Academy Developmental Ability and Special Olympics Programs - Updates From Peggy
Monday, April 26, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Reader Peggy started an entire program of employment training for developmentally disabled adults using my methods of healthy functional movement and real fitness as a real lifestyle. They learned good bending, lifting, reaching, pushing, and carrying methods to do good work for pay in the community Mail Room - Functional Fitness as a Lifestyle By Mail Room Workers.
Now Peggy is taking this work to two new programs. First, is a housekeeping employment program. Peggy is using my Backman!™ figure to make flashcards to teach good movement skills for all the bending, reaching, and lifting in housekeeping skills, and will soon have photos of the results for us. Healthline is changing this Fitness Fixer format, so look for the updates on my web site at - www.drbookspan.com/AcademyStudents.
Next, Peggy is taking our healthy training to the Maryland Special Olympics Garrett County. I am looking forward to the good work we can do with these athletes.
She sent a photo - with a bear cub, writing,
"As a reporter I was able to go on the bear tagging with Natural Resources folks. It's part of the program to check on numbers of bears etc. There were 4 cubs. Mom, though sedated, bolted into the woods and the rangers gave chase leaving four of us holding cubs for over an hour. You put them under your jacket to keep them warm and they scramble right up to put arms around your neck.
"It was raining so we sat in the news van with our bears in our laps while we waited for the rangers to return. I hummed Brahms Lullaby to mine and talked to him about not getting into people's garbage. They have blue eyes."
Related Fitness Fixer about Peggy's Work Through My Academy:
Functional Fitness as a Lifestyle By Mail Room Workers
Monday, March 22, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Peggy Santamaria wrote me that she was using my work, and my illustration Backman!™ to teach healthy movement to workers for a good day's work without injury and repetitive strain:
"Hi Dr. Bookspan, "Very excited to report that I met with the Appalachian Crossroads staff and the trainees of the Mail Room Service Unit. The goal is to connect developmentally disabled adults with a paycheck for good work done well.
"I had created some Backman!™ flash cards illustrating some of the daily work in the mail room. These were distributed to the trainees with explanations for the staff about our new program. Then I met with the trainees and talked more about functional fitness.
"We then practiced some of the healthy movements needed for their work day. We took pictures to document their great understanding of what we are working toward. I will make these photos into small posters that can hang in their workspace.
"They are all excited about what we are doing and are proud to be part of the Academy. "Peggy"
Here is Ms. Santamaria's update with the successful outcome plus great photos. I personally congratulate and thank each participant:
"Hi Dr. Bookspan:
"Here is an update on Academy activity. As you know, I am working with staff and trainees at Appalachian Crossroads, a private nonprofit human service agency that primarily serves developmentally disabled adults in Garrett County, Maryland.
"One of the Appalachian Crossroads work units provides a "mail room" service to local businesses. The trainees in the mailroom provide support, expertise, and manpower to process everything from daily statements to sales catalogs to monthly newsletters. More than 1.2 million pieces of mail go through the hands of 18 employees each year.
"As the Academy’s director of Developmental Abilities I set about creating a program using your work and Fitness Fixer to help the trainees work in a healthy way and be functionally fit. I met with staff and trainees of the unit to hand out instructional flash cards featuring Backman!™ going through the daily functions required in the mail room.
"The Appalachian Crossroads folks were super. They got right to it. With the help of staff they were ready to work and demonstrate their functional fitness skills. I took pictures that I am making into small posters for their work area.
"I will continue to work with these men and women as well as others in the custodial service unit, the grounds crew, supported employment, and the day program. It is a privilege to be working for the Academy and sharing your fitness message. "Peggy Santamaria"
This is a shining example of getting things done well, simply, and intelligently. Thank you Peggy! Thank you Appalachian Crossroads staff and mail room!
Readers, The Mail Room is teaching us how to keep things healthy and smart. They are role models and generous guides for all of us. Use what they have done, and send your stories of using this work for Good.
New Healthy Employment Programs for Developmentally Disabled
Monday, March 08, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Another reader has Fixed the Fitness for a community program so beneficial and potentially far-reaching that I have given her an Academy Appointment.
Peggy Santamaria is bringing my healthy daily life techniques to developmentally disabled adults. She has made a new program to transition developmental disability to Developmental Ability.
"Thanks. Cool to find that this morning on Fitness Fixer. I would like to work with job coaches at a local agency that trains and finds employment for developmentally disabled adults. Snow removal is one of their big programs. I hope I would have your permission to use Fitness Fixer techniques to help prevent injuries for these trainees. I am on the board of directors for the agency and really support the program. Thanks again. you rock!!!" peggy
I wrote back asking if she could start before the snow season ends, which was soon, and that when the snow season ends, what activities and healthy movement retraining could she bring to them?
Peggy replied:
"Just spoke with program director at Appalachian Crossroads. I will meet with his job coaches and staff on Monday afternoon to talk about healthier movements while on the job shoveling snow, landscaping, vacuuming, etc. This is their website if you want to check them out, www.appalachiancrossroads.com/"
I am pleased to announce her appointment through the Academy of Functional Exercise Medicine (AFEM) as Director of Developmental Ability. We are working on better names - write in your ideas in the comments for a good title for this program for the disabled to develop their abilities. Peggy has been working hard developing the program. She drew the shovels for me for the Backman!™ illustration, and has been drawing and developing more teaching tools.
Our plan is for participants to gain skills and healthy work, reduce injury and pain risk, and be proud role models. The community gains important improvements in ways that are healthy for all. We hope our program with Appalachian Crossroads becomes a model for programs all over the nation like it.
Peggy wrote back:
"WOW!!! That's all I can say. Off to teach a class. I have read a gazillion of your fitness fixers (they are like peanuts, you know). I just don't get any housework done. But I will be well-armed to begin this task.
"My daughters and grandchildren are very proud. (They) said it was "awesome" and "Go Grandma Peggy!""
Join TheFun - Join in this work, and do the same for your own local world. Send in your own ideas and stories. See my Academy page - www.DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Winter Olympics 2010 Ends, Paralympics 2010 Begins, Next Olympics in 2012 and 2014
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada ends Feb 28th, 2010. Then the (10th or X) Paralympic Winter Games run March 12 to March 21, 2010.
The 2010 Paralympic Torch Relay begins in Ottawa, Ontario on March 3. Unlike the Olympic flame, the Paralympic flame has no traditional starting place. Approximately 600 torchbearers will carry the Paralympic Flame until reaching the 2010 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony on March 12 at the BC Place Stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The 2010 games are the second time Canada hosts the Paralympic Games.
Thirty nations will compete in five sports:
Alpine skiing
Biathlon
Cross-country skiing
Wheelchair curling
Sledge hockey
The next Winter Olympics will be the 2014, XXII (twenty-second) Olympic Games in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The next Summer Olympic games will be the 2012 Games in London. The International Olympic Committee approved adding golf, rugby, and women's boxing for the 2012 program. Karate did not make the vote to be in the Olympic games.
--- Read success stories and send your own. See if your answers are already here - click Fitness Fixer labels, links, archives, andIndex. Subscribe free - updates via e-mail or RSS, upper right. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class space for personal feedback. Top students may earn certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Learn more in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
The Olympic cauldron will light in Vancouver Canada on February 12, 2010, marking the start of the XXI (21st) Olympic Winter Games.
The 2010 Winter Games continue through February 28, 2010, in Vancouver and Whistler. Both the opening and closing ceremonies take place in Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium, the first Olympics in an indoor stadium in Olympic Games history.
Vancouver and Whistler then host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony is March 12, 2010 at BC Place Stadium. The Closing Ceremony is March 21, 2010, in Whistler.
--- Read success stories and send your own. See if your answers are already here by clicking labels, links in posts, archives, and Index. Subscribe free - "updates via e-mail" upper right. For personal medical questions, Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class space for personal feedback. Top students may earn certification throughDrBookspan.com/Academy. Get all at once in Dr. Bookspan's Books.
All the More Reason To Try - Exercise to Overcome Each Difficulty
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
E-mails and questions pour in - "I am weak from a recent bout of flu, will strengthening help me? I never had strong legs, should I bother doing leg exercise? My shoulders do not stay straight, they just become round when I let them, does that mean that I cannot have good posture? My ankles tilt toward each other when I stand up, does that mean that I should not stand straight? My balance is poor, why should I do balance exercise as I will just have a hard time of it. I have multiple sclerosis and it is tiring to stand up, should I try? I am overweight and have health problems from it, will I get any benefit from not eating so much? My toes are all tight from tight shoes, should I stretch my toes?"
These are real inquires. The answer to all is yes, you need the exercise even more than the person without these difficulties. Yes, work to overcome, to change what is hampering you, to regain function.
Hear it phrased this way:
"I earn less than the rest of my office, would getting a raise make a difference?" "My car veers to the left ever since I hit that pothole, should I try to hold the wheel straight, even though it seems so natural for the car to swerve uncontrolled?" "I just have a natural temper, why bother controlling it?"
When things are tough, you need to control it all the more. If you like to run or swim but are slow, you need to work harder at speed, not omit speed work. You have to work to get results. There is a saying "If the sword is not sharp, use a heavy handle." If you are not good at something, you need to work harder.
For inspiration, click the arrow to watch the video of The Thousand-Hand Guanyin, performed by 21 dancers of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe. All the dancers are deaf and cannot hear the music. Lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who earned a BA degree from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute.
--- Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify throughDrBookspan.com/Academy.See Dr. Bookspan's Books. ---
Disability Awareness Doesn't End With Summer Paralympics Sept 6-17th 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
The Summer Paralympics Games of 2008 in Beijing China close September 17th. These are Olympic games of athletes with a disability. Information and networking doesn't end with the Games. Here are some sources:
An irreverent site from the BBC is Ouch. Why is the site called Ouch? The writers answer: "We spent literally months trying to come up with a name that wasn't too patronising (bbc.co.uk/smile_through_the_tears) or too suggestive of hideous '90s positivity (bbc.co.uk/Able2Jump2TheSky)…"
The Paralympics and the many world and local sports events and classes for people with a disability remind that physical and mental training is important for fitness and personal development for everyone.
The graphic shows Paralympic logos from past Games. The next and 10th Winter Paralympics will be held in the year 2010 in Vancouver Canada. The 11th Winter Games will be in Sochi Russia, in 2014.
The 13th Summer Paralympic Games begin on September 6, 2008 in Beijing, China. Since 1988, the Paralympic Games are held in the same year and location as the Olympic Games. The Paralympic torch was lit on August 28 at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and was relayed by Paralympian athletes for nine days until arriving in Beijing to mark the beginning of the games.
Categories of athletes:
Wheelchair: Spinal cord and other injuries or disabilities requiring use of a wheelchair.
Amputee: Partial or total loss of at least one limb.
Brain Injury: Cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and conditions affecting balance and muscle control.
Visual: Partial to total blindness.
Les Autres (The Others): Athletes with other physical disabilities such as multiple sclerosis or congenital deformities of the limbs, dwarfism, and others.
The category for Intellectual Disability is currently suspended following events entered by deception at the Sydney games in 2000, and is being re-evaluated by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
A request by Healthline has come in to not use labels. They state,
"In part of our ongoing testing, we’ve discovered that the addition of labels at the end of blogs is actually having a negative impact on the blogs' performance on search engines."
The flame for the 2008 Paralympics Games will be lit on August 28 at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing China.
The torch relay continues nine days until the start of the 13th Paralympic Games on September 6 in Beijing.
Paralympics Games are an international competition held every four years for physically challenged athletes, following the Olympic Games. The prefix "para" means along with, or parallel to, the Olympics Games.
The Paralympic Games logo includes the red, blue and green symbol based on the Chinese character "Zhi", three strokes representing Heaven, Earth and Human, and the symbol of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in the same colors.
--- Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail"(under trumpet) upper right. For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify throughDrBookspan.com/Academy.See Dr. Bookspan's Books. ---
