Tag: Good Morning America

The Bionic Chef

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

When choosing a career path, the average person doesn’t take disability into consideration. That can change in an instant, if the person has some sort of accident, causing them to become disabled in some way, shape, or form.

An excellent example of this is the “Bionic Chef”. When people think of notable chefs, Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, or even Bobby Flay might come to mind.

When I was younger, there was a time I wanted to go to cooking school. At the personalized orientation the cooking school offered, the interviewer had no problem telling me that because I didn’t have full use of both hands, the idea of me even attempting cooking instruction was almost impossible. Now that I’m more knowledgeable on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I wonder if that’s actually true.

On the other hand, for Eduardo Garcia, the “Bionic Chef”, what seemed like an impossibility for that Admissions Counselor was far from that for him. He’s known as the “Bionic Chef” because he had a hunting accident and as a result, had a portion of his arm amputated. He was then fitted with a prosthetic arm that allows him to continue his dream of being a chef. The only difference in how he cooks now is that he has had to approach his craft with a different perspective to complete each task.

The video that’s attached to the link at the bottom shows the interviewer, Josh Elliott from “Good Morning America”, in awe of Eduardo’s abilities. In my opinion, it reinforces the message that with persistence, anyone can figure out how to overcome any obstacle, no matter how big or small.
Thanks for reading..
cr

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2013/12/chefs-bionic-hand-implant-better-than-new/

New “Dancing with the Stars” Cast Announced

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Today, while checking out “Good Morning America”, I saw the announcement for the new cast of “Dancing with the Stars”.  If you’ve followed my posts before, you know that I’ve commented on the happenings of the show as it relates to disability awareness.  Any show that’s going to positively impact the way the disabled population is viewed by the general public should receive praise.  The show is always giving people with disabilities the spotlight as people first.

One of the new celebrities for this season is Jack Osbourne, the son of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.  Since the ending of the reality show “The Osbourne’s” on MTV, the public has learned that he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis not too long ago.  In the past, “Dancing with the Stars” has had such celebrities with disabilities like Marlee Matlin and Heather Mills-McCartney, so they’re no stranger to making accommodations for the disabled celebrity when necessary.  It’ll be interesting to see what accommodations or obstacles Jack will overcome in order to compete on the show.

I know that Multiple Sclerosis affects everyone differently, just like every other disability but, I’m hoping that Jack’s appearance on the show can make those who have any disability see that just because you have a disability doesn’t mean that your dreams aren’t attainable or even that you still can’t participate in fun activities because that’s far from the truth.

Kudos, yet again, to “Dancing with the Stars” for being an inclusive show.  Also for demonstrating to the world that no matter what your limitations, not only will they give you the opportunity to compete but, that dancing can make a difference in anyone’s life.

Seeing shows like “Dancing with the Stars”, how have they helped you realize your potential?

Thanks for reading..

cr

For more on this story, you can go to:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dancing-stars-2013-season-17-cast-announced/story?id=20145315

Starbucks Discriminates Against Deaf Customers

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Being a very frequent coffee drinker and Starbucks customer, I was very upset and disturbed to see this story on Yahoo.  Ironically enough, while drinking my coffee, I caught the tail end of the story on “Good Morning America” too.

I’ve talked a lot about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in previous posts.  This law is supposed to prohibit discrimination of a person with a disability.  Sadly, like when I was a child, there are still people who will laugh and make blatant fun of someone just because of their differences.  While enduring some taunting by students in early childhood isn’t necessarily against the law, because kids sometimes do those kinds of things to others who may not be just like them, it’s a different story when you participate in that kind of behavior as an employee of a company.

I’ve seen “deaf chats” happen in places like the local mall and even at Panera.  In this case though, the police were called to break up a meeting of a group of deaf individuals such as the “deaf chats” I describe above.  Isn’t this a free country where people can assemble peacefully without repercussion?

I’ve previously worked with the local deaf community for many years, and understand there are many forms of communication that deaf individuals utilize to communicate with hearing individuals.  In this story, one of the customers wrote their order on a piece of paper.  As a result, the person at the cash register told them they weren’t going to serve them because they’re deaf.  What if the person just had a bad case of laryngitis? Wouldn’t  that employee have felt dumb?

Toward the end of the story, one of the attorneys suggests that employees receive disability sensitivity training so that similar incidences don’t happen again.  While this seems to be needed and helpful, I hope the training doesn’t just focus on one particular disability.

After this incident, it’s my sincere hope that Starbucks and other companies realize the amounts of money disabled people as a whole contribute to their bottom line each year, and that this sort of thing never happens again at Starbucks  or any other store.

What other measures do you think could be taken to smooth over this occurrence in the disabled community?

Thanks for reading..

cr

For more information check out the link below:

http://gma.yahoo.com/deaf-customers-sue-starbucks-discrimination-233751945–abc-news-topstories.html

The TSA Traumatizes 3 year old Toddler

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I know that traveling can be a bit of a pain in the neck sometimes.  Especially because when I travel by airplane, I order a wheelchair from the airline to be waiting for me when I get to the airport.  This just makes the chore of getting through the airport with the large number of people who are also traveling and getting through security checkpoints a bit easier.  That’s why this morning when I was watching “Good Morning America”, I was surprised to hear one of the stories they were talking about.

They showed a 3 year old girl named Lucy who has Spina Bifida and was traveling to Disney World with her family.  Because she’s in a wheelchair due to her disability, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) told her parents they needed to screen the wheelchair and their daughter.  When her Mom said they couldn’t do that unless she could tape it, they said they couldn’t allow her to do so.

Security measures need to be followed for the safety of the general public and I am all for the precautions but, when you treat people unfairly and make a 3 year old cry, that becomes a problem.

I understand from personal experience the extra screening that goes on at the airport because of incidences such as September 11th and agree that extra safety measures need to be taken.  I also understand that when traveling in a wheelchair, the screening can get to the point of uncomfortable because of the frequent use of body pat downs.  I can say that using body scanners, which is supposed to be less intrusive on people’s personal space doesn’t really work for someone with limited or no balance.  Maybe some other method could be devised in the future where the security officers don’t need to get in someone’s personal space so much while still ensuring the safety of all passengers.

In this case, compassion could’ve been shown to the family while still following safety protocol. 

What are your feelings about security measures at the airport?

 Here is the link to the story:

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/tsa-apologizes-traumatizing-disabled-toddler-135529408–abc-news-travel.html

Thanks for reading..

cr

The Power of a Brother’s Love

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

I was watching Good Morning America this morning and learned about 9-year-old Connor and 6-year-old Cayden Long.  Cayden has Cerebral Palsy and his brother Connor decided he wanted to help him experience things that he may not have the chance to experience.   Connor knew that because of his disability, his brother wouldn’t be able to experience things  like other kids would.  Connor decided to run in triathlons with his brother so he could give him that opportunity.

They were just chosen as Sports Illustrated’s 2012 Sports Kids of the Year.  The interesting part of the story is that Cayden’s brother Connor has inspired his family to look at his brother’s disability in a new way.  Their mother was telling Josh Taylor, who interviewed them,  how she and her husband had grieved when they were told that their child was disabled.  Too often, parents of children who are disabled grieve for the lack of ability their child experiences in their lives because of a disability.

In my opinion, life with a disability is an opportunity to accomplish things in a different way.  I know it may be upsetting for a parent at first but, the way I look at it, I haven’t missed the things I have been unable to do so, I am not sad about being born with my disability.  I could be wrong but, I don’t believe children miss what they do not know.

I am very impressed that Connor, at his young age,  is and was able to show his parents and others the potential his brother has despite his disability.  It will be interesting to see how else Connor may advocate for his brother in the future and what else they might accomplish as a team.

Here is the link in case you would like more information:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/cerebral-palsy-sparks-brothers-conner-cayden-longs-triathlon-17552289

Thanks for reading…

cr