This is a support group for folx who identify as Mad* or disabled* and their allies. It is a safe and supportive community space to address mental health concerns during the Covid crisis through discussion and creative activities.

*Mad is a reclaimed term used by consumers (people who utilize psychiatric services), psychiatric survivors, ex-patients, and/or people who identify as having a psychiatric disability or mental illness. People who do not identify with this community should use caution when using this term as it does have negative connotations.

*Disabled is often used by people with disabilities, as opposed to person first language. This is to acknowledge that having a disability is crucial to many people’s understanding of their identity. This is not to suggest that choosing to use person first language is wrong, or bad, in some way, just to emphasize that there is not one correct way for people to define themselves. It is always best to let the person with a disability, or disabled person, choose the language they prefer.

Join for a discussion about pediatric occupational therapy and the benefits of OT for children, struggles for children with autism, and academic and pandemic challenges.

Great information for parents, medical professionals, early educators, and therapists!

Self-driving or “autonomous” vehicles stand to revolutionize road transportation in the U.S. and around the world. Their cutting-edge technologies and engineering innovations have the potential to dramatically expand transit options for many people, including those with disabilities. It is important that autonomous vehicles (AVs) are designed to be inclusive of everyone.

This spring, the U.S. Access Board will host a four-part series of virtual meetings on making AVs accessible to passengers with disabilities. The Board will provide an open forum where members of the public and stakeholders can discuss considerations, challenges, and solutions in designing accessible AVs. The sessions are free and open to the public. Attendees will be able to pose questions and share comments, suggestions, and information.

The forum will be conducted through the Zoom platform with open chat and discussion features. The forum’s four sessions will be in intervals of two weeks. Each webinar discussion will be recorded and supplemented by an online crowdsourcing discussion platform (ePolicyWorks) that will be active for two weeks after each session.

Each session will focus on a different type of accessibility (e.g., mobility, communication, cognitive). A final session will review findings and recommendations, identify areas for further study, and recommended the next steps.

The pandemic has changed higher education dramatically in the past year. It has also changed the landscape for college students with disabilities. This session will explore how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies under these changed circumstances – from admissions to online learning to exams to graduation requirements – whether they be temporary or permanent. Join to learn more about higher education’s responsibility to students with mental health conditions and how disability resource offices can respond to issues of access and inclusion for these students as the institutions continue to evolve in response to the new “normal.”

Join to learn strategies to help individuals living with autism of all ages adapt as the community “reopens.”

Once registered, you will receive a link to join the event webinar at the specified time and date.

There will be a Q&A segment toward the end of the event. Certificates of completion will be available.

Summit Topics:

• Navigating Change: Strategies for children & families to handle today’s ever-changing societal expectations.
• Social Skills Strategies: Reviewing skills and norms in preparation for increased interaction with friends and family.
• Coping with Emotions/Anxiety: Sharing methods to help individuals cope with emotions for return to public settings.
• Health/Safety Considerations: Guidelines to consider for peace of mind during these ever-changing times.

Registration ends on April 7. Limited to 95 attendees. Once received, please do not share the event link with non-registered individuals.

Featuring keynote speakers Maria Town (American Association of People with Disabilities), Michelle Bishop (National Disability Rights Network), and Sachin Pavithran (US Access Board), and researchers from across the country, each day will focus on a unique theme.

Day 1 will focus on Employment and Economic Self-Sufficiency, Day 2 will focus on Community Development and Planning, and Day 3 will focus on Access and Inclusion. Days will last approximately 4 hours and feature researchers from the ADA Regional Centers as well as external researchers.

Challenging access situations are prevalent in higher education, and it’s tough to know where to turn for advice on the “right” answer. Ask a question on a listserv and get a dozen different answers: someone will quote a court case and OCR Resolution Agreement, another colleague will bring up universal design, and a third will provide an explanation based on systems of power, privilege, and ableism. This is what makes listservs confusing but also wonderful! ADA compliance, universal design, student development theory, and disability studies are not mutually exclusive schools of thought; they are critical lenses to analyze and inform our work. The webinar will discuss these “lenses” and share case studies outlining how they can be used in resolving questions of access.

When designing or participating in community experiences, do you consider access for all abilities? What does it mean to think intersectionally about barriers to belonging? Join for this virtual session of Courageous Conversations hosted by Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque and Jessica Green and presented by Urban Consulate & Barrington’s White House, featuring special guests Jason Altmann, Director of Access and Disability Services at Harper College, and Crystal Kelley Schwartz, BA, CDM, mentor, educator and advocate. Followed by interactive breakout dialogue.

• Open to the public, ages 15+
• Advance registration required to receive Zoom link
• ASL interpretation will be available
• Before you come, please watch this short orientation video
• Tickets: $15

The Disability Policy Seminar offers the opportunity for passionate advocates, self-advocates, experts, and professionals in the field to come together and learn about key issues that affect them most. After two days of training and learning, attendees head to Capitol Hill for a day of meetings with their Members of Congress. The Arc co-hosts this conference with seven other national disability organizations.

This session will explore the role of the General Services Administration (GSA) in ensuring the accessibility of buildings and facilities leased by the federal government. The Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) and the Rehabilitation Act apply to buildings funded by the federal government. Learn about the history and coverage of the ABA. Standards issued under the ABA provide minimum requirements for facilities or buildings newly leased by federal agencies. These provisions address accessible routes, parking, toilet and bathing facilities, sales and service counters, joint-use areas, fire alarms, and other elements and spaces. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.

This webinar will discuss innovative ways campuses and disability resource offices (DROs) can support faculty in their work with students who have disabilities – in and out of the classroom. In addition to exploring strategies for enhancing the DRO/faculty relationship and collaborating with administrators and faculty development centers, the webinar will introduce a new online faculty training resource from the National Center for College Students with Disabilities. There will be time for questions and an opportunity for participants to share ideas that have worked for them.

This session will continue the discussion of communication accessibility in hailing and interacting with autonomous vehicles for passengers with hearing, visual, or cognitive disabilities.

Self-driving or “autonomous” vehicles stand to revolutionize road transportation in the U.S. and around the world. Their cutting-edge technologies and engineering innovations have the potential to significantly expand transit options for many people, including those with disabilities. It is important that autonomous vehicles (AVs) are designed to be inclusive of everyone.

This spring, the U.S. Access Board will host a four-part series of virtual meetings on making AVs accessible to passengers with disabilities. The Board will provide an open forum where members of the public and stakeholders can discuss considerations, challenges, and solutions in designing accessible AVs. The sessions will cover accessibility for passengers with mobility, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. The sessions are free and open to the public. Attendees will be able to pose questions and share comments, suggestions, and information.

The Board is hosting this webinar series jointly with other agencies, including the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the Department of Health and Human Service’s Administration for Community Living [(ACL)].

Self-driving or “autonomous” vehicles stand to revolutionize road transportation in the U.S. and around the world. Their cutting-edge technologies and engineering innovations have the potential to dramatically expand transit options for many people, including those with disabilities. It is important that autonomous vehicles (AVs) are designed to be inclusive of everyone.

This spring, the U.S. Access Board will host a four-part series of virtual meetings on making AVs accessible to passengers with disabilities. The Board will provide an open forum where members of the public and stakeholders can discuss considerations, challenges, and solutions in designing accessible AVs. The sessions are free and open to the public. Attendees will be able to pose questions and share comments, suggestions, and information.

The forum will be conducted through the Zoom platform with open chat and discussion features. The forum’s four sessions will be in intervals of two weeks. Each webinar discussion will be recorded and supplemented by an online crowdsourcing discussion platform (ePolicyWorks) that will be active for two weeks after each session.

Each session will focus on a different type of accessibility (e.g., mobility, communication, cognitive). A final session will review findings and recommendations, identify areas for further study, and recommended the next steps.

The PVA Women Veterans Empowerment Retreat (formerly WE Served) is an all-expenses-paid retreat that focuses on the holistic well-being of women veterans with disabilities.

Join the Breaking Barriers: Life Beyond Labels, Central Oregon's biggest conference for educators, service providers, parents, and family members.

The vision is for an inclusive community where barriers don't exist, and labels such as disability have no meaning. This conference will serve as a platform to share the unique and diverse perspectives of all members of the community.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities in the workplace by prohibiting discrimination, requiring reasonable accommodations, and protecting the confidentiality of employees and job seekers. This presentation will discuss how the ADA protects employees, explain what the law requires of employers, describes what reasonable accommodations are and how to provide them, and shares some dos and don’ts of discussing disability in the workplace. Participants will also learn about resources they can use to increase the inclusion and productivity of employees with disabilities.

Disability resource offices are seeing a rapid expansion of students requesting services based on psychological conditions. The impact requires service professionals to innovate processes, adjust communication strategies, and consider standards for determining reasonable modifications that do not fundamentally alter courses. Existing frameworks inform best practices for communication with faculty and campus stakeholders and center the intersection of course design and disability as both social justice priorities and an ADA mandate. However, differentiating between qualifying for complex accommodation and implementing them and oppositional attitudes can strain our capacity to ensure access. This webinar will discuss the characteristics often associated with psychological conditions that may warrant participation modification, accommodation decision-making, and the balance between reasonable accommodation and fundamental alteration.  

The events of 2020 and the early months of 2021 have upended and disrupted everyone’s lives, but the impact on the lives of people with disabilities and older adults is particularly pronounced. It is now clear that planning ahead for emergencies is a must-do, particularly for those who rely on long-term services and supports for their daily wellbeing. What does person-centered planning for disasters look like? And how to ensure that disaster responses are as person-centered as possible? In this panel, experts will describe what people have learned from recent events so individuals can be better equipped to respond to future disasters in a person-centered manner. Experts will also weigh in on the difference between personal planning and community planning, and why personal planning is never a substitute for comprehensive whole-community emergency preparedness, disaster response and recovery, and truly inclusive community resilience.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is excited to announce the second annual Reeve Summit 2021: Where Care, Cure, and Community Connect.

The Reeve Summit will touch on topics and themes relevant to the paralysis community and give everyone a chance to hear from experts, ask questions, and share experiences on many aspects of life living with paralysis.

Topics include:

• Advocacy
• Caregiving
• Employment
• Health & Wellness
• Research

This interactive session will provide an overview of the ADA Trainer Leadership Network (TLN), a program that equips and supports stakeholders in Regions 2, 3, 4, 9, and 10 to increase ADA understanding and implementation in local communities. Participants will learn about how the diverse membership of vocational rehabilitation professionals, self-advocates, municipal representatives, healthcare educators, and others, use a specifically designed, nationally vetted curriculum to provide training and guidance on disability inclusiveness.

When disability resource professionals get together, the following phrases are often part of the conversation: Access is never brought to the table; Disability is always forgotten; No one cares about access; "My office" is under-resourced and no one will listen. While these sentiments can be harmful to progress and self-sabotaging, they may also feel and even be true. Join for a discussion of what you can do to impact the way your campus administration views to access and disability to the benefit of your work.