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April Newsletter |
  Welcome Welcome to the April edition of the disAbility Writer's Group newsletter. The official newsletter of DWG family group. We are very pleased to bring you this newsletter and plan to do so the last week of each month. I have been ill. I was admitted to Louis A. Johnson VAMC last week with myocardial infarction AKA a heart attack. I had chest pains a few weeks earlier this month and thought it to be esophageal spasm, a condition I am very familiar with or Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with, which I am also very familiar. It was neither. I later called an ambulance and viola! I was admitted to the hospital, but not before two weeks passed by and it hit again. They are planning to do a heart catherization soon. Due to all of that I am reevaluating my priorities. My main priority has always been and always will be pleasing God. Some people do not believe in God. They're fools but that is their choice to make. The Father does not force anybody to believe in Him. He wants us to believe out of our own freewill and love Him from the same. Those who refuse to do so are separated from Him now and will remain so eternally if they do not repent. However I am not here to preach but rather to say that the heart condition reaffirmed my commitment to my faith. It also told me that I needed some "Me" time so I may or may not write as much. I am learning to play the guitar and have to memorize the song Jambalaya. It is a two chord song and considered pretty simple to play. I have only been learning for a month and am already getting so that I can muddle through it. I will be practicing it a lot and working on memorizing it. Writing has to take a back seat for awhile though I will keep up with my leadership role here. I want to issue a challenge to each of our readers. Write in and tell us what things are priorities in your lives. Of course we all have families and jobs and these things naturally take top priority. What other things are priorities for you? Write and tell us. The letter or article that is the best written and most fascinating will receive an awardicon and of course be published in the next edition of the DWG Newsletter. There may even be a merit badge for second place. Hint dogpack saving 4premium   .Author of the Month Nobody has placed any suggestions in
 . She has written an article for the newsletter that is disability related. She contributes a lot to WDC as well as our family group. How about writing a scribble in her notebook congratulating her, sending her a C-Note, buying her a gift certificate, or better yet doing a review? Innerlight Author you will be receiving a DWG merit badge and our thanks.Announcements
If you have an activity you want advertised submit it to me and I will include it in the following edition of the newsletter. Birthdays/Anniversaries by dogpack saving 4premium There is only one birthday in April in our family group. Happy birthday Princess Zelda  !There is also only one anniversary. Happy Anniversary Silent Heart  The following is an editorial I wrote regarding a law that I strongly lobbied for.
One of the greatest, and most innovative pieces of legislation ever to come out of the U. S. Congress and be signed into law by a sitting President, was the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was enacted in 1990 by the 101st Congress and signed into law shortly there after by President George Bush. The long title of the law is An act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis if disability. The short title is the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is public law 101-336. It was first introduced in the U. S. Senate by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), as Senate Bill 933 on May 9, 1988 and passed that body7, 1989. The U. S. House of Representatives on May 22, 1989 by an usual unanimous vote. President George H. W. Bush signed the bill into law on July 26, 1990. Very few pieces of legislation have had as much positive impact on society as this piece of landmark legislation. What at first was feared by some as a bill that would cause undue hardship for businesses, raise taxes, and create even more government bureaucracy has proven to be a blessing to nearly every facet of American society. The law has empowered a population that once was powerless. It has given opportunities to millions who otherwise would still be battling to take advantage of opportunities non-disabled individuals take for granted. Imagine the frustration and the need of being confined to a wheelchair in a public venue and needing to use the bathroom. Then when you get to the restroom you find that the restroom door is too narrow to allow your wheelchair to enter or if you do enter you find the commode is in a stall in, which you are unable to maneuver? What do you do? Or imagine being in that same wheelchair and wanting a drink of water from the water fountain that most people take for granted, yet you are unable to utilize it because it is much too high up on the wall or it is inside a cubicle that is inaccessible to you. What do you do? Let us also consider the employment field. You are a fully trained counselor and hold a doctorate degree in psychology. So you apply for work at a mental health facility that is hiring. Then you discover that you have been denied the job because you are confined to a wheelchair. What do you do? The Americans with Disabilities Act put an end to all such discrimination. It gave people with disabilities recourse in the face of blatant disregard and outright ignorance. People with disabilities can now go anywhere an individual without disabilities can go. The barriers of the past are non-existent and lives have been drastically changed for the better. Where there was once missed opportunity, there is now a wealth of opportunity. Prior to ADA many disabled individuals were denied access to public venues such as restaurants and nightclubs. The doors were often barriers in themselves because they were too narrow to allow wheelchair or walker access. People using walkers could often simply turn the walker sideways and scoot it in, but wheelchairs were simply barred by virtue of being too wide to gain entry. ADA changed that by requiring any business, which used government funds, and any business, employing more than fifteen people be made handicapped accessible when any new renovations were made. Many businesses simply made the changes voluntarily after the law was passed. The law also required that restaurants install tables that sat slightly higher and had removable seating to allow wheelchairs to fit comfortably. In the past, individuals who were able to access such establishments at all, were often force to hold their food in their laps because there was no place for them to sit. One of the most poignant moments I recall after the passage of ADA occurred about five years after its passage. A local restaurant made renovations and due to compliance with ADA, installed a wheelchair ramp and wheelchair accessible door. I had eaten there many times previously and like everybody, basically took it for granted. I had a friend who was confined to a wheelchair and he dearly loved the food served there. So after the renovations were complete we went there to dine. The emotions in the gentleman’s face as he gained access to the establishment for the first time were overwhelming. Tears streamed down his face. I honestly do not believe there was a dry eye as even the owner choked up. It was the first time in the 30 plus year history of the establishment that this man had ever been able to enter it. Prior to that he had been barred by a set of steps and an inaccessible door. The owner has reported many times that the new ramp and wheelchair accessible door has more than paid for itself by the increase in business due to wheelchair access! Many feared that ADA would place undue hardship on businesses due to the financial restraints of becoming compliant with the law. Most, like the aforementioned business have found that compliance actually pays for itself by allowing a whole new customer population to have equal access. Another benefit of ADA is accessibility to sidewalks in every municipality. Prior to ADA most cities built their sidewalks with curbs at the end. This led to those in wheelchairs either waiting for assistance from passersby or making sure they took somebody along to aid them in negotiating the high curbs. Often they simply avoided the sidewalks altogether, choosing instead to run the risk of being hit by a vehicle as they rolled along in the traffic lane. It wasn’t at all uncommon to hear horns blowing or to witness road rage as drivers yelled obscenities at individuals in wheelchairs who dared obstruct traffic simply because they could not gain access to the same sidewalks most pedestrians took for granted. This has changed with the passage of ADA because municipalities are required by law to build wheelchair ramps into existing streets and to add them into the plans for any future streets. All the restroom facilities in public parks are now wheelchair equipped and accessible. Those who are not leave themselves open to legal action. Another area that ADA has had a tremendous impact is in the workplace. Employers who receive any type of federal assistance or participate in any federal programs are required by law to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. It was cited earlier about a psychologist who was denied employment due to his disability. Under ADA the employer who denies such an individual an equal employment opportunity leaves himself or she open to legal action. The law further stipulates that such employers must make any reasonable accommodations to allow such individuals to do their job as they would any non-disabled individual. In some cases this may be a simple as utilizing a filing system that does not require an individual confined to a wheelchair to stand or possibly making a photocopier more accessible. The needs of course vary from situation to situation, but employers are required to meet any reasonable request. Usually this simply requires a little common sense. Again employers usually find that whatever accommodation they make quickly pay for themselves in the productivity of the disabled individual. One of the surprising and refreshing changes brought about by ADA has been a broad swing of the pendulum in public opinion. Disabled individuals who were once either pitied or treated like second-class citizens are now equally respected and trusted. The attitudes of the past are now history. Individuals with disabilities who want to succeed can succeed. This fact has been proven over and over since the passage of ADA. The public no longer looks upon an individual with a disability as somebody who should be abandoned at the bottom of Mt. Olympus. Instead they are seen as success stories in progress. Very few laws come out of Washington, which have the tremendous success of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The congress, which voted unanimously for its passage had the foresight to see that it was indeed one of the most important pieces of legislation since the Eighteenth Amendment or the Civil Right Act. Millions of lives have changed for the better since its passage. Soon the rest of the world will likely follow suit. The following are articles for and by DWG members. They are as the writer submitted them. Content is sole responsibility of the author. Article By Innerlight Author "I came into this world kicking and screaming and I plan on going through life that way." The Inner Me I've been labelled an "introvert" since I was six. This affected me for the rest of my childhood and into adulthood. How is one to develop with such a label hanging over their head? The abuse started at age six the neighbors and even relatives were always touching me. I wouldn't say a word because a threat was attached " DON'T TELL MOM AND DAD." I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 in late 2003 when I was thirty years old. The first psychiatrist I encountered and subsequent others said that I've been suffering bipolar since my teens. Besides bi-polar, I experience PSTD, anxiety attacks, situational depression, anxiety and obsessive disorders. I still feel threatened by individuals in groups I prefer one on one situations. I wanted a purpose in my life again I wanted a job. I started taking care of my older brother whom is retarded in late 2001. That job lasted eight months because our youngest son started getting angrier and angrier as the days passed by(I thought he would get better but the damage was already done) . I tried spending more time with him but he did the reverse he started lashing out at his uncle and me. He'd been recently diagnosed with Asperger's when he was eighteen. Unfortunately, Asperger's was just beginning to be accepted in the medical community. My fall into the dark side began in 2002 I fell into a deep void and couldn't find no way of out. I'd go down to the basement throw blankets over my head and drink vodka. I'd saved my allowance money then go to town buy it. My husband and our kids had no idea what I was up too. I would paint for hours on end and write dark poetry. I went to see my family doctor he confirmed what I already knew I was having a mental breakdown. He ran some tests and had his nurse make me an appointment with a psychologist in a nearby town. After that a series of events were set in motion. That first day I went in for therapy I was angry, fearful and frustrated. Those first two weeks of therapy I was just going through the motions to appease the doctors. My husband attended the first two sessions then I was on my own. I do remember thinking about crashing my car hoping I'd kill myself. The psychiatrist was concerned after I told him what I'd planned to do. Why I told him I don't know? He wanted to admit me to the hospital I said NO! he then suggested two whole weeks (every day) that I come in to see either him or therapist. I opted for the intense two weeks the idea of going into the hospital was not an option. Suicide Sequestered soul Buried here for eternity As the years pass by Turmoil, regret The hate within Returns with a vengeance My body decomposes Wretched smell Permeates the air The mists of time Surrounds me Forever to stay Even in death Relive the memories Of what I’ve done Trapped forever Suicide My psychiatrist stressed that I take my brother to my mom's and tell her I couldn't care of him. Two days later I packed his bags drove him over to my mom's and took him inside. I deposited his bags, kissed her and quickly ran outside to cry. I sat down in the cornfield till it got dark contemplating what to tell her. I never did go back inside I got into my car and drove home. I couldn't face her and tell her I was having a breakdown. Three years later I told my older sister and swore her to secrecy. It was ten years later before I told my mom. My therapist suggested I also tell the rest of the family I refused to do it. Five years later after I told mom I told them. To this day they don't call or text me to see how I'm doing. My psychiatrist stepped in once more and said our son needed to be placed in a setting where they could help him. This took place at the end of 2004. Our son has been living in a city not far from where we live. He has grown into a fine young man he graduated with a Liberal Arts Degree and is doing real well on his own.The first few months were crucial we weren't allowed to see him. Sometimes we'd have him home for a visit and it always ended in disaster. His older brother on the other hand was always there for him. I still feel guilty for sending him away after all this time. I've been through hell and back ever since I was diagnosed with Bi-polar. I've been on so many different medications to control the mood swings. I've seen five different therapists and three psychiatrists which makes it difficult. In each case I've had to start all over again. I've found a way to combat my depression by writing poetry of all genres and forms. I'm writing a children's book series, also I'm writing a comedy about WDC and blogging daily. I also attend tai chi classes twice a week and PT I love to read mysteries, gardening (crossbreeding roses), photography, learning German and playing a guitar. My first psychiatrist stipulated I couldn't work at all because I get stressed out in large groups. I regret now that he'd done that because now I want to go out and do things. Like the song by Reba McIntyre, "Is There Life Out There." I get lonely being trapped in at home. |
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