Florida Students
Through a state grant funded for $1.02 million annually, a University
of South Florida (USF) St. Petersburg professor will lead a program
designed to assist special education personnel in all Florida school
districts to prepare students with disabilities for a successful shift
from school to adult life.
Project 10: the transition education network replaces the transition
center previously run from the University of Florida. The grant, with
operations based at USF St. Petersburg, has Lyman Dukes, PhD, associate
professor of special education, as principal investigator and Jordan
Knab, EdS, as full-time project director. Project 10 will be the primary
conduit between the Florida Department of Education’s Bureau of
Exceptional Education and Student Services and school district personnel
in addressing law and policy, effective instructional practices, and
research-based interventions in the area of transition services for
youth with disabilities.
“The goal is to impact every student with disabilities in the
entire state of Florida,” Dukes says. “We hope to eventually
see reductions in our state dropout rate for students with disabilities,
see an increase in graduation rates as a function of our work, and see
an increase in the number of students with disabilities accessing and
completing postsecondary education and also employment.”
District leaders in special education, school-based transition specialists,
and classroom teachers’ work to provide students with disabilities
the knowledge and skills needed to pursue further education, employment,
and to live independently. Project 10 initiatives will help implement
practices for students to determine their personal strengths, preferences,
and interests that will allow students and their families to better
determine their post-high school goals. Instruction can run the gamut
from traditional college preparatory coursework to instruction in daily
living skills, leisure skills, community participation, understanding
of health needs, and communication skills. In its first year, Project
10 will focus on four initiatives: capacity building to implement secondary
transition services; interagency collaboration; transition legislation
and policy; and student development and outcomes. These initiatives
will help provide training and technical assistance for personnel throughout
the state working to improve the future success of students with disabilities.
“We believe students with disabilities can achieve the same
quality of life outcomes as any other student completing high school
in our state,” Dukes states.
Disability Legislation
United States Senator Richard Durbin delivered the “Fourth Annual
Tony Coelho Lecture in Disability Employment Law & Policy”
at New York Law School. His speech focused on disabilities legislation
in the upcoming congressional term. Durbin is the assistant majority
leader of the United States Senate, the second highest-ranking position
in the Senate, and the senior U.S. Senator from Illinois. Durbin was
one of the original co-sponsors of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). The American Association of People with Disabilities honored
Durbin with its “Justice for All Award,” which recognizes
people who are extraordinary champions of the political and economic
empowerment of people with disabilities.
The lecture is named for Congressman Tony Coelho, former majority
whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, author, and principal sponsor
of the ADA, and one of the nation’s leading advocates for people
with disabilities. It was presented by New York Law School’s Justice
Action Center and led by professor Seth Harris, director of the labor
and employment law program. Verizon sponsored the event.
“The Coelho lecture brings together disability advocates with
students, faculty, and alumni of New York Law School to hear from national
political and public policy leaders,” Harris notes. “Our
goal is nothing less than to keep the employment of people with disabilities
in the center of our nation’s public policy debates. With Senator
Durbin’s participation as this year’s Coelho Lecturer, we
are sure to achieve our goal.”
Scholarship Winners
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), Michigan has named
its scholarship winners. This year the chapter increased the number
of scholarship recipients and the award amount. “This is the first
year that our chapter will provide scholarships to more than one winner.
We are thrilled to be able to increase the number of recipients, as
well as the award amount from $1,000 to $2,500,” comments Rose
Taylor, vice president of programs. Scholarship recipients Angela Gusmano,
Jeremiah Colborn, Matthew Carter, and Ashleigh Harris were the top four
candidates selected out of 90 applicants from Michigan.
•Angela Gusmano attends Central Michigan University to major
in psychology.
•Jeremiah Colborn attends Michigan State University as part
of its pre-veterinary program.
•Matthew Carter attends Lake Superior State University as a
pre-med student.
*Ashleigh Harris attends Clark Atlanta University majoring in communication
and mass media arts.
To learn more about the NMSS scholarship program, visit <www.nationalmssociety.org/>.
Next Generation
Of Prostheses
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Hugh Herr has
received “The Spirit of da Vinci,” presented annually to
an individual for his or her courage, perseverance, and creative use
of assistive technology. Herr lost both legs below the knee at age 17
in a climbing accident and went on to develop an interest in the invention
of “smart” prostheses for people with disabilities. Today,
Herr is the director of the biomechatronics research group in the media
laboratory at MIT. His research focuses on technologies that promise
to merge body and machine, including designs that resemble the body’s
muscle and skeleton.
“We build artificial limbs, robotic limbs that wrap around impaired
ones, and we think about technology that augments healthy limbs, making
them more efficient,” explains Herr. “An amputee can think,
contract muscles, and directly control the artificial leg. It’s
a blend between the body and a synthetic device.”
Herr’s research accomplishments in science and technology have
already made a significant impact in the marketplace. A variable-damper
knee prosthesis called the Rheo has been commercialized by former da
Vinci awardee, Ossur Inc., and now benefits amputees throughout the
world. Herr has also developed the world’s first powered ankle-foot
prosthesis the actually propels the amputee forward with each step,
emulating the strength and power of an intact human ankle. In addition,
an active ankle-foot orthosis is nearing commercialization, and has
the potential for improving the quality of life of millions of stroke
patients within the U.S. alone.
WPI Researchers
A team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will
receive $1 million in federal and state grants to advance the critical
development of neuroprosthetics—next-generation artificial limbs
that could one day be permanently implanted and perform most of the
movements and functions of natural limbs. The majority of the funding
comes through a two-year $860,000 grant awarded to WPI’s Bioengineering
Institute (BEI) by the U.S. Army’s Military Amputee Research Program
of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC).
“There is a great human need for better, more functional prosthetic
devices, especially for our soldiers who have been severely injured
in Iraq and Afghanistan,” states W. Grant McGimpsey, professor
of chemistry and biochemistry, and director of the BEI. “So we
are pleased to receive this funding to enable our work. We take a comprehensive
approach to this research, looking at how we can leverage our expertise
at WPI to fill the gaps and advance the field.”
In addition, WPI will receive a $150,000 grant from the John Adams
Innovation Institute, the economic development division of the Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative, to undertake market evaluation, strategic
planning, and business development activities supporting the growth
of the center, and to help stage a national neuroprosthetics conference
at WPI in 2009.
Ted Clancy, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering
at WPI, will lead the signal processing work. His lab will study the
electrical signals that control normal muscle activity, to apply that
knowledge for enhancing the control of prosthetic limbs. Using specialized
technology and algorithms, Clancy will measure and analyze signals propagating
along the forearm muscles of healthy volunteers, and record the associated
movements and forces of the subjects’ wrists and fingers. Current
prosthetic limbs often rely on remnant musculature for control. Clancy’s
work may be able to enhance the control of current prosthetic technology,
while also laying the foundation for signal processing for artificial
limbs that are connected to the nervous system so they can be controlled
directly by the brain and provide sensory feedback to the brain, such
as limb orientation and temperature of surfaces.
Stephen Lambert, research associate professor with BEI, will direct
basic science studies needed for eventually connecting external prosthetic
devices with the nervous system. His team will try to direct the growth
of neurons on artificial surfaces, such as glass, gold, or silicone,
so their axons extend along channels etched in the materials. Lambert’s
team will try to achieve predictable neuron growth and axon myelination
on various surfaces in the laboratory.
Whether they are controlled by the nervous system or remnant muscle
activity, the advanced prosthetics WPI researchers envision will have
a permanent connection to the body. A fixed metal or composite post
will be placed into bone, and then multiple layers of tissue will integrate
around that post. Through the TATRC program, the WPI team will study
the tissue interface at two levels.
“Our program has components that we hope will have an immediate
impact on existing prosthetics technology, and will also address some
of the fundamental research questions that must be answered if we are
to achieve the goal of having advanced neuroprosthetics, fully integrated
with bone and tissue and under the control of the nervous system,”
McGimpsey adds.
Interpreters At Risk
Sign-language interpreting is one of the highest-risk professions for
ergonomic injury, according to a study conducted by Rochester Institute
of Technology (RIT). The research indicates that interpreting causes
more physical stress to the extremities than high-risk tasks conducted
in industrial settings, including assembly line work. It also found
a direct link between an increase in the mental and cognitive stress
of the interpreter and an increase in the risk of musculoskeletal injuries
such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis.
The research, conducted through RIT’s department of industrial
and systems engineering, is one of the first to catalog the effect of
signing on interpreters and show a correlation between mental and cognitive
stress and increased ergonomic risk. “The impact of repetitive
stress in industrial and office settings has been well documented, but
there is less data on the risk of ergonomic injury to sign-language
interpreters,” says Matthew Marshall, associate professor of industrial
and systems engineering at RIT and a leader of the research group. “Our
findings indicate that interpreters may actually be at a higher risk
of injury than other professions.”
Marshall notes that the impact of injury on interpreters and its effect
on retention is a major issue in the deaf community because any reduction
in the interpreter population would have an adverse effect on the full
societal participation of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
“Gaining a better understanding of the factors contributing
to interpreter injury can show us ways to intervene and reduce the risks,”
adds Steve Nelson, director of access services for the National Technical
Institute for the Deaf (NTID). “Informed intervention can help
drastically reduce injuries and keep much-needed skilled interpreters
at work.”
In developing its findings, the RIT team studied a group of interpreters
and measured the physical impact of signing over a fixed time period,
utilizing metrics developed for industrial settings. The team found
that wrist velocity and acceleration during interpreting, factors used
to measure physical impact were more acute than the high risk limits
for industrial workers. In addition, an increase in mental and cognitive
stress led to a 15%-19% increase in wrist velocity and acceleration
during interpreting.
Marshall will next look to enhance this data through additional studies
placing interpreters in a wide variety of settings. The information
will assist in furthering understanding of the impact of sign language
interpreting on repetitive stress, while also assisting organizations
in developing better training programs to reduce ergonomic risk. “The
ultimate goal is to enhance knowledge of the impacts of interpreting
and help make the profession more conducive for workers,” notes
Marshall.
ESPY Award
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student Matt Scott has another achievement
to add to his already impressive list. Scott was nominated for a 2008
ESPY for “Best Male Athlete with a Disability.” “This
is incredible. When I began playing basketball, I wanted to be the best
just like anyone else playing a sport, but never would I have thought
that I’d be up for such a prestigious award,” Scott says.
“Just being nominated is really a dream come true.”
Scott was a senior on the powerhouse Warhawk wheelchair basketball team
and is on the 2008 U.S. national wheelchair basketball team. “Matt
is deserving of the nomination and the award,” Scott’s coach
at UW-Whitewater Tracy Chynoweth adds. “He works hard, he has
the talent but he doesn’t rest and works hard every day to get
better.”
Scott is a social work major from Detroit and came to the university
in 2005. He started playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 14 and
has been dedicated to it ever since. “Nothing’s come easy
to Matt, it’s good to see his hard work paying off,” Chynoweth
says. “This is just another ladder rung on his already amazing
career
