Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

A Boy With Cerebral Palsy Does Triathlons With His Brother’s Help

From Parents: (click for full article and video)

Cayden Long, 6, has cerebral palsy. His older brother, Conner, 9, decided that shouldn’t stop him from doing triathlons. So he decided to take him along for the ride. When he does the 100-meter swim, he tows Cayden behind on a raft. When he’s on a bike ride, he pulls him in a cart or pushes it when he’s on a run.

The two, who live in White House, Tennessee, are known as Team Long Brothers. They’ve done several triathlons together—including last week’s New England Kids Triathlon. ”I didn’t want Cayde to be left out on the sidelines,” Conner says in this video.

Imagine a world without elder abuse

From YouTube: (click for video)

Ageless Alliance: Launch of the Social Justice Movement to End Elder Abuse

A New Direction for Autism

From Friendship Circle Blog: (click for full article)

Social media has been a game changer for artists, bloggers, poets, whiz kids and film makers in the ASD community. Leaders like Carly Fleischmann, Paul Siebenthal, and Kerry Magro have found their voice and it’s given them ability to reach so many parents, kids, educators and professionals living and working with awesome kids on the autism spectrum.

There have always been differences of opinion and experiences when it comes to therapy. This has led to important discussions and controversy, but the connecting theme throughout the community is art.

How handicap drivers are cheated in metro Detroit

From Detroit Free Press: (click for full article)

On a busy Saturday at the Meijer in Westland, Michael Harris scopes the parking lot, looking for a space he can use.

"I'm not seeing anything," he said, exasperated.

Harris finally takes a spot far from the store and parks at an odd angle. He has learned that this is the only way to make sure he's not boxed in too tightly to get back in the car from his wheelchair.

"This is where the frustration sets in," said Harris, a 55-year-old ex-Marine who is paralyzed from the chest down.

Too often, he said, unthinking, uncaring and undeserving drivers illegally take a handicap spot, discouraging or preventing people with disabilities from shopping or taking care of their everyday business.

10 hurtful comments from relatives about your child with special needs

From Friendship Circle: (click for full article)

One of the painful parts of parenting a child with special needs is dealing with comments and questions from concerned family members.  Most of the time, these remarks arise from love for the child and consideration for the well-being of the whole family.

But the questions and comments don’t always come out that way, and the fallout may shatter family relationships.

Tact and gentleness are necessary when discussing disabilities and developmental delays – especially in children, because the long-term prognosis is often unknown.  Here I’ve collected some real-life quotes along with some suggestions to soften the dialogue for more constructive purposes.

Planning for Important End of Life Health Care Decisions

From Alzheimer's Reading Room: (click for full article)

Lately I have been receiving more and more questions about Advance directives and legal documents for end of life care.

Shortly after I came to Delray Beach to take care of Dotty I had all of the necessary documents executed, signed, and notarized.

This included legal documents like a durable power of attorney, designation of health care surrogate, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), and living will.

You can take several approaches to these documents. For example, you can hire an attorney to do them for you. Or, you can do what I did, go out on the Internet find what you need, get them completed and executed.

Here is a list of the some of the documents you need, or might need.

“Filial Support” Laws: Making Children Pay for Their Parents’ Nursing Home

From Fleming & Curti: (click for full article)

When your parents go to the nursing home, could you be liable for their bills? That may seem unlikely, but as the country’s leading authority on the subject (Prof. Katherine Pearson from the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University) notes, there are laws on the books in many states which could make children pay for their indigent parents’ care. Prof. Pearson guest-authored this week’s Elder Law Issues, and she explains the problem and trends.

5 Things Estate Planners Need to Know About Elder Law

From NBI CLE Blog: (click for full article)

The month of May is not only the month to celebrate Cinco de Mayo but also our seniors during Elder Law Month.  Elder law involves the representation of elderly individuals and their families regarding various legal issues that seniors may encounter such as how to pay for long term care in assisted living or a nursing home, capacity issues, basic estate planning, asset protection and preservation, public benefits (such as Medicaid and VA benefits) and special needs trusts.  If you live in states that cater to the retired or elderly population, such as Arizona and Florida, and you are handling estate planning issues, you would do your clients a disservice by not being well-versed in Medicaid, VA benefits and long term care planning.

Estate planners need to understand that Medicaid is a middle class program – it is not a program for the wealthy because the wealthy will never use it, nor is it a program for the poor because they automatically qualify.  People with less than $1 million (yes, that is “middle class”) can expect to have to navigate the Medicaid program if they are spending $90,000 each year on long term care.  It does not take long for someone to burn through their savings.  Our clients are living longer and their problems in the future will not center around estate tax issues, but rather, how to care for their long term needs.  Estate planning that has not been updated in a while can jeopardize Medicaid planning and protection of assets.

So what are the top 5 things that estate planners need to know about Elder Law in order to avoid issues with your malpractice carrier?

Hiring those with disabilities easier than you think:Tim Hortons franchise owner

From Winnepeg Free Press: (click for full article)

Hiring people with disabilities often doesn't require adding accommodation measures and can boost the bottom line of a business, says a Toronto disability advocate and Tim Hortons franchise owner.

Mark Wafer, president of Megleen Inc., which operates as a Tim Hortons, was appointed Monday to a federal panel looking to get more people with disabilities into the workforce.

Wafer has hired 82 people with disabilities over the last 17 years, including 33 out of his current workforce of 210 spread over his six locations.

One of the biggest misconceptions about hiring people with disabilities is that a workplace will need to be revamped with accommodation measures, said Wafer, who has limited hearing.

"Most companies do not have to make any accommodation in order to fit somebody in," said Wafer, who added that if a company is making a very expensive accommodation, "they probably got somebody who is the wrong fit for the position."

It all started when Wafer hired a young man named Clint Sparling 17 years ago.

Sparling, who has Down syndrome, was in his last year of high school when a teacher saw a posting in the window and recommended that Wafer hire the young man.

"I didn't have a lot of experience being around people with intellectual disabilities at the time, but I decided to go ahead and hire Clint," Wafer said.

It was a good day in Washington…

From Special Olympics Blog: (click for full article)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted by a 13-6 margin to send the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to the Senate for a full vote.

President Obama delivered remarks and issued a proclamation in observance of the 22nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Special Olympics athletes were all over Washington, DC today.