Mitsubishi Electric: Changes for the Better

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation

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• December 2008
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• May 2008
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Cooke students finding their voices in Northville

posted December 05, 2008
Excerpts from an article by Nathan Menoian, SPECIAL WRITER, from HOMETOWNlife.com

Students at Cooke school have many special needs, but with the help of a local corporation, their voices are being heard.

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America (MEAA) raises charitable contributions from their employees - donating them to the school to purchase communication equipment for non-verbal students.

Cooke is a secondary school for severely impaired students ages 14 to 26-years old. 160 students are enrolled there. The goal of the school is to prepare them for supportive employment.

Marilynn Bachorik, school principal, described the computerized boxes as augmentative communication devices. Cost varies from $40 and up, into the hundreds of dollars. Some students may need the simpler model, while others may require one offering pictures and more words.

"Cooke students have been recipients of almost $20,000 worth of equipment from MEAA since 2002," Bachorik said. "Given a chance, people like to be generous in a personal way and that is one reason they give to us."

An annual Christmas party is held for students and their families, alumni and family, and staff. MEAA helps share the cost, serves the dinner, and gifts are handed out to students. Other events are held throughout the year as well.

Donna Case, vocational coordinator, explained how MEAA and Cooke first met.

"They were sponsoring Our Lady of Providence for women with disabilities. When that closed in 2002, someone in our department knew about MEAA and that they wanted to continue doing something in this area," Case said.

She was amazed at their willingness to help.

"They asked what they could do for us. I have been in education for 20 years and no one has ever said that to us," Case said. "They want specifically not to hand us money at a distance. They want to interact and know our students"

"We have found a lot of students understand more than we would have known without the devices. They want a say in what's going on in their life, the device makes it possible. And it is pretty profound when you see them using it."

Case shared why such devices are instrumental in helping the students.

"Imagine not being understood when you try to speak. Something as simple as placing an order at a fast food restaurant for most of us takes only a minute, if that. Imagine not having the ability to order in a clear and concise manner," she said.

With the push of some buttons, a digital or synthesized voice is activated.

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"If they can order lunch at the Food Court in the Mall, Case said, they also learn how to pay for something and get change. They learn to communicate in a way they could not before."

Paul Poe, senior production control at MEAA in Northville, is heavily involved with Cooke and their students. Through Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (www.meaf.org), grants are provided to students with disabilities.

Poe says their goal is to improve the lives of people with disabilities, particularly the young, enabling them to reach their potential and participation in society.

"When you meet the special students at Cooke School, it is not difficult to do what you can for them and their families," Poe said. "The faculty and administration there are fantastic and the smiles you get in return from both students and adults make it all worthwhile. As a volunteer, if you can make a difference by donating just a small amount of your time, you get paid back tenfold with smiles and appreciation."

Read the complete story at: hometownlife.com/article/20081204/NEWS12/812040424/1029

Bumps Abound When Students Become Their Own Advocates

posted October 29, 2008
By Susan Kinzie
Saturday, October 25, 2008

After a decade of worrying about her son’s attention-deficit disorder, meeting with teachers, calling around to get lost homework assignments and getting advice on SAT test accommodations, Lori Spinelli-Samara is facing this simple truth: Next year, in college, Nick is on his own.

The Olney mother knows he’s plenty smart enough. But will her son, a senior at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, get to the assignments due in three weeks without his parents, teachers and cross-country coach keeping tabs on him? Keep his focus during lectures? Lose afternoons playing Guitar Hero instead of studying?

"If you have ADD," she said, only half laughing, "how do you remember to take your medication?"

A generation of students accustomed to receiving help for special learning needs is entering college. The percentage of students identified with learning disabilities who graduate from high school and go on to four-year colleges jumped from one in 100 in 1987 to about one in nine last year. And those who go on to any kind of post-secondary education went from a third to almost three-quarters by 2003. But some are finding that the transition isn’t easy.


To read the rest of this article, please go to: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102403825.html

UCC project brings outdoors to everyone

posted September 23, 2008
The MEAF-funded Utah Conservation Corps Access to Service Project was recently featured in the Utah State University Online Newsflash describing how an inclusive crew is working to make trails and a community garden accessible.

This month, an accessible garden supported by the Center for Persons with Disabilities received the finishing touches that will make it operational come spring 2009. This garden for people of all abilities is being created by a team that includes people with disabilities.

The community garden project is the next step in an ongoing effort to make recreation accessible. The Center for Persons with Disabilities has supported the Utah Conservation Corps' Access to Service crew since it began surveying recreation areas for accessibility in 2007. This year, the crew's work on the garden's accessible planters continued through August 16. The garden will be ready for planting in the spring of 2009.

Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, the CPD, USU Extension and private donors have all cooperated on the project.

While the idea of accessible outdoor recreation has been around for a while, crew co-leader Andy Zimmer said inclusive crews are new to the Corps Network, of which the UCC is a member. The experiment that has helped crew members realize just how many levels of ability exist. Zimmer uses a wheelchair himself, but areas accessible to his manual chair may still be inaccessible to motorized chairs. Quinton Williams, a crew member with visual impairment, can go where a wheelchair can't, but if the signs are not in Braille, he cannot read them. "They don't have Braille on the restrooms at the camp sites that I've seen," he said.

The project has demonstrated how many components come together to make an area accessible. For example, a restroom facility can meet all the requirements, but the trail leading to it could be too steep for a wheelchair to navigate. That said, one of the surprises for crew co-leader Jamie Mastro was how few changes were needed to make a recreation area usable for everyone. Since she is working on a master's degree in architecture, she is familiar with ADA guidelines, but this project has shown her the real-world situations that people with disabilities face. "It's turned out to be a really great experience," she said.

The Access to Service crew has blazed its own trail, right down to the implements it uses. "We discovered going out there that there was a lot of opportunity for (creating) adaptive tools ... since nobody has really done a project like this before," said Zimmer. Assistive Technology Lab coordinator Stan Clelland modified gardening tools for people with limited hand function and designed accessible planters and a distance-measuring wheel that can be bolted to a wheelchair. Many of the implements were made in the AT lab, which is a program at the CPD.

This year, the crew continues to survey campgrounds and recreation areas in Utah, in addition to building structures in the community garden. Their survey findings will be posted on the Forest Service website, allowing users with disabilities to make more informed decisions on the best recreation areas for them.

Already, the crew's suggestions have led to improvements at Second Dam up Logan Canyon. "It was a little scary before," Zimmer said. "Now it's great. It's just like rolling down the sidewalk."

Under his leadership, the Utah Conservation Corps' Access to Service project was named 2007 Project of the Year by the Corps Network, and the Utah Commission on Volunteers named Zimmer the Americorps Member of the Year.

Inclusion & Community Service

posted May 01, 2008
Too often youth with disabilities are viewed as the recipients of service rather than as service-givers in their own right. The message below, from the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) listserve, eloquently speaks to the ways in which inclusive service projects can bring out the best in everyone.

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Subject: [disabilitylist] Inclusion Weekly-Creating Opportunities to Share Talents

A recent television episode of ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover aired a story about making accessible home renovations for Patrick Hughes, a talented young musician who attends the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Innovative designs and technologies included automated light switches and window shades, and accessible kitchen appliances that will help Patrick, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, to live a more independent life.

However, these recent renovations are not the biggest impact on Patrick’s quality of life. Patrick’s family and fellow community members created an inclusive environment for him that was an essential component in developing his musical talents and sharing them within his community. Patrick was introduced to playing musical instruments with his father at a very young age. He then performed publicly throughout his youth. Upon entering college, Patrick joined the marching band and used a unique accommodation. (Patrick’s father assisted him by pushing him in his wheelchair as he performed in marching formations.)

These opportunities helped Patrick to not only develop his personal talent but also to enrich his surrounding community by sharing it. Patrick often speaks about how important it is to him to be actively engaged in his community. Similarly, national service programs provide opportunities for everyone to be a part of their community.

By creating welcoming, inclusive programs we can ensure that people with disabilities are able to fully and meaningfully give back to their communities. Here are some examples of people who serve in national service programs...

• Mary, a woman who has multiple sclerosis, serves in the Senior Companion program and provides company to elderly people who feel isolated.

• William, a man who has Down syndrome, is a full-time service member in a local AmeriCorps program where he assists teachers in a pre-school by helping children in play groups and serving snacks.

• Lee, an eight- year-old girl with significant learning disabilities, participates in service learning activities in her elementary school, such as planting trees for a community improvement day at a neighborhood park.

What steps do you think are most important in order to create an inclusive service environment? What are the biggest challenges you overcame to make your program inclusive and accessible for everyone?

Share your expertise, stories and ideas with NSIP. We will post all the comments in an upcoming Inclusion Weekly. Contact NSIP by email: NSIP@umb.edu or toll-free phone at: 888-491-0326 (V/TTY).

Saluting Volunteers

posted May 01, 2008
In recognition of National Volunteer Week, April 27-May 3, 2008, Mitsubishi Electric locations around the U.S. are honoring company volunteers with prizes and awards of appreciation, as well as free popcorn, candy bars and ice cream, to thank them for their volunteer service throughout the year.

This spring, volunteer committees at each location organized projects and fundraising events to give back to their communities. During National Volunteer Month of April, MEAF matches up to $15 to local charities for each hour of volunteer time contributed by company employees, friends and family members.

Examples of recent projects include:

Cypress, CA
ACTiVE Committee: MEUS employees volunteered at the Speech and Language Development Center’s 3rd Annual Coaster Run. Employees handed out snacks and drinks to participants in the 10k/5k/1k run/walk activities at Knott’s Berry Farm.

Vernon Hills, IL
VISION Committee: MEAU volunteers, led by company President and CEO Kimitoshi Minami, participated in their annual Global Youth Service Day project at Sunrise Lake, a camp for kids with disabilities.

Maysville, KY
MASH Committee: MEAA volunteers raised a remarkable $7000 by auctioning off Easter Baskets to grant a wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Warrendale, PA
HOPE Committee: MEPPI held a volunteer day at the Woodlands Foundation, a camp for young people with disabilities.

Braselton, GA
PEACH Committee: MDEA employees partnered with another local company to participate in a car show, raising money for their annual Relay for Life event to benefit the American Cancer Society.

By volunteering, Mitsubishi Electric employees are truly making Changes for the Better in their communities and in the lives of young people with disabilities. A big round of applause for our volunteers!

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