Education

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month. The primary audience for Dr. Seuss’ books is young children, but his writings have insight for adults, too.  As he said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) inaugurated April 24-30 as National Reentry Week.

Parents who are gathering backpacks and supplies for the start of the school year, may want to add one more item to that back to school list—an appropriate assistive technology (AT) product. AT can help with many types of learning challenges: listening, speaking, math, organization and memory, reading and writing.

I was optimistic about the direction the field of disability was taking when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed. I had spent a year arguing with my brother-in-law who belonged to an organization that was actively lobbying against the ADA. He was convinced that the ADA would be the death of the small business that employed him. Our arguments were heated and often led to me saying things such as, “We’re all only temporarily able-bodied.

July 2015 is bookended by two celebrations of independence in America – the Fourth of July holiday and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At New Editions we consult on disability research and policy, we actively recruit and hire individuals with disabilities, and we promote diversity, so issues of civil rights, equal opportunity and freedom of choice are always on our minds. To observe the ADA anniversary, a group of New Editions employees reflected on the impact of the ADA in their lives. 

September is College Savings Month—a month to remind and encourage people to start a 529 Plan.  Section 529 plans make it easy and affordable for the average family to plan ahead for the cost of college attendance and are available in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Across the nation, many activities are held during September to recognize the importance of saving for college.

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?