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Washington, D.C., Sept. 17 – From journalists to CEOs, influencers from around the nation gathered at the nation’s capital to discuss the advancement of people with disabilities and the future of the disability community at a summit partially made possible by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). Rep. Sherman has long been an advocate for people with disabilities and shared concrete ideas with the advocates and leaders. He outlined six key steps to build support and progress for important issues: educate, show large support for your issue, identify the opposition to your issue, make a specific request, speak to staff when business is slow, and remember the “virtual circle.”

The summit was organized by RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. While RespectAbility does not lobby Congress, Sherman did talk to summit attendees about “how to lobby when you don’t have a PAC.”

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Among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults, 30 percent of men and 36 percent of women also identify as having a disability. The disability community intersects with every other minority group, and the LGBTQ community is no exception. The LGBTQ rights movement has made tremendous progress over the past five years, but there is a lot of work left to be done to ensure that LGBTQ people are truly equal.

Both people who identify as LGBTQ and people who have invisible disabilities such as learning disabilities like dyslexia, mental health or ADHD have to decide whether or not to “come out of the closet.” This is not an easy decision for most people because of the uncertainty of whether or not acceptance will follow. LGBTQ youth who come out sometimes are rejected by their families and friends. Some are even kicked out of their homes and forced to live on the streets. According to a University of Chicago report, LGBTQ young adults had a 120 percent higher risk of reporting homelessness compared to youth who identified as heterosexual and cisgender. [continue reading…]

“I see the world in a different way than most people and for me, that’s been a positive thing.” – Shark Tank star and businessman Daymond John, who has Dyslexia

UPDATED APRIL 2019

More than 5.4 million African Americans live with a disability in the U.S., 3.4 million of which are working-age African Americans with disabilities.

Only 28.6 percent of working-age African Americans with disabilities are employed in the U.S. compared to 73.7 percent of working-age African Americans without disabilities. This is in line with the rest of the country, with fully one-in-five Americans having a disability and just 30 percent of those who are working-age being employed, despite polls showing that most of them want to work. This leads to approximately 40 percent of African Americans with disabilities living in poverty compared to 22 percent of African Americans without disabilities. [continue reading…]

Michelle Rodriguez

There are 4,869,400 Latinx and Hispanic Americans living with a disability in the U.S.

Only 37 percent of working-age Latinx and Hispanic Americans with disabilities are employed in the U.S., compared to 73.9 percent of working-age Latinx and Hispanic Americans without disabilities. This is in line with the rest of the country, with fully one-in-five Americans having a disability and just 30 percent of those who are working-age being employed, despite polls showing that most of them want to work.

Salma Hayek

While we know that there are currently at least 1,471,367 Latinx and Hispanic students with disabilities in our country, only 59 percent of them complete high school. To compound this issue, students with disabilities of all backgrounds are at risk for entering the school-to-prison pipeline; there are more than 750,000 people with disabilities behind bars in our nation. [continue reading…]

Follows Season 4 of Born This Way, unscripted reality show breaking down disability stigmas, which was nominated for four Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend

Los Angeles, California, Sept. 10 – On the heels of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards this weekend, a new documentary special will air on A&E on Wednesday. Executive produced by Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin, Deaf Out Loud follows three predominantly deaf families as they raise their children in a hearing world. With many differing opinions about how deaf children should be raised swirling in the social consciousness, these families work to forge their own paths forward and combat the daily social stigmas many deaf people face.

Misconceptions exist about deaf individuals – from schooling, to employment and raising a family. Shows like Deaf Out Loud aim to change these misperceptions and has the potential to bring awareness and better understanding about people who are deaf. This show delves into the various ways Deaf culture is expressed and embraced in the United States. The three families will show viewers the diversity of Deaf culture today, and how it differs from hearing cultures.

“People of all backgrounds need to see positive representations of themselves, both as people with satisfying personal lives and as people who can perform successfully in the workplace,” Executive Producer Jonathan Murray said. “Those positive images will change for the better the way the greater society sees people who are deaf and those with disabilities, opening up more opportunities for them.” [continue reading…]

Free downloadable toolkit available online as a resource guide for Latina mothers and other caregivers of school-age children with disabilities

Washington, D.C., Sept. 6 – A new school year is challenging to everyone, but it can be exceptionally daunting to disabled members of the Latinx community and their families. But now RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for people with disabilities, aims to change that.

On Sept. 6, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., RespectAbility will unveil the first of its kind resource geared toward helping Latinx students with disabilities to succeed in academia and beyond.

Reporters are invited to join three of the co-authors for lunch at noon at the National Press Club’s Zenger Room. RSVPs to LaurenA@RespectAbility.org are required to attend.

“There is a vast talent in Latinx kids with disabilities, we just need to unleash it,” said Vincenzo Piscopo, Community and Stakeholder Relations Director of The Coca-Cola Foundation. “When we ensure that Latinx kids with disabilities have access to the same opportunities as everybody else, they not only win but society as a whole wins.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Sept. 5 – “Wherever you are, and whatever you do, there is a way of making a contribution if you have the will.”

That was the closing note of Kenneth Marcus’s speech at RespectAbility’s annual summit focused on the future of people with disabilities. “There are many different ways that you can be of public service,” he added.

As a long time civil rights lawyer, Marcus has been an advocate for the disability community for years. From 2004 through 2008, he served as the Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. “There was really no area of law that wasn’t pertinent,” Marcus said of his career. The main part of his current job, though, is implementing regulations. “Law enforcement is a big part of what we do.” [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Sept. 5 – When it comes to disability advocacy, reducing stigma and changing public opinion are very important. Just as significant and crucial is an aspect of daily minutiae that is less often acknowledged. Few know this better than Johnny Collett, the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitation Services at the United States Department of Education. Collett called for both having high expectations for students and for not putting up with adults who do not cooperate to help the students, stressing the need for not only keeping expectations high but also collaboration among all providers and advocates.

When he spoke at the RespectAbility’s “From Washington to Hollywood and Beyond” summit, Collett was clear that creating positive and lasting change for people with disabilities is crucial to the disability movement. “The only way to improve outcomes for all individuals is to be mindful of the particular needs of each individual,” he said, reflecting on his many years as an educator. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Sept. 5 – At RespectAbility’s “From Washington to Hollywood and Beyond” summit, experts in the area of employment, education and disability inclusion addressed a wide array of members of the disability community. The summit showcased some of the community’s brightest stars including Ollie Cantos and his three adopted children who spoke during their own panel titled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling.”

Ollie and his children have pushed themselves and each other to break past barriers and challenges. For Ollie, he is the highest-ranking blind person in the federal government, working as a lawyer and presidential appointee. When he started mentoring blind triplets Steven, Leo and Nick in 2010, he never pictured he would adopt them five years later. Now, in 2018, their family continues to make strides in inclusion and achievement. Recently, the three young men became Eagle Scouts, an incredible achievement regardless of disability.To those not familiar with the term, this is the highest achievement to earn as a boy scout. It is an honor only four percent of all past and present Scouts can say they have received. Within this panel, each member of the family was able to tell his story of their past and their future. [continue reading…]