Ella, Riley, and Victoria's Stories: Life Can Change in the Blink of an Eye
Public service and advocacy run deep in the LaVigne family.
Share the Journey with Jeneva: Matthew Plantz on the Importance of Community Inclusion
Matthew Plantz is a lifelong advocate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the local, state, and federal level.
When No One Consults the Disability Community: The Unfit Transition to ENFit
The response came quickly, informing me that the manufacturer is no longer making the INF0500-A, the product we have used for over a decade when my son had surgery to place a gastrostomy tube and we learned a whole new vocabulary.
Covid Isn’t Over: Disabled Lives Are Still at Stake
As I’ve reflected on this experience, I am grateful for vaccines and effective treatments for Covid. But it is also clear that hospitals are simply OVER Covid and they are OVER dealing with disabled people who have it.
Supporting Your Disabled Child In Adulthood
As an adult with Cerebral Palsy, adulthood has been more challenging than I’d imagined. Luckily, my parents have been supportive. I am lucky to have a large, extended family as well.
Remembering Julie Beckett: Discovering Our Strength
For three long years, Julie fought the state and federal governments, seeking a way to bring Katie home, where she would be surrounded by love and where she would ultimately thrive.
A Good Life Depends on Home and Community-Based Services
Renzo has come a long way since surviving a sudden cardiac arrest with a subsequent anoxic brain injury at age 14.
What Does “Back to Normal” Mean for Schools?
But what about children like mine? Those who are medically complex? Those who are disabled? Those too young to be vaccinated?
Disability Day of Mourning
I am here today to honor and remember those in our community who have died at the hands of their parents or caregivers.
Share the Journey with Jeneva: Self-Direction & the Good Life with Alicia and Al Wopat
SDAN has become a voice for participants and their families to ensure that participant choice and control is the mantra in Maryland, and that paid family support is respected and continues to be an option.
Share the Journey with Jeneva: Sherry Pickett Gets to the “Heart” of Advocacy
We had a high school student from Louisville who had a heart attack on school grounds and was given CPR and he survived. This student testified before the Education Committee.
My Twin Brother, Danny, Needed Better Home and Community-Based Services (by Brian Trapp)
Danny had cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. He lived at home with us until he was 24, until my mother did not have enough help to provide the 24/7 care he needed.
Dear Josephine
Even in serious situations, she brought joy with her — dressing you up in the most adorable tiny pink Doc Martens, trick-or-treating in the Senate, celebrating victories small and large. She kept in touch. She always showed up.