JFActivist

Equal Right Center Wants Your Stories about Inaccessible Services

From the Equal Rights Center (4.18.11):

Accessibility surveys

The ERC’s Disability Rights Program is in the process of examining access to travel, shopping, dining, movies (including online streaming), and online gaming for people with disabilities. Please help us learn more about accessibility barriers by taking our surveys.

Originally formed in 1983, the ERC is a national non-profit civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C.  With members located in 42 states and the District of Columbia, the ERC works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and access to public accommodations and government services for all protected classes under federal, state, and local laws.

>>> For More on the Equal Rights Center

You're Invited: US Paralympic Leadership Conference April 29-May 2

From US Paralympics (2.23.11):

REGISTER NOW!
2011 USOC Paralympic Leadership Conference 

April 29 - May 2
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Join us for the fourth annual USOC Paralympic Leadership Conference and learn alongside other leaders like you, in workshops led by top professionals in the Paralympic movement from across the country.

Blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer announced as opening keynote speaker!
Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind man in history to climb the Seven Summits, including Mt. Everest, will deliver the opening keynote address at the 4th annual Paralympic Leadership Conference. Weihenmayer's story of conquering the toughest climbs in the world, and in life, will set the tone for this incredible weekend of learning and inspiration...

To learn more about the conference, visit www.usparalympics.org/leadershipconference

Sports and Disability: Study of Golfers with Disabilities

From the National Center on Accessibility (2.14.11):

A Study of Participation in the Game of Golf by Persons with Disabilities and Persons Who are Aging

The National Center on Accessibility is conducting a study on golf participation by persons with disabilities or who are aging. The purpose of the study is to determine what factors assist and/or present barriers to participating in the game of golf by persons who have disabilities or persons who are aging with health conditions. We are seeking volunteers to participate in our survey which would require approximately 10-15 minutes to complete via the Internet. Surveys completed online are anonymous and no personal identifying information is gathered or stored.

A number of important events have occurred in recent years such as the invention or improvement of assistive devices for use in golf; development of ADA guidelines for recreation facilities including golf facilities; and an increase in the number of organizations promoting golf for persons with disabilities. While one might assume that factors that promote the pursuit of playing golf have increased and barriers may have decreased, there is a need to determine the level of participation in golf by persons with disabilities, and what helps or hinders one’s interest in pursuing the game.  This research is being conducted by Drs. Sherril York and Kiboum Kim at the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University, in partnership with the Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation and the National Alliance for Accessible Golf. The study will be conducted using an on-line survey available via the Internet.

Who will be study participants?
Individuals with disabilities, and person who are aging who have health conditions can take part in the study.

Individuals with disabilities or health conditions must be:

1. At least 18 years of age or older
2. Currently residing in the United States.

What is the project about?
A survey asking a variety of questions related to the past, current and future interest in pursuing the game of golf and barriers to that participation will be available online or in alternate format upon request.
 
The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. There is no cost to participate in this study. If you choose to complete the paper version, prepaid return envelopes will be provided.
 
You can access the survey through this web address: http://ncaonline.org/golfsurvey

Further questions?
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the project, please contact Sherril York (812) 856-4422 or shyork@indiana.edu

VSA Founder, Jean Kennedy Smith, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

From VSA (11.18.10):

VSA Founder Jean Kennedy Smith Named Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom

Yesterday, President Barack Obama named Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, founder of VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Freedom is the country’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made great contributions to U.S. security or world peace, or made other cultural or significant accomplishments. President Obama will present the awards at a ceremony in early 2011.

“Ambassador Smith is a pioneer,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA. “Because of her work, students of all abilities today have opportunities to express themselves and learn through the arts. Doors are open for artists with disabilities, and their work is being celebrated for its quality.  

“On behalf of VSA, our advisory board of directors, artists, and the seven million people touched each year through our work, we congratulate Ambassador Smith on this well-deserved honor.”

Ambassador Smith founded VSA in 1974. For 46 years, she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, which provides grants to promote awareness and advocacy in the field of intellectual disabilities. Her book, Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists, written in collaboration with George Plimpton, was published by Random House in April 1993. President Clinton named Smith U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, where she played a pivotal role in the peace process from 1993 to 1998. Ambassador Smith is the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center.

 

About VSA

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increase access to the arts for all. With 52 international affiliates and a network of nationwide affiliates, VSA is changing perceptions about people with disabilities around the world. Each year, 7 million people of all ages and abilities participate in VSA programs, which cover all artistic genres. VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit www.vsarts.org.

Horrifying Video Description on October 31

From AAPD (10.29.10):

by Jenifer Simpson,

Listen to Horrifying Video Description October 31, 2010

This Sunday, October 31 is Halloween 2010!  If you’ve never heard a movie audio described before, celebrate the holiday by listening to American Council of the Blind (ACB) Radio when it streams online, via web-based radio station, the full movie Night of the Living Dead (George Romero's original 1968 film) with complete audio description.

Tune in at 8:00 pm EDT at www.acbradio.org/world for the film with all of the classic film's spooky horror described in full by the  American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project.  This was produced by ACB in collaboration with VITAC, a captioning & video description company. The described horror film  is also available for free on VITAC's website at VITAC.COM - Night of the Living Dead  and on VITAC's YouTube channel VITAC - You Tube - Night of the Living Dead 
 
Notice provided  by Joel Snyder, President, Audio Description Associates, LLC,  "The Visual Made Verbal"  ™, 6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD  20912. Email jsnyder@audiodescribe.com, tel  301 920-0218; Cell:  301 452-1898;   Fax: 408 445-0079. For more information about audio description, please visit http://www.audiodescribe.com/  or contact American Council of the Blind at Tel  202 467-5083. website www.acb.org/adp.

Halloween: Targeting or Celebrating Difference

From the JFA Moderator:

This Halloween weekend, NPR has posted a piece by commentator, Ben Mattlin, where he describes feeling targeted as a person with difference by the festivities.  In conversations, I’ve had with friends and colleagues with disabilities, the idea has been put forward that Halloween is a time where difference is accepted and even celebrated.  What is your experience?  Are disabilities perceived differently around Halloween?  If so, how?

Read or listen to Ben Mattlin’s story “On Halloween, Celebrating Differences Of All Types” and post your thoughts below.

From NPR (10.28.10):

On Halloween, Celebrating Differences Of All Types

Commentator Ben Mattlin never looks forward to Halloween. He says having a highly visible disability can make the holiday feel odd and unsettling.

I never thought about a connection between disabilities and Halloween until I learned of the once-common fear of deformities — the limping, hunchbacked, hook-handed or one-eyed monsters of ancient fairy tales and old horror movies. Even the word "creepy" comes from the same word as the oldest term for folks like me, the politically incorrect "cripple."…

…Yet as an adult, I began to feel uneasy about the creepy exhibitionism of Halloween, the way it encourages staring at all things weird. I can't help wondering if Halloween doesn't promote ridiculing differences — even a kind of conformity. Yes, I know, for most people Halloween is an escape  from conformity, but for those of us who don't quite fit the norm, that's nothing special. In fact, demonstrating that you're not exactly what people expect is pretty much what disabled folks do every day…

>>> For the whole story

Your Invitation to the AAPD and NCIL 20th Anniversary ADA Bash

From AAPD (6.4.10):

THE SPIRIT OF THE ADA…LEAD ON!
 Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

   Tuesday evening, July 20, 2010 •

7 pm–11 pm

Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, DC

Join us as we celebrate 20 years of the ADA

         Dance to the music of Flame, a rock band from New York and enjoy a barbecue supper. Flame is made up of 11 people with disabilities and performs across the USA and in Europe with a song list of over 100 classic rock, country and blues songs from the past five decades.

Sponsored by: The National Council on Independent Living, Able Newspaper, ADA National Network-DB TACs, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, American Association of People with Disabilities, American Association on Health and Disability, American Federation of the Blind, Association of Programs in Rural Independent Living, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Bender Consulting Services, Inc., Brown, Goldstein & Levy, Committee on Disability Power & Pride, CTIA-The Wireless Association, Yoshiko Dart, Easter Seals, Epilepsy Foundation, Hearing Loss Association of America, The HSC Foundation, Institute for Educational Leadership, Job Accommodation Network and the Campaign for Disability Employment, Kessler Foundation, Liberty Resources, Inc., National Association of the Deaf, National Disability Institute, National Disability Rights Network, National Federation of the Blind, National Industries for the Blind, National MS Society, National Organization on Disability, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Shepherd Center, TASH, The Arc of the United States, United Cerebral Palsy, United Spinal Association, U.S. Business Leadership Network, U.S. International Council on Disabilities, VSA (as of  5/17/10).

If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Natalie Shear at natalie@natalieshear.com.

RESERVATION FORM

(For A Hard Copy  of the ADA Evite Text version)

Deadline for reservations: Friday, July 9, 2010. All tickets are available on a first come-first served basis and may sell out quickly.

NOTE: NCIL Conference Registration includes tickets to this event.

Questions? Contact Natalie Shear by phone or TTY at 202-833-4456 or 800-833-1354.

PLEASE NOTE: The organizers of the Spirit of ADA…Lead On! event are aware that a series of events are being planned in Washington, DC and around the country to celebrate the ADA Anniversary, including a large Disability Pride Parade in Chicago on July 24 and a Disability Power & Pride 20th ADA Anniversary Gala in Washington on July 26. We plan to coordinate and collaborate on events wherever possible, and encourage folks to let us know your plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Please send details of your event to Sarah Peterson at jfaan@aapd.com and we will maintain a central listing of all the events we know about.

Toward Removing R-Word from Federal Books, U.S. Senate Committee Passes 'Rosa's Law'

From the Special Olympics (5.26.10):

SPECIAL OLYMPICS APPLAUDS U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE PASSAGE OF ‘ROSA’S LAW’

Removal of ‘Mental Retardation’ Seen as Major Step toward Greater Respect and Inclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities

The Special Olympics movement applauds the passage of “Rosa’s Law” by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) as championed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.) to eliminate the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from laws passed by its members.

Although originally a clinical term and introduced with good intentions, the term “mental retardation” and its pejorative form, “retard”, have been used widely in today’s society to degrade and insult people with intellectual disabilities. By instead using “intellectual disability” and “an individual with an intellectual disability” in federal laws, the U. S. Senate sends a strong signal that language is important and that no form of the R-word should be used to refer to any of its constituents.

“Respect, value, and dignity – everyone deserves to be treated this way. These traits don’t need to be earned,” said Dr. Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. “The Senate Committee’s passage shows that our elected officials understand and embrace this ideal. I congratulate Sen. Mikulski and Sen. Enzi for their vision and sensitivity to people with intellectual disabilities everywhere and urge the full U.S. Senate to pass this important legislation.”

The bill does not expand nor diminish services, rights, responsibilities or educational opportunities duly owed to individuals with intellectual disabilities. It simply makes the federal law language consistent with that used by the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and the White House through the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

Special Olympics has a history of actions to change the way people refer to those with intellectual disabilities. In 2004, in response to its athletes‟ call for change, the Special Olympics International Board of Directors adopted a resolution to update the movement's terminology from “mental retardation” to “intellectual disabilities.” In 2008, Special Olympics launched its R-Word Campaign (www.r-word.org) to combat the inappropriate use of the word in common usage and helped lead protests against media use of the word such as in the film Tropic Thunder. And, in 2009, the youth-led “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign launched with rallies in K-12 schools and universities around the country, enlisting young people to combat use of the word.

The legislation has 43 co-sponsors from both parties, including 17 members of the HELP Committee. In the next step of the legislative process, the bill will be considered by the full Senate.

The full text of Senator Mikulski’s statement, as prepared for delivery at today’s HELP Committee mark-up is available at http://media.specialolympics.org

Countdown to the ADA

From the JFA Moderator:

Countdown to ADA's 20th Anniversary: Building the Movement

As we approach the 20th Anniversary of the ADA, there is a buzz in the air.  In celebrating this momentous achievement and reflecting on the promises yet to be fulfilled, our community is becoming unified and energized in a very special way.  We want to maximize this opportunity to engage people with disabilities in our cities, states and regions.  

What You Can Do to Join the Celebration

1.  Sign  on to the Justice For All Action Network's Spirit of the ADA Campaign.  Organizational Sign-Ons can be emailed jfaan@aapd.com. Individuals can sign onto the Spirit of the ADA Campaign at www.jfaan.aapd.com/spirit-of-the-ada

2. Celebrate In DC at the Spirit of the ADA 20th Anniversary BBQ. For More information see the below flyers. 

>>> Download Spirit of the ADA 20th Anniversary Event Flyer (PDF)

>>> Download Spirit of the ADA 20th Anniversary Event Flyer (Word)

3. Plan or attend an ADA Party!  Parades to house parties, use this opportunity to reach out to friends and family to celebrate this achievement and motivate each other for the work ahead. If you know of an event happening in your neighborhood, town,  city state or region, send the information to jfaan@aapd.com

We will be compiling and disseminating a calendar of ADA Celebration Events.

4. Get the Word Out: write editorials and op-eds for your newspapers; blog, tweet, and post on your social networks; and talk with family, friends and co-workers about the ADA, what it has meant, and what it still can mean in the years to come.

5. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned leading up to July 26, so check back regularly so you stay in the loop with what is happening near you and across the nation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Disability Institute is having ADA Anniversary Video Contest

The National Disability Institute is looking for videos that show how persons with disabilities, veterans with disabilities, and family members of persons with disabilities are working to achieve their American Dream. This contest is an ideal way for individuals with disabilities to highlight the Real Economic Impact the ADA has had on their lives. The video contest begins July 1, 2010 and all entries must be received by August 13, 2010. To learn more about this contest and for a complete list of submission guidelines and contest rules, go to http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org.

ONE GRAND PRIZE winner will recieve $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. where their winning video will be viewed at NDI's Real Economic Impact Tour's (REI Tour) Annual Kick-off at the National Press Club on October 19, 2010.

2010 Paralympic Games Open In Flames of Glory

From Universal Sports (3.13.10):

Vancouver Paralympic Games officially start
CEO Furlong: 'You will feel their energy and their support every minute you are here'
By Jamie Blanchard

VANCOUVER -- With glowing hearts, Canada welcomed the world's top winter Paralympic athletes Friday, as the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games kicked off with the Opening Ceremony in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 spectators.

"While thousands will cheer you on in the stadiums, you can be assured that over 33 million Canadians are living this experience with you," Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong told the athletes. "You will feel their energy and their support every minute you are here."

An estimated 1,350 athletes, coaches and officials from 44 countries, including 50 Americans, marching second to last before Canada, entered BC Place Stadium, giving high-fives to 400 children gathered in a welcome path. Team USA was led by flag bearer Heath Calhoun (Bristol, Tenn.), an Iraq war veteran who lost his legs in Mosul while serving with the 101st Airborne Division...

>>> For the Full Article

For More Coverage of the Paralympic Games:

NBC Sports http://www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/

-Saturday, March 13, 1-2PM ET, Opening Ceremony Highlights

-Saturday, April 10, 3-5PM ET, Paralympic Recap

Universal Sports http://www.UniversalSports.com

-Monday, March 15-Tuesday, March 23, 6-8PM ET(re-air at 11PM), Daily Highlights

Additionally

- http://www.UniversalSports.com will offer on-demand re-airs, plus full-length event rewinds.

- http://www.usparalympics.org will offer daily video and news highlights.

Events: http://usparalympics.org/events/2569

and http://www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/