On Disabilities

Melissa Hickson says no one asked her husband, Michael, shown here with stepdaughter Mia, if he wanted to keep getting treatment. "He would say: 'I want to live. I love my family and my children ... that's the reason for the three years I have fought to s

One Man's COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities

7:41pm July 31, 2020

by Joseph Shapiro

The hospital said it made a humane decision to end treatment. Michael Hickson's widow says doctors ended his care because they underestimated the life of a man with significant disabilities.

Voters in Kirkwood, Mo., cast ballots on Nov. 6, 2018 that helped decide the balance of power in Congress. Next week they'll get the chance to decide whether to expand Medicaid in their state. The measure could extend health coverage to more than 230,000

Health & Safety

Will Missouri Be The Next Red State To Expand Medicaid? Voters To Decide

5:00am July 30, 2020

by Cara Anthony

Advocates for expansion say it would create jobs, protect hospitals from budget cuts, bring billions of federal taxpayer dollars back to the state, and bring health coverage to 230,000 more people.

Diversity In Coronavirus Vaccine Trials Demanded From Drug Companies

4:05pm July 29, 2020

by JoNel Aleccia

There are growing demands that drugmakers and investigators ensure diversity in coronavirus vaccine trials by including racial minorities, older people and those with underlying medical conditions.

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Blood plasma — the yellowish, cell-free portion that remains after red and white blood cells have been filtered out by a machine and returned to the plasma donor — is rich with antibodies. Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients might prove useful in

Harvested Antibodies Now Being Tested As A Prevention Tool Against COVID-19

8:03am July 29, 2020

by Richard Harris

Scientists are now checking to see if purified blood serum from people who have recovered from COVID-19 might be more than a useful treatment. Perhaps it's a way to prevent disease in someone else.

Michael Conley, who is deaf, models a mask that has a transparent panel in San Diego on June 3. Face coverings can make communication harder for people who rely on reading lips, and that has spurred a slew of startups and volunteers to make masks with pla

Demand Surges For See-Through Face Masks As Pandemic Swells

10:02am July 28, 2020

by Yuki Noguchi

Face coverings are key to stopping spread of the coronavirus, but also slow communication, especially for people who don't hear well. Volunteers and companies suggest some transparent alternatives.

Conner Curran, 9, (right) and his brother Will, 7, at their home in Ridgefield, Conn., this week. The gene therapy treatment that stopped the muscle wasting of Conner's muscular dystrophy two years ago took more than 30 years of research to develop.

A Boy With Muscular Dystrophy Was Headed For A Wheelchair. Then Gene Therapy Arrived

9:09am July 27, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

Gene therapy has helped a 9-year-old boy regain enough muscle strength to run. If successful in others, the treatment could change the lives of thousands of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

In Reopening, The Smithsonian Looks To Balance Safety And Disability Access

5:00pm July 26, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Beth Ziebarth, director of Access Smithsonian, about how the museums are adjusting their approach to accessibility as museums begin to reopen amid the pandemic.

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An evacuee lies on a cot at an evacuation shelter for people with disabilities in Stuart, Fla., in preparation for Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 1, 2019. Now, with the pandemic raging, officials across the South are trying to adjust their evacuation and shelt

Disaster Relief For The Elderly And Disabled Is Already Hard. Now Add A Pandemic

6:46pm July 22, 2020

by Joseph Shapiro

Natural disasters are already deadly for the elderly and people with disabilities. During the pandemic, advocates say disaster preparation has fallen short in meeting the needs of the most at risk.

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Education

Parents Of Special Education Students File Lawsuits Over Poor Remote Education

4:07pm July 22, 2020

by Anya Kamenetz

There are more than seven million special education students in the U.S. And many parents of these students say their children are struggling with remote learning during the pandemic.

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North Carolina Couple Sews Transparent Masks To Help People With Hearing Loss

5:50pm July 20, 2020

by Yuki Noguchi

Face masks may be a public health essential, but they come with some social downsides. They can be especially challenging for people with hearing loss, and one couple has come up with a solution.