Gov. Cuomo's Alarming $120 Million Cut

Earlier this month, Democratic Governor Cuomo of New York, announced a budget plan in which he would cut $120 million in non-profit organizations that help the handicapped individuals. This plan has caused commotion in the State Assembly and State Senate as many politicians still firmly believe that money that helps disabilities should not be cut. For example, Sheldon Silver, the State Assembly speaker, said, “We all recognize that its important to protect our most vulnerable citizens … and would result in severe hardship and diminished services for individuals with hardships.” Lawmakers worry that the spending cut will have negative impact on the disabled of New York while Governor Cuomo argues that “it’s not always true that more money is better results.” Although I feel uneasy about the massive financing cut, I hope that the state government finds a way to ensure that the disabled are still adequately cared for.

London Olympics Transportation for Disabilities Part I

The 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. There are many ways the government is preparing its transportation facilities to help those with disabilities access various parts of the city easier. To begin with, Stratford Station, one of London's largest railway and metro station is situated right next to the Olympic Park. Therefore, the London City Council is investing about $140 million into upgrading various parts of the station. Nine more lifts around the station will assist handicaps access the multiple levels of the station. In addition, the city council will change the entire floor material to a more tactile substance so that wheels can travel easier. Moreover, better signs and highlighted floors will help those with visual impairments. The new Javelin trains will be running the tracks around London. These trains are high-speed trains with better accommodations for those with disabilities. Finally, the last upgrade to the train station will be hearing and viewing centers all around the station. Those with visual or auditory impairments can approach these help stations and press buttons to ask for help. That is a good start for the London City Council. I think they are doing a good job, as of right now, upgrading facilities to accommodate those with disabilities.

The Blade Runner

Oscar Pistorius, one of the figureheads of paralympians is sprinter who is famous for his determination to defeat his disabilities. The South African sprinter was born with an abnormality in his legs. Eventually, his legs had to be amputated. Nevertheless, coming from a sports-crazy family, he was determined to be a sprinter. Up until now, he has trained with great determination. Despite numerous injuries, he has continued to practice for championships. Thanks to all this training, he is a fast man indeed. Although he runs on artificial carbon fiber lower legs, he made it to the semi-finals of the International Track Championships at Daegu, South Korea. 2012 is the year of the Olympics and the Paralympics. He plans to win a gold in sprinting at the event. Currently, the sprinter holds the record for paralympians for the 100m and 400m. We wish him good luck in his training for the Paralympics

2012 Paralympic Summer Games Part 2

Adding to the previous description of the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games in London, I will be describing some of the events that will be held during the games.

The largest event in the Paralympic Games will be the Athletics event. At first, I was confused because the term "Athletics" was very broad and vague. Then, I learned that this event was a series of games, including running, pole jumping, and wrestling.

Another interesting event was Boccia. This event is where participants shoot balls so that they end up closest to a certain point.

2012 Paralympic Summer Games

This year, 2012, is the year of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Games have been regarded as the largest and foremost sport event of the twentieth and twent-first centuries. However, there is another Olympic Game that will be held this year just for the disabled. This is the Paralympic Games. Right after the Olympic Games end in the summer and the winter, the Paralympic Games start. It is also one of the largest sports competitions in the world, with thousands of disabled athletes participating in hundreds of events.

The Paralympic Games started out as a festival in Britain for World War II veterans who were disabled after the war. Then, it grew to an annual competition with hundreds of British Veterans. In the 1970s, this event became an official competition and it started to gain international recognition. Now, in the twenty-firs century, it is the main competition that disabled athletes aim for.

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.