Leadership Development for Women with Disabilities: Key Issues and Strategies in Leadership Training and Successful Participation in Microcredit Programs

[Excerpt] In 1998 Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and the International Disability Exchange and Studies(IDEAS) 2000 Project awarded a fellowship funded by the U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to conduct a research project that would aim to examine questions of leadership development for women with disabilities, using data collected at MIUSA’s 1998 International Symposium on Microcredit for Women with Disabilities. In response to the recommendations made at the 1997 Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability, MIUSA organized and hosted the first International Symposium on Microcredit for Women with Disabilities held from August 29 to September 8, 1998 in Eugene, Oregon., at which 13 women leaders with disabilities from developing countries met with US based international development organizations and experts on microcredit to improve access of women with disabilities to microcredit programs. The data for this research was collected from the attendees of the Symposium on Microcredit

Assistive Technology Ecosystem for Effective Self-Care: Application to Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia

People living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (PwADRD)experience declined memory, language, problem-solving and other cognitive functions caused by the disease. They face major challenges in self-care and assistive living, including equitable access to assistive technology and care, the right to choose where to live, protection of privacy and security, and the preserving their personhood and social connections. Fast advances in telecommunication, Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and artificial intelligence make it possible to devise an assistive technology ecosystem to address these challenges. This chapter presents an assistive technology ecosystem that enables autonomy, independence and interdependence among PwADRD, their circle of care and society. Participatory action research and design methodology underpin this ecosystem’s design and implementation. We also discuss funding policy and health system changes needed to facilitate the affordability and sustainability of such an ecosystem and, ultimately, to empower PwADRD and their caregivers to have a meaningful quality of life