Northwest CDC Wheelchair Sharing Scheme

From the Northwest Community Development Council (NW CDC) website:

Wheelchair Sharing Scheme

Needy residents in the North West District who require short-term wheelchair assistance can look forward to a new scheme launched by the North West ComCare Local Network (CLN). The first-ever district-level Wheelchair Sharing Scheme was launched on Sunday, 14 September 2008.

Through the North West CLN, the North West CDC will be partnering the Grassroots Organisations (GROs) in the North West District, Bo Tien Day Activity Centre, Sree Narayana Mission, Fei Yue Neighbourhood Link and Sunlove-Marsiling Neighbourhood Link to administer this Scheme.

[Information last accessed on 4 Jul 09]
LINK

Eight organisations and contact details listed on the NW CDC page.

Also reported at 938LIVE (Sept 08).

Accessibility on Singapore Government websites

Coleman Yee blogs about web accessibility (or the lack of) in response to this IDA reply on the level of access for persons with disability at (Singapore) e-govt websites:

What is website accessibility

For those who are not familiar with web accessibility, it’s simply about making a website accessible or usable or “viewable” by different web browsers and devices, and thus accessible by the widest possible audience, including those with disabilities.

For instance, an accessible website would be usable by a screen reader, a special software that reads aloud what’s on the screen and browser, thus enabling a blind person to access that website.

Website accessibility is thus often associated with making a website accessible to users with disabilities, particularly the blind.

Conversely, if a blind user cannot access certain information on a website using a screen reader, that website is considered not accessible.

Web accessibility is also about access by devices like mobile phone browsers, or even browsers other than Internet Explorer like Firefox, Safari, or Opera.

The accessibility of Singapore Government websites
When you surf around Singapore Government websites on a non-Internet Explorer browser, you sometimes encounter a message telling you that you can’t continue unless you’re using Internet Explorer.

That’s not an accessible website.

Whole populations of Singaporeans are being excluded from such online government services simply because they use a Mac instead of a PC, or because they don’t wish to use (the technically inferior) Internet Explorer.

And we’re not even talking about access by small screen devices like mobile phones, or access by disabled users. The situation is far worse for them.

LINK

2009 Schneider Family Book Awards

From the American Library Association; press release 26 Jan 09:

DENVER — The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Schneider Family Book Awards, which honor an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. The award was announced Jan. 26, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, January 23 – 28…

…“Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum,” written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, won the award for young children.

Jazz musician Art Tatum, who was born with limited vision and lost much of it as he grew, never felt sorry for himself. In this fictionalized biography, children learn that Tatum often forgot that “his eyes weren’t good” as he gave himself to his music, because “with his piano, he had everything he needed.”

Leslie Connor is the winner of the middle-school award for “Waiting for Normal,” published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Addie has spent most of her twelve years “waiting for normal:” a stable family and a real home. Connor’s resilient heroine uses humor, creativity and her “love of learning” to compensate for her dyslexia. Through music and good friends, Addie discovers that she can accomplish anything.

The teen award winner is “Jerk, California,” written by Jonathan Friesen and published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

After graduating from high school, Sam/Jack begins a cross country quest to learn the truth about his dead father and embraces his inherited Tourette Syndrome. With the help of an old family friend, a quirky car and girlfriend who has troubles of her own, he finds his way to maturity.

LINK

Amputee denied entry into a nightclub in Singapore

From The Straits Times (31 May 09):

Club apologises to amputee
By Melissa Sim
A POPULAR nightclub has apologised to an amputee after denying him access to its premises when he went there while on a night out with friends.

The 28-year-old, who was on crutches, was turned away at The Butter Factory at One Fullerton.

The club’s staff and security said they were worried for his safety and feared he might blame the club if he should hurt himself. They also said the crutches could be used as a weapon.

LINK

“Worried for the patron’s safety”? That’s being presumptuous, not to mention discriminatory. Able-bodied people are also liable to hurt themselves.

“Crutches could be used as a weapon”? So can car keys and glasses and bottles and high heel shoes.

Good thing the club apologised. I really think the nightclub has no absolutely no case.

2010 International VSA arts Festival: Call for performers

Thanks to Regina for alerting me to this call for performers, from the Very Special Arts website:

VSA arts is seeking performing artists/groups with disabilities who are interested in performing at the International VSA arts Festival in Washington, D.C. From June 6-12, 2010, VSA arts – the premier arts and disability organization – will bring together artists, educators, researchers, and policy makers with disabilities from around the world for a multicultural celebration of the arts and arts education. The festival will feature visual, performing, literary, and media artists from all corners of the globe.

(Information is correct as of 7 June 09)
LINK

Dick & Rick Hoyt

The story of Dick and Rick Hoyt, an inspirational father and son team to race in the Ironman triathlon.

LINK

… (the doctor said) put him away in an institution… He’s going to be nothing but a vegetable for the rest of his life.
(1:30min)

Thanks to my colleague, Kathryn Marian Lane for sending me this.

Abilities Roadshow 2008 @ NL Plaza

From ASK! blog, on the NLB’s outreach event in 2008, in support of promoting greater awareness of services for people with disabilities:

NLB recently took part in Disability Information Referral Centre’s (DIRC) Abilities Roadshow 2008, held at the National Library Plaza. The roadshow aimed to “create awareness of the various services for people with disabilities, offered by Voluntary Welfare Organisations in the Disability sector”.

Link | Sharedcopy

Launch of “Project Deliver Me”, 21 January 2009

From the NLB, Singapore (21 Jan 09): Speech by Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive, National Library Board At The Launch Of Project Deliver Me On 21 January 2009, 10.30am At Jurong Regional Library.

Full speech, here.

Objective of Project Deliver Me

3. NLB’s Project Deliver Me was conceptualised to reach out to people who are homebound. What makes this initiative very meaningful is that it is run by the community – a group of volunteers who either select the library materials or deliver the items to the homes of the physically challenged. Project Deliver Me enables people with physical disabilities to have easy access to the wide range of library materials from the comfort of their own homes and at the same time, engages the community with meaningful volunteering opportunities.

4. Very often, ignorance or misconceptions create unneccessary social barriers and it influence our views towards people with disabilities. Through Project Deliver Me, we hope to raise greater awareness on the special needs of people with disabilities and to further integrate them into mainstream community by addressing their needs to read and to learn.

LINK | Sharedcopyt

Wheelchair Users Take Up The Challenge To Try Out Two Public Libraries

Media release from the National Library Board, Singapore (date 6 Dec 2008):

Wheelchair Users Take Up The Challenge To Try Out
Two Public Libraries

Singapore, 6 December 2008 – A total of 50 wheelchair users visited the Woodlands Regional Library and the newly re-opened Yishun Public Library to participate in the Amazing Wheelchair Challenge this morning. Together with their caregiver, each participant was issued the challenge to complete 18 tasks largely related to locating library resources and using library services within a timeframe of 90 minutes. Ms Ellen Lee, Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, graced the event and flagged off the Challenge for the participants at Woodlands Regional Library.

The series of tasks was planned by a group of librarians, one of whom is Mr Kwek Soon Huat, a wheelchair user who has been working with the National Library Board (NLB) for 18 years.

Held in support of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities celebrated on 3 Dec, the objective of the Amazing Wheelchair Challenge was to highlight that the Public Libraries are spaces for everyone, including wheelchair users.

Reaching out to the underserved with Library 2010 Vision
Guided by the two main thrusts of the Library 2010 vision – ‘Libraries for Life, Knowledge for Success’, one of the outcomes that NLB aims to achieve is to create a self-sustaining community, including those that are underserved. The Amazing Wheelchair Challenge was one of NLB’s several initiatives organised to encourage community learning and social integration among wheelchair users in Singapore.

Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive, National Library Board (NLB) said, “Our Public Libraries aim to create a self-sustaining community where everyone has access to our libraries’ resources to embark on knowledge sharing. Today’s event is to create awareness that wheelchair users are welcome into our libraries where not only are there knowledge found in books but also library activities and programmes to help fulfill diverse aspirations.”

The Amazing Wheelchair Challenge was well supported by many community partner organisations such as the North West Community Development Council (NWCDC), Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA), Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA), Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore (MDAS), Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD), and Rotary Club of Singapore just to name a few.

Ms Sherena Loh, Senior Manager of MDAS shared, “It is a wonderful initiative of NLB to organise this meaningful event that encourages people on wheelchair to be integrated into the community. Although libraries are usually centrally located islandwide, there are still many people with disabilities who have not visited the libraries. We hope this experience will create the breakthrough and encourage more to come out to participate alongside in the community”.

All wheelchair users who participated in the event were offered a free Membership for People with Disabilities. This special membership allows borrowing privileges of up to eight items including four audiovisual materials, and even audio books which are available at all libraries, except libraries situated within shopping malls, since June 2007.

Twitter Telepathy: Researchers Turn Thoughts Into Tweets

From Wired (20 Apr 09):

Early on the afternoon of April 1, Adam Wilson posted a message to Twitter. But instead of using his hands to type, the University of Wisconsin biomedical engineer used his brain. “USING EEG TO SEND TWEET,” he thought.

… The researchers built upon the BCI2000, a software tool pioneered by Williams and Wadsworth Center neural injury specialist Gerwin Schalk. The software translates thought-induced changes in a scalp’s electrical fields to control an on-screen cursor.

LINK

YouTube video, here: