Posted on October 9, 2015
A colleague and I were left waiting for his DART paratransit bus, yet again, last week. It would arrive a full hour and 15 minutes after his scheduled pick-up, giving us abundant time in the hot sun to grouse about and consider the ever-late paratransit bus in Delaware. I’ve worked in the disability sector in Delaware for more than 15 years; the late pick-ups and drop-offs were a problem then and they continue today. We brainstormed how we could
Posted on October 1, 2015
Here’s the amazing thing about Artfest, the annual community event that the Center for Disabilities Studies and Art Therapy Express hosted in Newport on Saturday.
It’s not the wondrous art that was created in two hours by people with disabilities. It’s not that every imaginable adaptive art tool and every available University of Delaware student volunteer seemed to be there to assist in the creative process. And no, it wasn’t that the largest turnout in Artfest’s history happened the day
This entry was posted in accessibility, Center for Disability Studies, inclusion, people with disabilities, The Arts, Uncategorized and tagged accessibility, adaptive art tools, Art Therapy Express, Artfest, autism, Center for Disabilities Studies, CLSC, community, Down syndrome, inclusion, Junior Partners in Policymaking, the arts, University of Delaware, volunteerism.
Posted on July 23, 2015
If only events like the one last Wednesday at the University of Delaware happened more often, and at far more institutions of higher learning. That day, young adults with intellectual disabilities and their families attended a student orientation for UD’s Career & Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) program, where the young adults learned how they would soon get the opportunity to extend their academic knowledge, sharpen their skills to live more autonomously, and refine their life and career goals.
Unfortunately, though,
This entry was posted in Education, inclusion, intellectual Disabilities, people with disabilities, Uncategorized and tagged Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) program, disability, Higher Education Affordability Act, Higher Education Opportunity Act, inclusion, individuals with disabilities, intellectual disabilities, President Obama, Tom Harkin, University of Delaware.
Posted on July 17, 2015
“I really feel sorry for you that you have a disability and have to use a wheelchair.”
The comment came from a man I’d just met in the community.
I was surprised to hear it because I’d just got done explaining my story to him in a very positive light.
He had wanted to know how I live with my disability. When I receive a question like this from someone, I provide an overview of my situation, as I
This entry was posted in inclusion, people with disabilities, Uncategorized and tagged achievement, courage, dignity, grace, Mary Campbell Center, muscular dystrophy, pity, Special Olympics, wheelchair.
Posted on July 1, 2015
What constitutes “community living?” There’s the sense, not just in Delaware but across the country, that battle lines have been drawn between those espousing opposing perspectives on this matter. On one side are those who celebrate the victories of the ADA, and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, and the countless state and local efforts to ensure that people with disabilities have the right to be—and actually are—fully included in their communities. In education, employment, housing, transportation, recreation … in, a
This entry was posted in authentic community integration, Center for Independent Living, civil rights, community living, Down syndrome, inclusion, people with disabilities and tagged Artfest, Center for Disabilities Studies, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CLSC, CMS rule, Community Connectors, The Delaware Way.
