---

Gayle’s Just Say Hi spot for CPF tells the news that starting a conversation with someone who has disabilities is the same as it is for anyone. Her Breaking News is “Just Say Hi.”

In fact, many of the ways we could improve interactions with people who have disabilities might be summarized by some pretty simple headlines

1. Women with Disabilities Get Access to Mammography! Women with disabilities so often get substandard healthcare. Because of reasons ranging from inaccessible exam rooms and table to general physicians who lack appropriate knowledge, women with disabilities have a three-times higher mortality rate from breast cancer.

2.Child Able to Visit Robotics Lab in Home Town! There are many ways to support physical therapy with innovative robotics and similar approaches. However there are not enough of these facilities and it is hard to schedule appointments. Greater awareness of these methods is necessary so we can build scale.

3.School Systems Ready with Assistive Technology on First Day! There are so many ways we know to support students with disabilities but so many school systems don’t have the infrastructure in place to get it in place until later in the fall. Imagine other kids starting school without pencils and readable books.

4.After Eighteen Years, Child Finally Lives Pain Free Life. Odd to imagine this, but because many people with CP are never asked whether or not they have pain, they never discover that, in fact, they could be much more comfortable – that they could get therapies or medication which would allow them to be not only more functional, and to avoid the compromising emotions that often come from constant pain.

5.Timeline for Early Detection of CP Drastically improved. Today, we have breakthroughs in the way we can detect cerebral palsy in infants, such as an observational technique called General Movements. However, the nation’s pediatricians need to have greater awareness of these tools, and greater training in how to use them. Earlier detection of CP can have a significant impact on lessening the severity of the condition and lead to enormous improvements in outcomes and the future lives of these infants.