A couple of inspiring stories about people with disabilities learning and performing music close out our 2011 coverage. The first comes from down in Louisiana, where everyone seems to have the same musical ambitions as Eric Mathews. The 39-year old man, who resides in an independent-living apartment complex for people with disabilities, tells Shreveport Times [...]
What resolutions are you making for the New Year? In just a couple of days, the calendar turns over, and many of us take it as an opportunity to start fresh on goals that will improve our quality of life. Resolutions to live a healthier life predominate any top 10 list you’ll find: losing weight, [...]
A story about people with disabilities working at Papa John’s or Dairy Queen could come from almost any city in the continental United States. But even though it’s the largest city in the world, Shanghai, China, is not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about fast food meccas or employment opportunities for [...]
Advocates for giving people with disabilities the opportunity to live independently received some good news earlier this week, when Federal Judge Joan Lefkow approved a consent decree that will allow 1,100 people with disabilities living in Chicago area nursing homes to move out of nursing homes and into the community. Up until the ruling, people [...]
Credit for the post title goes to Pam Klink. Her Turnabout Cafe in Owings, Maryland, is one of several stories about people with disabilities succeeding in the work force found in the Southern Maryland News Online article, “Out of the shadows and into the workforce,” which was initially touched upon in yesterday’s post about new [...]
Maryland agencies supporting people with disabilities received some disheartening information heading into the holiday season, when news broke in November that the state government’s Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) had somehow overlooked a $34 million budget surplus and even ended up returning $25 million to the state’s General Fund. Reporter Scott Daugherty puts an all-too human [...]
Warning: This post contains graphic depictions of delicious foods being prepared that may cause your mouth to water. We’ve got food on the brain thanks to the American Training VanWay program, which just completed its fifth annual can drive for the food banks of Merrimack Valley. The guests who typically use the transportation service to [...]
This past Wednesday, The Detroit News published a Q&A between president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Mark Perriello, and McKinzie Brantley, administrator and writer for the paper’s Disability Blog. The wide-ranging discussion covered the organization’s plans and goals during 2012 that will help shape national discussion and policy concerning [...]
Two of the keynote speakers at the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities annual convention held earlier in this month in Indianapolis were of the variety one would expect at a conference with the theme, “Celebrating Community.” National Council on Disability executive director Aaron Bishop has spent his entire professional career advocating for people [...]
Appy Namatovu Ssempala has worked as a receptionist for three years now at the National Union of Disabled Persons (NUDIPU) in her native country of Uganda. She greets people and helps direct them to the appropriate offices, among other duties. The fact that she cannot hear or speak does not create a negative first impression [...]