Resources on the Internet for People with Multiple Sclerosis

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(No Transcript)
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Resourceson theInternetforPeople With
Multiple Sclerosis(PWMS)January 15, 2000
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SpeakerMr. Brian Johnson, ret. MS
1994http//users.AceLink.Net/MrRockyDogemail
RockyDog_at_AceLink.Net Annual Meeting of the
Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National
Multiple Sclerosis SocietyNashville, Tennessee
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Agenda

• Resources
• Resources For PWMS
• Resources For PWMS (and other people too)
• Basic ( Free) Tools
• Some Government Resources
• Where to go?
• Thank You Questions

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Resources?("One man's trash is another man's
treasure.")

• The Center for Earthquake Research and
  Information at The University of Memphis has a
  unique resource for the public. You can find and
  get a map of all the earthquakes occurring around
  the New Madrid fault area for any given period of
  time.
• This is a map of all of the
• earthquakes that have
• occurred since we moved
• to Nashville May 1, 1995.

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Resources?("One man's trash is another man's
treasure.")

• But is this a resource for PWMS?
• There Were only 289 Events (about 5 Every Month
  for the last 56 months.Care to watch?

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Resources?("This is for the Dadman, a.k.a.,
Larry Cravetz. Thanks!!!")

• MS Watch is a superb new site for people with
  M.S. and their health care providers. Loaded with
  resources, tools, messaging, personal stories,
  medical updates, and much more. It is an
  invaluable resource for clients and
  professionals. The above description was
  written by F. Alexander Brejcha
• You should also check out Dadman's Alexander's
  Links!!!!
• How about a refrigerator door? Many other PWMS
  have started making their own sites and telling
  their own story. Maybe you will too!

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Some Starting Points

• Search Engines
• AltaVista - Get Free Internet Access There Now!
• Ask Jeeves - You can just ask a question.
• Inference Find! - Home Page and Resource Center
• There are now hundreds of search engines to
  choose from. Find the one that is the easiest
  for you to use.

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Resources For PWMS

• Must-see sites for PWMS for resources
• World of Multiple Sclerosis
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society
• Middle Tennessee Chapter of the NMSS

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Resources For PWMS

• International MS Support Foundation
• MS Societies, Associations, Foundations
• Web Pages, News Groups, Chat Forums
• Private Email, Mail Lists, Bulletin Boards
• Video Audio Shows
• Webraries, Drug Indexes, Doctors
• Games, Music, Videos, Museums
• Now let's take them one at a time!

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Resources For PWMS

• International MS Support Foundation
• The IMSSF was founded in Tucson, AZ in 1996 by
  Jean Sumption, Director. The IMSSF is unique in
  the fact that it is run and directed by people
  with Multiple Sclerosis. Jean Sumption's nursing
  background and experience with MS have proven
  valuable and insightful tools in the
  administration of the program. The IMSSF is
  independent of all other Multiple Sclerosis
  organizations. It's worth a visit IMHO.

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Resources For PWMS

• MS Societies - Now that the MS Society is over
  50, there are many chapters online.
• Associations - Associations have sprung up to
  meet other support needs for PWMS.
• Foundations - Imagine a world without help.
  Foundations are another resource for help for
  PWMS.

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Resources For PWMS

• Web Pages - There is now a ring of websites,
  linked together, regarding MS.
• News Groups - A NG is an ongoing discussion
  area for collective support.
• Chat Forums - There are many MS chat forums.
  I've listed only one.
• Drug Search Engines - For when you need more
  information about a drug and its use.

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Resources For PWMS

• Private Email - Jooly's Joint is noted as a
  good network and Webpal (Email Pal) service for
  all of the people who live with Multiple
  Sclerosis worldwide.
• Mail Lists - A Mail List relays a subscriber's
  email to the list out to everyone else who
  subscribes to the list.
• Bulletin Boards - On a BB you can post your
  thoughts and questions. Maybe there's someone
  who can give you an answer.

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Resources For PWMS

• Video - The NMSS website has now added video
  presentations you can access. Currently the lead
  story in Inside MS, MS Gender Research. What
  will they do next?
• Not a resource, but our own MS 150 Bike Tour has
  one, too! Back 2 Jack 1999
• Audio Shows - You can listen to various talks
  about MS. Hear Dr. Randall Schapiro talk about
  "Fifty Years Of MS."

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Resources For PWMS

• Webraries - Webrary Links pages consist of
  links to the more useful reference and
  informational web sites, organized by subject
  according to Dewey Decimal System call numbers.
• Drug Indexes - Easy to use "Sounds Like"
  searches for registered drugs (old new). Now
  you can also even look up alternative medicines
  info.
• Doctors - This is a website where you can look
  up Doctors by State, City and Specialty. Not all
  doctors are listed, but many are!

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Resources For PWMS(and other people too!)

• Games - Sometimes mindlessness is nice.
• Music - Real Audio's index to Music on the net.
  Get ready for the next Live event!
• Videos - Ever want to read a review or see the
  trailer of a movie you want to go see?
• Museums - The Smithsonian is the museum of the
  United States. Follow their links to almost any
  museum in the world!

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Some More Resources For PWMS(and other people
too)

• Newspapers For a listing of newspapers online
  from ALL over the World
• The Tennessean is the local Nashville Paper.
• TV Stations or try www.(your local station).com
• Radio Stations Over 7,500 stations are online
  today.
• Maps Driving Direction Get directions from
  where you are to where you want to go today.
• Even Bill Gates can't do better!

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Disability Resources For PWMS(and other people
too)

• Brejcha Personal and Disability Resource Site F.
  Alexander Brejcha has MS and has built a
  Mega-List of Disability MS resources. (He's
  also a member of the MS Web Ring!) I mentioned
  him earlier too!
• National Council on Disabilities This site has
  links to other federal agencies where you can
  find information about disabilities.
• WebABLE! The authoritative Web directory for
  disability-related internet resources.

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Disability Resources For PWMS(and other people
too)

• Abledata The National Institute on Disability
  and Rehabilitation Research - U.S. Department of
  Education
• Assistive Technology On-Line Go to their AT
  On-Line Main Menu and get ready for information
  overload following the links!
• Handicaps, Inc. They make some products for the
  disabled, but they also have a very nice links
  page.

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Some Fun Resources For PWMS(and other people too)

• Some Comic Strips Of course there are more.
• The link above is to the King Features comics.
  Other places you can go to include Dilbert and my
  favorite, Doonesbury. Try finding some you like!
• Greeting Cards Send them for all occasions.
• Sometimes it gets hard to go out and buy a card
  when you need them. If your friends are online
  you can send one to them.
• Hobbies Got to do something in your spare time!
• Ever wanted something to do? These guys have a
  search page where you enter your zip code and
  they'll tell you where their closest stores are!

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Some Home Resources For PWMS(and other people
too)

• Home Improvement Encyclopedias with animation
  from Better Homes Garden.
• Grocery Store Coupons to use the next time you go
  to the store to buy food.
• ALL-4-FREE STUFF that you can get with minimal
  hassle and disclosure.
• Shareware Fonts for your word processor to use.
  Many different types for evaluation.
• Star Office 5.1, from Sun Microsystems, gives you
  basically everything that is in MS Office, but
  Sun gives it away now for free. It even has a
  Java Based Browser, too.

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Basic Web Tools

• Web Browser - A software package that interprets
  and displays the content of web documents and
  files. These are free.
• Mosaic
• Netscape Communicator
• MS Internet Explorer
• Plug Ins - Utility software that provides
  additional capabilities for the browser to have
  extended capabilities.

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Free Web Tools

• Netscape Plug Ins -
• Smart Update - A service from Netscape that
  looks at the components you have and lets you
  select which free plug in you may want to add.
• Internet Explorer Plug Ins -
• Windows Technologies - A similar service from
  Microsoft that detects what you have and offers
  free software updates.

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Free Helpful Tools

• AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)(ICQ Others offer
  similar services)
• AIM is now a standard add-in package for
  Netscape. If you use AOL, you have it already.
• A Buddy is anyone who has installed and
  registered this FREE software and chosen a
  "screen name" to use.
• A great way to stay in touch with your friends
  and relatives. Now you can invite multiple
  people to join in one Chat session. You can even
  exchange files with your friends.

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More Free Helpful Tools

• Adobe Reader - Free software for reading PDF
  files (print definition format). Many places put
  their literature in PDF for easy transfer (IRS
  SSA).
• Real Player - You can watch the news, listen to
  music, even watch cartoons, too!
• PKWare - Software for compressing and
  decompressing large files for faster transmission
  (down/upload) time.
• WinAmp - A free program for playing MP3 files on
  your computer (a new file format for music).

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A Very Helpful Tool

• Willow Talk - A Text to Speech software package
  for web browsers and more!! This is a handy tool
  that will read web pages (and documents) to you.
  You will need to customize its speaking
  dictionary so that MS reads as "em ess" instead
  of Microsoft. You can read any document that's
  in a Windows-based application. You can download
  a free demo of the product to see if it is of any
  help to you before you buy it from their website,
  or send for it.

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Government Resources For PWMS(and other people
too)

• Government Places On The Net!
• The White House - Take a guided Tour!
• Federal Agencies Commissions
• The Senate
• The House of Representatives
• State of Tennessee's Website - Find yours!
• Nashville City Government - Find yours!
• Vote Smart - You can find all of your elected
  reps here and how they have voted in the past!

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Getting There

• If you're new to World Wide Web then perhaps you
  should Learn The Web. It's a good site to learn
  more about the internet.
• A good way to get around on the web is by
  following a link from one site to the next. As
  you find sites that you like, Bookmark (NS) them
  or add them to your Favorites (MS IE) list so you
  can easily return to that site again. Every site
  you visit will provide a link to another site
  somewhere else. Go Where . . .

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Now That You're There

• Where do I find places to go?
• Many magazines provide links on a regular basis.
  Ask your friends! Explore with Search Engines
  (remember?)
• How can I trust the information there?
• Buyer Beware! Knowing who is providing the
  information gives you an advantage. You should
  comparative browse for information new to you.
• The web is fast becoming the Embodiment of ALL
  human knowledge. Even YOU can contribute.

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Thank You

• Any Questions?
• Mr. Rocky Dog Thanks You, Too!

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