Shared peer advice from polio survivors about what works for them.

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News about people who have made significant contributions to the disability community.

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Self-Assessment

Brian Tiburzi

Post-polio advocates noticed that polio survivors experienced very frustrating visits to physicians when reporting new post-polio problems. Barriers included the limited amount of time a physician had for an appointment and the lack of experience of physicians in the early days. They weren’t as skilled at asking the right questions. Additionally, polio survivors knew they didn’t feel well, but hadn’t …

Independent Living

Brian Tiburzi

The independent living movement grew out of the anger and frustration of people with disabilities who were excluded from places of education, work, general retail, worship, and recreation due to barriers in architecture, transportation, and communications. Attitudes about people with disabilities ranged from low or no expectation to the promotion of the superhero, perpetuating the idea that people with disabilities, …

Making the Most of Time

Brian Tiburzi

William Stothers It all depends on your disability, of course, but most of us probably pay out more money, and most likely more time and energy, to manage our daily routines than non-disabled people. For example, even with health insurance, I shell out a steady flow of funds for wheelchair repairs, other orthopedic equipment and ventilator supplies. All those costs are …

Please Be Seated!

Brian Tiburzi

Prolonged standing is stressful; some people find it harder to stand in one place than to walk. We need to conserve energy while doing everyday tasks so we have vitality left for the fun stuff. So…..sit down! Sitting while performing activities takes 25% less energy – how easy is that? And the benefits don’t stop there; sitting places less demand …

Whose Life Is It, Anyway?

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. My friend Mary called with what she termed a dilemma: She has a friend whose mother won’t take a bath. “It’s been three months,” she said. “The woman refuses to bathe. Her daughter promises …

Movin’ On

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. We’re talking civil rights here. Big Time. “Our crowning achievement of the 20th Century,” as Justin Dart, Jr. called it—the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act—the ADA. On July 26 we celebrated its …

Racking Up Success

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. A few years ago Hubby’s dentist gave him a scruffily pathetic Christmas cactus that wasn’t doing well under her tutelage. He brought it home, put in on his desk under the desk lamp, in …

Come Hear the Music Play

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. The words kept running through my mind: “What good is sitting alone in your room?” Da dah da dah dah dah. Yes. That song from Cabaret. What was I thinking? Then it hit me. Exactly! How many …

Home Sweet Home?

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. FACT: 90% of Americans polled said they definitely do not want to live in a nursing facility. FACT: 80% of Americans polled want to continue living in their own homes until the end. With the total of …

That Old Feeling

Brian Tiburzi

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. It got their attention—our friend Mac wheeling along in his power chair, lugging three two-by-fours and a standard toilet stool into the City Council meeting. He’d been there before, our friend Mac, and had …