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Program Aims to Make Treatment More Accessible for Diabetes Patients

By: Keely McCormick
Posted Nov 23, 2022

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A Clearwater man with diabetes is spreading the word about a program that is making life easier for him: an at-home patient monitoring system powered by CopilotIQ.

David Coarsen has been living with diabetes for two years. He said the shift to virtual care saves him time and effort.

“It was just more convenient having things coming to me all the time rather than me going out somewhere to see a doctor,” Coarsen said.

CopilotIQ ships all the tools needed to test blood sugar levels to the patient’s doorstep. They then use a cellular-powered device that sends the patient’s readings back to the medical team.

Program Aims to Make Treatment More Accessible for Diabetes Patients full article

Airlines Can’t Seem to Safely Transport My Wheelchair, but They’ve Found a Way to Move Horses by Air

New transport system for horses is ‘ableist’ and ‘dismissive’ of disabled community, says Peter Tonge Peter Tonge, for CBC
Posted: Nov 19, 2022

This First Person column is the experience of Peter Tonge, a disability advocate and consultant based in Winnipeg. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

Airline travel can be stressful for anyone, and particularly for a person with a disability. A disabled traveller has the usual concerns, such as scheduling and connections, but also the additional concern about the safety of their mobility equipment.

Worldwide, airlines have a poor record for safely transporting mobility equipment.

Airlines Can’t Seem to Safely Transport My Wheelchair, but They’ve Found a Way to Move Horses by Air full article

Sask. Introduces Act to Make Province More Accessible for people With Disabilities

Governments will have 2 years to come up with accessibility plans if act passes CBC News, Posted: Nov 16, 2022

The Saskatchewan government introduced The Accessibility Saskatchewan Act, which aims to prevent and remove barriers for people with disabilities, Tuesday.

The act stems from a 2015 recommendation in the Saskatchewan disability strategy.

People with disabilities currently have to file human rights complaints when they face a barrier. Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky said he hopes this proposed act will create a smoother process for eliminating impediments.

“There is existing legislation that deals with the building codes of human rights, however there are gaps, ” Makowsky told reporters today.

Sask. Introduces Act to Make Province More Accessible for people With Disabilities full article

Prince George’s New Fully Accessible Pool Welcomed by People With Disabilities, Advocates

Canfor Leisure Pool replaces 50-year-old facility that failed to meet accessibility needs Jason Peters, CBC News
Posted: Nov 15, 2022

A new community pool in downtown Prince George, B.C., with a host of accessibility features is being welcomed by people with disabilities and their advocates after it opened to the public on Monday.

The $39-million Canfor Leisure Pool replaces the 50-year-old Four Seasons Leisure Pool, which had several accessibility and safety shortcomings, according to a 2016 Aquatic Needs Assessment Report.

The report cited issues such as poor or non-existent accessibility inside and outside the facility, slippery tiles on all decks, and a lack of accessible and family change room space.

Prince George’s New Fully Accessible Pool Welcomed by People With Disabilities, Advocates full article

Family Speaks Out After Service Dog Taken Away from Non-Verbal Child with Autism

Animal was removed because of his ‘obesity,’ National Service Dogs says Talia Ricci, CBC News
Posted: Nov 17, 2022

Sasha Singh says the day her family got a service dog for her daughter was life changing.

“I can tell you for a fact that the best therapist comes with fur and four legs,” she said.

Singh says Sammy, a Bernese mountain dog, was a big help to Katiana, 14, who is non-verbal and has autism.

“It gave us a normal life; we were able to do things as a family.”

But in March, Singh says Katiana’s life was turned upside down when National Service Dogs (NSD) took Sammy away without any notice after four years with the family.

Family Speaks Out After Service Dog Taken Away from Non-Verbal Child with Autism full article

Canadian Man Claims Assisted Suicide is Being Pushed on Him by Hospital

By Michael Kaplan
November 8, 2022

Roger Foley alleges in a lawsuit that health-care workers at the government-affiliated Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, Canada, encouraged him to end his life rather than rack up a costly medical bill.

Roger Foley does not want to die yet – but he claims that the Canadian government is encouraging him to end it all.

“I’ve been pressured to do an assisted suicide,” he told The Post, alleging this happened with caretakers at Victoria Hospital, a primarily government-funded center in London, Ontario.

Canadian Man Claims Assisted Suicide is Being Pushed on Him by Hospital full article

How Accessibility for Disabled University Students Can Benefit All Students

Published: November 14, 2022
Author, A. Kim Clark
Professor of Anthropology & Assistant Dean (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Decolonization), Faculty of Social Science, Western University

Although many university students are eager for in-person elements of the university experience they missed early in the pandemic, what might we overlook in the rush to “return to normal”?

The pandemic forced universities to re-evaluate their delivery of classes, extending remote teaching practices and building in flexibility to manage an unpredictable situation.

After over two years of innovation, if the main lesson universities take away from the on-going pandemic is that students miss being on campus, we risk squandering new skills and insights of broad value.

How Accessibility for Disabled University Students Can Benefit All Students full article

If You Have Vision Problems, These Phone Accessibility Settings Can Help

Bigger text, zoom features, voice typing, and screen readers for Android phones and iPhones can make life easier, even if you don’t have serious visual impairments By Melanie Pinola
November 12, 2022

“I’ve never looked through normal eyes,” says John-Ross Rizzo, MD, who was born with a retinal dystrophy, a progressive eye disease that currently has no cure, and is legally blind.

As an associate professor at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Rizzo works on tech initiatives to improve the lives of people with blindness and low vision. His projects include everything from wearable technology to help people navigate cities during a commute, to an app repository (or app store) for the visually impaired.

If You Have Vision Problems, These Phone Accessibility Settings Can Help full article

11-Year-Old Uses Wish to Get Accessible Playground for Everyone

By Erin Wilson Kentucky
PUBLISHED Nov. 10, 2022

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky School for the Blind cut the ribbon to their brand new playground. A playground thanks to a fourth-grade student who used his wish to make sure everyone was included.

From the outside looking in, it may look like just an ordinary playground at the Kentucky School for the Blind. To Cierra Martin, it’s a dream that has been four years in the making.

“I am just so excited that the first thing he said was, ‘Let’s play,'” Martin said. “That just made my heart overflow. I feel like my heart grew three sizes today,”

11-Year-Old Uses Wish to Get Accessible Playground for Everyone full article

Rogers Gives Away Blind Woman’s Phone Service for 9 Days

By Sean O’Shea Global News
Posted November 10, 2022

Rogers Communications is apologizing to a legally-blind Richmond Hill woman after she was left without phone service for nine days in October.

“They really throw you to the wolves, don’t they?” said Joan Connolly, who says she’s been a Rogers customer for about 45 years.

The 81-year-old had no access to 911 service for more than a week during which time she could not place or receive any calls because her phone line was shifted to another carrier, without her consent.

Connolly received a phone call from a Rogers customer representative on October 21 asking her to confirm a request to move her phone service to another carrier, a process known as porting.

Rogers Gives Away Blind Woman’s Phone Service for 9 Days full article