There’s been a haunting of political developments this month that directly impact the disability community—many deeply concerning. On this week’s Pushing Limits, co-producers Adrienne Lauby and Eddie Ytuarte break down the latest news and what it means for people living with disabilities nationwide. From more troubling moves by Trump to the silence of major disability organizations on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we dig into what’s being said—and what isn’t (insert Michael Jackson ”Thriller” laugh)! This program is hosted and produced by Adrienne Lauby and Eddie Ytuarte. The post Political Wrap-Up – Pushing Limits – October 31, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 15 million people worldwide are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). These injuries are often sudden and life-changing—leaving many newly injured individuals overwhelmed and searching for support. Andrew Skinner On this week’s episode of Pushing Limits, we speak with Andrew Skinner, a man who decided to make that transition—from able-bodied to living with a spinal cord injury—a little easier for others traveling the same path. After his own injury in 2004, Andrew recognized a huge need for accessible equipment and resources for those newly injured. What began as a small effort grew into the Triumph Foundation, now the largest disability-support nonprofit in Southern California. Since its founding in 2008, Triumph has impacted the lives of over 10,000 individuals with disabilities and provided more than $2 million in assistance to people facing financial hardship or gaps in medical coverage. Tune in to hear Andrew’s story, the origins of Triumph Foundation, and how his work continues to empower the disability community today. This program is hosted and produced by Bonnie Elliott. It was edited by Denny Daughters and Jacob Stanton. Additionally, recording assistance was provided by Jacob Lesner-Buxton. The post ”Triumph“ for Spinal Cord Injured – Pushing Limits – October 24, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Did you know that between 150 and 300 people died weekly from COVID during the summer of 2025 in the U.S.? If you were watching the mainstream media or getting news from the White House, this data may surprise you. According to them, COVID is old news and in the rearview mirror of history. However, today’s guest and disability advocate Polly Garcia is committed to educating their community about the virus. In the interview, she will address how the disability community has been impacted by COVID and the steps organizations can take to begin to address the community trauma that came with the pandemic. Polly has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and with various communities throughout the United States on issues related to public health. She is also an artist and mindfulness practitioner, who is getting her master’s in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, & Peacebuilding. Plus, stick around to the end to hear published poetry from M. S. Marquart. This episode of Pushing Limits is produced by Jacob Lesner-Buxton and hosted and edited by Dominick Trevethan. Links to information about today’s guests, information about COVID, and other public health issues created by Polly: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/i8rSk4bmpsY6E Polly’s company – Cosmovisión LLC https://www.pollygarcia.com/ Poems by M. S. Marquart https://sites.google.com/view/msmarquart If you’d like to join Jacob’s monthly zoom meeting, Nothing Without Us, please reach out to him at jakeoaktown@gmail.com The post Telling the Truth about COVID = Act of Resistance – Pushing Limits – October 17, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Executive actions, budget cuts, layoffs, and legislation—all within the first six months of the Trump administration—have severely curtailed disability rights and services, including access to Medicaid and the right to a free, appropriate public education. That’s the finding of a recent report by the Center for American Progress, authored by Casey Doherty and Mia Ives-Rublee—who will be our live guests on Pushing Limits this week. Co-producer and host Eddie Ytuarte comments: “The Trump regime is as intent on going after the disability community as it is on targeting non-White communities, universities, immigrants, and politically progressive people and organizations.” Don’t miss the rest of this important report reveal and discussion. This program is produced and hosted by Eddie Ytuarte. The post First Six Months – Lasting Damage – Pushing Limits – September 19, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

This Friday on Pushing Limits – Join hosts Adrienne Lauby and Eddie Ytuarte as they dig into the latest in disability political news. Adrienne and Eddie bring their sharp analysis and on-the-ground knowledge to the stories that matter most to the disability community. Don’t miss this timely and important conversation. Photos with attributions and some context for each: All from Flickr  1 Traveling Together Disability Awareness Week, University of Illinois, Springfield Illinois licensed as CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Traveling Together   Finger Pointing https://www.californialaborsolutions.com/understanding-disability-discrimination/ Finger Pointing “Together and Strong”  USAID/Georgia’s Disability Advocacy Project Participants in USAID/Georgia’s Disability Advocacy Project, implemented by the Coalition for Independent Living. Photo Credit: Lasha Kuprashvili, Coalition For Independent Living. This photo was a winner in the Democracy, Human Rights and Governance photo contest. Together and strong The post Disability Politics From The Frontlines – Pushing Limits – September 12, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

What if the only thing standing between you and a life-saving treatment was a price tag? For many living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, that’s the reality—Spinraza, one of three FDA approved treatments for SMA costs about $425,000 per injection. Beyond the medical challenges, families face crushing financial barriers and questions of accessibility that differ drastically from country to country. This week, we hear from brothers Derek and Justin. Justin lives with SMA type 1, and Derek—his brother and caregiver—has transformed their experience into a mission. He founded SOAR, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the SMA community by providing community outreach and support. Under SOAR, Derek created the SMA Support Mates Program, which connects kids and young adults with older mentors who know exactly what it’s like to live with SMA. Together, we talk about the urgent fight for affordable treatments, the stark contrast in accessibility between the U.S. and Vietnam, and how community can light the path forward. This interview has been edited from an episode of The Disability Myth. If you would like to hear the longer program, check out the podcast episode on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. This program is hosted and produced by Dominick Trevethan. Useful links: SOAR’s official website: https://www.sma-awareness.com/ SMA Support Mate Program: https://forms.gle/tdDS1iVPa27tbooq5 SOAR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soar.sma_awareness?igsh=MWt4dTBmeW5uYzByYw== SMA Support Mates Program The post SOAR: Advocating for SMA – Pushing Limits – September 5, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

What does it take to turn one of the nation’s largest disability communities into a Ramiro Alvarez political force? In Detroit, where more than 30% of residents live with a disability, grassroots organizing has led to a groundbreaking victory: $8.4 million in the city’s 2025 budget is now dedicated to disability services. Join Pushing Limits this Friday as we continue our 2-part series on role model disability organizations. We talk with grassroots disability movement leader, Ramiro Alvarez, Communications Director at Detroit Disability Power. Listen in as we discuss how the organization built collective strength over eight years and won real change for the community. This episode is hosted by Adrienne Lauby and produced by Jacob Lesner-Buxton with editing assistance by Dominick Trevethan and Denny Daughters.   The post Disability Advocacy in the Motor City – Pushing Limits – August 29, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Will our national system of Independent Living Centers be sabotaged or even destroyed during the Trump Administration? The Trump people have already made extreme cuts to community services, and most of our 403 local centers are heavily funded by the Federal Government. Will we end up funding our service centers with bake sales and lemonade stands? Ami Hyten and Reyma McCoy Hyten, the co-directors of the Lois Curtis Center in Topeka, Kansas, have a better idea! Their organization is a physical and virtual hub for services, supports, and guidance that centers individuals with disabilities who experience marginalization within the disability community. They particularly include people of color, people who are homeless, and people who are system-involved. And, they don’t take any government funding. The Lois Curtis Center doesn’t have restrictions on who they can serve or the type of advocacy they engage in. Listen in as we talk to these two dynamic women about the benefits and downsides of working without Federal funding. Speaking of providing information without government influence, we will also feature poets Jennifer Chassman-Brown and Marsha Cutting, who will speak honestly about living with a disability in 2025. This episode is hosted by Dominick Trevethan. It was scripted and produced by Jacob Lesner-Buxton with editing assistance by Denny Daughters and Dominick Trevethan. Also, here’s an excellent article about Federal cuts already in process! The post Service Without The Feds – Pushing Limits – August 22, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

A second investigation by Disability Rights California (DRC) has once again revealed inhumane conditions at a southern California ICE detention center imprisoning immigrants. The facility is called Adelanto Detention Center and is owned and operated by a private company: The GEO Group. DRC investigators found the following conditions: Inadequate Access to Medical and Mental Health Care and Disability Accommodations Inadequate Access to Food, Water, and Clothes Limited Connections with Family and Natural Supports This investigation comes at a time when ICE faces mounting accusations of mismanaging detention facilities, contracting with private operators that cut corners, and wrongfully detaining many immigrants — including some U.S. citizens. Joining us to shed light on the investigation is DRC attorney Adeyinka Glover, formerly a Clients’ Rights Advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Adeyinka has also fought for housing rights, protection from domestic violence, guardianships, and environmental justice in the Central Valley. Her career is fueled by the belief that high-quality legal advocacy can help underserved populations including individuals, families, and communities not just survive, but thrive. Adeyinka holds a J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Africana Studies from San Diego State University. When she’s not in the fight for justice, she enjoys traveling and exploring art in all its forms. This program is produced and hosted by Eddie Ytuarte. Adeyinka Glover The post Disabled In ICE Detention Center – Pushing Limits – August 15, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Well, it’s that time of year again, folks. Time to boogie to your favorite artists with disabilities, but with a twist! This week on Pushing Limits, it’s all about musicians with all types of disabilities, and the best part is that the songs you’ll hear aren’t available on any streaming services. Among the disabilities represented in our lineup are blindness, multiple sclerosis, drug addiction, and Meniere’s disease. Make sure to turn up the volume: we’ve got a live track sent only to radio stations, a hard-to-find remix, and a hit missing its trademark saxophone solo! This show was hosted, edited, and produced by Denny Daughters. The post Disabled Musicians—Unfiltered Tracks – Pushing Limits – August 8, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

The Most Magical Place on Earth… for everyone? Or are recent changes turning Disney into a place of exclusion for disabled guests? Charisma On this week’s episode of Pushing Limits, Talia Thompson Mariano sits down with Natasha Caudill and Charisma Mangahas to explore the fallout from Disney’s controversial overhaul of its Disability Access Service (DAS). Are these new policies protecting the system—or punishing those who truly need it? How do these updates impact guests with physical disabilities, and what might they mean for the future of accessible theme park experiences? Tune in for a revealing conversation that goes beyond the magic. This program was hosted by Talia Thompson Mariano, with recording by Jacob Lesner-Buxton. Sound editing by Talia Thompson Mariano and Denny Daughters. The post When Magic Meets Barriers — Access Denied at Disney Parks – Pushing Limits – August 1, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

The Sapir Wharf Hypothesis is a lens through which communication scholars often observe and predict cultures‘ language and worldviews. It states that language determines a native speaker’s perception and categorization of experience. But what does this mean when it’s applied to people living with disabilities, the language we choose to communicate with, and the language others choose to describe us? Jacob Farzanmehr Jazmin Romero Joining our communication-conversation this week are two young adults: Jacob Farzanmehr and Jazmin Romero. Jacob lives with Cerebral Palsy and currently attends Alan Hancock Community College. Similarly, Jazmin currently attends Mesa Community College and lives with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. As we explore their experiences as people with disabilities, we’ll compare and contr ast how they see themselves through the lens of language—and how others see them. How do words like cripple, disabled, and handicapped differ in their minds from terms like differently-abled? Tune in to find out! And stick around until the end to hear which terms the Pushing Limits crew are not so fond of. This program was hosted and produced by Dominick Trevethan with editing assistance from Denny Daughters. Additional commentary provided by Eddie Ytuarte, Bonnie Elliott, Denny Daughters, Adrienne Lauby, and Jacob Lesner-Buxton. The post The Lens of Language – Pushing Limits – July 18, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in both disability rights and Krispjin Parsons LGBTQ+ visibility. However, the intersection of these identities remains an area that is often overlooked. On today’s show, we welcome Krispjin Parsons, a gay man on the autism spectrum, who shares his personal journey navigating life at the crossroads of queerness and neurodiversity. Through candid reflections on both the challenges and triumphs he’s experienced, Krispjin sheds light on the often-invisible nature of this intersectional identity. This episode explores the richness and complexity within both the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities, and highlights the importance of recognizing and celebrating the full spectrum of lived experiences. This program is hosted and produced by Jacob Stanton with editing assistance from Denny Daughters and Dominick Trevethan. The post The Intersection Between Disability & Queerness – Pushing Limits – July 11, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

What would you do if your world slowly started going silent—and you didn’t know why? This week on Pushing Limits, we bring you the story of Claire, a young student in Utah who began losing her hearing in fifth grade, despite having no family history of disability. When Claire was in fifth grade, she noticed the hearing in her right ear dropped, followed by her left ear. Now entering ninth grade, Claire reflects on her journey of obtaining hearing aids, a cochlear implant, and how she and her mother, Michelle, are learning to navigate a new language, a new identity, and a new understanding of access. Tune in as we ask what her audiologist and ENT did to help her, what made her decide to get a cochlear implant in her right ear, and how she learned to adapt to the cochlear implant. How do mother and daughter feel about learning American Sign Language? This week, Denny Daughters talks to Claire and her mother Michelle to answer all these questions and more. Plus, for a full transcript of the entire program, scroll down. The idea for this episode of Pushing Limits came from Denny’s wife, Deah Daughters. This show was hosted, edited, and produced by Denny Daughters. Audio transcription was by Nicole Struthers.   Pushing Limits – Sudden Changes [Opening intro music]   Denny:  Hello, and welcome to Pushing Limits, KPFA’s program by and about people with disabilities. We air every Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.  I’m your host, Denny Daughters. Today, I have two guests, Claire and her mother, Michelle. Both live in Utah. Claire will be going into ninth grade this fall. This is her final year of junior high. Claire’s mom, dad, and three siblings don’t have any disabilities.   In fifth grade, Claire was a typical kid without any disabilities. That year, she lost her hearing. She went from having hearing aids in both ears to having a hearing aid in her left ear and a cochlear implant in her right ear. Welcome to Pushing Limits. Let’s start out with a brief introduction from both of you.   Claire:  I’m Claire, and I lost my hearing in fifth grade, so it’s been almost four years.   Michelle:  My name’s Michelle, and I’m Claire’s mom.   Denny:  How many people are in your family?   Claire:  I have two brothers, one sister. I’m the youngest.   Denny:  Do any of your family members have disabilities?   Claire:  No.   Denny:  Do you remember what you were doing when you lost your hearing, and what was it like for you after you lost your hearing?   Claire:  I remember very well. I was just playing Legos, and then it just dropped, and it started ringing, and it never stopped. So, I’d be like, “Mama, it’s still in my ear,” and I could still hear out my other ear. It’s kind of like a bunch of buzzing or like the ringing in your ears, but also sometimes it’ll sound like there’s a fly in your ear or something. We would put stuff in my ears trying to get a fly out, because I thought there was a fly in my ear.   Michelle:  She wouldn’t believe me that there was no fly in her ear and would ask me to check over and over –   Claire:  Every day.   Michelle:  — because she just felt like there was —   Claire:  It sounded like it.   Michelle:  — a fly, but it was ringing so loud that I was having to yell really loud for her just to be able to hear me.   Claire:  Yeah.   Denny:  When the buzzing in Claire’s ears wouldn’t go away, it took about a week for them to get in to see her pediatrician, and then it was two weeks after that for them to see the ENT.  Here’s Michelle.   Michelle:  It started to ring, and we talked to her pediatrician –   Claire:  Oh, yeah.   Michelle:  — right away.   Claire:  I don’t remember that.   Michelle:  And he thought that maybe she had some fluid in her ears, and so we went and got that checked out, and it looked okay, but they put her on a medication in case there was some fluid that they couldn’t detect, and then he had us wait.  At that point, when it didn’t come back, then he had us go see an ENT.   We got her in pretty quickly. The thing that was tricky is that I started calling around to different ENTs, and no one could get her in.  They were all booked out pretty far, even just a month or two, but I was trying to explain, “She can’t hear. I feel like this is kind of an urgent thing.” So, I finally found a place that could get her in, you know, it was a week or two after I called. They weren’t pediatric, but it was fine.   They did an audiology test, and then she met with the ENT. They at that point just said – and this was our first doctor appointment – but they said, “Oh, she’s going to need hearing aids,” and it just caught me so off guard, because everything up to that point you’d fixed. Right? She gets strep throat, you get medication, you fixed it. For them to just flat-out say, “Oh, she lost her hearing,” it was just shocking to me.  I don’t think Claire even knows this, but I cried the whole way home, and she couldn’t hear me in the back seat because she couldn’t hear, and I was just devastated.   Claire:  Oh, yeah.   Michelle:  So, I came home and started researching more, and I saw that sometimes with sudden hearing loss, steroids would help.  I called my pediatrician that night. He’s a friend of ours, and so I called him at 9:00 at night and said, “Would you prescribe some steroids for her to try?” He said, “You need to get in to this one specific ENT as soon as you can,” and I said, “I actually have an appointment with him, but it’s not for another month and a half,” and he said, “I will get you in tomorrow.”   The next morning, I got a call from their office, and they got Claire in that day, and they did another audiology test with her, and then they gave her a round of steroids, which did bring her hearing back a little bit.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  But we had to go through all of the motions to see if there was anything that we could do to help with that, and it didn’t, and so at that point, they decided the hearing aids would be the best option.   The first time we went in to this office that we’re with now, the pediatric audiologist that we’re with was on a humanitarian trip, and so they just had her seeing whoever was available at the time for her appointments.  But once we got in with this specific audiologist, she has just been –   Claire:  She was perfect.   Michelle:  — so incredibly amazing.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  I would say that’s something that’s been amazing with Claire’s journey is just how amazing the people have been.  Her audiologist, we’ve gotten to become really close with.  She’s just been amazing.  I couldn’t ask for anything better. Her ENT, same thing.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  Just, they’ve been so good for Claire and done so much and truly cared about her, and it makes such a difference to go through this with that kind of healthcare provider.   Denny:  What were some of the emotions you were going through while all this was going on?   Claire:  I was just confused, because I didn’t really know. When I was younger, I thought it was just like silence, so I didn’t understand why I just had a ringing in my ear and why I couldn’t hear, so I was really just confused. I wasn’t really too nervous or anything.   Denny:  How did you feel when you found out first you were going to have hearing aids?   Claire:  I was kind of excited, because I’ve always wanted to experience stuff like that, and also because I could hear and stuff.   Denny:  Which ear did you lose your hearing in first?   Claire:  It started in the right ear, and then it came to the left, and then they were pretty good. Then my right ear kind of dropped, so then they did a bunch of stuff. They were testing things again, putting me on steroids, trying to see if we could get my right ear up, and then we talked about maybe getting a cochlear implant.   Denny:  Claire, have you ever been around somebody who’s deaf before?   Claire:  Yeah.  I’ve met kids at school.   Michelle:  There was one kid that had hearing aids, but he wasn’t really –   Claire:  No, he had two hearing aids, and then this kid with two cochlears and a girl with a hearing aid.   Michelle:  Okay.  But at that time, you didn’t really know them.   Claire:  Yeah, and I still don’t know them.  Like, I know them, and I knew their names, but it’s not like we were friends, and I never really talked to them.   Denny:  Some people in the deaf community feel that it’s better to learn American Sign Language, ASL, in order to preserve the deaf culture rather than getting cochlear implants. What are your thoughts on that, Claire?   Claire:  I don’t have that many feelings, but I also feel like I tried learning ASL, but I didn’t really like doing it, and I felt like it was really hard for me to learn.  Having things like cochlears for kids who might not be able to do it or like – yeah, just not being able to do it or anything.   Denny:  So, for you, learning ASL was difficult?   Claire:  Yeah.  I only tried it for a little bit of time, and then I kind of just stopped.  I know some words and the alphabet, but it’s not like I know all of the signs.   Michelle:  Can I share my thoughts on that, too?   Claire:  Yeah, you can share your thoughts.   Denny:  Absolutely.   Michelle:  So, I actually love ASL.  I have always been fascinated with it. When I was little, I took a class during the summer, and I just love it. Anytime we’ve been anywhere where there’s an interpreter that is signing, I just focus on that, and I think it is such a beautiful language. I would still love for Claire and I and other members of our family to learn it, because there are times – for example, we’re on the beach, or at night when she’s going to bed and she doesn’t have her devices on – that I think it would be amazing.   But as we talked about the decision to do a cochlear, we realized that Claire is in a hearing community. She lives in a hearing community. Her family is hearing. Her friends are hearing.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  Her neighbors are hearing. And so, for Claire to be a part of that community, if there’s an option where she can still be hearing, that’s her community.  I think that would be different if other members of our family were deaf or other people in our community close to us. But because of that, we felt if there’s an option for her to be able to still have that, that was what would make her more successful in the community that she’s in.   Denny:  Besides giving you steroids, what were some of the other things they tried with your hearing aids?   Claire:  Not only did my hearing aid test, but they did a lot of cochlear tests, and then they would try stuff other than steroids. They turned up my hearing aid, because they can make the sound on hearing aids lower and less volume and a stronger volume.   Denny:  Were the tests hard that they had you do?   Claire:  No. It’s kind of stuff like I go in this booth, and it’s like, “Repeat this sentence. Repeat these words,” just to see how well I can hear those things, but if I don’t hear it, I just say nothing. A lot of them were like, “Say armchair.  Say hot dog, baseball,” really weird, just random words.   Denny:  Michelle, were you there for all the tests?   Michelle:  Yes, I was there for every one of them. She was in the sound booth, and then I was sitting by the audiologist.   Claire:  Because the audiologist has headphones and a microphone, so she can talk to me and hear me, but she couldn’t, but she was at least in the office.   Michelle:  And there was a window, so we could see her.   Claire:  Yeah.   Denny:  For two years, the hearing aids helped, and then without warning, the hearing in her right ear suddenly decreased to almost nothing. When you decided to get the cochlear implant, were you presented with other options, or did you feel like this was the only option that you had?   Michelle:  I mean, first it was deciding if you wanted to get a cochlear.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  And it was, “The hearing aid will no longer work.”   Claire:  Well, and we tried steroids again.   Michelle:  Yeah, we did. We went through two different rounds of steroids to see if that would help, but it didn’t help enough, so it became we can do a cochlear or not. And then once we chose to do a cochlear, they did present us with a few different companies that do cochlears.   Denny:  Did you ever feel like they were trying to push a certain technology on you?   Michelle:  No, never.   Claire:  No. They were asking us about it, like, “Do you want to try hearing aids?”   Michelle:  They talked about all the pros and cons of both hearing aids –   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  — and the cochlear. I sincerely felt that they had Claire’s best interest in mind.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  But the decision very much felt like it was our decision –   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  — and they weren’t telling us what we needed to do.   Denny:  Claire talks about the final round of tests she underwent before getting her cochlear.   Claire:  So, there was like a hearing box room for hearing aid and cochlear tests, and they would put me in there to make sure I needed it, and I was telling them afterwards, “I couldn’t hear a thing.” I thought it was telling me to do actions, and apparently it was saying sentences or something. I don’t even remember it.   Michelle:  Yeah, her audiologist said, “I only had to do that as a formality, but I knew that you wouldn’t be able to pass that test,” –   Claire:  Yeah, I couldn’t hear anything. I thought it was –   Michelle:  — because she had lost all that hearing in the right ear.   Denny:  How did you feel when you found out you couldn’t hear the directions your audiologist was giving you?   Claire:  I wasn’t too worried, because I knew that if that didn’t work out, I would just have my hearing aid in my one ear and get my cochlear, and I would be able to hear in that ear again with the cochlear. Failing that test would mean I needed the cochlear.   Michelle:  Claire’s been very resilient. When we were driving home from that, I wanted to kind of talk with her and say, “How are you feeling? What are your thoughts? Are you okay?” and Claire said, “There’s a reason for everything that happens, and there’s a reason for this.” I was just amazed at the maturity and the acceptance and the resilience, that she’s been able to say, “There’s a reason that this is happening,” and she’s just gone with it, and she’s done so well because of that. She’s had such a great attitude.   Denny:  What’s the definition of a cochlear implant? A cochlear implant has two parts to it. The processor is surgically inserted. It sits in the inner ear, and it bypasses the damaged cochlea cells. There are some really thin wires that stimulate the cochlear nerve endings. In most cases, they don’t physically touch those nerve endings; they just stimulate them. The cochlear nerve endings are attached to the cochlear nerve, which is attached to the brain. The receiver sits outside the skull, collecting sounds in the natural environment. The two components are connected via a magnet.   When they gave you your pre-surgery instructions, do you remember if they said anything besides ‘Don’t eat anything after 11 p.m. the night before your surgery’?   Claire:  I don’t think so. It was really just like a normal surgery that you would undergo.   Denny:  Were there any scary moments with your surgery?   Claire:  The only scary part for me was if they hit this certain nerve, then I wouldn’t be able to move the right side of my face. That’s one of the biggest ones. They’ll have little things by it so if they get too close with the thing, they’ll know.   Michelle:  Yeah. So, to clarify, if they touch that nerve, it will paralyze half of your face, and so during surgery, they have sensors all over your face so that if you get even close to it, the sensor goes off so that the doctor knows that he’s getting close to that nerve.   Claire:  Yeah. That was the only part that scared me about the surgery, because I’ve had other surgeries.   Denny:  The city of Lehi is about 28 miles south of Salt Lake City. Here’s Michelle.   Michelle:  Claire was the first child to have a cochlear implant surgery at the new Primary Children’s Hospital that they had just opened in Lehi.  So, they got her under anesthesia, and then the doctor realized they didn’t have all of the tools that he needed to do it, and so they had to get them from the other hospital in Salt Lake. She ended up being back there double the time, and so they called to give us an update and said, “They haven’t started yet.” They didn’t go into details at that point, and we were so confused why she had been back in the OR for so long.   Claire:  It was same-day surgery, so I was able to leave after that and go home.  I was excited to go to my bed.   Denny:  The surgery took between five and six hours to complete rather than the usual two or three hours. What was it like for you recovering from the surgery?   Claire:  It was a very long recovery, I’d say. I’d be mainly staying in bed, and people would come visit, and my mom was like, “Come out to the couch.” I didn’t really want to walk around too much, because I’d get dizzy and feel nauseous. I was tired a lot of the time, so I didn’t really want to talk to people as much, but I still wanted to see them and visit with them.  I mainly just stayed in my room, and I watched shows on my headphones.   I didn’t lay on that side of my head for a while, because there was stitches, and it hurt. I would wear clothes that I didn’t have to put over my head, like button-ups and stuff, so I didn’t have to put anything around that ear. I just laid in bed and rested and had medicine.   Michelle:  It’s hard to watch your kid struggle, you know, after surgery, when she was so miserable and she kept saying, “I wish we wouldn’t have done this.” That only lasted a couple days, but it hurts to see them go through that.   Claire:  Yeah.   Denny:  How long did it take to recover from your surgery?   Claire:  I want to say like maybe a week or something.   Michelle:  Yeah, maybe. I can’t remember exactly.   Claire:  It was like a week or so.   Michelle:  But after a few days, her dizziness was so bad she didn’t even want to lift up her head.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  So, her ENT called in a little patch to put behind her ear, and we tried that, and that actually helped quite a bit, too.   Claire:  Yeah.   Michelle:  So, it was probably four days, five days, maybe.   Claire:  Yeah. And also, I have a small goose egg where the magnet is. It’s kind of just popped up a little bit where the magnet is, just a little bump on the back of my head.   Michelle:  But the scar from the surgery, you wouldn’t even know it’s there, it healed up so nicely.   Claire:  Yeah. Michelle:  It’s right at the crease of her ear in the back.   Denny:  It’s where your ear joins your skull in the very back, right?   Claire:  Yeah.   Denny:  Right. Okay.   Claire:  It’s healed up. It took a while for it to be completely healed, I’d say like two months, but now you can barely even see the scar.   Denny:  94.1, KPFA. You’re listening to Pushing Limits. I’m your host, Denny Daughters. Today, I’m talking to Claire and Michelle. Claire just finished telling us how she recovered from her cochlear implant surgery a couple years ago when she was in seventh grade.   While recovering from surgery, did you have a lot of schoolwork to make up?   Claire:  I only took off a couple days, and then I was back to school, and my teachers were very accommodating to me.  So, if I missed a test or I had something past due, like I couldn’t turn it in, they would accommodate to me and let me do it because I had my surgery.   Michelle:  One of the things that was nice for Claire is a lot of times, people will get two cochlears at the same time, but because Claire had the one and then she has a hearing aid in her other ear, she was still able to hear through all of that process, which was really a nice advantage for her to have.   Claire:  Yeah.   Denny:  What was it like when your audiologist first turned on your cochlear implant?   Claire:  It was weird. It sounded like everyone was a robot. I couldn’t hear out of it as well as my hearing aid, that’s what I’m trying to say. If my mom talked, I couldn’t really understand what she was saying. At night, I’d take out my hearing aid, and she’d cover her mouth and test, like she’d say words to see how well it improved. Eventually, we got to where my mom and dad would switch off saying words, and I wouldn’t be able to say it, and now I can be like, “Oh, that’s Mom,” “Oh, that’s Dad,” “Oh, that’s whoever.”   Denny:  Claire talks about when her audiologist turned on and adjusted the cochlear implant.   Claire:  I’d go in, and they would turn it on, and then I’d go in in another week, they’d test me and turn it up a little, and then in another two weeks, turn it up a little, see how well my tolerance for the sound needed to be and how high it should go or how low it should go. Now, we’re to the point where it’s like every six months, they make sure my hearing aid’s not going down and I need another cochlear or anything like that.   Denny:  Claire, in your opinion, what’s the possibility of you getting a second cochlear implant in your left ear?   Claire:  Personally, I think it’s low, because my left hearing is good. If I take out my cochlear and my hearing aid, I can still hear out of my left ear a little bit. It’s not a lot, but I can still hear a little bit.   Michelle:  Because they don’t know the cause of her hearing loss, they said there’s a chance that it could. Everything was so sporadic with her hearing loss in the first place, they just keep an eye on it, but they have no idea what that will look like.   Denny:  How long did it take for you to start recognizing different voices?   Claire:  Probably like three to four months, I’d say. But overall, for me to fully adjust, I’d say it’d take a year, because I had my year anniversary, and I’m doing a lot better now. Lip reading was a big thing when I downed my hearing aids at first. I’d be like, “What did you say?” I’m like, “Come closer. I need to read your lips.”   Denny:  Are you still pretty good at it?   Claire:  No.  I can still kind of do it, but it’s very hard for me to read lips.   Michelle:  I think with the little bit of sound she was getting and the lips together, the combination…   Claire:  Yeah, with the little bit of sound.   Denny:  Did you have any other problems after getting your cochlear implant?   Claire:  It would give me headaches at first, because we got too strong of a magnet. There’s different magnet strengths to stick on your head.   Denny:  The part of the cochlear implant that is detachable and sits on the outside of your ear, do they have a waterproof version of that so you can go swimming and take a shower?   Claire: There’s no waterproof hearing aids, but there is an aqua kit for my cochlear implant, which I wish there was one for my hearing aid, because again, I can’t hear out of my cochlear as well without my hearing aid, so I sometimes won’t wear it, but at least I have that option.   Michelle:  And it’s more of an option for swimming, not for showering and things.   Claire:  Yeah, not for showers.   Denny:  What was the support like from your friends and family?   Claire:  It’s been good. My friends were really worried at first, because they didn’t know why I was not at school for a while, because I didn’t really tell them. They were supportive and really friendly. They’d write stuff on pieces of paper in school. I couldn’t hear the teacher, so I’d ask them after, because we’d have little talks with our little groups with our teacher, and I wouldn’t hear her.  So then, I’d ask my neighbor, and they were pretty accommodating in helping me.   And then, my family was super supportive. They adjusted to it. They would write stuff on pieces of paper or whiteboards to talk to me sometimes, or they would help my mom get my attention if she was further away.   Denny:  Have you ever been bullied or teased by other students?   Claire:  No.   Denny:  As we were talking about school, Claire brought up one of the frustrating things she encountered at school before she got her hearing aid.   Claire:  Before I got my hearing aid — because I didn’t have it yet, because they had to make the mold and stuff – they’d give me this hearing aid that connected to a microphone so I could hear my teacher, but I couldn’t hear anything else other than in that microphone, which got frustrating sometimes, because my teacher didn’t know how to turn it off.   We’d go to art, and then I would hear my teacher talking to other teachers instead of my art teacher or whatever. It got frustrating at times, and I didn’t like it as much as my hearing aid, but it was very nice of the accommodation, because then I could at least hear my teacher until I got my hearing aid.   Denny:  What kind of accommodations are you receiving?   Claire:  So, I have these two people who my mom can email. They can give me microphones that I can give to my teachers, which I don’t like doing as much, but I can hook them up to a cord which go into my computer, so instead of having to wear headphones, which I can’t really hear anyway, I just connected that, and then it goes from the computer into my hearing aid. Then they also will come, and if I need new tubing, which is a little thing that connects the ear mold and the electronic part of my hearing aid – like, my old one broke, and we can’t get into my main ENT. My mom emailed her, and she came and fixed it for me. So, they’ll just really help me with anything I need if they can.   Denny:  Tell me how the microphone connects to the computer and then to your hearing aid.   Claire:  There’s a little thing. So, it plugs into the microphone, and then that thing that plugs in the microphone plugs into the computer, so instead of it plugging into my hearing aid, it plugs into the microphone. I can also use that on airplanes and stuff. I have one for at home that I got with my hearing aid, so I can also use that anywhere I really want.   Michelle:  Or if we were at a really busy place, you know, a really busy restaurant that was super loud –   Claire:  I could bring it with me and bring it to my mom –   Michelle:  She could bring it, yeah.   Claire:  — so I could hear her.   Denny:  Do things like music, listening to the radio, or different musical instruments sound any different with the cochlear implant?   Claire:  They sound about the same. My hearing aid, it’s using the sound from my ear. It’s not from my brain. With my cochlear, it sounds a little bit different, but with my hearing aid, it sounds basically the same.   Denny:  If you’re eating something crunchy, like potato chips or carrots, you can still hear the crunch?   Claire:  Yeah. If I’m talking without my hearing aid and cochlear, I can hear myself, but I don’t know how loud I am. Sometimes my friends will be like, “You’re yelling,” and I just don’t know. I don’t have that concept of sound if I don’t have any hearing aids in or cochlear or whatever.   Denny:  You have to see an audiologist every six months. Do you have to see an ENT, an ear, nose, and throat specialist, as well?   Claire:  No, just my audiologist. If it’s like I’m losing my hearing and I need a cochlear or whatever, then we’ll go see the ENT, but it’s mainly my audiologist.   Michelle:  She just had her six-month checkup. The cochlear side that they tested, she’s getting 68% accuracy in what she hears, which can sound not great, but without the cochlear, she would be hearing 0% and understanding 0% in that ear. Literally, when she was tested before in that ear, she understood zero. It’s gone from 0 to 68. Every time she goes in, it does seem to increase some. It’s not quite as good as her hearing aid ear, but almost hearing at 70% is a lot better than what she is without it.   Denny:  That’s great. Claire, how do you feel about your numbers?   Claire:  I feel good about them. And, like, the sentences are really weird. They’re like, “The sister-in-law is toxic poison,” so they’re hard ones, too. That’s one of the ones that I remember, because it was like I got 100% on them. They’re weird ones, so sometimes I’m hesitant to say it, too. I can understand a lot better, too, with my hearing aid, which that was just with my cochlear.   Michelle:  With the combination, she actually hears really well.   Claire:  Yeah, with the combination, it’s 100% or something. Michelle:  Yeah, or close to.   Claire:  95, 98 or whatever.   Denny:  Are there any activities that you can’t do anymore because you have a cochlear implant?   Claire:  I can still swim, but it’s kind of hard sometimes. It’s good if it’s an indoor place, because it’s echoey, but sometimes I won’t be able to hear them. It’s harder if I’m with people, like at the ocean or whatever, because I don’t want to wear my aqua kit thing because I’m worried I’m going to lose my cochlear. I can still do everything, but if I have to take off my hearing aid or cochlear, I’d rather not do it as much, because it’s sometimes harder for me.   Denny:  When you’re in a crowd or a noisy environment, is it hard to distinguish one voice from another?   Claire:  No, I can tell their tone of voice. Sometimes if it’s really loud, my hearing aid, if it gets too close to something or something’s really loud, it will send out a high-pitched noise. It’s feedback. If I’m like at the audiologist’s place, there’s an elevator, and every time it comes down, it’s like my hearing aid will give feedback at that event. It kind of hurts my ears when there’s feedback, but I can take out my hearing aid, and I’ll be fine.   Denny:  How long does the feedback last?   Claire:  As long as the noise is. So, if the noise is going on for a minute, the feedback’s going to be going on for a minute, or if I’m laying against a pillow, it will be giving feedback until I get off the pillow. There’s no feedback from my cochlear; it’s just my hearing aid.   Denny:  Do you ever use the closed caption option when you watch TV?   Claire:  Not really, only if I don’t have my hearing aids in or something. If I’m wanting to go to sleep because I’m getting tired, but I don’t want to fall asleep with my hearing aids in — because I take them out, I put away my cochlear, I plug it in, my hearing aids on batteries – if I have my hearing aid and cochlear in, then I can just watch it, and I can still hear it just fine. I might turn it up a little louder, and people will be like, “Claire, we don’t need to turn it up more. We need to turn it down more,” but I’m like, I can’t hear it as well.   I could also put my microphone by the TV if I wanted to, just by the speaker of my TV, or Chromebook, or whatever I’m watching on. My hearing aid can Bluetooth connect to my iPhone, so it’s like I’m having an AirPod or something in my ear, or an earbud. I can watch my TV show on my phone, and I can just hear it. Or like I’m cleaning my room, I can listen to my music while I come into the kitchen to grab something. I can still hear it, even though I’m far away from my room. I usually use Siri.   Michelle:  It reads all of her texts to her, so if she gets a text, it just pops up in her hearing aid.   Claire:  Yeah. So, I go to school, and they don’t like us having our phones, so I make it so Siri reads me my text messages, so if it’s an emergency, I can be like, “Oh, I need to look at my phone,” which is nice, because then I have it at school.   Denny:  Michelle, have you noticed any differences in Claire since she got the cochlear implant and hearing aid?   Michelle:  It was kind of weird, because she was hearing. There was a few months in there, but it was relatively short compared to someone who hadn’t heard and then could hear. It was amazing for her to come home that first day with hearing aids and go, “I can hear my footsteps on the floor. I can hear my cup set down on the table. I can hear an airplane,” and it made me wonder a little bit if maybe her hearing had been fading a little bit before that, and she didn’t know. I don’t know.   Claire:  I think it did, because I’d do the hearing tests at school that they make you do in elementary. They were saying they were lower than normal.   Michelle:  Yeah, but still in a normal range. The hearing aid is kind of like an instant difference for her. Like, she didn’t have them, she puts them in, it’s like a microphone so she can hear immediately. The cochlear took about a year to adapt to, and so there was that difference, but when she got the hearing aids and could immediately just hear, we were just so grateful for that, because it was hard for her in this environment to not be able to hear.  I would flash the lights if I was trying to get her attention or different things like that.   Claire:  You still do that.   Denny:  Have you ever forgotten to charge one of your batteries?   Claire:  Actually, recently. I was at school, and it was dying because my battery thing for my cochlear was unplugged all night. I plugged it back in, and then right before I went to babysitting, I just switched it and went over and babysat. My hearing aid is on batteries, so it will let me know when it’s low on battery, and then I’ll switch it. On my phone, I can also look and be like, okay, I have 20%, so I still have time.   Denny:  Claire, what advice would you give to somebody who’s thinking about getting a cochlear implant?   Claire:  I’d say it’s a very good option, and even though it’s frustrating at times, you just have to keep going with it, because there’s going to be people sounding like robots, but if you don’t wear it, they’re going to keep sounding like robots. If you learn ASL beforehand, it helps, because then you can still talk to people after. There’s a learning curve with it, is what I’m trying to say.   Michelle:  I agree. I think that it’s definitely scary going into anything unknown. That’s normal. It does require a lot of patience. With her hearing aid, it was instant hearing, and with this, it’s not, and it does require a lot of patience, but given time, it’s definitely been the right choice for Claire. I think part of that is getting the right audiologist and ENT, so I think if you don’t feel confident or comfortable with how they’re treating your healthcare, it’s worth trying someone new.   Claire:  Switching, yeah.   Michelle:  So, that has made such a difference. We’ve seen that as being a big factor in her journey.   Denny:  I’d like to thank both Claire and Michelle for sharing their story with me and for letting me interview them for this episode of Pushing Limits. I’d also like to thank my wife, Deah Daughters, for coming up with the idea for this show.   Today’s show was hosted, edited, and produced by Denny Daughters. Audio transcription was by Nicole Struthers. And thanks to our engineer, Kirsten Thomas. Contact us by email, pushinglimits@kpfa.org, find us on Facebook at Pushing Limits Radio, or you can visit our website at pushinglimitsradio.org.   I’m your host, Denny Daughters. Thanks for listening to Pushing Limits. Stay tuned for Talk It Out Radio, 94.1, KPFA.   [End] The post Sudden Changes – Pushing Limits – July 4, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

What happens when the care you need to survive just isn’t available? Across the U.S., millions of disabled people are facing a growing caregiver shortage—a crisis that makes independent living harder, sometimes impossible. For those with complex physical disabilities like Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Kevin Schaefer This week on Pushing Limits, we talk with Kevin Schaefer—a disability advocate, writer, and podcast host living with SMA. Kevin is the voice behind the podcast, SMA News Today, and Embracing My Inner Alien, a column where he shares deeply personal, often humorous stories about navigating life in a body that relies on others for daily care. Tune in as we unpack what it means to depend on a support system that’s under threat of losing government funding, the difference in accessibility across the country, and why creating community matters more than ever. This program is hosted and produced by Dominick Trevethan. The post SMA: Weak Muscles—Stronger Voices – Pushing Limits – June 27, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

What happens when psychiatric hospitals use restraints and drugs in ways that violate the rights of disabled patients? What does it mean when unhoused disabled people are forced to navigate city services from tents on the sidewalk? And is the Bay Area transit system finally listening to disabled riders? This Friday on Pushing Limits, Eddie Ytuarte and Talia Mariano take you on a fast-paced tour through some of the most pressing disability rights developments in California. From providing an update on the damning report on College Hospital Cerritos—where Disability Rights California found dangerous conditions for psychiatric patients—to a firsthand look at the growing encampments of unhoused disabled people in Berkeley, they’ll break down what’s really happening on the ground. Plus, they’ll bring insights from a recent Metropolitan Transportation Commission disability conference, exploring how transportation policies are shifting—or stalling—for riders with disabilities. Tune in to stay informed, stay connected, and hear voices from the front lines of the disability rights movement. This program is hosted by Eddie Ytuarte and Talia Mariano. The post Disability Happenings – Pushing Limits – June 20, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

This Friday on Pushing Limits, we dig into the escalating attacks on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) under the Trump administration. As backlash spreads nationwide, what does it mean for the disability community? Desiree Delonia Our guest, Desiree Delonia, Director of DEIA at Disability Rights California (DRC), joins us to unpack what DEIA really is, why it matters, and how DRC is pushing back against efforts to dismantle it. Plus, we will catch up with one of our past guests, Jennifer Chassman, and discuss how her work as a DIEA practitioner has changed since Trump took office. This episode is hosted by Denny Daughters with production assistance from Jacob Lesner-Buxton, and contributions from Adrienne Lauby. Relevant Resources: Disability Rights California Jennifer Chassman’s Website Desiree Delonia’s Book Cal State East Bay’s Think by the Bay program Jennifer Chassman The post The State of DEIA Under Trump 2.0 – Pushing Limits – June 13, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

On this edition of Pushing Limits, we speak with Grace Fisher — a gifted artist, founder of Santa Barbara’s Inclusive Arts Clubhouse, and owner of the Grace Fisher Foundation. At 17, Grace’s life changed overnight when she was paralyzed from the neck down by Acute Flaccid Myelitis, a rare polio-like illness. During her rehabilitation, she discovered adaptive music and art — a turning point that would shape her future. In 2023, driven by a vision of creativity and community, she opened the Grace Fisher Inclusive Arts Clubhouse, which has become a vibrant center offering music, dance, and art classes for people with disabilities. Grace joins Pushing Limits collective member Bonnie Elliott for a conversation about art, disability, and what it takes to run an inclusive creative space. This episode is hosted by Bonnie Elliott, with production support from Jacob Lesner-Buxton and editing by Denny Daughters. Grace Fisher The post Inclusive Arts Clubhouse – Pushing Limits – June 6, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

How far can a California private psychiatric hospital go in violating the rights and safety of people with disabilities—without being held accountable? A new report from Disability Rights California (DRC) shines a harsh light on College Hospital in Cerritos (CHC), revealing a disturbing pattern of inappropriate restraint and seclusion, as well as questionable use of involuntary emergency medications. These are not isolated incidents—they point to systemic problems affecting some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. On this program of Pushing Limits, we’ll speak with Richard Diaz, the lead attorney on the investigation, to unpack the key findings and what they mean for psychiatric care across California. We’ll also examine how a lack of oversight, transparency, and disability rights enforcement contributes to ongoing harm in institutions that are supposed to help people heal. What can be done to stop it? What recourse do disabled residents have? And what role should we all be playing in demanding better? Tune in to find out. This program is hosted and produced by Eddie Ytuarte. The post Locked In and Let Down in Cerritos – Pushing Limits – May 30, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

We’re living in a world where our country’s leaders believe that people with learning disabilities will never pay taxes, go on a date, or hold a job. But if you ask people on the spectrum about their capabilities, you’ll likely hear a very different story. On today’s edition of Pushing Limits, we go straight to the source. We talk with Cristopher Campbell, an aspiring paramedic, student at Santa Rosa Junior College, and someone who lives with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He shares what life is really like living with ADHD, while navigating the demands of college including the pressure of due dates, social anxiety, and a tight schedule. He also discusses the tools that help him succeed as a student and as a contributing member of society. This conversation breaks stereotypes and gives voice to lived experience a reminder that disability doesn’t define potential. This program was hosted and produced by Jacob Stanton. Editing assistance was provided by Denny Daughters and Dominick Trevethan. The post Redefining Capable: Life on the Spectrum – Pushing Limits – May 2, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.