A New Zealand Initiative Saving Down syndrome.  

Shown recently at the 2012 NY/Metro Abilities Expo, the GMC Sierra pickup truck in the above pic has been converted by Gosichi.  Founded in 1999 after the owner was frustrated with the lack of vehicle choices (and the fact that he was not particularly fond of minivans), he and his team have created a conversion for a pickup truck that can accommodate many powerchair users as either a driver

I’ve seen so little being so much to the person who has nothing. I’ve seen such gratitude from people with so little. I’ve seen people with nothing work so hard to help others. I’ve seen those with so much holding on with clenched hands to their possessions. I’ve seen total disregard for needy people and excuses for having so much. I’ve seen a person wanting approval from others that it was okay to have so much. We all know the truth of who we are. I have a theory. Everyday we look in the mirror and know who we are and spend the day trying to convince others we are someone else. This is tiring and not true to yourself. Some people live their life hoping no one finds them out and knows the true them. Yikes. The lessons of life are immense. I think this is just a testing ground for our afterlife. I think food and shelter and water and love rule no matter what. I think the kinds and # of cars do not matter if someone is hungry. As I teach my Sunday sch ...

Il museo ha il compito non solo di abbattere le barriere architettoniche, ma soprattutto quelle culturali che sorgono in presenza delle disabilità, contribuendo attraverso l’arte e i suoi messaggi ad avviare un processo di integrazione sociale. A questo scopo il MACRO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma organizza ARTE AL TATTO, un progetto che affronta  il [...] Leggi il post Originale: ARTE AL TATTO: L’arte contemporanea e il museo si aprono al confronto e all’integrazione sociale delle disabilità. Regali di San Valentino Blog: Oltre le Barriere

It would be hard to open a popular magazine or psychology journal these days without finding some reference to a new advance in positive psychology.  The research is pouring in from all over the globe indicating that sustainable ways to shift our thinking and perception toward a more optimistic perspective of life has amazing health and well-being benefits — not the least of which include a longer, healthier, and more productive life. Here are six questions about some of the findings that may intrigue you and test your knowledge. The good news?  You can’t fail a positive psychology quiz!  Use this as a guide to learn more about the developing field. Or, if you got them all right, you know how good it is to be kind — so get out there and help someone! 1.  True or false?  Negative thoughts are more powerful than positive thoughts. A: True Barbara Fredrickson’s (2009) work on positivity created a way of measuring internal dynamics by using a Losada ratio, a measure o ...

The evidence is in, and the death of NFL football player Junior Seau has been ruled a suicide. The speculation is that he suffered from depression as a result of the concussions he sustained as a pro football player in the U.S. Seau spent most of his football career as a San Diego Charger. Many in the news media are portraying this as some sort of new news — that having your head repeatedly banged and bashed can cause long-lasting brain damage. Even with a padded helmet, there’s been a wealth of research demonstrating that head injuries still occur. The human head just wasn’t meant for years and years of such repeated abuse. It’s also not the first time we’ve known of this link between football playing, concussions, and being at a much higher risk for depression (and even dementia). Perhaps this time the message will get through. The Chicago Tribune reminds us of what we already know: On Wednesday, some saw similarities between the deaths of Seau and form ...

We’re happy to welcome our newest blog, Be The Change , by Danielle, a 26-year old woman who is in recovery from mental health issues and addiction. The mental health issues she’s faced include borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, alcoholism, sex and love addiction. She’s going to be focused on video blogging on the blog (also known as a vlog) on what she’s learned and learning in her journey in recovery. You can learn more about Danielle here . We’re pleased to welcome her. Please give Danielle a warm Psych Central welcome over on her blog today !

Martedì 8 maggio, alle ore 11.30, nella sala delle Conferenze di Piazza Monte Citorio, 123/A, si terrà la conferenza stampa promossa dal Centro Assistenza per Bambini Sordi e Sordociechi Onlus (CABSS), presieduta dal dott. Roberto Wirth, Presidente e Direttore Generale dell’Hotel Hassler e neo presidente dell’Associazione dei commercianti di Piazza di Spagna e Trinita’ dei [...] Leggi il post Originale: L’impegno di CABSS e di Roberto Wirth a favore dei bambini sordi e sordociechi Regali di San Valentino Blog: Oltre le Barriere

I don’t know when it became shameful to ask for help. We certainly didn’t start our lives out that way. Imagine a baby reaching for mom’s hands to walk or a child needing his dad to hold his bike before he’s ready to ride on his own. Instead of supporting them, what if they said, “Shame on you for needing help. You should be able to do it on your own.” Yet, when we grow up, that need for help embarrasses us. It makes us feel less than. We think that because we’re old enough to stand on our own two feet, we don’t need help anymore. And if we do, we should stay quiet about it. It’s much better to pretend we’re okay than to let the world know how imperfectly human we are. It’s unfortunate that we live in a society with opportunities and resources, yet we’re so afraid to ask for help. The truth is we all need help whether we’re 2 or 62 years old. As adults, we may visibly appear to be less vulnerable than childr ...

I have long been a fan of Dr. Elisha Goldstein’s work. His blog here on Psych Central is one of my favorites sources of mental help tools and advice. A few months ago, he published The Now Effect , (our book of the month here for April) and I had the pleasure of interviewing him about it. Therese: What is The Now Effect? Elisha: The Now Effect is that “aha” moment of clarity and choice that we’ve all experienced. It’s the moment you notice your mind running around the same old bad neighborhoods and come in touch with the choice to refocus on what matters. It’s the moment you’re on your smartphone and your kids are clamoring around you and you realize they are what matter in the moment. It’s the moment a friend of a friend passes away and you reconnect to the ones you love. Unfortunately, these moments are becoming rarer than ever as our lives are speeding up and life itself is becoming routine. I wrote The Now Effect to help us train our brains to naturally pop int ...

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Eating slowly is not my specialty — and I don’t think I’m alone. It’s hard to tell where the habit to rapidly shovel food toward my mouth came from, but I think it may have something to do with 12 years of 20-minute school lunches. Twenty minutes to find a place to sit, buy food, talk with friends and eat a turkey sandwich was hardly enough time, and you couldn’t even take food to your next class (unless you were sneaky…something I’m pleading the fifth on). Those quickfire childhood lunches combined with five years of a career where I routinely eat at my desk have created a monster: sometimes I’m not even tasting my food as I eat it. Mindful Eating is quite the buzz phrase here on PsychCentral, with many of our wonderful bloggers advocating for a new way to see and experience food. The benefits of mindful eating include: actually tasting what’s in your mouth, easier digestion, lowered consumption and a better relationship with food ...

I am one of those few 20-somethings who would prefer a simple Samsung model over an iPhone or Blackberry when shopping at AT&T. And yes, I do get the odd stare from the sales associate who isn’t sure why I wouldn’t pine for that touchscreen. I typically shrug and convey how I prefer to keep it simple, and will gladly purchase a phone that has an ideal keyboard for texting. Texting has become an everyday facet of our lives. The feature serves as a platform that absolutely allows us to stay connected to others with instant communication. However, there is something to be said about the ways in which it has the potential to diminish our social skills, if we choose to allow it to do so. Texting has the ability to reinforce ineffective communication. Individuals can ‘hide behind a screen’ to escape confrontation in friendships or romantic relationships. A 2007 article in the Washington Post (“Hey, You’re Breaking Up on Me!”), discusses how “singles can avoid direct conf ...

Sometimes, it can feel like your emotions are doing all the talking. Like a particularly powerful emotion is the driver and you’re sitting bewildered in the backseat. But you can learn to cope with your emotions in a healthy way. In fact, there are many methods to effectively manage your emotions. Journaling is one of them. “Journals are like a checkpoint between your emotions and the world,” writes clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs, Ph.D, in her valuable workbook Writing for Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions . Journaling helps you make sense of your emotions, pinpoint patterns and gain relief. Research has shown that it also helps you reduce stress, solve problems more effectively and even improve your health . In Writing for Emotional Balance , Jacobs lays out seven skills of emotion management: distancing yourself from your emotions; defining what emotions mean for you; releasing stuck emotions; learning to focus while experiencing o ...

I just finished re-reading Paco Underhill’s fascinating book, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping . (Note: the book has been updated, but I read the first edition, so that’s what I’m discussing here.) Underhill invented the “science of shopping,” and he details many ways that retailers can create environments that encourage people to buy. As I read, I realized that much of his advice could be flipped on its head, to help people resist buying. So often, we operate on habit and impulse; by recognizing the subtle factors that promote shopping, we can turn that information to our advantage, if we’re trying to shop wisely. Many of these tips are very obvious, but as one of my Secrets of Adulthood holds: It’s very important, and surprisingly difficult, to grasp the obvious. 1. Don’t take a basket or cart . People who shop with a basket buy much more than those who don’t use a basket . 2. Don’t linger . How much time you spend in a ...

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We’d like to extend a warm welcome to the nearly 25,000 members of This Emotional Life , the three-part television series that originally aired in early 2010. The series, a co-production of Vulcan Productions and the NOVA/WGBH Science Unit, explored ways people can improve their social relationships (Family, Friends & Lovers), cope with negative emotions such as depression and anxiety (Facing Our Fears) and become more positive, resilient individuals (Rethinking Happiness). Each episode weaved together the compelling personal stories of ordinary people and the latest scientific research, along with revealing comments from celebrities such as Chevy Chase, Larry David, Elizabeth Gilbert, Alanis Morissette, Katie Couric and Richard Gere. Two years later, This Emotional Life’s online community remains strong — and growing. So when the folks responsible for keeping the online community going approached us to help keep it alive and curate it moving forward, we were bo ...

Oftentimes it’s not that we don’t want to be happy, but we’re too afraid of taking the necessary steps to get what we want. It goes something like this. You or someone you know continues to complain about their current job or employer, but they never do anything about it. Or it’s not a job, but a relationship, a desire to seek help, or an inability to cope that’s causing you unhappiness. But fear prevents you from doing what’s required to invite positive change in your life. If you have ever put happiness on hold out of fear, I feel for you. The journey is often lined with disappointment, hopelessness and discouragement. But there is hope. This week our bloggers will show you new ways to tackle old problems. And it’s all in an effort to help you make small, tiny, doable changes now to give you confidence to make those big, intimidating ones in the long run. Whether you are overcoming a fear of rejection or finding a way to cope with food or a ...

CALL FOR PAPERS                                       for the International Journal of Disability, Community & Rehabilitation (IJDCR) What Sorts of People Should There Be?  Guest Editor Gregor Wolbring, Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, Dept. of Community Health Sciences, University of [...]

This guest article from YourTango was written by SaraKay Smullens .  It comes as to no surprise to me that a recent major study confirms that education of couples about marital relationships and family life improves the chances of a happy and fulfilling marriage. After grad school, I was the director of family life education for a large Philadelphia counseling agency. Through working there, I learned how much couples enjoy learning about relationship challenges both together and as individuals. I learned that young couples who grow up in homes where they see, feel and experience their parents’ fulfilling lives together have a much better chance of creating their own happy marriages. Life is just easier for them from minute one of marital life. I noticed that those couples who grew up with rage, distance or contempt between their parents had a far harder time living with depth, commitment and harmony. Plus, they did not have a clue about how to handle disagreements and h ...

Finding the right therapist is difficult. In the last 12 years, I’ve been through half a dozen of them. I have no doubt that most of these therapists would blame me for these high turnover rates. They would say I have some sort of inability to communicate my needs or that I’m not ready to move forward. I say that it’s simply really, really hard to find the correct fit and that the wrong fit can bring me frustration I don’t need. I would rather have no therapist than one who continually frustrates me. A few weeks ago, I told a therapist I had gone to a handful of times that I did not want to continue seeing her. We’ll call her “Lynn.” Lynn was perfectly nice and was a good listener, but that was sort of the problem. All she did was listen and say things like, “well, what did that feel like?” and “what would that look like to you?” Lynn was also one of those therapists who immediately wanted to delve into my family and my childhood. This approach was not at all wha ...

While the roll-in shower may be the easier and more popular solution of bathing for wheelchair user, there are people who insist that there is nothing more relaxing than sitting in a bathtub.  While there are bathtubs on the market that feature a side door, they are prone to leaking around the seals and are not the most aesthetically pleasing bathtub. Chinese designers Kim Jung Su, Yoon Ji