More information, transcripts, and resources available at: https://section504at50.org/episodes/katherine-macfarlane/

Professor Macfarlane is a leading expert on civil procedure, civil rights litigation, and disability law. She has also served as the Special Counsel to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, working on the overhaul of regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, focusing on the regulations’ higher education provisions. Professor Macfarlane will also talk about her experiences as a child with a disability and how they shaped her life and work as a disability rights advocate, student, lawyer, author, professor, and policymaker.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit adalive.org/episodes/episode-121/

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC: “Suicide rates increased about 36% from 2000 to 2021. Suicide resulted in 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021 about 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide and 1.7 million attempted suicide. “ (Source: cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html)

Our guests for this ADA Live! episode are Rachelle Burns, Chair of the EscaRosa Suicide Prevention Coalition in Santa Rosa County, Florida, and Lauren Anzaldo, a member of the EscaRosa Suicide Prevention Coalition Veterans Support Team. They will share about suicide prevention and awareness and how we can help those in need of support, including at-risk populations such as military veterans and youth. Join us for this honest discussion on a difficult topic.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit adalive.org/episodes/episode-120/

Did you know that the federal government is America's largest employer? According to information published in May 2023 by the General Services Administration: “More than 4 million Americans—including more than 2.1 million Federal civilian employees—work for our Federal Government, both at home and overseas.” (Source: Strengthening and Empowering the Federal Workforce.)

In this episode of ADA Live! we discuss the Schedule A hiring Authority, a program the federal government has in place to recruit and hire employees with disabilities. This program allows federal agencies to hire qualified employees with disabilities without requiring them to go through a long hiring process. Schedule A hiring applies to all federal jobs. This episode includes information and resources for workers with disabilities, Federal employers, and employment service providers. 

Our guests for this episode, Laura Taylor, Affirmative Employment Program Specialist, and Sandy Williams, Supervisory Human Resources Specialist, are with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura and Sandy will explain how the Schedule A program helps qualified workers with disabilities find jobs with the federal government.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit adalive.org/episodes/episode-119/

On a warm summer day in July 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. The ADA informs the public, businesses, and other organizations about their responsibilities and rights under the ADA. A national network of 10 regional ADA Centers, including the Southeast ADA Center, was created by Congress in 1991. The Southeast ADA Center serves eight states in the U.S. Southeast region. The ADA National Network is funded by a grant from the federal government’s primary disability research organization, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).

Join our celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the ADA with our guest, Shelley Reeves, the ADA National Network Program Coordinator and Section 21 Program Coordinator for NIDILRR. On this episode we will learn more about NIDILLR’s mission, projects and programs that help each regional ADA Center in the ADA National Network serve and support diverse communities of people with disabilities and other ADA stakeholders throughout the United States.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit adalive.org/episodes/episode-118/

Aphasia is a communication disability that affects our ability to understand written and spoken language. Aphasia can happen suddenly, often following a stroke or head injury or it may also develop slowly, as the result of a brain tumor or a progressive neurological disease. Aphasia does not affect a person’s ability to think or reason. Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders, such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage. (Source: nidcd.nih.gov/health/aphasia)

About 1 million people in the United States live with aphasia, and nearly 180,000 Americans acquire aphasia each year. Aphasia is more common than Parkinson’s Disease, cerebral palsy, or muscular dystrophy. (Source: aphasia.org/aphasia-faqs).

On this episode of ADA Live! we discuss how aphasia impacts the lives of a family who learned how to recover and cope with its effects. Our guest is Carol Dow Richards, Founding Director of Aphasia Recovery Connection, a nonprofit organization located in Leland, North Carolina. Carol’s son David acquired aphasia after a sudden stroke in 1995 at age ten. Carol will discuss how she and David continue to manage the effects of aphasia, why they started their organization, and how they are helping others move forward in their recovery. We will also talk about how the rights of people with aphasia and similar communication disorders are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For more information, resources, transcripts visit http://disabilityrightstoday.org/episodes/episode-8/

On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools unanimously decided that individuals who have entered into a settlement resolving their claims under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), can also pursue claims for money damages against school districts under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) without exhausting the administrative process under IDEA. This decision reverses a decision made by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Our guest is Ellen Saideman, a Rhode Island attorney who focuses much of her practice on the educational rights of students with disabilities and their families. In Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, Ms. Saideman represented Mr. Miguel Luna Perez, a Deaf student, in his 6th Circuit Court of Appeals case against the Sturgis Public School system in Michigan. Our host for this podcast is Dr. Peter Blanck, Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

Ms. Saideman and Dr. Blanck discuss how the Court’s decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools will affect the rights of students with disabilities under the ADA and IDEA. They will also explain how a similar U.S. Supreme Court case in 2017, Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, paved the way for the Perez v. Sturgis decision.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit adalive.org/episodes/episode-117/

In the United States, about 1 in every 8 people of all ages has some form of hearing loss. Behind arthritis and heart disease, hearing loss is the third most common disability. (Source: HealthyHearing.com)

Hearing loss is most significant amongst seniors. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that 1 in 3 seniors in the United States who are ages 65 to 74 have hearing loss, and nearly half of the seniors over age 75 have difficulty hearing. (Source: https://adata.org/factsheet/healthcare-and-face-coverings)

In this episode, two Assistant United States attorneys talk about the rights of people with hearing loss, Deafness, or other communication needs in health care settings. We will highlight cases and settlement agreements the Department of Justice has handled that deal with these rights under the ADA.

Our guests are:

• Steve Gordon is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator and Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

• Kara Sweet is the Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

For more information, bios, transcripts, and resources visit https://adalive.org/episodes/episode-116/

In recognition of National Parkinson’s Month in April, learn about Parkinson’s disease and your health, and your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

According to the Parkinson Association of the Carolinas, Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a brain disorder affecting nearly 1 million people in the United States. This number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s Disease.

For more information, bios, resources, and transcripts visit: adalive.org/episodes/episode-115/

In recognition of National Kidney Month in March, learn about kidney disease and your health, kidney transplants, and kidney donors.

Chronic kidney disease affects nearly 15% of the U.S. population.1 In 2022 a record 24,669 life-saving kidney transplants were performed.2 Kidney disease and other related health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes can be disabilities that affect your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Join us for this important episode about living well with kidney disease and the rights of kidney patients and kidney donors under the ADA and other laws.

Our guest is Dr. Frita Fisher, a board-certified physician and nephrologist with Midtown Nephrology, P.C., in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Frita is also a member of the Georgia National Kidney Foundation Board of Directors.

Our host for this episode is Dan Kessler. Dan is the Interim Executive Director of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL). For over 20 years, Dan was the Executive Director of Disability Rights and Resources, a Center for Independent Living (CIL) serving people with disabilities in Birmingham, Alabama. Disability Rights and Resources is the Southeast ADA Center Alabama State Affiliate. In 2021, Dan had a kidney transplant. He will talk about his own experiences living with kidney disease and his successful transplant.

For more information, bios, resources, and transcripts visit: adalive.org/episodes/episode-114/

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) has a shared vision where all people with disabilities participate fully in their communities. The AUCD supports a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs, including: University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND), Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRC), and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Training Programs (DBP).

Tune in to learn about the important work of the AUCD and its network, and the far-reaching initiatives of the AUCD that promote independence, productivity, and community inclusion for the disability community.

Our guest for this ADA Live! episode is John Tschida, Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). Mr. Tschida was previously the Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The ten regional ADA Centers across the United States are funded by a grant from NIDILLR to provide information, training, and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).