Be Passionate
When I left my job as a director of group homes in San Antonio to start a company to publish teaching materials for students with intellectual disabilties in 1991, I got a lot of interesting comments from people. Some good, some not so good. Some people even said, "There can't be much money in that." News Flash: Success and life happiness isn't about money.
I have learned along the way, that life is better if you do what you are passionate about.
Congrats on this blog post. Most awesome!
ADA 20th anniversary!
Are you doing anything special for the 20th anniversary of the ADA? I am! My Center for Independent Living is throwing a party. Find an ADA celebration near you: www.aapd.com/ADAanniversary
Dignity
I try to reach disabled persons with advice which I wish I had access to when I had first lost my eyesight. I share my ongoing experiences with technology, safety, and perception in order that our community is integrated on all social levels. Disabled persons actually have the power to enlighten others by sharing a wisdom that can only come through first-hand experience in a social interaction. We must be visible and active to show that diversity needs to include the strata of physically and mentally abilities.
301!
We had a goal of getting 300 bloggers signed up for this event...basically 100 bloggers per month leading up to it. We have reached that goal and have a few days left until the event date. Thank you to everyone who has signed up and/or helped promote this event. We appreciate your interest and your efforts. You rock!
Questions about web accessibility
A few people have asked if there are resources that explain to bloggers how to fix problems a site evaluator may point out to them about their site. I asked blogger @GlendaWH if she had any suggestions and she responded:
Two great resources for web accessibility are the Web Accessibility Initiative - www.w3.org/WAI/, and WebAIM - www.webaim.org/.
However, I am finding that blog accessibility is different than web accessibility, even though the underlying principles are the same. Instead of a web team working together, with blogs, there's the platform, the theme, the plugins/widgets and the blogger. The average blogger can do only so much in terms of accessibility.
Hope this helps those of you who had questions and thanks Glenda for sharing your knowledge with me and the rest of the event.
Empower, Educate and Embrace
I am overwhelmed by the numbers involved and words shared. I am an occupational therapist and a paraplegic (from an ependymoma - spinal cord tumor). I have been blessed to become an advocate for wheelchair users and those with other disabilities both on a local scale (trying to improve accessible transporation in my small community through an Easter Seals initiative) AND nationally through Users First Alliance (www.usersfirst.org) which advocates for better wheelchair funding/coverage and giving those of us who rely on other sources of mobility a name and a face so legislators KNOW who we are and our stories. Keep up the good work and get/stay involved!!!
DISABILITY NOT INABILITY
Since when did being disabled mean inabled?
We live in a society that excercises its freedom to judge at the first opportunity. Is there one brain working on more than a thrid grade level out there even a child must understand that physical appearances mean nothing when measured against the merit pf the person inside that physical body.
I am embarrassed to think that we even call to question any judgment towards any person on the face of this planet and even more so a citizen of the United States. It saddens me to think that this type of in human act is allowed to happen as if completely normal, NO not the case.
Disabilities have nothing to do with ones character, mental power, emotional discipline and the like. A disability can apply to a myriad of situations for example: We the American people have a mental disability to think with the mind of reason and inept wisdom in our understanding that the one law which never fails is that of the act of compassion which lies within the human heart.
A Fairy Tale around the idea of Empowering People with Disabilities build across countries
Dear all,
My name is Pedro Oliveira. I am a psychologist and anthropologist. I am currently managing a blog and facebook community around the theme of educating across difference and diversity. On our Facebook page we opened a chain message post where members of different countries will be contributing to the idea of building a collective fairy tale on the idea of empowering people with disabilities. This will be posted on the Blog on the 24th of July. I would love to have active participation of Bloggers Unite community. Please join our Facebook Community, help us write this tale and visit our Blog, if you will. Many Thanks, Pedro, 15/07
Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=312078576185
Blog-Project: chainsofdifference.blogspot.com/
Any hints on how to make a site/blog 100% accessible?
I'm going to try to make my blog (theiciexperience.blogspot.com) 100% accessible for the People First event. I have no idea how to do it and the Wave site that tells me some things about what's wrong with my blog (wave.webaim.org/) has no clues about what to do to fix it. I'm going to research this, but any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
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People First: Empowering People With Disabilities
To have this page overflowing with information and inspiration!
On July 24, 2010, BloggersUnite is asking bloggers and writers around the world to use their voices to raise awareness about empowering people with disabilities. One in every five Americans is affected by a disability. This means that approximately 54 million people in the U.S. alone are working everyday to gain greater independence and create new possibilities for themselves. Within the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has done much to eliminate the barriers and discrimination people with disabilities have faced for so long. Yet, about three quarters of adults with disabilities are unemployed--even though most would prefer to be working. And, internet access for people with disabilities is about half of what it is for those without disabilities. Clearly there is still a lot of work to be done if we want people with disabilities to be truly empowered! Please join BloggersUnite in supporting people with disabilities and the groups who work to empower them by raising awareness. Let people know that despite major gains more needs to be done to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy the same access to resources and opportunities as those without disabilities. Getting involved is easy. So act now! If you have any questions about this event or would like to be an event partner, email Jason at jason@blogcatalog [dot] com.
Profile of an inspiring person who happens to have a disability
7/24/10
by: stonekat
For this BU event I focused on a person who is inspiring for his accomplishments and for the hope he gives to other people with disabilities. He has achieved much more than the vast majority of people without a disability. Everyone, especially employers, can and should learn to look past a disability and see the whole person.
If you're in the states and in one of the cities where he'll be performing this summer, check out Brian Shaughnessy's “The Squeaky Wheel SQUEAKS!” show. Or visit his web site, or read excerpts from his book. Links here: www.fleshandstone.net/arts/2088.html
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