DOL Announces Two New Initiatives Aimed at Promoting Hiring of Veterans and Applicants with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) unveiled two initiatives aimed at promoting the hiring of veterans and protecting the rights of applicants with disabilities: The Good Faith Initiative for Veterans Employment (G-FIVE) and Ensuring the Accessibility of Online Application Systems....

Global AIDS Bill Will Save 5 Million Lives
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applaudes the U.S. Senate for passing legislation (vote: 80/16) re-authorizing PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the US global AIDS program. AHF lauded the Senate for prioritizing lifesaving treatment through its restoration of a provision in the current law that more than half of the funding be spent on treatment. The agreement will also make it possible for as many as five million people worldwide to access antiretroviral treatment over the next five years via PEPFAR-backed programs. Currently, less than two million people are receiving treatment through PEPFAR.....

Employers and Disability Advocates Laud Amendments to Landmark Americans with Disabilities Act
The House of Representatives voted by a wide bipartisan majority to restore the full protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act authored by Senator Harkin. The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act overturns several Supreme Court decisions interpreting the ADA in such a way that people with obvious disabilities from epilepsy to missing limbs have nonetheless been found by a court not to be disabled. Over the last several weeks an unusual alliance of employers, civil rights and disability advocates joined with a bipartisan group of members of the House to negotiate amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act....

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Says Evidence-Based Approach Should Guide National Autism "Conversation"
Presidential Candidates Comment On Causes Of Autism—Noting that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often the first group of professionals to recognize that a child has autism and are central to providing treatment, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) sent letters this month to Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama that advise taking an evidence-based approach to the vaccine controversy surrounding what causes autism and to policy development related to care. ASHA's letters were prompted by an April 22 Washington Post story, "What the Autism Studies Show Isn't Reflected in What the Candidates Say" by Michael Dobbs. The article attributed comments to both senators related to the controversy over whether a potential link exists between autism and a preservative in childhood vaccines and also reported on a body of evidence that indicates....

Major Confab on Neuroimmune Diseases to Be Held in Seattle in July
World-renowned medical experts from Johns Hopkins, Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore, the Mayo Clinic, and the MS Center at Evergreen in Washington State will gather in Seattle from July 16th through 19th for the 3rd International Neuroimmunologic Disorders Symposium to announce the latest findings on chronic diseases like MS, transverse myelitis (TM), lupus, and Devic’s disease. Sponsored by Project RESTORE, the Johns Hopkins combined center for MS and TM, and the Transverse Myelitis Association (TMA), this is a unique forum where those with these disorders and their families can meet face to face with the foremost authorities in the field to discuss everything from stem cell therapies to symptom management to depression....

Canada Looks at “Orillia Asylum for Idiots”
Out from Under: Disability History and Things to Remember is on show at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada until July 13. The groundbreaking exhibit reveals a rich and nuanced history that chronicles the struggles, alliances and setbacks faced by those who have a disability. Co-sponsored by Ryerson University's School of Disability Studies, the show features 13 diverse objects, including a Braille watch worn by Mae Brown, who was deaf and blind and went on to earn a university degree, as well as a trunk used to transport a child's belongings to the...

Thai Airways Helps Cyclone Nargis Survivors in Myanmar and Sends Earthquake Relief Goods to Chengdu, China
On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the Union of Myanmar, which resulted in suspension offlights to Yangon on May 3-4. Electricity went out and the country of Myanmar experienced substantial damage and losses. THAI began the relief support the first day flights were allowed to return to the region. Since then, the airline has donated 90,000 relief good items and transported them to Myanmar, including items like blankets, plates, dishes, spoons, and cups, dry foods, water, medicine...

Myanmar List of Non Government Organizations (NGOs)
From past disaster situations people with disabilities are frequently left out of relief efforts. Most commonly, any assistance comes from local organizations that work with people with disabilities—who usually are very cash strapped themselves and have great difficulty gearing up to meet the tremendous demands placed on them. Thus, based on past trends, here is a partial list of NGOs in Myanmar....

Correlations of Autistic Behaviors Shown in Children with Down Syndrome
In a continuation of his research looking at children with a co-diagnosis of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other well-known genetic disorders, Dr. Walter E. Kaufmann and colleagues recently published a study that examined the difference in brain structure between children with either Down syndrome alone and children with both Down syndrome and ASD. Dr. Kaufmann and his research team at the Center for Genetic Disorders of Cognition and Behavior (GCB Center) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute believe this will provide more clues to the cause of autism, and lead to better diagnosis and care of children with both Down syndrome and ASD. The study, which appears in the online journal NeuroReport, used anatomic MRIs to compare the brain scans of children with Down syndrome to children with both Down syndrome and autism, as well as a control group of typically developing children....

National Day Care Center, Sued for Failure to Accommodate Student with Epilepsy
Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) recently received court approval to add the Epilepsy Foundation of America as a plaintiff in a previously filed lawsuit in Federal Court against Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers, LLC for its discriminatory policy against a child with epilepsy. The suit, filed in the Central District Court of California, asserts that the Center in Mira Loma has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Person's Act by refusing to administer first aid or medications to children who attend the Center. Tutor Time is a nationwide chain of centers that provides after school care to children. There are approximately 125 corporate and 75 franchise Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers in the U.S. As a day care center, Tutor Time qualifies under the ADA as provider of public services, and therefore...

Pituitar Disease / Disorder Affects 1 in 5 people in the U.S., states the Pituitary Network Association (PNA)
An estimated 60 million people in the United States have pituitary / hormonal disease or disorder and the majority of them are unaware of it. In the US today, over 1 million people are living with HIV, another million people are living with Parkinson’s Disease. And 1.3 million adults were diagnosed with cancer last year. Diagnosing pituitary disease and disorders in the past has been difficult. Doctors are now beginning to recognize symptoms such as unexplained depression, mood swings, memory loss, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, excessive hair growth and weakness in limbs. “1 in 5 individuals may have an abnormal growth on their pituitary gland, causing significant health complications. If left undiagnosed and untreated, this can...

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