Disabilities-R-Us

Created by and for people with physical disabilities.

AMC Support: Adaptive PE

May 07, 1997

This is an archival transcript of one of our past meetings. We don't have scheduled topical meetings anymore, but we're not opposed to the idea of bringing them back if someone is willing to commit to hosting them on a "long term" basis.

Participants already present:
  HandiBot ([email protected])
  ChanServ ([email protected])
  Mooooooo ([email protected])
  Countrybo
  dtb
Countrybo: 10 pm was just too late for me
Countrybo: on school night
Mooooooo: this new schedule is easier on me too
Countrybo: so how is everyone?
Mooooooo: im great!
Mooooooo: how are you dtb?
Countrybo: cool
dtb: fine
Countrybo: where yall from?
dtb: LA
Mooooooo: Im from Willits, California
Countrybo: michigan here
Mooooooo: I hope our trusted leader shows up soon :o)
Countrybo: me too
*** Upsilon has joined #disabled
Mooooooo: Howdy Ups!!! :o)
Upsilon: good evening all
dtb: hello Upsilon
* Upsilon says 'Hiya' !¡!¡!¡!¡!¡! Mooooooo ¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!
Mooooooo: welcome back :o)
Upsilon: hi dtb
Mooooooo: LA as in Los Angeles, or Louisiana?
dtb: Los Angeles
Mooooooo: ah, ok. gotta be sure
dtb: where is willits?
Upsilon: where are you from, dtb, L.A.?
Mooooooo: are you all on the mailing list?
dtb: yes
Countrybo: i am
Upsilon: yup
Mooooooo: Willits is about 4 hours above San Francisco, on US 101
Mooooooo: great!
dtb: yes I am too
* Upsilon lives, embarrassingly enough, in Embarrass,
Mooooooo: I'll give carly a few more mins to show up
*** four has joined #disabled
four: hello peple!!!!!!
Mooooooo: Hey there Ted!!
Countrybo: what is amc?
Upsilon: hi four
dtb: hello four
Countrybo: hi yall
four: pople!
Upsilon: hello countrybro
*** Wheeler has joined #disabled
four: people haha
Upsilon: hi wheeler
Mooooooo: AMC is Arthrogryposis, its a muscle/tendon problem
Mooooooo: Welcome back Wheeler
Wheeler: Hello Upsilon, Hi Mooooooo
four: dannnn, guess what tracy from california is right here in chicago
Mooooooo: technicallly....
Mooooooo: AMC = Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a congenital birth defect characterizied by multiple joint contractures at birth.
*** HelloKit has joined #Disabled
Mooooooo: Hiya Carly :o)
* HelloKit is late... :(
dtb: hello
four: daniel, ya know deadstrok aka red, she's here
Upsilon: I've got a good description also moooooo
Countrybo: wow I thought md was bad enough :(
four: hello carly!
Mooooooo: Great!!! :o)
HelloKit: And let me warn you... I am completely unprepared...
Mooooooo: whats your description Ups?
Upsilon: here countrybro read this:
* Upsilon was born with a birth defect known as
four: what else is new carly???? hahaha ;)
Mooooooo: Can I use part of that, Ups?
Upsilon: its not actual fusion
HelloKit: :-P Tedd...
Countrybo: thanks ups
Upsilon: yup be my guest
HelloKit: Yeah, I know it's you.
four: carly: think you're doing swell
Mooooooo: thanks :o)
* Upsilon {{H*u*g*s{{ HelloKit }}H*u*g*s}}
Upsilon: hi carly
four: carly: tracy from cal is visiting me
four: cool huh?
Mooooooo: I guess we can go with questions and answers?
HelloKit: You ought to see me right now... I'm a cross between Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Chuckie from Rugrats (the voice)...
Upsilon: lol
four: how's that carly?
HelloKit: Bad cold.
four: oic
Mooooooo: Carly with your nose so bright, will you lead our discussion tonight? :o)
four: my nose is always red
HelloKit: LOL
four: too much wine j/k
four: what's our topic tonite?
* Upsilon gives Carly a cup of chicken soup -----> _]o
Mooooooo: Adaptive PE
Mooooooo: physical exercise
Mooooooo: Someone suggested an adapted exercise for me and its working quite well
four: mostly i do walking, swimming, and situps
four: daniel: what are you doing?
dtb: walking stairs is enough for me!!
HelloKit: Let's see...
* HelloKit tries her hardest to think.
four: stairs and i don't get along too well
Countrybo: walking is very dangerous for me
Mooooooo: since I can't do sit-ups, a I lay flat on the floor, put my hands behind my head, and bend my legs while flattening my back
Countrybo: i walk in the house and fall and cant get up
Mooooooo: it exercises the abdomen muscles quite well
Mooooooo: and has helped reduce my tummy size a bit
four: i wanna fit into my size 32 jeans again
* Countrybo stacked firewood tonight from amigo and raked
four: 33's are tight now
Mooooooo: ive lost a couple inches in my waste
Mooooooo: yup, i think that counts
Upsilon: I'm unable to do any pe, because of the severity of my AMC
four: cool daniel!
Mooooooo: can you walk, ups?
HelloKit: Did anyone have adaptive PE in school?
four: up: how are you effected?
Upsilon: no, I have to use an electric chair
Mooooooo: has a doctor ever suggested anything?
Upsilon: all extremities, four, plus scolioses of the spine
Mooooooo: Carly, I wasnt required to take PE in school
Upsilon: no
Countrybo: I dont know how it works for amc but in md you have to stop when tired if you continue to exercise to point of fatigue the disease attacks tyour muscles faster and you actually loose instead of gain
Upsilon: I never had pe in school, just watched
Countrybo: carefull balance
Mooooooo: wow, i didnt know that, cb
Countrybo: do to little you loose do to much you loose too
HelloKit: Countrybo: I've heard that, actually. I have a lot of friends with MD.
Countrybo: ya its a enzyme thing
four: my wrists are bent, elbows straight, legs short and skinny
HelloKit: Countrybo: what form do you have?
four: walk with crutches and long legged braces
Mooooooo: Ups, you should ask that doctor on the Avenues list, she suggested good stuff to me
Countrybo: they THINK its limb girdle
Countrybo: my son has polymyositis
Upsilon: maybe I wiil, mooooooo, thanks
Countrybo: i read in the Quest mag. that limb girdle is sometimes over diagnosed
HelloKit: Ah... another one of those. A friend of mine is currently diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, but it took several years to get to that and still they're not sure.
four: ups: where do you live?
Mooooooo: there must be something cardiovascular you can do
* Upsilon lives, embarrassingly enough, in Embarrass,
Countrybo: and polymyositis it tratable
Upsilon: how about you, four?
Countrybo: there is
four: chicago here
Countrybo: upper body ex work well
Upsilon: what part, four?
four: nw side
Upsilon: I've got relatives there
Countrybo: and lower body ex consists of range of motion type of ex.
Mooooooo: what is polymyositis?
four: ups: where do they live?
HelloKit: Does anyone have a sport that they have been able to adapt in order to play?
Countrybo: it means many inflamed muscles
Mooooooo: I used to play frisbee back when they were the fad
four: i used to play street hockey with my crutches
Countrybo: its one of the 40 muscular dystrophies
four: also played wiffle ball
Upsilon: think its Keenyville, something like that
Mooooooo: even rode a skateboard when i was a teen. people always stared at me though when i did
HelloKit: :)
four: ups: maybe it's bikiniville ;)
* Mooooooo was a skaterdude :o)
Countrybo: i use elastic bands for curling and pulling with my arms and leg swinging exercises. I cant get on ex bike anymore :(
Upsilon: I use to play full contact football with electric wheelchairs, crunch!
Upsilon: lol
Upsilon: lol, four
four: i'm rigging up a jetski lift to get me into and out of the lake
Mooooooo: i have to do more reading about MS, Countrybo
four: i love to swim
four: ups: is there pain involved with your amc?
Mooooooo: I can't swim, but i can sink great
HelloKit: At MDA camp soccer is my favorite sport... it's played with a giant gymnastics ball, and is a very 'crunchy' sport as well.
four: i can't sink at all
HelloKit: Noting like real soccer.
four: something about fat floating hahaha
Upsilon: yes in my legs, hips, and lower back, four
Countrybo: I walked and did it all till 5 years ago but could nerer run or climb stairs well and for last 10 years falling down was a big deal, Got hurt alot and had one helluva time gettin up
Mooooooo: that sounds like fun Carly :o)
Mooooooo: do they have camp for us old people too? :o)
HelloKit: And it's not like me to be into violent sports!
four: ups: do you get any types of massages to increase blood flow?
Countrybo: my 8 yr old son plays regular soccer and baseball
Upsilon: anyone ever play floor hockey with wheelchairs?
HelloKit: I have!
HelloKit: That's fun too, but not as fun as soccer.
Upsilon: no I don't, four
Mooooooo: we used to do that in grade school
Mooooooo: wheel chairs and scooters
* Countrybo is afraid to send young son to mda camp its
Countrybo: and hate cities
* HelloKit has trouble holding onto the hockey stick.
HelloKit: How old is he?
Upsilon: I play it when I go to the adult camp
Countrybo: 8
HelloKit: That's about how old I was when I started going.
Mooooooo: we used to get all the kids to lay face down on scooters and propel with our hands and chase a puck around
HelloKit: LOL, sounds crazy.
Countrybo: and he is doing really good right now afraid to scare him about the possibilities of a wheelchair later in life :(
Upsilon: I use to tape the hockey stick to the side of the chair
Countrybo: wow sounds cool
Mooooooo: that would be cool too :o)
HelloKit: I've tried that, but then it's up to the pusher to aim for the ball...
HelloKit: Then it's like I'm not even playing, just along for the ride.
Upsilon: although it would come off seconds later when I would check someone, lol
Mooooooo: i used to push my friend susan around in her chair until we had a slight 'accident' in school
Mooooooo: then i was afraid to
* Countrybo scooter is bashed up from normal use like
HelloKit: LOL, I gotta tell you guys this story...
* Mooooooo listens :o)
HelloKit: If you have never wheelchair-roller-skated, you have to try it...
Upsilon: yes?
Mooooooo: what??????
Countrybo: lol sounds challenging
Upsilon: lol
HelloKit: I went on an honor roll field trip with school in 8th grade I think...
HelloKit: I put on skates and took off my footrests. Had my friends' parents taking turns pushing me.
Countrybo: if i tried roller skating i'd need a wheel chair lol
Upsilon: similiar to wheelchair-snow-shoeing?
Upsilon: lol
Mooooooo: hahaha
HelloKit: Then one of my classmates wanted to push me... we got going so fast that my chair was vibrating and sounded like it was gonna fall apart...
four: hello from Red_
Countrybo: lol
HelloKit: Then he lost his grip on the chair and I crashed into the wall! It hurt, but I was laughing too hard to care.
Upsilon: LOL
Countrybo: hey I tried wheelchair catapault in Kmart parking lot... I dont recommend it .
Upsilon: ROFL
Upsilon: I tried that too Countrybo
Mooooooo: thats what happened with my wheelchair accident with my friend Susan... I was purhing her real fast in the parking lot and hit a small hole. I flew over the top of her as she flew out of the chair
Mooooooo: we laughed so hard
Countrybo: son was pushin to fast and we hit a small stone ... the chair stopped I didnt....
Upsilon: well, I have you all beat
Mooooooo: I met a girl last year who goes 'wheelchair bungee jumping'
Countrybo: thank god 6 men came runnin from nowhere and put me back in the chair!
Upsilon: I have a lift on my van
Countrybo: its cold layin in a parkin lot in the winter lol
Mooooooo: hah
Mooooooo: i can imagine :o)
Upsilon: one day I was getting out and the lift was half way down, I didn't see it and I did a triple sow cow
Countrybo: wheelchair bungee jumping sounds definately different l;ol
Countrybo: ouch ups
Mooooooo: wow!!!
Upsilon: actually I didn't get a scratch
Upsilon: lol
Countrybo: wow!!
Upsilon: I always feel funny though on the lift
Mooooooo: in wheelchair bungee jumping, you get dragged around a big parking lot or street by a pickup truck using a long elastic cord
Countrybo: oh lol
Mooooooo: i say she's nuts!
Upsilon: I agree
Countrybo: was wonderinmhow they made sure you didnt leave the chair at 500 foot in the air lol
Mooooooo: i refuse to even jump off a curb these days
Mooooooo: hahah
Upsilon: same here
Mooooooo: thats the same thing i thought when she told me
Upsilon: I don't like to be carried either
* Countrybo would rather do it in the air than behind a
Countrybo: safer in the air lol
* HelloKit gets a crazy look in her eye and dashes out
*** HelloKit is now known as KitAway
Mooooooo: yeah, i would think so
Mooooooo: i wont do it either way
Countrybo: ya me niether
Mooooooo: i have this fear that my body will make it back up, but my spine will be laying on the ground 500 feel below
Countrybo: the shock would probably unfuse all your fusions lol
Upsilon: my friends get mad at me cause I won't let them carry me up there steps
* Countrybo wonders if thats a good thing?
Upsilon: LOL ROFL
*** four has left #disabled
Upsilon: good one country
Mooooooo: i saw this show on TV where a blind lady went skydiving and the pressure popped something in her eyes and she could then see
Countrybo: when i was still walkin i fell ...tripped on the curb... in front of the drug store and was havin a hard time gettin up.. people just stared thinking i was drunk.
*** KitAway is now known as HelloKit
* HelloKit scampers back into the room and sits down,
Countrybo: i heard that to coolhuh?
Mooooooo: thats scary
Countrybo: hw about the folks with ms gettin hit by lightning and being cured?
Mooooooo: when i had my cast on from back surgery, i fell while crossing the highway
Countrybo: ohno mooo
Upsilon: well, goodnight everyone, see you soon
Mooooooo: i was like a turtle for a few minutes
Mooooooo: leaving?
Mooooooo: take care ups :o)
Mooooooo: thanks for coming
Upsilon: yup, getting tired and in pain
Mooooooo: ok, we have the log saved
Upsilon: gonna have a glass of wine
Mooooooo: so you can read it later if ya want
Upsilon: sounds good mooooooo
Countrybo: when i tripped and fell in the hallways at college...draged foot on carpet bad deal.. I'd look around and crawl to the nearest hall bench and scramble up like nothin happened...never got caught! was always alone
Mooooooo: dtb, you've been awfully quiet tonight :o)
Upsilon: bye guys
Mooooooo: bye Ups
Mooooooo: thats how i had to get up
Upsilon: nice meeting you countrybo
dtb: bye ups
Countrybo: same here ups take care!
Mooooooo: i still get up that way if i fall in the house
Upsilon: bye carly
Upsilon: bye dtb
*** Upsilon has left #disabled
* Mooooooo pokes dtb and wheeler :o)
Mooooooo: still awake?
HelloKit: When I was about 14 I finally got to the point where I could get up without furniture... but it takes a while.
dtb: yes Moooooo I have been quiet. Hard for me to relate, though.
Countrybo: if i fall in house the only way I can gert up is to get on a chair and transfer to my cart then raise the seat the 6 inches the power lift goes and stand up
Mooooooo: i have to do the old fashioned leg spread and lift maneuver
Countrybo: if i ever break even a finger i'll be imobilized :(
Wheeler: Still here, I'm at work still, so I'm bouncing back and forth reading :)
Mooooooo: hehe, ok
Mooooooo: dtb, what is your disability again?
dtb: AMC too. just not as severe
HelloKit: Here's another sport I figured out...
Mooooooo: ah, ok
Mooooooo: mine isnt too severe either
dtb: only went in a wheelchair one year. After back surgery.
* Countrybo wonders if hellokit ever heard of sane sports
Mooooooo: same here, right after my spinal fusion
HelloKit: Using athletic tape to tape the racket to my arm, I played badminton in middle school.
Countrybo: cool
HelloKit: I wasn't very good, but that's beside the point.
Mooooooo: hey, that sounds fun!
dtb: yes they did the same for me too. Fused all of my upper vertebrae
HelloKit: It really pulls on the arm hairs though...
Mooooooo: i have a big titanium bar on my spine now
dtb: yes I have metal rods too
HelloKit: I really hate to leave early... but it's dinner time and there is a Carly Simon special on that I don't want to miss.
Mooooooo: maybe we should all invent a sport and compare notes
HelloKit: LOL
Mooooooo: awwwwwwwwwww
Countrybo: lol
Mooooooo: dont you have a VCR?
* Countrybo thinks he'll stick with fishing and hunting and
* Countrybo says Hey boys and girls check out my natural
HelloKit: Yeah, yeah, we're recording it, but I want to watch it... Besides, I really feel lousy.
* Mooooooo sings 'You're so vain' trying to make carly
HelloKit: LOL
HelloKit: Good night all...
Mooooooo: bye Carly :o)
dtb: good night
Mooooooo: *hugs*
*** HelloKit has left irc (Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes.)
Countrybo: nighters
Mooooooo: thanks CB :o)
Mooooooo: I think i have that on our links page too
Countrybo: short session huh?
Countrybo: cool
Mooooooo: yup :o)
Mooooooo: dtb, yours sounds like mine
Mooooooo: if you want to read about mine, see my homepage at
dtb: yes
Mooooooo: http://www.geocities.com/~mooooooo/
Countrybo: do you all still work?
dtb: I already have:)
Mooooooo: i walk funny, but i get around fine
Mooooooo: I own a software publishing and consulting company.
Countrybo: wow
* Countrybo needs a job he can do from home
Mooooooo: but Im selling, moving, and getting a regular job
Mooooooo: Computers is the best home job
Countrybo: michigan winters make it sometimes impossible to get out
dtb: I'm looking for work
Countrybo: longest streatch this winter was 4 weeks
Mooooooo: im moving to Dallas soon and should find a good job there
Countrybo: i write outdoor articles...and transcribe braille
Mooooooo: wow
dtb: neat!
Countrybo: but i need a real job
Countrybo: and i take outdoor photos too
Mooooooo: transscribe things into braile?
Countrybo: but its tough from my truck lol
Countrybo: yup
Mooooooo: i love outdoor photos
Mooooooo: i bought a digital camera for it
Countrybo: textbooks english lit.
Countrybo: i need telephoto lenses to ghet close to animals
Mooooooo: im surprised there isnt software and a special printer to do all that automatically now
Countrybo: well
Mooooooo: or is there?
Countrybo: we use duxbury on our pc's ...scanners to scan the print....then a embosser/printer to type the braille
Countrybo: we have to proof read the scanned text
Mooooooo: ah, ok
Countrybo: format the braille pages
Countrybo: proof read the actual braille
Mooooooo: when did you learn braile?
Countrybo: and do the 10000 things duxbury doesnt do yet lol
Countrybo: this winter
* Countrybo says hey Braille homepage is at
Countrybo: we are a on going group
Mooooooo: really? why did you learn it?
Countrybo: doing this all online
Countrybo: I was the first student to learn via the internet
Mooooooo: wow!
Countrybo: and will be certified by the library of congress any day now
Mooooooo: thats very impressive
dtb: indeed
Mooooooo: how hard was it?
Mooooooo: is braile all letters or are they symbols like chinese?
Countrybo: well they say you might beable to make almost min. wage at this and i can suppliment my ssi up to 200 a month with it. Then if it really takes off I can do it for a real job and get off disability
Countrybo: they are based on 6 dots lioke a domino
Mooooooo: that would be great :o)
Mooooooo: i wonder if i could learn it
Countrybo: theres some really great explanations on our home page lonks
Mooooooo: just for fun
Countrybo: yup you sure coulfr
Countrybo: could lol
Mooooooo: heh
Countrybo: we meet on anothernet in the Braille channel
Mooooooo: i have a braile font, but feeling the screen doesnt quite work
Countrybo: i have a txt file roughly explaining the cours wanna see it takes only a min.
Countrybo: thats sim braille lol
Mooooooo: i have your page up now
Countrybo: need a embosser to print the bumps lol
Mooooooo: heh, either that or light sensitive fingers
Countrybo: well transcription is done by sighted folks lol
Countrybo: :: = g lol
Mooooooo: i wrote a program almost 10 years ago to read text on the screen for a blind person
Countrybo: cool
Mooooooo: it would speak the text out
Mooooooo: and i wrote another one that worked like a magnifying glass for a friend who needed big print
Countrybo: we have a high school student actually working on a translation program for our group
Mooooooo: i wish i still had them
Mooooooo: thats great :o)
Countrybo: wee can print in big type for visual impared folks
Mooooooo: i just hold the book close
Mooooooo: well, i have to leave for about 10 minutes, but I will be back if you all can stay?
Countrybo: they are junk whenviewd in pirch lol
Countrybo: well its 10pm here and kids get up at 6am
Countrybo: sooooo
Countrybo: its bed time here
Mooooooo: ok, well thanks for coming CB :o)
Mooooooo: home to see ya next week too
* Countrybo had fun
Mooooooo: er, hope
dtb: bye CB
END