Preparing individuals with disabilities for space travel and habitation

On May 11-12, 2021, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and the MITRE Corporation sponsored a Workshop on creating a human research program for civilians in commercial space. It was recommended that space travel and habitation should be accessible to all civilians, including individuals with disabilities. In the coming decades, it is predicted that thousands and perhaps millions of civilians will be traveling, living and working in space in orbit around the Earth, on the Moon and beyond. This development presents major challenges to human space researchers because very little is known about the impact of risks caused by microgravity, radiation and other space-related hazards on the civilian with an underlying health problem or with a disability. In preparation for expanding involvement of individuals with disabilities in space, we propose the first draft of a human research program that will prevent or mitigate the risks and protect the health and safety of the individual.

Epidural Spinal Stimulation to Improve Bladder, Bowel, and Sexual Function in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries: A Framework for Clinical Research

While some recent studies that apply epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) have demonstrated a breakthrough in improvement of the health and quality of the life of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), the numbers of people who have received SCS are small. This is in sharp contrast to the thousands of persons worldwide living with SCI who have no practical recourse or hope of recovery of lost functions. Thus, the vision is to understand the full potential of this new intervention and to determine if it is safe and effective in a larger cohort, and if it is scalable so that it can be made available to all those who might benefit. To achieve this vision, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering called for and organized a consortium of multiple stakeholder groups: foundations addressing paralysis, federal and public agencies, industrial partners, academicians, and researchers, all interested in the same goal. Based on input from consortium participants, we have reasoned that a first step is to define a scalable SCS approach that is effective in restoring lost autonomic physiology, specifically bladder, bowel, and sexual function. These functions are most critical for improving the quality of life of persons living with SCI. This report outlines a framework for conducting the research needed to define such an effective SCS procedure that might seek Food and Drug Administration approval and be implemented at the population level.

Health Promotion for Persons with Disabilities: Moving beyond Rehabilitation

Persons with disabilities are at significant risk for additional or secondary disabilities. Because of this increased risk, especially for persons suffering from the “disuse syndrome,” it is important that a comprehensive health promotion component is included in the rehabilitation program for disabled individuals. Current concepts of disability are discussed as well as the distinctions between primary and secondary disabilities. Specific types and causes of disabilities are identified and described. Each type of secondary disability is assessed in terms of its “preventability.” Examples and characteristics of quality programs for health promotion for disabled persons are presented. Recommendations for further research and study are discussed to include the need for determining effective components of successful programs and ways to encourage the field of rehabilitation to incorporate health promotion into the rehabilitation process for its disabled clients.

The influence of selected home background variables on the development of oral communication skills in children

One hundred forty-three preadolescent subjects and their parents took part in a study to determine the effects of certain home background variables on the development of speech and language skills. The children were evaluated on 40 speech and language measures by classroom teachers and by speech specialists. Findings indicated that (a) the children of permissive mothers achieved higher scores in language maturity; (b) parental demands were strongly related to general speaking ability as assessed by teachers; and (c) greater use of techniques of speech training in the home led to higher scores in general speaking ability as assessed by teachers.