Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea...

Fun with labels

2009-11-11T04:48:45Z

Labeling things can be useful, like and .

But sometimes it can go awry, like .

Please Stand By

2009-09-18T05:05:45Z

As posted on Nick's blog...

Please Stand By

Posted by superaleja – September 18, 2009

Image of Nick sleeping in his new room, shared with permission

On September 10, 2009, Nick Dupree was able to leave the rehab hospital in New York City where he had been living for approx. 378 days after moving from Mobile Alabama (well after his previous crusade), while waiting to get services and supports established to live in the community.

It’s a wait that’s shorter than many others, but longer than he’d expected or hoped would be the case. Luckily he is now home, and working on next steps, next battles to be fought.

To all those listening, supporting, and watching along the way, he gives thanks. He’ll continue to write and fight about things that are just and unjust as he adjusts to a new standard of living.

After he catches up on some sleep.

Need something to do?

2009-08-31T22:44:07Z

badgerbag has an excellent suggestion (via her Dreamwidth-self):

Here's a good task for anyone not afraid of a little Wikipedia editing.

A search on the phrase "confined to a wheelchair". Let's reduce that from 383 results to 0...

(Technically there should be 1 result left, since this one on disability is describing why "confined to" is not a preferred usage.)

Good idea! All you really need to do is replace "confined to" with "uses a"... a little change goes a long way.

Edit: She also discovered --

Oh and when we get that number down there's wheelchair-bound to stabbity stab stab. (at 300+)

and wheelchair bound with no hyphen at 493 instances!

Yogi In a Box

2009-08-09T17:48:08Z

Saw this guy at the seaport last weekend, and videoed the last part of his act. Watch him get in the box...

NYC Council Hearing: June 17, 2009

2009-06-17T21:55:49Z

NYC Council Hearing: June 17, 2009
Originally uploaded by superaleja.

Alejandra Ospina provides testimony on behalf of Nick Dupree, in support of the Community Choice Act

NYC Council Hearing on Aging; Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services

City Hall Council Chambers, Manhattan

Part of a set: NYC Council Hearing: June 17, 2009

Update: You can listen to the radio show I participated in the following day, streamed here.

My testimony:

My name is Alejandra Ospina. I am a local resident and a member of the disability advocacy community. I will also be presenting testimony on behalf of Nick Dupree, so I thank the council in advance for allowing me 6 minutes. [Each witness is allowed 3 mins. for testimony]

Nick Dupree is my partner, a 27-year-old man who uses a ventilator at all times to breathe (and has for the last 15 years), and a wheelchair to get around, when he's not confined to a bed. He is currently a patient the Coler-Goldwater Rehabilitation Hospital on Roosevelt Island, where he has lived for the last 292 days. After years of publicly fighting to improve the quality of life for people like him in his home state of Alabama, he had to come to terms with the fact that things were only going to get harder for him there. He took a risk, and made a life altering decision to come to New York City, where he felt services and support for people with severe disabilities would be more available, and give him a better chance to live an independent life, and a vibrant community.

He wasn't wrong; New York, and New York City, represent opportunities for us disabled folks that are leaps and bounds over what is possible in places with more restrictive rules and policies, like Alabama. All the same, here we are, an active, intelligent young man with much more to give to the world around him, and his partner. Trapped in an institution, even though he doesn't have to be there, and together we've been fighting to get him home. If we didn't have so many hoops to jump through, he would be home already, supported by community-based doctors, nurses, and attendant care. He'd be well on his way to finishing the college degree he had to put on hold back in Mobile, and an active member of his local community, disability-based and otherwise. He can't wait to get out. I can't wait for him to get out. I live in this neighborhood. On the kinds of accessible transit that are available to me, it takes an average of two hours each way for me to get to Roosevelt Island (and it will take longer once they close down the sky tram in July, but that's for another testimony). As a partner, my life, too, is on hold. I am considered one of the lucky ones, meaning that as a person with a disability, my personal care needs are relatively minimal, and with the structures we do have in place, I can manage with minimal assistance, a few hours a day, which I'm happy to have. But people like Nick, who need consistent, daily personal care, are punished for it, the way things work right now. Nick is much more of a policy wonk than I am, so his explanation would be more thorough, but fundamentally, what it means to support the Community Choice Act, is to shift money that already exists, away from mandatory institutionalization, and into expanding community services that in many cases also already exist, and are waiting to help those who want a chance to live life, like Nick and I are waiting to do together. I feel pretty important, speaking to you here today, and tomorrow, I'll have a chance to discuss this issue on a radio show. But I'd much rather not be an example, a case, a study in the ramifications of healthcare policy. I just want to be living day-to-day with Nick and the people who are important to us - the good, the bad, the boring. Isn't that what life is all about?

Nick's testimony:

My name is Nick Dupree. I'm glad for the opportunity to give testimony today, unfortunately I can't be here to give it myself because I'm stuck in bed in an institution.

This is about who chooses where we live. I moved to New York City in August of 2008, hoping to escape my deteriorating situation on the Gulf Coast and have more choice and options. But because of the federal law that nursing homes are mandatory, and home care is an optional, waivered service, I had no option but to go into a facility. The Community Choice Act would create parity so that homecare is also mandatory, and then I can choose to live in the community.

Medicaid waivers, no matter what state you're in, are hard to get onto, and you have to meet many requirements, some of which are completely at the state's discretion, not yours. Almost this entire year, my doctor has been ready to discharge me back to the community, but has been unable to secure home care services from the Department of Health that would enable my transition, because the Department of Health keeps adding progressively more absurd requirements. Where I live should not be their call. That's a decision to be made privately by the individual and the physician who knows them best. These are sensitive personal decisions that should be signed off on by my doctor only; the Department Of Health should never decide that you must live in an institution against your will. But that's exactly what's happened to me. Everyone but those with disabilities are allowed to decide where they live. Monday is the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, which declared a right to receive services "in the least restrictive setting" under the ADA and barred "unnecessary institutionalization."

Thousands still remain confined to institutions because of legislative inaction. The Community Choice Act would end the years of overlooking implementing Olmstead, and make homecare a mandatory service too; we would be freed from the waiver trap. More people could choose where to live and who takes care of them, and their quality of life would be much higher. I and those like me could leave institutions, pursue educational and employment opportunities, choose their own bedtime, and stay with loved ones beyond arbitrary "visiting hours."

Please support the Community Choice Act.

If Facebook says it...

2009-06-16T20:30:31Z

It must be true:

Life is nothing if not interesting, these days.

If you get to listen on Thursday, let me know.

Catching up with the monster

2009-05-30T19:32:27Z

Catching up with the monster
Originally uploaded by superaleja.

Just because I follow the blog, is no excuse not to finish reading Schuyler's Monster, which I'm glad I'm finally able to do. Because I want to be like her when I grow up. And her dad is okay, too.

Radio interview about GimpGirl Community (listen online, live or archived)

2009-05-19T21:18:13Z

As posted in our calendar:

GimpGirl Community (gimpgirl) Representative Alejandra Ospina will speak with radio host Dan Windheim (based in Rockland County, New York) on his show, "Dialogues With Dan", which focuses on issues that affect people with disabilities. They will talk about the history and focus, and future of our community, and what makes us who we are.

The interview will take place on Tuesday, May 19th, at 6:30 PM EDT/3:30 PM PDT (if you are in another time zone, check here to find out the time in your area).

Tune in online at: http://www.rocklandworldradio.com/program/dialogues/

If you're not able to tune into the live broadcast, the interview will be available for later listening, in the show's online archive.

Thanks for listening!

Fourth "Nick's Crusade" Video Blog - May 7, 2009

2009-05-08T07:37:20Z

Transcription (as captioned in the video):

Hello, this is Nick Dupree for the for the Nick's Crusade blog. This is my fourth video blog, and today is the 252nd day that I've been in an institution because I can't get access to community services. And it seems that the Obama administration is not going to help us fix this problem -- the problem of the institutional bias, where if you need services, they're not readily available in the community so, so many people end up in expensive institutions, and it's a lot worse for them, lowers their quality of life, and ends up costing exponentially more. I know in Alabama, it costs a quarter of a million dollars to keep someone in an institution, and it cost $70,000 to give them 24/7 home care. It's a very stupid financial decision that the government keeps making, and despite all the activism and the years of court decisions that are on our side, we're still not getting change we can believe in, as Obama says.

It's even more disturbing, because during the campaign, Obama promised us that he would support the Community Choice Act, which would let people have a choice to live in the community, versus being forced to go into a nursing home, as that's all the government will pay for.

He promised he'd support the Community Choice Act during the campaign, but yesterday we discovered that the Community Choice Act has been removed from the White House website. The White House website had the Community Choice Act featured on their Disability web page, and now it's gone. They erased us. They erased what we really needed, and that's despicable. And now, they're going forward with health reform initiatives, without addressing long-term care. They're going to reform health care without addressing one of the largest expenses of health care, which is long-term care. They say "we don't have time". With this kind of expense, how can we afford to wait? How can we afford, morally, to segregate part of our population, and keep them trapped in nursing homes with no choice? It's not moral.

I advise you to go to the website of the President's health reform initiative, HealthReform.gov. There's no mention of long-term care, not a word whatsoever. There's no mention of nursing homes, there's no mention of home care, and there's definitely no mention of the Community Choice Act. Go to HealthReform.gov and see for yourself. We're not included, and our segregation is continuing unabated. Nobody notices us. That's something that really has to change.

Nick's Crusade - Guest Video Blog - May 3, 2009

2009-05-04T00:58:07Z

So I did a guest "vlog" for Nick's blog today. I don't think I'm a vlogger. Transcription is below...

Nick's Crusade
Guest Video Blog
by Alejandra Ospina

May 3, 2009

For those of you keeping track, this is Nick's 248th day of living in a hospital in New York City, while he waits for community services to be established.

As you can imagine, living in a hospital can make it hard to get your blogging done on time.

Hi, my name is Alejandra. and I'm doing a guest video blog post for Nick today.

One of the things Nick wanted to talk about is how important it is to have good supports for people with disabilities.

This support can take lots of different forms. In some cases, we might be talking about nurses who work in a hospital setting. Or staff at a group home or another residential program, personal care workers from an agency, people who are hired individually, or even family members or partners.

In all these environments, the fundamental goal should be the same: the person working in the support role should help the person who needs support to live their life as smoothly and independently as possible, doing whatever is needed to make that happen.

In Nick's case, he spent many years in a home environment, receiving care from nurses in the community, and from family members. Right now, he's a patient in a hospital, so nurses are his primary support people. Once he's home again, he'll work with nurses, and eventually with personal assistants that he'll hire through a consumer directed personal assistance program.

While in the hospital, Nick has had a lot of time to think about the relationships between support workers and the people they support. In the hospital, one staffer in particular (who has since left, unfortunately) stands out in his mind. She was very attentive to meeting his basic needs, and to learning about the things she might not have been familiar with, and making sure everything got done safely and on time. For him, this means things like: getting his medicine on time, getting properly set up on his computer when he needs to be, getting transferred safely in and out of his wheelchair, help with his ventilator needs, and most importantly, making an effort to understand the things he's saying, and interact with him on a personal level. Because of the nature of the hospital environment, it's not always easy to find a staff member who is able to do and learn all the things that a patient needs.

Quality care means different things for different people. A good support worker is able to adapt and learn the routine of the person they are working with. They do more than just meet basic needs. They make sure they facilitate the person's life as much as possible, by helping them succeed at work, school, a recreational program, community outings, or just to be as comfortable as possible spending time at home.

People with disabilities know how important it is to have good support. It's what makes our lives work. There are times when we focus a lot on those who don't do the best job, or cut corners.

But it's also really important to acknowledge that there are many people out there who are committed to their jobs as support workers - home health aides and others, doing their best to make sure that the people they work with have the highest possible quality of life. In our healthcare systems, we should find ways to reward this work (financially and otherwise), and to use these exemplary people as a model for how things should, and can work.

I think that's all I've got for now, but if I'm missing something, I'm sure Nick can fill in the blanks later.

Nick's Crusade
www.nickscrusade.org

Disablism sure isn't disabled at all

2009-05-01T17:46:48Z

Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009

Every person with a disability has encountered or experienced disablism/ablism. Subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination based on the fact that they are different, that they are perceived as less because something about their body is different from the norm.

As a lifelong member of the club, a visibly disabled person with my visibly disabled person wheelchair (and my other, less visible disabilities), I like to think I've done a good job straddling the different worlds. I like to think that I have a solid presence in my local disability community, appreciation of the issues that affect people with disabilities, and that in my own ways, I do what I can to make a difference and help others (particularly when it comes to my involvement with things like the GimpGirl Community and other things online). I feel like I can also exist comfortably in world where people don't necessarily know or talk about "gimpy" stuff... I try to mix well with all kinds of people, at all levels of existence. I think I do a good job.

Though my life's path has wandered a lot (not to mention my own self-image), I know that generally I am regarded as intelligent, useful, forward thinking, with potential for lots of things. I'm okay with that potential.

One of the things that's important in my life right now is my partner. He is a man with a disability, an advocate, a person currently stuck in an institutional setting, waiting to be able to live in the community with proper supports. The fact that he has to fight for it (along with thousands, millions of others) illustrates just how inherently disablist/ablist our societies are. Though there are people who know and believe fervently that it shouldn't be this way, and in the U.S., potential legislation like the Community Choice Act that could make a real difference, it will take something more to shift the way things work. The way we are perceived on a grander scale.

With my partner in the hospital for the last seven months, we've had quite a roller coaster ride. Right now, I'm his primary support system (though not for lack of trying to expand the circle), in part because he is originally not from this city. Once he is home where he belongs, I know that that will change. But now, and in the future, and always, disablism will make it so that my partner, with his sharp mind and wit, but impaired communication (and non-optional ventilator accessories), will almost never be taken seriously by someone the first time around. And I will almost never be taken seriously as his partner, as a caregiver, as someone who can do something useful, because my legs don't work either.

We'll always have some version of our recent experience with a nursing administrator at the hospital, who said, during an emergency situation, that my continued presence until the situation was resolved wouldn't really make a difference anyway, since I couldn't do X or Y or Z tasks that nurses would do. Never mind that convoluted hospital policies make it so I end up doing a lot of the things nurses won't do anyway...

We will march on. We will build our lives together, we will continue our lives as individuals, affected, shaped, and molded by our disabilities, but not defined by them. We will make our mark on the world together, separately, and with others, even if much the world chooses to interpret those marks through the misinformed screen of "ability", which in the end, only means what you make of it.

Nick's Crusade & the Community Choice Act

2009-04-23T19:54:20Z

Nick's Crusade Blog - April 21, 2009 from Alejandra Ospina on Vimeo.

Transcription (as captioned):

Hello, and welcome to Nick's Crusade blog. This is a video blog of day 236 here in the hospital. I'm here in the hospital because I'm waiting for community services, and the [Medicaid] waiver that I'm on just seems to add another layer of complexity and bureaucracy, and makes things take longer...

And it's very frustrating to be stuck in a hospital when the only reason is, you just need services in the community. That's why it's so important that we pass the Community Choice Act as soon as possible.

I hope that soon I'll get out in the community, I'll get into my apartment with my partner, and that we can continue to advocate for the CCA, and for housing. There are so many people here that don't need to be here, that are only here because they don't have housing.

My voice is a little rough with a new trach that I got in August, here in this hospital, but I hope that soon, my normal voice, (which is higher pitched, and a little Southern) will be back.

Keep reading the blog for more updates.

Thank you, and I love you all.

Nick's Crusade
nickscrusade.org

This video is also on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=p2SUnllCSEk, which might be more accessible to some.

Major outage in the Bay Area (AKA internet and phone fail)

2009-04-09T17:49:38Z

As of this morning: There is a major telecommunications outage in the Bay Area of CA: Thousands of people and businesses in parts of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties are without telephone service, both landline and cellular, because of a cut fiber-optic cable, officials said.

No idea when it will be restored (hopefully soon?), but I do know that the following things are down in my (and possibly your) world:

My website and email (and several stragglers who have mail on my domain)
All sites and email hosted on our private server, includes but not limited to --
The GimpGirl Community (website/email)
The Peace of Heart Choir (website)
Nick's Crusade (website/email)
Other stuff I'm not remembering
Tons of other sites and servers and people that have nothing to do with me

So, let's see how long it takes to un-screw things. I'm also at superaleja @ gmail, in the meantime.

EDIT: So things have been mostly resolved, or at least working again after 12+ hours of downtime, and the original news link above has been updated to reflect the fact that the outage was caused by sabotage -- exciting! Some moron cutting wires, which may or may not have something to do with a labor dispute involving the telcos. Hopefully someone gets caught and punished.

Sing After Me

2009-02-12T04:04:19Z

Classic Sesame Street: Sing After Me (Grover/Madeline Kahn)

From Episode 1839: Sesame Street has redone this song (with various performers) at least half a dozen times, but this is the original that inspired the others. Leave it to a comedian like Madeline to tease Grover with those unsingable notes near the end...

More on the LJ purge

2009-01-07T14:14:07Z

From foxfirefey : LJ in 2009 -- The Grim Purge notes:

Valleywag's original numbers of 20 out of 28 let go, and those citing them, are not accurate. The true numbers I hear are more like 13 let go, 17 kept in total, and 12 let go and 12 kept in SF--in total, around 20% of LJ staff according to their PR correspondents. Always be skeptical of Valleywag.

And more details and links therein.

LiveJournal lays off 20 out of 28 employees

2009-01-06T14:57:40Z

The bubble in social networking has burst, decisively. LiveJournal, the San Francisco-based arm of Sup, a Russian Internet startup, has cut about 20 of 28 employees — and offered them no severance, we're told.

Source: Valleywag, The Russian Bear Slashes a Social Network (1/6/09)

So what happens next?

ETA: This may be helpful if you're looking to make a backup of your journal entries:
FAQ Question #8: How do I download all of my journal entries?

Yes, we did.

2008-11-05T07:15:03Z

Happy and hopeful about the outcome of our amazingly historic presidential election.

I'll try for more soon.

GimpGirl Community On-line Dance Party, 7/31, 6 PM SLT/Pacific

2008-07-31T10:29:01Z

This is an online, international event that will be held in Second Life, but is accessible to those not on Second Life via IRC chat. See below for details. This event is also on our calendar.
***

GimpGirl Community is having an end-of-the-month party on Thursday night! Our fave GimpGirl Ally Second Life DJ Namav will be playing his mix of rock, blues, funk, and your requests! May be a contest or two! EVERYONE is welcome.

Thursday, July 31 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM SLT/Pacific.
(9:00 PM Eastern Time, for other timezones, click HERE)

Second Life Location:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/3DE/172/24/23
You should land on the dancefloor on our roof!

IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO SECOND LIFE:
You can still attend this party online via IRC, and listen to the music (see below). To visit our IRC/Second Life chatroom, go to:
http://chat.on.quickfox.net/GimpGirl

To LISTEN TO THE MUSIC online (if you're not on SL), go here:
http://purple.neostreams.info:11188/listen.pls

Un verano en nueva york

2008-07-18T10:15:23Z

If you grew up as a Spanish speaker, you're probably going to know this song. Particularly if you grew up in the U.S., and especially, well, in New York. The title, after all, translates to "(A) Summer in New York". The video is a lot of 70s Gran Combo love, which is okay, because without them, every kid who ever went to a hispanic house party three generations later wouldn't have this song in their blood. I can almost see little old me blasting this one out of a slow-moving car, because that's what you're supposed to do.

Pug, pug

2008-07-12T08:21:55Z

I want to catch up with the show Extras now. Or have Bowie write a terrible song about me.

Barack Obama on Religion

2008-06-15T21:36:57Z

I'm not sure exactly when or where this speech was delivered, but the YouTube video (via ishottheserif) was uploaded at the end of May:

Next @ the disTHIS! Film Series: HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS (Wed, June 18)

2008-06-11T20:16:49Z

Next @ the disTHIS! Film Series: disability through a whole new lens

HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS
Followed by Q & A the band and gig with 4 Wheel City @ Arlene's Grocery!
SPECIAL DATE: Wednesday, June 18th!
Link: http://www.disthis.org/June-18-2008.htm

Join disTHIS! for the NY premiere of HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS, a feature documentary about the UK’s only 'mixed-ability' punk band prior to the movies premiere on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), June 23rd! IFC and other media outlets will be there to document the film screening and post-screening concert at Arlene's Grocery for broadcast!

HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS opened to rave reviews last March at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. Rural England’s answer to the Ramones, the band includes musicians with and without developmental disabilities. True to their punk roots, the band was recently considered “too hardcore for BBC Radio Four” (the English equivalent of NPR) when a segment on the band was axed from a story about disability and self-determination.

The movie chronicles a year in the life of the band as they hit the road and attempt to navigate a combustible flux of ego, ambition, and fantasy that fuels any emerging act on tour.

The band will also be bringing their STAY UP LATE campaign to the United States. STAY UP LATE fights for disabled folks who want to go out to clubs, etc. but often end up going home early because their support workers don't want to work late. Fight for your right to party! Be sure to catch the band's first gig in NYC. This will be a rare opportunity to attend one of their energetic, and sometimes chaotic, live performances stateside - which has earned them a cult following in the UK!

SPECIAL DATE: Wednesday, June 18th
WHERE: DCTV, 3rd Floor Screening Room
87 Lafayette Street (By Subway: 6, N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z to Canal Street; go two blocks south) between Walker & White.
START TIME: Doors open 5:30pm. Screening begins promptly @ 6pm!
DONATION: A bargain @ $5!!!
DON’T MISS OUT! To RSVP and reserve YOUR seat, call: 212.284.4160 or email: disthis@dnnyc.net

“Don’t be misled by the title. HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS plays like Metallica’s SOME KIND OF MONSTER meets HOW’S YOUR NEWS,” says disTHIS! curator, Lawrence Carter-Long. “It’s everything you want in a band movie with a disability twist. Not to be missed!”

disTHIS! movies, talkback sessions and related events are open to the public. $5 donation. There will be a discussion with the band and film director following the screening! HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS is captioned. ASL interpretation available upon request. Space is wheelchair accessible. There is a cash bar for drinks, but space is limited to the first 65 people! Presented in association with the Realabilities NY Disability Film Festival.

After the screening, STAY UP LATE with HEAVY LOAD as the guys make their NYC concert debut @ Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street) with local krip-hop favorites FOUR WHEEL CITY!!! Concert tickets only $8! Get directions here:
http://www.hopstop.com/route?zip2=10002&address2=95+STANTON+ST&mode=s

About us: The disTHIS! Film Series, a program of the Disabilities Network of NYC in association with DCTV, is a showcase of festival quality independent and international short, documentary and feature films with disability themes beyond clichés. disTHIS! movies are always provocative; never what you’d expect. No handkerchief necessary, no heroism required. This is disability through a whole new lens!

The disTHIS! Film Series is made possible by the generous support of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the Screen Actors Guild, the NYU Community Fund, the United Way and our members.

For more information & to sign up for exclusive email updates, go to: http://disthis.org

Nick's Crusade

2008-06-09T18:45:48Z

Nick's Crusade
Originally uploaded by superaleja.

In 2003, Nick Dupree made a major impact with his campaign to change Medicaid in his home state of Alabama (U.S.), so that he and others like him could continue living in the community and out of a nursing home, dubbed "Nick's Crusade."

Though he has worked hard, Nick realizes that he needs to find a new place to live safely and independently so that he can continue to work towards his goals as an individual and an activist for change in the disability community.

Learn more about his new campaign at Nick's Crusade : Project Freedom. Your thoughts and ideas are welcomed!

(Photo credit: Kii Sato, Mobile Register)

Women with disabilities and healthcare - a discussion (cross-posted)

2008-05-02T00:29:24Z

In May, GimpGirl Community (AKA gimpgirl ) will be talking about women with disabilities and healthcare. We'd also like to open the topic to others outside our group.

What are your experiences with healthcare as a woman with a disability? Tell your story, or learn from others. Share resources, opinions, myths, and facts.

Healthcare for women with disabilities varies greatly from place to place, and culture to culture. Most agree that women with disabilities are still greatly underserved. And our needs are as complex as we are, varying by age, disability, and access to healthcare, among other things.

We want to talk about the issues surrounding women with disabilities and healthcare. During the month, we'll also have a chance to make our opinions known to people in the medical profession (based in the U.S.), and those who are studying to become medical professionals. We can give them a head start to understanding the needs and barriers faced by women with disabilities when it comes to receiving respectful and appropriate healthcare.

Feel free to share your thoughts in this forum, or any of our communities online (see GimpGirl Communities for a list of where you can interact).

We'll be having our first online support meeting of the month on Friday, May 2 (see our website calendar or this post for details). Join us and start the conversation, which will undoubtedly lead to many other topics along the way.

Here are a few links which may be useful, or worth discussing. Feel free to suggest others (particularly with info about issues outside of the U.S.):

Medical Care Often Inaccessible to Disabled Patients (NPR Morning Edition, September 13, 2007)
Women with Disabilities: What You Should Know About Preventive Health Care (New York State Department of Health)
Access to Health Care (from womenshealth.gov)
Women First: Breast Health for Women with Developmental Disabilities Handbook (Developed by the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND))
Women with Disabilities: Health, Reproduction, and Sexuality (by Laura Hershey)

GimpGirl Presentation @ Dreams Fair on Second Life

2008-04-20T15:32:21Z

GimpGirl Presentation
Originally uploaded by complicitytheory.

Here is a picture of me, in front of our giant TV screen, as jennylin and I talk about gimpgirl (AKA GimpGirl Community), at the Third Annual Dreams Community Fair in Second Life.

"The Third Annual Dreams Community Fair highlights health/support, educational, and artistic groups in SL. There are over 60 informational booths and close to 80 events scheduled by those groups and others."

More photos in the GimpGirl Community Flickr group.