Posted on July 10, 2018
When the price tag was under $1 million, the 2017–2018 Delaware General Assembly overwhelmingly approved bills that should benefit the disability community.
Delawareans with disabilities no longer will face discrimination in organ transplant determinations. School resource officers will be trained to use de-escalation, not restraint and seclusion, as a disciplinary technique. State health services won’t be able to “claw back” funds from ABLE accounts upon the beneficiary’s death.
The Legislature also started a program to forgive as much as $10,000 in student loans for educators in short-staffed fields, including special education. And with a growing population of students diagnosed with autism, lawmakers created positions for autism specialists who will offer training and assistance in schools across Delaware. The new Delaware Advance Scholarship Program will reduce tuition costs for students with intellectual disabilities attending college.
When a bill’s price tag topped $1 million, though, state lawmakers stepped forward, rocked backward, or stood still.
Posted on April 28, 2017
Walking through UD’s Trabant student center early this month, I saw a few student protestors standing next to an information table staffed by a campus chapter of Autism Speaks. The protestors’ signs read, “Autism Speaks doesn’t speak for me” and “Before you donate consider the facts.” I got excited at the sight of a little political activism in relation to disability issues on our campus, and eagerly wanted to join in.
With the protestors.
Many people wanting to help
Posted on November 22, 2016
More than a month after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the disability community shows little sign of letting go of its grief and fear and no wonder.
In Clinton, the community heard a candidate who took turns applauding people with disabilities (they’ve “changed things for the better in our country”) and advocating for them (they’re “too often invisible, overlooked and undervalued”).
She promoted a plan designed to push states to require health coverage for autism services in private insurance plans,
This entry was posted in autism, civil rights, community living, developmental disabilities, diversity, employment, inclusion, people with disabilities, physical disabilities, politics, public policy, subminimum wage, transportation, Uncategorized and tagged American Association of People With Disabilities, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, disability community, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, IDEA funding, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, National Council on Independent Living, New York Times, Rehabilitation Act, Serge Kovaleski.
Posted on October 27, 2016
I thought I understood the issue of employment for people with disabilities, until I watched Bottom Dollars, a new documentary from Rooted in Rights and filmmaker Jordan Melograna, which revealed to me how little I actually knew.
The film will likely have the same revelatory effect on you – should you attend a free showing of Bottom Dollars at UD’s Center for Disabilities Studies on Nov. 4 at noon. And don’t be surprised if the film spurs you to action,
This entry was posted in accessibility, authentic community integration, Center for Disability Studies, civil rights, community living, employment, inclusion, people with disabilities, public policy, sheltered workshops, subminimum wage, Uncategorized and tagged Bottom Dollars, Fair Labor Standards Act, Good WIll, individualized transition plans, Rooted in Rights, sheltered workshops, subminimum wage.
Posted on February 25, 2016
Question: How many times in the 15 debates for president have moderators specifically asked candidates about issues concerning disability?
a. 1 b. 5 c. 7 d. 11
If you answered b or c, thinking five or seven times sounds about right and should seem reasonable to the one-in-five people watching the debates who have a disability (and the more than 50 million Americans who live with a disability), you’re mistaken. The answer is “a” – one time. In September,
This entry was posted in accessibility, Americans with Disabilities Act, autism, Education, employment, Health and Wellness, inclusion, people with disabilities, public policy, Uncategorized and tagged Alzheimer's, autism, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, presidential debates, Social Security Disability Insurance Program, Ted Cruz, Tom Harkin.
