To subscribe to the print version of Possibilities, mail Office of Community
Education, Center for Disabilities and Development, 100 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City IA 52242-1011, fax
319-356-8284 or phone 319-353-6448.
May 1999
Eight mini-grant proposals for community-based training have been selected to promote
opportunities for more choices in the lives of Iowans with disabilities.
This is the second year that the Iowa Training Consortium has awarded mini-grants,
thanks to funding from the Department of Human Services. The Consortium sought proposals
that would reach a wide variety of community audiences, including people with
disabilities, parents, students, civic leaders, and providers.
Criteria for selection were:
- likelihood that the training will increase opportunities for Iowans with disabilities to
have more choices in their lives (housing, employment, recreation, etc.)
- participation of people with disabilities in planning and carrying out the training
- usefulness as a model for other communities
- creativity
- geographical representation.
Ninety agencies and individuals submitted applications from all parts of the state. The
following proposals were selected:
- Black Hawk Center for Independent
Living and Adults, Inc.
Waterloo -- $1770
Purpose: to provide "It’s Your Choice" training to assist individuals
to identify areas of choice in their own lives (includes a component directed specifically
to family members and staff support persons).
- Linda Kelly Consulting
Winterset -- $1500
Purpose: to begin a dialogue on local accessibility issues between civic leaders,
business owners, and consumers, leading to the development of a community action plan.
- Exceptional Persons, Inc.
Waterloo -- $1180
Purpose: to provide resources, technical assistance, and greater awareness families
seeking broader choices in pre-school opportunities.
- Three Rivers Independent Living Center
Sioux City -- $1180
Purpose: to provide computers and training for persons with disabilities on the basics of
word-processing and internet use.
- Deaf Services
Commission of Iowa
Des Moines -- $1000
Purpose: to provide training on the Americans with Disabilities Act primarily for Deaf and
Hard of Hearing persons, emphasizing their rights and the process to follow if their
rights are violated.
- Public Access Television, Inc.
Iowa City -- $950
Purpose: to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to use equipment, exercise
personal choice, and develop a volunteer network to plan, produce, and broadcast local
television programs.
- Quad Cities Sled Hockey Association
Davenport -- $750
Purpose: to promote an inclusive, cross-disability recreational activity that would give
individuals the choice to compete and participate in a sport with their peers, both with
and without disabilities.
- Cherokee County Community Services Department
Cherokee -- $525
Purpose: to promote self-advocacy through "Tools for Change," a video-based
skills- and knowledge-building curriculum, culminating in a community-wide self-advocacy
fair.
All projects must be completed by May 15, 1999. For more information, call Barb Smith
at 319-356, or e-mail to: barbara-smith@uiowa.edu.
Top of this page - Disability Training home page
The Disability Resource Library offers a wide variety of resources, including these
videotapes and books of the individual stories.
DRL services are available at no cost for Iowans with disabilities and members of their
families. Others, such as Iowa service providers, may pay a per-use fee to borrow
materials, or may purchase an annual subscription to the DRL. To contact the Disability
Resource Library at the University Hospital School, phone 800-272-7713, e-mail disability-library@uiowa.edu, or visit on
the web at http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/uhs/drl/index.cfm
- The Story of the Stranger
Norman Kunc
Axis Consultation & Training, 1993
60 min. [videotape]
Filmed before a high school audience, Norman Kunc delivers a lively presentation on what
it is like for a person with cerebral palsy to attend a regular high school. Kunc’s
message to youth is to reach out to the stranger in each person, hear their story, and
form a bond for the greater good of society. #222120
- Lily: A Story about a Girl like Me
Elizabeth Grace
Davidson Films, 1996
44 min. [videotape]
This three-part documentary focuses on the life of Lily, born with Down syndrome – at
age 10, at age 20, and as an adult. #221740
- Best Boy
Ira Wohl
Ifex Films, 1979
104 min. [videotape]
An award-winning documentary depicting the growth toward independence and community
involvement of a 53-year-old man with developmental disabilities. Sensitive depiction of
family dynamics with aging parents. #210730
- Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien
Jessica Yu
Inscrutable Films Production, 1996
35 min. [videotape]
A narrative story about Mark O’Brien, a journalist and a poet, who contracted polio
in childhood and has spent much of his life in an iron lung. In this film, he shares his
views on work, sex, death, and God. #221400
- On the Outside: Extraordinary People in Search of Ordinary Lives
Julie Pratt, ed.
West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, 1998
97 p. [book/monograph]
Life stories of twelve West Virginians, labeled developmentally disabled, who traveled the
road of deinstitutionalization in the 1980s. #406960
- If I Can’t Do It
Walter Brock
Fanlight Productions, 1998
57 min. [videotape]
The story of a disability rights activist, Arthur Campbell, Jr., who has cerebral palsy.
Features interviews with Campbell, his parents, siblings, therapists, and first roommate,
along with other disability rights activists. #221910
- Journey Into Personhood
Ruth Cameron Webb
University of Iowa Press, 1994
182 p. [book/monograph]
The autobiography of a woman with cerebral palsy, who has devoted her life to working with
people with disabilities. #406410
- Fred’s Story
Storyline Motion Pictures
Pennycorner, 1996
27 min. [video]
A man who lived in a large institution for decades talks about his experiences in the
training school, followed by a move to his own apartment and to a life of his own. #221410
Top of this page - Disability Training home page
To subscribe to the print version of Possibilities, mail Office of Community
Education, Center for Disabilities and Development, 100 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City IA 52242-1011, fax
319-356-8284 or phone 319-353-6448.
Disability Training home
To contact Disability Training
- Mail Office of Community Education
Center for Disabilities and Development, 100 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City IA 52242-1011
- E-mail information@DisabilityTraining.org
- Fax 319-356-8284
- Phone 319-353-6448
from Center for Disabilities and Development
Iowa's University Center for Excellence on Disabilities
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1011
