Domestic abuse and women with disabilities posters

Women's Aid has posters up featuring women with disabilities and domestic abuse issues. They address situations that can and do occur in situations where a spouse who is a caregiver abuses or neglects a woman with a disability, such as people thinking he is a saint for taking care of them and "are reluctant to criticize" or "think he could be doing these terrible things". Another poster addresses a husband taking a woman's money or failing to give her medication.

You can view the posters at the above link.

New site: For Disabled Women

can be found here. The site is just up and running and I found a link over at F.R.I.D.A. this morning so - here's a h/t.

Survey results - Women with spinal cord injuries/MS

Women without Limits, the women's advisory  committee at United Spinal Association, did a survey regarding issues women with SCI's and MS face. Their findings can be found here.  

In addition to other concerns, over one third of the respondents reported  "problems accessing information related to knowing disability  advocacy organizations, finding the best magazines for information, finding health care professionals knowledgeable about SCI/D, finding someone to talk to or ask questions, knowing other women with SCI/D, and finding that SCI/D information is oriented to men."

h/t to Ziggi over at Wheelchair Diffusion

Women's Access to Health Care - "The Uphill Push"

Kara Sheridan, one of the bloggers who recently hosted the Disability Carnival, has written a great article on the health care system and how women with disabilities fare in it. It's published in the November 2007 issue of New Mobility and I've provided a link , but you need a subscription to the magazine to read the entire article. You can get a subscription at their site if you'd like.

I highly recommend this article - Kara did interviews with women of all ages and occupations - including a female medical student named Bliss Temple who uses a wheelchair and "designed a curriculum on health and disability for medical professionals".

One of the women interviewed, Stacy Milbern, talks about how accessible exam tables, which she's heard about, seem to be a myth. Another woman discusses the assumption that she needs therapy because she uses a wheelchair. And she speaks of professionals whom she's consulted who tell her that their office doesn't need to be accessible because they don't have a specialty in treating people with disabilities.

Getting into the waiting room or examining room is still an issue for those of us in wheelchairs, not to mention dealing with the attitude of some staff members who expect us to bring someone along, Kara points out. And these barriers, attitudinal and those involving access, keep us from getting adequate health care.

Clearly a great deal of advocacy is still needed in this area.