Don’t miss the Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism town hall

Posted by Patricia Wright on November 3rd, 2009

You are invited! Easter Seals is proud to be part of Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA), a national consortium seeking to create meaningful futures for adults with autism. On November 13, Americans in 15 cities …Read More » »

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 » »

A terrific Capitol Hill Day!

Posted by Bob Glowacki on October 22nd, 2009

What a terrific Capitol Hill Day we had in Washington D.C.!

We started the day off with a tour of the White …Read More » »

Help us take our health care message to Capitol Hill tomorrow

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on October 19th, 2009

Hundreds of Easter Seals volunteers and clients are heading to Capitol Hill tomorrow to tell Congress that health care can’t ignore families living with disabilities. Our message is clear: families with disabilities should have affordable health care that provides the services they need, when they need them.

We’ll be visiting our legislators and asking them to support health care legislation that …Read More » »

“The Story” on Disability Employment Awareness Month

Posted by Beth Finke on October 13th, 2009

It’s Disability Employment Awareness Month, and An NPR show called The Story contacted me last week to record an interview. If you’ve never heard The Story, here’s a description of the show from their Web site:

At a time when “celebrity rules” and the only “ordinary” people we see are faces in the crowd, The Story reminds listeners that their …Read More » »

NJ law keeps autism on legislators’ minds

Posted by Kathy Patrick on October 7th, 2009

On August 13, 2009, New Jersey became the 15th state to enact a law requiring many insurance companies to cover the screening and therapeutic treatment for children up to age 21 who are diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities.

The law is scheduled to take effect in February, 2010. Under the legislation, insurance companies will be required to provide …Read More » »

New prevalence = increased demand for services and supports

Posted by Patricia Wright on October 6th, 2009

There has been a rumor for several months that the prevalence rate for autism was going to show an increase. Yesterday those rumors were confirmed.

A publication in Pediatrics indicates that 1 in 91 children between the ages of 3 and 17 has an autism spectrum disorder. The story in Pediatrics came out of a report from the National …Read More » »

School fights family over autism assistance dog

Posted by Beth Finke on September 17th, 2009

The Associated Press reports that an Illinois family wants their 6-year-old son, who has autism, to be able to bring his dog along to school this year. The family said the dog would help with the transition to a new place and would also help keep him safe from traffic and other dangers. Service dogs are allowed in the …Read More » »

Sen. Durbin’s speech on hiring workers with autism and other disabilities

Posted by Beth Finke on August 27th, 2009

On World Autism Day this year (April 2), Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), introduced a bill that would increase vocational opportunities for people on the autism spectrum. The bill, called the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act, would fund programs to test new ways to provide vocational …Read More » »

In memory of Senator Kennedy

Posted by Katy Beh Neas on August 26th, 2009

Today, one of our greatest (if not the greatest) champions died. I’ve had the honor of working with Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) for the past 25 years. He was always the one who would step up and fight the good fight to protect the interests of people with disabilities and their families.The struggle for equal opportunity for Americans with disabilities …Read More » »