Wisconsin has a new tool for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  The communication visor card is available to anyone at no cost and gives deaf and hard of hearing drivers a clear way to communicate with law enforcement.  The card has pictures on it that indicate things such as a broken taillight, expired license plate tags, reckless driving, and a need for a tow truck.

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The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Standards Committee on Air Travel is looking for input and concerns from the disability, veterans and caregiver communities regarding the problems with air travel for passengers with disabilities in order to set revised and updated standards for wheelchair handling, labeling, storage, airline and airline contractor training.

If you use a wheelchair or scooter, or are a caregiver/family member of someone who uses a wheelchair or scooter, we would appreciate you taking a few minutes to answer the following survey regarding your experiences with air travel. We would appreciate if you could complete the survey by Monday, February 12.

Commercial Flight Experiences Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/792HG6D

If you have any questions, feel free to contact:

Kathy Hooyenga

Assistive Technology Unit
University of Illinois at Chicago
hooyenga@uic.edu

It's widely known that where you live can have a significant impact on your quantity of life.  For family caregivers who provide unpaid to older adults and family members with disabilities, the state you live in can be a big factor in your ability to be a family caregiver.  States were recently ranked on the availability of supports and services for family caregivers.  Wisconsin came in at #7.  Senior care options aren't cheap, but we have many programs and policies that make it a great place for caregivers of senior citizens.

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Target is the latest retail chain to introduce a clothing line for adults with disabilities.  They will roll out  a women's clothing line called "Universal Thread" which will also be sensory friendly.  In addition to things such as high-rise backs and longer inseams and wider leg openings, the line will also have features such as tagless clothes and extra soft material.

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Meet InControl Wisconsin Board Member, Lynn Breedlove.  Having been involved in a disability field for many years, he saw the potential for self-direction to really expand.   While he’s thrilled with the progress that has been made, he believes that we’re still in the early stages of learning how self-direction could impact people’s lives.  Lynn is a guru in the self-direction movement and we are so fortunate to have him as a member of the Self-Determination Network. 

 How are you involved with self-determination? Why did you join the SD Network? 

Lynn has been involved in the disability field since the late 70s. He became aware early on that government, provider agencies, and (sometimes) families were exerting too much control over people with disabilities. He could see that this was making it hard (or sometimes impossible) for people to grow, learn, become real citizens, and pursue a life of their own choosing. “As an advocate, I knew I had to push back against that hyper-control of people. Back then, we didn’t call it self-determination, but later when the self-determination movement began to take shape in North America and other parts of the world, I got excited about that and wanted to be part of it,” he explains. Joining the SD Network was an obvious choice for him--it was a way for me to connect with other self-determination believers in Wisconsin. 

Tell us some good news - what's the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms self-determination?

Lynn is excited about IRIS starting up in Dane County. He says that it looks like it might be the first county in the state where more than half of the adults with developmental disabilities choose self-direction, either in IRIS or in Family Care.  “Since Dane County is the place in Wisconsin where self-determination first took hold in a sizable way in our state, there are many people and organizations here who have innovative ideas about how to support people to self-direct their services and their lives,” he explains. He believes that innovative spirit can energize the IRIS program in ways that we haven’t seen yet. In particular, he thinks it will be interesting to see how IRIS participants self-direct their supported employment and supported living services in Dane County. 

What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?

Lynn would like to see IRIS plans include a combination of independent workers and service provider agencies working together.  He explains that a lot of people in IRIS have chosen to hire their own workers, which is great; however, there are some progressive provider agencies in the state who have respect for people’s right to make decisions about how their services will be provided. He thinks there is potential for more people to develop IRIS plans which include a combination of direct hiring of independent workers and contracting for services with provider agencies that believe in self-direction. 

What message would you like to share with the members of the SD Network?

Lynn wants to encourage people to keep exploring self-direction.  Even though the IRIS program and the self-direction option within Family Care have been around for several years, he still feels like we’re in the early stages of understanding how to apply self-direction principles to the long-term care system.  “I hope that people will keep trying out new ideas and pushing the envelope on this.  I think we are just barely beginning to discover the full potential of what self-determination ideas could mean for our long-term care system,” he says.

What are some of your hobbies?

Lynn and his wife love to travel to new places and discover vistas, food, people, and culture that is different from their own. They are both semi-retired now, so they have been able to have some great adventures in recent years. One that stands out to him was backpacking the Camino de Santiago, the 600 mile 1000 year old pilgrimage in northern Spain, that was once hiked by Charlemagne.  “It was an amazing experience on many levels,” he says.

***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities recently released an updated fact sheet about Supplemental Security Income for people with disabilities.  The sheet covered a variety of topics and has some very interested statistics.  

View sheet

People with disabilities have been a demographic that experiences poverty at a rate disproportionate to their peers without disabilities.  Recent population surveys have shown that nearly one third of people with disabilities live below the poverty line and they’re more than twice as likely to live in poverty when compared to their non-disabled peers.   Poverty can obviously cause food and health care insecurities.  There are initiatives that can create partnerships with disability organizations to increase focus on things such as housing, employment, nutrition and health promotion, and health care for those in poverty.

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Airline accessibility has taken center stage recently.  Delta AirLines is taking steps to further protect its customers, employees and service animals and support animals by implementing advance documentation requirements for those animals. This comes as a result of a lack of regulation that has led to serious safety risks involving untrained animals in flight. The new requirements support Delta's top priority of ensuring safety for its customers, employees and trained service and support animals, while supporting the rights of customers with legitimate needs, such as veterans, to travel with trained animals.

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