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Please vote for our project so we can provide stipends for our student volunteers. This help can make the difference for students with disabilities in being employable. http://technology.maker.good.is/projects/ComputerReUse

The  Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) program is conducting a survey to assess the assistive technology needs of people with disabilities. They want to ascertain both the current availability of such technologies as well as the potential for new innovative devices. With this information, the ILRU will be able to better advocate for legislation that promotes affordable independent living.  If you’d like to participate in their …

Scott Rains has written an interesting and thought-provoking article called “Accessibility is Not Inclusion” on his website rollingrains.com.  He makes the case that accessibility was the movement of the 20th century, while inclusion is the movement of the 21st century.  Accessibility focuses on places and things, whereas inclusion focuses on people. While it is immensely important to have access, it’s not enough.

Since 2007, Walgreens has been actively recruiting people with disabilities to work in its 21 distribution centers and since then has developed the largest private sector disability inclusion effort in the country.  [Walgreens press release dated June 18, 2012] At the Windsor, CT, distribution center, people with disabilities make up about half of the workforce.  Another distribution center in Anderson, SC, has nearly …

What do David Beckham, Charles Darwin and Penelope Cruz have in common? Obsessive compulsive disorder. Did you know Neil Young, Agatha Christie and Richard Burton had epilepsy? Did you know Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi began skating as physical therapy for her club feet?  Or that Tiger Woods used to stutter?   Or that quarterback Peyton Manning had a cleft? Disabled-World.com has a …

You’ve probably heard that the word “handicaped” is derived from the phrase “cap in hand”, which in modern times is equated with begging.  It’s a common story.  But it turns out that story is false. When I first read this I was wary–after all, you can’t trust everything you read on the internet!–so I verified it with both the Oxford English Dictionary and the Online Etymology …

On May 15th, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it is making $85 million available to state housing agencies to provide housing assistance for extremely low-income persons with disabilities. As part of recent reforms  made to the 811 Program, the funding  is specifically intended to target “extremely” low-income persons with disabilities, which they define as “those who are at or below 30 …

Evidence shows that broadband usage can create significant economic benefits for those who adopt it, and conversely, it can create significant economic disadvantages for those who don’t. Internet access could make the difference between those who succeed and those who do not. That makes the findings of a 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Commerce so alarming: “Americans with disabilities …

En-Vision America, along with the Walmart Mail Order Pharmacy, is conducting a pilot program called ScripTalk that offers talking prescription labels for the visually impaired. All the usual prescription label information is encoded into a special ScripTalk label which can be read by a small device called a ScripTalk station.  Just press a button and all the label information is spoken by a pleasant, …

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it is recruiting people with disabilities for it’s many open positions nationwide.  That’s right, you don’t have to live in or near Washington, DC, to work for the DOL; they have offices in many areas of the country. To explore their job openings, go here. To find out how to apply, go here.