Thanks to a $4.3 million 

grant and the tenacity of a few 
professors, students and future 
students with physical disabilities 
might be able to live a little more 
comfortably.

In October, a new research 

center at the University of 
Michigan will begin investigating 
how to improve aging for those 
facing 
long-term 
physical 

disabilities.

The idea for the new research 

center was spearheaded by a team 
of investigators: Michelle Meade, 
an associate professor of physical 
medicine 
and 
rehabilitation 

psychology; 
Philippa 
Clarke, 

a professor of epidemiology; 
and 
Robyn 
Rontal, 
policy 

analytics director at the Center 
for Healthcare Research and 
Transformation.

Clarke said a new research 

center is necessary to help 
design a world more accessible 
to individuals with physical 
disabilities.

“What’s happened essentially 

is that people who have had 
disabilities in the past, typically 
never lived long enough to be 
old or to age,” Clarke said. “But 
with all the improvements in 
technology and medical care, 
there is a wonderful thing 
that is happening: People with 
disabilities are now growing 
older. However the services and 
support that we have set up for 
older adults have never really 
been targeted or able to meet 
the needs of this new group of 
clients who have been living with 
physical disabilities.”

Meade, the lead investigator 

for the research center, believes 
the center could perhaps ease 
those complexities.

“Individuals with disabilities 

are more likely to have other 
health 
conditions, 
such 
as 

diabetes, 
depression,” 
Maede 

said. “They are more likely have 
had days where they are not 
feeling well, and less likely to 
have access to care, and more 
likely to report problems with 
the care they have. So we put all 
these pieces together, working 
among these departments really 
provides us with the opportunity 
to develop a solution that could be 
used here and across the United 
States.”

According 
to 
a 
National 

Center for Education Statistics 
report, students with physical 
disabilities in 2011 and 2012 
accounted for 11.1 percent of 
all 
undergraduates 
enrolled 

nationwide. The 2016 Campus 
Climate Survey says 5 percent of 
students at the University report 
having a disability. 

The 
University 

offers resources for students with 
physical 
disabilities. 
Students 

who are deaf, hard of hearing or 
have temporary or permanent 
motoric disabilities are eligible 
to receive accomodations in 
their classes. These can include 
notetaking, video captioning and 
real-time transcription services. 
However, these resources are 
often difficult to access or even 
inadequate. Last year, then-
Architechture graduate student 
Mieko Preston told The Daily that 
it was an uphill battle to register 
for disability accomodations with 
the University. She experienced a 

stroke several years ago and now 
uses a medical scooter.

“The accessibility of being 

able 
to 
benefit 
from 
those 

accommodations or resources 
that are necessarily put in place 
is actually extremely difficult,” 
she said. 

Meade and her colleagues 

requested 
funding 
from 

the 
National 
Institute 
on 

Disability, Independent Living 
and 
Rehabilitation 
Research 

to establish a Rehabilitation 
Research and Training Center 
program at the University. The 
center will conduct research, offer 
hands-on training and spreads 
awareness 
and 
information 

around rehabilitation efforts. 

These 
University 
studies, 

called 
the 
the 
Investigating 

Disability Factors and Promoting 
Environmental 
Access 
for 

Healthy Living RRTC, or IDEAL, 
will look specifically at the 
effects that both personal and 
environmental factors have on 
people with physical disabilities 
and how that, in turn, affects the 
aging process.

Meade also hopes this center 

will serve as a national resource 
center for policy makers, and all 
types of disability organizations, 
thus helping distribute the new 
knowledge breed at the U-M 
research center.

“One of the projects run by Dr. 

Michael McKee is about creating 
a model clinic for family medicine 
for individuals with disabilities,” 
Meade said. “Once again, we 
want to develop the best practice 
and then we want to share them. 
Hopefully, by doing this, we will 
be changing the way that we do 
clinical practice, they way that we 

provide services, and make sure 
things are relevant for people 
with physical disabilities.”

Meade said this center will help 

people nationally and hopefully 
make its way onto campus.

“Students are in the need 

of also accessing care, such as 
getting into the recreational 
facilities or accessing courses and 
lectures with those with hearing 
impairments,” Clarke said. “We 
are trying to understand how 
we structure our campus with 
simple things like examining how 
many stairs we have.”

Engineering sophomore Ellie 

Rocheleau said she believes the 
research center will provide 
new opportunities and a sense of 
optimism for those dealing with 
long-term physical disabilities.

“Someone I know is affected 

by ulcerated colitis, which is the 
swelling of the colon that leads 
to stomach aches and other 
intestinal 
issues,” 
Rocheleau 

said. “This is usually linked with 
severe arthritis, which in turn, 
leads to being unable to drive, 
walk, or even stand. Not only does 
this also affect him physically; it 
has led to a great deal of anxiety 
to try to figure out how to live his 
day to day— because even when 
he has good days, it is still an 
ongoing battle. It is hard enough 
to be able to deal with the one 
initial illness; if there was some 
new technology or medicine that 
could make living just a little 
easier, I think that would make 
all the difference.”

WOLVE RINE OF THE WE E K

2 — Monday, September 6, 2018
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THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk

Charlie White
@CharlieaWhite

Back on campus for my first 
class at @UMich in a while. 
It really doesn’t matter that 
I’ve seen the birth of my child 
or won the Olympics, I’m still 
nervous! Go Blue!

Neil
@braincelltwo

Gonna fight the girl in my 
orientation who said “OMG I see 
you have a hickey”... okay yes I 
have one what do YOU have other 
than a lack of personality and a 
foundation shade 13 shades lighter 
than your skin, SAMANTHA?

Gabriel
@dagabesta

just had the absolute worst 
cup of coffee and it ruined 
my whole day, thanks umich

Austin McCoy
@AustinMcCoy3

Good luck to you all at @
UMich on y’all’s first day of 
the school year! Feels weird 
not being there with y’all!

Alayna
@alaynanugent

Syllabus week? More like 
syllabus second at umich 
lmao how am I already neck-
deep in work

Rachelle
@rachelle_wendt

umich getting rid of michigan 
time will 100% be the death 
of me

Every Thursday, The Michigan 
Daily will feature a member of 
the campus community. 

“So this year is my 
sophomore year, I think 
it’s a lot about just 
expanding what I know 
since last year was more 
about discovering what I 
like. This year I just want 
to delve into everything 
I decided I enjoyed last 
year, and make a focus, 
primarily within my 
culture, learning more 
about that through 
ASA and other student 
organizations, after that 
I’m also a student and 
pre-med so I want to 
expand my network in 
that sense.

Naveen Fawaz, LSA sophomore

New research center foucses on aging 
for patients with long-term disabilities

$4.3 million grant funds studies on intersectional issues of mental health, impairment

SAMANTHA SMALL

Daily Staff Reporter

