Disability Radio World Wide

Program Catalog

The following is a list of programs which have been broadcast on Disability
Radio Worldwide--with program notes. Almost all of the guests on Disability
Radio Worldwide are people with disabilities discussing a wide variety of
topics related to advancing the human rights of people with disabilities
around the world. Cassette tapes of programs listed below can be ordered for
$10 per tape which includes two 30-minute programs. All checks should be
made payable to Empowerment Productions and are tax deductible to the
fullest extent of the law. Additional financial contributions are always
welcome.

PROGRAM CATALOG

1. Hugh Gallagher--Franklin Roosevelt was the President of the United States
as well as a person with a disability. In this interview, Gallagher, who is
the author of "FDR's Splendid Deception," discusses FDR as a person with a
severe disability and the role his polio played in his Presidency.

2. Paul K. Longmore--A historian at San Francisco State University, Longmore
teaches courses on the history of people with disabilities. In this
interview, Longmore discusses his research into the historic factors and
circumstances which influence modern life for people with disabilities.

3. Diane Coleman--Coleman has just founded a new organization called Not
Dead Yet. The group's purpose is to directly confront the rise in medically
assisted suicide of people with disabilities and expose the prejudiced views
of those attempting to place monetary value on our lives.

4. Fred Fay--Fred Fay is the Chair of the Disability Outreach Committee for
the Democratic National Committee. He discusses the important issues in the
1996 Presidential and Congressional election which will greatly affect the
lives of people with disabilities and how the U.S. political parties are
finally realizing the importance of the disability vote.

5. Henry Enns--The Executive Director of Disabled Peoples' International
discusses the many and varied contributions that have been made by people
with disabilities to the worldwide peace movement. People with disabilities
have held important leadership positions in many places in grassroots and
political work bringing a disability perspective to what it means to have
peace on earth.

6. Gary Handschumauker--This long time disability rights activist and parent
of three children with disabilities works with a Nicaraguan/American
collaborative organization providing education, training and direct relief
to kids with disabilities in Nicaragua. He discusses the urgent needs of the
kids and their families, accomplishments and success stories and the
devastating role of U.S. policies in Nicaragua and how these policies have
directly affected these kids with disabilities.

7. Abdul Rahman Sahak--Sahak talks about his founding of the Afghanistan
Society of Disabled People and how they are trying to rebuild their country
so it meets the needs of all who live there. He describes the lack of
resources, the extreme difficulties caused by the presence of millions of
unexploded land mines and how Afghanistan's political situation affects its
disabled population.

8. Lou McIntosh--When Lou and his wife couldn't find adequate support and
information when they became the parents of a child with a severe
disability, Lou conceived the idea of using low cost easy-to-use
community-based electronic bulletin boards to bring people with disabilities
and family members together. This concept has grown and developed into a
network of "meeting places," computer bulletin boards providing information,
strategies, connections and a means of community organizing in isolated
locations throughout the disability community.

9. Ric Durity--In this interview, Ric candidly discusses his personal
experiences as a person with HIV. His personal journey through shock, anger,
betrayal and adjustment is instructive as well as his analysis and views on
the politics of AIDS.

10. Homer Page--The Executive Director of the Colorado Center for the Blind
talks about his experience with two opposing theories of how people with
disabilities and non-disabled people interact. He is a theologian,
politician, former University professor and disability rights activist and
he has a clear sense of how people with disabilities can take power and use
it effectively in both personal and collective challenges.

11. Paul Stuart--Paul Stuart was shot in an armed robbery and became
paralyzed. He discusses his transformation from a "self-centered"
construction worker without a care, to a compliant guy in a wheelchair to an
effective and impassioned disability rights activist.

12. Dr. Elizabeth Browne--Many people with disabilities have become
connected with the major religions of the world, but many others have found
the symbolism and metaphors contained in religious doctrines to be offensive
and inconsistent with their personal experiences of life. Dr. Elizabeth
Browne is a Professor of Theology at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.
Her new book is called "The Disabled Disciple," and it's all about people
with disabilities and their relationship to the church. How can churches be
more inclusive of people with disabilities and how can we find positive
images and symbols that affirm who we are as people with disabilities and
make sense to us as proud, independent people?

13. Carol Patterson and Aliscia Niles--Carol and Aliscia are Program
Coordinators at Mobility International USA. They facilitate overseas
cultural and educational exchange programs for people with disabilities and
non-disabled allies. Their curriculum combines cultural exchange and
personal interaction between delegates with disabilities from many diverse
countries and incorporates concepts of disability rights activism.

14. Steve Brown--Brown is the Founder and Director of the Institute on
Disability Culture. He implements a research program to discover what makes
disability culture happen. This interview combines theory, research findings
and poetry to illustrate the Institute's work.

15. Barbara Brent--Brent consults with organizations and communities in the
U.S. and Europe on how to meaningfully include and integrate people with
disabilities coming out of institutions. She discusses the desire of people
who are in nursing homes and other institutions to have choices about their
lives and how service providers are resistant to the concept of inclusion.

16. Henry Enns--The Executive Director of Disabled Peoples' International
informs the audience about DPIs work organizing people with disabilities
around the world. DPI has five regional offices on every continent promoting
economic development, human rights and empowerment of people with
disabilities.

17. Hani Khoury--Hani tells us about growing up with a severe disability on
the West Bank under Israeli occupation. How he survived and obtained an
education is a story of creativity and determination. He immigrated to the
United States to attend Syracuse University and now works as a professor at
Mercer University in the School of Education where he integrates his
experiences as a person with a disability into his academic curriculum.

18. Hugh Gallagher--One of the little known facts about the Nazi Holocaust
is that over 200,000 people with disabilities were killed in the Nazi
euthanasia program. Gallagher, who has just released his new book entitled
"By Trust Betrayed," describes the beliefs, political climate and physician
practices during the Nazi era that resulted in these deaths. He also
discusses his views on the health care trends of the 1990s and warns against
"inappropriate" and dangerous decision making.

19. Scott Marshall--Marshall is the Associate Director of Governmental
Affairs at the American Foundation for the Blind. The 104th Congress has
been an extremely difficult and frightening time for disability rights
proponents and he illustrates why the legislation, policies and regulatory
changes proposed and implemented by the 104th, together with disability
policy setbacks, will result in more poverty, less education and fewer civil
rights for Americans with disabilities.

20. Barbara Waxman--Access to reproductive health care for women with
disabilities is a major problem affecting millions of women around the
world. Barbara Waxman is training family planning and other health care
workers in how to better provide reproductive health services to women who
have disabilities. This project, funded by the U.S. Office of Populations,
is creating standards in this area of health care and opening the door for
women with disabilities to get the care and information they need and
prevent life-threatening consequences of the denial of women's health care.

21. Kathy Martinez--Kathy is the Director of International Programs at the
World Institute on Disability. Recently, she visited and conducted training
for a group of disabled women in Siberia assisting them to strategize to
advance their civil rights in the context of the former Soviet Union. She
describes the challenges they face and the creative solutions of Siberian
women with disabilities.

22. Justin Dart--This well-known disability rights activist and long-time
international leader discusses his personal story of radicalization and how
he made the decision to dedicate his time and resources to the fight for
disability rights around the world. He gives his views on current political
situations as well as what the future might hold without attention to the
contributions of people who have disabilities.

23. Jean Stewart--Her new book graphically illustrates the conditions of
prisoners who have disabilities and how they are denied their basic human
rights. What is being done to protect the right of a disabled prisoner to
have a wheelchair, to have access to food, and be protected from the abuse
of guards and other prisoners? In this interview, Jean discusses this
little-known aspect of disability rights and the current attempts at legal
recourse.

24. Judy Rogers--In her book, "Mother To Be," Judy talks about what it is
like to be a parent with a disability in a society that believes people with
disabilities don't have children. Her organization called Through the
Looking Glass has developed informational resources and specialized
equipment to enhance the experience of parenthood for people with
disabilities.

25A & B. Laura Hershey--Women with disabilities were present and visible at
the NGO Forum on Women in Beijing. What did they go through to get there?
What were the barriers for them at the conference and how did the disabled
women attending the meeting representing many countries organize and demand
their right to participate? Laura Hershey is a writer and disability rights
activist who attended the NGO Forum on Women as part of a delegation from
North America comprised of disabled women and their allies. In the first of
this two-part interview she discusses the above questions as well as her own
experience in Beijing.
The second part of the interview, Laura Hershey explores the issues the
women with disabilities discussed during the NGO Forum on Women in Beijing.
What does inclusion mean around the world, how can girls and women with
disabilities acquire an education, how do women with disabilities organize
to eliminate violence and exploitation and many other vital questions. She
also talks about today's disabled women leaders and their experiences in
organizing and activism.

27. Geri Rader and Pauline Winter--What are the best ways for people with
disabilities to become employed? This program is a visit with two people
working in different settings but with the same goal of doing everything
they can so their constituents can make a living and be self-sufficient.
Geri Rader runs an independent living program in Covington, Kentucky in the
central part of the United States. Her experience is unusual because she
worked for many years in a sheltered workshop on the assembly line. What did
this experience teach her about helping others find employment? Pauline
Winter is the Executive Director of the Workbridge Program, an employment
and training center in New Zealand. Many of the people she assists to find
work are not only disabled but are also Mauri, the indigenous people of New
Zealand. Her approach must take into consideration cultural values and
traditions.
 

28. Jana Schroeder--Jana is employed as the Director of the Criminal Justice
program in the state of Ohio for the American Friends Service Committee. In
this interview, she discusses her experiences working in an organization
with progressive politics as a person with a disability. Why do politically
progressive movements working on all kinds of civil and human rights issues
consistently refuse to include disability issues in their agendas? Why are
few people with disabilities working in these movements? Why are our
contributions and perspectives ignored by groups working for the rights of
women, for people who are gay and lesbian, and for people of color; for the
environment; and for international demilitarization?

29. Sharon Hickman and Karla Parry--Domestic violence in the general
population is between 50 and 60 percent but among women with disabilities it
rises to an astonishing 85 percent. Sharon Hickman and Karla Parry run the
Domestic Violence Initiative for Women with Disabilities where they provide
services to and advocate for women with disabilities who are experiencing
domestic abuse. In this interview, they talk about their work, why it is
necessary for battered women's shelters and programs to be accessible for
women with disabilities and the progress that has been made to make it
possible for disabled women to successfully utilize the court system. They
also discuss how far there is to go in eliminating the abuse of disabled
women and children and difficulties they have encountered trying to educate
women's programs, judges, advocates and the general public about this urgent
issue.

30. Julie Reiskin--Julie is the Executive Director of the Colorado
Cross-Disability Coalition working on policy development on the issue of
in-home personal assistance services for people with disabilities. She
discusses why it is important to get people with disabilities out of
institutions and to develop policies that will keep them in their homes and
receive community-based home health services at home. Cost benefits, quality
of care, societal economic benefit and the empowerment of people with
disabilities all factor into her analysis.

31. Rachel Parker--Is there a disability culture? Many people with
disabilities believe that we are a distinct minority group with a distinct
culture and common experiences within a larger dominant culture. How is this
cultural experience defined and what are the values that are expressed as
disability culture? Rachel Parker trains parents of children with
disabilities how to advocate for and demand their rights.

32. Jim Hudson--Jim is the Publications Coordinator of the Agent Orange
Class Assistance program. The program which provides direct services to
veterans of the Vietnam War who live with the effects of Agent Orange, was
funded by a class-action lawsuit filed by vets who sustained permanent
disabling conditions due to the use of Agent Orange. The unique approach to
building relationships with the vets in the process of getting them much
needed counseling and equipment is a model for other programs to follow for
a successful service and advocacy program.

33. Carolyn Reed--Carolyn is the mother of Darcy who has autism. In this
interview, she talks about her fight to get Darcy an education in her local
public school. She talks about the laws mandating "a free and appropriate
education in the least restrictive environment" and how this concept is
ignored by educators.

34. Mitch Pomerantz--Mitch is the Americans with Disabilities Act
Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles. In this capacity he conducts
personnel and human resources trainings on hiring people with disabilities
and what the law requires for promotion and retention of disabled employees.
He discusses political aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act's
employment provisions and why it is that six years after the passage of the
ADA the unemployment rate of people with disabilities has increased.

35. Veasna Yi--Veasna Yi is the Treasurer of the Cambodian Disabled People's
Organization. He talks about life for people with disabilities in Cambodia,
the relationship of the disability community with the Cambodian government
and the effects of war and poverty challenging the potential of disabled
people. He also relates his own experiences and how he survived the "reign
of terror" in the 1970s, a time of massive killing, starvation and
oppression in Cambodia.

36. Jean Stewart--This presentation by Jean Stewart was conducted at the
First Annual Forum on the health care needs of women with disabilities held
in Chicago in April of 1996. In her remarks, she emphasizes the necessity
for universal health care if we are to come close to meeting the health care
needs of women who have disabilities. She also uses storytelling including
her own experiences to demonstrate the harsh realities of how women who have
disabilities are treated, or not treated by today's health care industry.

37. Eleanor Smith--Eleanor believes that how people with disabilities are
valued in society is directly correlated with our economic contribution to
society. In this interview, she discusses the economic realities of people
with disabilities from a political and feminist perspective and how our
contributions are overlooked as irrelevant. She suggests some models for
demonstrating how the gluttony of a few negatively affects the economic
survival of the most impoverished people in society and therefore, the
perceived value of those people to their communities.

38. Lolly Lijewski--In 1986, Lolly began an organization called Candle in
the Window whose purpose was to serve as a support network for blind people
with no political or activist agenda. During the ten years of the
organization's existence, it has transformed into an exploration of the
culture, community and pride of blind people and uses this as a tool for
community building, empowerment and strength.

39. Carol Gill--This well-known author and speaker in the disability arena
discusses her research on the socialization differences between non-disabled
women and women who have disabilities. What are the differences in society's
unspoken and blatant expectations for career, sexuality, parenthood,
life-styles, behavior, response to oppression and aging? This interview
brings to light many aspects of why it is so difficult for women with
disabilities to become self-actualized and discusses how disabled women
around the world aren't buying it anymore.

40. Jane Tolino--Jane is one of the founding members of the Disabled Student
Cultural Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota. She describes
the controversy that began when University students with disabilities wanted
a cultural center much like those of African-American, Asian or Latino
students. She discusses the importance of a cultural center in campus life
for students with disabilities and the activist role it plays as well as
providing a forum for cultural and artistic expression.

41. Helen Kutz--Often, human rights movements are accused of having no sense
of humor. In this interview, Helen Kutz, a long-time disability and women's
rights activist gives some examples of disability humor and why it makes
non-disabled people so uncomfortable when we laugh at ourselves.
 

42. Omar Talaveri--Wheelchairs that are donated by North American and
European organizations to people in developing countries often are not
adequate for the terrain, living conditions and daily realities of people
with disabilities in these environments. The Whirlwind Project based at San
Francisco State University has developed a wheelchair specifically for use
in developing countries. In this conversation, Omar Talaveri, who is
originally from Nicaragua, tells us about how this chair was developed, how
it is being used and how the project has served as an important empowerment
and economic tool in the disability community of the developing world.

43. Tiina Nummi-Sodergren--Sweden provides a substantial amount of foreign
aid specifically to groups of people with disabilities in developing
countries through the Swedish International Handicapped Aid Foundation. What
are the foundation's priorities, how do groups get funding, what types of
programs have been funded and how did the program come into existence?

44. Dr. William Rowland--This disability rights activist from South Africa
discusses the status of people with disabilities in relation to the United
Nations Standard Rules for the world's governments on disability policy.
Using recent political advances for people with disabilities in South
Africa, Rowland discusses how far the movement has come and what the next
steps are in the quest for true equality.

45. Joshua Malinga--The Immediate Past Chair of Disabled Peoples'
International talks about his experiences coming from Zimbabwe and his life
as a child with a disability in a country with no resources, as a disability
rights activist, and as a politician. He discusses DPI's role in the
grassroots organizing of disability groups around the world to reach
economic and social equality, and how people with all types of disabilities
can work together to make change.

46. Mary Wareham--Representing the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation,
Mary Wareham works on the campaign to stop the manufacture and distribution
of land mines around the world. She describes in detail what land mines look
like, what they do and how they are disposed of. In this unusual interview
Wareham discusses the elimination of land mines as a key link between the
disability rights movement and movements to advance peace, justice and human
rights.

 47. Jerry White--Jerry White is the Founder and Co-Director of the Landmine
Survivors Network. This organization works on an international basis to
increase awareness about the living conditions of people who have become
disabled from encounters with landmines. The network also advocates for an
end to the sale and manufacture of landmines and provides some direct
assistance to landmine survivors. In this interview, White describes his own
experience since he stepped on a landmine while a tourist in Israel, and the
work of his organization.

48. Judy Heumann--Heumann now serves in the Clinton Administration as the
Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services but her roots are in disability activism. She discusses how she
evolved as an activist out of childhood experiences of discrimination and
exclusion and the changes she has seen over the years in disability policy.

49. Bengt Lindqvist--Lindqvist was appointed by former United Nations
Secretary General Butros Butros-Ghali to investigate the political and
social conditions of people with disabilities around the world and draft a
document for passage in the UN General Assembly to advance disability
rights. In this program, Lindqvist discusses the UN Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the
potential impact on national disability rights struggles around the world.
He also discusses the process by which the document was adopted by the UN
and strategies for its implementation.

50. Helena Shehadeh--Shehadeh serves as the Executive Director of the
National Association of the Visually Handicapped in Palestine. She discusses
the effect of the ongoing political tensions in the Middle East on the
ability of blind people, especially women, to organize and fight for their
human rights. She describes how she obtained an education as a blind woman
amid the violence and chaos on the West Bank.

51. Kicki Nordstrom--Nordstrom now serves as First Vice President of the
World Blind Union and is the first woman to hold an officer position in that
organization. For many years prior to this position, Nordstrom documented
the experiences of blind women around the world and brought attention to the
economic and social disparities between the genders among blind people. She
formed the WBU's Committee on the Status of Blind Women and established the
first worldwide Forum on the Status of Blind Women which took place in
Toronto, Canada in 1996.

52. Anuradha Mohit--Anuradha Mohit is the executive director of the
Association for the Blind in New Delhi, India. She eloquently describes the
lives of disabled women in India and how the focus on militarism by
governments of developing countries has diverted vital economic resources
away from support and actualization of people with disabilities.
 

53. Dr. Heinrich Scholler--In this interview, Dr. Scholler, who is a law
professor at the University of Munich, discusses how Braille literacy for
blind people is a political issue of power and not just a luxury. He talks
about his experiences teaching Braille to blind beggars in Ethiopia and the
appalling social conditions that had an impact on this endeavor.

54. Gertrude Foforme--Ms. Foforme is the Public Relations Director for the
largest disability rights organization in Ghana. She describes the
conditions under which people with disabilities live in Ghana and the
progress which has been made toward independence and equal rights.

55. Defining Human Rights--This two part program features presentations by
Dr. William Rowland and Diane Coleman. From 1992 until 1996, Dr. Rowland
served as Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the World Blind Union. This
presentation consists of his report to the 4th General Assembly of the WBU
describing the reality of the human rights of blind people around the world
and the progress the committee has made in advancing human rights protection
and participating in the development of the UN Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. Diane Coleman
is one of the leaders of a group calling itself Not Dead Yet. In this speech
given at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court she condemns the
legalization of physician assisted suicide as the ultimate human rights
violation for people with disabilities.

56. Mary Jane Owen--Ms. Owen runs the disability office of the United States
National Catholic Bishops' Conference where she educates Catholic church
leaders and members about including people with disabilities in all aspects
of religious activity. In this interview Owen discusses the difficulty she
has had convincing church leaders that inclusion is necessary. She also
discusses the problematic issues that arise around disability and religion
and the difference between "cure" and "healing."

57. World Blind Union Forum on the Status of Blind Women--This program
consists of three presentations delivered to forum delegates by the regional
representatives from the Middle East, Asia and Africa regions. They describe
their efforts to organize blind women under extremely difficult conditions
and the progress that has been made in each part of the world toward
advancing the rights of blind women.

58. David Lepofsky--Mr. Lepofsky was the founder of the Canadian Association
of Visually Impaired Lawyers and is a prominent figure in Canada's
disability rights movement. Currently, he serves as Council to the Crown
Office of the Ontario Attorney General where he specializes in human rights
law as it affects people with disabilities. In this presentation he
discusses the Canadian experience of defining equality and implementing
disability rights law.
 

59. Tony Coelho--Tony Coelho is a former Congressional Representative from
the State of California and one of the primary authors and advocates of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. He currently serves as Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He also has
epilepsy and in this interview he candidly discusses the process of
accepting his disability and how he became elected to Congress. He also
talks about how the ADA was passed and the importance mentors have been in
his life and career.

60. Paul K. Longmore--The complex and difficult issue of the legalization of
physician assisted suicide is Dr. Longmore's topic in this interview. He
talks about the history of the issue, how it becomes a political concern for
people with disabilities and how the disability community is mobilizing to
prevent its legalization in the United States. He also discusses the
difference between the movement to ban the legalization of assisted suicide
and the pro-life movement.

61. Mon Min--Mr. Min is employed at the Association for the Rehabilitation
of Paralyzed People in Bangladesh where he assists people with disabilities
to gain employment. In this interview he discusses the challenges disabled
people face in this largely agricultural society and talks about the
specific problems of women who become disabled and are abandoned by their
husbands. 

62. Bonnie O'Day--As a member of the National Council on Disability in the
United States, O'Day has been a central figure in formulating
recommendations to the U.S. Congress on employment policy reform and people
with disabilities. She contends that the charity model of providing services
to people with disabilities is one of the main reasons there is so much
unemployment in the disability community. Her remarks are supplemented by
those of Paul Bilzi in a presentation on alternative work Strategies of
People with Disabilities, held at the 3rd Paralympic Congress in Atlanta, in
1996.

63. Charlie Smith--Most of us know Christopher Reeve as the actor who played
Superman in the movies. After becoming a quadriplegic as the result of a
riding accident, Reeve became outspoken about the need to raise money to
look for a cure for spinal cord injury. Charlie Smith is one of many
disability rights leaders who believe this appeal is misdirected and even
harmful to the progress already made by the movement. When Reeve made a
recent appearance in the city where Smith lives and edits the Access Press,
he and others protested the event.

64. Rosemarie Thompson--Thompson received her Ph.D. from Brandeis University
and currently works as an Assistant Professor in the English Department at
Howard University, one of America's historic black colleges. In her
application for a tenured position at Howard she has discovered that the
administration is not as supportive of her teaching about how people with
disabilities are represented in literature as she thought they were. Her
application for tenure has been denied based solely on her field of study,
which is disability studies. An active member of the Society for Disability
Studies, Thompson discusses her personal situation as well as the
difficulties other disability studies scholars have in gaining credibility
from academic administrators and colleagues.
 

65. Simi Linton--Dr. Linton teaches in the Department of Education at Hunter
College in New York City. As a part of her work, she teaches a course in
Disability Studies and is a leader in the Society for Disability Studies. In
this interview, Linton discusses the components of a disability studies
curriculum and her experience gaining acceptance for the study of disability
theory on the graduate and post-graduate level in universities.

66. Adrienne Asch--Adrienne Asch is a Henry R. Luce Professor at Wellesley
College just outside Boston where she teaches biology, ethics and the
politics of human reproduction. Her writing is focused on issues like
cloning, surrogate motherhood and prenatal testing. In this program she
discusses the crucial and difficult bio-ethics issues which affect people
with disabilities such as genetic testing and diagnosis and physician
assisted suicide. She is one of the few disabled people working in this
field and has unique perspectives on the future implications of the legal
and ethical decisions our society is making today.

67. Rachael Hurst--Rachael Hurst is one of the most well-known disability
rights activists in Great Britain and around the world. She is a member of
the World Council of Disabled People International and the director of
Disability Awareness in Action, a direct action disability rights group in
the U.K. In this interview, she discusses the future of disability policy
under the new British government as well as her own philosophy about
adjustment to disability.

68. Laura Hershey--This interview focuses on the ways in which large,
wealthy disability organizations conduct fund raising, often at the expense
of the very people they claim to help. Specifically, Hershey discusses her
experience with the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon and
the destructive message it sends to the public about disability. Hershey,
and others, believe that promotion of these negative" pitiful" images of
people with disabilities is contributing to the continuation of barriers in
employment, education and social integration. How are disability rights
groups countering those inaccurate, negative images and what are people with
disabilities doing to "set the record straight?" Find out by listening to
this program and discover how to make good choices about where you donate
your hard-earned dollars.
 

69. Maria Rantho--Maria Rantho is a leader in the African National Congress,
a disability rights activist in South Africa and a member of South Africa's
newly elected Parliament. She is also a woman with a disability with many
years of experience living and working under South Africa's former Apartheid
policies. In this interview, Rantho tells both her own story as well as that
of the South African disability rights movement and how the recent
extraordinary developments have affected both.

70. Marsha Saxton--Dr. Marsha Saxton is the foremost authority on genetic
counseling and testing as they affect people with disabilities. Currently,
she is an Ed Roberts Fellow working with the World Institute on Disability
and the University of California at Berkeley as a researcher in this field.
What happens when prospective parents discover their fetus has a disability?
What information do they receive and what information should they receive
about what life might be like for their child and themselves in the future?
Dr. Saxton discusses her views on this subject and talks about efforts to
educate prospective parents and genetic counseling professionals to try and
eliminate prejudiced, biased decision making.
 

71. Rosemarie Thomson--Have you ever thought about where our ideas about
disability come from? Dr. Rosemarie Thomson believes one source is are the
books we read every day as children and adults. Dr. Thomson is a Professor
of English at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where her work is
focused on review of popular and historic literature from a disability
perspective. In this interview, Thomson discusses how the characters in our
literature have shaped societal views about disability and also gives some
examples of positive images of disability found in contemporary and past
novels.

72. Leilah Atchan--What is it like to work in the West Bank as a woman with
a disability? Leilah Atchan is blind and works as a trainer and
psychotherapist providing technical assistance to organizations working for
change in this volatile, dangerous part of the world. In this interview,
Atchan talks about her personal experience growing up and working in the
West Bank and gives us a rare perspective on the political situation there
and its affect on disabled people.

73. Update on Landmines--This program focuses on the progress made by the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines and what it means for the U.S. to
refuse to sign the Ottawa Landmine Ban Treaty. Jerry White, Director of the
Landmine Survivors Network, explains what has happened in the past year of
organizing and the impact Princess Diana had on bringing this issue to the
forefront. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is the recipient of
the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.

74. Toni Eames--Have you ever wondered how guide dogs and other assistance
dogs do their work? Toni Eames is the co-author of Partners in Independence,
a book written about how assistance dogs work with people who have
disabilities. In this program, Eames discusses training techniques,
advantages to working with a service dog, access and the formation of the
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners.

75. Geri Jewell--Geri Jewell is probably best known for her appearances on
the 1980s television sitcom "Facts of Life," where she was the first
disabled actress to play a character with a disability in prime time. Her
comedy routines are well known for their honest approach to the disability
experience. Find out more about Geri Jewell in this interview.

76. Arts and Media--The first part of this program is an interview with
Shuncho Hanada, a disabled Japanese historian who lectures on the role of
people with disabilities in Japan as the artistic and cultural carriers of
Japanese society. The second half of the program are comments by Suzanne
Levine, photographer and disability rights activist. Levine shares her
experience compiling a picture book on independent living in Mexico and
gives advice to media representatives on respectfully and creatively
depicting the lives of people with disabilities.
 

77. Venus Ilagan and Mary O'Hagen--This program is another in the series
about the International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities. Venus
Ilagan is the President of the National Association of Disabled Persons in
the Philippines. Her Association is an umbrella organization with 204
cross-disability self-help groups around the country and six rehabilitation
centers for disabled children. Mary O'Hagen is a well-known activist and
organizer of psychiatric survivors in New Zealand. In her remarks to the
conference attendees she describes her experiences and philosophy of
empowerment.

78. McClaine Musheka--This program examines the problem of violence and
sexual assault of deaf women in Southern Africa. McClaine Musheka helped
organize the first pan-African conference of deaf people and discusses this
important meeting as well as her own story as a deaf African woman. Her
remarks follow those of United States Secretary of State Madeline Albright
on U.S. Government policy and violence against women with disabilities.

79. Lizzie Longsho--Lizzie Longsho is the Coordinator of women's groups for
the National Council of Persons with Disabilities of Zimbabwe. In this
capacity, Longsho has first-hand experiences with the conditions of disabled
women in Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa. In this interview she
discusses the everyday lives of her constituents and emphasizes the need for
reproductive health education and choice for women with disabilities.

80. Dr. Fred Schroeder and Dan Kaiser--Dr. Schroeder is one of the most
articulate philosophers and practitioners of integrating blind people into
education and employment settings. As Commissioner of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration in the United States he is a key policy figure both
here and abroad. Dan Kaiser is the System Operator of the Global Blind
Exchange, a computer network specifically for blind people. His experiences
with graphical user interface software has lead him to conclude that recent
advances in computer technology are contributors to the 70 percent
unemployment rate of people who are blind. Theory of integration and the
reality of every day are the themes for this program.

81. John Lancaster--In his capacity as Executive Director of the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, John Lancaster has a
leadership role in policy making in the area of employment of people with
disabilities, and is in a good position to share both the successes and
mistakes of U.S. employment policy. Over the past 18 months, Lancaster has
made three trips to Vietnam to assist the Vietnamese government and
disability advocacy groups to develop their own policies on the employment
of people with disabilities. In this interview, Lancaster discusses his
recent visits to Vietnam to provide technical assistance in this area as
well as what it was like to return to the country where he was shot and
acquired his disability.

82. Dr. Robert Meyer--Dr. Robert Meyer is a physician specializing in
rehabilitation and the fitting of prosthetic devices. As a part of a group
sponsored by the International Rescue Committee, he visited Bosnia to fit
prosthetic arms for people injured in the war but also to plant the seeds of
collaboration between doctors and their disabled customers. In this
interview, Meyer describes the conditions under which people with
disabilities are living and attempts that are being made to get them the
basic rehabilitation services amid an array of frustrating and bureaucratic
government obstacles.

83. Carol Randall--Travel and people with disabilities is the primary focus
of Carol Randall's life. As the founder of Access Travel Resources, Randall
provides information and helpful advice to people with disabilities
traveling to all parts of the world. Her organization maintains a large
database on the Internet containing a massive information bank of resources
and ideas for the disabled or elderly person who travels either for business
or pleasure. This interview gives some helpful tips for travelers with
disabilities and outlines some of the challenges and triumphs of traveling
as a person with a disability.

84. Venus Ilagan--Venus Ilagan is the President of the National Federation
of Persons with Disabilities of the Philippines. This organization is an
umbrella group supporting and providing technical assistance to several
hundred self-help groups around the country. In addition to discussing the
work of the Federation, Ilagan also talks about the contributions of women
leaders to the disability rights movement in the Philippines.

85. John Kemp--Very Special Arts, (VSA), is a worldwide organization
facilitating the artistic expression of people with disabilities. It was
founded by Jean Kennedy Smith to enhance the education of young people with
disabilities and give them opportunities as professional artists and
performers in the visual arts, sculpture, multi-media, dance, music,
theater, film, poetry, indeed, all things creative. VSA and its Executive
Director John D. Kemp are using education and the arts to change what it
means to be disabled.

86. Leye Chrzanowski--The images about disability we see in the local
newspaper have drawn a lot of criticism from disability rights advocates who
say that the journalists who write these stories ask the reader to either
feel sorry for people with disabilities or to believe they are unusual or
courageous for doing ordinary things. The Disability News Service and its
Founder Leye Chrzanowski provide a service to newspaper editors by making
hard news and feature stories available to them that are written by
journalists with disabilities and give accurate portrayals of the disability
experience. She says newspaper editors are reluctant to pick up the service
because they believe they don't need any help covering disability issues.
Disability rights advocates say quite the opposite.

87. Mira Katalonich--What do you remember hearing about the war in the
Former Yugoslavia? Many people, including those with disabilities, lost
their lives, families, homes and everything they had. But amid the chaos and
death, some people were surviving. In fact, one group of blind people
demonstrated that the fight for their independence took precedent over
everything. 

Until recently, most blind people in Eastern Europe were not independently
mobile. Many still are not, but the notion of blind people who could get
about on their own using a white cane or a guide dog was virtually unheard
of. In 1990, a guide dog training program was started by a group of blind
and sighted people who wanted to change what it meant to be blind in, what
at that time, was the country of Yugoslavia. Against seemingly
insurmountable obstacles they are succeeding. Mira Katalonich is the
President of the Croatian Guide Dog and Mobility Association and kept it
running during the war. She described some of the experiences of people with
disabilities during the war and the challenges of continuing the guide dog
associations work. This program also includes an interview with Sawat
Pramoonsilp, a blind woman who is one of Thailand's most well-known radio
personalities.

88. Foluke Ideau--People with disabilities in Africa face many of the same
barriers to full participation as their counterparts in other parts of the
world. However, life in this part of the world is made much more complicated
for people with disabilities because of war, poverty and ineffective
governments. Foluke Ideau is the Program Director of an independent living
program in Nigeria providing direct services and promoting the human rights
of people with disabilities.

89. Yukiko Nakanishi and Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright--This program
is about disability rights in Japan and the challenges of travel with a
disability. Yukiko Nakanishi is the Founding President of the Asia
Disability Institute providing exchange opportunities for people with
disabilities throughout Asia. She describes the concepts of independent
living practiced in Japan and how they have been adapted to the environment
and culture of Japan. In the second part of the program Steve Wright and
Heidi Johnson-Wright describe their experiences with travel and disability.
They are a husband and wife team of travel writers with articles appearing
in the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Examiner and the Disability News
Service. 

90. Glen Young--Learning disabilities are some of the most misunderstood
conditions included in the Americans with Disabilities Act's definition of
disability. Damage in strategic parts of the brain has been found to cause
specific difficulties with reading, math, writing, word retrieval and other
basic functions of daily life. Glen Young is a trainer with the National
Institute on Literacy, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. His current work focuses on learning disability in low income
communities. He has a learning disability and has learned to accommodate his
condition and now holds a professional level position in the federal
government. However, Young had to seek and finance three years of intensive
literacy training costing him about $12,000. He was lucky because his health
insurance company paid for his diagnostic testing. But most people are
unable to afford the necessary testing to determine learning disability and
qualify for services and legal protection.

91. Kenneth Jernigan--Kenneth Jernigan died in October of 1998 at the age of
71. From 1968 until 1986 he served as President of the National Federation
of the Blind in the United States and was also President of the North
America/ Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union. He was known around the
world as one of the most outspoken advocates for the rights of blind people.
This program is a tribute to his work and legacy featuring one of his last
major international speeches given at the 4th General Assembly of the World
Blind Union in Toronto, Canada.

 92. Van Gogh--Van Gogh is a rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Three of
the band's members use wheelchairs including the founders Robby and Ricky
Heisner. Van Gogh has shared the stages with the Atlanta Rhythm Section,
Edgar Winter and 38 Special. In this program Robby Heisner describes what's
different about the band as a result of their disabilities and, what isn't.

93A & B. Sid Wolinsky--Sid Wolinsky is the Director of Litigation and
International Programs for Disability Rights Advocates, a group based in
California and working worldwide. This is a two part program describing the
details of what happened to people with disabilities before and during the
Nazi Holocaust years in Germany and the occupied countries. Disability
Rights Advocates has conducted extensive research to expose the details of
this important and horrifying chapter in the history of people with
disabilities. They are demanding compensation from the German government and
have begun an educational campaign establishing an annual "Day of
Remembrance." 

94. Aul Pedajas--the economic chaos in Russia and the Former Soviet states
has been catastrophic for the people living there. For people with
disabilities, the transition to a free market economy has meant drastic
change and not all of it has been positive. This program features two
perspectives on the situation. First, the personal story of one man's
defiance of the Estonian governments refusal to provide the support services
he needs to live independently. The second part of the program is an
interview with Tamara Zolitzava, Vice Chairman of the All-Russian Society of
Disabled People, who explains the political situation of people with
disabilities living in Russia today.

95. Lucy Wong-Hernandez--What's behind the images of the Kosovo war you see
on CNN? The thousands of refugees we see streaming out of Kosovo, include
people with a variety of disabling conditions. This is also the case in
every humanitarian crisis, and international disability rights advocates are
increasingly concerned about people with disabilities who are refugees. Lucy
Wong-Hernandez is the Executive Director of Disabled Peoples' International,
a worldwide, grassroots disability rights organization. In this interview
she describes DPI's work highlighting disability and refugee issues.

96. Ken Myer--what does it take to have a successful career? For many years,
Ken Myer had a successful career in broadcasting. In the 1970s and 1980s,
his was a familiar voice on WBZ Radio in Boston, a clear channel station
with 50 thousand watts of power. Myer is also blind, and recently we
discussed his career, education and how radio has changed.

97. Iliana Chacon and Patrick Young--Guide dogs and other service dogs that
assist people with disabilities are seen widely in North America and Western
Europe. But they are not often seen in other parts of the world. This
program is a discussion with one of the first guide dog users in Costa Rica,
the challenges and barriers she is facing and how using a guide dog has made
a difference in her ability to travel independently. Also, Patrick Young has
been transporting donated wheelchairs and other mobility equipment to Mexico
and Central America for the last 15 years. Getting these essential items
through customs has always been a challenge but when he began transporting
this equipment to the militarized Chiapas region of Mexico, the Mexican
government has become obstructive and uncooperative at the expense of its
own citizens with disabilities who desperately need this equipment.

98. David Martin--In 1993, 12 year old Tracy Latimer was killed by her
father, Robert Latimer, because he believed that she did not have any
quality of life. Tracy had cerebral Palsy and was nonverbal. Robert Latimer
admitted to killing his daughter and the public response has been to excuse
his behavior because of his daughter's disability. David Martin is the
Provincial Coordinator of the Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities
and his group is outraged at the public support of Latimer's actions. They
plan to build a monument in honor of Tracy Latimer.
This interview concludes with a lively exchange about employment issues. The
unemployment rate of people with disabilities in the United States is
estimated to be 66 percent and is higher in other countries. Michael Haaren
and Chris Durst of Staffcentrix have possibly found a way to decrease that
figure helping people utilize the skills they already have using a "virtual
environment" to accomplish their work.

99. Kevin Williams--The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was signed
into law on July 26, 1990. So, how are we doing? Kevin Williams is General
Council for the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition and he has been closely
following the ADA cases going before the U.S. Supreme Court. Several
fundamental issues will be effected by the Supreme Court's up-coming
decisions.

100. Jacki Leyden--Best known for her award-winning journalism with National
Public Radio in the United States, Jacki Leyden has written a book about her
mother, and her mother's mental illness. Entitled "The Daughter of the Queen
of Sheba," this book is the personal story of Jacki Leyden, her mother and
their relationship. In this interview, Leyden explains what it was like to
grow up with a mentally disabled mother and how that experience prepared her
for a career in radio reporting.

101A & B. Marianne Holtz--Land mines kill and disable at least 25 thousand
people each year. Most of the deaths and injuries are those of civilians and
many are children. The 1997 Land Mine treaty calls for the cessation of
manufacture, sale, transport use and stockpiling of land mines. But the
United States refuses to sign it, claiming that an alternative to land mines
must be found first. Many Americans believe that land mines have nothing to
do with them. However, Marianne Holtz thinks otherwise. Holtz is an American
nurse who worked in Central Africa with Rwandan refugees. The car in which
she was riding hit a land mine and she is now severely disabled. This
two-part program explores both the personal and political side of land
mines.

102. Akiko Ito--Every day the United Nations has contact with unknown
numbers of people with disabilities. Akiko Ito works in the Office for
Social Policy and Development inside the UN. Her office is responsible for
educating UN workers and NGO
representatives about how best to provide services to people with
disabilities in conflict and crisis situations.

 103. Eric Rosenthal--In the early 1990s the worlds attention was drawn to
the countries of the Former Soviet Union. The most disturbing thing about
this renewed contact was the amount of images and stories about hundreds of
thousands of children and adults with disabilities incarcerated in massive
institutions in deplorable conditions. Eric Rosenthal is the Executive
Director of Mental Disability Rights International, a group doing research
in several parts of the world on people with mental disabilities who have
been institutionalized and how the conditions inside the institutions
contribute to further disablement of these individuals.

104. Eileen Giron--Eileen Giron has polio, uses a wheelchair and is one of
el Salvador's most effective disability rights leaders. She is the Executive
Director of a work co-op of people with disabilities producing and selling
pottery and providing some basic services to disabled people outside the
co-op. El Salvador, is currently in reconstruction after a bloody civil war,
and Giron describes the experiences of those with disabilities during and
after the war and how she acquired a disability consciousness and developed
her organization amid difficult conditions.

105. Nawaf Kabbara and Yang Jia--The first part of this program is an
interview with Dr. Nawaf Kabbara, one of Lebanon's longtime disability
rights leaders and an active member of Disabled Peoples' International. He
describes the unusual beginnings of the movement in Lebanon and how people
with disabilities were the first to call for peace during the extreme
violence and killing in the 1980s. In the second part of the program Yang
Jia, Vice President of the China Association of the Blind describes China's
recent celebrations of disability rights and progress.

106A & B. Tom Shakespeare--Romance and disability are seldom discussed
together. Tom Shakespeare's new book "The Sexual Politics of Disability:
Untold Desires," has broken new ground in our understanding of disability
and sexuality. His research was done from a disability rights perspective
and he contends that if disability itself is a social construct, then the
barriers encountered by people with disabilities in seeking social and
sexual opportunities are also socially constructed. This is a two-part
academic lecture delivered by Dr. Shakespeare at the University of
California at Berkeley.

107. Tanis Doe--In the process of coming together either to promote justice
and equality or celebrate a victory, people with disabilities tend to
organize themselves according to their particular disability. But what
happens when a person has several disabilities, each with a variety of
access requirements? People with multiple disabilities sometimes find
themselves without an affinity group. Dr. Tanis Doe is a person with several
different disabilities and discusses her experiences trying to fit in.

108. Gary Karp--Karp is the author of Life on Wheels: For The Active
Wheelchair User. Choosing a wheelchair becomes more complex every day and
Gary Karp has sound advice based on research and his own experience. In this
interview, Karp discusses staying healthy if you use a wheelchair, home
access, politics, resources and a lot more.

109. Dominic Davies--Sex, love and relationships are topics rarely, if ever
discussed in the rehabilitation process after a person becomes disabled. The
disability rights movement doesn't talk about it either believing that
access to housing and employment take priority. But not everyone agrees.
Dominic Davies co-authored the book The Sexual Politics of Disability:
Untold Desires in which sexuality and disability are discussed from a
disability empowerment point of view.

110. Judy Heumann/Marca Bristo--This program is about US Leadership from a
disabled woman's perspective. At the 1997 International Leadership Forum for
Women with Disabilities, Judy Heumann, Assistant Secretary of Education,
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Marca Bristo
Chair of the United States National Council on Disability, addressed the
delegates at the forum. Their remarks contain both personal stories and
political strategy. (

111. Patrick Tice and Jerry Kuns--This program is about traveling the world,
literally, and figuratively. People with all types of disabilities have been
involved in radio as broadcasters and ham operators. Radio has been used as
a primary means of communication by many people with disabilities in remote
parts of the world to acquire and distribute information. Patrick Tice is
the manager of HANDI-HAM Systems, a program that trains people with
disabilities to become ham radio operators and get on the air.
In the second half of the program we'll take a look, and a listen to an
accessible talking globe.

112. Florita Maiki--For many years women have been encouraged to perform
monthly breast self examinations to detect breast cancer. But what about
women who have disabilities that make it impossible for them to do their own
self examinations or to get information about how to do them properly? Women
with disabilities in the San Francisco Bay Area identified inaccessibility
to breast health care and information as a serious problem with deadly
consequences. Florita Maiki is the director of the Breast Health Access for
Women with Disabilities program which has begun to address these
unrecognized accessibility barriers.

113. Son Song Hak--Cambodia is full of unexploded land mines. Much of the
injury and death has been to civilians many of whom were humanitarian aid
workers. 1 in 245 Cambodians is an amputee as a result of an encounter with
a land mine. It is estimated that there are between 4 and 6 million land
mines left buried in the ground and Although the Land Mine Ban Treaty has
been signed by 138 countries, the United States is not among them. Son Song
Hak is a land mine survivor and a leader in Cambodia's land mine ban
movement. 

114. Tim Hendel--Is integration always the right answer? Many segregated
schools for children with disabilities had lower academic standards than
their integrated counterparts. However, this was not necessarily the case in
some of the residential schools for the blind. Is it always an advantage to
be educated in an integrated setting? Tim Hendel who was educated in a
residential school for the blind contends that the purely integrationist
philosophy of education is missing something very important about people
with disabilities. 

115. Robert Watson--The need for social contact is a human response that has
nothing to do with disability. But social isolation is a huge problem among
people with disabilities and many find the dating scene difficult to
navigate. Robert Watson is the executive director of Dateable International,
a dating service for people with disabilities. In this interview he
discusses the reasons why some disabled people choose this option.

116. Charlie Crawford--Things are changing for pedestrians and since many
people with disabilities don't drive these changes have a high impact on the
disability community. Everything, employment, housing, child care and
medical care, is governed by how well and quickly one can get around in the
community. The presence of increasing amounts of traffic, more complicated
intersections and more complex traffic signals are all playing a role in
making pedestrian life for people with disabilities a real challenge.
Charlie Crawford is the executive director of the American Council of the
Blind and he has been working with a coalition of disability, environmental
and safety groups to get the attention of city planners and to design new
technology to appropriately respond to the changing conditions.

117. Richard Light--Human rights violations of people with disabilities
around the world have gone virtually unrecognized by human rights reporting
organizations. Many believe it is time for the United Nations to adopt a
Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities which would legally
bind nations to standards of policy and behavior with regard to disability
and create a mechanism for sanctioning governments who violate the human
rights of disabled people. Richard Light is the editor of the Disability
Tribune which is published in London and has a worldwide readership. Light
and his colleagues have begun a grassroots campaign urging the UN to
accelerate the process of passing such a Convention.

118. Jeff Heath--Jeff Heath is a long-time disability rights activist in
Australia and the editor of Link Magazine. In this interview he discusses
the erosion of disability rights as part of an overall swing to the right in
Australian politics. He describes how the disability rights movement is
trying to hold on to the gains they made in the 1980s and how they have
included other marginalized groups in their organizing strategies.

119. Buna Dahal--Why should a person who has a disability have to leave
their country of origin just to have a productive life? Buna Dahal who is
from Nepal, realized early on that being blind and female in her country
would make it virtually impossible for her to realize her potential. She
came to the United States, obtained a college education and employment and
has been successful and productive. But she knows that if she returned to
Nepal to live her prospects would be very limited. This is her personal
story.

120A & B. Douglas Bloch--In this two-part program, Douglas Bloch discusses clinical depression, considered to be the 4th most disabling condition in the entire world and second in the United States, only behind heart disease. The cost to the economy is somewhere between 70 and 80 billion dollars a year in lost productivity, medical costs and death by suicide. The stigma associated with mental illness keeps many people from seeking help. Douglas Bloch is a therapist, teacher and writer who has had three separate depressive episodes in his life. He has written a book called "When Going Through Hell Don't Stop: A Survivors Guide to Overcoming Anxiety and Clinical Depression." In this book, Douglas Bloch tells his own story of recovery from major depression to illustrate how strategies can be utilized for optimum wellness during a depressive episode and how the reader can have the best chance of recovery.

121.  Abdul Salam--Dr. Abdul Salam was the Deputy Director for Social Welfare in the state of Maharashtra, in India.  This interview tells his personal story as well as the story of people with disabilities in India.

122.  Bill Gerrey--Most would agree that the world is becoming more accessible for people with disabilities.  Or is it?  Bill Gerrey is a rehabilitation engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Institute and he says that access to technology for blind people is more of a challenge than ever.

123.  Ken Rutherford and Holly Burkhalter--These 2 interviews discuss banning landmines from both a personal and political perspective. Ken Rutherford is co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network and was injured by a landmine while doing humanitarian work in Somalia.  Holly Burkhalter is the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines.  Both have been key players in international efforts to ban landmines but now their efforts are focused on getting the United States to sign the Landmine Ban Treaty.

124.  Mobility and Blindness--People who have blindness as a primary disability but have a secondary disability requiring them to use a wheelchair face numerous challenges to keeping their independence.  Perhaps the most difficult barrier is remaining mobile in the community.  In this program 2 possible solutions are discussed.  Bill Gerrey at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute is working on a project to develop nevigational methods for blind people using a wheelchair in combination with a white cane.  Larisa Sharikin is the Admissions Coordinator at Southeastern Guide Dogs, and they have developed training methods for blind people using wheelchairs.

125.  Adolf Ratzka-The Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, are viewed by most people as nice places to live.  People with disabilities enjoy many benefits and programs which have been copied around the world in various forms.  But some disability advocates believe that the relatively comfortable standard of living enjoyed by disabled people in Sweden has come with a price.  Dr. Adolf Ratzka is the Director of the Institute on Independent Living in Sweden.  He says that things are changing in Sweden for people with disabilities and the community may not be prepared to adequately defend their rights.

126.  Landmines: A Human Disaster-This 30 minute documentary features the voices and words of the movement to ban landmines in the United States.  To date, 139 countries have joined the Treaty to Ban Landmines but the U.S. is not among them.  A U.S. signature on this treaty would provide the leadership needed for other countries like Russia, China and India to sign as well.  The activities of the landmine ban movement in the United States are focused on making it happen as soon as possible.

127.  A. and B.  Makia Malo--This is a 2 part program about what happens when people are segrigated from their communities.  In the 1860’s, leprosy was discovered in Hawaii and from that time through the 1950’s, those with the disease were banished to a desolate    island settlement called Kalaupapa where abuse, medical experimentation and isolation were a daily fact of life.  Makia Malo is a Native Hawaiian writer and storyteller who lived in Kalaupapa from 1947 until he was released in 1969.  As integration and segrigation ppolicies are written and implemented, his story has lessons for us all. 

128.  Duane French--Consider this Scinario.  At a very young age you become severely disabled, but you’ve never seen a person with a disability before let alone had any experience with having a disability.  Such was the situation of Duane French, who thought he was indestructible until he jumped off a bridge in 1968.  Now he heads up the AAlaska Division  of  Vocational Rehabilitation. But the journey of how he got there was full of learning, humor and growth.   This is Duane’s story, all the turns and detours he had to take and how he learned about being a person with a disability.

129.  Dick Sobsey--Abuse of children with disabilities is not as uncommon as we would like to believe.  Studies indicate that the abuse of disabled children is as much as 3 times that of non-disabled children.  Dick Sobsey is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta, Canada.  His research shows that the social response to disability is a key factor in why there is so much abuse.

130.  Rhoda Olkin--The decision to seek psychotherapy to address a personal or professional problem can be complex for anyone.  However, if a person has a disability, they are likely to encounter an array of physical and attitudinal barriers in their search for a therapist who can provide appropriate treatment.  Dr. Rhoda Olkin has written a book called What Psycho-Therapists Should Know About Disability, and it’s a “how to” resource directory for mental health professionals who want to work with clients who have disabilities.

131.  Judy Brewer--When we think of access, we usually think of ramps, elevators and curbcuts.  But what about the Internet?  Judy Brewer is the Director of the Web Accessibility  Initiative of the Worldwide Web Consortium, the group that sets the standards for how the web operates.  She says that many web sites are still inaccessible to people with a variety of disabilities and that making web sites accessible also makes them usable by other under-represented groups.  Find out how you can make your web site accessible to everyone.

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