On Disabilities

From Psychedelics To Alzheimer's, 2016 Was A Good Year For Brain Science

5:00am December 31, 2016

by Bret Stetka

A woman with ALS was able to type just by thinking about the letters, and people with cancer found their anxiety and depression erased by a single encounter with magic mushrooms.

Adox and Michaeli with their son, Orion, in the winter of 2015.

A Dying Man's Wish To Donate His Organs Gets Complicated

6:36am December 26, 2016

by Karen Shakerdge

Dying in America doesn't always go the way we plan. One terminally ill man's hope to be disconnected from his respirator and donate his organs was almost thwarted, despite his best laid plans.

How Is The World Treating People With Disabilities?

2:26pm December 18, 2016

by Susan Brink

A new report from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health looks at how far countries have come — and have far they still have to go.

A Lego figure in a wheelchair was introduced at the 67th International Toy Fair in January 2016. He comes in the "City" set, a community of figures shown playing and working in an urban park setting.

Dolls With Disabilities Escape The Toy Hospital, Go Mainstream

11:08am December 18, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

Longtime toymakers are broadening their horizons — offering dolls and other figures with hearing aids, wheelchairs and insulin pumps in city scenes, not just hospitals. That's a start, activists say.

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Florida Department of Health workers package a urine test, part of the state's effort to provide free Zika tests to pregnant women.

Study Offers Clues To Risk Of Zika Birth Defects In The U.S.

6:41pm December 14, 2016

by Rob Stein

Women who were infected with Zika virus while abroad and then came to the U.S. had complications about 6 percent of the time, a study finds. First-trimester exposure was linked to more birth defects.

Mental illness can be isolating, making the companionship of pets even more precious.

Pets Help People Manage The Pain Of Serious Mental Illness

1:55pm December 09, 2016

by Erin Ross

People living with schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses say a pet can be not just a comforting companion but a reason to stay engaged with other people — and with life.

Nick Fugate (center) with his parents, Julie and Ron, has been adjusting to life on Kansas' waiting list to get life-assistance services through Medicaid.

To Get Disability Help In Kansas, Thousands Face A 7-Year Wait

11:07am November 28, 2016

by Alex Smith

Nick Fugate has a cognitive disability, but held a job and was independent for years. Then he lost his dishwashing job and learned there are long delays getting help he needs from Medicaid in Kansas.

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Army Specialist Jim McGough with members of his unit in 1971. Then 19, he was photographed by a columnist from The Des Moines Register.

Name Of A Vietnam Veteran Killed By Hepatitis C Added To 'The Wall'

6:30am November 12, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Members of the military are more than twice as likely to have hepatitis C as the general public. For many, including Jim McGough, the virus takes its final toll decades after they are first infected.

Intensive home-visits by physical, occupational and speech therapists have been "a lifesaver," for little Haylee Crouse, her mom Amanda (left) told Shots. Haylee, who is now 2, developed seizures and physical and intellectual disabilities after contractin

Cuts In Texas Medicaid Hit Rural Kids With Disabilities Especially Hard

6:58pm November 03, 2016

by Wade Goodwyn

State lawmakers cut $350 million in Medicaid funding to early childhood intervention therapists last year to help pay for tax cuts. Now rural toddlers are finding it hard to get vital treatment.

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HealthCare.gov has already begun showcasing health plans and prices for 2017.

Hunting For A Health Plan? Bronze May Be Your Best Value

11:31am November 03, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

The lower premiums that come with bronze plans, plus Obamacare's caps on out-of-pocket spending, can make these plans the best deal for people who have very few medical expenses — or very many.