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The information below was current as of 2021.

In 2016, RespectAbility, in consultation with a wide-ranging group of diverse leaders, prepared a detailed report, Disability & Criminal Justice Reform: Keys to Success. The report, which was featured on the PBS Newshour, looks at how youth with disabilities get caught in the school-to-prison pipeline, what happens to people with disabilities behind bars and how people exit the criminal justice system. We offered very specific proposals for progress. [continue reading…]

In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Delta Air Lines is featuring seven disability-inclusive films in a Top Picks collection on their seatback, in-flight entertainment. Six of these films were written and/or directed by Disabled filmmakers, and all include Disabled individuals in front of the camera. In addition, these films are available with captions and audio description, creating accessibility for viewers who are deaf and/or blind.

Learn more at the Delta Studio website.

“As both an executive producer of Being Michelle and Vice Chair of RespectAbility, which has worked on some of the projects included in the Delta Studio NDEAM Top Picks collection, I am excited for the world to experience entertainment with powerful disability perspectives told through a lens in which disabled persons had a direct hand in creating both behind and in front of the camera,” said RespectAbility Vice Chair Delbert Whetter, who is a deaf filmmaker based in Los Angeles. [continue reading…]

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, RespectAbility reached out to our Entertainment Lab alumni network and asked them to share their favorite TV shows or movies featuring authentic portrayals of Disabled women, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals. If you’re looking for something new to watch, check out their list of recommendations below – including some projects created by and/or starring various members of our alumni network! [continue reading…]

On the last day of February 2023, I joined a roomful of employers, job seekers, and advocates in a conference center in San Francisco all united by one passion – building a workforce that was diverse, inclusive, and welcoming to all. This one-day event, hosted by Roy Baladi of Jobs for Humanity and cosponsored by the California Department of Rehabilitation, was a whirlwind of trainings, hands-on activities, and mentorship all oriented around this one singular goal.

The keynote remarks were delivered by Ken Oliver, Executive Director of Checkr.org. An employer himself, Oliver shared his story about rising from solitary confinement in prison where he educated himself in the law enough to realize that his civil rights were being violated, forming the foundation of a case that led to his eventual release. His experience and emergence into the job market later in life taught him the value of persistence and second chances, something that he has made into a career as a leader of the philanthropic arm of a company valued at $4.6 billion.

Throughout the day, Oliver’s charge to us rang in our ears, that many people don’t get a second chance, and that walking in the shoes of those we are committed to supporting is essential to eliminating bias and promoting fair chance. [continue reading…]

Emily Tironi

Throughout my childhood education, I took my own short, wheelchair accessible bus to the school a town over from mine. My town’s school was less than a mile from my house, but they had refused to accommodate me. My mother fought tooth and nail, got a lawyer, and the local school ended up footing the bill to send me to the next town over. By the time I graduated, I knew I had my parents to thank for getting me an equal education and supports to live, but I did not comprehend all of the work of the generations of disabled people before me that had created this pathway. I think it was this experience that made me want to understand the societal aspects of disability and major in Disability Studies in college.

In college, I took a class in Disability History, and learned that the laws that protected people with disabilities were not just given; they were fought for by disabled activists. It made me realize the role disability history had played in my life. My education, medical care, and community supports were all a direct result of years of hard-fought activism.

When I started my Fellowship at RespectAbility, I pitched the idea of doing a social media series on disability history, because it is such an under-taught topic that is essential to understanding how to address the issues the disability community still faces today. I was so grateful to share Tom Olin’s and Anthony Tusler’s photographs in the series to help bring these important events to life. While at community college, I took the public bus for the first time, photographing the experience for my photography class. It was not until creating this project that I realized how ADAPT’s actions and Tom Olin documenting them allowed such a moment to occur. [continue reading…]

ReelAbilities Films

RespectAbility is happy to partner with ReelAbilities this year to recommend screenings of several films your community can watch for JDAIM 2024. Fill out this form to purchase screening rights to one or more of the following films.

About ReelAbilities

ReelAbilities celebrates disability, inclusion and accessibility through wide-ranging international films, riveting conversations, professional workshops, and other forms of visual and performing arts.

Founded in NY in 2007, as a program of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, ReelAbilities presents the largest festival in the US dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. With a flagship festival in New York, affiliate festivals throughout North America, an online streaming platform, industry summit, educational programs, and more, ReelAbilities brings the community together to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience, and is a leader in setting the highest standards of accessibility and inclusion in the film industry.

Amazing Grace

Run Time: 55 mins
Genre: Documentary
Description: Talented young musician Grace Fisher, proficient at 3 instruments, was on her way to the world famous Berklee College of Music. On her 17th birthday, she developed Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), a rare polio-like disease. Determined to persevere, Grace sets out to find new ways to create art, driven by her philosophy: “My only limitation will be my imagination.” Featuring Justin Hurwitz, Academy Award winning composer of La La Land.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming License Fee: $200

CODA

Run Time: 22 mins
Genre: Narrative
Description: A young dancer struggles with her identity and growing up hearing in a deaf family.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming License Fee: $60

JMaxx and the Universal Language

Run Time: 13 mins
Genre: Documentary
Description: A teenager with autism turns to dance as a way to better express himself.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming License Fee: $60

The Matchmaker

Run Time: 12 mins
Genre: Narrative
Description: Sam is concerned that his aging mother lacks the social stimulation that he believes will stave off Alzheimer’s. He decides to find her a new best friend.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming Cost: $60
CW: profanity

OKAY! The ASD Band Film

Run Time: 86 mins
Genre: Documentary
Description: Four talented autistic musicians come together through their shared love of music and form the ASD Band. Rawan, Jackson, Spenser, and Ron shatter stereotypes about people with autism and navigate a world where they are often misunderstood. As they write, record, and perform their first album, they find strength in each other and the music.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming License Fee: $600

Shakespeare In Tokyo 

Run Time: 21 mins
Genre: Narrative
Description: A Shakespeare fan with Down syndrome sets off on a solo adventure to discover Tokyo and to prove his independence.
Learn More and Watch Trailer
Streaming License Fee: $60

Other Recommendations

Breaking Silence

Run Time: 18 mins
Genre: Documentary
Description: A deaf father and his hearing daughter explore how imprisonment has shaped their relationship and their advocacy.
Watch for Free on PBS
CW: Brief mention of rape and drug use (non-graphic)

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Run Time: 1 hr 47 min
Genres: Comedy and Drama
Description: A young man who works as a Bar Mitzvah party host strikes up a friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter.
Watch Trailer on YouTube
Watch on Apple TV+
Motion Picture Rating: Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Run Time: 13 mins
Genre: narrative, historical fiction
Description: Targeted by Nazis as they hunt down and murder people with disabilities, a boy with a limb difference makes a daring decision while running for his life.
Watch on Netflix
CW: Violence, Holocaust

Give Me Liberty

Run Time: 1h 51min
Genre: Comedy
Description: Medical transport driver Vic is late, but it’s not his fault. Roads are closed for a protest, and no one else can shuttle his Russian grandfather and émigré friends to a funeral. The new route uproots his scheduled clients, particularly Tracy, a vibrant young woman with ALS. Their collective ride becomes a hilarious, compassionate, and intersectional portrait of American dreams.
Watch Trailer on YouTube
Watch on Amazon Prime Video
Also available to rent on other streaming platforms.
Rating: 16+
CW: Violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language

RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab, Summer 2022

Heather Taylor

Heather Taylor is a writer/ director of TV and films about complicated family relationships — often told through a supernatural/ horror/ sci-fi lens. She is a dual Canadian and UK citizen, US Green Card holder, and splits her time between LA and Toronto. As a writer, Heather was a story editor on season two of THE HARDY BOYS on Hulu and co-wrote two episodes. Her second feature film, LETHAL LOVE, produced by Neshama Entertainment and MarVista Entertainment, is streaming on Netflix.

Her narrative podcast, ANOMALY, was an official selection of the 2021 Tribeca Festival, and she is the co-host of BRAAAINS, a podcast exploring the inner workings of our brains and how film and television portray them. She hopes the conversations on BRAAAINS help people in the entertainment industry (and beyond) look at mental health and disability representation in a new – and more informed – light.

Heather started her writing career as a playwright and poet and is the author of three poetry collections. She taught writing to refugees, prisoners, pensioners, and students of all ages, and graduated with a Masters in Scriptwriting from City University, London. Heather was a 2022 RespectAbility Lab TV Writing Fellow, and an alum of the Royal Court Young Writers’ Program and the Bell Media Prime Time TV program (in association with ABC Signature Studios). She is a proud member of the WGC Feature Film Committee.

Before becoming a full-time filmmaker, Heather used her writing and directing talents for work in journalism, PR, and advertising. As an advertising exec, she led multimillion-dollar campaigns across different industry sectors and fine-tuned her reputation as an idea machine and the Indiana Jones of research. Working in journalism, she honed her curiosity about the world and her interest in people with different perspectives. She has conducted hundreds of interviews and now applies that approach to her own projects and writers’ rooms. In aid of her work, Heather spoke to a wide range of individuals from air force captains serving in Iraq to independent music venue owners, survivors of hurricane-ravaged communities to residents of ghost towns who have nowhere else to go.

Born with a non-visible disability, Heather strives to destigmatize mental illness, disabilities, and poverty in her work. She is currently working with producers on projects that feature characters with mental health and neurodevelopmental disabilities. Heather hopes these projects will open the door for more voices and stories that need to be told. There is room for all of us. See more at: HeatherATaylor.com.

Learn More

After an extensive search and interview process, 18 individuals and one writing duo were invited to participate in the Virtual Cohort of RespectAbility’s 2022 Entertainment Lab taking place August 16 – September 22, 2022. This 6-week, 18-session Lab aims to further develop and elevate the talent pipeline of diverse professionals with disabilities working behind-the-scenes in television, film, and streaming. Participants include people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, and other disabilities ranging in age from people in their 20’s through their 50’s. The Lab is a recipient of The Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award.

The Virtual Cohort of the 2022 Entertainment Lab is made possible with support by:

• Platinum Sponsors: Murray/Reese Foundation and Netflix
• Gold Sponsors: The Harnisch Foundation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and The Walt Disney Company
• Silver Sponsors: Hollywood Foreign Press Association Charitable Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, and NBCUniversal

This page has resources for professionals working in communications, marketing, and advertising about how to include people with disabilities. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, CA, April 7 – “Being Michelle” is a powerful and emotional documentary film that follows the life of a Deaf woman with autism who has survived numerous instances of abuse and injustice at the hands of the U.S. incarceration system. The film had its world premiere at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival this week, and will soon screen at the Florida Film Festival as well. At its core, “Being Michelle” is a story about hope and resilience in the face of adversity due to one’s family upbringings, circumstances, and the ableist injustices of the U.S. incarceration system. No matter what you are going through, you are not alone, and this documentary is a reminder of that through the story of Michelle’s journey as she continues to be that ray of sunshine for others despite what she has gone through. Her story matters and is an example for others to be able to learn and take up space.

Throughout the film, audiences learn that Michelle experienced an abusive family dynamic growing up; a pattern and experience that unfortunately followed her into the incarceration system, where police officers were quick to condemn her due to a lack of understanding of her disabilities, and without really trying to understand her or why she was acting or behaving a certain way. The documentary really brings to light how society is quick to judge and make assumptions about someone without getting to know them, as in the case of Michelle, who was misunderstood and could not articulate what she wanted to say and express her emotions due to a lack of means to communication between the Hearing officers and prison employees and herself as a Deaf woman. [continue reading…]