Story Archives of 'Disabilities'

Legally blind people have achieved autonomy in many aspects of their lives, but rarely have true independence when it comes to getting from point A to point B. They can walk, take public transport or depend on friends and family for transportation.

The National Federation of the Blind is working to change that. The Federation’s Jernigan Institute is partnering with Virginia Tech to take a giant first step in creating a vehicle that the vision impaired can drive. Together they built an open-air buggy, outfitted with laser range finders, a voice command interface, and a vibrating vest to let drivers know when to turn, slow down and break.

Wes Majerus was one of the first blind people to test drive the car earlier this month. Wes is an acess technology specialist with the National Federation of the Blind’s Jernigan Institute, and he joined us on the line from Baltimore to tell us more.

Wired's Autopia blog: Students Build a Car the Blind Can Drive

Scientific Blogging: Blind People Behind the Wheel? Yes Indeed

(Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech)

Gimp. It’s a word we’re not supposed to even think about, let alone say out loud. Gimp: as in, a lame person, or a halting walk. We’re also taught from an early age not to stare at people who walk with a gimp, or who are disabled or differently formed. This weekend, a modern-dance performance invites you to do both: think about the word gimp. And stare.

Gimp is the title of a series of works performed by able-bodied dancers alongside dancers with underdeveloped or amputated limbs and other physical disabilities. It was choreographed by Heidi Latsky, once a celebrated principal dancer for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company who is currently director of the Heidi Latsky Dance Company. She joins Word of Mouth on the line from New York. We're also joined by Lawrence Carter-Long, a performer in Gimp, a producer on WBAI’s largest minority radio show, and the Director of Advocacy at the Disabilities Network of New York City.

Gimp will show at The Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston on April 24-25. An aerial performance by Jennifer Bricker, a dancer born without legs, and dancer Nathan Crawford will preview works from Gimp on rigging set up outside the ICA on the Boston Harbor as a prologue to this weekend’s shows.

Watch a preview for Gimp:

(Photo courtesy Heidi Latsky Dance Company)

Today on Word of Mouth, we’re talking about the wild, wooly world of service animals. We’re not just talking about seeing-eye dogs, here. A whole cadre of species is now trained to help Americans with disabilities, from miniature horses to therapy ducks and kangaroos. Rebecca Skloot wrote about these animals and the controversy they’re stirring up. Her article appears in the New York Times Magazine. She joins us on the show to explain new proposals that would limit the use of these animals in public places.

(Photo courtesy of Rebecca Skloot)

Amazing things are being done in the field of robotics. And some of that work holds promise for people with reduced mobility, including soldiers injured on the battlefield.

At the University of Washington, researchers have created a lifelike robotic hand. Each bone was modeled on a human bone, and seven motors represent the muscles in the hand. When people eventually attach the prosthetic to their arm, the idea is that the same signals they once used to move a biological hand would work to control the electronic replica.

Word of Mouth producer Avishay Artsy recently spoke with Yoky Matsuoka, the director of the neurobotics laboratory at the University of Washington, and asked her how she became interested in creating robotic limbs.

Watch a video of Yoky Matsuoka discussing how brain signals can control prosthetic limbs, and other advances in the hybrid field of neuroscience and robotics. The presentation was given at the 2008 New Yorker Conference "Stories from the Near Future."

Henniker resident Susanne Gorin says her ten year old son, Colin, makes connections with his peers through the afterschool programs and summer camps at White Birch Community Center.