The Front Page Blog: Blogs on Disability

It's August and everyone is ready to hit the road, or the air, or the rails. A summer break from the routine of life’s challenges is a right that many Americans take for granted, but it is not so simple for Americans with disabilities to exercise that right. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into effect over twenty years ago, the United States has become a much friendlier landscape for people with disabilities. Still, for people who use crutches, walkers or wheelchairs, travelling can be quite a challenge.  

I use a wheelchair and I have travelled to more…

If the ADA were a person, it should be graduating college by now and looking for a job. However, workplace equality for people with disabilities is where the least progress has been made in the last quarter century, according to an informal poll of webinar attendees during “24 Years of the ADA: Progress, Pitfalls and Possibilities” hosted by Cornell University and the Northeast ADA Center on July 9, 2014. Where has the most progress been made? According to attendees polled, it is in the accessibility of physical spaces. Examine your workplace and you’ll find evidence of both. Are…

New Editions was named a “2014 Top Workplace” in the Washington Post last month. Washingtonian magazine named New Editions Consulting, Inc. one of the “50 Great Places to Work” in 2013. In addition to winning these awards, we have grown the business base by $1M per year for the past 12 years. Clearly, we are doing something right in our small company. We believe our success is directly related to the diversity and inclusiveness of our personnel who are the faces of the company and the keys to our success. We believe that as Federal contractors begin to…

Most parents dream that one day their children will go to college. But such dreams may grow distant and seem unrealistic when a child is born with a developmental disability. It could have been that way for us. Our son, Pete was born with an undiagnosed genetic syndrome that affected his motor skills, feeding, heart, and almost every aspect of his development. He was labeled “failure to thrive” because he couldn’t keep enough food down to grow. He cried, fussed, and struggled through therapy and doctor visits. Because of his very complex care needs, we requested a multidisciplinary…

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. During May, communities come together to promote awareness and understanding of mental illness.

Mental illness affects most families. One in four Americans will have a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75% begin by age 24. Mental illnesses include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, among many others. To increase access to care and create an open dialogue about mental illness, communities must address service system issues.

In 2013,…

I appreciate the important Republican and Democratic thought leaders who are focusing on the need to provide long-term services and supports (LTSS) for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions and older Americans. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently announced plans to draft policy and legislative solutions that will address public and private financing options, as well as how and where the services and supports are delivered. 

LTSS encompasses assistance with personal care, activities of daily living, housekeeping, health care routines that may be…

Want to know how to make a website accessible? Google the answers. Want a mainstream phone with built-in speech output for using it without vision? Go to an electronics store. Want to know how to make an ATM accessible? Put your headphone jack in pretty much any ATM. Want to know how to change your organization so that accessibility becomes an integral part of everyone's job? Um...  As time goes by more and more of the technological challenges around accessibility are being solved, written about, and widely implemented. However, let's face it, the ideal of everyone in an agency…

As a child with Spina Bifida growing up in Northern California I had some amazing opportunities. I went to the best public schools, had friends both with and without disabilities, and even participated in children’s theater. I also had many of the complications that people with Spina Bifida have—eleven surgeries, occupational and physical therapy appointments and countless sick days.

Through all of the opportunities and challenges of childhood, I always expected to graduate high school, go to college and get a good job that would keep me self-sufficient.  By high school, I…

Question: "How's 508 working out for your customers?"

Response: "We haven't had any complaints, so I think we're doing really well."

A lack of complaints is often cited in Section 508 circles as an indicator that we are all doing a great job for our customers. But are we? Research on consumer complaints suggests that people in general don't complain. They either go elsewhere, or just stop using that type of product or service.

Think about your latest bad restaurant experience. Did you complain to the management or just not go back? If you were to complain to the…