On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, TASH held a congressional briefing entitled “National Efforts to Restrict the Use of Restraint and Seclusion Practices in Schools.” The briefing was a gathering place for congressional staff, advocates and field experts to learn about the critical need for legislation that protects students from abusive practices. Here is the complete video of the proceedings.

The continuing insistence that we can control people by tying them up and locking them in solitary.

Space Race is an easy game about self-determination designed for people with developmental disabilities of all ages. The game is fun, it makes you laugh, and it helps you think about what you want to do with your life!

Players begin their mission from the “Launch Pad,” roll the die, and move their game piece forward to make their way back to Earth. Individuals or teams of players read Game Cards to learn about self-determination and complete “Assignments” to discuss the kind of life they want and the support they need.

To complete their mission, individuals make decisions about home, career, community involvement, health, and social life. Players record their ideas on a “Space Log,” which can later be used to inform transition planning or service planning processes.

The Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL) seeks to build a bridge between global information sources and millions of people with disabilities, advocates, and policymakers around the world by making it easier for them to access hundreds of thousands of educational and organizational resources on disability rights, whether or not they have access to the Internet.

The Global Disability Rights Library, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provides a wealth of information to organizations and individuals in developing countries that seek to promote the rights of people with disabilities but lack adequate Internet access.

This is the HUD page specifically for Michigan and is kind of a one stop for housing info.

The Global Disability Rights Library

The GDRL team is proud to present these five new protoype Portals:

The Global Disability Rights Library

Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs) & Disability-Oriented Organizations

Disability Related Blogs and Narratives

General Human Rights Information

Basic Disabilities Information

People with disabilities would be able to save up to $5,000 without risking their eligibility for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, under a new bill proposed in Congress.

The legislation introduced earlier this month would allow individuals to qualify for SSI even if they have as much as $5,000, while couples could bank up to $7,500 while still receiving benefits.

That would more than double current limits which exclude individuals from the federal program if they have more than $2,000 to their names. Married couples are allowed up to $3,000 under existing law.

The universality of disability is underscored in the results of a new international survey from the World Health Organization and the World Bank, who announced that nearly 15 percent of the world's population - or almost 1 in every 7 people - can be categorized as "disabled."  And this estimate is only likely to grow as the global population ages.

In the introduction to the report, disabled scientist Stephen Hawking writes that we have a "moral duty to remove the barriers to participation, and to invest sufficient funding and expertise to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities."

Vermont offers the best Medicaid services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities while Mississippi provides the worst, according to United Cerebral Palsy’s 2011 report “The Case for Inclusion.”

Find out where your state stands in the ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia:

1. Vermont
2. Arizona
3. Michigan

Michigan was 3rd! Better than I would have guessed.

The program covers a broad range of health benefits and is designed as a bridge for people with pre-existing conditions who cannot obtain health insurance coverage in today's private insurance market. In 2014, all Americans - regardless of their health status - will have access to affordable coverage either through their employer or through new competitive marketplaces called Exchanges, and insurers will be prohibited from charging more or denying coverage to anyone based on their health status.