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.
Posted on June 30, 2015
Why is the Center for Disabilities Studies launching a new blog? That’s easy: to engage the disability community, the public and policy makers in a provocative discussion of issues with the potential to bring about positive changes in the lives of people with disabilities.
How do we intend to do that? Well, for one thing, advocates and experts, people with disabilities and people without disabilities, will pose challenging questions at critically important times. CDS Director Beth Mineo does that in
This entry was posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, community living, Health and Wellness, inclusion, independent living, intellectual Disabilities, people with disabilities, personal care assistants, Uncategorized and tagged acknowledgement, Americans with Disabilities Act, blog, community living, disability and sexuality, inclusion, independent living, personal care assistants.
Posted on June 27, 2015
The other day I came upon a traffic light with no power, just as drivers of three other cars approached that same intersection. I did what everyone else did. I stopped where the dark traffic light was, made eye contact to acknowledge the other drivers, then took my turn passing, safely, through the intersection. This acknowledge-the-other-driver dance made me think about the power of acknowledgment.
I’m that person who walks by you and says “hello” every single time. I’m always
