Below is the introduction and table of contents from the best
manual for people with disabilities on how to obtain services and
equipment from the state vr system. It was written by
Minneapolis disability rights activist Barb Knowlen following her
own experience in obtaining assistive technology. It is
available in an accessible format. Watch your rehabilitation
counselor run for cover when you are armed with the knowledge
found in this manual. Additionally, obtain a copy of your state
rules and regulations manual, which should be available in
accessible format, as required by the ADA. to obtain the book,
send $10 to:
BARRIER BREAKERS
1106 Irving Ave. North
Minneapolis, MN 55411
(612) 521-5317
_____________________________
A CONSUMERūS GUIDE TO GETTING SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT FROM THE
STATE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AGENCY BY USING THE APPEALS
PROCESS or HOW TO KICK ASS AND WIN
by Barbara Bradford Knowlen
This is the second printing (1998) of the first manual in the
Survival Series of STRATEGY AND TACTICS MANUALS for people with
disabilities, published by BARRIER BREAKERS 1106 Irving Ave. N
Minneapolis, MN 55411
This manual is dedicated to Fred Markham, a writer with a severe
disability in Lawrence, Kansas, who has successfully fought the
system for his university degree, control of his own attendant
care, and the adaptive technology he needs to write. With his
belief in himself and sense of humor miraculously still intact,
he continues to fight for a job for himself and rights for all of
us.
Copyright January 1991 Barriers Breakers
First printing 1991
Second printing 1998
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE
This page is being written before the second printing in Jan.,
1998; but long after the first printing in Jan., 1991. What has
changed in these seven years? In many ways, a lot. I have three
grandchildren. My civil disobedience arrest record is a lot
longer. The technology at my - and your - disposal is awesome
compared to seven years ago -computer memory in gigs instead of
megs, the Internet and E-mail, desk top color printing, voice
activated computers. Barrier Breakers has changed in some major
ways. We moved from the tiny 4-room house in South St. Paul to
a 12 room, 3 story former crack house in Minneapolis. Michael is
no longer my husband - we live together, with a Medicaid divorce.
Dana now lives in El Paso, and his son, Craig, is now 9 years
old. Cleo, our supervisor and critic, went up to the heavy side
layer, but lives on in a 2 meg graphics file as Barrier Breakersū
registered trademark.
In other ways, very little has changed. Barrier Breakers, now an
S Corporation, as an attempt to (literally) keep the system out
of my business, not only survives but grows, concentrating now on
PASS writing and Social Security advocacy, still producing
irreverent posters on disability issues, including a couple with
a Star Trek theme and great graphics; and produces the PASS Kit,
to help consumers write their own Plan for Achieving Self
Support.
After seven years in Minnesota, I am healthier and stronger than
ever, in spite of being older. I credit a lot of that to the
HiRider, the standing wheelchair, the VR appeal for which
inspired this book. In fact, the contrast in medical costs of my
pre-Hirider, revolving door on the hospital days to my post-
Hirider - no pressure sores, UTIūs, or respiratory infections in
7 years, with only 2 1-day hospital stays for observation
following minor accidents, a contrast of about $500,000 to $5,000
- convinced Minnesota Medicaid to buy me a new HiRider last
year - on the first request. Minnesota is a fairly progressive
state. Maybe not having to fight the system for every last scrap
of survival services has also contributed to my good health.
I have, however, not been bored. The Minneapolis/St. Paul metro
area has the only paratransit system that went down the toilet so
badly, that the governor had to call out the National Guard to
run it. And we still have many captives of care incarcerated in
nursing homes.
And that brings us to what has changed the least -- The System.
Although the printing of the text and format in the new edition
are great improvements (it couldnūt go much further downhill than
Wordstar IV), the substance of the text remains unchanged. The
seven year old booklets in the first printing may be worn out or
hard to read, but unfortunately, they are not outdated.
The System, and the tactics you need to use to get what you need
from it, have not changed. If anything, the confrontational
tactics exemplified by ADAPT have been proven effective in these
past years. I do not get on a lift equipped bus to downtown
Minneapolis, anytime I need it, because we asked politely for
that favor a decade ago. I get on that bus because a lot of us
worked really hard, including going to court and going to jail,
to win and enforce the laws that require that lift. And only
last week, I had to roll out in front of a bus stopped at a red
light, because the driver had loaded about 40 people, leaving me
for last, at which point (and a wind chill of -30o) he decided he
didnūt have room left for me. I got my ride - but not by begging
nicely.
So now, having taught you ūFUBARū in the first printing, we have,
for the second printing seven years later, SSDD. - Same Shit,
Different Day
So what follows is the 1991 edition, word for word.
Barbara Knowlen Minneapolis, MN
Jan. 10, 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Authorūs Notes and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Facts about the System
Additional Facts About the VR System
Personal Advice for What Itūs Worth
Square One: Starting Out with VR
Eligibility
The IWRP
The Appeal
Warnings and Excuses
Going all the Way
APPENDIX
Art (?) Credits, Michael Knowlen and Barbara Bradford Knowlen
Photo on pg. 2, by B. Bradford of Bob Kafka and San Francisco
Police at ADAPT demonstration, Sept. 1988
Poster on pg. 13 produced by Ann Arbor Center for independent
Living Available for $5 + $2 postage from the address on the
poster.
VICUG-L ARCHIVES http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
INDEX of VICUGS http://trfn.clpgh.org/vipace/vicug/vicugs.html
SUBSCRIPTION FORM http://trfn.clpgh.org/vipace/vicug/subscribe.html
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