Steve Bartlett Award and Spangenberg-Chappell Memorial Award will be presented in Washington D.C. at 3^rd Annual Disability Impact Awards.

June 6, 2024 – RespectAbility is proud to announce the recipients of its third annual Disability Impact Awards, which recognize individuals working to advance opportunities for people with disabilities. Lex Frieden, one of the chief architects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), will receive the 2024 Steve Bartlett Award, named after the Honorable Steve Bartlett, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a principal co-author of the ADA. The Spangenberg-Chappell Memorial Award will go to RespectAbility Fellow and groundbreaking deaf-blind journalist Steven McCoy. Both Frieden and McCoy will accept their awards at RespectAbility’s Disability Impact Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on July 11^th, closing out a week of policy activity during Disability Advocacy Week. [continue reading…]

Voting should be a stress-free experience. Most people would probably agree that all aspects of voting, including registering to vote, researching the candidates and issues, and casting a ballot, should be accessible to people with disabilities. And thanks to years of effort from disability advocates, there are more accessible voting options than ever before. But unfortunately, barriers to voting persist for disabled people across America.

When disabled people choose to vote in-person, best practices in accessibility are often not fully utilized due to a lack of training and education. Poll workers are often not trained on how to use accessible voting devices, and some demonstrate microaggressions and implicit biases against voters with disabilities. Many disabled people are unable to drive, and for them, getting transportation to the polling place can be a challenge. [continue reading…]

All United States citizens are encouraged to make their voices heard on Election Day. Unfortunately, people with disabilities face a variety of challenges when registering to vote, getting involved in political campaigns, casting a ballot, and running for office. Poll workers are often inadequately trained in operating accessibility features on voting machines. People who receive Social Security Disability Insurance can be penalized for running for office. If a disabled candidate runs and wins, the offices in which they are expected to serve their constituents are sometimes inaccessible. Aiming to remove some of these barriers and give disabled American voters an equitable opportunity to have their voices heard, Representatives Madeline Dean (PA-04) and Mary Gay Scalon (PA-05) introduced the following three bills to the House, with Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introducing companion bills to the Senate. [continue reading…]

Disabled film actors have gained some ground in employment from 2022 to 2023 but remain severely underrepresented in front of the camera among the top films of 2023. Looking at two different UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report studies released in March and May of this year, just 7.1% of theatrical film actors and 4.7% of streaming film actors have a disability. This is in comparison to 26% of the U.S. population.

This is the second year that the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report tracks the known disability status of actors. This followed numerous disability organizations, including RespectAbility and FWD-Doc, lobbying for disability inclusion.

The report acknowledges it was able to include disability status due to new sources of data, including Nielsen-owned Gracenote’s Studio System, which began tracking on-screen disability representation as part of its inclusion data in 2022, with the assistance of RespectAbility. [continue reading…]

“You shine, just as you are.”

The penultimate song in Netflix’s new animated family film Thelma the Unicorn provides an anthem for the theme of the film. For children watching who have been told they are not good enough because they “don’t look the part,” Thelma (voiced by Brittany Howard) shows them that you can be true to yourself and succeed. However, Thelma needs to lose herself first to learn this important lesson.

Thelma is a pony who dreams of sharing her songs with the world. It is not until an accident that causes her to look like a unicorn that the industry begins to pay attention to her. However, Thelma ultimately betrays herself and those who truly know her. Her path leads to her having a fake boyfriend for publicity and performing AI-generated songs. [continue reading…]

Lab alumni Nasreen Alkhateeb (2019, Cinematography), April Caputi (2019, Casting), Annie Hayes (2023, TV Writer), and Chrissy Marshall (2023, Writer / Director) shared their industry experiences and offered advice to the 2024 virtual cohort of the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab.

A major component of the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab includes building a community of disabled creatives. One way that RespectAbility achieves this is by inviting alumni to return to share about their experiences – both during and following the Lab – to offer advice to the new cohort.

During an orientation for the 2024 Virtual Cohort, four alumni shared that the Lab goes beyond gaining experience in their area of interest. A common theme emerged among the panelists as many shared how their time during the Lab impacted their perception of disability, including their own. [continue reading…]

By Maureen McEly, RespectAbility Entertainment Lab Alum

Maureen McEly on the set of her short film Golden Hour

When I became disabled in 2020, I dealt with a strange side effect: my ambition increased. Previously, I’d been content as a writer, but suddenly, despite struggling to adjust to my new physical limitations, I grew obsessed with the idea of telling my own stories every step of the way, and I decided I wanted to become a director as well. However, living with a neuromuscular disease that causes strength and stamina issues as well as muscle weakness and fatigue, I found myself intimidated by the physical aspect of directing and I feared this new dream of mine might be out of reach. But when I was selected for the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab, I encountered other disabled creatives carving out a path in filmmaking with disability accommodations at the very center of their work. I was so inspired, I took the leap and directed my first short film, Golden Hour, which was completed earlier this year. As I reflect on the film and the filmmaking experience, while going through the process of submitting to festivals, I thought it might be helpful to share what I learned writing, directing, and producing my first short film with a disability, in hopes it might be useful for other aspiring disabled directors. [continue reading…]

Every year on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan (April 22 on the Gregorian calendar this year) Jewish people celebrate Passover. We gather at homes and synagogues for the first of two seders. The Haggadah includes the order of the rituals, blessings, songs, and readings. It even tells when to eat the seder meal.

The Torah describes how the Israelites hurriedly packed provisions for the journey out of Egypt and couldn’t wait for their bread dough to rise. (Exodus 12:39). Two mitzvot (commandments) require future generations to eat only unleavened bread during Passover and to tell the Passover story to all our children.

How can a seder be engaging and meaningful for all guests, including children, teens, and adults with disabilities? Here are some tips you can use: [continue reading…]

Principal Matters, a short film directed and produced by F. Carl Hansen and written by Natalie D’Alicio, follows the story of two high school teachers, Lydia, played by RespectAbility Entertainment Lab Alumna and an associate producer of the film Diana Elizabeth Jordan, and Sofia, played by D’Alicio, who are trying to fight back against their awful and egotistical boss, Principal Nelson (Michael Charles Vaccaro), after he cuts funding to the school’s art and music program.

In the film, viewers learn that Sofia is losing her job next year because the newly appointed Principal Nelson, a job that should have gone to Lydia if the board weren’t sexist, has cut funding for the arts and music program. After Lydia also loses the vice principal position to Brandon Collins, a guy that thought school ended at twelve according to Sofia, Lydia and Sofia plan to sabotage Nelson in order to get him fired. With the help of the other faculty and someone who dated Nelson, they scope out dirt on Nelson, so they can save the school and their jobs. [continue reading…]