tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60734028691431267862011-11-27T20:13:50.969-05:00Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-10116352018438146562007-11-26T14:05:00.000-05:002007-11-26T14:07:55.180-05:00

Over to Wordpress I go! It was nice here, but I decided I can do much more with a Wordpress site. So come see! http://www.katrinadisability.info/wordpress/

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-88441726830175930952007-10-19T00:56:00.000-04:002007-10-19T01:09:25.908-04:00

My friend who I have written here now must be named. Sylvia Huttel. She has been in and out of a coma for 3 months. She has had moments - as late as last week where she has squeezed the hand of her former fiance and smiled when told about the antics of her 9 month old daughter.Up until last week, Sylvia ex-fiance has been making all the medical decisions about her care. He has approved several

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-63177607525677493392007-10-13T00:45:00.001-04:002007-10-13T00:50:25.229-04:00

You can if you prefer, just post a post here, if you would like to sign onto the letter. Please include your name and your affiliation to the disability community, if any. I signed it!

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-68006104736275376662007-10-12T13:48:00.000-04:002007-10-12T16:12:27.468-04:00

A Call for Ethical and Unprejudiced Leadership and Practice in the Field of PsychologyAn Autism & Mental Health Community LetterOctober 10, 2007This letter is to the American Psychological Association (hereafter referred to as APA), and to all professionals in the field of psychology. This letter calls upon APA and professionals who adhere to the APA Code of Ethics to act in a manner that is

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-76479048683268820022007-10-07T14:29:00.000-04:002007-10-07T14:38:34.239-04:00

I am so scared and worried today. My friend in Germany is back in her coma and the doctors aren't very positive about the outcome now. And her boyfriend, who I have become very close to is giving up - not on her - but himself. He has dropped out of school. He is talking to counselors about giving up his daughter for adoption. And he talking about fixing all his problems for good. He hasn't said

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-64314808931229949352007-10-04T00:05:00.000-04:002007-10-04T00:47:34.201-04:00

My friend is out of the coma ever so slightly. She has come out of it and gone back in. She has refused medication she was getting while in her coma and then become paranoid and hysterical. When they calmed her down she went back into the coma. They have turned off all the machines that have been keeping her alive. I never thought I would be for doing this, but I am. The doctors said it was

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-58055621102801654012007-09-30T11:26:00.000-04:002007-10-01T19:32:11.824-04:00

In our house live Teddy and me. Teddy lives downstairs in his own apartment. Opal and Jack also live with us. They are 2 rabbits. They were supposed to live with Teddy, but I wasn't sure they were being kept clean- so they live upstairs with me.Opal and Jack are supposed to be siblings. We got them from a rabbit rescue. Don't trust a rabbit rescue to know what they are talking about. Our twins

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-48962682169389660102007-09-28T23:18:00.000-04:002007-09-28T23:32:42.686-04:00

I know we all have our days and today I had mine. Teddy was going to a football game and was supposed to bring 2 bottles of Mt. Dew and 2 of Pepsi as his contribution.I had been to the grocery store the night before on my own - and the big bottles were up high in a new contraption that I couldn't reach. So I just figured we would get them today. So we went to Kmart because Mt. Dew was on sale -

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-72650844127989630302007-09-16T01:11:00.000-04:002007-09-17T23:36:36.347-04:00

My friend is still in a coma. Her fiance is struggling with what to do about her life. It is hard to be a support person to help a person make their own decision when you have very very definite ideas about the choice you think they should make. Or at least you did for awhile.She has two doctors - one which says pull the plug, she will never recover and the other who says it is too early to tell,

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-8905115392050062032007-09-15T02:40:00.000-04:002007-09-16T01:10:53.759-04:00

Where will my son be when I am gone. I've thought about that for 24 years and hopefully will think about it for 24 more. I have tried to put everything in place so that he can live a life as independently as possible. But he will still need support - a lot of support. Who will give it? Will he end up in a horror of an institution like where I worked when I was young? Will he lose all his freedom

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-52337836423842162522007-09-14T21:28:00.000-04:002007-09-15T02:54:45.440-04:00

Workers at a trucking company in East Butler discovered a body inside a burned out dumpster Friday evening. Police say the condition of the body is such that they can't even tell if it is a man or a woman. Police are asking anyone with information about a missing person in the area to call them at 724-284-8100._________________________Ritzert was forced to wear the lighter fluid-soaked T-shirt

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-19506843349050406032007-09-14T18:38:00.000-04:002007-09-14T18:56:18.215-04:00

I was in Chicago all week with ADAPT. Unlike most of the protesters I stood my ground on the street corners just beyond where the police held vigil keeping the public away. So I handed out leaflets and talked to the people who had questions. Most people took a flyer. I don't know that they all read it, but many did right, then, and there.Some would stop and ask me questions on their way back in

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-15073581253443822522007-09-07T00:10:00.001-04:002007-09-07T00:24:32.787-04:00

I've read so much about Jerry Lewis, but what I haven't read is what pissed me off the most. JL called out "illiterate fag" and all of the hullabaloo has been about the word fag. What about the word illiterate? Not that illiterate is a bad word, but it was used as a word to demean.People who are illiterate are often people who are disabled, and often cognitively disabled. So is what he said that

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-4956409472965656222007-09-06T23:55:00.000-04:002007-09-17T12:05:34.338-04:00

Gay marriage isn't legal. Same sex couples want the right to the benefits of a contractual marriage. They want to be able to adopt children together, to make medical decisions for each other, and to pay less in taxes.On the other hand marriage between two people with disabilities can cause financial hardship. Benefits two people receive can be adequate to live on, but if they marry it can be too

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-71499640545459137862007-08-14T23:03:00.000-04:002007-08-14T23:14:02.433-04:00

How many recalls must there be before Mattel says they have to raise the prices of their toys because they are going to have ALL their toys manufactured in the US where these laws are more seriously enforced.Clearly China does not care about who dies as a result of their lack of quality control.We insist on low prices. This is what we get.It is next to impossible to refuse to buy anything from

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-38157780199745983612007-08-11T23:55:00.001-04:002007-09-14T22:50:08.471-04:00

Today my friend said her first words since going into her coma 3 weeks ago. She said the name of her fiance. She doesn't remember she has a baby daughter. She doesn't remember the days of the week, and she can't feel her legs. And she has no idea what happened to her to get her in the hospital. But she is responsive. She feels pain. And she is getting better, albeit slowly. Depression is a scary

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-56423356180325393712007-08-07T23:34:00.000-04:002007-08-07T23:39:56.529-04:00

Silly day. Did mostly nothing. But did it without a schedule. Without consideration for anyone else. Did not feel once I should be a good example. Felt no guilt for talking on the phone to my friend for several hours. And now I am going to read - perhaps read all night - and tomorrow sleep all morning. A life alone. It feels good.... for a few days.

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-76369496979723660302007-08-06T20:43:00.000-04:002007-08-06T21:23:06.240-04:00

Yesterday my son went to camp. This morning my lover left for home. Today I am lonely. SO I will blog.I won't miss Teddy tomorrow or the day after - as I will have settled into my solitary life. But today the house seems so quiet. No TV set on. No questions about what we are going to have for dinner or do tomorrow. No unnecessary lights on. No announcements of where he is going or that he is

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-83811908052213799952007-08-06T20:37:00.000-04:002007-08-06T20:42:19.356-04:00

H A P P Y ---- B I R T H D A Y !

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-42870160726799716532007-08-06T20:08:00.001-04:002007-08-06T20:25:59.635-04:00

A person I met thru my message board has had a very very hard time of things lately. His girlfriend inspired my post about the whether people with psychiatric labels like Borderline Personality disorder should parent. Since that post things with her got much worse. This young woman drove her car into a tree. She has been in a coma now for over 2 weeks. She broke many bones - some so badly they

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-76642566449438541662007-08-06T19:55:00.000-04:002007-08-06T20:42:45.964-04:00

I know you read this blog. So you can come here and read this over and over because I never tell you often enough how much I love you. I never say often enough how much I appreciate how much you care about my son and his future. I never say often enough how patient you are with him and what a tremendously good influence you are on his life. I can't know how you put up with me when I have my fits

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-77819623738850080222007-08-03T18:09:00.000-04:002007-08-03T18:22:54.596-04:00

In love. Is being in love when you feel pissed, but instead of being pissed you blog? Has blogging become my own personal therapy tool? Could we become a kinder, gentler world if we blogged instead of wrote messages on message boards?I read numerous message boards. Several seem to thrive on adversarial communication between its members. It almost seems as if without controversy they have no

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-67899590718049072762007-08-03T18:00:00.000-04:002007-08-05T01:00:54.689-04:00

If you like reading blogs and need more inspiration than what a blog roll provides - try reading a disability carnival. A carnival is similar to what you find in the forward of a book or an introduction to a journal - it gives you a tease - so you want to read more. A blog carnival gives you a little snippet of a blog related to a theme. The theme is decided upon by the blogger and they cull the

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-71851386085726924192007-08-02T08:07:00.000-04:002007-08-02T20:09:21.783-04:00

That is one of those nonsensical questions that seems to get asked a lot. Well last night I didn't decide which was worse, but I sure got a dose of what my (unacquired) tolerance is for certain behaviors. My son had a birthday party last night and had 5 friends over. 2 had Down syndrome like he does. 3 had other unknown to me disabilities. But the disability itself really doesn't matter, it is

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-27611252622489642132007-07-27T13:25:00.000-04:002007-07-27T13:48:57.123-04:00

If you know of others who made announcement related to the anniversary of the ADA - please feel free to add them. THANKS.CLINTON: See previous post- I'm voting for HillaryOBAMA:CHICAGO, IL Senator Barack Obama today released the followingstatement on the Seventeenth Anniversary of the Americans withDisabilities Act (ADA):"On July 26, 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a lawthat

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-81185266583611970132007-07-26T14:57:00.000-04:002007-07-26T01:31:49.436-04:00

My son Teddy has a business selling tshirts. He sells tshirts designed by Dan Wilkins, but also his first personal design. This was designed to honor the person considered the father of the ADA, Justin Dart. Below is what Justin said when the ADA was signed and also what Teddy's new tshirt looks like. You can order these from his website, Teddy's Ts. They cost $18. and come in sizes S, M, L, XL,

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-44538543574243958842007-07-25T19:43:00.000-04:002007-07-25T20:03:08.173-04:00

When Hillary Clinton answered the AAPD questions I got off the fence and decided she would have my vote. Today I know that was the right decision. She announced specific plans to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. http://hillaryclinton.com/feature/ada/ Two things I am most impressed with:Providing More Technical Assistance for Employers. Many employers are

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-32181957537536257732007-07-25T11:37:00.000-04:002007-08-05T01:12:23.867-04:00

Why is it that people who are deemed incompetent get no vote? Why if you have alzheimer's or dementia or have a guardian you get no vote? Important decisions are made via voting that have an enormous impact on the quality of your life. Shouldn't you have a say in those important decisions?I am not saying that the person with dementia casts the vote, but there is a person who is that person's next

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-35802816127219190552007-07-25T01:18:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:10:02.699-04:00

I will come back to this as I think on it more - but I've been thinking on the similarities between the history of people who have disabilities and who are originally slaves from Africa.Both have been taken from their communities of origin to live far awaySeparated from the families they loveTo work for no payRaped and abused by the people they are entrusted toForced to give up their children, be

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-80331215840091660402007-07-24T14:20:00.000-04:002007-07-24T14:32:22.115-04:00

An interesting video I caught on Pitt Rehab. Much like a film I had at my film festival a few years ago called "I am not from Hear". What would it be like it everyone but a minority had a disability and the world was geared to us with disabilities rather than the reverse?

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-65754349814724371852007-07-24T12:34:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:07:31.447-04:00

The ADA may not be a perfect civil rights document, but its initial imperfections have been inflated tenfold by the changes in the way it has been interpreted. It is no longer being enacted in the way it was intended. Right now the ADA still offers people with disabilities important rights that without their status as equal citizens would be jeopardized. Without the ADA there would not be an

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-16201945372569438172007-07-23T20:57:00.000-04:002007-08-05T01:34:50.314-04:00

I've been communicating with a woman and now her boyfriend on my sex support site about her various medical conditions and my concern for their child. As her boyfriend gets more detailed about her various mental illnesses (she is an anorexic cutter with borderline personality disorder who is now in hospital with myocarditis) - I find myself saying things I feel need to be said to protect the

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-54014179155198382182007-07-23T10:57:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:17:07.615-04:00

If a person deliberately harms you because you are of a particular race,it is considered a hate crime and they are prosecuted for a hate crimein addition to whatever other crime they committed. No so if you are aperson with a disability. If your very existence pisses a person off andthey decide to harm you, it is still a crime, but only a crime for thecrime act, not the intent behind it. So a

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-31079813045736924932007-07-22T10:25:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:16:21.197-04:00

It was a wonderful parade - the best ever. But I am disappointed. I know there were going to be some people there I know online. But we didn't make any exact plans to hook up and we didn't. We might have seen each other- but since it isn't a conference - no one wears name tags. I also forgot my camera. I have a camera on my phone, bt sadly I just couldn't get any good pics with it. I do have a

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-69631203404695195032007-07-18T08:32:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:18:24.537-04:00

Why is that word so bad? It is a word like many others we label too egregious to even spell out or say - "the N word". It is a word that segregates you. Isolates you. Demeans you. Relegates you to a category without an identity. Makes you less a person. Takes away your rights. Makes you fear the person who says it. Takes away your your dignity. Destroys your ego. Allows people to do things to

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-81977735558587531302007-07-18T00:48:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:03:37.753-04:00

I read David Hingsburger's blog and today he posted " I haven't heard of blogger tag and was surprised to be 'it'. The rules, yes there are rules for everything ...Here's the rules.1. Let others know who tagged you. (David Hingsburger)2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves. (see below)3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts. (here they are)4.

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-80099402520983805722007-07-16T22:12:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:04:14.736-04:00

I have a wonderful son, but I also have another wonderful man in my life. His name is Rich and he is a most extraordinary man. He has loved me for about 8 years. He lives about 700 miles due east of Teddy and me, but he is a part of my life every second of every day.Our relationship is not typical in many ways. We spend part of most days on the phone with each other, or IMing, or emailing each

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-70043491150831840702007-07-15T10:37:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:17:47.069-04:00

If every women who gets pregnant must have a test to determine if the fetus has Down syndrome and the stigma attached to Down syndrome is so extreme that 90% of women who know they are carrying a child with Down syndrome abort - isn't making it mandatory that all women get this test a form of genocide? I think so.Children are not cookies made of dough that we get to shape and decorate anyway we

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-64177182190932797522007-07-13T10:40:00.001-04:002007-07-24T02:14:01.364-04:00

Teddy is the light of my life and my greatest consternation. I do so wish I understood his world as he does. I try, but I end up not being able to imagine how he is as compassionate as he is and also can't do things so many things he seems so close to doing.OK, none of this make sense unless you know Teddy. He turns 24 next Friday and there is a part of him that is inextricably 24. He spends his

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-34690495716740074222007-07-11T18:50:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:06:54.656-04:00

You might think that legalizing assisted suicide in Oregon would end illegal assisted suicide - but it hasn't. Two nurses in Portland decided to help a woman to die 2 years ago, but it is only recently that the family was told. They thought she had died as a natural progression of her cancer. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=118367242275954900These two nurses decided that

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073402869143126786.post-62293379477293155142007-07-10T19:15:00.000-04:002007-07-24T02:14:54.227-04:00

Why am I starting yet another blog? Well I guess I have decided that this is a more popular place to blog than the other two places I have begun blogs at. And perhaps I will stick with it longer as I read so many blogs here. But why blog at all? I have trails of thought I want to write down. It is not enough to think and spin - I want to leave a mark.So for those who are curious enough to read,

Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15763709058882273090noreply@blogger.com2