Effective Communications for People with Disabilities: Before, During, and After Emergencies

http://goo.gl/wbbMtu

This report identifies barriers, facilitators, and successful practices to providing effective emergency-related communications. The report examines the current state of affairs concerning the accessibility of emergency-related communications; reviews the enforcement of disability laws and regulations as they pertain to effective communications before, during, and after emergencies. Information on the experiences and perceptions of people with disabilities as they relate to emergency-related communications is also provided. Based on the findings of the report, NCD has put forth a series of recommendations for policy makers, federal partners, and emergency managers.


Not Dead Yet, Autistic Self Advocacy Network and 12 Other Disability Groups File Friend-of-Court Brief in Wisconsin Case Alleging Medical Care Withheld Due to Disability

This is not an aberration. They just got caught.

http://goo.gl/MIfi6t

On Friday May 23, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Not Dead Yet, and 12 other disability rights organizations filed an amicus brief in a case challenging the University of Wisconsin Hospital Center’s alleged practice of counseling families of people with developmental disabilities to withhold care for treatable but potentially life-threatening medical conditions, such as pneumonia. (Disability Rights Wisconsin v. University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, et al., Case No. 2014 AP 135, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV.)

According to the amended complaint (Disability Rights Wisconsin v. University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, et al., Case No 09-CV-2340, filed January 8, 2010, Wis. Circuit Court of Dane County), one thirteen-year-old child died of pneumonia and one adult was denied care after University of Wisconsin Hospital physicians advised families to withdraw antibiotics, nutrition, and hydration. When the child’s regular caregivers objected to withdrawing treatment, UWHC physicians allegedly encouraged the family to have him transferred to the University of Wisconsin Hospital, where he was taken off of antibiotics, nutrition, and hydration, and transferred to hospice care. He died the next day.

In both cases, Disability Rights Wisconsin claimed, doctors allegedly based their determinations on their patients’ supposedly low quality of life as individuals with disabilities, and acted without the approval of the hospital ethics committee.

Checking that Your Date Location is Accessible

http://goo.gl/7vFocv

Dating for disabled is an online matchmaking service for people with disabilities, and as such, you should take it into consideration when choosing a venue for your date (if your date uses a wheelchair that is). The first thing that's important to clear up is: what does wheelchair accessible mean? And how do I know if the coffee-shop/restaurant really is accessible. Because it might be a very embarrassing start to the night to show up for the date, only to discover to your horror, that the place isn't really accessible.  


Help Tom Olin with the ADA 25 Tour

http://goo.gl/WBs7nG
Help Tom Olin get The 2008 “Road to Freedom Bus” back on the road (see photo below).The bus, a 35’ foot RV, is slated to join The ADA Legacy Project’s (TALP) national Legacy Tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26, 2015). The tour begins in Houston in July of 2014.

What’s does this mean for us, the disability community? The bus is a central connection point on the Legacy tour, carrying the history of the ADA and other disability rights and justice issues. It will serve also as a backdrop at stops and events. 


All My Best Friends Are Virtual: Why Facebook is the perfect community for autistics

http://goo.gl/HVBn48
Making (and keeping) friendships was always difficult for me as a child. And because of those early disasters, it took me a long time as an adult to really trust myself in social situations. What few friends I had in childhood and into my teen years, I mostly lost touch with once we went off to university and started our separate careers.

Making friends with co-workers was too complicated. Truthfully, I felt uncomfortable trying to mix social interactions with business because I found it difficult to know where to set boundaries, and to respect the boundaries of others. I’ve always been an all-or-nothing kind of person when it comes to social interaction: If I’m going to share, I’m going to overshare, and this is not the sort of thing that goes over well in a work situation. So aloof was easier, when I could manage it.

Somewhere around 2007, when I finally relented and joined Facebook (being in my mid-30s, Facebook seemed like a game for kids, and I honestly didn’t think it would hold any appeal), I was surprised by what a good fit it was for me. Not only did I end up rekindling old friendships, but I even ended up making new friends out of old acquaintances. And by that I mean — people who in our previous existence didn’t seem to have any interest in interacting with me now seemed to genuinely be interested in what I had to say.


A City for Marc

Thanks and a hat tip to Sally H.

http://goo.gl/1x7aDR

Urban environments add to sensory overload, have limited mass transit accessible to those with neurological disabilities, provide few affordable housing units, offer very little employment opportunity, and have no green spaces designed for those with autism or other differences. Typical urban design does not take into account the landscape and urban affordances needed by adults with autism. This project synthesizes a toolkit including the following needs for adults with autism: vocational training, life skills, mental and physical health support, employment, public transportation and affordable housing.

Administration for Community Living: Guidance for ACL grantees regarding the Supreme Court Decision on United States v. Windsor

This page is a pdf file....

http://goo.gl/x3IQQt

The purpose of this guidance is to advise ACL grantees of the Federal government’s policy regarding same-sex marriages, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). 

Thus, ACL programs should recognize as family members individuals of the same sex who are lawfully married under the law of a state, territory, or foreign jurisdiction. This policy applies based on the jurisdiction of celebration. In other words, if individuals of the same sex are legally married in any jurisdiction, ACL will recognize the marriage, regardless of whether the individuals are domiciled or reside in a state or territory that does not recognize the marriage. Thus, when this guidance discusses individuals of the same sex who are “legally married,” the intention is to include all legal marriages, regardless of the individuals’ current domicile or residence.


Inspiration Porn and the Objectification of Disability:

TED talk from Sydney, Australia......

http://goo.gl/yiJsx3

Stella Young is a comedian, disability advocate and Editor of ABC's Ramp Up website, the online space for news, discussion and opinion about disability in Australia. 

Born in Stawell in Western Victoria, Stella cut her activist teeth at the age of 14 by conducting an access audit of shops on the local main street. It didn't take long -- it was a pretty short street. Since then she has been active in the disability community in a variety of roles, including membership of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, Ministerial Advisory Council for the Department of Victorian Communities and Women With Disabilities Victoria. 

No Matter How Severe the Disability

http://goo.gl/vY4RGz

They highlighted the difference between “supported decision-making”, where a person is assisted and supported in making his or her own decisions, and “substituted decision-making”, where others make choices on the person’s behalf, even when those choices are very well-intended.  Making choices on a person’s behalf is still common, such as under guardianships or mental health laws that permit forced treatment.

Even so, the panel recognized that discerning what an individual wants is sometimes not possible, and in such cases, priority should be given to the “best interpretation of their will and preference,” not what’s regarded as being in their “best interest.”

The committee went on to stress the important role that accessibility plays in “supported decision-making”, saying that in order for people to exercise their equal rights and freedoms, they have to have accessible transportation, information and communication, physical environment, and services.  They outlined the following responsibilities for increasing accessibility for nations that have ratified the treaty:

Adults with Disabilities: Physical activity is for everybody-May 2014

http://goo.gl/eQy3by

More than 21 million US adults 18–64 years of age have a disability. These are adults with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; hearing; seeing; or concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. Most adults with disabilities are able to participate in physical activity, yet nearly half of them get no aerobic physical activity. Physical activity benefits all adults, whether or not they have a disability, by reducing their risk of serious chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Only 44% of adults with disabilities who visited a doctor in the past year were told by a doctor to get physical activity. Yet adults with disabilities were 82% more likely to be physically active if their doctor recommended it.