In this scene from last year, Saint Patrick’s Day was a time to get together and get creative!
Welcome to our latest installment of noteworthy disability-themed articles! In addition, 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, and Pinterest.
In addition, we are specialists in the area of assistive technology and offer an array of services. The Assistive Technology Center is New Jersey’s premier source of AT information and equipment.
Featured Advancing Opportunities Job
We have several immediate full- and part-time openings for Residential Support Specialists to provide care to men and women with disabilities who are living in group homes and supported apartment settings. This rewarding role includes teaching and/or assisting with personal care and daily-living activities; accompanying residents on recreational pursuits, medical appointments, or shopping; and helping integrate the residents into their communities. We offer an excellent benefits package, as well as opportunities for promotion from within.
Disability in the News (Mostly in New Jersey, the Population We Serve)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy proposed increasing the wages for Direct Support Professionals in the state, with line in the current budget. The proposal was passed unanimously in the State Senate, with a bipartisan 38-to-0 vote.
A new state initiative provides $50 million for housing for individuals with disabilities in New Jersey.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned electrical stimulation devices for self-injurious or aggressive behavior. The devices found to present unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury. “We are relieved beyond measure that soon our community members will no longer be punished with dangerous electric shocks for doing things like standing up without permission, making noises, or crying in pain,” the Autistic Self Advocacy Network said in a statement.
The next N.J. Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) quarterly update meetings will be held Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Both meetings are via webinar, and links are provided.
New Jersey DDD Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Update for Individuals, Families, and Providers. We provide links.
Informative, Positive, Noteworthy (or All Three!)
COVID-19, the new coronavirus, will have a particularly strong effect on many people with disabilities. Their independence and ability to participate in the community could be at stake. Disability advocate Andrew Pulrang cautions against panic and calls for public awareness and understanding to keep the dignity and well-being of this community in mind.
A prominent disability advocate reflects on Crip Camp and Sundance: “Yes, It *Is* About Disability: Reflections on Disability and Media Criticism After Sundance 2020”
Assistive Technology
We love the Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller and have written about it. An article in Forbes sums up why it is a landmark design: “For Microsoft, Beauty Is in the Eye of the ‘Controller’”
For Parents of a Child with a Disability (Parenting)
From the organizers of the Abilities Expo, here are 20 ideas every parent of a child with a disability should hear.
Parents of children with autism may be at risk for PTSD. This is true especially especially when those children engage in physical aggression against others or themselves, according to an article in Research in Autism Disorders.
This piece discusses how to get children with autism to sleep.
Advocacy and Self-advocacy
This is thought-provoking article: “Self-Help or Activism: A Fundamental Divide in the Disability Community.” What works best for the individual? For the community? Perhaps, a combination of both.
Disability Awareness
A woman with autism speaks of her experiences in what she calls the “Autistic Paradox.” From the Washington Post: ‘You don’t look autistic’: The reality of high-functioning autism
Disability Rights, Accessibility
When the father assumed guardianship of his son with an intellectual disability, he did not know the son would lose his right to vote. This is the story of how this father for his son’s voice in casting a vote. The NPR podcast is 4 minutes: Disability and Fighting for the Right to Vote.
Employment for People with Disabilities
This blog piece sums up why we feel people with intellectual and developmental disabilities should be fully included in the work force.
It’s a long, but interesting article: “Now hiring: What autistic people need to succeed in the workplace”
People with a Disability in the Community (Disability Rights and Acceptance; Inclusion)
Who decides how disability is represented in stock photography? Furthermore, this article asks, how can we ensure proper and authentic representation of disabilities in our images?
“No, my disability doesn‘t make me undateable.”
A journalist describes what it’s like behind the scenes at Sundance for people with disabilities like himself.
Disability in the Arts
New awards show features talented performers with disabilities: The Dannys!
