Updated Disability Resources

DISABILITIES IN THE NEWS :
Here is the link to an interesting article on NPR about the vocabulary we use to talk about disabilities. The author, Barbara J. King, is an anthropology professor at the College of William and Mary.
http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/02/25/468073722/disabled-just-saytheword

Also, some APUAF members may have seen the buzz on social media about the Whole Foods Market pre-peeled oranges (and how wasteful they are). As it turns out, they are particularly helpful to people with disabilities. Here is a link to an article about the polemic : http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/07/469521879/pre-peeled-oranges-what-some-call-lazy-others-call-a-lifesaver

And here is another link to an article about cooking with disabilities :
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/21/448971281/cooking-with-disabilities-an-exercise-in-creative-problem-solving

2016-03-10 – Claire HARAI – CUPA  claire.harai@cupa.paris.edu

MOBILITY IN PARIS – retour d’expérience :
The PAM (http://www.pam-info.fr/) is a dedicated service for Parisians with motor disabilities. It is supposed to be reserved for people living in the greater Paris region who are already affiliated with the Maison Départementale des Personnes Handicapées.

In 2013, an APUAF member program called the PAM to ask if their student could use this (paying) service for four months, and was flatly refused. The student used an electric mobility scooter during the semester in Paris and took accessible G7 « Horizon » taxis when needed, an expensive but high-quality service : http://www.taxisg7.fr/decouvrez-nos-services/g7-taxis-parisiens-mobilite-reduite-handicap

At the end of 2015, another American program called the PAM and was able to set up the service for their student in a manual wheelchair (for Spring 2016). They use the service primarily for longer outings. On a daily basis, the student uses normal Parisian busses to get around the city, which works well (except when it rains !). The student can also take standard taxis because the manual wheelchair folds flat and fits in the trunk of a car.

2016-03-10 – Claire HARAI – CUPA  claire.harai@cupa.paris.edu

ASSOCIATIONS :
With a caveat that no one has actually called upon these « associations », here are two links.

L’association Action Passeraile, http://www.action-passeraile.fr/
Members of the association volunteer to accompany physically or visually impared individuals for shopping, banking, cultural outings, « démarches administratives » etc. This is a free service.
See attached brochure in French and in English

There is also a similar group : l’Association Passerelles, based out of Versailles, whose volunteers accompany young people (18-25 years old) for outings, going to church, going to an expo etc. Again, we have not contacted the group directly so we don’t know how responsive / involved they are or can be.
“Objectifs de l’association : lutter contre l’exculion sociale des 10-25ans et leur famille”

2016-03-10 – Claire HARAI – CUPA
claire.harai@cupa.paris.edu