DISABILITY AWARENESS Group Learns Challenges Of Living With Disabilities
Reported by: Darrah Wilcox
Videographer: Troy Morgan
Web Producer: Jeff Morris
Reported: Oct. 2, 2012 5:17 PM EDT
Updated: Oct. 3, 2012 9:11 AM EDT
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Huntington
, Cabell County
, West Virginia
Some donned goggle to blur their vision. Some tried wheelchairs for the very first time. A group in Huntington received a closer look at some of the challenges that come with having a disability.
Mountain State Centers for Independent Living picked 10 people in Huntington to take on a "disability" Tuesday for Disability Awareness Day. October is Disability Awareness Month.
"To lose your eyesight is an eye-opening experience I guess you'd say," said Jerry Beckett, a planner with the Cabell County Office of Emergency Management.
Beckett spent the day relying on a lot of helping hands. "I've been used to going and doing things I'm used to doing, and I'm entirely dependent on somebody to help me all the time," Beckett said.
Carol DeLancey teaches third grade at Altizer Elementary. She used a wheelchair to get around Tuesday. "I had a terrible time getting in the front door, and my hands are already raw,” DeLancey said. “It's just a lot harder than I thought it would be."
DeLancey spoke openly with her students about some of the challenges and how they could deal with them every day. "I think they learned that every handicap can be overcome, and that it doesn't really change a person and the way they think and the way they act, simply because they're in a wheelchair,” she said.
Ohio bill would extend Medicaid, add cost sharing May 22, 2013 6:32 PM EDT A Republican state lawmaker is proposing to link Medicaid expansion in Ohio to job training that could ultimately reduce the need for participation in the program.
Darrah Wilcox
