DC Week of Action (and Joy)
Little Lobbyists' intern Grace Heuer writes about taking the fight to Capitol Hill...and rethinking what advocacy can look like.
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.
Wear a Mask at School! Protect Our Children!
Now imagine having a child with this condition during this global pandemic and you can maybe emphasize with a fraction of the terror we feel daily in making basic decisions like, should my son go play outside with friends?
What the ACA Means To Me
Getting my social work degree is the long-delayed answer to a professional calling to a helping profession. A calling I ignored for over a decade because good health benefits, so critical for my family, kept me tied to my old job.
“Thought in Action”: Art & Advocacy with Angela Weddle
I’m a BIPOC, queer, autistic, and disabled visual artist, poet, and autistic advocate originally from New Orleans, LA. I currently reside in San Antonio, TX.
Independence Can’t Wait: An Interview with Ande Kolp about Home & Community-Based Services
Growing up in Iowa, I was fortunate to attend a school that was highly inclusive. I’m fairly sure that was not typical back in the 70s.
Poetry & Autistic Advocacy: An Interview with Nathan Spoon
I developed a love for poetry in my late teens. My parents were supportive of these interests and, even with our limited family income, I had my own books (which I kept stacked on my bed, beside my pillow!) and access to art supplies.
Sharing the Journey with Jeneva: Amy Silverman & Sophie Stern on Journalism & Disability Representation
We are still super early in the discussions around plain language translation. It's tricky – you really you really can't automate it, even the plain language translations need to be fact checked and lawyered.
Sharing the Journey with Jeneva: Loving Anian with Meeka Caldwell
When Anian was younger and first starting school, I looked for books about Down Syndrome to read to his class. I noticed they were difficult to find and impossible to find with a Black child with Down Syndrome.