Daily Living

Registration is now open for the 6th Annual ACVO/Merial Service Dog Eye Exam Event, which offers free eye exams for service animals during the month of May.

Winter can be a beautiful time of year — especially when you're inside under a warm blanket, drinking hot cocoa and looking out the window at the glistening white and the snow-coated branches. Unfortunately, most people have to carry out their daily lives regardless of slippery conditions.

Slipping and falling are hazards for everyone in winter weather, but for people with neuromuscular diseases, it's crucial to be extra careful around snow and ice.

A one-hour, MDA-sponsored webinar features two physicians and the parent of a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who has undergone bracing and surgery for a spinal curvature, as well as questions and answers from listeners.

Durable medical equipment (DME), such as wheelchairs, walkers, portable oxygen devices and hospital beds, can be very expensive — and the process for obtaining them from Medicare can be very confusing. 

Learn about Medicare coverage of DME and get the latest information on obtaining such equipment in a webinar Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern time.  

“Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment” is presented by the Medicare Rights Center and costs $40 to attend. It will cover:

“As you all know, being the creative type that I am, I love do-it-yourself projects … However, I found myself in the middle of a rather unusual project, which involved a lot of creative ‘thinking outside of the box,’ and it was more than just a do-it-yourself. It was more of a ‘do it ourselves’ project. And we did it. Successfully. Here’s the story of how we helped Nick Dupree.”

A small nonprofit organization is offering limited grants for in-home care to people with physical disabilities. The next quality-of-life grant application deadline is November 1, 2012.

The AbleGamers Foundation (AFG) — a volunteer-run nonprofit organization dedicated to making video gaming more accessible for people with disabilities — has launched its 2012 Children’s Grant Program that will provide one piece of assistive technology (AT) gaming equipment to a child age 15 or younger who has a disability that makes playing digital games difficult.

Wildfires, windstorms and floods have been in the news regularly this year. What if such a disaster suddenly hit your neighborhood? Would you be prepared? 

Planning ahead for emergency situations is especially important for people who have disabilities that affect mobility and self-care. You are in the best position to plan for your own safety and well-being since you know your functional abilities and needs best. But where do you begin?