Katherine Swarts – Page 27

Gratitude: Everyone’s Best Friend

Circumstances don’t make us unhappy: they only make existing attitudes more obvious. There are people overflowing with joy in hospitals and prisons; there are also people who have never seen a hardship, yet complain nonstop about their dissatisfaction with life.…

Self-Care for Caregivers

November is National Family Caregiver Month, a time to honor the approximately 53 million Americans who give generously of their time and energy to help maximize quality of life for family members with health needs. Family caregivers do a “superhero”…

STAFF PICKS: Marjorie Reichard on Parenting Apps

BridgingApps Project Manager Marjorie Reichard has two young daughters with disabilities. These are her picks for the apps best at making caregiving easier to manage. Proloquo2Go was life-changing after Olivia started talking up a storm at age 3—but I only…

Veterans and Suicide

Although Veterans are generally respected these days (check out our Veterans Day article), they also have a reputation as a depressed lot. A stereotype, of course, but not one entirely without foundation: 11–30% of Veterans have some history of post-traumatic…

What Is Assistive Technology?

November is National Assistive Technology Awareness Month. What comes to mind at the phrase “assistive technology”? By formal definition, assistive technology is “any item, piece of equipment, or product system—whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized—that is used…

friends giving a high five to young adult male in wheelchair

Influencers Who Empower

Ever hear of “inspiration porn”? It’s a cultural phenomenon that has made “inspiration” a dirty word to some people with disabilities. Typically, it involves highlighting someone who has accomplished something noteworthy and who also uses a wheelchair or has another…

Male Military Spouses on the Home Front

Around 16 percent of the U.S. military are now women—and many of them (11 percent in the Army) are married to civilian men. Some of these “military husbands” are Veterans and already familiar with how the system works. Others have…

STAFF PICKS: Andi Fry on Caregiving Tools

November being National Family Caregiver Month, our next two Staff Picks posts will focus on caregiving-related apps. Today’s “staff picker” is Andi Fry, BridgingApps’ Montgomery County Outreach Coordinator and mother of a University of Houston student with severe cerebral palsy.…

rows of American flags placed in the ground

What to Do for Veterans Day

Veterans Day (this coming Friday) gets less attention than some other holidays. Perhaps you’ve even met someone who was outraged to find the bank or post office closed on November 11. Which is a shame: given the hardships many Veterans…

older adult female using ipad with young woman

Organizing Your Schedule, for Caregivers

November is National Family Caregiver Month. In a multi-person household, keeping track of everyone’s needs and schedules is rarely easy. When one or more family members have disabilities, things get even more complicated. Besides generating expenses, appointments, and paperwork that…