A Protected Space, Where Art Comes Calling - by Erica Goode http://www.changemakers.net/library/temp/nyt073002.cfm In this article from The New York Times, according to Erica Goode, if Dr. Janos Marton ran the world, there would be protected spaces everywhere for people with mental illness to create paintings and sculptures, drawings and lithographs, installations, murals and collages, poetry and novels, songs and symphonies. The piece details the story of the Living Museum he established and the successes Dr. Marton has achieved working with mentally ill patients over 19 years at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, New York. Artist Emerges With Works in a 'Private Language' - by Evelyn Nieves http://www.changemakers.net/library/temp/nyt062501.cfm The NY Times article reports on the artistic success and creative process of a woman with severe developmental disability who was locked up for 36 years in mental institutions and finally released when her twin sister brought her home to live with her at age 43. Disability World http://www.disabilityworld.org/ DisabilityWorld is a web-zine dedicated to advancing an exchange of information and research about the international independent living movement of people with disabilities. The web-zine is the heart of a larger project, IDEAS for the New Millennium, funded in 1999 by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research as a five-year project. Notable Feature(s): Initial content focused on ten countries where there is significant activity involving the international independent living movement of people with disabilities: Britain, Germany, Russia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Uganda; conference information. Contact Information: Email: disabilityworld@aol.com Disabled Communities Speak Out - by Smita Gopalakrishnan http://www.thehoot.org/mediadisa/disacommunity.asp The ways in which radio can be used innovatively for the purpose of empowering the disabled are still being explored. This represents a shift in thinking which advocates democratisation of the media that would enable people to use it to express themselves in ways that they want. MDRI: Pioneering Strategies for International Enforcement of Mental Disability Rights - by Max Lapertosa and Eric Rosenthal http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright/brief/v3i1/mdri31.htm After decades of fighting the abuses of dictators, human rights activists are beginning to recognize that people with mental disabilities are vulnerable to abuse in every society. Social Welfare and Civil Rights Models of Disability in American, European and International Employment Law by Lisa Waddington and Matthew Diller http://www.dredf.org/symposium/waddington.html The tension between the social welfare model and the civil rights model is a problem common to many countries, because these two basic ways of viewing disability transcend national borders. As a consequence disability policies inspired by the two models frequently fail to add up to a coherent whole and lack an internal logic. Talk - a film about disability http://www.drc-gb.org/drc/InformationAndLegislation/NewsRelease_001012.asp The film "Talk" will portray a society where non-disabled people are a pitied minority and disabled people live full and active lives. The short film is the centrepiece of the UK Disability Rights Commission's first major campaign to enable disabled people to participate fully in society. The campaign will be launched by The Prime Minister, Tony Blair MP, in December 2000. "Talk" will transport the audience to a virtual world where disability is the norm, with disabled people living full and active lives, unhindered by social or physical barriers. The project is part of "Actions Speak Louder Than Words", a campaign by the Disability Rights Commission and its partners to encourage leaders from the world of business, sport, entertainment and the media to make a practical, long-lasting commitment, which will enable disabled people to participate fully in society. Organisations already backing the initiative include Lloyds TSB, transport company Arriva and the Trades Union Congress. Contact Information: Nick Tennant Telephone: 020 7468 3514   Email: ddahelp@stra.sitel.co.uk Adaptive Environments Center, Inc. (AE) http://www.adaptiveenvironments.org/index.php The nonprofit organization, Adaptive Environments, was founded in 1978 to address the environmental issues that confront people with disabilities and elderly people. AE promotes accessibility as well as universal design through education programs, technical assistance, training, consulting, publications and design advocacy. Its mission is to promote, facilitate, and advocate for international adoption of policies and designs that enable every individual, regardless of disability or age, to participate fully in all aspects of society. Adaptive Environments sponsored the first international conference on universal design in 1998, bringing together people from twenty nations. Presenters offered state of the art information on universal design of information, products and environments. Events included an international student competition, exhibits, and poster sessions. The second conference, Designing for the 21st Century II, took place June 14-18, 2000 in Providence, Rhode Island, and was co-sponsored by HalfthePlanet.com, a leading disability-focused web site serving people whose personal and professional lives are touched by disability. Notable Feature(s): ADA news page, including legal developments, census bureau facts, job discrimination, and more affecting individuals with disabilities. Contact Information: Valerie Fletcher Adaptive Environments Center, Inc. 374 Congress Street Suite 301 Boston, MA   02210 USA Telephone: 617.695.1225   Fax: 617.482.8099 Email: vfletcher@adaptiveenvironments.org Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/pages/ada_statute.htm Notable Feature(s): full text of the landmark legislation Contact Information: Duncan C. Kinder Americans with Disabilities Act Document Center Email: dckinder@ovnet.com Americans with Disabilities Document Center http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/document.htm Notable Feature(s): A comprehensive collection of documents related to the ADA legislation and regulations developed for its implementation. Contact Information: Duncan C. Kinder Email: dckinder@ovnet.com Articles on Disability Law, Policy, and Initiatives Javed Abidi: Peeling off layers of insensitivity towards disabled by Kavita Bajeli-Datt India Abroad News Service - October 8, 2000 http://news.indiaabroad.com/2000/10/08/08disabled.html Tensions and Coherence in Disability Policy: The Uneasy Relationship Between Social Welfare and Civil Rights Models of Disability in American, European and International Employment Law by Lisa Waddington and Matthew Diller http://www.dredf.org/symposium/waddington.html Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter http://www.abanet.org/disability/reporter/feature.html The Global Willowbrook - Disability rights activism in Mexico by Michael Winerip with Photographs by Eugene Richards New York Times Magazine - January 16, 2000 http://www.mdri.org/whatsnew/mdri-nyt.htm One in Ten Reports from around the world on childhood disabilities http://www.rehab-international.org/onetoc.htm A Survey Of International, Comparative and Regional Disability Law Reform by Theresia Degener and Gerard Quinn http://www.dredf.org/symposium/degener1.html People with Disabilities in Institutions and the Emerging Right to Community Integration: Protections Under International and U.S. Law by Eric Rosenthal and Arlene Kanter http://www.dredf.org/symposium/kanter1.html Narratives of Struggle and Triumph http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/disability/narrate.htm MDRI: Pioneering Strategies for International Enforcement of Mental Disability Rights by Max Lapertosa and Eric Rosenthal http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright/brief/v3i1/mdri31.htm Autism Treatment Center of America™ http://www.son-rise.org/ The Autism Treatment Center of America™ teaches parents and professionals caring for children and adults challenged by Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), and all other developmental difficulties how to design and implement home-based/child-centered programs enabling their children to dramatically improve in all areas of learning, development, communication and skill acquisition. The center has presented its Start-Up Program to families and professionals from the United States, Japan, Indonesia, The Netherlands, Poland, England, Canada, Australia, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries. Notable Feature(s): Newsletter; links; free initial consultations. Contact Information: THE SON-RISE PROGRAM at The Option Institute 2080 S Undermountain Road Sheffield, MA   01257 USA Telephone: 413.229.2100   Fax: 413.229.3202 Email: sonrise@option.org Bookshare.org http://www.bookshare.org/ Created by Benetech (formerly Arkenstone), Bookshare.org is an online community that enables people with visual and other print disabilities to legally share scanned books. It is designed exclusively for the use of the blind and other individuals with print related disabilities. The primary source for Bookshare.org documents will be print-disabled users of adaptive computer technology. There are many people who routinely use a computer to scan a book or other text into machine-readable form. Converting a book in this way can take up to several hours. Bookshare.org believes that disabled people all across the United States wanting to read the same text needlessly repeat many hours of work. The Bookshare.org initiative will seek to maximize the efficiency of this process by making a work scanned by only one or a few people available to thousands of people instantly. In the first two months of its life, the volunteer portion of the Bookshare.org Web site received over 14,000 scanned books. Contact Information: Bookshare.org The Benetech Initiative 480 California Avenue Suite 201 Palo Alto, CA   94306-1609 USA Telephone: 650.475.5440   Fax: 650.475.1066 Email: info@bookshare.org Children's Neurobiological Solutions (CNS) http://www.cnsfoundation.org CNS is a national, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to orchestrate cutting-edge, collaborative research with the goal of expediting the creation of effective treatments and therapies for children with neurodevelopmental abnormalities, birth injuries to the nervous system, and related neurological problems. In addition, CNS strives to provide families and health care providers with user-friendly access to state-of-the-art information and education supporting their decision-making processes. Notable Feature(s): Links to information, organizations, and other resources. Contact Information: Children's Neurobiological Solutions 1726 Franceschi Road Santa Barbara, CA   93103 USA Telephone: 866.267.5580   Fax: 805.965.8838 Email: info@cnsfoundation.org Council for Disability Rights http://www.disabilityrights.org/ This comprehensive site offers news from many sources affecting the disability community. Notable Feature(s): An ADA Frequently Asked Questions directory; a parent's guide to special education needs; links. Contact Information: The Council for Disability Rights 205 West Randolph, Suite 1650 Chicago, IL   60606 USA Telephone: 312.444.9484   Fax: 444.1977 Email: answerwoman@disabilityrights.org Directory of Developmental Disabilities http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Disabilities/Organizations/index.html Contact Information: Yahoo! Inc. 3420 Central Expressway Santa Clara, CA   95051 USA Telephone: 408.731.3300   Fax: 408.731.3301 Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF) http://www.dredf.org/ http://www.dredf.org/symposium/papers.html Founded in 1979 by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund is a national law and policy center dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities through legislation, litigation, advocacy, technical assistance, and education and training of attorneys, advocates, persons with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities. Notable Feature(s): Papers from October 2000 International Disability Law and Policy Symposium; up-to-date news, analysis, testimony, briefs, and reports; country index of disability laws. Contact Information: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc. 2212 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA   94710 USA Telephone: 510.644.2555   Fax: 510.841.8645 Email: dredf@dredf.org Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) http://www.dpi.org/index.html http://www.dpi.org/DI.html The purpose of Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) is to promote the Human Rights of People with Disabilities through full participation, equalization of opportunity and development. DPI is a grassroots, cross-disability network with member organizations in over 158 countries, over half of which are in the developing world. DPI is administrated through the headquarters in Winnipeg, Canada, and through eight Regional Development Offices. DPI has consultative status with the ECOSOC, UNESCO and the ILO, and has official observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. The main functions of DPI are development, human rights, communications, advocacy, and public education. Notable Feature(s): Disability International, the worldwide magazine of DPI, chronicles the international aspirations and challenges of DPI and brings to readers firsthand accounts of the grassroots struggles of people with disabilities. Every issue carries information about products and resources, such as tourist information, career opportunities, or the latest technological advances that help put disabled people on an equal footing in all aspects of their lives. Contact Information: Susan Morgan, Managing Editor Disabled Peoples' International 101-7 Evergreen Place Winnipeg, Manitoba   R3L 2T3 Canada Telephone: 204.287.8010   Fax: 204.453.1367 Email: dpi@dpi.org From Disability to Opportunity:Self-Employment and the Disabled in Developing Countries – Craig Harris http://www.idrc.ca/books/reports/V214/disable.html Contact Information: International Development Research Centre PO Box 8500 Ottawa, ON   K1G 3H9 Canada Telephone: 613.236.6163   Email: info@idrc.ca Global Deaf Connection http://www.deafconnection.org/ Global Deaf Connection (GDC) is increasing social, economic, and educational opportunities for deaf people in developing nations. Based on the premise that education leads to opportunity, Global Deaf Connection was created to bridge the gap between the number of deaf children enrolled in school at an elementary level and the number of deaf adults in the professional world by improving deaf education in these countries. GDC's mission is to develop self-sustaining, successful cycles of deaf education and leadership skills through multicultural exchange, support, and mentoring programs. This cycle will help deaf people around the world increase their social and economic self-sufficiency. Notable Feature(s): Travel opportunities (particularly in Kenya and Jamaica) for mentoring and otherwise supporting GDC's goals in education, communication, and one-on-one skills training. Contact Information: Kevin Long, founder and CEO Global Deaf Connection 2901 38th Ave S Minneapolis, MN   55406 U.S.A. Telephone: 612.724.8565 V/TTY   Email: deafconnection@visi.com International Directory of Disability Laws http://www.dredf.org/symposium/lawindex.html International Directory of Early Intervention Resources http://www.rehab-international.org/resourcesbooks.htm Internet Resource for Special Children (IRSC) http://www.irsc.org:8080/irsc/irscmain.nsf The IRSC Web site is dedicated to children with disabilities and other health related disorders worldwide. Its mission is to improve the lives of these children by: Providing valuable information to parents, family members, caregivers, friends, educators, and medical professionals who provide them services and support Creating positive changes and enhancing public awareness and knowledge of children with disabilities and other health related disorders Providing Online Communities - a place where one can ask questions or connect with other people who may have the same questions, thoughts, and/or experiences. Notable Feature(s): Vast number of links and other resources on various disabilities, health care issues, neurological disorders, brain injuries, laws, rehabilitation, news media and statistics, special education, and more. Contact Information: Julio G. Ciamarra Email: julio_c@one.net MAINSTREAM online – The Magazine for the Able-Disabled http://www.mainstream-mag.com/ Contact Information: Cyndi Jones Telephone: 619.234.3138   Email: publisher@mainstream-mag.com National Center for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) http://www.ncpedp.org/ The New Delhi-based National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) takes a pro-active involvement with institutions and the Government to build a network that takes a solution-oriented attitude to tackling problems facing disabled people. Notable Feature(s): Equity quarterly newsletter; online forum for monthly discussions; notice board; updates on disability issues and programs in other countries. Contact Information: NCPEDP 25, Green Park Extension, Yusuf Sarai New Delhi   110016 India Telephone: 91-11-6854306, 69679   Fax: 91-11-6963030 Email: ncpedp@vsnl.com National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHY) http://www.nichcy.org/ NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Its special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Notable Feature(s): Publications; information specialists are available to speak with you about your area of interest or concern; materials also available in Spanish. Contact Information: NICHCY c/o Academy for Educational Development P.O. Box 1492 Washington, DC   20013 USA Telephone: 1.800.695.0285   Email: nichcy@aed.org National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) http://www.naric.com/ Notable Feature(s): 60,000 disability-related records in five searchable and browsable databases: literature, organizations, timely information, the latest research. Contact Information: The National Rehabilitation Information Center 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 800 Silver Spring, MD   20910 USA Telephone: 301.562.2400   Fax: 301.562.2401 Email: jchaiken@kra.com PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) http://www.plan.ca PLAN helps the disabled develop lifelong "personal networks" of friends, replacing isolation with community participation, ensuring financial independence and, most importantly, giving the disabled—irrespective of the nature or degree of their disability—a say in how they live their lives. Contact Information: Al Etmanski, Executive Director PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) Suite 260-3665 Kingsway Vancouver   BC V5R 5W2 Canada Telephone: 604.439.9566   Fax: 604.439.7001 Email: inquiries@plan.ca Publications List http://www.dpi.org/publist.html Contact Information: Disabled Peoples' International 101-7 Evergreen Place Winnipeg, Manitoba   R3L 2T3 Canada Telephone: 204.287.8010   Fax: 204.453.1367 Email: dpi@dpi.org SETU Developmental Intervention Centre http://www.setuindia.org/index.htm SETU Developmental Intervention Centre (SETU) was established in April 2000 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. SETU aims at fulfilling a pressing need of parents and medical practitioners who earlier faced a critical shortage of alternatives for helping young children needing therapeutic and rehabilitative services. The approach rests on the value of early intervention (EI). Early intervention applies to children of primary school age or younger who are discovered to have or be at risk of developing a handicapping condition or other special need that may affect their development. One goal of SETU is to overcome the traditional approach that fails to offer all therapeutic services in a single location. The lack of such a facility entails extra expenses and difficulties for parents to find time for meeting all developmental needs of a child. SETU, at present, is the only therapeutic centre in the whole of Gujarat to cater to children with different disabilities as well as provide all therapeutic inputs under one roof. Notable Feature(s): Newsletters; useful information on various disorders, including autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and others; laws and legal protections; e-membership group for parents and professionals working with children with disabilities; case studies. Contact Information: SETU Developmental Intervention Centre 118, Jeevandeep Row Houses Nr. Ghosha Society, Drive-In Road Ahmedabad- 380 054, Gujarat India Telephone: +91.79.746.1785   Email: contact@setuindia.org The Arc http://www.thearc.org/ http://www.thearc.org/related-links.htm The Arc is the national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related disabilities and their families. It is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for people with mental retardation and their families. The association also fosters research and education regarding the prevention of mental retardation in infants and young children. Notable Feature(s): Directory of disability related links; publications and videos on self-determination, including 10 Steps to Independence: Promoting Self-Determination in the Home - an overview of the family's role in promoting attitudes and abilities leading to self-determination: ten ways that the family can play a critical role in teaching their son or daughter to be self-determined; Assistive Technology, Software and Electronic Information for children, parents, families. Contact Information: The Arc 1010 Wayne Avenue Suite 650 Silver Spring, MD Telephone: 301.565.3842   Fax: 301.565.5342 Email: info@thearc.org Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI) http://www.whirlwindwheelchair.org Whirlwind Wheelchair International works to make it possible for every person in the developing world who needs a wheelchair to obtain one that will lead to maximum personal independence and integration into society. In order to fulfill this mission, WWI seeks to give wheelchair riders a central role in all of its projects and activities. Whirlwind is the communications hub of the Whirlwind Wheelchair Network of independent wheelchair-producing workshops in developing countries. Notable Feature(s): Notable Feature(s): network/country list of Wheelchair Shops Producing the Whirlwind Wheelchair; project to promote international wheelchair standards in developing countries; open source design initiative to reach beyond the WWI network, opening its design process to anyone who may be interested in offering opinions, feedback, and suggestions, not just limited to wheelchair design, but to all of the technical challenges facing a wheelchair rider. Contact Information: Marc Krizack, Director of Operations Whirlwind Wheelchair International San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Ave., SCI 251 San Francisco, CA   94132 USA Telephone: 415.338.6277   Fax: 415.338.1290 Email: Info@whirlwindwheelchair.org Working Effectively with Persons Who Have Cognitive Disabilities http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/pages/cog_disorder.html Contact Information: Duncan C. Kinder Americans with Disabilities Act Document Center Email: dckinder@ovnet.com