Disability News Weekly Roundup Monday, Dec 16 – Friday Dec 20

Health:

Reuters— Older Women are Sedentary Most of the Day: Study

Older women spend about two-thirds of their time sitting, a new study suggests. Sedentary behavior has been linked to disease and disability. “Even people who go to the gym every day and run 6 miles on a treadmill can be at risk for bad outcomes from being sedentary if they spend 8-10 hours seated at a desk” Dr. Catherine A. Sarkisian told Reuters Health in an email.

ABC News—(the AP reports) Study: Autism Higher in Minn. Somali Children

According to the study, about 1 in 32 Somali children ages 7 to 9 were identified with autism spectrum disorder in Minneapolis in 2010, compared with 1 in 48 Minneapolis children overall, 1 in 62 non-Somali black children and 1 in 80 Hispanic children. The incidence was 1 in 36 white children, which the researchers said was not a statistically significant difference from the Somali figure.

CNN—So You Have High Blood Pressure? New Guidelines Suggest Maybe You Don’t

The goal of most doctors is to keep their patient’s blood pressure below 140 (systolic) / 90 (diastolic). But after reviewing mounds of evidence, a committee of experts now says the systolic number, especially in older people, can be higher at 150/90. And many of these patients who were on medication would no longer need to be.

Science Daily—Non-Specialist Psychosocial Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Many children with intellectual disability or lower functioning autism spectrum disorders, particularly those in low and middle income countries, do not receive psychosocial treatment interventions for their condition. If non-specialists were able to deliver such care, more children may be able to receive treatment.

Policy:

Los Angeles Times— Steinberg Seeks to Restore Mental Health Funds for Criminals

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Thursday that he will seek to restore a state program that funded county services for mentally ill people who run afoul of the law. Steinberg wants to restore funding, starting with $50 million in the next budget year.

The Hill—New Regs for Friday: ObamaCare Program Methodology

New regulations for the finance sector, ObamaCare and people with disabilities are coming out on Friday. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is adopting regulations requiring TV programming guidance and menus be accessible to people with disabilities. The rule is one of the final efforts under the agency’s effort to implement a 2010 law designed to make more video and phone services available to people who are blind or deaf.

Science:

Science Daily—Empowering People With Disabilities in the Green Industries

Susanne Bruyère and David Filiberto of the Employment and Disability Institute, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, explain how the environmental and ecological focus of many areas of employment has increased during the last few years. Green products and services represent emerging fields and growth markets and a largely untapped realm within which people with disabilities are yet to be fully engaged, they suggest

Science Daily—Stress Reaction Gene Linked to Death, Heart Attacks

In a study published last year, the researchers reported that men with this genetic variant had twice as much cortisol in their blood when exposed to stress, compared to men without the genetic variant. Known as a “stress hormone,” cortisol is produced in the adrenal gland to support the body’s biological response when reacting to a situation that causes negative emotions.

Science Daily—Tinnitus Discovery Opens Door to Possible New Treatment Avenues

The new findings illuminate the relationship between tinnitus, hearing loss and sensory input and help explain why many tinnitus sufferers can change the volume and pitch of their tinnitus’s sound by clenching their jaw, or moving their head and neck.

Sports:

CNN—Hearing-impaired NFL player makes no excuses

Ever since I can remember, I always played sports. Most people would say I wouldn’t succeed, but I proved them wrong by finding ways to make it work — by finding ways that helped me hear and put me in a position to succeed. If you ask me what I’m most proud of, it’s not just playing football in the NFL; it’s graduating from Troy High School and from UCLA with a political science degree. I could have easily made excuses as to why I couldn’t do my work and blamed it on not being able to hear well, but I didn’t.

The Hill—Senate approves Funding for VA Paralympic Team

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would continue funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs for training the Paralympic Team. The bill also appropriates $8 million for grants to U.S. Paralympics Inc.

ABC News—(the AP reports) Mills Accused of Abusing Paralympic Official

The former wife of Beatles star Paul McCartney was accused Thursday of lunging at a Paralympic official in a fit of rage and screaming insults after being forced to abandon her attempt to qualify for the British skiing team for next year’s games. Heather Mills’ hopes of competing in Sochi ended Monday when the International Paralympic Committee ruled that a new prosthetic she was using hadn’t been ratified by the governing body.

Special Interest:

CNN—Hero Helps Disabled Veterans

Dale Beatty lost his legs on the battlefield, but he came home to find a new mission: helping other disabled veterans. Beatty is helping other veterans get the support they need to make living more accessible.

NY Times—A Disability, and a Mother’s Embrace

To Ms. Adams, the idea that her son’s very existence requires an explanation — that he is here because of some failure of medical science — is appalling. Her book is less a memoir about mothering a child with Down syndrome than it is her attempt to set people straight. The syndrome is a disability, as she makes clear, not an illness and certainly not a tragedy.