$4.99 $4.99 /J J G P 2010 Volume ULY UNE ILPIN ERI MAGAZINE VOLUME 2010 PERI GILPIN JUNE/JULY THE VOICE OF OVER 50 MILLION AMERICANS 2 ABILITY ABILITY 3 MANAGING EDITOR Gillian Friedman, MD MANAGING HEALTH EDITOR E. Thomas Chappell, MD CONTRIBUTING SENATOR U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) HUMOR WRITERS Jeff Charlebois George Covington, JD Return to Iraq p. 36 Gene Feldman, JD 6 SENATOR HARKIN — Remembering Eunice Kennedy EDITORS Liz Angeles Lauren Becker 8 ASHLEY’S COLUMN — Perfecting My Poker Face Diane Chappell Dahvi Fischer Renne Gardner 10 HUMOR — I’m Okay, You’re Okay Malia Hilliard Josh Pate David Radcliff 13 BLUE CROSS — Protecting Our Patients Peri Gilpin p. 44 Denise Riccobon, RN Jane Wollman Rusoff Maya Sabatello, PhD, JD 14 DAVID RADCLIFF — Still Standing (Kind Of) Romney Snyder HEALTH EDITORS 19 ADVOCACY AWARD — Lacy’s Legacy Larry Goldstein, MD Extremity Games Natalia Ryndin, MD 20 JUSTIN DART — Disability Pioneer Continues to “Lead On” CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gale Kamen, PhD Laurance Johnston, PhD 24 CELEBRATING THE ADA — Reflections From Tom Harkin Andrea Kardonsky Dart Puppet p. 20 Deborah Max Paralympic Games Beijing Myles Mellor - Crossword Puzzle 26 ADA CROSSWORD PUZZLE — Now With More Puzzle! Paula Pearlman, JD Richard Pimentel Allen Rucker 28 METHAMPHETAMINE — Making it Crystal Clear Kristen McCarthy Thomas Betsy Valnes 32 BORDERLINE PERSONALITY — Stop Walking on Eggshells WEB EDITOR Mary Shafizadeh GRAPHIC ART/ 35 ABILITY AWARDS — We Like You, We Really Like You Joey Travolta p. 52 Music Within ILLUSTRATION Scott Johnson 36 IRAQ AND BACK — Wounded Warriors Revisit the Past Guy Uesugi PHOTOGRAPHY Nancy Villere— 38 SELF-DEFENSE CLINIC — The Best Offense CrushPhotoStudios.com ABC Family 40 MS DRUG — AMPYRA: A New Gait For Independence TRANSCRIPTIONIST Sandy Grabowski 44 PERI GILPIN — Sitcoms, Sarcoma and Stewardship Wounded Warriors p. 36 ABILITY’s Crossword Puzzle ABILITY’s SPUD — Not Exactly Small Potatoes DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS 52 John Noble, JD MARKETING/PROMOTIONS 54 RANDY PIERCE — The Blind Leading Himself Liz Angeles Malia Hilliard 57 FULLER CENTER — Volunteers With Disabilities Andrew Spielberg NEWSSTAND CIRCULATION John Cappello CONTENTS 60 CROSSWORD PUZZLE AND EVENTS & CONFERENCES Ashley Fiolek p. 8 EDITORIAL ABILITYMAGAZINE.COM [email protected] ON ROFITS ADVERTISING DISTRIBUTION CORPORATE SHIPPING N -P For advertising Warner Publishing Services 8941 Atlanta Ave. ABILITY Awareness/Fuller Center information e mail A Time-Warner Company Huntington Beach, CA 92627 Habitat for Humanity [email protected] Faxon - RoweCom Library Tel 949.854.8700 or call Services TTY 949.548.5157 949.854-8700 ext 306 Ebsco - Library Services Fax 949.548.5966 PUBLISHER Swets Blackwell Chet Cooper ABILITY Magazine is published bimonthly by C.R. Cooper, 8941 Atlanta Ave. HB, CA 92646 (ISSN 1062-5321) All Rights Reserved. Subscriptions: $29.70 per 1 year (6 issues). Periodicals postage rates at Irvine, CA and at additional mailing offices. The views expressed in this issue may not be those of ABILITY Magazine POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ABILITY Magazine, Attention Subscriptions Manager, PO Box 10878, Costa Mesa, CA 92627; Volume 2010 Peri Gilpin June/July Library of Congress Washington D.C. ISSN 1062-5321 Printed in U.S.A. © Copyright 2010 ABILITY Magazine The ABILITY Build program outreaches to volunteers with disabilities to help build accessible homes for low income families. We are currently seeking corpora- tions, organizations and churches to sponsor more homes. This award-winning program builds homes and awareness, changing the lives of everyone involved. abilitybuild.org [email protected] abilityawareness.org to ensure that millions of individuals with intellectual disabilities have greater opportunities for community participa- tion and inclusive education, as well as better access to appropriate health care. Its aim, more broadly, is simply to make it possible for people with intellectual disabilities to experience life as others do, free of discrimination and exclusion. The Special Olympics gives athletes with intellectual disabilities the tools they need in order to be included in society, and gives society the understanding and tools it needs in order to better include people with disabilities. The genius of the Special Olympics is that it uses sports to help integrate people with intellectual disabilities into our broader society. The Special Olympics provides an ideal world for individuals with intellectual disabilities—a world that accents abilities, not disabilities. Athletes have the opportunity to compete and achieve on a level playing field on which WE NEED THE EUNICE KENNEDY success is determined by the athlete’s hard work, talent, determination and courage. SHRIVER ACT In 2006, my state of Iowa hosted the first USA National Dear ABILITY readers, Summer Games. Thousands of athletes, volunteers, coaches and families attended our Games, in addition to This summer, we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of 30,000 fans and spectators. Ames, IA, was transformed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Despite enormous into an Olympic Village. It was a thrilling experience progress over the last two decades, individuals with that I will never forget. intellectual disabilities still face challenges on many fronts. They have health problems that many physicians More importantly, the Special Olympics runs a number are reluctant to address. In addition, by and large, indi- of associated programs that I strongly support, including viduals with intellectual disabilities have few opportuni- Project UNIFY—which provides inclusive sport oppor- ties for exercise and other physical activity. Too often, tunities in which individuals with and without disabili- they continue to be relegated to the fringes of society ties play together on the same team—and Healthy Ath- and denied opportunities for employment. letes, which allows participants to receive a variety of important health screenings, assessments and referrals. That is why I recently introduced in the Senate the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act. This important legislation Similarly, the Best Buddies program is dedicated to end- would reauthorize the Special Olympics Sports and ing the social isolation of people with intellectual dis- Empowerment Act, authorize the Best Buddies program abilities by promoting peer support and friendships with and provide support for additional efforts to include their peers who do not have disabilities. The aim is to individuals with intellectual disabilities in the fabric of increase the self-esteem, confidence and abilities of peo- American life. ple with and without intellectual disabilities. Of equal importance, the Best Buddies program provides oppor- As we all know, the Special Olympics program is tunities for integrated employment for individuals with respected around the world as a model and leader in intellectual disabilities. using sports to end the isolation and stigmatization of individuals with intellectual disabilities. For more than Programs such as these help people to overcome their fear and ignorance of individuals with intellectual dis- 40 years, the Special Olympics has encouraged skill abilities. They also empower individuals with disabili- development, sharing, courage and self-confidence ties to be competitors and leaders and transform com- through year-round sports training and athletic competi- munities by changing attitudes about people with intel- tion for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. lectual disabilities. Through its programs, the Special Olympics has helped 6 ABILITY My proposed legislation also authorizes university-based grants to support research, training and technical assis- tance. The aim is to improve and advance opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to fully par- ticipate in inclusive sports, recreation and other community activities. This new bill is named in honor of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who devoted her life to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities around the world. Mrs. Shriver founded and fos- tered the development of the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, both of which celebrate the possibilities of a world where all people, including those with disabilities, have meaningful oppor- tunities for participation and inclusion. Passage of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act would benefit millions of people with intellectual disabilities. It also would be a richly deserved tribute to a great American and a passionate advo- cate for people with disabilities. Sincerely, Senator Tom Harkin harkin.senate.gov Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ABILITY 7 he last couple of months have been pretty busy ones While we were bouncing around New York, the Red Bull for me. I have been getting ready for my season to crew held a poker party—a big, fun bash for Red Bull Tstart while launching my new book, Kicking Up Dirt. athletes. Brittany and I were supposed to just hang out for As if that weren’t enough, I’ve also had to fulfill some a while and watch my dad play poker with everybody. sponsorship agreements. It is never dull around my house! But to my surprise, everyone talked me into playing poker instead of my dad! I had never played poker before I recently gave a motivational speech to the Arkansas and had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately Brian School for the Deaf using my P3 Purple Notebook. It was Vickers, a Red Bull NASCAR driver, helped