Local Innovations in Inclusion

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While Chattanooga may not have many official connections to The Bubel Aiken Foundation's quest(at least that I'm aware of) for inclusion of children with disabilities among those without disabilities; there are several institutions and individuals in the community who either work towards inclusion or at least improving the lives of people (some are more focused toward children than others) with disabilities. I can't list them all today, but will list some recent achievements made in the Chattanooga area.
1.The Jordan Thomas Foundation
Jordan Thomas is a young man who lost his feet due to a boating accident 4 years ago and now has a foundation to help provide prosthetics to needy children.
Here is a link to an article and audio interview about Jordan and the foundation on the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Chattanooga Times Free Press | Accident victim fights for insurance parity


2. Research Partnership With the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital of Chattanooga Leads to Wheelchair Tai Chi Program.





You can read more about this study lead by Dr. Zibin Guo, the head of UTC's Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography, at New Hope with Tai Chi | Tennessee Alumnus Magazine: .

3.UT Chattanooga Engineering Department Makes Life A little Easier For Area Residents with Disabilities in Several Service Projects
Here's a link to an article about 1 project
Chattanooga Times Free Press | Dream ride:
This article has a video interview attached. In a recent issue of the UTC Alumni Magazine, Chattanooga Today, there was a mention of the Engineering students working with Signal Centers
to place adaptive technology to help a child who was blind navigate around his/her school.

4.GoFest
" Mission of Go!Fest:
To encourage young people with disabilities and their families to explore the available services, resources and opportunities that would enable individuals to realize their maximum potential in setting and achieving lifetime goals and personal success in every area of life."




There are many more wonderful organizations and individuals that serve people of all ages and abilities in this community(as well as beyond), but this is just a sampling of what Chattanooga has done and is still working toward creating a better world for people with disabilities and the world around them. If I had the funds, I'd pay for a branch office of Bubel Aiken to be located here to work with these organizations, but I do not; but I can give what I can locally and to Bubel, and the rest is for us all to decide to do something to work towards the inclusion of people with all abilities. I know from experience as a person with extremely mild cerebral palsy and some chronic diseases. I don't appear to have a disability at first sight, so I've lived in and outside of both worlds .