Gary Shaheen, Ph.D. recently re-joined the Senior Staff of the Burton Blatt Institute as Project Director; assisting in the management and development of projects supporting recovery for persons with mental health challenges, and employment inclusion of people with diverse disabilities. Continue Reading
Setting the scene … It’s spring of 2020. The world has been shut down for a period of weeks or months (you stopped keeping track at some point). You are living with a disability—perhaps you’re blind or you have a highly complex autoimmune condition that makes it especially precarious to make your way through daily life during a global pandemic. You are feeling isolated, alienated, disconnected and at times downright terrified. What do you do? Continue Reading
The most recent issue of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, the country’s leading journal on cancer survivors, systematic, scoping, and meta-analytic literature reviews, clinical investigations and policy-related research that can impact the quality of care and quality of life of cancer survivors, presents the research of Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, Fitore Hyseni, Arzana Myderrizi, and Paul Harpur, who have contributed three articles for this special edition. In addition, our Rutgers partners (Disability Inclusive Employment Policy and Employer Disability Practices Center RRTC) Douglas Kruse, So Ri Park, and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers are also featured in this special edition. Continue Reading
The Syracuse University School of Education mourns the passing of Ethel Blatt G’77, wife of former Dean Burton Blatt (1927-1985). Ethel Blatt passed away in Albany, NY, on Jan. 15, 2022. In addition to holding a master’s degree in teacher’s education from the School of Education, she was an employee of the University’s Psychoeducational Teaching Laboratory, alongside Professor Corinne Smith (1945-2021). Her outstanding contributions in lifelong and continuing education were recognized in 2011 with a William Pearson Tolley Medal for Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. Continue Reading
Peter Blanck, BBI chairman, on the Ideas Network, helps us understand where vaccine and mask mandates cross over with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Millions of Americans are at higher risk for severe disease or death from COVID-19. That includes people with underlying health conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, older people, and people with intellectual disabilities who research has shown are six times more likely to die from COVID-19. Most states don’t have mask mandates in place raising concerns that people who are at risk will be even more vulnerable. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that public spaces, jobs, and schools be accessible to people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. Some lawsuits have been filed arguing that this 1990 law should apply during the pandemic to decisions that could put people with disabilities at a higher risk.
View Interactive Transcript on Rev.com
Originally Aired January 18, 2022
Link: https://www.wpr.org/listen/1902071
The case of Karantsalis v. City of Miami Springs raises many questions about statutes of limitations, progressive disability, and advocacy. In 2008, Theodore Karantsalis, sued the city of Miami Springs, Florida, alleging the city was in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because its facilities and infrastructure were inaccessible to him due to his multiple sclerosis. Later, he withdrew his lawsuit, believing he lacked constitutional standing because his symptoms at the time did not substantially limit his mobility. By 2019, Mr. Karantsalis’ multiple sclerosis had progressed and he required a wheelchair for mobility. He refiled his suit alleging the city and the city’s facilities, programs, and services were now inaccessible to him. The district court dismissed his suit, finding that Karantsalis was “barred by the four-year statute of limitations,” which was triggered before or during the 2008 suit when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The district court decision was reversed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, noting that Karantsalis did not have to sue until his disability resulted in a loss of mobility. Continue Reading
The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University’s College of Law has been striving for a more inclusive environment for people with disabilities in its work and research. After receiving $4.3 million from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research in 2020, the BBI helped establish the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. The BBI works on the center in partnership with Harvard and Rutgers Universities. Continue Reading
When the news reached me that Sen. Robert Dole has passed at 98, I was immediately reminded of my one and only meeting with him. I’m a disability rights activist and I’d been invited to the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., to see him receive a lifetime achievement award honoring his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was joined by his co-recipient, Sen. Tom Harkin. his longtime Senate colleague and personal friend. Each man spoke about the bipartisanship and determined optimism that made the ultimate passage of the ADA possible. It was hard work. It was very hard work. Listening to Dole and Harkin, I felt tears stream down my face. My guide dog wondered what was up. Continue Reading
Episode 100:Show Them How Smart You Are: Self-Advocacy, Parenting, and Autism
On this episode of ADA Live!
Join us for episode 100 of ADALive! when our guests will be Clarise Shelby-Coleman and her son Chase Coleman who have championed the importance of self-advocacy through a non-profit they have begun, called ‘Show Them How Smart You Are”.
Of all the skills we can learn, being able to advocate for ourselves could very well be the most important. Knowing who we are, what we need, and how to share that information with others is important for all of us, but especially for people with disabilities who are often denied choice in their lives or opportunities to make personal decisions. It is vital that people with disabilities have the opportunity to learn self-advocacy skills and become aware of how to ask for an accommodation in the workplace, or the post-secondary classroom, or to make decisions about lifestyles, living arrangements, or everyday choices.
Jonathan Martinis campaigns for an alternative to guardianships known as Supported Decision Making. According to Jonathan, “The most important question we can ask before putting someone in guardianship is what else have you tried?” Britney Spears has put the issue of conservatorships firmly in the global spotlight. The singer was forced to go through an immense legal battle to regain control over her life. The decision to terminate the arrangement is being celebrated not just by Britney fans, but by disability rights advocates. Continue Reading