NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Indianapolis, IN, United States, 06/18/2008 - The INDATA Project reaches out to Hoosiers with disabilities.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) recently contracted with Easter Seals Crossroads to be the statewide provider of the Federal Assistive Technology Act.

An ‘assistive technology device’ refers to any item, piece of equipment or product system (whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized) that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Examples of assistive technology include, but are not limited to, screen readers for people who are blind or visually impaired, voice input software, ergonomic and onscreen keyboards, screen magnification software, and augmentative communication devices.

This grant will be facilitated through the new Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project at Easter Seals Crossroads. The INDATA Project is the only statewide assistive technology project serving Hoosiers with disabilities at no charge.

“Our primary purpose is to get assistive technology into the hands of Hoosiers with disabilities through device demonstrations, device loans, computer recycling and alternative financing,” said Assistive Technology Center Director M. Wade Wingler. “Our second goal is for the INDATA Project to provide statewide outreach and educational opportunities regarding assistive technology capabilities, options and resources.”

Project outreach efforts will include quarterly trainings, offered statewide through remote tele-rehabilitation sites, an annual statewide assistive technology conference and localized small group presentations. Currently, the INDATA Project is launching a brand-awareness campaign that includes statewide site and media tours, a new Web-based tool that facilitates the reutilization of previously owned assistive technology and a number of outreach activities throughout Indiana.

Easter Seals Crossroads has been a leader in providing assistive technology clinical services to Hoosiers with disabilities since 1979. Clinical services include evaluation of a person’s functional capabilities and recommendations of appropriate assistive technologies to maximize these capabilities. Individual goals can represent job, school performance or at-home scenarios. In addition, Easter Seals Crossroads staff assist with funding sources, equipment set up and training, as well as 24/7 technical support. The INDATA Project will allow Easter Seals Crossroads to expand the scope of assistive technology services offered while increasing the number of Hoosiers touched by these services.

For more information on the INDATA Project, contact Ewart Solomon at 888-466-1314.

Easter Seals Crossroads is a community resource, working in partnership with children and adults with disabilities or special needs and their families to promote growth, independence and dignity.

The INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads provides information and access to assistive technology, at no charge, for Hoosiers with disabilities. These statewide services are derived through the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project state/federal grant and include: device demonstrations, device loans, recycled computers, reutilized assistive technology equipment, alternative financing resources, and educational trainings and conferences.

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Disabled cruises are cruise ships that are equipped to accommodate all different types of disabilities, from those with amputated limbs or degenerative diseases, to passengers who need assistance with walking, eating and other activities. A disabled cruise gives handicapped individuals the opportunity to see the world without feeling held back from the things they love.

According to Travour.com, several of the world’s major cruise lines offer packages specifically geared toward cruises for the disabled. Disney Magic, Regent Seven Seas, and Holland America are just a few, and they each provide different levels of care for passengers.

For example, some disabled cruises provide 24-hour emergency care from doctors and nurses who are staffed by the cruise lines. Others have larger suites with handicap access for wheelchairs, wider hallways above and below deck, options for special meal plans, and physical activities that the disabled can enjoy. Furthermore, these cruises aren’t just for the handicapped, and the entire family can have fun.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - After bone cancer forced the amputation of her right leg below the knee, Eileen Casey got even more bad news: Her insurer told her that she had spent her $10,000 lifetime coverage limit on her temporary limb and that the company wouldn’t pay for a permanent one.

“It was shocking to find out I was going to have to take out a loan to buy myself a leg so I could keep working and living independently,” Casey said. At the bank, she said, she burst into tears when they asked what the loan was for.

Since then, Casey has joined a nationwide fight by amputees and the prosthetics industry to get the states and Congress to require fuller coverage for artificial limbs. The insurance industry is fighting the effort, saying such mandates drive up costs and reduce the flexibility customers want.

The MS Society is to launch a new initiative that aims to reassure carers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) that their duties will still be carried out in an emergency.

The free Carers Emergency Card gives 24-hour access to temporary cover for an unexpected situation and leaves the carers safe in the knowledge that their relative or friend will be looked after.

Whether it be the car breaking down while out shopping or maybe a medical or family emergency, many carers of people with MS worry that there may be a time when they will not be available to continue caring.

Jo Ridley, Carers Lead for the MS Society, said: “The MS Society Carers Emergency Card will now give carers the peace of mind that the person they care for will still be looked after if something untoward happens.

“This is a practical solution and will provide comfort to both the carer, and the person being cared for.”

The Carers Emergency Card is being launched to coincide with Carers Week (9 to 15 June). It is free to register for the card and during registration the carer will be asked for the details of three trusted contacts to be called upon in an emergency.

When the number on the card is called, leading telecare provider Welbeing will phone the named contacts and arrange cover.

Jo added: “A Carers Emergency Card system exists in some parts of the country but there are still many areas where carers are left to fend for themselves.

“Carers who already use an emergency card say that it gives them valued reassurance. By introducing this card, the MS Society hopes to plug those gaps where no service exists.”

For how to register contact Welbeing on Freephone 0800 085 8344.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Teams of university scientists backed by U.S. government funds hope to grow new skin, ears, muscles and other body tissue for troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department said on Thursday.

The $250 million effort aims to address the Pentagon’s unprecedented challenge of caring for troops returning from the war zones with multiple traumatic injuries, many of which would have been fatal years ago.

“We’ve had just over 900 people, men, some women with amputations of some kind or another since the start of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Ward Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Many have also suffered burns, spinal cord injuries and vision loss.

“Getting these people up to where they are functioning and reintegrated, employed, able to help their families and be fully participating members of society, this is our task,” he said.

Under the initiative, the Pentagon launched the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine made up of two teams — the first led by Wake Forest University in North Carolina and the University of Pittsburgh and the second led by Rutgers University in New Jersey and the Cleveland Clinic.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule that will improve the accuracy of payment for services furnished to people with Medicare who need the intensive rehabilitation services provided by Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs). These include patients who are recovering from serious illnesses or injuries, such as stroke, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, amputations and a number of other conditions. There are currently more than 1,200 facilities that are paid as IRFs.

Kriss Woodbury said she was thrilled when she found out her special needs daughter Hannah, 8, would be able to get the unique tricycle so that she could enjoy the outdoors and feel the warm sunshine on her face.

“She doesn’t have the strength to pedal on her own, so this bike is double-pedaled and I can pedal for her,” she said. “But when she’s able, she can pedal herself. It’s definitely a bright spot in her day to go out on the bike.”

Woodbury said Hannah suffers from a series of disabilities and doesn’t have the strength, coordination, or eyesight to ride a regular tricycle.

Because of her ailments, Woodbury figured the two- person tricycle would give Hannah’s legs some much-needed exercise and get her out into the sunshine.

So, she turned to the Massachusetts Assistive Technology Loan Program, which is operated by Easter Seals that offers low-cost loans to people with disabilities or to their families so they can buy devices that will increase their independence.