Remembering Dr. Mayer Eisenstein

Remembering Dr. Mayer Eisenstein

We Joyfully Remember Dr. Mayer Eisenstein
by Phillip C. DeMio, MD

The news recently came to us, in late December, that our friend Dr. Mayer Eisenstein had suddenly died. If you knew him like we did you are sure he is looking over us with a warm reassuring smile saying, "Don't worry, it's all right," though we are shocked & saddened at the loss of such a fine man and doctor just the same. This comes at the end of a year, 2014, where we had already seen the passing of two leaders who helped those persons disabilities: Louis J. Joyce who was one of the very first if not the first special education teacher for children in the U.S. (having been helping and believing in the educational potential of challenged kids & adults in Ohio by the early 1960's), and Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless (author of Children with Starving Brains, who helped to spread information worldwide about those affected with spectrum disorders). We will miss them all, with the loss of Dr. Eisenstein being the most recent.

Mayer Eisenstein was born in China after his family left Europe after WW II. His family later moved to the US, where he eventually became a physician. From that moment he continued a life of helping people. Along the way, though, he also became a lawyer and a master of public health, and he drew from these skills to help his patients on a daily basis. He was intelligent, informed, well-spoken, and a very staunch supporter of patients' rights to be informed & to have choices in care. Somehow there's where Mayer Eisenstein, MD, JD, MPH was viewed as controversial simply for standing up as a doctor for patients' rights & choices when they sought care for their loved ones. People took shots at him, all because he wanted you to know your rights.

Dr. Eisenstein wanted you to have access to information about choices in healthcare, with him as a physician guiding you along. His 40 plus years of practice, just taken at face value, had a minimum if any severe or chronic disease, with virtually little to no asthma nor autism in the many babies he delivered at home. Dr Eisenstein's tireless devotion to his patients led him on the four decade trek to helping people day in & day out, not just by being their good doctor. He also knew he had to assure that their right to choice in health care, based on the right in turn of patients & families, to be truly informed so they could make a real choice.

It is distressingly often that we are at a medical encounter where a stack of consent forms are pushed at us and, whereby many persons are unknowingly put through a mill without ever having truly been informed at all. A person cannot at all agree to the surgery, the drug or even a test in such a setting, unless we are guided to information. That's why you bring yourself or your loved one to see a physician. Dr. Eisenstein knew, and practiced this every day and with every breath. He continually stood up for patients and their families to medically get what they wanted & needed. I saw it in action.

On one occasion another physician voiced the opinion to put patients second and essentially to sell out to the power structures, leaving patients defenseless. Dr. Eisenstein responded swiftly and effectively with a fury and eloquent and informed argument effectively squashing the other doctor's proposal. The very idea was anathema to Dr. Eisenstein. His knowledge and incontrovertible statements once again protected patients. We always have been, and we still are energized by his dedication, his energy, his warmth, and his caring demeanor.

Rest in peace Mayer. Somehow, though, I think you've taken that magical energy of yours to a higher place where it belonged all along. I am proud to have called Mayer Eisenstein my friend, and we will all miss him very much.

Phillip C DeMio, MD
US Asperger & Autism Association, Chief Medical Officer

Prescription Drug Labeling to Aid the Blind and Visually-Impaired Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Senator Markey Queries Pharmacies on Prescription Drug Labeling to Aid the Blind and Visually-Impaired Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Commends CVS for new “talking” prescription labels

– Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent letters to a dozen pharmacies requesting information on their efforts to make prescription drug label information accessible to patients who are blind, visually-impaired or elderly with deteriorating vision. There are at least 20.6 million Americans who experience vision loss preventing them from reading important prescription drug label information independently. In his letters, Senator Markey asks the twelve pharmacies what steps they have taken to adopt or implement best practices for blind or visually-impaired individuals, including providing information in braille or large print, offering audible devices to deliver information, and any costs for making drug labeling information available. Earlier this week, CVS announced it is now offering its mail service customers talking prescription labels through its “ScripTalk” system, as well as braille and large print labels for free its customers who are blind or visually-impaired.

“Pharmacies are important partners in empowering our visually impaired citizens to take full control of their health,” said Senator Markey. “Putting health and prescription drug information into the hands and ears of patients who are blind or visually-impaired is critical to ensuring safety and promoting independence.

“I commend CVS for providing options for those who are visually impaired, and I encourage all pharmacies to adopt policies, technologies and services that are readily available and will help promote and protect the health of all customers.”

A copy of the letters to the pharmacies can be found HERE. Senator Markey sent letters to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, Express Scripts, Target, Safeway, Kroger, UnitedHealth Group, Sears/Kmart, Costco, and Medicine Shoppe International.

In 2012, Senator Markey’s “Prescription Drug Labeling Promotion Act” was passed as part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Safety and Innovation Act, ensuring that the blind and visually-impaired have safe and independent access to the information on prescription drug labels. The law established a working group of pharmacists, patient advocates, and federal regulators that issued recommendations of best practices for pharmacies to ensure that people who are blind or visually-impaired have access to prescription drug labeling. The law also instructs the Government Accountability Office to analyze the degree to which pharmacists are adhering to the law and whether there continues to be a lack of access to prescription drug labeling for the blind and visually-impaired.

Eric Bridges

American Council of the Blind

Director of External Relations and Policy

Charting a Pathway to a Technology Accessible Workplace

By Guest Blogger Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy
Someone recently asked me to name the one thing I couldn’t live without at work. My answer? Technology. I couldn’t do my job – or live my life – as effectively as I do now without information and communication technology (ICT).
Considering that I’m blind, this answer is sometimes met with surprise. Some people don’t realize that individuals with disabilities also rely on technology – as long as it’s accessible – to perform daily tasks. I certainly do. I use a screen reader to relay the information on my computer screen, a Braille note-taking device and a smartphone with built-in accessibility features. To say that I’d be lost without these innovations is an understatement.
Technology is paramount for all of us – whether we have disability or not – and this is particularly true in the workplace. From computers to mobile devices to email platforms and other Web-based applications, ICT is a central driver of productivity. It streamlines operations, boosts efficiency and forges instantaneous connections. It empowers us in transformative ways. And this phenomenon is not limited to office settings. Whether you work in an office, a warehouse or a retail establishment, chances are technology is part of the job.
But imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t access or navigate all that technology. It’s an unfortunate reality experienced by many people with disabilities who are faced with workplace technologies that are neither accessible to them nor compatible with assistive technology devices. And that’s unfortunate—not only for workers and jobseekers with disabilities, but also for employers.
When certain individuals are unable to perform basic job duties because they can’t access basic workplace tools, it limits their opportunities to succeed. On the other hand, when technologies are accessible to all users, they become powerful productivity enhancements, enabling all to perform on the job and fully contribute.
The barrier of inaccessible workplace technology was the driving force behind the launch of the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT), a multi-faceted initiative sponsored by the agency I lead, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). PEAT is working to improve the employment and career advancement of people with disabilities through the promotion of accessible technology. In addition to maintaining a free, information-rich Web portal, PEATworks.org, PEAT conducts outreach, facilitates collaboration and provides resources to serve as a catalyst for policy development and innovation related to accessible technology in the workplace.
Of course, before a person can succeed on the job, he or she needs to get a job in the first place. That is why one of the important topics being explored by PEAT is the recruiting and hiring phase of the employment life cycle. Unlike the “olden days,” today most people find job openings online and apply for them online. Some companies even conduct pre-employment assessments on the Web and “virtual” interviews before they ever meet a job candidate in person – if they do at all. But regretfully, too many of those job application websites, forms and pre-employment tests are not accessible, which is preventing many qualified individuals with disabilities from fairly competing for job openings.

Justice Department Enters into a Settlement Agreement with Peapod to Ensure that Peapod Grocery Delivery Website is Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities

 

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Ahold U.S.A. Inc. and Peapod LLC, the owners and operators of www.peapod.com [external link], to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Peapod is America’s leading Internet grocer, delivering more than 23 million orders in 12 Midwest and East Coast states and the District of Columbia.  The agreement resolves the department’s allegations that www.peapod.com [external link] is not accessible to some individuals with disabilities, including individuals who are blind or have low vision, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals who have physical disabilities affecting manual dexterity.      
Many individuals with disabilities use computers and other electronic devices to access the Internet with the help of assistive technologies, including text-to-speech “screen reader” software programs, refreshable Braille displays, keyboard navigation and captioning.  Such technologies have been readily available and widely used for decades; however, websites must include programming for the assistive technologies to function properly for users with disabilities.  Inaccessible websites and mobile applications persist even while there are well-established industry guidelines – the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 – for making web content accessible.
Under the agreement, Peapod is required to adopt measures to ensure that users with disabilities are able to fully and equally enjoy the various goods, services, facilities and accommodations provided through www.peapod.com [external link] including:

• ensure that www.peapod.com [external link]
  
• designate an employee as web accessibility coordinator for www.peapod.com, who will report directly to a Peapod, LLC executive
  
• retain an independent website accessibility consultant, who will annually evaluate the accessibility of the website and  its mobile applications;
  
• adopt a formal web accessibility policy;
  
• provide a notice on www.peapod.com [external link] soliciting feedback from visitors on how website accessibility can be improved;
  
• provide automated accessibility testing and accessibility testing by individuals with a variety of disabilities of www.peapod.com and its mobile applications;
  
• provide mandatory annual training on website accessibility for Peapod’s website content personnel
  

“This agreement ensures that people with disabilities will have an equal opportunity to independently and conveniently shop online for groceries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division.  “We applaud Peapod for working cooperatively with the department and for its commitment to customers with disabilities.”
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations of places of public accommodations.  Title III of the ADA also requires public accommodations to take necessary steps to ensure individuals with disabilities are not excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, such as accessible electronic information.  The Justice Department has long considered Title III and its implementing regulation to apply to the online services and communications of public accommodations.

Disability Abuse Reporting Earns Pulitzer Nod

Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism, considered journalism's highest honor, has chosen its finalists. Among these finalists for the prize include a five-installment series titled "Broken Shield.” The series reporters found that the California’s Office of Protective Services' investigations of abuse were routinely fault-ridden and sought to expose the abuse.

For more information on the series "Broken Shield," visit:

http://californiawatch.org/broken-shield

Muscular Dystrophy and Creative Photography

12 year old boy with muscular dystrophy enjoys dream activities through clever photography:

http://www.grindtv.com/lifestyle/in-style/post/stricken-boys-dream-comes-true-thanks-to-clever-photographer/

Tommy Carroll- Blind Skateboarder

Inspirational skateboarder Tommy Carroll has been skateboarding since he was ten years old. The fact that this is another video about a great skateboarder may not be surprising. What may perk your ears up is the fact that Tommy has been blind since the age of two. Tommy loves to visit the skatepark early in the morning when no one is around and practice his love for skateboarding. When pro-skateboarder Tony Hawke heard of Tommy's story, he became inspired and decided to fly to Tommy's hometown for a visit with him. The two spent the entire day skateboarding.

Here is Tommy Carroll's story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/tommy-carroll-blind-skate_n_2520601.html

If you cannot see the video there, please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncq27mZq6b4