Disability Access News

Misha Schubert
March 8, 2008

KEVIN Rudd faces a backbench revolt over his budget razor gang's plan to axe annual bonuses of $1600 to carers in a bid to cut spending and curb inflation.

Furious advocates for the nation's 400,000-strong army of carers for sick, disabled and elderly relatives swamped politicians' offices yesterday, calling for a reprieve on behalf of those struggling below the poverty line.

Labor MPs vowed to demand a rethink from the Prime Minister and their senior colleagues, variously branding the proposal "stupid", "madness" and "sheer lunacy".

"I am furious about it," one told The Age. "Why on earth would you target carers who have such huge physical, emotional and financial burdens? I will not be letting this rest."

Another said: "They are on the bones of their bum, most of these people. Even 10 cents is important to them."

Senior ministers refused to rule out axing the bonuses, sticking to the line that they could not comment on the budget.

But Labor figures have argued for years that the system of "one-off" yearly bonuses was not ideal, and should be replaced by a boost to the fortnightly Carer Payment and Carer Allowance.

Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin conceded that many carers were "doing it very tough" and were making a "huge contribution".

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson demanded a guarantee that the bonuses would continue.

"For God's sake, Mr Rudd, please rule out an attack on Australia's carers. These are the saints in Australian society," he said.

His community services spokesman, Tony Abbott, branded it a callous bid to "use carers as kind of human shields in its fight against inflation".

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said any plan to cut payments to carers was "unimaginable". "I'm very surprised that a Government (that) says it's about social inclusion … can think that it's now acceptable to cut funding and support for carers," Senator Siewert told Sky News.

Carers Australia chief executive Joan Hughes said there had been no reassurance from the Government despite the outcry.

"I don't get why they would be picking on some of the most vulnerable people, who are really struggling to survive," she said.

About 400,000 carers have been eligible for bonuses in the past four budgets. About 100,000 of them would still qualify for a new utilities payment from federal coffers this year, but the others would miss out entirely if the annual bonus were scrapped without a replacement.

Newport carer Vicky Merritt urged a rethink, saying she had used last year's bonus to buy a washing machine that she would otherwise not have been able to afford.

Others had used it to buy shower chairs and wheelchairs that made their job a little easier.

"If you don't support us as carers … we will be forced to give up those we care about and it will cost you a lot more in housing and nursing homes if we do that," she said.

Andreas Schapitz, a Mooroolbark man whose three-year-old son has autism, was outraged that the $400 million carer bonus was under threat while the $1.5 billion baby bonus was left untouched.

(ARA) - It usually takes a big win by the football team or some great news about academics to bring a stadium full of Stillwell High School students to their feet; but not long ago, Dennis Rhoads, 58, a counselor at the Oklahoma school did something even more impressive.

"I came into the gymnasium, waved to everyone and did a 360 in my wheelchair," says Rhoads. "There was a lot of hooting and hollering as I spun around. The kids were very supportive."

You could say that rally was a rebirth of sorts for Rhoads, who has worked at the school as its guidance counselor and athletic director since 1994. About five years ago, his spirit was crushed when a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. It happened on a cold April night less than 10 miles from his home. Some animal ran out in the road in front of him and he slid into a ditch while trying to avoid it.

"When I first came home from the hospital, I was frustrated all the time," says Rhoads who quickly tired of having to ask everyone around him for help. "I went from being completely strong and independent to being unable to do even the simplest things, like get a book down off the shelf for myself," says Rhoads. "It was very demoralizing."

Right away, he decided things happen for a reason and he had to make the best of his situation, but it was hard. "It seemed like every time I turned around, I was faced with a limitation," says Rhoads.

With his manual chair, he could no longer attend games at rival schools that did not have wheelchair friendly stadiums; he couldn't complete a lot of work tasks without the help of an assistant; and in his off time, he could no longer play the way he used to with his best friend, Oreo, a Labrador/Australian Shepherd mix.

"My old wheelchair just wasn't capable of maneuvering over the rough terrain we have in our neighborhood," says Rhoads. Fortunately his new one, the chair that got the students so excited, can do that and more.

The INDEPENDENCE iBOT 4000 Mobility System is a unique wheelchair that uses multiple computers to help its users overcome their mobility restrictions. The chair enables people with disabilities to easily perform such feats as climbing curbs and stairs, moving over rough terrain, like sand, gravel and grass, and even elevating themselves up to eye-to-eye height with able-bodied people. Click here for a demonstration of how the chair works.

"The chair has opened a lot of doors for me," says Rhoads. "I'm not as confined as I used to be, and I've gained back a lot of my confidence."

Rhoads says the feature he likes best is the Balance Function which gives him the ability to raise himself up so he can look people in the eye again. "I like my life a lot better with the iBOT Mobility System than I did without it. I wish I could buy everyone with a mobility disability one. They're life changing. I'm glad to have one," he says.

To find out if the iBOT Mobility System can improve your quality of life, or help someone you know, log on to www.ibotnow.com and fill out the quick online form. A customer service representative will follow up with you in the manner you request -- by phone, email or by sending an informational packet through the U.S. Mail.

This article was commissioned by Independence Technology, L.L.C., manufacturer of the INDEPENDENCE iBOT 4000 Mobility System.

Quadriplegic student highlights some of the barriers she faces just to get to class on time

For most students, having a 9:30 a.m. class on Monday means sleeping in until 9 a.m. and making a mad dash for the door.

For Katie Charboneau, ArtSci ’11, the day begins at 7 a.m. with a wake-up call from her nurse, who helps her get out of bed and get ready in the morning.

Charboneau’s quadriplegic because of a car accident she was in two years ago. She has limited grip in her arms and uses a motorized wheelchair to get around.

She lives in Leggett Hall. It takes her nearly half an hour to get to her classics class in Etherington Hall, just a few buildings down Stuart Street.

She said she misses a lot of class time when the weather’s bad.

“If it’s raining I can’t go because I have a motorized wheelchair,” she said. “A lot of the time, the snow removal hasn’t come yet or they’ll plough the road and not plough the [wheelchair] ramp.”

She also misses classes when she can’t get into buildings because nobody’s there to open the door for her. Buildings such as Etherington Hall and Stirling Hall don’t have powered door openers.

“Because I can’t get to class, I feel kind of isolated,” she said. “I feel like I’m not getting the most breadth out of my education.” This year Charboneau had to choose courses based on whether they were held in accessible buildings. She also didn’t sign up for 8:30 a.m. classes because she can’t get out of bed without a nurse, who comes from the Community Care Access Centre because the University doesn’t provide one for her. Charboneau also privately hires Queen’s nursing students.

When Charboneau came to Queen’s for a campus tour in 2005, she and the tour guide got stuck in the elevator. The handyperson told her the wheelchair exceeded the 1600-kilogram weight limit. Her wheelchair weighs approximately 136.4 kilograms.

“The handyman ended up having to take me through the back elevator—the freight elevator,” she said. “I felt really stupid.”

Charboneau chose to come to the University in spite of that uncomfortable welcome.

“I wanted to come here even before the accident,” she said, adding that the wheelchair was one bad experience among many good ones.

“[My room] was prepared for a quadriplegic. … I have buttons everywhere and they’ve always been quick to fix things.”

Charboneau said the University added a fuse box in her room to give her more electrical outlets because most things she owns are electronic.

The carpet had to be taken out because she couldn’t manoeuvre the wheelchair on it, she said. The room next to hers is also kept empty for nights her caregivers need to sleep over. Queen’s has been accommodating, Charboneau said, but should ask wheelchair users for suggestions on what they should improve.

“You can’t actually plan it unless you’re in [a wheelchair],” she said. “They don’t think of placements of buttons.”

She said some door-opening buttons are too high for a person in a wheelchair to reach and some are placed beside door hinges.

“People have the door open on them and they’re stuck behind after the door opens.”

The University has a lot of work to do before it becomes fully accessible, Charboneau said.

“They’re trying to accommodate one person at a time but it’s not accommodating the disability as a whole,” she said.

Disability Services Advisor Theresa Richard said her main role is to support individual students who register with the service.

“We can advocate to professors on what kind of accommodation they require based on what their diagnosis is,” she said.

“In terms of accessibility at Queen’s there’s a commitment on the part of the administration [to make Queen’s more accessible.] … That’s going to be a big task because it’s such an old university and lots of the buildings do require some major, major renovations.”

Richard said she hears the most complaints about Stirling, Ellis and Etherington halls.

“Etherington has an outside accessible door but not an inside accessible door,” she said.

The first step towards campus accessibility is to make it a value on campus, she said.

“Sometimes people will use a washroom for disabled people when it’s the closest one to them,” she said. “I think sometimes people think no one uses those and they use them for storage.”

She said there are more than 500 students registered with Disability Services. Thirty-eight of them have mobility disabilities. There are more students and some staff around campus who choose not to register with the service, she said. Although it’s expensive to make buildings accessible and it only seems to benefit a small group of people, the University has to continue improving accessibility on campus, Richard said.

“It could be we don’t have people [with disabilities] at Queen’s because we’re not as accessible as we could be,” she said. “Accessibility is not a choice. … People with disabilities ought to be able to go where they want to go without being judged for that.”

Jeanette Parsons, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act program co-ordinator, said the University receives $50,000 to $75,000 each year from the provincial government for service improvements.

“That’s used every year to correct physical barriers to the existing infrastructure,” she said. “We [the University] don’t take out a budget on top of that.”

Parsons said new, accessible infrastructure is part of the general renovations of a building.

“It’s all woven into the cost of the project.”

Jeannette Kobelka, ArtSci ’08 and AMS Accessibility Queen’s co-chair, said she thinks the University should put more money into making the campus fully accessible.

“Each year there isn’t enough to get the projects done fast enough,” she said.

Accessibility Queen’s collects a $3 mandatory student fee from undergraduate and graduate students every year. The committee uses the money for small maintenance projects such as putting in door-opening buttons in buildings students identify as inaccessible.

“But we don’t have $60,000 to put in a lift,” she said.

Joyce Zhu, Kobelka’s co-chair and ConEd ’08, said Accessibility Queen’s paid for the lift for the stage in Grant Hall in 2006. The committee was able to do this because of a budget surplus due to previous years’ unused funds.

Zhu said the University should try to raise its accessibility budget.

“It sounds like a lot but when you think about how much [accessibility] costs, it’s not.”

Pushing his wife in her wheelchair, Anthony Richards hardly looked like a terrorist on a mission. But the shopping centre security guards were taking no chances.

Spotting the 79-year-old pensioner taking a photograph of his wife at the entrance of a new £200million retail centre in Hull, they swooped instantly.

"You are not allowed to take photographs," one said sternly.

Mr Richards and his wife Betty were told the ban was to stop terrorists gathering intelligence, and staff were instructed to follow "anyone acting suspiciously".

A few minutes later, the couple left the St Stephen's Centre, still holding their camera but baffled as to why anyone would suspect them of being a threat to security.

Mr Richards, a retired ambulance worker from the city, said yesterday: "It's quite ridiculous. It makes you wonder what is happening to the world.

"They don't stop people taking photographs in Paris of the Eiffel Tower or the Millennium wheel in London.

"It makes you wonder if Hull has any ambition. This sort of thing can put visitors off.

"I was taking some pictures to send to my daughter but they weren't very good anyway."

Mrs Richards, his 75-year-old suspected "accomplice", was injured in a serious road accident years ago and needs to use a wheelchair when she goes out.

Mr Richards said: "Betty couldn't help making a joke of it. She was laughing at the thought of being considered a terrorist.

"I told her not to make any jokes about bombs under her wheelchair or we could have got locked up.

"I can't blame the security guard. He was quite nice and held the door open for us when we left. It's just the instructions he was given."

Centre manager David Laycock backed his guards' vigilance. He said: "It's our duty of care to check that all pictures taken are for legitimate reasons."

He said public places such as shopping centres had been highlighted in Home Office guidance as being vulnerable to attack.

"Photographic reconnaissance is a proven potential risk," he said. "It is not realistic for security staff to assess who might be taking photographs innocently or otherwise.

"We therefore operate a blanket ban on photography without prior authorisation."

The centre introduced the ban after receiving a 66-page document from the National Counter Terrorism Security Office on security advice for shopping centres.

It warns staff to look out for people taking pictures, sketching or taking notes.

For most college students and people my age, a new vehicle or a new cell phone is a huge deal.

Since I can't drive or use those cool phones, I get excited about getting a new communication device or a new wheelchair.

Though laws and policies have changed recently, generally speaking, medical equipment usually can be replaced every five years or so. It's a long, drawn-out process, so when we start this, we are well aware that I won't actually get it for many months or even up to a year.

It was 2003 when I got my last wheelchair and communication device, so this past summer, it was time to start the process. In July, we started looking at wheelchairs and started the paperwork for the insurances.

We are still looking at different chairs. There are so many different options. We're looking at a chair that tilts electronically, so I can stretch out my back by myself. There are also chairs that are on pedestals that electronically go up and down, so I'd be able to be eye level with people or reach something on a higher shelf.

The issue we're having is that the chairs with both options would be too tall to fit in the van. Whatever I get has to fit in the van. They have another chair for me to try out when I go home for spring break. Hopefully, I'll get one ordered then.

In August, I had an evaluation done at the UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) Center in Green Bay for a new communication device. Thanks to my friend Brad, I had an idea of what I wanted. They had a rep from Prentke Romich (the company that makes a lot of the devices) there to show me the Eco-14 and the updated version on the Pathfinder, which is what I have.

They had devices from other companies for me to try as well. The Eco-14 was definitely the best. It's a computer as well as a communication device. It has the same sequencing program as the Pathfinder, but it also has a word prediction program that predicts words when I start typing. When the word I want pops up, I can just press it and it'll appear.

I can also program common phrases I use in it. As I may have said before, I'm not a big fan of the sequencing program, but I'll use the word prediction program a lot more. The Eco-14 also has wireless Internet. I decided that it was what I wanted and we got the paperwork started that day.

One morning about two weeks ago, I woke up to a message on the computer from my dad saying my device was being shipped to Green Bay. I was so excited. Mom made me an appointment during spring break to go pick it up and have a little training.

These pieces of equipment are very expensive, but are essential for my independence.

Although I'd give anything to be able to drive a new car or use one of those phones, for me, getting new equipment is pretty exciting.

An advocate for the disabled takes on cities and transit agencies, pushing to ease access.

By David Reyes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 5, 2008
Arnie Pike's never met a curb he didn't want to have cut.

Pike, 68, began using a wheelchair after suffering a stroke 12 years ago. The Placentia resident has become a voice for disabled people, arguing before city councils and transit authorities throughout Orange County for smoother sidewalks, wheelchair ramps and better access.

"We never ask for more than any other person, just what is fair," he said during a recent interview with his service dog, Fort, at his side.

Pike is a prickly thorn in the side of bureaucrats. At transportation planning meetings, he often holds officials accountable, reminding them that disabled people pay taxes and, despite their legal protections under the Americans With Disabilities Act, are not always provided the same services as able-bodied individuals.

Take bus stops, for instance.

Pike, joined by other wheelchair users, has kept a vigilant eye on the Orange County Transportation Authority, which had said that by December 2007, the county's 6,500 bus stops would have been modified.

"They're supposed to have fixed all these bus stops by now, but they're not done in north Orange County and they're definitely not all done in Placentia or Brea," he said.

Last week, OCTA approved $812,830 to modify bus stops in Brea, La Habra, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Seal Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach.

The agency now says bus stop modifications should be done by June -- at a final cost of $15.8 million. OCTA observers credit board members -- including Gregory Winterbottom, who uses a wheelchair -- and testimony of passengers such as Pike.

"Arnie is the real thing," said Christie Rudder, an advocate for the disabled with the Dayle McIntosh Center in Garden Grove. "But you have to understand that we have people in wheelchairs having to travel in the street because the curbs aren't cut and they have nowhere to go but find the next driveway.

"Some of the bus stops, like at the Brea Mall, leave you on an island stuck in the middle of the street with no curb cutoffs," she added.

The OCTA program is unique among Southern California transit agencies. Riverside Transit Authority has recently stepped up its bus stop improvement program by teaming with the city of Riverside in response to complaints from the disabled community, Bradley Weaver, an RTA spokesman said. Of 3,800 total stops, 36 were modified in 2006 and 76 are targeted for upgrades, he said.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest transit agency in Southern California, has 18,500 bus stops. The agency provides transportation programs for seniors and the disabled but refers ADA compliance upgrades for bus stops to the 89 cities in its service area.

"That's because the cities own the land the bus stop is on," said David Sotero, an MTA spokesman. The MTA pays for a portion of the improvements by cities, he added.

Before his stroke, Pike wasn't as outspoken. An event planner, he retained the ability to speak but lost the use of his legs and control of his right arm.

He takes his duties seriously. Pike totes a fanny pack with tools of the trade: A measuring tape for sidewalks and narrow store aisles, a gauge to measure whether doors comply with ADA rules about the force needed to open them, and warnings for vehicles parked illegally in handicapped spaces.

Pike works for the day that bus stops are accessible, with wide sidewalks and tall curbs cut down so he can roll his wheelchair up and board a bus. In reality, many stops built decades ago have narrow sidewalks or none at all and are sometimes blocked by hydrants, poles and shrubbery.

"Until you get in a wheelchair," Pike said, "you don't know the problems. Many bus stops are surrounded by grass or sandy soil. I can't roll my chair through that; it just clogs down."

The responsibility for bus stops is a gray area, Rudder said. Although the bus stop and sidewalk are owned by the city they're in, the buses belong to OCTA. "Each one says it's the other one's responsibility for improvements," she said.

For years, OCTA failed to address the need, Winterbottom said. "It was never a policy not to do it," he said. "It just never registered on anyone's radar and it was the cities' responsibility. But the board has since voted to fix them up."

The OCTA targeted those stops most often used by disabled bus riders, providing improvements as a service. "The agency is not legally required to do this," said Thomas Bogard, an OCTA official. "But the board made a decision to do it as a service for all bus riders."

Not all bus stops can be improved, he said. Access at some is limited and will remain so because removing poles or hydrants and dealing with private property issues are too costly, he said.

The agency has made minor adjustments, such as relocating bus stops a few feet in either direction, Bogard said, adding that OCTA is in negotiation with the owner of the Brea Mall to fix its bus stop.

But Pike criticized OCTA for moving sluggishly. "The law says that if you receive public funds or provide a public service, that service has to be accessible for everyone."

He will stay vigilant, he said, and he is taking the fight to another front. During a brief trip to Balboa Island in Newport Beach, Pike's wife, Marilynn, parked in a handicapped space, but the high curb prevented their van's wheelchair ramp from fully extending. He now has the city in his sights.

Curbs on the island are high to prevent flood waters from going into homes and businesses, according to City Manager Homer Bludeau, who said sufficient handicapped parking spaces are available.

Not good enough for Pike: "All we wanted to do was shop around and get something to eat. They need to have a space that we can use. Otherwise, why call it a space for the handicapped?"

Around 2.5 million people worldwide are wheelchair bound because of spinal injuries. Half of them are quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down. European researchers are now offering them new hope thanks to groundbreaking technology that uses brain signals alone to control computers, artificial limbs and even wheelchairs.

People left paralysed by spinal injuries or suffering from neurodegenerative diseases could regain a degree of independence thanks to a new type of non-intrusive brain-computer interface, or BCI, developed by the MAIA project.

Using electrical signals emitted by the brain and picked up by electrodes attached to the user’s scalp, the system allows people to operate devices and perform tasks that previously they could only dream of. So far, the team, led by the IDIAP Research Institute in Switzerland, has carried out a series of successful trials in which users have been able to manoeuvre a wheelchair around obstacles and people using brainpower alone.

“We have demonstrated that it is possible for someone to control a complex mechanical device with their minds, and this opens up all sorts of possibilities,” says MAIA coordinator José del R. Millán.

Though BCIs, for people with impaired movement and for other uses, have been under development for many years, they have had varying degrees of success, largely because of the difficulties of turning brain signals into accurate mechanical movement. What sets the EU-funded MAIA system apart is that it does not rely on the human brain alone to do all the work, instead incorporating artificial intelligence into the device being used.
Intelligence meets artificial intelligence

A person using the MAIA BCI to control a wheelchair, for example, only has to think about going straight ahead or turning left and the chair follows their command. However, they do not have to worry about colliding with obstacles – even moving ones such as people – because the wheelchair itself monitors and reacts to its environment.

“A user can tell the chair to go straight ahead, but it will not just randomly roll in that direction if there is a wall or a flight of stairs in the way,” Millán notes. “What we have done is combine the intelligence of the person with the artificial intelligence of the device.”

In a sense, the artificial intelligence embedded in the chair acts much like a human’s subconscious. People, for example, do not consciously send commands to every muscle in each leg in order to walk and do not think where to step to avoid an obstacle – they do it subconsciously. Similarly, a wheelchair-bound user of the MAIA BCI simply has to send the signal to go in a certain direction and the chair figures out how to get there.

But the user always stays in control!
Keeping the user in control

“We wanted to see how much of the movement was down to the user’s brain signals and how much was due to the intelligence of the chair. It turned out that the wheelchair intervened between 10 and 40 percent of the time depending on the user and the environment.

“In one demonstration in which someone was manoeuvring the chair for six hours, the computer intelligence kicked in more frequently later on as the person became increasingly tired and made more mistakes,” Millán says.

Importantly, the chair can recognise from the user’s brain signals if it has made a mistake, and, through tactile devices similar to the vibrators used in mobile phones, it can send feedback to users about the direction they are going that enhances their sense of awareness beyond the visual.

Millán notes that the same technology could be applied to artificial limbs to allow quadriplegics to pick up objects or unlock a door. By using the BCI to interact with computer systems, meanwhile, they could control the lighting in their homes, surf the internet, or change the channels on the TV. Those simpler brain-computer interactions, which have the potential to become the basis for commercial systems sooner, will be the focus of a follow-up EU project called TOBI that is due to begin in September and which will also be led by Millán.

“For a wheelchair, such as the one developed in MAIA, to reach the market would take extensive trials to prove that the technology is robust enough. We can’t have it breaking down when someone is in the middle of the street,” Millán notes.

Carrying out such validation trials remains a goal of the project partners who are actively seeking further funding and investment to continue their work.

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 7, 2008

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Thursday that businesses in San Francisco should sue the city in response to a vote by the Board of Supervisors earlier this week against a project to build a $1.1 million wheelchair ramp in the board chambers.

Newsom said it was "unconscionable" that the city forces private entities to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and yet voted down the ramp leading to the podium used by the board president.

"If I were the private sector, I would sue the city and county of San Francisco right now," Newsom said, adding that hundreds of businesses have had to pay thousands of dollars to make such improvements.

The Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 Tuesday against the project, which would have lowered the podium and added a 10-foot-long ramp to it.

Audio and visual cables throughout the chamber also would have been reconfigured.

The project would have been forced to adhere to strict construction guidelines because of the historic nature of City Hall.

Supervisors opposing the project said they believed it could be done at a lower cost, though the Tuesday vote was on the appropriateness of the work, not the funding of it.

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair, said Tuesday she planned to sue the city to force immediate compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Newsom said he would "get it done" and Alioto-Pier would not have to follow through on the threat of a suit, though he said both she and the private sector in the city should be furious.

Contributor: Andrew, Infoxchange Australia.
Source: Deaf Children Australia.
Posted: 08-01-2008

AFS International and Deaf Children Australia are offering a deaf or hearing impaired secondary school student a scholarship in Norway for 11 months.

The student will stay with a host family from August 2008 and attend a local school, experiencing the benefits of student exchange that they would otherwise not be able to experience.

The scholarship is worth $12,000 and covers return travel, orientation, enrichment activities and medical costs.

To be eligible, the deaf or hearing impaired student must:

* Be aged between 15.8 and 18.8 in August 2008;
* Have good health;
* Be able to demonstrate to work consistently through their academic records;
* Be mature enough to cope with the challenges of living in another country and feeling part of an entirely different community.

Applications close on Monday 31 March 2008. There is a non-refundable application fee of $80.

For more information, visit the AFS website.

Book chronicles Plano girl's battle with disability that's left her unable to talk

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, March 9, 2008

By ANNETTE NEVINS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Like many 8-year-old girls, Schuyler Hudson lives in a world of princesses, castles and ponies. She has her favorite characters, and if you ask, she won't hesitate to beat her chest like King Kong, or imitate a dinosaur.

When Schuyler touches a button on a small machine she carries with her, it roars.

Schuyler, pronounced Sky-ler, doesn't communicate the way most children do. She can make sounds but can't enunciate consonants or use her mouth to form complete words. But that hasn't stopped her from finding her voice.

Schuyler was born with a rare brain malformation known as bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria, which prevents her from being able to talk.

Her parents, Julie and Rob Rummel-Hudson, endured numerous doctor visits and frustration before finally finding a name for what Mr. Rummel-Hudson refers to as Schuyler's monster.

Mr. Rummel-Hudson, a communications coordinator in the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture, chronicled the family's journey in a recently released book. In it, he writes about how the stress of caring for a child with a disability challenged him personally, tested his marriage and ultimately strengthened his family.

"The book is a love letter to my daughter," said Mr. Rummel-Hudson, who has blogged about Schuyler since before she was born. "Someday she may read it and write a rebuttal," he joked.

On a recent weekday, Schuyler sat with other students on the classroom floor at Gulledge Elementary School in Plano reading Flat Stanley, a book about a boy who tries to adjust to being flat after a bulletin board falls on him as he sleeps.

"Flat Stanley can go under doors," said 8-year-old Kayla Stevens-Schmit.

Schuyler's hair is tinted red and styled as a short bob framing her large green eyes and round cheeks. She touched several onscreen keys to form a sentence on the machine that she carries like a purse, her "box of words."

"Peter can fly," a female electronic voice chimed in.

Her classmates took turns guessing what she meant. Schuyler folded her arms across her chest and tucked her head into her chin.

Camryn Evans, 8, came to the rescue, giving Schuyler a pink and purple eraser shaped like a cellphone. Schuyler held it to her ear and began to sign with her hands.

"I know Schuyler's language easy," Camryn said, coaxing her to punch more buttons. "She's talking about Peter Pan."

Search

The search for Schuyler's monster began when she was 18 months old. Schuyler squirmed through numerous evaluations, all sparked by a question from her Yale University pediatrician about why she wasn't talking at her age.

Her condition, a brain malformation that can be seen on MRI scans but is hard to detect, paralyzes the tongue and slows motor skills. It also can cause seizures. The disability, thought to be genetic, is extremely rare – fewer than 1,000 cases have been reported since 1984.

As in his book, Mr. Rummel-Hudson has employed his personal blog to express feelings about the challenges he has faced and how the experience has taught him to be a better father.

"In my dreams, Schuyler talks to me, telling me that things are going to be okay," Mr. Rummel-Hudson wrote in a recent blog entry. "I think she means more than just her own monster battle."

Schuyler's "box of words" is a $7,500 voice machine paid for by donations made through Mr. Rummel-Hudson's Web site, including many from people who knew Schuyler only from his blog, he said.

At school

She's enrolled in a unique program offered through the Plano school district, where 11 children with varying degrees of speech disorders split their time between a regular classroom and one equipped with advanced speech technology.

It's one of only a few programs of its kind in the nation that serve children with disorders that rob speech, including autism and cerebral palsy.

Every child is given a voice machine to help them participate in the program, launched when Schuyler was entering kindergarten. The program is designed to follow the children through high school, school officials said.

Teachers Linda Conerly and Kathy Williams immediately fell in love with Schuyler, snapping pictures of her and a classmate sharing girl talk between their voice machines.

"She is a happy child of joy who has lots of friends, and we all love her," Ms. Conerly said.

Her parents are happy that Schuyler is finally getting a peer group and enthusiastic teachers – a luxury they say she did not have before. She even rides the bus to school.

"This little girl who cannot speak is teaching us about persistence, commitment and compassion," teacher Kathy Tripp said. "That's more than any word can express."

Schuyler touched a button on her small machine, and it roared.

By Saiqa Chaudhari

BOLTON Community College is one of the nation's best when it comes to helping disabled people into work.

It has a 93 per cent success rate in finding jobs for people with disabilities or learning difficulties. And it is in the top five establishments in the country for providing courses for people in these groups, according to the National Institute of Adults Continuing Education (NIACE).

Now the NIACE has invited the college to help it to lead a national project on how to improve employment opportunities for people with special needs.

The Manchester Road campus is one of only a handful of colleges across the country to be involved in the project.

The courses are provided by the college's Skills for Independent Learning team and employment placement officer Linda Hossaini develops links with local employers to provide students with work experience.

Former students have gone on to work with, or gain work experience with, major employers, including Asda and fast food chain Subway.

Skills for Independent Living's curriculum leader Suzanne Watson said: "Over a third of the students that finished in September have gone on to paid work which is credit to the hard work and dedication put in by our team.

"This fantastic success rate is why NIACE has turned to us for best practice, to enable other colleges to benefit from our success. Some of our students aspire to be a plumber or a hairdresser but lack the necessary literacy or numeracy skills.

"This course enables them to gain relevant experience so they can have a career in their favoured industry."

The department currently has 240 students studying part and full-time courses. The highest level of qualification is an NVQ Level 1 which is available in either retail or catering, but the syllabus also caters for people who cannot read or write and offers them the chance to gain the equivalent of a low-level GCSE pass in English and Maths.

Peter Little, adviser for the Learning Skills Council which funds further education colleges, said: "At the NIACE conference one of the major highlights was the "Learner voice", led by Sami Berdi and Gurpal Singh, who described their positive experiences within the Skills for Independent Living department, and their successful transition to employment. This was a great inspiration to the audience. I was particularly thrilled to hear of the college's success with these and other disabled learners."