Availability of things such as high-speed Internet access and the ability to create a personal website at inexpensive costs empower people with disabilities to become more independent. Internet connections with enough speed to allow things such as data and video transfers through personal websites and other forms of exchanges, as well as allowing for two-way voice transmissions, can assist in removing barriers that keep people with disabilities from fully participating in everyday activities such as education, employment, social interaction, and even civic responsibilities.

The United States Census from the year 2008 states that greater than fifty-million American citizens experience some form of disability; we represent this nation’s largest minority. America as a nation can not only benefit from the participation of people with disabilities through mediums such as the Internet and personal website social interactions – the lives of people with disabilities will be greatly enhanced through these same mediums. Text communications free persons who are deaf or hard of hearing; they are able to communicate through the Internet and their own websites, as well as captioned video on their own sites and elsewhere on the Internet.

High-speed Internet access opens up access to new services for people who experience physical disabilities. For example, online classes through a variety of community and other colleges, or the ability to consult with medical personnel or specialists in remote locations they might not otherwise be able to interact with. Through the Internet, people with disabilities have the ability to apply for jobs. Through our own websites, we can post resumes for potential employers to review. The ability to present applications and post resume’s on our own websites saves people who experience physical disabilities from having to make unnecessary trips – something I personally can appreciate.

The same high-speed Internet access provides people who are blind or visually-impaired with the opportunity to use synthetic voice or Braille displays, as well as a variety of screen readers or Dragon Naturally Speaking to communicate through their own website which they can create. These same tools can be used through high-speed Internet access for communication purposes with employers and many, many other services. Video relay services through high-speed Internet access provide people who are deaf with the ability to communicate with friends, family members and others through sign language via an online interpreter. People with learning disabilities who currently use dial-up Internet access are often discouraged from creating a website of their own, or interacting with others through the Internet, because of slow download speeds.

The need to increase the employment of people with disabilities through deployment of high-speed Internet is very great indeed. There are jobs that we could be doing from our own homes, such as a variety of administrative duties, sales, office work and more – if only we had greater access to high-speed Internet and inexpensive personal websites. I have found an inexpensive website host; the cost of high-speed Internet access is coming down. The next step is up to the employers of this nation. The economic benefits to America through savings of office space rentals alone represent a vast amount of money – people with disabilities simply must become a greater portion of the working population in America.

The ability to interact socially through the Internet cannot be understated. Isolation is something that destroys lives, I have witnessed this first-hand on a number of occasions. A simple website, social interactions with others, and friends – whether they are local or a distance away – changes lives for the better in many cases.

When I began looking for a new website host, I used search engines to find one. What popped up was every last service you can imagine, and they all made claims of being, ‘the best,’ with, ‘cheap prices,’ and, ‘excellent customer service.’ Egads… how to choose among them?

While some of these places were tempting, looking at what was actually offered as far as storage space, bandwidth, FTP access, and whether or not they had things such as CPanel and other ammenities - well; some website providers were immediately, ‘axed,’ from this list the search engine produced. They just didn’t cut it, to be plain. There were a couple of places that actually only offered access to a website only through FTP; what’s the point?

I came across Ultra Website Hosting and looked at what they offer. They offer everything I want, so I examined their site more closely. Unlimited everything I could desire! Well, well… Now the Drupal site I had spent several months creating had become rather cumbersome; it was bulky and hefty and was a good self-teaching tool. Drupal is a free piece of software, meaning that anyone, to include people with disabilities like myself, can install it and learn how to use it. Drupal served its purpose.

I decided to sign-up with Ultra Website Hosting; the price is extremely reasonable compared to what I had been paying, and they have all of the right hardware and services. David at Ultra has been an immense help in establishing DisabilityWriter.com, I simply cannot thank him enough. He has been very patient as I have transitioned from VPS.net to Ultra Website Hosting, understanding that the transition is often not the easiest thing for everyone.

David, this one’s for you…

Below is a video on some simple alternative things to try that can help to ease the pain associated with osteoarthritis. The video is by Dr. Susan Jewell, and describes some things to eat that may help, as well as a couple of other things. There are also additional parts to her series on osteoarthritis that are informative.

I am a person who has osteoarthritis in my ankles, knees and hips. In December of 2008 I had surgery on both of my knees to remove the meniscus and to help ease some of the bone degeneration in them. Now I am in the process of receiving five hyalgan shots per knee over the next several weeks, and I take tramadol hcl too. Hopefully this series by Dr. Jewell will provide some information you can use.

Tom.