Through the Looking Glass

A new National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families has been established in Berkeley, California under the auspices of Through the Looking Glass, a non-profit organization founded in 1982.

The Center will oversee several national research studies concerning parents with disabilities and their families, as well as provide consultations, trainings and publications to parents, family members and professionals.

The research and resources of the Center will address the nearly 9 million U.S. parents with disabilities -- 15% of all American families. Parents with disabilities include mothers and fathers in all disability categories -- such as parents with physical disabilities, deaf parents, blind parents, parents with psychiatric or cognitive disabilities.

The Center is funded by a $500,000-per-year federal grant for three years from the Washington, DC-based National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education.

More information about the Center and Through the Looking Glass is available at the organization's website ( http://lookingglass.org/index.php), through two toll-free numbers, 800-644-2666 (voice) or 800-804-1616 (TDD/TTY), or by email at tlg@lookingglass.org

In Other U.S. Health and Disability News

NCD has contracted with New Editions, Inc. to assist NCD with convening a two-day National Summit on Disability Policy in 2010. The purpose of the Summit is to help set a national policy agenda for 2010-2020 designed to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Policy papers on issues of critical importance to people with disabilities are being prepared in advance with the cooperation of NCD and its many stakeholder partners, and these papers will be used to establish the tracks for discussion and policy development during the summit. About 400 people are expected to attend and participate in this event. A Council meeting will be held in conjunction with the National Summit.

For the first time in at least a decade, the nation’s consumers are trying to get by on fewer prescription drugs. As people around the country respond to financial and economic hard times by juggling the cost of necessities like groceries and housing, drugs are sometimes having to wait. “People are having to choose between gas, meals and medication,” said Dr. James King, the chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national professional group. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/business/22drug.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Autism Support Network today announced the launch of its free online support community available at http://www.AutismSupportNetwork.com

The online service -- rapidly growing already with thousands of members around the world -- connects families and individuals touched by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with each other, provides support and insight, and acts as a resource guide for treatments, strategies and therapies. Key features of the community include matching those members seeking similar support with one another, the ability to create appointments virtually or in actual locations between members, community groups for open sharing of information, user blogs, chat and capabilities for members to host and share personal photos and documents. The Autism Support Network also includes resource listings across the United States, Canada, England and India. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

Older African Americans who have difficulty falling asleep seem to be more likely to have memory problems a new study suggests.

The study, of 174 African Americans ages 65 to 90, found that those who said they often had a hard time falling asleep tended to have poorer scores on standard tests of memory. Research shows that up to 40 percent of older adults have sleep disturbances, particularly trouble falling asleep. Poor sleep has also been linked to problems with memory and other cognitive functions. However, no studies until now have looked at this relationship specifically in older black adults -- who, some research suggests, tend to be especially vulnerable to sleep problems. "If we can better understand how sleep quantity, as well as quality, influences general cognitive functioning," Gamaldo said, "perhaps we could better maintain memory throughout life, including later in life."

Enable America is proud to be a participant in the 2008 Disability Mentoring Day on Tuesday October 21, 2008, which opens a path for people with disabilities to explore and connect with possible careers and employment.

Disability Mentoring Day offers an opportunity for people with disabilities to get hands-on, real-life employment exposure by bringing together job-seekers with businesses to open doors, provide mentorship and explore career opportunities.

Disability Mentoring Day started as National Disability Mentoring Day in 1999 in the White House, as a program to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is celebrated every October.

Enable America was founded in 2002 by attorney Richard Salem as a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities find employment and live independently. It is the first organization dedicated solely to reducing unemployment among people with disabilities. Enable America is committed to raising awareness of employment-related disability issues on a local and national level. Good things happen when people have jobs. Visit www.enableamerica.org for more information.

World Health Organisation (WHO) says, there are about 4,000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke and more than 50 of them are known to cause cancer in human beings. Tobacco smoke in enclosed spaces is breathed in by everyone, exposing smokers and non-smokers alike to its harmful effects. According to the International Labour Organization, 2,00,000 workers die every year owing to exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke at work. The WHO estimates that around 700 million children, or almost half of the worlds children, breathe the air mixed with tobacco smoke.

Health and Disability News for US Seniors:

Have you ever wanted your very own police officer to provide protection to you and your family?

We can't provide that, but we can make one accessible so that you can ask any questions you may have about safety.

Seniors are invited to come to Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street location (3000 N. Fairmount Street) to learn "Safety Tips & Tricks," on Wednesday, October 29, at 1:00 pm.

Chuck Lee, Davenport Police Officer, will present information about how you can stay safe in your home, your car, and in public. The lengthy question and answer period will offer seniors the opportunity to tailor the program to fit their specific needs.

Come prepared with your questions, and Officer Lee will ease your mind with his insightful experience. This program is part of "Specifically for Seniors," a monthly educational and entertainment series which meets at 1:00 pm on the last Wednesday of each month, March through November. It is sponsored by the Davenport Public Library, Senior Voice, and Davenport Parks and Recreation. For information about this or upcoming senior programs, visit http://www.davenportlibrary.com, or call 563-888-3371.

Between now and Friday, October 31, Penn retirees and Long-Term Disability (LTD) recipients have the once-a-year opportunity to make changes to their healthcare benefits.

All changes will be effective as of January 1, 2009. Eligible participants should have already received personalized enrollment packets at their homes, including information on changes for the upcoming plan year, how to make coverage changes, and specifics about the benefits offered.

Retirees and LTD recipients are invited to attend an information session on Tuesday, October 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Bodek Lounge at Houston Hall. Representatives from Human Resources, Penn’s medical and prescription drug vendors, Medicare and the Social Security Administration will be available to answer any questions.

Participants must return a health enrollment form by Friday, October 31, 2008 in order to make changes to their benefits for the 2009 plan year (January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009). If you have any questions regarding the materials in the packet, please contact Retiree Assist (Penn’s call center for retiree and LTD benefits) at 1-866-789-7366, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Coming Events:

Eric Rosenthal, executive director of Mental Disability Rights International, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Monday Oct. 27 in the Sea-mans Center’s Stanley Auditorium (Room 1505) at the University of Iowa. The free lecture titled "Forgotten no More: Worldwide Human Rights Violations Against People with Disabilities and the Prom-ise of the New United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" is sponsored by the UI Lecture Committee, UI Center for Human Rights (UICHR) and the UI Office of Governmental Relations. For more information contact the Office of Governmental Relations at 319-335-3714 or the UICHR at 319-335-0483.

Riverside, CA -- Springboard Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management is pleased to announce that one of their most popular seminar presentations will be available to people with visual disabilities. Springboard's Power of Paycheck Planning, a money management presentation, is being converted into the Braille system, a method that is widely used by the blind to read and write. The Inland Empire Disabilities Collaborative (IEDC) is converting the seminar presentation into Braille, which will be available to the public for the first time at the Inland Empire Disability Resource Expo taking place on Thursday, October 23 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The agency has several locations in California and offers face-to-face and nationwide phone counseling services. For more information on Springboard, call 1-800 WISE PLAN (1-800-947-3752) ext. 7750 or visit their web site at www.credit.org.