From the Wall Street Journal:

Home appliance manufacturers are hoping to combat drooping revenues by developing more universally accessible equipment geared to the needs of aging baby boomers.

Among the planned innovations are easy-open oven doors, jumbo washing machine knobs and remote-control window motors.

The nation’s 76 million baby boomers control the biggest share of purchasing power for the roughly $25 billion U.S. appliance market, and many are already experiencing some symptoms of aging. In addition, more than half of Americans are expected to have elder-care responsibilities within 10 years, and many will want senior-friendly homes.

Manufacturers are training young designers by using “empathy sessions” and simulations to build understanding of some of the physical aspects of aging. Video included.

(Whirlpool photo)

Author Diana Wagman writes in the Los Angeles Times that her 90-year-old father remains alive after a massive stroke, but she wishes he would die. She says he has access to the latest medical care and is not in a coma or in pain, but he is only occasionally responsive and relies on a feeding tube for survival.

Her father is an atheist who made clear in an advance medical directive that he did not want to be kept alive by extraordinary measures.

An excerpt:

… My husband thinks we have not respected my father’s wishes and that we are failing him by keeping him alive. One of my sisters agrees.

I know she’s right … Still, two months ago he was laughing at our president — although he couldn’t remember his name and called him simply “that joker.” He was able to hold his newest grandchild. He had moments of joy. The question becomes: “How many moments are enough to justify a life?”

On a recent visit with her father at the hospital, Wagman says she leaned in and whispered to him “that it was OK to stop fighting. I told him we all loved him and we would never forget him. I said it was time to die. It was not easy, and I cried. ” After leaving for the airport the next morning she reflected, “I don’t want to be the one to remove the feeding tube, but I am not sorry I said what I did. It is time for him to go.”

Caitlin Gibson, writing in the Washington Post Magazine, documents Caitlin Schroeder’s decision to undergo a painful limb lengthening procedure and months of physical therapy. Thirteen-year-old Caitlin (shown left) was born with a form of dwarfism.

Caitlin’s mother was hesitant but allowed her daughter to learn about the options. The teenager chose to proceed because she said she felt limited by the social impact of her condition.

The procedure added 5-3/4 inches to Caitlin’s height. She is now 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches tall — a difference that now allows her to reach the sink and ride a bike.

A height increase of up to 16 inches is, [her surgeon] says, “a tremendously life-altering functional improvement.” But not everyone views the additional height with the same sense of appreciation. As the number of dwarf patients seeking limb-lengthening has grown, so has the controversy surrounding the physical, emotional and social impact of the procedure. Many members of the dwarf community believe that limb-lengthening sends the wrong message: that in order to fit in, be professionally successful or simply lead a “normal” life, it is necessary to conform to the larger population’s standards of height.

The surgery is most successful when patients are younger and their bones heal more readily, but many question whether youngsters have the judgment to make the decision for themselves.

See related post here.

(Washington Post photo)

From the Denver Post, 9News.com (NBC affiliate in Denver), Rocky Mountain News:

Advocates in Colorado are promoting the creation of a state-backed investment fund to help pay for the long-term care of people with developmental disabilities. The proposal comes after the resounding defeat last month of Amendment 51, which would have raised the state sales tax by a fraction of a percent to provide services for the thousands of people who are currently stranded on state waiting lists.

Under the plan, unveiled at a meeting of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, the state would contribute 25 cents for every dollar invested on behalf of a person with a developmental disability. Committee members made no commitments.

Amendment 51 failed with 62.4 percent of voters saying no.

Justice Department says constitutional rights may have been violated, finds 53 died from preventable conditions.

An excerpt from the Dallas Morning News:

Residents of Texas’ state schools for the disabled are in so much danger of neglect and mistreatment that their constitutional rights have been violated, the U.S. Department of Justice charges in a scathing report sent to the state this week.

The institutions fail to protect those in their care from harm, don’t provide adequate health care, and restrict residents more than is necessary, a violation of federal law, acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker wrote in a 60-page letter to Gov. Rick Perry released Tuesday.

She threatened legal action if Texas doesn’t resolve the problems –- which include an excessive number of residents dying of “preventable conditions,” and hundreds of state school employees who have been fired for abuse, neglect or exploitation of residents.

“Facility residents experience needlessly high rates of injurious behaviors; they are subjected to medications that have harmful side effects and that restrain, not correct,” the letter notes.

Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disability Services, which oversees the state schools, said her agency is reviewing the letter and will do everything in its power to comply.

Among the report’s findings: 53 residents died from preventable conditions such as respiratory failure that are “often the result of lapses in care.” Nearly 5,000 Texans live in 13 institutions, called “state schools.”

See also:

Earlier posts here.

From the Detroit News:

The Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service has filed a lawsuit against Oakland University, alleging the university has failed to follow federal fair housing and disability rights laws when it denied a student’s request to live in the dorms.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of Micah Fialka-Feldman, a 24-year-old Huntington Woods resident who has a mild cognitive impairment that hinders his ability to read and write. Through a special program called OPTIONS, Fialka-Feldman has been sitting in on courses, volunteering on campus and participating in clubs.

Last year, Fialka-Feldman arranged to live in the dorms on campus. But before move-in day, the university withdrew the housing offer, saying Fialka-Feldman is not eligible to live in the dorms.

Earlier posts start here.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Career Solutions, an employment service operated by Down Syndrome of Louisville, is one of several groups in the city that find jobs for people who need a little extra help.

One of its clients, 25-year-old Aaron Fentress (above), works six hours a day, three days a week managing cardboard boxes at the distribution center of children’s clothing maker Hanna Andersson. It’s not a glamorous job, but he does it with a smile.

Hiring people with disabilities should be seen as a sound business decision, not an act of charity, says Career Solutions employment specialist Maya Chan. She tells prospective employers: “If it’s not good for your business, then don’t do it.” Some employers are fearful, Chan says, but a lot of the fears can be dispelled easily when they meet a person with a disability.