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Washington, D.C., Nov. 19 – Key senate and gubernatorial candidates from both sides of the political aisle who support opportunities for people with disabilities won big this election, showing that disability rights is a winning issue.

There are 56 million people with disabilities (one in five Americans), more than 35 million of whom are eligible voters (one-sixth of the electorate). According to a recent survey, 74 percent of likely voters have a disability themselves or have a family member or a close friend with disabilities. Voters are more likely to support candidates who prioritize ensuring that children with disabilities get the education and training they need to succeed as well expanding job and career opportunities for people with disabilities.

“Candidates for office ignore the disability community at their peril,” said former U.S. Representative and Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett. Bartlett, who was a primary author of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, is the chairman of RespectAbility.

Several candidates responded earlier during the campaign season to a disability issues questionnaire for Senate and gubernatorial candidates put out by RespectAbility, a nonpartisan, nonprofit national organization working to end stigmas and advance opportunities for people with disabilities. Candidates from both sides of the aisle completed the questionnaire, showing that disability rights is a bipartisan issue. The responses also are geographically-diverse, coming from states around the country, as politicians are paying more attention to the disability community. RespectAbility is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The questionnaire is purely for educational purposes.

Others submitted proclamations for National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) to RespectAbility. This year, people with disabilities and employers have clear reason to celebrate. More than 343,000 Americans with disabilities got new jobs last year, a fourfold improvement in job gains compared to the previous year. Expanding employment opportunities is bipartisan, as both Democrats and Republicans are quick to recognize the abilities of what people with disabilities can accomplish.

“Our nation was founded on the principle that anyone who works hard should be able to get ahead in life,” said RespectAbility’s President, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi. “People with disabilities deserve equal opportunity to earn an income and achieve independence just like anyone else.”

Of those who responded to the national questionnaire or provided NDEAM proclamations, 20 candidates have won their election. These include Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), Gov. Kate Brown (D-OR), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ), Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD), Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), Gov. David Ige (D-HI), Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL), State Sen. Laura Kelly (D-KS), Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Businessman J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak (D-NV), Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) and Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA), all of whom won races for governor; Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who won their senate races. [continue reading…]

2018 SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award Recepient

CJ Jones speaks at the 2018 Media Access Awards

Los Angeles, California, Nov. 8 – “I’ve always believed my talent has nothing to do with my color or my hearing loss. I represent myself as CJ, no labels, but with deep passion for … creating new work. I love to work as an actor.”

Jones delivered an emotional speech while accepting the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award at the Media Access Awards, which recently has formed a partnership with Easterseals Southern California, earlier this month. The ceremony honors media and entertainment trailblazers advancing disability awareness and inclusion. CJ Jones, a deaf actor, is best known for his role in the movie Baby Driver. His scene-stealing acting skills more than qualify him to be recognized at the Media Access Awards. But beyond his superb acting, Jones deserves this award because of his activism, his representation as a deaf actor and his hard work to open opportunities for other actors with disabilities. [continue reading…]

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods giving a speech at the 2018 Media Access Awards

Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 8 — Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, writers and producers of A Quiet Place, were honored alongside actor-director John Krasinski at the Media Access Awards, which recently has formed a partnership with Easterseals Southern California. The ceremony honors media and entertainment trailblazers advancing disability awareness and inclusion.

Millicent Simmonds, a deaf actress who starred in A Quiet Place, presented Beck, Woods, and Krasinski with the Writers Guild of America West Evan Somers Memorial Award for their work on A Quiet Place.

“[This award is] a reminder that the stories that we choose to tell can actually have a positive effect beyond the screen,” Beck said while accepting the award.

Woods and Beck are co-writers, producers and directors, best known for A Quiet Place, which they co-wrote and produced. Krasinski, known for NBC’s The Office and the Amazon series Jack Ryan, co-wrote, produced and directed A Quiet Place. A Quiet Place is a dramatic-thriller about a family trying to survive in silence while being hunted by monsters that are attracted to sound. The movie features a deaf character who is played by Simmonds, who is also deaf.

Millicent Simmonds, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods at the 2018 Media Access Awards

“We’d like to thank Millie,” Beck said at the ceremony. “She became the defining voice of A Quiet Place. The life experience that she brought gave her character in the film an authenticity that we could only be a small part of on the page. In many ways, we consider Millie to be the fourth writer of A Quiet Place.”

The hearing cast of A Quiet Place learned American Sign Language to provide authenticity to the movie, as well as to better communicate with each other on set. “It was really amazing and brought an extra depth to the film,” Beck said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Krasinski pushed for casting that included a deaf actress playing the character written as deaf. The filmmakers felt that casting Simmonds, a talented actress who is deaf, helped the film become the success it is. “I found myself asking her [Simmonds] all the time, ‘Is this right?’ And she would be like, ‘maybe do it more like this?” She was not intimidated at all.” Krasinski said of Simmonds influence in an interview with The Wrap.

“When I got the original script from Beck and Woods, they had this deaf character in the movie and in my rewrite, I just really wanted to flesh that out even more,” said Krasinski in the interview. “When you get someone like [Millicent Simmonds], not only are you so happy and honored to have a deaf actress preform in this role, but you also have a guide through this entire story.”

2018 Recipients of the Casting Society of America Award

Jonathan Murray and the Born This Way cast present an award to Sasha Alpert and Megan Sleeper at the 2018 Media Access Awards

Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 8 — Sasha Alpert (They Call Us Monsters, Autism: The Musical, Born This Way) and Megan Sleeper (Undressed, Born This Way) were honored at the Media Access Awards, which recently has formed a partnership with Easterseals Southern California, for their work to create inclusive entertainment that features the stories of people with disabilities. The ceremony honors media and entertainment trailblazers advancing disability awareness and inclusion.

Alpert, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development, and Sleeper, Senior Vice President of Casting, promote the culture of telling authentic stories of people with disabilities at Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP) through their casting, including for Born This Way.

Born This Way, an unscripted reality show on A&E that follows a group of seven young adults with Down syndrome in Southern California, demonstrates that inclusive casting means not only including people with disabilities, but people with disabilities from many different demographics. [continue reading…]

Present 2018 Casting Society of America Award to Sasha Alpert and Megan Sleeper

Jonathan Murray and the Born This Way cast at the 2018 Media Access Awards

Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 8— The cast of Born This Way and executive producer Jonathan Murray made an appearance at the Media Access Awards to present casting directors Sasha Alpert and Megan Sleeper with the Casting Society of America Award. The Media Access Awards, which recently has formed a partnership with Easterseals Southern California, honors accurate inclusions of disability in film, television and new media.

Alpert and Sleeper cast Born This Way, for which they won the 2017 Outstanding Casting for a Realty Program Emmy Award. Born This Way is an unscripted series on A&E that follows the lives of seven young adults with Down syndrome as they navigate friendships, romantic relationships and work. The Casting Society of America Award, which Alpert and Sleeper were awarded, honors casting directors who actively participated in the mission of Media Access, according to the Casting Society of America.

Murray and the cast of Born This Way presented Alpert and Sleeper with the award. Steven Clark, Cristina Sanz and Rachel Osterbach delivered lines before presenting the award. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Nov. 6 – Below you will find two up-to-the-minute resources to help you this election:

1. Straight Q&A’s with candidates on disability issues organized by state. If you do not see a candidate from a senate or gubernatorial race, or local candidates in New York City and Los Angeles, it is because the candidate chose not to answer the questionnaire. RespectAbility is nonpartisan and all candidates were given an equal chance to make voters aware of their views on disability issues.
2. Apps and information on where to vote, how to vote and who to contact if there is an issue. As voters go to the polls, it is vital to know that voters with disabilities have every right to vote. If you have a problem voting due to lack of access for disability, contact 866-OUR-VOTE, or other resources listed below, immediately. Please let us know as well by emailing LaurenA@RespectAbility.org. View all of this information on one place on our blog: Disability Voter Resource Guide

Now please go vote! The disability community is 56 million citizens strong. Show your power at the ballot box! [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Nov. 5 – As voters head to the polls, many are concerned about various access issues from physical accessibility to voter ID laws. This is a federal election year; additionally, many state legislative seats, state executive offices, local offices and ballot amendments will be voted on. We’ve compiled resources provided by general Election Day voter rights organizations as well as those provided by various disability groups.

See below for apps and information on where to vote, how to vote and who to contact in case there is an issue. Voters with disabilities have every right to vote. If you have a problem voting due to lack of access for disability, contact 866-OUR-VOTE to talk to lawyers on hand to answer Election Day questions and concerns about voting procedures, or other resources listed below, immediately. Please let us know as well by emailing LaurenA@RespectAbility.org. Did we miss an important resource? Share with us and we’ll update this guide. [continue reading…]

Watch Speechless on ABC, Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET.

View Education Resources on Disability Issues and Tools in Spanish

Micah Fowler

Los Angeles, California, Nov. 5 — In the U.S., schools were not required to provide special education until 1975. Today, the fight for inclusive education remains a constant battle for parents and students. Speechless, a comedy starring Micah Fowler, a young adult with cerebral palsy, as J.J., a high school senior with cerebral palsy, shines the spotlight on the importance of young adults taking over the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process as they grow older.

Creating an IEP, an individual education plan that outlines what a student with a disability needs to be successful in school, can be a daunting challenge for parents and often stressful as there is much to consider when determining the education of a child. The implementation of an IEP is integral for children with disabilities. An IEP is a formal plan for students who have been identified to need accommodations specific to their individual disability in the public-school system. In addition to accommodations, the classroom can be tailored within a general classroom, a smaller group or one-on-one instruction. [continue reading…]

Winner of the 2018 Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship, Media Access Awards

Delbert Whetter, Tatiana Lee and Lauren Appelbaum on the Red Carpet at the Media Access Awards

Beverly Hills, California, Nov. 2 – There is a conspicuous lack of disability representation in media. The Center for Disease Control estimates that nearly one in five Americans has some type of disability. Yet people with disabilities often are absent in acting, advertising and modeling. Today’s beauty standards often do not include depictions of disabilities. Tatiana Lee, an actress and model with Spina Bifida, is working on improving representation of disabilities in media. “Society is ready for disability representation,” she says.

Lee’s work toward inclusion within the worlds of both modeling and acting led to her receiving the Christopher Reeves Acting Scholarship at the Media Access Awards, which recently has formed a partnership with Easterseals Southern California, Thursday. The ceremony honors media and entertainment trailblazers advancing disability awareness and inclusion.

“Thank you all for giving me the tools to have a fighting chance to finally not feel invisible to the world and to ensure that future generations don’t feel the same,” Lee said while accepting the award. “I’m so honored and I will continue this journey and do all I can to ensure Hollywood is accessible to anyone else that dares to dream big!” [continue reading…]