Disability Futures

Going to the doctor’s for anyone can be at best a dull experience and at worst — a traumatic one. Since being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) in 2003, Gehrig’s been navigating her experience with illness on social media with humor, lip gloss, and her chin held high.

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a genetic connective tissue disorder in which bodies can’t regenerate collagen. This results in frequent joint dislocations, organ rupture, and other issues that can lead to frequent hospital visits: being sick becomes a regular thing. For Gehrig, it’s a daily dilemma.

“I want everyone who goes into a doctors office to feel empowered, and that they can be themselves,” she told BuzzFeed Life. “There’s nothing about being disabled that I should be ashamed of. Taking care of yourself is really important.”

Over the course of the last several decades, when the disability-insurance program runs short on funds, Congress transfers money from elsewhere in the Social Security system to prevent benefit cuts. It’s never been especially controversial – in fact, it’s been done 11 times over the last seven decades.

 

And, with the disability-insurance program facing a shortfall next year, Social Security proponents expect this Congress to do what previous Congresses have done. The system’s trustees have seen this coming – it’s largely the result of demographic changes – and the fix should be pretty straightforward.

 

Not only do congressional Republicans oppose the fix, as Dylan Scott explained, GOP lawmakers also took steps yesterday to make the solution almost impossible to pass.

No bullying at schools.

If only that were the case. Unfortunately, it’s not. But hopefully some new guidance from the government can help to lessen how often it occurs.

The U.S. Department of Education reports that since 2009 it has received more than 2,000 complaints about bullying of students with disabilities. Many of these students have learning or attention issues. Fortunately, there are protections for these students, according to Meghan Casey, policy research and advocacy associate for the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Casey points to a recent “guidance” letter to public schools from the U.S. Department of Education. The letter goes beyond previous guidance given to school districts and educators. It says schools must address any bullying that interferes with a student’s right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). This protection applies to any student eligible for an Individual Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan.

If bullying occurs, the government letter says, schools must determine if a student’s right to FAPE is impacted. This covers any bullying that prevents a child from fully participating and benefiting from their IEP or 504 plan. The letter also spells out the actions schools must take, including holding a school team meeting to address the bullying.

Disability in Time and Place reveals how disabled peoples' lives are integral to the heritage all around us.  From leper chapels built in the 1100s to protests about accessibility in the 1980s, the built environment is inextricably linked to the stories of disabled people, hidden and well-known.  This section serves as an invitation to those interested in disability or social history to explore what the historic environment has to offer. All the content has been translated into British Sign Language. You can also find out more information aboutbuildings highlighted in these pages, some of which are open to the public.

Mission Statement and Vision: 

Promoting pride in the history, activities and cultural identity 
of individuals throughout the world.

Everyday I’d go to the cafeteria for lunch. There was also a bell by the cafeteria. The bell rang and hurt my ears. I’d cover my ears and I couldn’t eat. The bell made me angry and I felt like kicking or hitting or yelling.

The bell was outside the boy’s bathroom. I didn’t go to the bathroom because I was afraid the bell would ring. My mom tells me it wasn’t until I had therapy for my ears that I was able to go to the regular boy’s bathroom at school. I held my pee and went to the bathroom at home.

The teacher told me the bell was for a reason. It told the kids when it was time to go to class, time for recess, time for lunch, and time to go home. For me the bell was the most scary thing at school. I thought the bell was used to hurt my ears. I thought they were punishing me.

Slavery thrives on rural islands off South Korea's rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.

Two-thirds of South Korea's sea salt is produced at more than 850 salt farms on dozens of islands in Sinan County, including Sinui island, where half the 2,200 residents work in the industry. Workers spend grueling days managing a complex network of waterways, hoses and storage areas.

Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged. Kim's case prompted a nationwide government probe of thousands of farms and disabled facilities that found more than 100 workers who'd received no, or scant, pay.

Yet little has changed on the islands, according to a months-long investigation by the AP based on court and police documents and dozens of interviews with freed slaves, salt farmers, villagers and officials.

To Alanna’s credit she stayed strong, not conceding on one point during the ~15 minute conversation, despite his use of every sales tactic in the book ("What’s your name? Alanna? Okay, Alanna…") and eventually, the blatant use of the size of his body and the volume of his voice in an attempt to intimidate her.

Alanna also managed to keep up with his constant stream of very loud, very fast points, answering each piece of misinformation or outright untruth with solid, evidence-based responses. Of course, nothing this “autism dad” said in defense of Autism Speaks held up to any kind of scrutiny, and most of what he kept saying were obviously sound bites he’d heard somewhere and then repeated without really thinking. He said, "Okay, but what you need to understand is…" a lot. A few of his points were,

Richard Bernstein officially joins the Michigan Supreme Court in a few days. But he's been working off the clock since November, preparing for 10 cases in an extraordinary way ? memorizing the key points of every brief read to him by an aide.

Bernstein, 41, has been blind since birth. After winning the election, an assistant at his family's Detroit-area law firm began reading briefs to him for mid-January arguments, including a medical marijuana case and a labor dispute covering thousands of state employees.

"It would be much easier if I could read and write like everyone else, but that's not how I was created," Bernstein said. "No question, it requires a lot more work, but the flip side is it requires you to operate at the highest level of preparedness. ... This is what I've done my entire life. This goes all the way back to grade school for me."

When people develop MCS/ES, it can be extremely challenging maintaining access to jobs, housing, or other services due to the prevalence of indoor air pollution and pollutants, fragrance chemicals being a huge factor. When MCS/ES becomes disabling, it becomes a human rights issue requiring accommodation under the law in many places around the world.

We have a new resource available online from

ADA Audio Conferencing – A program of the ADA National Network