a single click rather than several key strokes. Throughout the session she pumped her hand in the air and said, “I got it”. Her 1:1 aide said that she had never seen this student excited about writing and/or working on the computer. At the end of the session she asked me, “Are you coming back tomorrow?” It was a good day. Remember and enjoy your successes from this week.

Getting Ready for College - Feel Good Fridays

Below is a video from Marcus Engel, professional speaker and author. This video has some very good tips in regard to how college is different than high school, and some things that are helpful to remember as students navigate through their freshman year told in a humorous way.

As Marcus says, these tips are relevant to students of all abilities.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

TED - Remaking my Voice - Feel Good Friday

I am hijacking Vanessa Feel Good Friday. Shhh don’t tell her.

There are so many wonderful inspirational stories out there. The one that touched me this week was from the TED conference. If you haven’t heard of TED let me start by saying WOW you have to check it out. It is a non-profit organization stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. The notion of TED is that individuals are sharing ideas worth spreading and supporting. Each story you hear is more amazing than the next.

Ted has over 700 talks that can be viewed online under Creative Commons license. This means that you can utilize these talks in presentations and classrooms as long as you provide credit to TED. There are many powerful speakers in the archives from TED that at times you are moved to tears because of the story and times you sit and cheer for what has been accomplished by one person on a mission.

Most people know the story of Robert Ebert. How he was a famous film critic. Then one day he received news that he had cancer and a new journey in life had begun. Just like the roller coasters in the amusement park so began his journey with all the twist, turns and drops that one can handle. Each one knocking the wind out of his sail but he getting back up to take flight because he wants to live a full life with the people he loves. In the end of one journey he finds that he has lost the money maker his momma had given him. The voice millions had come to know as Robert Ebert would be no more. Robert needed to take a journey that so many thousands take each year to find a way to communicate with their loved ones. It is a journey that he found some solutions that just didn't work for one reason or another.

In his TED conversation, you hear the message that yes; he has lost the voice that was his identity for so long and how he searched and searched for "his" voice. But in this powerful conversation, it is not the voice that speaks the message that conveys the message; it is the desire to make an impact with words regardless if they are spoken with voice or on the written page you see in his facial expressions, the touch of his wife’s hand that even without a voice he is speaking volumes. You see a man that loves life, wants to share life with all and has a message for others to hear. You experience the emotions of the moment and gives you pause to think "should I bank my own voice files just in case".

In Remaking my Voice, you hear the sadness and frustration that Mr. Ebert feels. This feeling is something that many AAC users feel. They feel that they are too slow and abled body listeners are too impatient. From my own brief experience, I can say this is what I learned also. Listening to Remaking my voice, you are humbled to see the journey this man has taken and you are also inspired to see that after a loss you can find your way.

Life is a journey not a destination. Enjoy each moment you have, embrace the differences you and know that you are special to everyone you meet. Have a wonderful Friday.

James Durbin still going strong - Feel Good Fridays

Let's check back in with the topic of an older post that you can read here. James Durbin, a contestant on American Idol has Tourette and Asperger Syndromes. He has made it to the top 9. He has been the topic of many blog posts and other articles in regard to how inspirational he is to people of all abilities.

Here he is singing one of my favorite songs of all time. No matter what happens on American Idol, James Durbin has been and will continue be an idol to many.




Enjoy and Happy Friday.

April is Autism Awareness Month - Feel Good Fridays

Meet Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, the focal points of the documentary Wretches and Jabberers. These two men have Autism and communicate with Augmentative Communication Devices.

Their film is about spreading the message that people of all abilities have ideas to share, thoughts to discuss and the desire to participate fully in life. Tracy and Larry are on a mission to change people's attitudes about disability, intelligence and communication.

Check out the trailer to the film below.

You can visit the website for the film here and you can read an article about the film here.

Enjoy and Happy Friday.