#disabilityadvocacy — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/unitedstates/19961/ Wicked star, Mazomanie native Marissa Bode to be honored with Wisconsin State Legislature Citation #DisabilityAdvocacy #LocalGovernment #MarissaBode #Mazomanie #Nessarose #StateGovernment #Wicked #wisconsin #WisconsinHeightsSchoolDistrict

Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer's wordboards. #DisabilityAdvocacy #wordboards

https://archive.org/details/wordboard-4/

https://www.europesays.com/videos/96467/ The reality of being a parent of an autistic child | Wales This Week | ITV Wales #autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismAwareness #AutismChallenges #AutismParenting #AutismSpectrumDisorderASD #AutismSupport #AUTISTIC #children #CurrentAffairs #DisabilityAdvocacy #documentary #itv #ItvNews #ITVNewsInFull #itvwales #NonSpeakingAutism #parenthood #ParentingAnAutisticChild #parents #Wales

This is really niche, but if you have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan syndrome, or another connective tissue disorder, this guidance from the National Academies explains the possible impacts, as well as when those impacts are considered disabling under the Social Security Disability policy.

Learn more: https://doi.org/10.17226/26431

#ConnectiveTissueDisorders
#EhlersDanlosSyndrome
#DisabilityAdvocacy

Fantastic guide to the way that government benefits (federal and state) interact with other sources of support for disabled people:

https://specialneedsnavigator.us/social-security

#DisabilityAdvocacy
#DisabilityInclusion
#Accessibility

https://www.europesays.com/africa/328976/ Deaf Nigerian Lawyer, Danjuma, Called to Bar #CallToBar #DeafLawyer #DisabilityAdvocacy #DisabilityRights #KadunaState #LegalProfession #NehemiahDanjuma #Nigeria #NigerianLawSchool #NigerianLawyers #UniversityOfIlorin

Curtin University program helps connect young autistic people to cyber security industry

Software engineer Benjamynn Weber has always struggled whether to disclose his autism to potential employers. “It’s always a…
#Australia #AU #Austrlia #autism #autismacademysoftwarequalityassurance #autisminperth #benjamynweber #CurtinUniversity #cybersecurityjobs #Cybersecurity #disabilityadvocacy #peoplewithdisabilities #perthnews #perthpeoplewithdisability #teletan #wanews
https://www.europesays.com/australia/39847/

The Missing Piece To Accessible Travel | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-the-missing-piece-to-accessible-travel/

A traveler with sight loss asks for help at the airport. The response, again and again, is a wheelchair. For blind and low vision passengers, the issue was never mobility. It is navigation, orientation, and clear communication from curbside to gate.

#AccessibleTravel #DisabilityInclusion #BlindAndLowVision #Accessibility #DisabilityAdvocacy

The Missing Piece To Accessible Travel | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-the-missing-piece-to-accessible-travel/

A traveler with sight loss asks for help at the airport. The response, again and again, is a wheelchair. For blind and low vision passengers, the issue was never mobility. It is navigation, orientation, and clear communication from curbside to gate.

#AccessibleTravel #DisabilityInclusion #BlindAndLowVision #Accessibility #DisabilityAdvocacy

The Missing Piece To Accessible Travel | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-the-missing-piece-to-accessible-travel/

A traveler with sight loss asks for help at the airport. The response, again and again, is a wheelchair. For blind and low vision passengers, the issue was never mobility. It is navigation, orientation, and clear communication from curbside to gate.

#AccessibleTravel #DisabilityInclusion #BlindAndLowVision #Accessibility #DisabilityAdvocacy

I'm proud to announce the launch of Blind Productions.
Blind Productions is a showcase and community I built to celebrate blind creative professionals — musicians, DJs, actors, authors, podcasters, and content creators — and to give us one place to discover each other's work, collaborate, and connect.
Here's the honest part: this is the ground floor. The doors are open, the foundation is built, and now it's time to fill it up. I'm inviting you to help shape what this becomes — a living archive that future generations can search to discover the musicians and creators who came before them, and a moderated space where we create, support one another, and network as a community.
What's here today:
• A searchable directory of blind creatives, each profile with a bio, links to their work, audio to listen to, and video to watch.
• A moderated community forum for collaboration, support, opportunities, and networking.
• Accessibility built in from the ground up — screen-reader friendly, fully keyboard operable, with adjustable text, themes, and high contrast on every page.
So here's my ask: start submitting profile suggestions. Nominate yourself. Nominate the artists you admire. Bring the people who deserve to be found. Create a free account, join the conversation, and let's build something that lasts.
This is how a legacy gets started — together.
Explore and submit: https://blind.productions
You must be 18 or older to join.
#Accessibility #BlindCreatives #BlindMusicians #DisabilityInclusion #A11y #BlindCommunity #DisabilityAdvocacy #InclusiveDesign #AssistiveTechnology #ScreenReader #VisuallyImpaired #DigitalAccessibility #BlindArtists #DisabilityPride #InclusiveCommunity

Medicaid Provider Cuts Could Impact Disability Services Nationwide: What Raleigh Residents Should Know

A recent report from Disability Scoop highlights growing concerns about Medicaid access and disability services after one state temporarily cut ties with thousands of Medicaid providers in an effort to comply with new federal funding requirements. The move is raising alarms among disability advocates and healthcare providers across the country who fear similar actions could affect access to critical services for people with disabilities. (Disability Scoop⁠)

What Happened?

According to Disability Scoop, state officials reviewing Medicaid providers terminated or suspended relationships with nearly two-thirds of the providers under review while attempting to meet federal oversight and funding requirements. The action was described as temporary, but it immediately created uncertainty for providers and the individuals who depend on their services. (LinkedIn⁠)

The situation comes as states nationwide face increasing pressure to comply with evolving Medicaid regulations while maintaining access to federal funding. Medicaid remains the primary source of funding for many disability support programs, including home and community-based services, personal care assistance, transportation, and healthcare coordination. (KFF⁠)

Why Disability Advocates Are Concerned

Advocates worry that aggressive provider reviews, funding reductions, and administrative changes could reduce access to services for people with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Even temporary disruptions can create major challenges for individuals who rely on consistent support services to live independently and participate in their communities. (Disability Belongs™⁠)

Many disability organizations have already expressed concerns about broader Medicaid policy changes scheduled to take effect over the next several years. Experts warn that states facing budget pressures may struggle to maintain provider networks, especially for home and community-based services that help individuals avoid institutional care. (KFF⁠)

What This Could Mean for North Carolina

While the Disability Scoop report focuses on actions taken in another state, the issue has relevance for North Carolina residents. Medicaid is a critical lifeline for thousands of North Carolinians with disabilities, seniors, and low-income families.

If provider participation decreases or administrative requirements become more burdensome, residents could experience:

• Longer wait times for services
• Reduced provider availability
• Challenges accessing specialty care
• Increased strain on caregivers and families
• Delays in home and community-based support programs

North Carolina has expanded Medicaid in recent years, increasing access to healthcare coverage for many residents. However, disability advocates continue to monitor federal and state policy changes that could affect long-term service delivery and funding stability. (KFF⁠)

The Bigger Picture

The Medicaid debate is increasingly focused on balancing fiscal accountability with access to care. Supporters of stricter oversight argue that states must ensure providers meet program requirements and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Critics counter that broad provider removals and funding restrictions can unintentionally harm vulnerable populations who depend on Medicaid-funded services every day. (KFF⁠)

For people with disabilities, Medicaid is more than health insurance. It often funds the support systems that allow individuals to work, attend school, live independently, and remain connected to their communities. Any disruption in provider networks can have significant consequences for quality of life and independence. (Disability Belongs™⁠)

What Raleigh Residents Should Watch

As federal Medicaid policies continue to evolve, disability advocates, healthcare providers, and community organizations will be watching closely for any changes that could affect service access in North Carolina.

Residents who rely on Medicaid services should stay informed about policy updates, provider network changes, and public comment opportunities that may affect disability services and healthcare access in the years ahead.

For more Raleigh news, community updates, and issues impacting local residents, follow DoRaleigh.com.

Advertise With Us: Interested in Advertising click here.

Connect With Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin

Share With Us: Post your community News, Events, on our Submissions Page. 

Published by Bryan Tomlinson | DoRaleigh.com

What Makes For An Accessible Census | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-asks-what-makes-for-an-accessible-census/

Canada's census insists every person counts. But can everyone actually be counted?

Donna J. Jodhan examines how mailed letters, QR codes, and buried phone support shut out blind Canadians, seniors, and people with disabilities — leaving underserved communities invisible in the data.

#Accessibility #DisabilityInclusion #Census #Canada #DisabilityAdvocacy

What Makes For An Accessible Census | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-asks-what-makes-for-an-accessible-census/

Canada's census insists every person counts. But can everyone actually be counted?

Donna J. Jodhan examines how mailed letters, QR codes, and buried phone support shut out blind Canadians, seniors, and people with disabilities — leaving underserved communities invisible in the data.

#Accessibility #DisabilityInclusion #Census #Canada #DisabilityAdvocacy

What Makes For An Accessible Census | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-asks-what-makes-for-an-accessible-census/

Canada's census insists every person counts. But can everyone actually be counted?

Donna J. Jodhan examines how mailed letters, QR codes, and buried phone support shut out blind Canadians, seniors, and people with disabilities — leaving underserved communities invisible in the data.

#Accessibility #DisabilityInclusion #Census #Canada #DisabilityAdvocacy

The Continuing Crisis of Unemployment For Blind And Vision Impaired Persons - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/the-continuing-crisis-of-unemployment-for-blind-and-vision-impaired-persons-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

70 percent unemployment among blind persons no longer shocks. Donna J. Jodhan argues it is systemic: employers prejudge resumes, hiring tools fail accessibility, accommodations stay afterthoughts.

#DisabilityEmployment #Accessibility #BlindAndLowVision #InclusiveHiring #DisabilityAdvocacy

The Continuing Crisis of Unemployment For Blind And Vision Impaired Persons - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/the-continuing-crisis-of-unemployment-for-blind-and-vision-impaired-persons-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

70 percent unemployment among blind persons no longer shocks. Donna J. Jodhan argues it is systemic: employers prejudge resumes, hiring tools fail accessibility, accommodations stay afterthoughts.

#DisabilityEmployment #Accessibility #BlindAndLowVision #InclusiveHiring #DisabilityAdvocacy

The Continuing Crisis of Unemployment For Blind And Vision Impaired Persons - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/the-continuing-crisis-of-unemployment-for-blind-and-vision-impaired-persons-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

70 percent unemployment among blind persons no longer shocks. Donna J. Jodhan argues it is systemic: employers prejudge resumes, hiring tools fail accessibility, accommodations stay afterthoughts.

#DisabilityEmployment #Accessibility #BlindAndLowVision #InclusiveHiring #DisabilityAdvocacy

When Respondents Rule - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-when-respondents-rule-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

What if a human rights system rewarded endurance instead of justice?

Donna J. Jodhan argues that when respondents can stretch timelines and outlast complainants with little consequence, delay becomes a strategy. Justice deferred is not only delayed. It is diluted.

#HumanRights #DisabilityAdvocacy #AccessToJustice #Canada #Accessibility

When Respondents Rule - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-when-respondents-rule-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

What if a human rights system rewarded endurance instead of justice?

Donna J. Jodhan argues that when respondents can stretch timelines and outlast complainants with little consequence, delay becomes a strategy. Justice deferred is not only delayed. It is diluted.

#HumanRights #DisabilityAdvocacy #AccessToJustice #Canada #Accessibility

When Respondents Rule - No Shocker And No Shaker | By Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | Courtesy of the PWD Media Co-Op
https://barrierfreecanada.org/world-renowned-accessibility-advocate-donna-j-jodhan-reflects-on-when-respondents-rule-no-shocker-and-no-shaker/

What if a human rights system rewarded endurance instead of justice?

Donna J. Jodhan argues that when respondents can stretch timelines and outlast complainants with little consequence, delay becomes a strategy. Justice deferred is not only delayed. It is diluted.

#HumanRights #DisabilityAdvocacy #AccessToJustice #Canada #Accessibility

Hey turbo dweebs. Is there a UK version of something like this?

Ideally either no subscription fees, no connectivity required, and definitely good privacy, idfk.
At the very least, is there a DIY or open source of something similar?

https://elliq.com/pages/how-it-works

#tech #accessibility #Disability #DisabilityAdvocacy #help #support #aide #assist #assistant #assistance #DisabilityAwareness #DisabilitySupport #MedTech #technology #NeuroDivergent #NeuroDivergence #NeuroDiversity #NeuroDiverse #ND #NeuroTypical #NeuroDefault #NeuroExpected #NeuroAccomodated #NeuroAllowed #NeuroAccepted #NeuroInclusion #nerds #nerd #nerdy #DorkWeb #NerdTalk #tool #tools #elderly #ElderCare #isolate #isolation #loneliness

Anyone Can Be Your NDIS Support Worker. Who Is Keeping You Safe?

Reflections from several years on the scheme.

I have been on the NDIS for several years. A recent re-hiring process clarified something I had long suspected. The scheme has a workforce problem, and participants are the ones bearing the brunt.

There Is No Mandatory Registration Requirement

Under current Australian law, participants who self-manage or plan-manage their NDIS funding can hire any person as a support worker. Independent support Workers require no registration or minimum training standards.

The worker who enters your home, learns your medical history, handles your medications, and has significant authority over your daily life may have no formal preparation for any of it.

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission exists and handles serious complaints, including abuse, neglect, and criminal conduct. Boundary violations, confidentiality breaches, and chronic unpreparedness that fall below that threshold leave participants largely without recourse. Skilled and ethical workers bring those qualities from their own formation and prior training. When those qualities are absent, the participant discovers this after the fact, and any remedy is slow, uncertain, and theirs alone to pursue.

That is the baseline. Everything that follows is built on it.

The Dog

My service dog performs specific medical functions. His effectiveness depends on remaining focused and oriented to me.

Some workers reach for him the moment they walk through the door. They do not ask.

Touching a service animal without permission is a safety violation and, in some contexts, carries legal weight under Australian disability discrimination law. A worker entering the home of a participant with a service animal has a professional obligation to understand what that animal does and what it requires. That preparation belongs to the provider. Its absence transfers the risk to the participant.

This is a professional standard.

What the Certificate III Does Not Cover

The Certificate III in Individual Support is the standard qualification in this sector and takes between six and twelve months. For many workers, it is completed online with minimal supervised practice hours, and it does not prepare them for the clinical and ethical complexity of supporting people with invisible or fluctuating conditions.

A worker with their cert may have no framework for how fatigue functions in ME/CFS or autistic burnout. Why pushing through is sometimes dangerous, why capacity varies day to day in ways that cannot be read from a plan approved six months ago, and why the participant’s account of their own condition is the primary source of accurate information.

Workers who arrive without that preparation fill the gap with assumptions. Correcting those assumptions, educating the person sent to support them, translating their own experience into terms the worker finds legible — this falls to the participant. That work is skilled and exhausting, and no NDIS plan funds it.

A Plan Is Not a Person

An NDIS plan records approved supports, written at a point in time by a planner who may have spent an hour with the participant. What it cannot capture is what a Tuesday looks like after a bad night, or how that changes what Wednesday can hold.

Workers who treat the plan as a complete picture end up supporting the document. When the participant’s actual day diverges from what the plan implies, some workers become confused, inflexible, or subtly sceptical. The participant then carries that response throughout the day.

Confidentiality Is Not Discretionary

Support workers enter your home and learn about your health, medications, finances, and relationships. The ethical obligations around that information are clear. Workers routinely underestimate them.

Information moves in cars and waiting rooms, in casual exchanges during handover. Shared without consent in contexts the participant did not choose, each instance is a breach — and the pattern across a working relationship represents a significant, under-reported ethical problem in the sector.

Providers who do not train explicitly for this are not taking their duty of care seriously. The Commission’s framework addresses the most serious breaches. Below that threshold, the everyday end goes largely unmonitored.

A Diagnosis Is a Starting Point

Workers who arrive having already decided how a participant communicates — based on a diagnostic label rather than a conversation — are making a category error with professional consequences.

Autism produces significant variation across individuals, as do acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, and many mental health conditions. Experience with one person transfers little to the next. The participant is the authority on their own communication and needs. Workers who approach that through the filter of what they already think they know require the participant to work harder to be accurately seen.

Being Present Is the Job

A worker on their phone during support hours has decided where their attention belongs. That decision reflects on the worker and the provider, and on a regulatory environment that permits it without consequence.

Participant time is funded. Divided attention during that time is a failure of basic professional conduct.

Punctuality Has Clinical Stakes

For participants with fatigue conditions, medication schedules, or appointment windows that cannot flex, a late worker is sometimes no worker at all. The window closes, an appointment is missed, and the energy available at nine o’clock is gone by ten.

Workers who treat punctuality as a matter of general courtesy have not been told what the costs of late arrival are in this context. Providers should tell them, in writing, before they begin.

Handover Exists for a Reason

When workers do not read handover notes, participants repeat themselves. Questions get asked that the notes had already answered. Avoidable errors get made. The first portion of support time becomes unpaid orientation, delivered by the person the support was supposed to serve.

Reading the handover is the floor — it signals that a worker understands preparation begins before they arrive.

The Re-Hiring Process

When a support worker leaves, the participant does not simply wait for a replacement. A position description must be written, applications reviewed, interviews conducted, and a hiring decision made with incomplete information about a person who will have access to their home, their medical records, and significant portions of their daily life.

After that comes orientation, and the contextual knowledge that made the previous support functional has to be rebuilt from the beginning.

None of this is funded. The NDIS has no category for the labour of maintaining access to support, and for participants with high support needs or complex conditions, that labour is substantial.

What Competent Support Looks Like

Workers who are good at this job arrive having read the available documentation, ask before they act, and give more weight to what the participant tells them about their own needs than to any plan or file. When something changes during a shift, the response is immediate and adaptive.

Their presence does not generate additional work for the participant — that is the measure. Support that requires the participant to manage, educate, or compensate for a worker’s preparation gaps has redistributed the load rather than reduced it.

What Needs to Change

Mandatory registration for all NDIS workers, regardless of how a participant’s plan is managed, would create a baseline of accountability. Genuine consequences for ethical breaches — including low-level, chronic ones — would change the conditions under which workers operate.

Revised training requirements are long overdue: supervised hours in complex support settings, explicit coverage of invisible conditions, service animal protocols, confidentiality obligations, and fluctuating capacity. These are the preparations the role demands.

Wages need to rise. Turnover in this sector is directly linked to pay, and the continuity of support is a safety condition for many participants — the relationship carries clinical knowledge that cannot be quickly or cheaply reconstructed.

Participants also need a complaints mechanism they can use without fear of losing their support. Accountability cannot depend on participants absorbing the risk of speaking up.

The Principle and the Practice

Participant choice and control sit at the centre of the NDIS. On paper, participants are experts in their own lives and directors of their own support.

That principle requires a workforce framework capable of supporting it. At present, workers enter participants’ lives with significant authority over their access, safety, and daily functioning, operating under training requirements and accountability mechanisms that do not match the weight of what they are being asked to do.

Positioned at the centre of a scheme designed around their needs, the participant often ends up holding the system together when it fails to hold itself together.

That is worth saying clearly, and worth changing.

Share this with someone who trains support workers, manages a disability provider, or influences workforce policy. The problem is documented. The changes required are known. What is missing is the will to treat this workforce and the people it serves with the seriousness they both deserve. #NDIS #DisabilityRights #DisabilitySupport #SupportWorkers #DisabledPeople #DisabilityAdvocacy #Accessibility #AusPol #Australia

From @onelife_livedwell on IG: COVID floats in air the way a jellyfish floats in water. It’s airborne, which means the primary route of infection is inhalation of virus laden aerosol particles small enough that they can stay suspended for hours.
#covidisairborne #cleanair #healthscience #disabilityadvocacy #scicomm

1/

✨ NEW: Disability Bulletin Issue 1

Your source for disability rights news, policy updates, and community resources.

📖 Issue 1: Now available
📖 Issue 2: Coming soon

Stay ahead of the issues that matter to YOU.

Read now: https://t.co/7vtI7QecTg

#DisabilityAdvocacy #DisabilityCommunity #StayInformed

Hey, I'm Tony. Totally blind musician, podcast host, assistive technology instructor, and founder of Inclusive Pulse.
I've got 18 music releases out there, a podcast called The Tony Gebhard Show, and I built NVDA Coach — a free, open-source add-on that teaches NVDA right inside the screen reader.
I care about accessibility, disability advocacy, LGBTQ+ inclusion, sobriety, and keeping it real. I make things, I break things, and I talk about all of it.
Based in the west coast with my guide dog Norris.
Music, motivation, and positively obnoxious.
https://tonygebhard.me
#Introduction #Blind #Accessibility #A11y #AssistiveTechnology #Musician #Podcast #NVDA #NVDACoach #OpenSource #DisabilityAdvocacy #LGBTQ #Inclusion #InclusivePulse
Stay groovy.

Hola Titánicos, cada 28 de febrero se celebra el día mundial de las enfermedades raras, este año bajo el lema: "Porque cada pERsona importa", poniendo el foco en quienes hay detrás de cada diagnóstico, cada tratamiento y cada investigación: las personas y sus familias.

https://somosdisca.es/dia-mundial-de-las-enfermedades-raras-2026/

#Diamundialdelasenfermedadesraras #diadelasenfermedadesrara #cebras #enfermedadesminoritarias #enfermedades
#salud #enfermedad #saludmental #enfermedadrara #enfermedadesraras #discapacidad #disabilities #DisabilityAccess #disabilityAdvocacy #disability #titanicos #visibilidad #titan #prevencion #cuidados #somosdisca #gentetitanica #investigación #diagnostico #cura #tratamiento #feder #somosgentetitanica

I just contacted my legislators about the Medical Foods and Formulas Access Act.

I use prescribed oral medical nutrition specifically to prevent needing a feeding tube. Right now the system will often cover the tube and hospital care but not the treatment that helps avoid it in the first place.

For many disabled and chronically ill patients this is the difference between staying stable and medical decline, especially for people on Medicaid or fixed incomes.

If you are in the US and this applies to you, the Rare Disease Action Network has a quick form you can use to contact your representatives.

https://rarediseases.quorum.us/campaign/154665

#MedicalFoods #RareDisease #DisabilityAdvocacy #HealthcareAccess #ChronicIllness #Medicaid #PatientAdvocacy

Time for #TipOfDay since I’ve been glowing for a few days now with joy in having a number or things go right; good coffee at hand and a quiet home to browse online and remember other pleasant things that took a lot of work yet went well. This post has many accommodations we use for #Accessibility.

Solved: for my son who is a wheelchair user to sit right up to the table. The height of the chair arms was limiting how close he could sit. Tables were way too low or too high. After trips to furniture stores with no success finding a table with height to allow wheelchair to fit under it. “Counter height” tables too high.

Son has to have support for his back and arms while eating. He has declining dexterity so he has a special spoon and adult bib. I’ve kept a heavy vinyl topper on the heavy oak table and use placemats. Think: messy eater. He could only get seated close but still 8-10” farther away from the edge of our table because of the arms of his chair or wheelchair. We all wanted him to sit right up with us.

So, no new table was available and none online a height where a wheelchair user can fit in with the rest of the adults at the table. Think of how many families have this same issue! Surely a workaround is needed.

Voilá, lightbulb moment. Got very strong walnut risers 1” tall for table legs. Drilled hole through and got bolts 1 1/2” to attach to original hole in leg used for original bolt with thin hard caster. Put 2 heavy felt casters in place. Now table perfect height to allow an armchair or wheelchair to slide under. But the old chairs were a bit low for table now. Voilá, very thick chair pads solved it all. Instead of spending $1,000 or more on new table and chairs, spent about $100 and we are all happy. #Disability #Wheelchair #WheelchairUser #DisabilityAdvocacy

Registration is now OPEN for the 2026 ACB D.C. Leadership Conference!

The conference will be held 3/6 to 3/10/26, as a hybrid event, with in-person activities in Arlington, & virtual participation options. Events include legislative training, Capitol Hill visits, advocacy discussions, and more.

Registration closes 2/28/26. Hotel room block deadline is 2/6/26.

Learn more and register:
www.acb.org/2026-acb-dc-leadership-conference

#ACBLeadership #Accessibility #DisabilityAdvocacy #PCBCommunity

A Cleveland Sight Center staff member with vision loss is empowering clients to navigate everyday challenges with confidence. Read more here:
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/community/heartstrings/cleveland-sight-center-staff-vision-loss-help-clients-navigate-challenges/95-90a10be9-b9fd-4f33-a388-3e7c07bdea42
#VisionLoss #Accessibility #Inclusion #DisabilityAdvocacy

👋 Hello Mastodon!

PCB is excited to be here! For over 75 years, we’ve advocated for people who are blind or have low vision across PA, promoting accessibility, independence, & equal rights.

We believe accessible social media matters.

We’re glad to be part of the conversation.

https://pcb1.org

#Mastodon #Accessibility #Blind #LowVision #DisabilityAdvocacy #InclusiveDesign #Pennsylvania

2025 feels so significant after years of deep struggle.

What began as a year marred by family estrangement and a bad therapist transformed as I worked through the mechanics of CPTSD and internal communication. Since discovering I am AuDHD in April, I have finally begun to understand how my system works rather than seeing it as something to fix.

Educationally, I settled into my path and am now completing my Master of Counselling after trying a few different pathways. My life as a choral scholar also flourished, moving from a half-scholarship to a full scholarship this year. Although I left the Synphony chorus, music remains a constant through my Anglican church choral work.

For the first time, I stepped into volunteering, contributing to accessibility, copywriting, and peer groups. I am working with an autistic-led organization and will lead 2 seer groups next year. I am also an online community champion for the Beyond Blue. 2025 has been a year of claiming space where I was once told I did not belong.

#2025YearInReview #AuDHD #CPTSD #MasterOfCounselling #ChoralScholar #DisabilityAdvocacy #Accessibility #BlindLife

How's everyone doing tonight?

I slept most of the day because of pain from #Fibromyalgia and #RheumatoidArthritis, so now I'll probably be up all night. I'm going to try and get some studying done even though my hands hurt. Really hoping the compression gloves I ordered come in soon.

Since college didn’t work out, I've been building my own self-paced curriculum:

• Bible courses from Christian Leaders Institute to deepen my understanding and support future nonprofit work
  
• Coding lessons with #Codecademy (codecademy.com)
  
• Braille proofreading training through NLS and NFB
  
• And if I get the scholarship, AI Software Engineering at Maestro AI University. I applied two days ago and should hear back within 14 days.
  

Tonight I'm deciding whether to focus on Christian Leaders coursework, coding, or Braille proofreading.

Tomorrow's my 34th birthday. My mom’s taking me out to eat, and later we're visiting a new ocularist to see about prosthetic eyes. My current ones no longer fit and cause pain, so they'll likely need to start me with conformers first. I'm dreading that part, but it’s time. I haven't been refitted for new ones since I was 16, a few months after a surgery to remove my extremely painful right eye.

#ChronicIllness #Disability #Blind #Accessibility #PainAwareness
#Learning #Education #Coding #Braille #AI #EdTech
#Christian #BibleStudy #Faith #Christianity
#NonprofitLeadership #DisabilityAdvocacy
#Birthday #Turning34 #Ocularist #Prosthetics

@thetyee

["The decision was made after the provincial government’s recent backtracking on the redesign of language acquisition programs for deaf, hard-of-hearing and deafblind children.

It’s not just an organization closing,” said Sarah-Anne Hrycenko, a Deaf professional who received support through the Deaf Children’s Society of BC, or DCS, when she was a baby. “It’s the fading of an entire Deaf ecosystem that once nurtured language, identity and leadership in [the] B.C. Deaf community.” ]

This #BCgovernment doesn't really care about #PeopleWithDisabilities. Programs/services/supports for #disabled citizens have been cut, budgets slashed; we face years plus long waiting lists to access both medical & disability support services, we live under #eugenics public health policies, our BC government still denies prescription coverage for several essential medications, funding for nonprofits that help disabled people live/work has been fully cut or severely reduced. That's only the tip of the inhumane cruelty icebergs - when it comes to how our governments have #dehumanized & mistreated us disabled citizens. Their dishonest PR speeches do not align with the hard realities that people with disabilities in BC face, regularly.

#DeafPeople #BCNDP #BCpoli #CDNpoli #DisabledLivesMatter #DisabilityAdvocacy #BCNewDeathParty #DisabilitySupports #DisabilityRights

I'm collating these in case any mention practical support groups who might help someone. Even a few hours' carer respite a week might be good.
5 https://carersjapan.com/english/ This seems like a political organisation, but they might have a list of contacts or tips.
6 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378950244_The_Challenging_Role_of_Informal_Carers_Within_the_Long-Term_Care_System_in_Japan_Focusing_on_Issues_of_Japanese_Working_Carers
7 https://rapp.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/2022/11/Carer-Leave-Policies-in-Japan.pdf Important policies in case any employers need reminding of employees' rights (which is neither easy nor enjoyable, I know).  
8 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00311-0/fulltext  
9 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889158321000502  
10 https://www.carersuk.org/media/ja3djfa1/briefing-paper-international-carers-leave-policies.pdf This might be relevant if someone confuses domestic and international carers' requirements.

#care #UnpaidCarers #caring #CaringEconomy #CareGiver #CareGiving #CareGivers #CareTakers #Domestic #Home #House #Spoonie #ElderCare #Disability #DisabilityAdvocacy #Accessibility #EaseOfAccess #Japan

🧠📚 Been deep in the weeds refining my APA 7 student paper template—fully accessible, screen reader-friendly, and powered by LaTeX + Makefile automation. It’s designed for blind students, accessibility advocates, and anyone who wants a clean, reproducible academic workflow. Note that it doesn't use the apa7 class since that wouldn't allow the PDF to be tagged for accessibility.

✅ Includes:

• Automated PDF builds with BibLaTeX
• Submission and status reporting targets
• Sample references. Bib
• Screen reader-friendly README

Built and tested across Raspberry Pi, Fedora Remix, and openSUSE with WSL integration. If you’re navigating academic publishing with accessibility in mind, I made this for you.

🔗 Check it out on GitHub

#Accessibility #BlindTech #LaTeX #Makefile #AcademicWriting #OpenSource #WSL #Linux #ScreenReader #DisabilityAdvocacy #TechForGood #APA7 #GitHub #RaspberryPi #FedoraRemix #openSUSE #AcademicWorkflow

🌟 Tech Toward Triumph: Help Me Access the World Through Braille 🌟

Hi all,

I’ve launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise support for a Handy Tech Activator Braille display—a device that would make a huge difference in my life. My mom and I created this campaign together, and she wrote a timeline of my health journey and everything I’ve been through. It’s been a long road, and this technology would help me move forward with more independence and opportunity.

🔗 https://www.crowdfunder.com/p/techtowardi-triump

This Braille display would allow me to:

• Access digital content independently
• Continue my studies and creative work
• Stay connected and advocate for myself more effectively

If you can donate or share the campaign, it would mean the world to me. Every bit of support helps me take one more step toward triumph.

Thank you for reading, supporting, and believing in me. 💙

#BrailleDisplay #AccessibilityMatters #TechTowardTriumph #DisabilityAdvocacy #Crowdfunder #BlindTech #HandyTechActivator #Braille #blind #disability

🌿 Reminder: Group for Disabled Christians! ✝️♿

If you missed this earlier, here’s your chance to join!

Imago Dei Disability Fellowship is a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to:

💬 Connect and encourage one another
🙌 Share resources and support
📖 Advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth
This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideology, this is for you.

👉 Join here:
https://groupme.com/join_group/108240116/DyaeTWa0

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."
— Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

💜 All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God.

#DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
@christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

Reposting this without markdown since people had trouble seeing the link before and I haven't seen anyone try to join.

🌿 New Group for Disabled Christians! ✝️♿

I'm excited to announce the launch of Imago Dei Disability Fellowship, a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to connect, support one another, and advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth.

This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideology, this is for you.

👉 Join here: https://groupme.com/join_group/108240116/DyaeTWa0
"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other."
— Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)
All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God. 💜
#DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
@christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

🌿 New Group for Disabled Christians! ✝️♿

I'm excited to announce the launch of Imago Dei Disability Fellowship, a GroupMe community for Christians with all kinds of disabilities to connect, support one another, and advocate for accessibility and justice, all grounded in biblical truth.

This group is rooted in a conservative Christian worldview, including traditional beliefs about Scripture, gender, and identity. If you're looking for a space to talk about faith, disability, and advocacy without woke ideology—this is for you.

👉 Join here

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

— Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

All are welcome who seek to follow Christ and live out the truth that we are made in the image of God. 💜

#DisabilityCommunity #DisabledAndChristian #ImagoDei #FaithAndDisability #DisabilityJustice #ChristianFellowship #MultipleDisabilities #AccessibilityMatters #BiblicalWorldview #DisabilityAdvocacy #ChristianCommunity #Christian #Christians #faith
@christians @[email protected] @[email protected] @mastoblind @main @actuallyautistic @chronicillness @spoonies

@Aaidanbird

Have you seen the documentary Crip Camp about the summer camp that gave rise to a generation of US disability rights activists?

It includes disability activist-led protest footage that reframes the concept of what protests can be & how they can work. It's a good resource for those who may not know how to answer what access in a protest can look like.

It's more relevant than ever. We warmly recommend it.

https://journeysinfilm.org/product/crip-camp-guides/

#Disability #DisabilityJustice #DisabilityRights #DisabilityAdvocacy #Education #Homschooling @disability @disabilityjustice @disabilityhistory @education @edutooters

Jenine Stanley, Aira’s Director of Customer Communications, and Everette Bacon, Chief of Blindness Initiatives, were featured on the latest episode of @hadley Presents: A Conversation with the Experts!

🌟 Episode 129: The Aira App – On-Demand, Expert Assistance
In this episode, Jenine and Everette dive into how the Aira app empowers people with vision loss by providing real-time, professional assistance—anytime, anywhere. Using just your smartphone camera, Aira connects users to live agents ready to help navigate daily tasks with confidence.

🎙️ Hadley is an incredible resource offering accessible training for people who are blind or have low vision—especially those in rural areas—through virtual and mail-based programs.

🔗 Tune in now: https://hadleyhelps.org/podcasts/hadley-presents-conversation-experts/aira-app-demand-expert-assistance

#BlindTech #AccessibilityMatters #OnDemandAssistance #InclusionInAction #BlindCommunity #LowVisionSupport #AssistiveTechnology #DisabilityAdvocacy