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(01/06/12 4:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Asperger syndrome (AS) is a diagnosis branching from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) where the individual has difficulties with social and communication skills. While a child with Asperger’s might find it challenging to spark a conversation with a fellow classmate, adults with AS also have communicative difficulties when building lasting romantic relationships.IU’s Marci Wheeler recently coauthored “The Partner’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome,” a book helping to provide advice and strategies for female adults whose partners are on the autism spectrum.Wheeler first became interested in working with people with disabilities when she was an undergraduate student at IU. She performed volunteer work for people with disabilities, and in the mid to late ’70s had her first opportunity to work with an autistic child. “At the time, there was very little known about autism. I found it very interesting and wanted to find out what these people were all about,” Wheeler said. Wheeler received her undergraduate sociology degree and her master’s degree in social work at IU. She’s been working as a social work specialist at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at IU since 1983.For their recently published book, Marci Wheeler and coauthors Susan Moreno and Kealah Parkinson interviewed more than 100 couples where one partner has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. “Susan Moreno was the spear-head for the idea,” Wheeler said. “Both of us had been working at different agencies, trying to find a way to get more information out there on the matter. She eventually initiated the idea to write a book and asked me to help.”Six years into their marriage, Wheeler’s husband Phil Wheeler was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Marci Wheeler met Phil Wheeler after she completed her undergraduate studies. They happened to be living in the same building, met each other and struck up a friendship.“Our friendship eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship,” Marci Wheeler said. Marci Wheeler married Phil Wheeler without either of them knowing about his Autism disorder. Because of her career as a social work specialist, Marci Wheeler received newsletters from the National Autism Center. One day, her husband was reading one of the newsletters and told her that he thought he had Autism.The story Phil Wheeler read was about a girl who felt out of place as a child and had to have her only friend teach her how to act socially and communicatively with others. “He called me while I was at work telling me he read this article and simply said, ‘Hey, I could have Autism, too. This girl sounds exactly like me when I was growing up,’” Marci Wheeler said. Marci and Phil Wheeler decided to take him to a specialist who had experience with adults on a spectrum where they were told Phil Wheeler did in fact have an Autism Spectrum Disorder.Marci Wheeler said her husband has a very mild case of Autism and went practically his whole life without knowing he had the disorder. “He always knew there was something a little different about him. He had difficulties in relationships and couldn’t figure out why they didn’t work well,” Marci Wheeler said. She said that many people with Autism are very intelligent and do well academically, but social and communication skills like building relationships, finding a place to live, paying bills and so forth become difficult. Being in a relationship with someone who is autistic can be challenging at times, especially with communication differences, Marci Wheeler said. People on a spectrum tend to think very literally and concretely where the majority of people without a spectrum are more abstract, use idioms and implied understandings that aren’t as familiar for a person with an ASD, she said.Despite these challenges, Marci and Phil Wheeler always overcome such difficulties, and she embraces the positive aspects of their relationship.“We both just try to be aware and understanding of each other,” Marci Wheeler said. “Being with someone on a spectrum can be very refreshing because they can be extremely passionate and trustworthy. “They also enjoy the simple things in life, which helps to feel like you can get away from the rat race at times.” Marci Wheeler helped to write “The Partner’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome” to reach out to the women in these relationships.“I wanted these women to have a place they can turn to not feel alone and show them that there are ways to work through such difficulties and challenges when having a relationship with someone on a spectrum,” Marci Wheeler said.
(10/07/11 2:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s concert show choir The Singing Hoosiers will perform Sunday at the Lincoln Amphitheatre in Lincoln City, Ind. This will be the group’s first traveling performance of the school year. The show starts at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person and $8 per person for groups of 10 or more.The Singing Hoosiers was founded in 1950 and averages 115 members. They perform a variety of popular American music, jazz and Broadway classics. The ensemble has also performed with artists like Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The Hoosiers will perform numerous songs by artists such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. This performance will serve as a preview to their upcoming show called “Cole Porter and Friends” on Oct. 14 and 15. Michael Schwartzkopf, Singing Hoosiers director of 17 years, explained the goals he hopes his choir will reach.“We are always working to challenge (our) repertoire, learn what it is like to perform for an audience and represent the IU and the Jacobs School of Music in the best possible way we can,“ Schwartzkopf said. Sophomore choir member Caroline Billinson expressed her enthusiasm for the performance as well. “I’m excited for this show because it is our first road show of the year, and it will be the first time we perform a lot of songs in our set,” Billinson said. The performance at Lincoln Theatre is also one of the few times The Singing Hoosiers have performed in an outdoor arena. “I’m excited because it’s an outdoor amphitheater,” said Elizabeth Duff, senior and student manager of the choir. “The only time I performed outdoors was for homecoming two years ago. I haven’t really performed in any large outdoor arena, so this will be a nice change of pace.”For more information on The Singing Hoosiers performances, visit indiana.edu/~singingh/
(02/16/11 3:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a federal bill which supports more affordable and available health care, has already been passed, many are still wondering how and when this bill will start to take effect.The Center for Health Policy at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis has recently proposed a Hoosier Health Insurance Exchange to be run by a quasi-independent state agency called the Hoosier Health Commission. The Hoosier Health Insurance Exchange — proposed by the Center for Health Policy director Eric Wright — offers people an exchange that intends to control costs, increase access to care and improve its overall insurance market.The Hoosier Health Commission will manage the Exchange. According to the Exchange, the commission will consist of 15 members with specialized knowledge of Indiana’s health insurance and health policy issues. These members will include an Indiana insurance commissioner, a secretary of Family and Social Services Administration, a health economist and others. As Massachusetts, California and Utah have already done, Indiana would provide all Hoosiers with a similar type of Exchange that correlates with the Hoosier Health Commission state agency to ensure people a proper and well-thought-out health care proposal. If executed it will reduce the risk of interference by the federal government, according to the Exchange. The importance of a state-run Exchange is a key factor in the proposal. “Having a handle on health care tasks lays a stronger foundation for the state to be able to make changes in the delivery system and how it operates,” Wright said. “It also provides additional initiatives to reduce health care costs.”People’s fear of a new Exchange comes from ignorance people have on the issue due to the complexity and vivid explanation given to citizens while the PPACA was being passed, Wright said. “There is quite a big political disagreement about whether this is a good idea or not,” he said. “Pollsters on both sides of the aisle are telling us that most people are nervous about reform, but when they are spoken to in a language that they understand, 80 plus percent tend to support it. It’s simply a matter of time for people to get used to the idea. Change is scary, especially when you don’t understand everything that is changing. We are trying to educate people about what has been proposed.” While acknowledging the vital importance of lowering the cost of health care, the Exchange also maintains that the best way to initiate the new proposal must involve an increase in taxes. “In contrast to other fundraising strategies, taxation can readily support public health and other community-based initiatives,” according to the Exchange. This proposition could arguably be the most controversial issue for citizens when they are determining whether or not to support the Exchange.On Feb. 7, Gov. Mitch Daniels collaborated with 20 other governors from around the country to write a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stating that the PPACA should be repealed and that the bill was highly flawed. The letter is available on Daniels’ website.“We face the decision of whether to participate in the bill by operating state exchanges, or to let the federal government take on that task, if the bill remains in effect in 2014,” the letter said.The governors stated that because of the flaws in the PPACA, “We do not wish to be the federal government’s agents in this policy in its present form.”
(10/14/10 2:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Road bikes aren’t the only bicycles students can find at IU.IU alumnus Leah Russell founded IU’s Mountain Biking Club two years ago, with recreational mountain biking, off-road riding, volunteering and trail maintenance as the club’s focuses.Unfortunately, the club did not last. But sophomore John Kraft has taken the lead to re-establishing it this year.“John is doing a really good job of getting the club started and going,” club member and senior Keatan Williams said.Kraff said he is trying to put together as many rides as possible.“The feedback I got from Keatan about the original club was that they didn’t do enough riding, so basically that’s the biggest change I hope to see,” Kraft said. “This year is our first ‘rebuilding’ year.”New members expect to see a variety of changes.“This year, the club is more focused on setting up a foundation and expanding quickly,” Williams said. “We are trying to get the club more organized, so everything isn’t just thrown together. It’s easier for people to participate when they know what to expect.”Though campus already has the well-known IU Cycling Club, the Mountain Biking Club differs in a variety of ways. Most importantly, Williams said, mountain bikers usually ride on outdoor trails or in the woods, as opposed to cyclists who ride on highways and paved roads. “We’re a lot more laid-back than the IU Cycling Club,” Kraft said. “We’re not really a competitive group. We just go out to have fun and ride and not worry about anything.”The club has about 10 members ranging from freshmen to graduate students, who participate periodically. It also has Sunday rides at Brown County State Park, and members volunteer at both the park and the Wapehani Mountain Bike Park. Members will be present and active at the Brown County Breakdown regional mountain biking event and are hoping to induct riders to participate for the IU Outdoor Adventure Moab Mountain Bike Spring Break trip to Moab, Utah.“We hope to raise awareness about the sport and the club, as well as set up a solid foundation so that the club may continue,” Williams said in an e-mail.Students can get involved by visiting www.mbciu.blogspot.com or e-mailing mtbikeclubiu@gmail.com.“The club is accessible to anyone that wants to ride,” Kraft said. “Even if you don’t have a bike, we’ll find you one!”