Choosing the Right Wheelchair for your Child
In the past, if a child needed a wheelchair parents would simply buy a large chair and let the child grow into it. This should not be the case. Sitting is important to all children. Since most children attend school, increased attention should be provided to them. If they do not have a comfortable wheelchair to use, they will most likely get discouraged from studying.
Today there are many wheelchair style, colors and features available to meet all the needs of younger users. Many manufacturers have developed wheelchairs that will cater to the changing needs of children. There are several factors that need to be considered when choosing a wheelchair for your child. The first thing you need to consider is the child's age, abilities and disabilities. It may be in your best interest to consult a professional to decide which type of chair is appropriate for your child. They will determine if your child is suited to use manual chair, powered chair or other wheelchair alternative.
It is likewise important that children and their parents actively participate in the selection process of the wheelchair. They are the individuals most aware of the needs and circumstances in which the wheelchair will be used. So they should work together in choosing the right wheelchair.
There is really no need to rush on buying a chair for your child. It is far better to take sometime than to make a rush decision. You would not want to regret your purchase in the end. That is why it is important that you make an informed decision when it comes to the chair you will use for a considerable amount of time. Realize also that less is more. So use accessories only when necessary. As every wheelchair is as individual as the user, it does not really matter if the chair is really good if it does not fit the child who will use it.
Lastly, it is also important to consider the child's personal interest and choice. The wheelchair will not simply be something he will need. It will also be an expansion of his personality. Hence, comfort in a wheelchair is more than how it feels to the body. It should also be comfortable to the personality.
For comments and suggestions kindly visit Power Wheelchairs Company
Christmas Season Versus Holiday Season
by: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.
In the United States, the month of December is the Christmas Season, not the Holiday Season. To the best of my knowledge there is only one holiday in December recognized by our government. December 25 was made a legal holiday in order to celebrate the birth of Christ. There are no other legal holidays during the month of December. Chanukah, Hannukah, or Hanukah is a celebration and, some say, a Jewish Holiday but it is not a legal holiday. Kwanza is a celebration and not a legal holiday. Christmas Eve is not a day and New Years Eve is not a day. We don't call the month of May, the Holiday Season, even though that's when Memorial Day is celebrated. On Martin Luther King Day we don't have holiday parades, we have Martin Luther King Day parades. We don't say happy holiday on the Fourth Of July, we say Happy Independence day or Happy Fourth Of July. Why then, do some people insist that we say happy holiday and holiday season when we are celebrating Christmas?
I'll tell you why. It is because the organized religion of atheism (Yes atheism, is an organized religion, it is a religion of non belief.) is waging war against Christianity as the first battle in a war against all other religions. If they can defeat Christianity in this country of Christians, then they can defeat all religions that believe in a God or higher power.
I am a Christian. I don't, however, know for sure, if Christ is the son of God or if he was a teacher or what. I do know, that I believe in the teachings ascribed to him. I do know, that even though we are humans and therefore can not and do not always follow all of those teachings, that if we all tried to live by those teachings of love and kindness, the whole world would be a better place. I also know that, I want Christ to be the Son of God because then it would mean that God did and does care about us and that there may very well be a Heaven.
I disagree with the director of special projects for the American Family Association when he says, "Christmas is not a holiday" and that calling Christmas a holiday "devalues our nation's most holy day." Christmas is a holiday. In fact, I consider Christmas and the Fourth Of July to be this country's two most important and happiest holidays. The Fourth Of July celebrates the birth of our nation and Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. Workers are given Christmas Day off with pay, school children are given several days off for Christmas vacation. Offices hold Christmas parties. Families get together, listen to Christmas music, stuff themselves with food and give each other gifts. Marines collect "Toys For Tots". The Salvation Army puts out it's kettles and collects money which is used to help needy people all year long. Many family members who have been feuding all year round get together and forgive each other. Christmas is a holiday of love and forgiveness.
Christmas is a holiday that everyone, not just Christians, should celebrate. Almost no one denies that Christ did exist at one time. The controversy is, whether or not he is the son of God. Putting that controversy aside, Christ preached or taught "peace on earth and goodwill towards men". If people bemoan the fact that John Lennon died because he was a fighter for peace, how can they not celebrate the fact that Christ was born? Christ was arguably the original teacher of peace, forgiveness and goodness. He lived and died promoting peace. He not only promoted peace, he lived peace. He not only taught forgiveness, he lived forgiveness. Christ set an example that has lived for over two thousand years. If Martin Luther King can have a holiday, if Presidents, Veterans, labor and others can have their own holidays, why shouldn't Christ have a holiday.
A note to other religions: You should support Christmas. If you allow the atheists to kill off Christmas, it could be your religion that they go after next. There is a war being fought today. I'm not talking about the war in Iraq. I'm talking about the war against religion being brought by atheists and certain hard line fanatics on the far left. Right now, they are winning the war because religious groups are not fighting back in a cohesive manner. If religious groups don't help each other, someday they will all cease to exist and the United States will become another Soviet Union. Taking away our right to participate in religion and to celebrate our religion is a first step in taking away our other freedoms.
One of the main reasons that the United States was able to become so great is that, contrary to what the atheists and some others tell you, we are not a secular country. Our whole method of government and our laws come in large part from our forefathers religious beliefs.
It may not seem so, but I am not agaisnt all atheists. They have a right to believe in non belief and I support that right. I am just against the activists that are trying to force their non beliefs down my throat. I am willing to leave them alone if they are willing to leave me and mine alone. The problem is that they won't leave us alone. They don't want to allow us to believe as we wish. They want us to believe as they do. They don't believe in Christmas so they want to take Christmas away from us.
One final note to all you major retailers who want to sell me gifts for me to give as Christmas presents, if you won't acknowledge the Christmas Season in your advertising and in your stores, then don't expect me to shop in your stores. If you insist in saying holiday season and happy holidays instead of Christmas Season and Merry Christmas, then I will insist in not dealing with you. For the time being, at least, you are free to do as you wish and I'm free do as I wish. My wish is to boycott you, not only during the Christmas Season but for a long time to come. Heck, I'm still boycotting everything French and I've been boycotting Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine since the Vietnam War.
About The Author
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers and the internet public. For more lifestyle information see http://lifestyle.resourcesforattorneys.com, the Lifestyle directory from Resources For Attorneys.
The Act Of Being Politically Correct Has Gone From The Sublime To The Ridiculous
By: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.
There was a time that being politically correct meant speaking and acting in a considerate manner to others. Now it means speaking and acting in a manner acceptable to the Hollywood and politically left wing Elite who have appointed themselves as the arbitrators of what is proper and what is not proper.
For instance Christmas is a legal holiday and was made a legal holiday in order to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is now, however, politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas because you might insult non Christians and atheists. We are told that the correct greeting is now Happy Holidays. Department and other stores that make most of their money selling Christmas gifts now advertise Holiday gifts, wish us Happy Hoildays and play Holiday music that does not mention Christmas, Christ or God. God forbid they should insult anyone and lose a sale. It doesn't matter that they are insulting Christians, because Christians, by nature of their beliefs, are forgiving. Teachers are teaching young students to say Happy Holidays because many teachers now believe that it is politically incorrect to bring religion into school and that it is okay to deny God but it is not okay to irritate atheists.
A janitor is now a custodial engineer and a garbage hauler is now a sanitation engineer even though neither has an engineering degree. An American Indian is now called a Native American. A person who is deaf is now hearing impaired. A blind person is now visually impaired. A handicapped person is now physically impaired. A fat person is now called weight challenged or weight impaired (I am fat but I am not challenged nor impaired and I resent the use of those words. I don't mind being called fat, after all, it's the truth, but I do mind being told that I am less than others because I'm fat.). A pet is now called an animal friend. A person who is slow to learn is now mentally challenged. Orientals are now Asians. Anno Domini (AD) is now Common Era (CE). A prison is now a House Of Corrections. An illegal alien is now an undocumented immigrant or an undocumented worker. Terrorists are now called insurgents even though the definition of an insurgent is a rebel and a rebel does not usually kill innocent people. Punks and deliquents are now called environmentally challenged youths. People are no longer laid off, they are now downsized. Merry Christmas is now Happy Holidays. Happy Thanksgiving is now Happy Turkey Day. Even Valentines day is now being called Friends Day.
Don't say "under God" when saying the Pledge of Allegiance, because you might make an atheist uncomfortable and then the atheist might sue.
It's funny when Whoopi Goldberg, Barbra Streisand, Jay Leno, David Letterman and others insult President Bush and call him stupid, but it's not funny if you make fun of Whoopi Goldberg. The fact that President Bush is the elected leader of this country and that when they insult him they are insulting the Office Of The President and thereby insulting this country, doesn't seem to matter. The fact that their insults are read and heard by people in other countries who use the insults as fodder to justify their dislike of us, doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that they don't like President Bush and they hope that if they insult him enough, people will start believing that the insults are true facts and not just jokes.
Drug addicts are victims not criminals, even though they broke the law by using illegal drugs and even though they are aiding drug pushers by giving them money, because many of the Elite also use illegal drugs and they don't consider themselves to be criminals.
Don't call God a him, because certain women will be angered. The fact that no one has ever actually seen God and the fact that no one really knows if God is a he, she or it, doesn't matter. The fact that Christ is alledged to have said that God was his Father, doesn't matter. All that matters is that certain celebrities and activists don't like to hear God called a he and since they don't like it they feel insulted.
It's not only okay, it's comical, to lump all Priests together and label them pedophiles like Jay Leno does, but don't you dare say a teacher might be incompetent. If you do, a teacher's union will jump down your throat. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of Priests are kind, caring and honorable men or that a large percentage of teachers can't teach their way out of a paper bag. All that matters is that Priests won't fight back so it's okay to lump the good ones with the bad ones and make fun of them.
We are no longer Americans, we are now African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, Italian-Americans and a whole bunch of other -Americans. How can we hope to remain 'one country, under god or not under god, indivisible' if we are already dividing ourselves by ethnicity and prior nationality. I am solely an American. My ethnicity or the nationality of my ancestors does not effect my being an American. I can be proud of my ancestry without hyphenating my Americanism. My wife was born and raised in Mexico. She says that she is an American of Mexican decent. She is proud of her Mexican heritage but since she is now an American citizen she answers to American or American of Mexican decent not Mexican-American. And what is with this African-American bit. According to most biblical scholars and most scientists, the human race started out in Africa. If that's true, then all of us are decended from people who lived in Africa and all of us could be called African-American. Additionaly, what do you call a person, of African decent, who lives permanently in this country but is a French citizen and not a citizen of this country. You can't call him an African-American as he is not an American. Do you call him an African-Frenchman or do you call him an African-Frenchmen who resides in America? You can't call him a Black because no one is actually black. What if he is dark brown or light brown, do you call him a Brown. I am called white but in actuality no one is white and some so called whites are darker than some so called blacks. Why do we need to use color or ethnicity in order to tag people. I can see using complection, ie: pale, dark brown, olive, etc. as a person's description, but I can't see using it as part of their identity.
Political correctness is fine to a point, but like anything else, take it too far and it becomes ridiculous. We have taken it too far and it is now ridiculous. Stop listening to the Hollywood elite and start thinking for yourself. Don't be stupid. Oh; I apologize, should I have said don't be mentally impaired? Be kind, be polite and have empathy for others. Don't, however, let others tell you what to think and say.
About The Author
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers and the internet public. For more lifestyle information see http://lifestyle.resourcesforattorneys.com, the Lifestyle directory from Resources For Attorneys.