Abilities Buzz
Dear Buzz Subscriber:
Abilities Expo Los Angeles is coming up fast on April 9-11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Check out www.abilitiesexpo.com for all of the details. Don't forget to forward this e-newsletter to your family, friends and colleagues.
Email us at klara@abilitiesexpo.com if you have any questions relating to disabilities. We will address all of your questions and will post some answers in future issues of the Buzz.
News
Abilities Expo Extreme!
If you were hoping for a low-key trade show that would lull you peacefully to sleep, you may want to keep looking. On the other hand, if you want a high-energy expo that not only demonstrates "the extreme" but actually makes you a part of it, then pull out your calendar (or calendar app) and block out April 9-11, 2010. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Abilities Expo helps attendees with disabilities take what they thought were their limitations and leave them in the dust. With the help of three extraordinary wheelchair athletes-Mark Wellman with his adaptive climbing wall, Aaron Fotheringham with his wheelchair stunts and Trevor Snowden with his wheelchair obstacle course-visitors will experience extreme sports and redefine their ideas about what they can accomplish. Adaptive Climbing Wall Picture 25 feet of artificial rock that can be scaled by anyone , regardless of their level of ability. All that is necessary is the desire to make
the ascent. Mark Wellman, expert mountaineer and founder of No Limits, will take care of the rest. ( read on )
Feature Product Spotlight: FreeWheel TM Wheelchair Attachment
FreeWheel TM Wheelchair Attachment will exhibit at the Los Angeles and New York Metro Abilities Expos on April 9-11 and May 21-23, 2010, respectively. With the right equipment, challenging terrain doesn't have to be an obstacle. Both simple and ingenious, the FreeWheel TM Wheelchair Attachment allows wheelchair users to traverse surfaces that would normally be impossible. A single wheel that easily clamps onto the footrest of almost any wheelchair, the design literally lifts the front casters off the ground and allows an individual greater stability in negotiating curbs, grass, snow, rough roads, uneven ground and more. This adaptive device was the brainchild of Pat Dougherty, a C6-7 quad from Boise, Idaho who was injured in a Motorcross accident in 2003. "I was frustrated at how difficult it was to get around," said Dougherty, proving once again that necessity is the mother of invention. "I knew there had to be a better way." ( read on )
Feature Last Chance: Take This Survey & Tell Us How You Feel! It's your life, and it's your assistive technology: Here's your chance to tell us how you feel! If you or a member of your household uses wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, standing frames, etc., we need your opinions. Mobility Management, an industry publication for mobility professionals including occupational and physical therapists, is taking a survey of consumers who use mobility-related assistive technology. Your answers can help the health-care industry to better understand and respond to your concerns, needs and wishes. It's your right to be heard! The survey should take just a few minutes to complete, but your opinions can help to shape the future of assistive technology. Speak up, speak out...and watch what can happen!
Feature
Do You Get UTIs? By Anthony R. Orefice III
Anthony is a Los Angeles Abilities Expo Ambassador , an antrepreneur and the owner of Wheelie Distribution.
Hello, my name is Anthony and I am a T4, T5, T6 paraplegic due to a motorcycle accident 16 years ago. I learned many tricks from other people with spinal cord injuries throughout the years. I would like to share one with you that has made a huge difference in my life. I fought urinary tract infections (UTIs) all the time. I was using sterile catheters and taking cranberry pills. About five years ago at a spinal cord meeting, a quadriplegic shared with us a product that he found that made his life of battling UTIs a thing of the past. It was a natural sugar that is extracted from cranberries and pineapples, a product is called D-mannose. ( read on )
Letter to the Editor So Much to Do, So Little Time!
Q: I'm coming to Abilities Expo Los Angeles in April and am really looking forward to seeing all the new products. Anything else I should plan for?
A: Absolutely! While it is true that people depend on Abilities Expo for solutions through the latest technologies, products, services and resources, they have also come to expect more. They want to gain more knowledge and insights about pressing disability issues, they want to get involved, they want try new things and they want to have a little fun. Abilities Expo delivers on all counts through a host of events, activities and workshops right on the show floor! Here's what's on tap for LA: ( read on )
Feature
PepsiCo's "Bob's House" Breaks New Ground in Inclusive Advertising
Amidst the sound and fury of the much-anticipated Superbowl Sunday commercials, one stood out for its uncharacteristic silence and the strength of its underlying message. "We live in a hearing world, where deaf people have to operate within that hearing world," said Sheri Christianson, PepsiCo employee. "In this ad, what we've done is kind of reverse the roles. It's a deaf world and we've included the hearing world." In its Superbowl Sunday broadcast debut, "Bob's House" capitalizes on a popular joke within the deaf community. It depicts two deaf men on their way to a Superbowl party who drive up to a dark street only to realize they have no idea which is the right house. Their solution is to lay on the horn as drive slowly down the street. The house that does not light up belongs to their friend, Bob, who is also deaf. ( View the commercial. ) ( read on )
