With spring already here, summer time is not far behind!
Welcome to our latest installment of noteworthy disability-themed articles! This week, we have a large selection of articles of people and events in New Jersey! As a leader in the field, we are pleased to share our experience, knowledge, and expertise with the disability community through our social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, and Pinterest.
In addition, Our Assistive Technology Center offers a huge array of services; the Assistive Technology Center is New Jersey’s premier source of information and equipment.
Featured Advancing Opportunities Jobs
It’s chilly and there is still snow on the ground, but summer is coming! We have multiple openings for Summer Support Aides to support young men and women with developmental disabilities at summer camps:
Northwestern New Jersey (Morris County)
Interested? Please send your résumé to: jpalmer@advopps.org- Southern New Jersey
Interested? Please send your résumé to: cbrackett@advopps.org
Advancing Opportunities News
You can try out ReaderPen and other cool AT devices at our booth at the Abilities Expo!
The New York Metro Abilities Expo is coming this weekend! We are proud to be a sponsor of this exciting event, May 4-6. We’ll also have hands-on Assistive Technology demonstrations at Booth 143.
Disability in the News (Mostly in New Jersey, the Population We Serve)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy names a new ombudsman for people with disabilities.
On disability, Twitter is better late than never. Twitter adds disability to criteria for reporting another user for hate or abuse.
Assistive Technology
A special imaging device enables physicians with disabilities to perform physical examinations independently. It’s also about inclusion!
Advocacy and Self-advocacy
A non-binary, autistic law student fights and has done a great deal of pro bono work, advocating for people with disabilities.
Meet the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s Life After Paralysis bloggers.
This advocate brilliantly explains why fashion needs to do more for customers with disabilities.
College for Students with a Disability
Ramapo College is introducing a program for adults with autism, focusing on job skills.
Employment for People with Disabilities
The Young Adult Community Inclusion Center (New Jersey) is an “about-time concept.” A place to connect those with and without special needs, the Inclusion Center opened its doors on April 28.
Informative, Positive, Noteworthy (or All Three!)
A comedian auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent. Using an augmentative communication device, the Lost Voice Guy shares his deep sense of humor and conveys an important message.
A 20-something amputee muses about her prosthetic leg. “It’s part of who I am.”
The Arts and People with Disabilities
Autism hasn’t stopped this 23-year-old Barnegat musician from performing in public.
Recent Developments in Braille
A new tactile reading system may be better than braille—and easier to learn.
A braille typeface for public spaces hopes to create an “inclusive” society. Here’s how.
A Korean company has started making braille socks for the blind and visually impaired.
People with a Disability in the Community (Disability Rights and Acceptance; Inclusion)
A man born without hands lands a job as a handyman. And more and more individuals with disabilities are being welcomed by businesses large and small across the nation.
Patrick Dempsey, actor from Grey’s Anatomy, talked candidly about growing up with Dyslexia and how “Out of the struggle, you find that unique gift that comes from your disability.”
‘The day I started using a wheelchair, a lifetime of self-inflicted pressure lifted.”
Amy Gravino, the self described Dr. Ruth of the Autistic, helps people with autism navigate the complex world of dating.
Disability Research
Here’s an interesting piece in The Atlantic. “When autism interferes with communication, is the root of the problem social? Or linguistic?”
Will the FDA ban shock devices used on persons with special needs?
The CDC recently announced one in 59 children in the U.S. is autistic. There’s no epidemic. Yet, bogus “cures” and conspiracy theories abound.
Fashion, Beauty, and Glamour: Inclusion of People with Disabilities
A fashion design company uses magnets instead of buttons, making dress clothing much easier for people with small-motor disabilities. An article in Forbes points out that the market potential for such products is several billion dollars.
Animals and People with Disabilities: A Perfect Match
A poet’s guide dog “helped him discover a new world.”
See you at the Spring Hoedown!
Our annual Spring Hoedown is coming Friday, May 4, at the beautiful Laurita Winery!
