In what came as quite a shock to me, more than half of the respondents of a recent online poll said they’d rather be dead than severely disabled. Really? Dead? It’s not that bad, honestly… Reuters reports: In the online poll commissioned by Disaboom, a website and social network for people affected by disabilities, 52 percent of the 1,000 “nationally represented” adults chose death over losing the ability to live an independent life. Disaboom, which launched the survey to better

I shake my head in bewilderment… Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son’s kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class. After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn’t like about Barton’s 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher said they were going to take a vote, Barton said. By a 14 to 2 margin, the class voted him out of the class. Barton said her son is in the process

So I’m sure you’ve all heard of how PM Helen Clark’s security entourage blocked all the mobility parking spaces outside Christchurch’s Town Hall last week. What that did, interestingly, is bring this debate over the misuse of mobility parking spots into the mainstream, and the NZ Herald has a really fascinating debate going on over here on this exact subject. Here are a selection of my favourite comments: Tow the offending vehicle to the farthest corner of the car park

The winner of walkingisoverrated.com’s first ever iPod nano competition is… Jenny Smyth! For her fantastic review of Auckland’s Sylvia Park Mall. Congratulations Jenny, I’ll be in touch shortly to send out your prize! To all those that entered, thank you so much, and don’t feel too bummed – there’s a new iPod competition starting next week! Stay tuned!

Okay team, I’ll keep this brief – if you live in Auckland and are passionate about access issues, then a research team want to hear from you! Prepare yourself for the pitch blurb, it reads like this: The Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is working in partnership with independent research company Bennett and Bijoux Ltd to conduct research about what it is like living with disability in Auckland City. The research is being conducted on behalf of the Local Government Centre

As far as I can see – nothing! I’m really putting this out there to see if anyone within the disability sector, with more expertise in such things than I, can explain if the budget, released yesterday by Finance Minister Michael Cullen, should have included any provisions for the movement towards a wholly inclusive New Zealand? Looking at the Budget’s breakdown, there doesn’t seem to be anything explicitly laid out to address the social and economic divide facing the average

Well, whaddya know. It seems the Gods, or at least the IAAF, are smiling upon South African double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, overturning his ban on competing in the Beijing Olympics. So this means that Oscar, complete with carbon fibre blades for feet, has the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics – note, not the Paras – in Beijing this year. Is this a good thing, do you think? Or is it opening up a potentially massive can of worms? Your thoughts,

Poor lass, thought she could park in a mobility park because she’d sprained her ankle a week earlier. How wrong was she! I think most people are aware you need a permit to park in mobility parks, but hell, no orange card was gonna stand in her way! Aaaand she got clamped. Not only that, but she went to the effort of calling her local paper and getting this tragic photo taken, in order to highlight her plight. Showboating? I

Last week, the Governor-General and President of the DPA represented our wonderful country in the presentation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Award in New York City. The Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, says the award recognises “a sustained commitment to address the needs and wellbeing of New Zealanders who live with long-term impairment.” I’m sure we have our own views on that statement But what I found most hilarious was the Govt’s audacity to have the Governor-General greet everyone in NZ’s three

And they disabled people aren’t sexy… Check out the YouTube clip below for a montage of shots of Miss Iowa (USA), 2008, Abbey Curran. There’s an interview with her towards the end of the clip, too. Cute girl!