Episode ADA Live! Episode 128: Helping Youth and Adults with Autism Build Independent Lives

Episode ADA Live! Episode 128: Helping Youth and Adults with Autism Build Independent Lives

It’s April and in recognition of Autism Acceptance Month, we will talk about the rights autistic people have under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many people who are autistic or are neurodivergent have difficulty with social situations and personal interactions. We will also offer strategies for coping with workplace and community barriers. Our guest for this episode is Stacey Hoaglund, the President of the Board of Directors for the Autism Society of Florida.

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New Episode ADA Live! Episode 127: What Are Developmental Disabilities Councils?

Description

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, when we raise awareness and promote acceptance of people with developmental disabilities. In thinking about the barriers faced by people with developmental disabilities and their families, it can be hard to find up-to-date information on the quality services and programs you need to live independently in the community. One important resource for this information is the state Developmental Disabilities Councils, often called “DD Councils.” Our guest for this episode of ADA Live! is Johnny Callebs, the Executive Director of the Kentucky Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities.

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New Publication by Southeast ADA team – The Americans with Disabilities Act and Medication Assisted Treatment in Correctional Settings.

Studies estimate that least 65% of people incarcerated in the United States have Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is a proven effective treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). MAT reduces the number of people who die each year from OUD by fifty percent and ninety percent of individuals in recovery maintain sobriety after two years. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers the programs and services provided by state and local governments including correctional facilities. Under the ADA, correctional facilities must make reasonable modification to policies and practice to allow inmates in recovery to have access to MAT. In this article, we discuss how the ADA applies to correctional facilities and the impact that MAT has for people who have OUD.

Authors: Pamela Williamson and Barry Whaley

Keywords: Americans with Disabilities Act; ADA; Addiction; Substance use; Opioid use; Recovery;
Medication-Assisted Treatment; Medications for Opioid Use Disorder; Jails; Prisons; Correctional facilities

Read Full article: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Medication Assisted Treatment in Correctional Settings.

New Episode ADA Live! Episode 126: Synergies Work: Growing Disability-Owned Small Businesses

Description

Synergies Work is the largest non-profit in the United States that enables entrepreneurs with disabilities to build sustainable micro-enterprises. They provide end-to-end business solutions and bridge the opportunity gaps between the disability and the business communities. Synergies Work believes that empowering entrepreneurs with disabilities can create a more inclusive society and a better world for all. Continue Reading

New Publication – The Americans with Disabilities Act and Equal Access to Public Spaces by Burton Blatt Institute Leeds Team

Since the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the United States federal government, states, and localities have passed laws and created policies intended to ensure that people with disabilities had full and equal access to public spaces. Nevertheless, more than three decades after the ADA, people with disabilities continue to face architectural and other barriers to community inclusion and participation. Continue Reading

ADA Live! Episode 125: Applying the ADA’s Integration Mandate and Olmstead v. L.C. to Sheltered Employment and Day Services for People with Disabilities

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a significant number of individuals with disabilities spend their day receiving public services in sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs. In a report titled, Beyond Segregated and Exploited, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) estimates that over 400,000 people are sent to sheltered workshops where they earn less than the federal minimum wage. This environment results in stigmatization and a lack of economic independence. These settings segregate individuals from the community and provide little or no opportunity to interact with people without disabilities, other than paid staff. Continue Reading

ADA Live! Episode 124: Global Disability Rights and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Each year the United Nations recognizes December 3 as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme is “United in action to rescue and achieve the sustainable development goals for with and by people with disabilities.” In this episode we discuss the work and mission of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and highlight some of the important issues facing people with disabilities around the world. Continue Reading

Giuseppe Pagano

Giuseppe Franco “Joey” Pagano is a Program Assistant at the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, where he contributes across a variety of projects. A writer by nature, he assists with knowledge translation efforts, manages social media accounts, develops research and policy briefs, and contributes to academic papers.

Joey seeks to combine his skills, knowledge, and experience to help address barriers to employment, education, and economic empowerment facing people with disabilities.

Joey holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Education and Disability Studies.

Episode 123: Understanding the Effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

On this episode of ADA Live! we discuss how people with disabilities can be affected by traumatic events or experiences, including post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of PTSD vary from person to person and the effects can be delayed. People who have PTSD may meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of a disability by having an impairment or condition that impacts one or more major life activities. Continue Reading

Peter Blanck

Download Curriculum Vita (PDF)

Dr. Blanck is University Professor at Syracuse University, which is the highest faculty rank, granted to eight prior individuals in the history of the University. He is Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

Blanck holds appointments at the Syracuse University Colleges of Law, and Arts and Sciences, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, School of Education, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Prior to his appointment at Syracuse, Blanck was Kierscht Professor of Law and director of the Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center at the University of Iowa. Blanck is Honorary Professor, Centre for Disability Law & Policy, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Blanck received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester, a Juris Doctor from Stanford University, where he was President of the Stanford Law Review, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard University.

Blanck has written articles and books on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws, and received grants to study disability law and policy. Blanck is Chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), and former President of Raising the Floor (RtF) USA. He is a former member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a former Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program, a former Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, and has been a Mary Switzer Scholar. Prior to teaching, Blanck practiced law at the Washington, DC firm Covington & Burling, and served as law clerk to the late Honorable Carl McGowan of the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

Blanck’s books include:

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