Disability Democracy

How do you buy hearing aids? … is it a disability rights topic? I think so. In its small way, it shows how our crazy healthcare system works for disabilities. Buying hearing aids is also a lot trickier than you may think. According to Consumer Reports. 48 million Americans have hearing loss. And, for many…

General education students have tons of books and online resources to help them find out if their school is good and there are data and reports on how different states are doing. Not so for kids with disabilities. Figuring out where to go and where you stand in special education is a different beast. But,…

What is the social model of disability? I’ll explain it in 14 seconds. It is a pretty short period of time. 14 seconds. Less than a quarter of a minute. Could you wait 14 seconds to give someone a chance to talk or respond to a question? It isn’t a casual question. The average gap…

I have been running my own businesses for 20 years now. Full-time since 2001… and you may not believe it, but now that I’m working on a social justice focused not-for-profit… I’m finally reading some nuts-and-bolts business books and listening to small business podcasts. Ummm, a bit late, Steve, you might be thinking… Anyhow. One…

Today, we’re going to get really tactical. How can you get a seat at the political table and make the change that you think should happen. When we talk about Democracy at Disability Democracy Radio, it isn’t an abstract idea. It is a concrete strategy. You can do it… if you want. It will take…

There are supports in our healthcare system for people with disabilities, but these programs are also traps that drive our disabled towards poverty. It is August and I must re certify again that my 6-year old son, Geoffrey, is destitute and that our family doesn’t make too much money. It will be easier this year…

30 years ago, disability rights advocates crawled up the steps of the US Capitol to demonstrate to everyone how inaccessible the US is. Their fight was to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, and they succeeded. The ADA turned 30 last week. But, today, those steps are no more accessible than they were. All…

I hurried to finish Judith Heumann’s memoir “Being Heuman” in time for the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26th 2020. She subtitled her memior “An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disabilities Rights Activist”. She had to. While we all know the names of the leading civil rights activists…

Healthcare rationing or Murder by Triage? The Disability Community is confronting major new challenges as COVID 19 ravages the US. COVID 19 has laid bare weaknesses in disability rights that the community had thought it had successfully fought for with the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act 30 years ago. We highlight the case…

You’ll often hear that the US Disability Community includes 1 in 5 Americans. That’s more than 66 million people and doesn’t include friends, families, and allies. The National Rifle Association’s membership in 2018 as was 5.5 million individuals… So, I’ve got a question for you – who would you bet gets more of their legislation…