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VOLUME 24 NUMBER 3 AUGUST 2014
THE NEWSPAPER POSITIVELY FOR, BY & ABOUT THE DISABLED
IN THIS ISSUE
VISITABLE'S
WEBSITEWWW.ABLENEWS.COM
BOCES AWARDHKNC Director Honored As Education Partner
Nassau BOCES recently presented theirEducation Partner Award to
AnindyaBhattacharyya (Bapin) (third from right), directorof
Instructional Technology for the Helen KellerNational Center. With
him at the presentation are,left to right, Associate Superintendent
forEducational Services Lydia Begley, NassauBOCES Vice District
Clerk Michael Weinick,Nassau BOCES Trustee Robert “B.A.”
Schoen,Nassau BOCES Trustee Deborah Coates andNassau BOCES District
Superintendent. Dr.
Thomas Rogers. Bapin’s service dog Walterstands in the
foreground.
Bapin was one of 16 honorees to receive theaward, presented
annually to those individualsand organizations that have had a
tangible impacton public education in Nassau County. NassauBOCES
created the awards program to recognizethose who share its mission
of ensuring asuccessful, challenging, caring and safeenvironment
that enables students of all ages andabilities to achieve their
maximum potential.
A.G. Settles Abuse CaseState and FundraiserAgree to $24.6
million
PAGE 2
Olmstead Turns 15Keeping People inTheir Homes
PAGE 3
House Passes WIOAHelping Young PeopleAvoid Low Wage Jobs
PAGE 3
Special Education BillLegislature Passes toCuomo for
Signature
PAGE 4
ANCHOR Thief IndictedMorgan Charged WithStealing from Camp
PAGE 5
Pathways to Careers$$$ Available ForEducation &
Employment
PAGE 9
SportsTriathlon, Goalball,Marathon & Volleyball
PAGES 12, 13 & 16
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ABLE NEWSPAPERP.O. Box 395, OLD BETHPAGE, NY 11804
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Able is Aug. 12
New York Attorney Gen-eral Eric Schneidermanrecently announced
thathis office has secured a $24.6 mil-lion settlement of his
CharitiesBureau’s investigation into di-rect mail fundraising
abuses atwhat has become one of thecountry’s largest
veterans’charities, the Disabled VeteransNational Foundation
(DVNF).
The abuses, the investigationfound – including misleading
so-licitations and failure to discloseconflicts of interest – were
per-petrated by DVNF’s two outside,for-profit direct mail
vendors.Quadriga Art and ConvergenceDirect Marketing.
Under the settlement,Quadriga, which produced andsent out the
mailings and playedthe dominant role in runningDBNF’s fundraising
efforts, willpay $9.7 million in damages, andConvergence, which
designedthe solicitations and providedother advice, will pay
$300,000in damages. This $10 million willgo to help support and
improvethe lives of disabled Americanveterans.
In addition, Quadriga will for-give $13.8 million in debt
thatDVNF owes to Quadriga, andadopt a number of significant
re-forms to improve transparencyand set a higher ethical bar forthe
direct mail charitable solici-tations industry. Quadriga willpay an
additional $800,000 tothe state of New York for costsand fees.
“This investigation shedslight on some of the most trouble-some
features of direct mailcharitable fundraising as it ispracticed in
the United Statestoday,” said Scheniderman.“Taking advantage of a
popularcause and what was an unsophis-ticated start-up charity,
thesedirect mail companies used clev-erly designed but
misleadingmailers to raise tens of millionsof dollars in donations
from gen-erous Americans, nearly all ofwhich went to the
fundraisersand their agents, and left thecharity nearly $14 million
indebt.”
The settlement with Quadrigaand Convergence is believed
torepresent the largest amount offinancial relief ever obtained
inthe U.S. for deceptive charitablefundraising. In addition to
for-
A.G. Announces $25 Million Settlementgiving DVNF’s current debt
ofapproximately $13.8 million,these for-profit direct mail
com-panies will pay $10 million to as-sist the disabled vets who
weresupposed to have been helped bythe DVNF’s nationwide
appeals.
Those funds will be used tosupport federally conducted re-search
into technological ad-vancements, new treatmentsand innovative
rehabilitationand service-delivery practicesdesigned to improve the
lives ofdisabled veterans. For example,$1 million of the funds will
be di-rected to support cutting-edgespinal cord research at
theJames J. Peters VA Medical Cen-ter in the Bronx; $1,250,000
willgo to support research on men-tal health issues; and
$750,000will be directed to support re-search into medical issues
con-fronting disabled women veter-ans.
DVNF, the Louisiana-incor-porated, Washington, D.C.-based
charity in whose namemillions of misleading mailingswere sent to
the public, wasfounded in late 2007 by a boardwith no direct mail
fundraisingexperience. Through the end of2013, DVNF had raised
over$116 million in charitable dona-tions from members of the
pub-lic who responded to the mail-
ings and product inserts thatQuadriga and Convergence de-signed,
manufactured andshipped. Many of those mailingswere false and
misleading, theinvestigation found.
In this case, the investigationfound, DVNF was not ad-equately
informed, and did notask, about many critical ele-ments of such a
campaign, in-cluding its projected revenuesand costs, the projected
break-even point for the charity, theprice of particular items used
inthe campaign or potential con-flicts of interest. Here, therewere
multiple conflicts of inter-est, including among theQuadriga
affiliates, betweenConvergence and Quadriga, andbetween Larry
Rivers, Quad-riga’s commissioned sales agent,and DVNF, where Rivers
servedas a consultant and which thenhired his daughter as chief
ad-ministrative officer.
Under the settlement agree-ment, DVNF has terminated
itsrelationship with CSI and willestablish a board-level
gift-in-kind committee to re-evaluatethis program and, if it is
contin-ued, improve its administration.
The parties to the settlementhave neither admitted nor de-nied
the Attorney General’s find-ings.
Assemblymember HarveyWeisenberg (D-Long Beach) an-nounced that
his bill aimed atsimplifying the application pro-cess for people
who are in needof services through the NewYork state Office of
People withDevelopmental Disabilities(NYS OPWDD) has received
theapproval of both the Assemblyand Senate and will be sent tothe
Governor for finalization.
In response to widespreadconcerns from family membersstatewide
who are seeking ser-vices for their loved onesthrough a new OPWDD
policyentitled the Front Door,Weisenberg wrote and intro-duced
Assembly bill 8846-C. The bill requires the NYSOPWDD to develop a
plan tooverhaul and improve this pro-cess.
“There are approximately
Developmental DisabilitiesBill Goes to Governor
12,000 people on a waiting listfor these services, with 4,000
ofthose waiting considered criticalneeds,” said Weisenberg.
“Ob-viously, this is unacceptable andspeaks volumes of problems
inthe current process utilized tosecure these services Gov.Cuomo,
the bill would requirean overhaul plan to ensurecritical needs are
met in atimely manner; an expeditedappeals process; assistance
forpersons seeking services; clari-fication of the process; and
ac-celerated services for families incrisis.
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The National Federation of theBlind passed the Workforce
In-novation and Opportunity Act(WIOA) July 10.
“The Workforce Innovationand Opportunity Act is the prod-uct of
dialogue between advocatesfor Americans with disabilitiesand
members of Congress,” saidMark Riccobono, president of theNational
Federation of the Blind.“We applaud Congressional lead-ers for
listening to the NationalFederation of the Blind and other
House Passes WorkforceInnovation And Opportunity Act
organizations of people with dis-abilities and incorporating
muchof our input into the final bill.”
The legislation that waspassed on bipartisan votes inboth houses
of Congress, will re-duce the number of young peoplewith
disabilities being trackedinto sheltered, subminimumwage jobs and
preserve a strongrehabilitation system for theAmericans who have
disabilities.
The bill now goes to Pres.Obama for ratification.
Legislation to renew and re-name the Combating AutismAct was
introduced in the Sen-ate while a House versioncleared committee
and wassent to the House floor.
Renamed Autism CARES(the Autism Collaboration, Ac-countability,
Research, Educa-tion and Support Act), the leg-islation is now
identical in bothhouses of Congress and wouldcontinue federal
funding for au-tism research and otheractivites at an annual
$260million level for another fiveyears.
Without action by Congressby Sept. 30, federal funding forautism
first dedicated throughthe Combating Autism Act in2006 and then
reauthorized in2011, will lapse.
Sens. Robert Menendez (D-
CARA 2014 Moves Ahead With New NameN.J.) and Michael Enzi
(R-Wyo.) introduced a Senate ver-sion (S.2449) of AutismCareswhich,
in addition to the namechange, included other adjust-ments from the
House bill(HR.4631) that was introducedMay 12 by Reps. Chris
SmithR-N.J.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), the co-chairs of the
Con-gressional Autism Caucus.
The House Energy & Com-merce Committee added theSenate
changes to HR.4631,which had been named theCombating Autism
Reauthori-zation Act (CARA) of 2014, andthen sent the bill to the
Housefloor for a vote.
“The bipartisan AutismCARES Act represents ourstrong commitment
to continu-ing the groundbreaking workbeing done to address
autism
and build the foundation forthese efforts for years to
come,”said Menendez. “I am particu-larly pleased this bill
includesprovisions based on my legisla-tion, the Age-In Act, to
betteraddress the needs of individu-
The Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical
Institutefor the Deaf (RIT/NTID) team members of the National
Associationof the Deaf College Bowl Championship posing, left to
right, areLauren Berger of Rochester; Asher Kirschbaum of
WashingtonGrove, Md.; Eric Epstein of Tucson, Ariz.; and Linzie
Fuechtmannof South St. Paul, Minn. The team coach was Christopher
Kurz,and assistant coach was Gary Behm. Both coaches are
facultymembers at NTID.
For the second consecutive time, a team from RIT/NTID wonthe
National Association of the Deaf College Bowl Championshipfor deaf
and hard-of-hearing college students.
The academic trivia contest, is held every other year at
theNational Association of the Deaf Convention.
The RIT/NTID was the youngest team in the competition andEpstein
said he and his teammates hope to compete again at the2016 NAD
convention in Phoenix.
RIT/NTID Team Wins NAD College Bowl
als with autism as they growinto adulthood and no longerhave the
support of school-based programs. I’m optimisticthe House will
quickly adoptthis language as they continue
Thousands of advocates re-cently marked the 15thanniversary of
the mile-stone Olmstead decision, whichhas given more people with
dis-abilities the ability to live in in-tegrated settings instead
of in-stitutions.
In 1999, the Supreme Courtheld that “unnecessary isolationis
properly regarded as discrimi-nation based on disability.” In
sodoing, it upheld the Americanswith Disabilities Act
(ADA)regulation that “a public entityshall administer services,
pro-grams, and activities in the mostintegrated setting appropriate
tothe needs of qualified individu-als with disabilities.”
In 2000, only $9 billion inMedicaid funding was spent to
Olmstead Turns Fifteenkeep people in the community,while $49
billion was spent oninstitutionalization. By 2012,$22 billion in
Medicaid fundingwas spent in the community,which was an
improvement, but$74 billion was spent on institu-tional care, a
large increase.
Community-based expendi-tures for New York were nearly30 percent
in 2000, compared toalmost 46 percent in 2012. ForNew Jersey, the
amount wentfrom 10 percent in 2000, andthen more than 15 percent
in2012. These positive increasesare largely due to the
Olmsteaddecision and grass roots efforts.
The 2000 census reports thatthere were 1,720,500 people ofall
ages with disabilities residingin nursing homes. By March
2013, that number decreased by18 percent. But
surprisingly,between 2000 and 2012, therewas a 31 percent increase
in thetotal amount of Medicaid fund-ing for nursing home
residents,despite the reduction in the num-ber of residents.
From 2000 through 2013,New York’s nursing home popu-lation went
down by 12 percent,but its nursing home Medicaidexpendatures went
up by 10 per-cent. New Jersey saw a nine per-cent decrease of
nursing homeresidents, but a 11 percent in-crease in
expendatures.
Another interesting finding isthat Olmstead seems to
havebenefited people with develop-mental disabilities even morethan
people with physical and
other disabilities. Olmstead v.L.C. was a suit brought by
LoisCurtis and Elaine Wilson, whohad both been languishing in
aGeorgia institution for years.
“As we turn our attention to-ward the next 15 years ofOlmstead
implementation, bet-ter integration and applicationof community
supports and ser-vices must become a priority ifwe are to continue
and build onthe foundation that has beencreated,” stated the
NationalCouncil on Disability. “NCD re-mains ready to support
Con-gress and the administration inthe achievement of these com-mon
goals in recognition of ourcommon values of self-determi-nation,
liberty and indepen-dence.
Continued on page 14
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The Helen Keller NationalCenter (HKNC) for Deaf-BlindYouths and
Adults in SandsPoint recently honored Reps.Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.),
MarkTakano (D-Calif.) and Steve Is-rael (D-N.Y.) with their
inaugu-
Assemblymember HarveyWeisenberg (D-Dist. 20)recently announced
thata bill he sponsored (A.4054-A) tohelp children with
disabilitieshas passed both houses of theLegislature and will be
sent toGov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) foraction.
If enacted by the governor,the bill would provide all par-ents
of school aged children withinformation on how to accesstheir
school district’s Committeeon Special Education (CSE) ifthey
suspect their child has adisability. Under current law,only
designated school districtpersonnel or the parents of astudent are
allowed todirectly refer a student with asuspected disability to
theschool district’s CSE for evalu-
Legislature Approves Special Education Billation. Other
individuals, suchas a teacher, school psycholo-gist, licensed
physician, judicialofficer or a public agency may
make a request for a referral.“Parents and others have
the right to directly refer a stu-dent to the CSE for
evaluation,yet parents are the only onesnot informed of this right
inany meaningful manner,” saidWeisenberg. “While we all rec-ognize
and value the impor-
tance of parental involvementin a child’s education, this
isunfortunately one example ofhow our laws do not always sup-
port that principle.”While school districts are re-
quired to identify and provideservices for students with
dis-abilities, this bill recognizesthat in some situations, a
par-ent can have knowledge of prob-lems that might have been
over-looked by the school district for
various reasons. Weisenbergcontends that providing
simpledirectory information to all par-ents, such as the name and
con-tact information for the CSEchairperson, will not place anundue
burden on school dis-tricts and will equip parentswith information
about addi-tional resources for their child.
In cases where a parent optsto refer their child for
evalua-tion, that referral won’t neces-sarily lead to costly or
unnec-essary special education ser-vices if a disability is not
re-vealed during the CSE evalu-ation process. In those cases,a
student can be deemed eli-gible for other services thatmight assist
them, or simplestrategies can be implementedto address
problems.
Three Congressmen Recognized by Helen Keller Centerral Dr.
Robert J. SmithdasAward.
Yoder and Takano formedthe Congressional Deaf Caucusseveral
years ago to advocatefor the rights of people whohave hearing and
visual dis-
abilities and have helped moreof this population secure
gov-ernment jobs. Israel is also amember of the caucus and
hasadvocated for increased fund-ing for the center, which is inhis
Congressional district.
The award is named after Dr.Robert J. Smithdas, who workedwith
the HKNC until his retire-ment in 2008. He was the firstperson who
is deaf-blind to re-ceive a master’s degree, which hereceived at
New YorkUniversity. Smithdas travelled
Rep. Steve Israel, second from left, receives a Helen Keller
award,along with, left to right, Ivy Sahneya, Francis Casale and
SusanRuzenski, acting executive director of HKNC.
throughout the world, appearingon television shows and
deliver-ing inspirational speeches abouthis life.
“Dr. Robert J. Smithdas is be-ing honored for his tireless
advo-cacy and leadership influencingthe development of services
forindividuals who are deaf-blind,”said Sue Ruzenski, acting
execu-tive director of HKNC. “As oneof the founders of HKNC,
amonghis many other accomplishments,we could not think of a more
ap-propriate person to honor.”
“Parents and others have the right todirectly refer a student to
the
CSE for evaluation...”-HARVEY WEISENBERGAssemblymember (D-Dist.
20)
Legal Counsel ForPersons With Disabilities
And Their Families
Protecting YourRights Concerning:
Kassoff, Robert & Lerner, LLP
Estate Planning For Persons With Disabilities
• Asset Preservation • Supplemental Needs Trusts
• Medicaid and Medicare• Social Security
• Wills and Guardianships
Chair, New York State BarAssociation Elder Law Section
100 Merrick Road,Suite 508 West
Rockville Centre, N.Y. 11570
JOAN LENSKY ROBERT, ESQ.
JOAN LENSKY ROBERT, ESQ.516 766-7700
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United Spinal Associationrecently announced Jo-seph Gaskins, an
expe-rienced D.C. lobbyist, accom-plished executive in the
wirelessindustry and wheelchair userfrom Seattle, Wash., as its
per-manent president and CEO.
Gaskins took over last De-cember as United Spinal’s in-terim CEO
after the resignationof Paul Tobin. He has been amember of United
Spinal’s boardof directors since April 2013.
“Joe Gaskins has the commit-ment and desire to advance thecause
of United Spinal Associa-tion, enhancing the lives ofpeople with
disabilities. His busi-ness acumen and organizationaland leadership
skills ensure ourfuture successes,” said JimWeisman, United
Spinal’s seniorvice president and general coun-sel.
Gaskins will continue to workclosely with United Spinal’sboard
and staff as he draws onhis vast knowledge of accessibil-ity issues
to expand and revital-ize the organization’s programsand
services.
“We have accomplished agreat deal in the past six months
United Spinal Appoints Joseph Gaskins Pres. and CEO
to strengthen United Spinal As-sociation and prepare the
orga-nization for a successful and re-warding future,” said
Gaskins.
“I’m looking forward to whatwe can accomplish on behalf ofour
members and the larger dis-ability community in the yearsto come,”
he added.
Since being spinal cord in-jured in a hit-and-run accident27
years ago, Gaskins hasworked in the wireless industryas a lobbyist
and an entrepre-neur.
As a triathlete, he has utilizedadaptive sports to manage
livingwith a disability, as well as to serveas a motivational
outlet to pursue
his career goals. He also has trav-eled extensively and has a
vastknowledge of accessibility issuesin countries around the
world.
Gaskins’ prior positions in-clude vice president of
carriersolutions at Grid Net where heestablished partner
relation-
ships and business developmentat Clearwire.
Gaskins said he looks forwardto using his skills and
experiencetoward improving disabilityrights and helping other
wheel-chair users achieve greater in-dependence.
The Regional Special Educa-tion — Technical Assistance Sup-port
Center’s (RSE-TASC) Re-gional Career Development andOccupational
Studies (CDOS)Commencement Credential Con-ference evolved into the
largesttechnical assistance event thatthe Long Island RSE-TASC
hashosted in its five year history.
More than 450 parents, educa-tors, employers, representatives
ofvarious State Education Depart-ment funded networks and mem-bers
of local community-based or-ganizations and agencies as-sembled at
LIU-Post to partici-pate in an educational event.
“The overwhelming positiveresponse is both gratifying
andexciting for what it suggests aboutthe interest and
commitmentfrom all stakeholders to educatethemselves about this new
initia-tive to improve our students’ pre-paredness for the world of
workupon exit from high school,” saidCathy Pantelides,
RSE-TASCtransition specialist for NassauCounty.
Employment ConferenceSees Large Turnout
While an effect of this confer-ence has been to initiate
and/orperpetuate dialogue about posi-tive post-school outcomes for
stu-dents with disabilities in our re-gion, it has also raised some
pre-vailing questions which are fre-quently posed to the
RSE-TASCoffice, such as - What is the CDOSCommencement
Credential?Why is this topic so important?and In what ways would
this con-ference be beneficial to attendeesfrom various stakeholder
groups?
The New York State CDOSCommencement Credential is acredential,
not a diploma, whichis only available to students withdisabilities.
The credential is in-tended to supplement a Regentsor local high
school diploma or tobe provided as a stand-alone exit-ing
credential for students withdisabilities who are unable to earna
high school diploma and who arenot taught/assessed on the NewYork
state Alternate Assessment(NYSAA). Ultimately, the creden-tial is
intended to document a
Continued on page 14
Drew Morgan, a RockvilleCentre financial plannercharged in
October 2013 withstealing more than $1.6 millionfrom the Camp
ANCHOR spe-cial needs camp and other vic-tims, was arraigned on a
grandjury indictment on the samecharges recently.
As a result of ongoing inves-tigation by the Nassau
CountyDistrict Attorney’s(DA) office,Morgan’s case now includes
anadditional $73,500 in theft fromCamp ANCHOR, for a total
of$1,159,953.
“Stealing from special needschildren is one of the most cal-lous
kinds of theft imaginable,”DA Rice said. “Hopefullytoday’s
indictment will help
Financial Planner Indicted ForStealing From Camp ANCHOR
bring the victims in this casecloser to justice.”
Morgan, 43, is charged withGrand Larceny in the1st Degree (a B
felony) andthree counts of Grand Larcenyin the 2nd Degree (a C
felony). If convicted of the top charge, hefaces a maximum of 8-1/3
to 25years in prison. He continuesto be free on $240,000 bail andis
due back in court on Sept. 19.
Asst. District Attorney PeterMancuso of the Government
andConsumer Frauds Bureau isprosecuting the case. Morgan
isrepresented by Gary Farrell, Esq.
The charges are merely accu-sations and the defendant is
pre-sumed innocent until and un-less proven guilty.
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Calvin Butts III, president ofSUNY College at Old Westbury,was
the commencement speakerat Henry Viscardi School at The
Calvin Butts Delivers Commencement Speech at HVS
Viscardi Center, which serveschildren with severe physical
dis-abilities.
During his speech to the
graduates, Butts focused on be-lieving in themselves, others
intheir lives and the methodswhich had successfully gottenthem to
where they are today. Healso spoke about the importanceof education
and believing inwhat you’re striving towards.“Without a trained
mind and aninspired heart, you’ll go no-where,” said Butts.
He also thanked the facultyfor befriending the students andnoted
the active role they andthe graduates’ family and friendsplayed in
preparing them forgraduation, as well as the trustthe students had
put in all ofthem over the years.
“We are honored that Dr.Butts came and delivered sucha powerful
message to our gradu-ates, their families and specialguests,” said
John Kemp, presi-dent and CEO of The ViscardiCenter. “His
overarching mes-sage was that nothing is impos-sible if you have
faith.”
The 47th commencement cer-emony included 18 HenryViscardi School
students. Many ofthe graduates are attendinghigher education
institutions inthe fall, including Hofstra Univer-sity, Dowling
College, The Collegeof Westchester and local commu-nity colleges to
pursue courseworkin business, graphic design, edu-cation and
liberal arts.
Several will be freshmen atSUNY College at Old Westbury.Butts
encouraged these gradu-ates to come by and visit him.Other
graduates are pursuingvocational training and partici-pating in
community-based pro-grams.
This year’s valedictorian, RonKort, plans to study business
atHofstra, where he and a fellowgraduate will also be dorming.
During his remarks, Kort spokeabout the unique, shared
per-spective the graduates had onthe world and how it would be
thesimple things about HenryViscardi School that he’d missmost
after graduation. These in-cluded the building’s bricks, eat-ing
lunch together and touch-down passes in gym.
Salutatorian, Jessica Pocheadmitted that the Class of 2014was
known for its loudness, butalso pointed out how this gift alsogave
them the willingness tospeak up for themselves. Aftersumming up her
classmates inthree words – determined,quirky and passionate –
Pocheencouraged them to stay moti-vated and to trust that
dreamscome true.
During the commencementexercise, Kemp presented thefirst
Heartfelt Teacher Apprecia-tion Grant to Joy Krebs, a physi-cal
education teacher at HenryViscardi School for 37 years.Krebs was
recognized for her loveof the children, her creative cur-riculum
thinking and her dedi-cation to training future adaptedphysical
education teachers.
Mary Rom graduated with her dogSparrow.
Calvin Butts, left, together with John Kemp and Chair of the
SchoolBoard of HVS Trustees Beth Daly stands behind Class of
2014Valedictorian Ron Kort.
TOWN OF ISLIPCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Notice of Availability of ApplicationsAFFORDABLE HOUSING LOTTERY
PROGRAM
The Town of Islip Community Development Agency is pleased to
announce
the availability of applications to our Affordable Housing
Program.
New and Rehabilitated Homes will soon be available for occupancy
in
Bay Shore, Brentwood, Central Islip, East Islip, West Islip
and
Features:Attractive, Low-Maintenance, Energy Star Homes
Low Interest Rate Mortgages with No Points
Low Down Payment - No Closing Costs - No Application Fees
Federal Homebuyer Subsidies
Rent with the Option to Buy
Eligibility Criteria:First-time homebuyer
Good credit history and low debt
Family Income at least $47,500and
Meet the following Maximum Income Guidelines:
ISLIP TOWN…
Building the American Dream Tom Croci, Supervisor
Applications may be obtained by calling the CDA anytime at (631)
665-1185or (631) 665-1185, ext. 31 (after normal business
hours)
or by visiting us on the web at: www.islipcda.org
Family Size 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
47,500 47,500 47,500 47,500 47,500 47,500 47,500 47,500
58,850 67,250 75,650 84,100 90,800 97,550 104,250 111,000
CDA
Housing
Program
Minimum
Maximum
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Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental
Disabilities,Inc. (ACLD), a Long Island based not-for-profit agency
providingservices for children and adults with autism and
developmentaldisabilities (ACLD) recently held a grand opening of
The Alan andEllen Spiegel Children’s Center in Bay Shore.
Students from the Center joined with, left to right, Rick
Wirth,former assistant executive director of ACLD; Sean Collins,
chiefof staff for the Office of New York State Assemblyman Phil
Ramosand Bay Shore Summit councilmember; Steven Flotteron, Islip
towncouncilman; Megan Gardner, secretary of the ACLD Board
ofTrustees; Rich Brueninger, first vice president of the ACLD
Boardof Trustees; Alan Spiegel, donor; Colleen Crispino,
assistantexecutive director of ACLD; Ellen Spiegel, donor and
member ofACLD Board of Trustees; Noreen Clemens, principal of the
KramerLearning Center; Bob Goldsmith, executive director of
ACLD;Sharon Cimino, member of ACLD Board of Trustees;
EllenAlexander, member ACLD Board of Trustees; Richard
Dibble,member of the ACLD Board of Trustees; Anne Emmerson,
memberof the ACLD Board of Trustees; and Gordon Canary, district
directorof the Office of New York State Sen. Phil Boyle.
Highlights of the celebration included children from the
centersinging and taking part in the ribbon-cutting event.
ACLD Opens Children’s Center in Bay Shore
The Center will be the home of ACLD’s learning and
recreationprograms and services for children with autism and
developmentaldisabilities, as well as for typical developing
children and teensacross Long Island. In addition to pre-school,
universal pre-K andafter school programs, the Great South Bay YMCA
will offer aSummer Recreation Program and Camp experience at the
Center.
Deputy Director Paula Fries, left,recently accepted the Agency
ofthe Year award on behalf of
Clubhouse Named Best AgencyClubhouse of Suffolk from theNew York
chapter of the NationalAssociation of Social Workers’Suffolk
division, along withClubhouse of Suffolk board-member Lois
Logan.
The award also acknowledgesits two partner organizations
–Suffolk County United Veteransand the Mental Health Associationin
Suffolk. Clubhouse of Suffolkis a nonprofit licensed by thestate’s
Office of Mental Health toprovide a range of
psychiatricrehabilitation services andintegrated care
coordination.They serve more than 1,500individuals each year at
theirRonkonkoma and Riverheadlocations.
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Researchers have shownhow to modify asmartphone so that it canbe
used to measure a person’swalking gait to prevent falls inpeople
with compromised bal-ance, such as the elderly or thosewith
Parkinson’s disease.
The innovation, being com-mercialized as SmartGait, is de-signed
as a tool to aid health careofficials in assessing a person’srisk
of falling and identifyingways to avoid injury.
“We know that people who aremore likely to fall have slowergait
speeds and variable stridetime, step length and step width.But it’s
hard to gather that infor-mation in an everyday environ-ment,” said
Shirley Rietdyk, anassociate professor in PurdueUniversity’s
Department ofHealth and Kinesiology and a fac-ulty associate with
Purdue’s Cen-ter on Aging and the Life Course.
“The new system captures thegait length - the distance fromthe
tip of the front foot to the tipof the back foot - and the
gaitwidth - the distance betweeneach foot and walking speed,”said
Babak Ziaie, a professor in
Smartphone Can Measure Gait and Reduce Fallsthe School of
Electrical and Com-puter Engineering and WeldonSchool of Biomedical
Engineer-ing.
“Until now, there has been noportable user-friendly systemthat
could be worn for a periodof time to record a person’s gait,”said
Ziaie, who is working onSmartGait with Rietdyk, doc-toral student
Albert Kim andgraduate student Junyoung(Justin) Kim.
The researchers adapted aconventional smartphone with
adownward-looking wide-anglelens and a special applicationthat
allows the phone to recordand calculate gait measure-ments. The
smartphone is wornon the waist and the systemrecords a person’s
gait by mea-suring the distance between col-ored “foot markers”
attached tothe tip of each shoe.
Findings were detailed in apaper to be presented during
theInternational Society for Pos-ture & Gait Research 2014World
Congress recently inVancouver, Canada. The paperwas authored by
Albert Kim,Justin Kim, Rietdyk and Ziaie.
Research findings were also pre-sented during the 7th
WorldCongress of Biomechanics inBoston.
The researchers comparedSmartGait’s performance withthat of a
laboratory system thatuses sensors and infrared-emit-ting diodes to
measure gait.Compared to this gold standard,findings indicate the
system cal-culates step length with an ac-curacy of about 95
percent. Themethod was shown to have a stepwidth accuracy of about
90 per-cent.
“The beauty of SmartGait isthat it gives you results similarto a
system that costs severaltens of thousands of dollars,”Ziaie said.
“People can wear itwalking upstairs, downstairs,outside, shopping,
whatever theydo during a normal day.”
Health care professionalscould use data from SmartGaitto make an
assessment and rec-ommend fall-prevention mea-sures such as
exercise, physicaltherapy or vision correction. Thedevice also
might be worn overtime to gauge a patient’sprogress in walking
confidently.
PUR
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Doctoral student Albert Kim, right,wears a SmartGait
device.Looking on is Babak Ziaie, aprofessor in the
PurdueUniversity School of Electricaland Computer Engineering
andWeldon School of BiomedicalEngineering.
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The U.S. Department ofLabor’s (DOL) Office ofDisability
EmploymentPolicy (ODEP) recently an-nounced $2,083,300 for two
coop-erative agreements to improvepost-secondary education and
em-ployment opportunities for youthwith disabilities through
thePathways to Careers: CommunityColleges for Youth and YoungAdults
with Disabilities Demon-stration Project.
Each cooperative agreementmay receive up to $1,041,650 tofund a
pilot project that will buildthe capacity of community col-leges to
meet the educational andcareer development needs ofyouth with
disabilities.
The pilots will provide for re-search, development, testing
andevaluating systems for inclusiveintegrated education and
careerservices.
“Our nation’s community col-leges are a tremendous resourcefor
anyone seeking to positionthemselves for high-growth, high-demand
careers, and they can bean especially critical link foryouth with
disabilities,” said
Grants Available for EducationAnd Employment Projects
Kathy Martinez, ODEP assistantsecretary.
To be eligible, grant applicantsmust be institutes of higher
edu-cation that provide education andcareer training that can be
com-pleted in two years or lessand recipients of funding throughthe
Trade Adjustment AssistanceCommunity College and CareerTraining
grant program.
Grantees will be required to usethe Guideposts for Success,
devel-oped by ODEP in collaborationwith the National Collaborative
onWorkforce and Disability forYouth, as a framework in develop-ing
their projects. They must alsoestablish partnerships with
publicworkforce systems, intermediary or-ganizations serving as
conveners,brokers, technical assistance provid-ers, philanthropic
organizations,nonprofits or education agencies.
The programs mustserve individuals with disabilitiesbetween the
ages of 14 and 24.This award will cover a 60-monthperiod of
performance and willfund the first 12-month budgetperiod. The
deadline is Aug.11.For information visit dol.gov/odep.
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INFORMATIONFORUMC.U.R.B. GETS READY FOR 11TH
BIKE RIDE TO RAISE FUNDSThe 11th Annual C.U.R.B. Bike Ride,
is
scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 9. The slow-paced family-friendly
11 mile bike ridearound Long Beach will raise funds for Citi-zens
United to Remove Barriers (C.U.R.B.),a local nonprofit organization
that helpspeople with disabilities.
The kick off will take place at 660 Magno-lia Blvd, Long Beach
at 10 a.m. and will bepreceded by live music and concluding
withraffle drawings and free food. The is a $25registration fee and
sign in will open at 9a.m. T-shirts will be distributed at this
time.
Pre registration forms are availableat http://
bike4curb.com.
GOLF OUTING WILLBENEFIT VISCARDI
The Viscardi Center will host its secondannual golf outing at
the Meadow BrookClub in Jericho on Sept. 9, 10:30 a.m. to 8p.m.
Included will be one round of golf, contests,cocktail reception
and auctions. Sponsorshippackages are available. Proceeds will
sup-port employment services for people withdisabilities.
For information call Linda Tibbals, 516465-1595.
SURF OUTING PLANNEDFOR LONG BEACH
An Surfer’s Way outing will be held onWednesday, Aug. 13 at
Riverside Beach,(off of Riverside Boulevard) Long Beach.
Registration may be done byemailing [email protected] with
thechild’s name and age, parent’s orguardian’s name and cell phone
number,and the date and time of the event you areregistering for.
Surfers Way will send anemail confirmation when the child is
reg-istered.
Surfer’s Way provides surf outings onlyfor children (aged 3-15)
with special needs.
Outings are available by appointmentfrom 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visit the website at www.surfersway.org.
REGISTRATION OPENFOR BEAUTY PAGEANT
Miss Exceptional Long Island, a beautypageant people with
intellectual or develop-mental disabilities, will take place at
Cre-ative Ministries in Oakdale on Aug 17 at6:30 p.m.
Every contestant is crowned and given asash, trophy and bouquet
of flowers.
Any girl or boy who is older than four yearsold may enter.
To register, volunteer or sponsor call 516238-4825.
LET ALL THE CHILDREN PLAYHAS WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Let All The Children Play (LATCP) is of-fering inclusive sport
and recreation pro-grams for children and young adults withand
without disabilities.
The programs are available Wednesdaysand Fridays through
September 19 at 2 p.m.at the LATCP Playground at Field 4
atEisenhower Park.
Activities include sports, art therapy,dance, comedy show and
more.
For information contact Shea Shapiro,516 597-4937.
SUNY HAS SURVEY ONBULLYING AND THE DISABLEDThe Alberti Center
for Bullying Abuse
Prevention at the University at Buffalo,SUNY and the New York
State Develop-mental Disabilities Planning Council areconducting
research about bullying inci-dents, coping strategies, resources
and sup-ports and intervention and preventionstrategies currently
being used in schoolsand the community to address bullyingwith
individuals with developmental dis-abilities.
The goal is to use the information to de-velop a strategic plan
for bullying preven-tion and individuals with disabilities.
Al-though you may have received informationabout this study
previously, the survey isanother way for you to provide your
inputon this important topic.
A survey for individuals with disabilitiesin grades five through
adulthood, as wellas parents of children with disabilities ingrades
three through 12 and a variety ofservices providers maybe taken
online atwww.survey monkey.com/s/PL8JT6W.
EMPLOYMENT WEBSITELAUNCHED FOR NEW YORKERSNew York’s Department
of Civil Service
has created a website portal to help peoplewith disabilities to
find employment.
Employers are urged to check the site’sjob seeker database when
looking to fill aposition. Visit www.cs.ny.gov/rp55/.
DREDF PLANS 35TH-ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The Disability Rights Educationand Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF)
will hold its35th Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday,Sept. 3 at
the Ed Roberts Campus in Berke-ley, Calif. from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Sen.
Tom Harkinand Rep. George Miller will be honored fortheir long
years of public service to the dis-ability community, as well as to
explore withthem how the movement can best advancetheir legacy and
lessons. For information visitDREDF.org.
SCHOLARSHIP OFFERED TOSUPPORT HIGHER EDUCATIONThe United States
Association of Blind Ath-
letes (USABA) recently announces that a newscholarship, The
Valor Achievement Award,will be available to college-bound students
whoare blind and visually impaired that will beFunded by the I C
You Foundation, Inc.
One male and one female student will beawarded $500 respectively
towards theirhigher education. The Valor AchievementAward
Scholarship’s criteria require that stu-dent must be legally blind;
student must beenrolled or enrolling in a two-year or
four-yearcollege or university, including technicalschool; and
student must have a GPA of 2.5 orbetter.
Interested applicants may send the re-quired documents to Katie
Keating at the U.S.Association of Blind Athletes at
[email protected] no later than August 29, 2014.Application must
include applicant’s name;applicant’s contact information
includingphone number, email, mailing address; offi-cial
transcripts from most recent school year;applicant’s short
biography; an essay discuss-ing what role sports has played in
his/her life(1 to 2 pages)
Questions should be addressed to Ms.Keating at 719 866-3222.
ACTING CLASSES HELD FORSTUDENTS WITH DISABILITIESThe Gateway in
Bellport, in collaboration
with East End Disability Associates, Inc., isoffering a two week
acting workshop called“All the World’s a Stage: Summer
Intensive”Aug. 18 through 28.
Designed for the specific needs of actingstudents on the autism
spectrum or withlearning disabilities, this introduction toacting
workshop serves as both a steppingstone to placement in mainstream
actingclasses at The Gateway, as well as an oppor-tunity to
strengthen self-esteem, communi-cation, and social skills.
For information call 631 286-1133.
FCC LAUNCHES VIDEOCONSUMER SUPPORT SERVICEThe Federal
Communications Commission
(FCC) has launched a video consumer supportservice called the
ASL Consumer SupportLine. The Support Line is specifically
designedto enable consumers who are deaf and hard ofhearing to
engage in a direct video call with aconsumer specialist at the
FCC.
The service will allow consumers who aredeaf and hard of hearing
to communicate intheir primary language, American Sign Lan-guage
(ASL).
For information about this direct video ser-vice visit
www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/disability-rights-office.
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To have your event listed,send information
[email protected] deadline for calendaritems is the 10th
day of themonth prior to the date ofpublication. Calendaritems must
include specificdate.
CALENDAR OF EVENTSAUGUST 3
Eastern Regional AmputeeGolf Championship at theSeaview Hotel
& Golf Club,Galloway. For information callBob Buck, 610
867-9295.Through Aug. 5.
AUGUST 7Golf & Tennis Tournamentbenefitting the United
Cere-bral Palsy Association ofNassau County, Inc. at NorthHills
Country Club, Man-hasset. For information call516 378-2000, ext.
648.
AUGUST 8Deadline for submission ofapplications for AutismSpeaks
local grant programs.Visit
www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/docs/2014_local_grant_application_0.pdf.
AUGUST 11Bicycle Camp for Individu-als with Disabilities
PrattRecreational Center, PostCampus of Long Island Uni-versity,
720 Northern Blvd.,Brookville. For informationcall 516
983-7008.
AUGUST 12Front Door Training Ses-sion, 2 to 4 p.m. in the
Multi-purpose room at the Long Is-land Developmental Disabili-ties
Regional Office, 415AOser Ave. Hauppauge. For in-formation call 631
434-6000.
AUGUST 14Caregiver Support Group11 a.m. to noon and 2 to 3
p.m.Alzheimer’s Disease ResourceCenter, 33 Flying Point
Road,Southampton. For informa-tion call 631 207-1057, ext.8.
AUGUST 19Caregiver Support Group,9:30 to 11:30 a.m.at
ShelterRock Public Library,165Searingtown Road, Albertson.For
information and for otherlocations call 516 227-8900.
AUGUST 25NAGA National AmputeeGolf Championship, at TheSignature
at West Neck,Virginia Beach, Va. For in-formation call Kenny
Green,615 415-9518. Through Aug.29.
AUGUST 28UCI ParaCycling WorldChampionships Greenville,
S.C. For info. visit www.usaba.org. Through Sept. 1.
AUGUST 2921st Bi-County Empower-ment Conference at theMelville
Marriott, Melville.For information call NassauCounty Office Mental
Health,Chemical Dependency andDevelopmental DisabilitiesServices,
631 226-3900ext.305.
SEPTEMBER 3DREDF 35th AnniversaryCelebration at the ERC, 5:30to
8 p.m. For information call800 348-4232.
SEPTEMBER 7Paralympic Games Rio deJaneiro, Brazil. For
informa-tion visit www.usaba.org.Through Sept. 18.
SEPTEMBER 8The Self-Advocacy Associa-tion of NYS Nassau
Re-gional Meeting 11 to 12:30p.m. at 115 E. Bethpage Rd.,Plainview.
For information call631 434-6936.
SEPTEMBER 9Golf Outing Fundraiser tobenefit the Viscardi
Center10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. atMeadow Brook Club, CedarSwamp Rd./Rte
107 Jericho.For information call 516 465-1595.
SEPTEMBER 14Comedy for a Cause! Fundraiser for Pulse of N.Y. at
theBrokerage Comedy Club,Bellmore. For informationcall 516
579-4711.
SEPTEMBER 15Golf Tournament to benefitSkills Unlimited 1:30 p.m.
atRock Hill Golf and CountryClub, 105 Clancy Rd.,Manorville. For
informationcall 631 567-3320.
SEPTEMBER 17Independent Us Self-Advo-cacy Group 4:15 to 5:30
p.m.at 415 A Oser Ave.,Hauppauge. For informationcall 631
434-6936.
SEPTEMBER 21Ducks Game and BBQFundraiser, 12:05 p.m. tobenefit
The Family Center forAutism. RSVP by deadline Au-gust 15. For
information callTina Morena, 516 741-9000ext. 336.
SEPTEMBER 23MS Support Group, 11 a.m.to 1 p.m., St Frances
deChantel, school building-backof parking lot, Rm. 16, 1309Wantagh
Avenue, Wantagh.For information call 516 945-4526.
SEPTEMBER 27Dolphin Tale 2, SensoryFriendly Film for
FamiliesAffected by Autism 10 a.m.at Stony Brook Lowes The-ater,
Smithhaven Mall. Forinformation visit
www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films.
SEPTEMBER 30The Self-Advocacy Associa-tion of NYS Regional
Lead-ership Meeting 4:30 to 6:30p.m. at 415 A Oser Ave.,Hauppauge.
For informationcall 631 434-6936.
ONGOING EVENTSLet All the Children Play in-clusive sports and
recreationsummer program, 2 p.m., ev-ery Wednesday and Friday
atField Four of EisenhowerPark, East Meadow. For infor-mation call
516 597-4937.Through Sept. 19.
Sky Zone Cares first Mon-days 1 to 5:30 p.m., 111 Ro-deo Drive,
Deer Park. For in-formation call 631 392-2600.
Family Centered PatientAdvocacy: A Training Pro-gram helping
families becomepart of the medical team. Forinformation call Ilene
Corina,516 579-4711.
Long Island Council of theBlind third Saturdays 12:30to 4 p.m.
at the Elsworth AllenTown Park Community Room,45 Motor Ave., S.
Farming-dale. For information call Ed,516 385-8756.
Cancer Support Group firstMondays 2 to 4 p.m. atFranklin
Hospital, 900Franklin Ave., Valley Stream.For information call 516
256-6478.
Lupus Alliance of Long Is-land/Queens SupportGroup once a month
on Tues-
days 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Smith-town and East Meadow.
Forinformation call 516 802-3142.
Family Comes First Televi-sion Series Mondays at 10:30p.m. on
Telecare. For infor-mation call Vincent J. Russo,516 683-1717.
Veterans Outreach Pro-gram sponsored byNorthport VA Medical
Centerat locations in Riverhead,Northport, East Meadow,Patchogue,
Valley Stream andBay Shore. For informationcall Debbie, 631
261-4400ext. 7084.
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SPORTS SCENE
The United States Associationof Blind Athletes (USABA) willplay
host to a National AdaptiveSports Conference, Sept. 15through18, in
Colorado Springs,Colo.
All Veterans Administration(VA) staff and community
leveladaptive sports professionals, whowork with Veterans and
servicemembers who are blind and visu-ally impaired, are welcome
andencouraged to apply to this eventtaking place at the
ColoradoSprings OlympicTraining.Attendees will gainhands-on
experience in sixParalympic sports for the blindand visually
impaired to includetrack and field, judo, rowing,biathlon, tandem
cycling andgoalball.
Goalball is a sport originallycreated as a rehabilitation
pro-gram for blinded veterans return-ing from World War II.
Gainingthe necessary tools in an activeenvironment allows VA staff
andcommunity level adaptive sportsprofessionals to effectively
imple-ment programs at their home lo-cation.
“By providing this NationalAdaptive Sports Conference forVA
staff and community leveladaptive sports professionals, wewill
continue to be the leading or-ganization to build the
infrastruc-
The nominees for the 22ndannual ESPN ESPY [sports]Awards were
announced re-cently, including categories forBest Male and Female
Athletewith a Disability, all 10 of thenominees are Paralympians
orParalympic hopefuls.
The men nominated for BestMale Athlete with a disabilityare Mark
Bathum of Washing-ton competes in the men’s visu-ally impaired
super-G and supercombined; Declan Farmer ofFlorida, competes in
sled hockey;
N early 60 eliteparatriathletes com-peted recently in the
In-ternational Triathlon Union(ITU) World Paratriathlon Chi-cago
showcasing an internationalfield, including athletes from
Aus-tralia, Italy and Brazil amongother countries.
The 750-meter swim, 20-kilo-meter bike, 5-kilometer run
eventkicked off the 2014 ITU WorldTriathlon Chicago weekend,which
featured elite triathletesand 4,000 amateurs. Athletes whoraced on
Saturday morning rep-resented five different physicallychallenged
divisions, rangingfrom wheelchair users to visuallyimpaired.
“It’s a lovely venue, and it’s re-ally well organized. I’m
really en-joying the weekend,” said Chris-tine Robbins (PT5) of
Canada.
The multi-lap course with tightturns on the bike was true to
theITU style of racing, allowing spec-
USABA Will Host NationalAdaptive Sports Conference
U.S. ParalympiansWin Nominations
tators a chance to see the athletesnumerous times as they passed
byBuckingham Fountain before fin-ishing on the iconic blue
carpet,known around the world for themost prestigious
fast-pacedtriathlon events. The setup offeredathletes a taste of
what’s to comeat the 2015 ITU ParatriathlonWorld Championships
scheduledto take place in Chicago.
“As we get closer to Rio, theseITU events are going to keep
get-ting smaller and tighter,” Jamie
ture to positively impact Veteransand members of the Armed
Forceswho are blind and visually im-paired, said the USABA
Exec.Dir. Mark Lucas.
U.S. Paralympics, a division ofthe U.S. Olympic Committee(USOC),
selected USABA to re-ceive grant funding in support ofParalympic
sport and physicalactivity programs for disabledVeterans and
disabled membersof the Armed Forces. More than$8M in funds from the
U.S. De-partment of Veterans Affairs hasbeen awarded to 70
communityorganizations and National Gov-erning Bodies around the
country.
Brown (PT3) of Carlsbad, Califsaid after he won his
divisionSaturday morning. “If I keepbuilding up points, stay
healthyand keep training hard, I’d loveto represent the U.S. [at
the
World Championships].”Paratriathlon will be contested
in Rio as part of the ParalympicGames program for the first
time,offering paratriathletes a chanceto compete for medals at the
high-est level of the sport.
“This is the start of my road toRio. I’m doing the whole ITU
cir-cuit,” said Aaron Scheidies (PT5),of Seattle, Wash.
Though the event representedathletes from 13 countries, theU.S.
had a strong showing, pick-ing up seven titles across the
10divisions.
Races included an age-groupsprint- and Olympic-distanceevents
and an elite men’s race.
World’s Top Paratriathletes Race in Chicago
Continued on page 13
ONE OF OUR PRIMARY GOALS IS TO ENABLE PEOPLETO CONTROL THEIR OWN
LIVES BY GETTING THE
GOVERNMENT’S MONEY SENT TO USINSTEAD OF AGENCIES
INNERSIGHT means FREEDOMAdvocates for the Disabled
Contact usINNERSIGHT, INC, Islip, NY 11751(631) 224-3090 or
(631) 478-3590
Email - [email protected] (not attachments please)Visit our
website www.innersight.info
Facebook-www.facebook.com/#!Frank.Perino.INNERSIGHTTwitter -
https://twitter.com/innersightinfo
Hear us on Blogtalkradio7 nights a week 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
eastern
www.blogtalkradio.com/innersightinfoLive call in (213) 816-1650
weekends featuring autistic programming.
Also on WRB.
Watch us on television, by checking our
websitewww.innersight.info/
Call (631) 224-3090 to find our local listingfor Long Island
Cablevision.
On Manhattan Neighborhood Network we can be seen on theinternet
www.mnn.org on the Spirit Channel, (Channel 3).
MNN broadcasts to TWC Channel 57,RCN Channel 84 and
Verizon FIOS Channel 35 Wednesday nights at 11 p.m.
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SPORTS SCENEBy Bill Kauffman
The U.S. Women’s SittingVolleyball Team waswithin a point of
capturingits first major international title,but its nemesis China
came awaywith a hard-fought 23-25, 25-22,19-25, 25-21, 17-15
victory toclaim the ParaVolley Sitting Vol-leyball World
Championshipsgold medal in Elblag, Poland.
No. 1 China and No. 3 UnitedStates have faced each other inthe
gold-medal match of the lastfour major events (2008 and
2012Paralympic Games, 2010 and2014 World Championships), andeach
time the Chinese have pulledout the victory.
By reaching the title match ofthe World Championships, boththe
U.S. and China had alreadyqualified for the 2016 ParalympicGames to
take place in Brazil.
In the fifth set, China held theearly lead at 5-4, but the
U.S.scored eight of the next 12 pointsto assume a 12-9 advantage
andclosing in on the title. The Ameri-cans held match point at
14-13,but the Chinese answered andtook the lead at 15-14 and wenton
to win 17-15.
Katie Holloway of LakeStevens, Wash. scored a team-high 24
points with 23 kills on 62attacks. Heather Erickson ofFayetteville,
N.C. chipped in 14
U.S. Women Take Silver at Sitting World Championshipspoints via
12 kills and two blocks.Michelle Schiffler of Lake Wales,Fla. made
in 13 points with ateam-high six blocks, five kills andtwo aces.
Monique Burkland ofArdmore, Okla. charted 10 pointswith six kills,
two blocks and twoaces.
China held slim margins inblocks (17-15) and aces (8-7) dur-ing
the match. Both teams con-verted 32 percent of its attacksinto
points. Team USA had a 59positive reception percent for thematch to
China’s 54 percent.
China’s Sheng led all scor-ers with 31 points, including 22kills
on 64 attacks, sevenblocks and two aces.
The U.S. led much of the firstset, including a 16-13 advantageat
the second technical timeout.However, China stayed close andtied
the set at 23-all before theAmericans scored the final twopoints.
China led by as many asfour points in the second set, butthe U.S.
took a 15-13 advantageprior to China netting threestraight points
to grab a 16-15margin at the second technicaltimeout. China went on
to win 25-22 as the U.S. could not regain theadvantage.
In the third set, China rushedout to an 8-2 advantage at the
firsttechnical timeout. The U.S. re-sponded with 14 of the next
19
points to take a 16-13 advantageinto the second technical
timeout.Team USA cruised into a 25-19victory in the third set.
China led
nearly the entire fourth set withas big a lead as five points at
16-11 at the second technical timeoutbefore closing the frame at
25-21.
Raymond Martin of New Jerseyis a wheelchair racer; MikeShea of
California competes insnowboard cross event; andEvan Strong of
Hawaii also com-petes in the snowboard crossevent.
The women nominated areMinda Dentler of Washington isa
handcyclist; Oksana Masters ofKentucky competes in
sittingcross-country; Tatyana McFad-den of Maryland also
competes
NOMINATIONSContinued from page 12
in cross-country and track andfield and marathons;
LaurieStephens of Massachusetts is asitting alpine skier in the
giantslalom and combined events;and Jamie Whitmore of Califor-nia
is a Paracyclist.
All nominated athletes havemedaled repeatedly and are
con-sidered exceptional athletes.
The 2014 ESPYS will be tele-vised live on July 16 at 9:00 p.m.ET
on ESPN.
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CARA GETS NEW NAMEContinued from page 3work on their bill so we
canspeak with one voice about theimportance of reauthorizingthese
vital programs.”
First enacted in 2006 andthen reauthorized in 2011, theCombating
Autism Act hasdedicated more than $1.7 bil-lion to the National
Institutesof Health (NIH) for researchgrants, the Centers for
DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC)to monitor autism prevalenceand
the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services(HHS) to train medical profes-sionals
in early detection. TheHouse and Senate bill wouldauthorize another
five years offunding at the current appro-priations level of $260
million.
Both the House and Senatebills would continue federalfunding for
five years, reconsti-tute the Interagency AutismCoordinating
Council (IACC)and strengthen accountabilityover federal research
funding
to avoid any duplication of ef-fort.
A “National Autism Spec-trum Disorder Initiative” wouldbe
created by elevating an ex-isting official at the Office ofHealth
and Human Services(HHS) to serve as the key pointperson
coordinating the federalgovernment’s various autismefforts. In
addition, a new studywould be commissioned to focuson the needs of
young adults
and transitioning youth withan autism spectrum disorder orother
developmental disability,as well as the challenges theyface
transitioning from school-based services to adult services.
Changing the name of thelaw to Autism CARES,Menendez said would
“moreaccurately reflect the nature ofthe programs without
alienat-ing the very people these pro-grams serve.”
student’s preparation and readi-ness for entry-level
employment.
The research analysis compiledby the National Secondary
Tran-sition Technical Assistance Cen-ter (NSTTAC) worked to
identifythe best evidence-based practicesin the field of secondary
transi-tion.
A presentation by Eastern Suf-folk BOCES Dir. of Career,
Tech-nical and Adult Education Pro-grams Leah Arnold and
associ-ates provided discussion on themyriad benefits that can
beachieved through career and tech-
EMPLOYMENT CONFERENCE TURNOUTContinued from page 5
nical education coursework andexperiences.
The NYS Department of Laborcareer Development and
YouthInitiatives Office Representativesfacilitated a workshop,
UsingCareerZone to Inform the CareerPlan. A highlight of this
confer-ence was the employer panel fa-cilitated by Susin Packert,
seniorcounselor from ACCES-VR. Theemployers on the panel spoke
toentry-level workforce expectationsin order to create a shared
under-standing of the labor/businessworld’s expectations.
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Recent findings by BurkeMedical Research Insti-tute scientists
could oneday pave the way for new treat-ments for spinal cord
injuries.
The study, published as a coverstory with commentary, in the
cur-rent issue of the Journal of Experi-mental Medicine, found for
thefirst time that activating a proteinknown as B-RAF promotes
theregeneration of injured axons inthe central nervous system
ofmice.
Until now, it was thought thataxons, which conduct signals
be-tween neurons, could not re-growor be restored after an injury
inhigher animals such as mice or inhumans. Injuries, such as
thoseaffecting the spinal cord can dam-age these axons making their
re-
Burke Scientists Show Promise for Spinal Cord
Treatmentsgeneration an important first steptoward possible
recovery.
Since earlier studies found thataxon growth can be blocked by
dis-abling B-RAF, the researcherswanted to find out if activating
B-RAF could—in contrast—helppromote axon growth and regen-eration.
The team, led by JianZhong director of the MolecularRegeneration
and NeuroimagingLaboratory at the Burke MedicalResearch Institute
in WhitePlains and assistant professor ofneurology and neuroscience
atWeill Cornell Medical College inNew York City, found that
axongrowth was promoted in three dis-tinct scenarios. These were in
adeveloping mouse embryo thatdidn’t have an important normalaxon
growth signal; in injured
sensory neurons whose axonsgrow into the central nervous
sys-tem; and then in an injured opticnerve which is part of the
centralnervous system.
“Not very long ago, we were notsure if neurons in the
mammaliancentral nervous system could everregrow axons to any
usefullengths at all,” said Zhong.
“While there is no conclusivedata on spinal cord injury at
themoment, the optic nerve datamakes it very likely that the B-RAF
activation will also stimulateregeneration after spinal cord
in-jury, though additional researchneeds to be done.”
“These significant findings rep-resent the importance of basic
re-search for rehabilitation and theeffects it will continue to
have on
how we approach treatment,” saidRajiv Ratan executive director
ofBurke Medical Research Instituteand professor of neurology
andneuroscience at Weill CornellMedical College.
Scientists from the BurkeMedical Research Institute in-cluded
Zhong as well as KevinO’Donovan, Kaijie Ma, andHengchang Guo. Also
contribut-ing to the study were scientistsfrom Harvard Medical
School,Temple University School ofMedicine, Icahn School of
Medi-cine at Mount Sinai and CentreHospitalier Universitaire de
Que-bec in Canada.
The study was supported by theNational Institutes of Health,
theWhitehall Foundation and theBurke Foundation.
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SPORTS SCENET here were smiles allaround on the medalstands July
5, as both theMen’s and Women’s U.S. NationalTeams won their
respective gamesin the final round of the GoalballWorld
Championship Tourna-ment in Espoo, Finland.
The men defeated Lithuania inthe bronze medal game 4-2,
whichsecured their spot in the 2016Summer Paralympic Games inRio de
Janeiro, Brazil. The womendefeated Russa 3-0 to win the goldand
locked in their spot for Rio. Thetop three finishers from both
themen’s and women’s teams quali-fied for Rio.
“It is a tribute to the hard workand commitment to excellence
byour athletes and coaches that wehave achieved outstanding
suc-cess in these championships,” saidMark Lucas, executive
director ofthe United States Association ofBlind Athletes
(USABA).
Tatyana McFadden of United States celebrates her victory
withManuela Schar, left, of Switzerland, who finished second
andWakako Tsuchida, right, of Japan, who finished third in the
2014London Marathon.
McFadden defended her London Marathon title cruising tovictory
well clear of the field and setting a new course record inthe
process. She showed that she was none the worse followingan
eventful and demanding start to the year in which she tookpart in
her first ever Winter Paralympic Games, clinching silver inthe 1
kilometer cross country sprint in Sochi to add to her 10medals from
three summer Games.
McFadden had returned from Russia three weeks earlier butshe
showed no signs of fatigue as she powered round the
course,finishing in 1:45:12, nearly a minute faster than her
winning timelast year. Early on in the winding 26.2mile course,
2010 winnerTsuchida pushed hard downhill, but McFadden caught her
on theuphill climb and with marathon world champion Schar, the
threeathletes broke free from the pack.
At the half way stage McFadden made her move, pushing awayfrom
Schar and Tsuchida. The 24-year-old stretched her lead aseach mile
passed, focusing on maintaining her speed as she racedon alone.
McFadden crossed the line more than 90 seconds clearof her
rivals.
U.S. Goalball Teams Qualify for Paralympics
Team USA stressed prior to thegame that the key to their
victorywould be efficiency on defense andnot giving up any
penalties, whichproved to be their downfall theirprevious loss to
Finland. They ac-complished both objectives and onlygave up two
penalties during thegame, both of which they blocked.
“We came here to accomplishthat goal...to qualify...and we
got
it done. To do it against the teamthat has given us so much
troubleover the years makes it so muchsweeter,” said team member
JoeHamilton.
“They’ll get a little break to cel-ebrate but then we’ll be back
towork because our ultimate goal isto win a medal in the
Paralympics,hopefully a gold medal,” U.S.Men’s head coach Mike Lege
said.
The U.S. women won gold in arematch game against Russia,who they
lost to 0-3 during theirfirst round robin game.
“We always know when we playRussia it’s going to be a
prettytough game and we knew goinginto World that it was going to
betough,” said center Amanda Den-nis. “We came here to qualify
forRio and we came out as WorldChampions and USA hasn’t beenWorld
Champions since 2002, soit [feels] pretty good.”
“We still have a few things towork on,” U.S. Women’s headcoach
Ken Armbruster said, em-phasizing the need to get more ex-perience
for the younger womenin the program through upcom-ing international
tournaments.
Now that both USA teams havequalified for the 2016
SummerParalympic Games, they can nowfocus the next two years on
pre-paring for the Paralympics.
American Sets Course Record in London
On Saturday, September 20 wheelchairathletes of all ages and
ability levels willcompete in a variety of track and field,table
tennis and slalom course events onthe Burke campus in White
Plains.
The community is invited to come cheeron the athletes!
For more information, call the BURKE WHEELCHAIR GAMES
HOTLINE(914) 597-2850 or visit www.burke.org to download the
registration form.
Pioneering Rehabilitation™
BE A PART OF AN INSPIRING AND UNFORGETTABLE EVENT
WWW.BURKE.ORG | 785 MAMARONECK AVENUE | WHITE PLAINS, NY 10605 |
(888) 99-BURKE
THE 2014 BURKE WHEELCHAIR GAMES
Registration beginsat 8:30 a.m.Entrance fee is $25for
athletesFinancial assistancewith registration feeis availableFree
for spectatorsLive entertainment,games, free parking
