In Breakthrough, Study Finds Cerebral Palsy Treatable | Disability Scoop

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Medication may be able to sharply alter the course of cerebral palsy, scientists said Wednesday, after finding that animals with the developmental condition responded remarkably to a new treatment.

Within five days of being given an anti-inflammatory drug, researchers found that newborn rabbits with cerebral palsy made dramatic progress. The animals were able to walk and hop, tasks they’d had great difficulty with prior to the treatment.

For more on this story, visit: In Breakthrough, Study Finds Cerebral Palsy Treatable – Disability Scoop.

Caregiver.com Fearless Caregiver Conference – 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, Southbury, CT 2012.

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Keynote speaker Henry Winkler, actor, writer, producer and
Open Arms Campaign Ambassador will address attendees at the Fearless Caregiver Conference, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Southbury, 1284 Strongtown Road, Southbury, CT 06488.

Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler Actor, Writer, Producer Open Arms Campaign Ambassador

The conference features ” Advice, support and insight you can’t afford to miss!”

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Agenda
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Caregiver.com Fearless Caregiver Conference – Southbury, CT 2012.

Art By Youths With Mental Illness At LOB until April 13 | Courant.com

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A pencil drawing on display in the Main Concourse in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford is of a family, and a pill bottle. Between them is written: “These pills help our pain go away, stop the voices, stop the thoughts, cease the anxiety and inner calamity. Yet one these pills can’t stop, get rid of, is the hearts & minds of people who do not understand what it’s like to be me, to be us, who live with mental illness every day of our lives.”

Those words sum up the reason Ann Nelson mounted the exhibit “Voices: The Art of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Touched By Mental Illness,” which will hang at the LOB until April 13.

For more on this story, visit: Art By Youths With Mental Illness At Legislative Office Building – Courant.com.

Struggle for Access | NBC Connecticut

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Getting stamps in Norwich can be a laboring process for many people with disabilities. The town’s main post office is more than one hundred years old and without a ramp for handicapped people to use.

Rita Waddell relies on bus service to get around Norwich, including trips to the post office. The bus drops her off in front of three flights of stairs at the post office. But according to Waddell, those stairs might as well be “to the moon.”

For more on this story, visit: Struggle for Access | NBC Connecticut.

Local man honored for fundraising

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West Haven resident Robert J. Alling received an Individual Achievement Award from the Center for Disability Rights during the organization’s Quarterly Meeting of the Membership Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.

Board President Charles J. Smyth (L), Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci present Robert J. Alling his Certificate of Individual Achievement at Wednesday's Quarterly Meeting of the CDR Membership.

Board President Charles J. Smyth (L), Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci present Robert J. Alling his Certificate of Individual Achievement at Wednesday's Quarterly Meeting of the CDR Membership.

CDR Executive Director Marc Anthony Gallucci recalls the day Robert dropped by the Center to announce that he would participate in the Wheel-A-Thon. “When I asked him if he was part of a team, he said he would do it himself. And how! He raised more by himself than some teams raise,” Gallucci said.

Alling’s award recognized his outstanding achievement raising the most money for CDR’s sixth Annual Wheel-A-Thon, Sept. 25, 2011. Alling raised more than $500, and set a record for an individual in CDR’s Wheel-A-Thon.

“We encourage others to be so inspired to support our programs that benefit disabled youth in our community,” Gallucci said.

The Center for Disability Rights Wheel-A-Thon to benefit young people with disabilities is a fundraising and community awareness campaign to benefit the youth programs and activities of CDR and its partners.  Money raised in 2011 will fund three college scholarships for students with disabilities; Advocacy with students to improve their education; Facilitation Services for youth groups; and CDR youth transition services.

The next Wheel-A-Thon is scheduled to take place Sept. 9, 2012, at the Savin Rock Conference Center, 5 Rock St., West Haven, CT.  For more information on how to participate, visit www.wheel-a-thon.org.

Coalition to End Homelessness Applauds Malloy’s Affordable Housing Initiative: Historic State Investment to Stem the Tide of Homelessness

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For the first time in decades, the State of Connecticut is making a historic investment in revitalizing over 14,000 units of public housing.  In addition, the Governor has proposed funding for 150 additional rental assistance certificates for scattered site supportive housing.

“Updating the state’s housing portfolio will help to bring market pressures to bear to make housing more affordable…and not only for public housing residents, but for entire neighborhoods”, says Carol Walter, Executive Director of the Coalition.  “This is a pivotal time for Connecticut, as we desperately need the jobs that this investment would create.”

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New natural gas cabs rolling out for wheelchair users video | The New Haven Register

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ORANGE — Ron Vollo is getting a front-row seat for the latest thing in wheelchair-access public transport.

As the vehicle, all orange, white and shiny, pulled up in his driveway, Vollo and his wife, Dorothy, weren’t quite sure what to make of it.

… After months of preparation, Metro Taxi of West Haven is rolling out the first of its 70 new, wheelchair-friendly taxis that run on compressed natural gas.

For more on this story, visit: New natural gas cabs rolling out for wheelchair users video- The New Haven Register – Serving New Haven, Connecticut.

Bethany homeowner tax credits applications

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BETHANY – Applications for tax credits for homeowners over 65 years of age and those totally disabled will be taken at the Assessor’s office between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 1 to May 15.

The Elderly Homeowners Program is a real estate tax credit program for homeowners who are at least 65 years of age as of Dec. 31 and meet certain income guidelines.Those guidelines require that annual income for single people, including Social Security benefits, should not exceed $32,300. Married couples can be eligible if their income, including Social Security benefits, does not exceed $ 39,500.

Applicants should bring all proof of their 2011 income including a copy of their 2011 Income tax return, if filing, and proof of Social Security income (Form 1099). Also, the applicant must own and reside at the property for which tax relief is sought, or must hold a tenancy for life use of the property and be liable for the tax bill. This must be the applicant’s principal or legal residence.

For more on this story, visit: Bethany homeowner tax credits applications  | News Briefs Jan. 26 – News – The Bulletin.

Study raises concerns about how standardized test are done in the state

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A study released Thursday suggests that increases in standardized test scores are, to some degree, dependent on the exclusion of disabled students from those tests.

Connecticut Voices for Children, an advocacy and educational public policy think-tank, released a study concluding that, due to a 2009 shift in federal and state policy, disabled students were excluded from the Connecticut Mastery Test, which caused a significant jump in test scores state-wide.

In 2009, a federal ruling allowed states to create a modified standardized assessment for students with disabilities. In Connecticut, that resulted in a modified assessment and, according to Robert Cotto, senior policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children, that shift accounts for much of the gains made in CMT scores that year.

For more on this story, visit: Connecticut Voices for Children study raises concerns about how standardized test are done in the state (document) – News – The Bulletin.

CT Health Foundation says faith-based groups key to ending ‘scream rooms’ | The Middletown Press

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Since awareness of time-out rooms in public schools came to light to many earlier this month, numerous child and education advocacy groups long against their use came to the forefront decrying and calling for an end to their use.

While calls for their closure abound, alternatives as to what to do with the most unruly and violent students are not as forthcoming.

For more on this story, visit: CT Health Foundation says faith-based groups key to ending ‘scream rooms’ – The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT.