Transportation: a link to a quality life


Posted by Patricia Wright on October 30th, 2009

On Wednesday I was fortunate enough to attend a roundtable on Transportation for Students with Disabilities. The roundtable was sponsored by Easter Seals Project Action, which promotes cooperation between the transportation industry and the disability community. The goal of Wednesday’s event was to identify the transportation needs of youth with disabilities and develop a set of actions …Read More » »

Spread the word: free technology for people with autism


Posted by Beth Finke on September 10th, 2009

Technology can provide exhilarating possibilities to the 54 million of us in America who have disabilities. But a study commissioned by the California Endowment and conducted by the Alliance for Technology Access found that fewer than 25% of us who could be helped by assistive technology are using it to our advantage. The study said most …Read More » »

A special home for a special son with autism


Posted by Beth Finke on January 26th, 2009

Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune featured a story about a house that was rehabbed especially for a young adult with autism.

Larry and Beth Markin have a 22-year-old son, Eric, who is autistic. Two years ago, because of his aggressive behavior and the problems involved in caring for him, Eric was declared a crisis case by the state. The Markins knew …Read More » »

Starbucks’ grande gesture for people with disabilities


Posted by Paula Pompa-Craven on December 5th, 2008

Over a year ago, I was invited to represent Easter Seals at a two-day meeting at Starbucks Headquarters in Seattle, Washington. There were about a dozen disability services and advocacy organizations represented at this meeting, along with a dozen or so members of the Starbucks team. We were there to provide input as to how Starbucks could better market …Read More » »

20 million voters with disabilities expected to vote


Posted by Beth Finke on November 4th, 2008

I’m about to put Hanni’s harness on so she can lead me to my local polling place. Sounds like this year I won’t be alone.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) reports that nearly 20 million people with disabilities are expected to vote in this election.

“A 20 million strong voting block can easily decide a …Read More » »

A last-minute look at the candidates


Posted by Beth Finke on October 31st, 2008

Five days until the election. If you are still undecided, here are some links to information on each presidential candidate’s view on autism and other disability issues.

The Autism Society of America (ASA) website features a presidential election resources page with full statements by Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

If you prefer going directly to each …Read More » »

Tell DOJ what you think about autism service dogs


Posted by Beth Finke on August 13th, 2008

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that will expand the definition of “service animal.”

The new rules are meant to clarify what qualifies as a service animal — and to avoid confusion — when it comes to implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). …Read More » »

Listen to a radio essay about my Easter Seals gig


Posted by Beth Finke on July 23rd, 2008

Ever wonder how the heck a woman like me, blind and unable to see a computer screen, ended up moderating the autism blog for Easter Seals? Listen to (or read) my Navigating a New Workplace essay on Chicago Public Radio and find out — the piece aired yesterday.

The essay features sound bites of my talking computer and focuses …Read More » »

Try a symbol-based web browser for free


Posted by Patricia Wright on June 26th, 2008

A comment to my blog about web accessibility for people with autism and other disabilities offered a 30-day trial of Webwide. I wanted to let you know about this offer, in case you missed the comment.

If any readers are interested, you can try Webwide for free for 30 days by …Read More » »

Autism and happiness :)


Posted by Beth Finke on June 25th, 2008

For those of you new to our blog, let me re-introduce myself. My name is Beth Finke, and I am the Interactive Community Coordinator at Easter Seals. Simply put, I moderate this blog.

I also happen to be blind.

A computer program called JAWS reads the text on my screen out loud to me. That’s how I’m able to read …Read More » »