Wheelchair troupe helps performers with disabilities gain self-esteem and grace, even as they get their first paid gig – and dream of taking a star turn on television

The music swelled as Lisa Roy spun in circles across the stage, through the spotlight, first in one direction and then the other, in perfect synch with an ethereal piece called “Promise to Embrace Tranquility.’’ Continue Reading »

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Oct. 14, 2009 – U.S. troops and reconstruction team members in Iraq’s Basra province completed what some say was a small task with a huge impact on improving the lives of some Iraqi families with disabled children.

In a combined humanitarian aid effort, members from the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, 17th Fires Brigade, 34th Infantry Division and the provincial reconstruction team distributed 20 wheelchairs to children with special needs at the Moosawii Private Hospital in Basra. Continue Reading »

Research analysts at UConn invite individuals who use wheelchairs to participate in this survey and share thoughts and opinions pertaining to wheelchair use. Responses will remain confidential and will provide valuable insight into current needs in an effort to promote the development of improved wheelchair services and technologies. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and consists of about 40 questions. Continue Reading »

VALPARAISO — Joe White, organizer of the annual Spinal Cord Injury Walk/Roll, admits it’s hard to ask folks to donate for a cause when he knows so many people are without jobs.

Still, White, a Valparaiso resident paralyzed from the chest down after a 2003 accident, hopes people will come out and support the event, being held Saturday at Fairgrounds Park.

“It’s a very worthy cause,” said White, noting the number of people in the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Support Group that he started a few years ago, is growing. Continue Reading »

Scratching an itch. Retrieving a remote control. Turning the page of a favorite novel. For most, these tasks are routine. But for people with spinal cord injuries they can be impossible. Continue Reading »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayEu2SQSM-U

Laura Dominguez was only 16 years old when she suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident that left her a paraplegic. Continue Reading »

The question of whether or not it’s ethical to harvest embryonic stem cells has plagued scientists for many years. On the one hand, the cells have the potential to treat or even cure devastating diseases and injuries. On the other hand, they can only be obtained by destroying a human embryo.

Until now. Continue Reading »

A group of disabled people in Bolivia are taking extreme measures to demand financial assistance from the government.

A Bolivian television network showed at least half a dozen protesters, wheelchairs included, suspended from the Urubo bridge, near the city of Santa Cruz.

A second group buried themselves in sand by the Pirai river that runs under the bridge. Continue Reading »