Disability Matters

Joyce welcomes Kathy West, Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County. Ms. West will discuss the mission and programs of this affiliate.

Joyce welcomes Joseph LaMountain, Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the National Epilepsy Foundation, and two students from the Kids Speak Up Campaign, Jonathan McCalla, and Allison Baker. They will discuss the campaign, which brings together kids with epilepsy with U.S. congressmen. The group urges members of Congress to help secure a better future for children with seizures by supporting federally funded medical research, programs that improve access to appropriate care, and public health education to reduce discrimination against people with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes Lee Grossman, president of the Autism Society of America (ASA), who will discuss in depth the mission of this organization that was founded in 1965. The ASA's goal is to increase public awareness about autism and the day-to-day issues faced by people with autism as well as their families.

Joyce welcomes Jane Orringer, Carolyn Crates, and Chris Cugini, high school students with disabilities from Fox Chapel High School in Pittsburgh, PA, who were part of 2008-2009 Bender Student Leadership Academy. This program is taught by Joyce Bender, in partnership with Bayer Corporation. Discussed on the show will be this unique program, which prepares students with disabilities for the world of work.

Joyce welcomes Scott Cooper, Founder of the It's Our Story project at, dmi-us.blogspot.com. Scott will discuss the creation of this blog and project. Scott is on a one year journey of America adding new voices and images to the DMI archives that currently house over 785 video portraits and 4,000 images. After 18 months of interviews and another 18 months of organizing, 548 voices are ready to be transcribed, encoded, and engineered into an accessible website that truly will free the voices of Americans with disabilities telling their story of living with a disability in time for the 2010 Anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

In memoriam of the late Lewis Kull, member of the Board of Directors of ABRET, Joyce will replay the March 18, 2008 show of "Disability Matters with Joyce Bender" with him and Janice Walbert, Executive Director.

Joyce welcomes the President and Disability Strategist, for disabilityworks, Inc., Jonathan J. Kaufman. As a person with Cerebral Palsy, Mr. Kaufman will discuss the mission of his consulting firm, which helps corporations, government agencies and educational institutions develop strategies and initiatives that add value to those institutions and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. In addition, he will discuss his other advocacy work in support of advancing independence for all people with disabilities.

Joyce welcomes Debbie Goss, President and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of Chicago, who will discuss the mission of this organization and explain what they are doing to end the stigma associated with epilepsy.

Joyce welcomes actor and disability advocate, Robert David Hall of CBS "CSI: Criminal Scene Investigation whose other credits include recurring roles in The Practice and L.A. Law and guest-starring roles in The West Wing, and on CBS, Touched by an Angel, Brooklyn South and Promised Land. Mr. Hall will be discussing the April 30, 2009, episode, which will revolve around his character, "Albert Robbins". He will also be discussing living with a disability and his advocacy work on behalf of other actors with disabilities as national chair of the Performers with Disabilities committees of both the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA. He also serves as national chairman of the Performers with Disabilities Caucus for SAG, AFTRA and Equity. Additionally, he will discuss his work as a devoted community activist, serving on the board of directors of the National Organization on Disability.

Joyce welcomes Greg Grunberg, Hollywood actor, and star of HEROES, ALIAS and FELICITY, who will discuss TalkAbout It.org. Mr. Grunberg created this website, and public awareness campaign in collaboration with the Epilepsy Foundation, which unites Hollywood celebrities and top health care experts to end the misperceptions and misunderstanding about epilepsy and seizure disorders. Mr. Grunberg, whose eldest son has epilepsy, has dedicated his time, energy, and passion to working toward ending the stigma around epilepsy and bringing public focus on the need to find a cure.