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REHABILITATION GROUP HONORS SEVEN FOR RAISING AWARENESS

September 28, 1999

Seven disability advocates won kudos this month from the National Rehabilitation Awareness Foundation for their efforts to promote understanding of the capabilities of people with disabilities. The foundation says in addition to its own efforts to raise awareness, it strives to recognize others who "lead by example, inspire others to achieve their dreams, or use their voices or their actions to eliminate barriers and increase opportunities."

The group honored this year at a celebratory dinner in Washington includes the Department of Education's Judith Heumann, athlete Kevin Szott, World T.E.A.M. Sports, Trumbull, Conn., parent and activist Evelyn Kennedy, Shriners Hospitals for Children, prosthetist David C. Schultz and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Heumann, assistant secretary of the Department of Education' Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, is one of the nation's strongest advocates for people with disabilities and for an inclusive society. Programs under Heumann's direction serve almost 7 million children and adults with disabilities. Heumann, who had polio at 18 months old and uses a wheelchair, has lobbied for legislation promoting accessibility and inclusion.

Szott, of Colorado Springs, Colo., became the first athlete with a disability to become nationally ranked among America's elite judo athletes. Szott, who began losing his eyesight at age 10 due to a degenerative disease, won the silver medal in judo at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games. He also holds 26 national titles and has won 11 international medals in six events. Most recently, Szott earned a slot as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, where he is training to become the first legally blind athlete to make a U.S. Olympic team.

World T.E.A.M. Sports, a Charlotte, N.C., organization with the motto "The Exceptional Athlete Matters," was founded six years ago to encourage and develop opportunities for sports for people with disabilities. World T.E.A.M. Sports participates in global sporting events as well as programs, clinics and local sporting events to raise awareness for diversity. The group won global notoriety for sponsoring a bicycling trip in January 1998 in Viet Nam. The international group bicycled 1,200 miles in 16 days from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

Kennedy is the mother of a mentally retarded son and has been active on behalf of children with disabilities for nearly 50 years. In 1951, she founded The Kennedy Center, which has become one of the largest and most comprehensive rehabilitation facilities in the northeast, the NRAF says. The center is rated in the top three percent of rehabilitation facilities in the country.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children, based in Tampa, Fla., were recognized for dedication to helping children through a network of 22 hospitals for more than 75 years. The hospitals are operated by the Shrine of North America, an international fraternity with nearly 550,000 members. All Shriners Hospitals are dedicated to providing free specialized care to children. They have also pioneered advanced techniques for treatment of orthopedic conditions and severe burns.

Schultz, a certified prosthetist and orthotist in Brookfield, Wis., has devoted his life to rehabilitation care and awareness, according to the NRAF. He provides care for amputees and people with muscle and skeletal conditions requiring orthotic bracing. He also provides prosthetic and orthotic care free of charge for children from Third World countries.

The National Museum of American History was honored for its efforts to integrate people with disabilities into public displays and historical references. The NRAF worked with the museum earlier this year to stage "Disabilities and the Practice of Public History,"' a conference on disabilities for museum curators across the country. The museum promotes integration through its accessibility program, which provides technical assistance, education, and accessibility reviews for new facilities under construction and existing museums being altered.

The National Rehabilitation Awareness Foundation awards program has been recognizing activists for disability services for nine years. The group is also working to establish a national network of toy adaptation centers for children with disabilities. Through a grant from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, the first 10 are slated to open later this year. The foundation was established by Allied Services, a provider of health and human services to people with disabilities and the elderly in Northeastern Pennsylvania.8