Viscardi School

The New York Henry Viscardi School is famous for its care for its students. It is one of the few prestigious private schools in the state that admits severely disabled children. With 185 handicapped students, the school utilizes its cutting-edge medical technology with its professionally trained staff members to help all of them, ranging from kindergarten to 12^th grade. For example, in all the hallways, emergency buttons cover the floors and walls, for if a student suddenly becomes ill and there is nobody to help, then the student can tap those buttons to call help.

The school allows students to experience and develop their own autonomy by assigning them mentors for younger kids and a small group of peers for older students. This way, they can help and build off of each other so that they can mutually develop. One student, who is about 20 years old (students are allowed to stay in the school until they are 21 years old), was assigned to a group of six friends. Before, they were struggling to lead independent lives. Now, they can communicate to each other privately and ask for help when needed.

I believe that this is an ideal school for those who are not as fortunate as normal people. Most of the people in this world ignore those who are handicapped. However, the staff at this school truly care about those who are disabled.

Interview with Dr. Shim at the University of Maryland

Me and Dr. Sim in his laboratory

This summer, I was fortunate enough to have an interview with Professor Shim at the University of Maryland, leading the kinesiology laboratory. Dr. Shim studies the field of rehabilitation without the use of robots. Although the interview was concise, it still gave me a great deal of insight on the topic.

1. What specific area of rehabilitation do you research?

    I study the field of neuro-rehabilitation. Rehabilitation alone usually describes the process of giving patients the ability to fully control their muscles. However, I also study the crucial peripheral and central nervous system that control the muscles themselves. Studying both topics gives me other ingenious ideas for rehabilitation techniques.

2. Do you have any goals for research this year?

Me and Dr. Shim in front
of the university mascot

    I have two main goals. The first is to figure out how the brain can create such meticulous control in the fingers all at once. Another is to research human locomotion itself and know how humans move themselves for long distances.

I was quite amazed at how much research he does in such a obscure and ambiguous field. I must say that he is very determined in making sure that he is a pioneering researcher in his field.

When I visited his laboratory, in the top left picture, there were long runways covered with tiny sensors. Surrounding the runway were special cameras that measured the amount of tension applied throughout the body just by bouncing off electromagnetic waves.

In another laboratory, he was designing a shoe model that would minimize weight and tension in the leg while maximizing performance in the athlete. This show-developing project was a joint operation with Under Armour, a well known athletics gear company.

Well, I wish good luck to Dr. Shim and I am amazed at how he much he knows about his field. By the way, he is also planning to write a paper for the prestigious journal Nature.

Disabled Access at Incheon

Airports are public buildings that are meant to support various people. Therefore, it is crucial for the grandiose structures to have facilities specifically designed to support those with disabilities, either mental or physical. Incheon Airport, Korea's largest airport, and the most successful airport in the world, has decided to have a separate check-in counter for domestic airlines reserved just for disabilities to use to their ease. Therefore, they can have access to special kiosks or friendly staff members who are ready to help handicaps.

Not only is there a separate counter, there is also a special lounge for these disabled customers. The facilities inside the lounge are fine-tuned to match the needs of dsabilities. Officials expect about seventy customers in the first month or so.

April 20, National Day for People with Disabilities

April 20, 2011 was one of the most important days in the Korean calendar. It marked the annual national day for people with disabilities. Only recently did the Korean national government recognized disabled people as regular citizens. Before, these people were given less rights and strict policies were enforced upon these unfortunate people.

In 1981 the United Nations proposed that every member country create a special national day for those with disabilities. However, the national day in Korea was enforced ten years after the proposition, in 1991. Originally, the national association of disabilities voted December 3 as date for the national disability day. Unfortunately, the Korean national government forcibly changed the date to April 20 after some conflicts. Therefore, many disabilities in Korea believe quietly in their hearts that the true national day is December 3, not April 20.

However, this does not mean that all Koreans are unhappy about the national day for disabilities. Instead, many citizens, both with and without disabilities still celebrate the day with vigor. One great example this year was when the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), the largest broadcasting company in Korea, decided to hire a great number of reporters with disabilities. They will be part of a special squad newly created this year to accommodate workers with disabilities. They will be specially trained and, within a year, will be just as successful as regular reporters.

Another remarkable event was when a father, who is active in Christian activities in Korea, and his son, who has a developmental disability, walked a 40-day, 600-km walk from March 12 to March 20. They walked 15 km a day to raise awareness about the plight of disabled Korean citizens from the Southern city port of Busan to the capital in the North, Seoul.

April 20 is an important day in Korea for disabilities and normal people because it represents our acknowledgement of disabilities as normal human beings rather than lowly creatures.

Smart phone + Smart Walker

In my previous post, I mentioned that the Smart Walker was a very effective tool for handicaps to walk around. In addition to being extremely helpful, it also provides the most bang-for-the-buck for any wheelchair-like vehicle. However, like all wheelchairs, the Smart Walker needs many more improvements. This product lacks the tools to help handicaps when they are doing something else rather than walking around. Adding a smartphone or a similar device would definitely help any handicap for the entire day.

There are some necessary applications the device must have in order for it to be truly helpful. The first one is a clock that needs to have several functions, including telling the handicap when to eat, when to take their medicine, and to have a daily schedule configured just for the patient. Another application that is crucial is a tiny GPS. This app can help both the patient and his/her family members. When a handicap is lost, one can find their way by using this GPS. When family members are searching for a handicap, they can locate him/her with the GPS sensor.

IPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

Owen Cain, a disabled child who had a debilitating nerual disease baffled his parents, who tried to open him up to a world of education full of brilliant opportunities. Unfortuntately, Owen could not respond to any of the technology his parents presented to him. However, when the nurse left her boyfriend's ipad next to Owen's wheel-chair, everybody was surprised to see Owen playing guitar hero on the device when they came back. Due to the mobility, easy user interface, and sensitive touchscreen allows disabilities to easily have easy access to the rest of the world through the ipad. Many therapeutists recommend patients to use the ipad for its relatively cheap price and best bang for the buck.

However, despite its bang for the buck, families who do not have a steady source cannot afford to buy any sort of technology. In the modern world, up-to-date technologies, such as the ipad are the only way for handicaps to access the rest of society. Unfortuntately, medical insurance companies do not seem to offer advanced technological gear, including the ipad, to families who do seriously need them but do not have the money to buy them separately.

Thanks to the ipad, Owen has been making astronomical progress in the last few months. Already, he has started to laugh by reading simple picture books and comics throught he ipad. Now, after watching many episodes of Star Wars, he is a great advocate of the movie series. On the day before Halloween, Owen wrote to his parents that he wished to be Han Solo of Star Wars the next day.



from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/nyregion/31owen.html?ref=handicapped