6 Words

I have been tagged by Angela for a "My Life in Six Words" meme.

What is a meme? A meme is basically in two ways:
1. Meme--pronounced 'mem', a memory
2. Meme--rhymes with 'theme', a theme where I am tagged to answer questions about 'me' or myself... Here's my 6 words:

Life's obstacles are our life's lessons.

I tag the following people to do the "meme". :)

Brain Cheese (Linda)
Abbie
Nancie
whimsicalnbrainpan

Success Stories

The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation: Success Stories that empowered individuals with disabilities who achieved employment, economic self-sufficiency and independence

A business owned by a Person with a Disability (PD)

A business owned by a Person with a Disability (PD) is a for profit enterprise, regardless of size, physically located in the United States or its trust territories which is at least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by physically-challenged individuals. A person with a disability is defined as one who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. A not-for-profit agency for persons with disabilities that is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code is also considered a business owned by a person with a disability.

Person with a disability shall mean a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who has a medically diagnosed, severe physical or mental disability that results from amputation, arthritis, autism, blindness, burn injury, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, deafness, head injury, heart disease, hemiphegia, hemophilia, respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction, mental retardation, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological disorders (including MS, stroke and epilepsy), paraplegia, quadriplegia and other spinal cord conditions, sickle cell anemia, specific learning disabilities, or end state renal failure disease; and substantially limits at least one of the major life activities such as mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerance or work skills in terms of employability; or any other disability or combination of disabilities which is determined by an evaluation of rehabilitation potential to cause a comparable degree of substantial functional limitation similar to the specific list of disabilities listed above.

Information and Links:
Organizing A Business Plan
By Ohio State University.

Guidances:Ohio Governor's Council on People with Disabilities

To Start:
Starting a business in Ohio: Ohio Business Gateway To help you start a business legally. You can also go to this site: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Division

To go The 1st Stop Business Connection is a free state-level information needed to get started or continue on an entrepreneurial journey. This will provide a business information kit which contains the basics all business must know and the state-level regulations and forms specifically for your business.

Depending on the legal form of business such as Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, LLC or whatever, this will required a business person to register the business name as a legal entity with the The Secretary of State of Ohio's Business Services Webpage

Those who are intending doing a business that will collect sales tax, are required to register with Ohio Department of Taxation

Join Columbus' location SCORE is a volunteer organization that uses the skill and experience of retired executives to assist individuals with their decisions to begin or to operate small businesses. SCORE counseling sessions are usually held in SCORE office in downtown Columbus, 401 N. Front St., Suite 20

The Small Business Development Centers of Ohio (SBDC of Ohio) provide free, professional, in-depth and confidential business consulting and training to new and existing entrepreneurs For me, I live in Franklin County and my contact will be at The Ohio SBDC at Columbus State Community College.

For additional information, go to the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio's EntrepreneurOhio.org

State VR Agencies Expand Self-Employment Opportunities

Why do people with disabilities start their own businesses?

Spotlight Business run by people with Disabilities

I have been thinking that I might create a "Spotlight" businesses run by people with disabilities especially Deaf and Multiple Sclerosis. I would prefer find businesses in Ohio but I am more than happy to post about any businesses in the United States. I will post "Spotlight Business run by people with Disabilities" as I whenever I come across a business which could be once a week, once a month or several times a day, depending on when I learned about the businesses.

My first is one I have posted in the past which is Deaf Initiatives, Inc.which is an Ohio organization focusing on youth who are deaf or hard of hearing, and their families, have access to resources, professionals and activities that will help guide them into becoming successful and contributing members of our society.

Keepsake Theme Quilts and Wall Hangings is a non-profit organization that employs deaf and hard of hearing adults. They are an entity of Deaf Initiatives that provides initiatives to help strengthen the potential of youth that are deaf or hard of hearing.

If you live in Central Ohio or nearby....consider adopting

Deaf White German Shepherd This deaf White German Shepherd in Ohio Needs a Home!

The Columbus Dance Theatre and my daughter

One of my daughters is a member of The Columbus Dance Theatre where she is a faculty as well as a company apprentice dancer. Last night, the dancers danced the choreography that she had created and everyone thought she did a wonderful job. When some people found out that she is only a junior in high school. They were impressed and said that she have a great future in choreophraphy. I hope so, her dance made me cried last night and it was the first time I ever cried at a ballet dance performance. In fact, after the dance was over, I looked around and saw some people also cried. Some made comments like "wow".

I am proud of my her and she deserved the recognition.

If you live in Columbus area (Ohio), there are two performances which are at 3 PM and 7 PM. I encourage you to go and watch. Young dancers did a great job last night.

Jim

Gratitude with an Attitude Award

On April 10th, I recieved an award relating to "Attitude" from a fellow blogger.

Now I will award the people below with this award because they all have GREAT attitudes in different ways depending on their situations. I have learned to enjoy their blogs and admire their attitude towards life.

1. Karen
2. Lisa
3. Abbie
4. Angela
5. Nancie
6. Diane

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in your blogs. Jim

Tolerance and Acceptance

The United States was founded on freedom from persecution and on tolerance of differences in beliefs and cultural heritage. The differences (or diversity) that come from people who accepted one another without prejudice.

There are efforts to popularize the Christian faith have been extremely damaging to the Christian communities because they have mistaken the desire to maintain a spirit of tolerance rather than loving the sinners but hating their practices. We are morally obligated to treat everyone with respect, regardless of who they are and what they have done. This reflects notions such as civility, courtesy, dignity, tolerance and acceptance. Love hopes all things (1 Corinth 13). Love refuses to take human failure as final. With Christ in me, my human failures are never final. Love never keeps a record of wrongs. Love forgives and love is unable to think about them anymore. Forget the past and move on. Focus on the future as I focus on Christ at the same time. Romans 4:8 (also Psalms 32:2) "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him".

Hate what is wrong and stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Live in Harmony with each other.

The bottom line is this, Christians are to act like Jesus, toward sinners and brethren in compassion, toward saints in warm affection, toward others in love. We are to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Jesus Christ has forgiven us.

Focusing on having humor with an attitude...

Humor is a powerful emotional medicine that can lower stress and dissolve negative situations. A healthy sense of humor is related to being able to laugh at oneself and one's life. Laughing at oneself can be a way of accepting and respecting oneself. When I was younger dealing with my deafness. It was not my deafness that was causing me problems. The sources of my problem were people around me and how I was coping them. Especially when they tease me about my hearing-aids or others that I often respond with humor which got them off guard with my response by diffusing a power struggle before things gets worst. Humor opens up closed little ears and minds. The more they challenge me with their teases, the more challange I give them in respond and soon they stop teasing and bullying me. We can laugh along with the bullies and that's a very healthy attitude. Hearing problems affect a lot of people. In fact, an estimated 28 million people in America have some form of hearing problem. Now my problems have transferred from my deafness to multiple sclerosis. In the past two years, I was facing stress due to various factors in my life which took a toll on my Multiple Scleorsis symptoms. I know that I am on my own worst enemy when I get sick. Keep in mind, stress is not a cause of MS. Stress and multiple sclerosis seem at times to go hand in hand. Studies have shown that stressful life events can trigger exacerbations in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). A healthy attribute of any of us whether we are disabled or not, is the ability to laugh at ourselves and our unique circumstances. Having the ability to take a light-hearted approach to life will lead to less stress. Stress can’t be avoided. The challenge is for me to keep learning how to reduce the level of stress by using it to work for me, not against, me. Humor and laughter strengthen our immune systems and help us recover from illness, as well as bring joy into our lives. Laughing relaxes the body and reduces problems associated with high blood pressure, strokes, arthritis, and ulcers. A good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at stressful situations helps mitigate the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions that we could be dealing with.

Overcoming disabilities have humbled me.......

Ever since I was aware of my deafness, multiple sclerosis and other disabilities, I kept thinking about how amazing God works in me which have made me stronger in heart and mind. He taught me to be humbled about my life.

Today, normal and able people should be aware that that people with disabilities are ordinary people (just like them) with common goals for a home, a job and a family. In 1997, a report called "Current Populations Report" (P7061:3-6) estimated 54 million persons in the United States, or nearly 20 percent of the population, currently live with disabilities. More than 10 years later, it is estimated about 63 million individuals. People with disabilities are often viewed as representing a minority of the population, in that people with disabilities may be less visible and not acknowledged. People with disabilities still are dealing with barriers that prevents them from being part of the society. Many people with disabilities have learned and have the ability to overcome barriers in their own ways and making sure that they are having quality of life regardless of barriers.

These people who have endured and overcame are the stronger ones than those who are healthy and able individuals. Our adversaries have made our will strong and made our desires to live stronger which caused our determination to be strong. There are many healthy and able people who never saw past the pain because they’re self-absorbed, they’re self-centered, they’re caught up in their own comfort. People who lived with disabilities have learned not to be self-absorbed, nor be self-centered or anything simply because we have learned the barriers that have humbled us. In this life, hardship is inevitable and it is useful because it produces the evidence of our true being of who we really are from within. A humbled human being who acknowledge that he/she has flaws and is able to overcome and be more understanding of others.

Our attitudes are found in our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10). In Proverbs 4:23 says, “...Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

God charges each of us to personally model His attitude: “Do nothing out of ... vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2: 3-5).

Deep thoughts for the weekend.

I am going to watch my daughter perform dancing tonight. She is having a busy weekend performaing tonight through tomorrow night.

Disability Harassment

When growing up with my old hearing-aids that were very visible, I have faced my own bullies when I was in middle school but I have learned to endure and survived. In high school, I was not bullied once because I simply learned to stand up for myself and became respected by my fellow students. What really helped is that I was an athlete who made varsity soccer team as a freshman. Not many people with disabilities can do that.My only disability during high school was my deafness and I was able to do anything that hearing kids can do but hear. I need to add that when I was at deaf school, I was being bullied by those who didn't considered me deaf enough. Finally, I left the school and handled the bullies at the "hearing schools" better than I did at the deaf school.

Today, the society is generally supportive of people with disabilities but the key to education for the society to be more supportive begins in school. Bullying against those with disabilities is a problem that plagues the society. For years, the federal government always have been aware that that children with disabilities may be singled out for being “different”,less powerful and more vulnerable than other students. Many schools deny that there is a bullying problem. One good example is in Pennsylvania's school about A Palmerton Area High School student fed up over being bullied time and time again has pleaded with the school district to step up and take action. When schools don't take action, what happens then, in Louisville, Kentucky, two Jefferson County students are charged with terroristic threatening after the boys planned to attack their bullies. In Chicago, Ryan, his 13-year-old son who took his life after years of torment at the hands of a school bully. In my homestate, Massaschusetts, state health officials release prevention guide in battling bullies. They are taking a "proactive" steps to prevent bullying. It won't be easy but its a start.

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.” Harvey S. Firestone

"If you let a bully come in your front yard, he'll be on your porch the next day and the day after that he'll rape your wife in your own bed.” Lyndon B. Johnson

"Bullies are always cowards at heart and may be credited with a pretty safe instinct in scenting their prey.” Anna Julia Cooper

Prozac may help slow multiple sclerosis

This is an interesting The anti-depressant Prozac may help curb disease activity in the relapsing remitting form of multiple sclerosis, a Dutch study said. I am taking generic form of prozac and I believed it has helped me in many ways ever since I was diagnosed with MS.

Deafness is a culture or disability or both?

This post is mostly for parents of deaf children who are trying to understand deafness.

In the past few years, the phrase "disabled people" have been changed "people with disabilities". A disability is a body function is impaired compare to the usual normal healthy abilities of a body and within a body, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment mental illness, and various types of chronic disease (like mulitiple scleorsis). When we are talking about deafness, deaf is a disability in wich you have a loss of one of the 5 senses that enable a human being to be "normal". When we talk about ur senses which are seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Unless the senses are working properly in the brain, we are not able to perceive and properly make use of the information from our senses. Sensory impairment usually defined the two most common disabilities which are: vision disibility and hearing disability or both which is often called dual sensory impairments. Some Deaf people and hearing-impaired individuals consider themselves disabled because of their inability to hear. Even though often Deaf people whose primary language is the sign language such as American Sign Language is a culture and don't consider themselve having a disability among each other. However, when they are in the foreign part of the United States which the primary language is English in which Deaf people is unable to hear. This means they have "disability" to hear the common spoken language which is when they feel disabled because of experiences with discrimination as well as the inability to hear. To most Deaf people, deafness is not really a disability but rather a minor thing that they can't hear.

The major barrier of deafness is the inability to communicate normally. This is where many defined as the real disability rather than "deafness". Communication is a major barrier for all people with hearing loss including myself. I am deaf without the help from hearing-aids. Not being able to hear "normally" like whispering and soft talks, I can't communicate with hearing people.

So, in terms of hearing loss, not able to hear is not a disability to me because the major disability for me is unable to communicate with those who can hear. At the same time, even though I know ASL but I don't live in the Deaf culture, I also have the inability to communicate "normally" with the Deaf culture. Disability is communication.

I have other forms of disabilities including Multiple Sclerosis so I know what the word "disability" really means.

Its a tough and confusing world out there but once you take the time to understand the basic concept of Deaf people's point of view of the word "disability", you will know know what they are talkinga about.

This is my view and not necessary common agreement among Deaf and hearing-impaired people.

Quotes of the Day

Bias and prejudice are attitudes to be kept in hand, not attitudes to be avoided. Charles Curtis

The theory of cultural bias... is the idea that a culture is based on a particular form of organization. It can't be transplanted except to another variant of that organization. Mary Douglas

"We must have strong minds, ready to accept facts as they are." - Harry S Truman (1884-1972)

"You laugh at me because I am different, but I laugh at you because you are all the same." - Unknown

"Men have become the tools of their tools."- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

"If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?" - Will Rogers (1879-1935)

An example of a parent of a deaf child asking the right questions

A parent have written a very good letter to AG Bell regarding cochlear plants forhis child (born April 20, 2008) who was found to have profound hearing loss. Surgery is the main thing that concerns him and his wife that they want answers before pursuing this.

I am very curious if AG Bell will respond to him and his wife in clear, accurate, and perhaps unbiased information? I can understand as parents, they find it very tough for parents to find the "right" path for our deaf and hearing-impaired children when their parents are not getting ALL of the information about deafness. AG Bell should be sharing all aspects of what can help parents of deaf children regardless how we think should be the right way. I am happy that these parents are questioning, looking for answers and they are being very careful with their decisions because their child may particularly be vulnerable to suffering at the hands of his parents who may be willful in their own ignorance by listening to so called "experts" relating to biased agendas.