Illinois athlete believes current perceptions amount to ‘inspiration porn’

Ana Kohout and Senator Tammy Duckworth

Washington, D.C., September 10, 2019 – Anastazia Kohout, an Illinois native with spina bifida whose competitive swimming career has cast her in the spotlight, wants people to see her individuality before her disability.

Kohout just completed a summer Fellowship with Respectability, a nonprofit that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for people with disabilities. With the skills and confidence she gained this summer, Kohout will lead empowerment training for women with disabilities when she returns to Beloit College this fall. [continue reading…]

Rockville, Maryland, September 9 – Jonathan Koch, an Emmy Award-winning television producer and successful entrepreneur, was a speaker for RespectAbility’s Summer 2019 National Leadership Fellows. The hour-long discussion focused on his career path, before and after he became disabled, and how to be successful at pitching yourself.

Koch started his career as an agent for the 90s child star Candace Cameron and many other famous child actors. In 2003, he partnered with Steve Michaels to start Asylum Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based television production company. He was the President and Chief Creative Officer of Asylum Entertainment until they sold it to Legendary Entertainment for $100 million in 2014. A year later, Koch became desperately ill, causing doctors to amputate his right leg and left hand. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., September 7 – Before delivering the keynote address at RespectAbility’s Capitol Hill Summit, Ollie Cantos was racing through the halls of the Rayburn Building after being stuck in the notoriously long security lines, hoping to arrive at the Summit on time.

When he entered the room and began speaking, he immediately captivated the audience. Cantos, who is the Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and Member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID), highlighted the changes that have taken place in the disability community and the challenges still ahead, noting tensions within the disability community such as new and old ways of thinking amid polarizing political times. Some people with disabilities still are being housed in institutions, while some are out fighting for them to be let out. He emphasized that active members of the disability community are obligated to come together and speak up for themselves. Cantos described the process as “an ongoing journey of transformation and change.” [continue reading…]

Doug Jarett

On August 18, 2019, Douglas Jarett, a 51-year-old mensch with Down Syndrome, died unexpectedly. Obviously, it is a tragedy when someone so young dies, especially when it is someone as beloved as Doug. However, I’m making Doug our “shabbat smile” because the impact of his life was enormous and he always made me and others smile. He really broke glass ceilings and made such a big difference in the world!

Doug had been living in the community with friends through supports from Judith Creed Horizons for Achieving Independence (JCHAI) and had worked for over 30 years at Ludington Library in Lower Merion Township. Thirty years ago, how many people with Down syndrome were in the workforce? Very few. He broke the mold. [continue reading…]

“RespectAbility is an organization that leads by example. The team is very supportive of teaching and helping companies and individuals understand best practices for diversity and inclusion. RespectAbility doesn’t want to blame people – it wants to teach people.”

– Andrea Jennings

Andrea Jennings, a passionate self-advocate living and working in California, has volunteered with RespectAbility in a variety of ways. One of her key roles has been to represent RespectAbility at Hollywood events. She makes certain that questions are being asked regarding disability inclusion in Hollywood. In addition, she has spoken on panels on behalf of RespectAbility. Andrea also mentors younger individuals with various disabilities who are interested in the entertainment industry. She works to ensure that people recognize their implicit biases and determine how they’re going to move past those biases. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., August 31 — RespectAbility’s 2019 Capitol Hill Summit featured a panel discussion and Q&A on how to end the school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities.

Moderated by Janie Jeffers, the former senior policy advisor for The President’s Crime Prevention Council, the panelists included disability and criminal justice experts Janet LaBreck, Robert Stephens and Diane Smith Howard.

Throughout the conversation, the speakers stressed the importance of identifying and providing services for students with disabilities early, before they are swept into the criminal justice system. [continue reading…]

“Over the last 20 to 30 years, things have changed significantly for people with disabilities, young people especially. They’re much more educated, they’re much more tech savvy, their expectations are very different from the previous generations.”
– Michael Reardon, Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Supervisory Policy Advisor

Washington, D.C., August 30 – During a day-long summit held on Capitol Hill, policymakers explored how current policies affect access to employment for people with disabilities.

The “Public Policy and Jobs for People with Disabilities” discussion featured: Mary Lazare, Principal Deputy Administrator, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Aging, Administration for Community Living (ACL); Rachel Stephens, Program Director of NGA (National Governors Association) Economic Opportunity; Michael Reardon, Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Supervisory Policy Advisor, Employment-Related Support Policy leading the SEED (State Exchange on Employment & Disability) initiative; and Tina Williams, Deputy Director, Office of Federal Contracting and Compliance programs (OFCCP). RespectAbility’s Policy and Practices Director Philip Kahn-Pauli served as moderator. [continue reading…]

Vivian Bass with RespectAbility Staff and Summer 2019 Fellows

Rockville, Maryland, August 26 – Vivian Bass, a member of RespectAbility’s Executive Committee, addressed the RespectAbility National Leadership Fellows on July 30. She discussed three key factors to guide board members and staff in achieving a professional yet open relationship.

The first is mutual respect. As an avid member of RespectAbility’s board along with many other boards, Bass has had plenty of experience with handling these relationships. She said that an organization won’t go anywhere without mutual respect between its board members and staff. Although board members and staff work closely together, there still needs to be a “clear line in the sand” so no one oversteps or gets blindsided by another, she said. [continue reading…]

For this week’s Shabbat Smile, RespectAbility’s president Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi offers tips on things parents of children with disabilities and their teachers need to do in order to have a great experience in Hebrew and religious school. This piece was previously published in the Times of Israel. [continue reading…]