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Disabled People Are Hot
— Monday morning I jumped onto the @NWJAutistic Twitter account to post Sunday’s Not Weird Just Autistic column link when the top trending Twitter hashtag caught my eye. As a mostly good writer I keep...
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What’s Wrong With a Level Playing Field?
— As a youth and high school ice hockey coach for many years, all I ever wanted was for my players to be on a level playing field, or in this case, sheet of ice, with our opponents. That doesn’t mean I...
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Why Developmental Disability Self Advocacy is Crucial
— I’m both a self-advocate and an advocate for those who can’t or don’t speak up for themselves. My specialty is those on the autism spectrum as well as those with developmental disabilities. I love...
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Why Large Sized Changing Tables Are Necessary in Public Restrooms
— When we enter a public restroom, we don’t think twice anymore about seeing a changing table or two folded into the wall and waiting for you to put your infant on it and clean up the mess that was...
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Amazon Pulls Books Touting Cures For Autism
— First things first. I hate to upset the People First Language crowd, but no one “has autism,” because to do so would imply that you have a disease. And if you have no disease, then there would...
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Why Do Service Dogs Get Such Little Respect?
— The biggest problem as I see it is that many, if not most people, including some with service animals, are ignorant about the laws governing service animals. Monday morning I woke up in an unusually...
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DeVos Wants To End Funding Of Special Olympics
— Betsy DeVos is what I would call a less than competent Secretary of Education. She has no regard for the lives of the disabled in this country and seems to enjoy trying to take away our favorite toy....
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Texas May Owe Feds $223 Million for Short Changing Special Ed Students
— In Texas, I guess it’s go big or go home. The state thought they had squandered/not spent $33 million in Federal money earmarked for special education, but it turns out they were slightly off on...
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Living in a Neighborhood Built for Special Needs
— Developers are calling it a first in the United States, and possibly the world. A development named Luna Azul (Blue Moon) in Phoenix, AZ is under construction and is the first neighborhood built...
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Disability as an Attribute
— This past weekend I was attending a developmental disability advocacy training weekend and our main presenter was Dr. Patrick Schwarz, author, speaker and Chicago-land advocate for children with...
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It’s All About the Kids
— Recently I went through training and was certified as an IEP (Individualized Education Program) Mentor for families in Missouri. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to because it’s a way to help...
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The Sorrow of Not Knowing What to Say to My Daughter
— So here I am, a fifty-three-year-old dad with Asperger’s Syndrome (a higher functioning form of autism with pronounced social issues) and a parent to a twenty-one-year-old daughter that I had full...
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RISE Into College
— The Federal government is finally taking a step towards helping those with developmental disabilities have an easier path towards a college education. Respond, Innovate, Succeed, Empower, or RISE...
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Sheltered Workshops in America
— This past weekend I participated in another month of an intense developmental disability advocacy course called Partners in Policymaking. For eight months we meet one weekend a month and in two days...
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Sitting on a Panel Was Scary and an Honor
— A few weeks ago I was asked to be on a panel at a conference on transitioning high school students with disabilities to adult life. I know, it sounds like a pretty boring topic, but it’s an important...
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When the Fourth Overwhelms You
— From the headline, you may think that I’m anti-Fourth of July, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’m all about celebrating the birth of our nation and letting freedom ring. When the sun is...
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CBS Paving the Way for More Actors with Disabilities
— In a first for television, CBS has agreed to audition more actors with disabilities for disabled roles. In June the network, which has CBS, CBS Television Studios and CBS All Access streaming, among...
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States Fail to Meet Educational Requirements of IDEA
— IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, our country’s federal law guaranteeing students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment,...
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The Birthday Party
— Yesterday I ran across a story about an autistic boy in Idaho who invited quite a few people to his ninth birthday party, only to find out that he had one RSVP. The boy’s mother, heartbroken. Posted...
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Autistic Dating Autistic
— A mutual friend introduced us, but it’s not what you’re thinking. We weren’t being set up on a date or in a romantic way of any kind. Our mutual friend, who I like to call the Notorious KSW, (similar...
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