People with cerebral palsy and other disabilities would like society to see them equally. Society has a way of giving people with disabilities the term “special” when all we really want is to be seen as normal — just needing to do some things differently. Depicting people with disabilities…
A multi-country analysis revealed that even when all known risk factors are combined, two-thirds of the preterm births in wealthy countries cannot be explained. The study highlights the urgent need for research into underlying biological causes of preterm births, which may lead to innovative and effective interventions. The study, “…
Sometimes we have to face things that we already know, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Especially when it’s so hard to explain to someone what you’re going through because “everyone is anxious.” “An anxiety disorder not specified” was listed toward the bottom of the summary of…
Researchers in India who studied bone health in children with moderate to severe spastic quadriplegia have determined that nutrition plays a key role in bone maturation and strength. The research report, “Skeletal Maturation and Mineralisation of Children with Moderate to Severe Spastic Quadriplegia,“ appeared in the…
Dear Able-Bodied Person, Hi! How are you? My name is Brittney and I am 21 years old. It’s nice to meet you! I see you’ve noticed the limp that I walk with as a result of my scissor gait. You may have noticed my walker or my wheelchair…
Two common oral treatments for muscle spasms, diazepam (best known as Valium), and baclofen (Lioresal, Liofen, Gablofen) were found to significantly ease spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to be safe in this age group. These results were reported in the article, “Prospective Randomized Study of Oral Diazepam…
Recently I’ve been reading a lot of forum and blog posts by young people — those still in high school — about the stigma of using assistive devices (walkers, wheelchairs, canes, crutches, etc.) and they all say pretty much the same thing. Assistive devices, of course, help,…
Lately, I’ve been struggling with what sorts of topics to write about. I write about my disability often, every day even, and within the last two years it’s become my livelihood. I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve been able to slowly build a social media following…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals’ supplemental Biologics License Application for Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA) injection for the treatment of lower limb spasticity in pediatric patients ages 2 and older. Patients with spasticity have an abnormal increase in muscle tone or stiffness, which may interfere with movement or…
I hope that by now it is no secret that I am a huge fan of the internet and all that it has done for people with disabilities. Earlier this month I posted a piece about the impact of the internet on disabilities and I talked in-depth about how the internet brings…