Resources for Business Owners with Disabilities

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These resources can help prospective business owners living with a disability make their dream of owning their own business a reality.

Fact: Self-employment is a more popular choice among people with disabilities than it is with the general population. The Small Business Administration reported that 12.2 percent of the general population chose self-employment, and 14.3 percent of people with disabilities started businesses.

Alice Doyel, author of No More Job Interviews: Self-Employment Strategies for People With Disabilities, suggests five clear advantages of self-employment for people with disabilities.

  • Work activities that fit personal interests and capabilities
  • Control of the company
  • Workplace supports and accommodations to meet needs and enhance success
  • Connections with other community business members
  • Long-term employment with the opportunity for personal growth

Any person with a disability who has worked in the labor force may be familiar with the concept of Customized Employment (CE). Customized Employment starts not with a job description, but by identifying the strengths, conditions and interests of a job candidate. After this process of discovery, an employer or job counselor can identify a position that matches the candidate’s profile.

The same framework can be applied to identifying self-employment opportunities.

Joe Steffy is a young adult with Down syndrome and autistic spectrum disorder. When Joe was in his teens, teachers and school administrators didn’t think he’d ever work – at best, he’d spend his days at a fully supervised workplace, also known as a sheltered workshop.

Then Joe worked with a Customized Employment expert, and together they discovered Joe’s interest in popping kettle corn. Joe’s family bought equipment, and he began popping and selling kettle corn at local businesses and farmers markets. He started when he was 15 years old, and in three years, teenage Joe’s sales grew to $50,000 with a staff of five part-time employees. Joe works five or six hours a day popping corn and delivering it to stores.

Joe is in his 30s now, and Poppin’ Joe’s Gourmet Kettle Korn is still going strong.

Going through the Customized Employment framework is a good first step for any person with a disability thinking about starting their own business.

Melony Hill, who has been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and fibromyalgia, launched a successful speaking, writing, and coaching business called Stronger Than My Struggles.

A big part of her success came from identifying a profession that worked for her rather than one focused on money. “Instead, I sought to find ways I would feel I was living peacefully and doing things I enjoyed,” Melony says. Now she teaches others to do the same.

Once a potential business owner has identified their unique strengths and abilities, the fun begins – identifying a business that is a right for them.

The PASS program

Usually, federal supplemental security income (SSI) payments are reduced or eliminated once the recipient finds a job. With the PASS (Plan to Achieve Self-Support) program, SSI recipients wanting to start a business can continue to accumulate SSI payments while they work and use the money to fund their startup.

PASS money can be saved up and set aside to pay for the following:

  • Transportation to and from work
  • Tuition, books, fees and supplies needed for school or training
  • Childcare
  • Attendant care
  • Supplies to start a business
  • Equipment and tools to do the job, and
  • Uniforms, special clothing and safety equipment

The Social Security Administration will not count money set aside under this plan when they decide on an SSI payment amount, so recipients may end up getting a higher payment. However, they won’t get more than the maximum payment for the state in which they live.

To qualify for PASS, the intended recipient can’t have a net worth exceeding $2,000 or $3,000 for couples. However, assets or equipment to be used for the business don’t count toward this amount.

PASS participants must get their plan approved by the Social Security Administration. Examples of businesses that have been approved include a carpentry business, a music production business and a candy vending business.

To qualify, recipients must complete paperwork, including the creation of a business plan. Here’s more about the PASS program:

Writing a business plan

Creating a business plan is a requirement of applying for PASS. It’s a vital step for any business owner.

A business plan outlines the goals of the business and details the steps needed to achieve them. The plan will include specifics like equipment needed, how the business will be promoted, and anticipated revenue.

Continue on to Business.com to read the complete article.

California man scales Machu Picchu in off-roading wheelchair

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An off-roading wheelchair allowed Robert and Nelly Kapen to visit Machu Picchu with several family members.

By Ashley Harrell, SFGATE

On an unseasonably cold December afternoon in Southern California, most Angelenos have retreated to their homes. But at Miramar Park, a narrow strip of green space overlooking Torrance County Beach, Robert Kapen and his wife Nelly are out for an adventure.

For Kapen — whom Nelly is pushing in a special, off-roading wheelchair — wintry weather is a relatively minor obstacle. During the first 23 years of his life, Kapen was a healthy, outdoorsy person. Then in 2011, he suffered a brain stem stroke that left him paralyzed.

Doctors told his family that he had a 1% chance of survival, and that if he lived, he’d likely be in a vegetative state. Kapen beat those odds. His mental faculties were unscathed, and he slowly regained some movement and speech through therapy. Eventually, he was able to communicate, eat, operate a motorized wheelchair and write a book. He had another big dream, too.

“Growing up, I fell in love with hiking, being outdoors and the beauty of nature,” he says. That was taken away from him for 10 years, Kapen says, but very recently, a new set of wheels has allowed for his return. It’s called the AdvenChair.

The orange, “all-terrain” wheelchair is human-powered and designed to help people with mobility challenges to venture into the wild. Its wheels, tires, brakes and handlebars are all premium mountain bike parts, and the large tires and suspension system offer a comfortable ride. Thanks to a versatile system of pulleys, bars and straps, teams of one to five people can assist in navigating the AdvenChair over just about any landscape.

The AdvenChair recently enabled Kapen to visit Machu Picchu. Over in Palm Springs, Floyd McGregor — who has an autoimmune disease of the muscles called myositis — is raising money for an AdvenChair pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Isaac Shannon, a Southern Californian with mitochondrial disease, has been using his AdvenChair for regular jaunts around Southern California.

“It’s rejuvenating to be outside, especially as a person with a disability, because these resources are not exactly the most accessible,” Shannon says in a video created for the Denver Channel. “So when there is a tool that allows a person to be able to experience life in the most average way possible, I think it’s healing, and it’s nice to be out in nature where you’re not around people.”

The man behind AdvenChair is Geoff Babb of Bend, Ore. He grew up backpacking, climbing and mountain biking, and worked as a fire ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management. At age 48, a blood clot in his brain caused a brain stem stroke, and just like Kapen, he nearly died. Babb lost the ability to walk and much of his strength, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from visiting the outdoors.

Babb started looking around for a wheelchair that could help him navigate rugged terrain, and found a couple of options: the GRIT Freedom Chair and the Mountain Trike. The designs were good, he says, but they didn’t work for him.

“They all relied on the rider having enough upper body strength to push the levers,” Babb says. “But myself and a lot of people, we don’t have the body strength.” So Babb decided to invent his own.

Click here to read the full article on SFGate.

Bob Saget: How a family tragedy turned him into an activist

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Bob Saget headshot

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Bob Saget channeled his grief into helping others and now some of his famous friends are doing the same in the wake of his death.

The comedian who became known as America’s dad after playing Danny Tanner on “Full House” died Sunday at the age of 65.

But it was the death of his beloved sister Gay following a battle with the autoimmune disease scleroderma which transformed him into an avid advocate for raising money to find a cure.

The star actually first became involved with the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) prior to his sister’s diagnosis with the chronic disease, which can lead to a hardening and tightening of connective tissue and skin.

Saget told NIH Medline Plus Magazine in 2019 that years before he “got a call from someone I did not know asking me to host a comedy fundraiser for a disease I knew very little about.”

“I said yes and hosted the event, which starred Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, and others.” he said. “Little did I know that just a few years later, my sister would be diagnosed with the disease.”

Saget shared that his sister was 44 and a Philadelphia-area teacher when she was first diagnosed. Drugs including prednisone and cortisone were used to treat her, he said, but it only addressed her symptoms.

“She had to move to Los Angeles to live with my parents because she needed so much help,” Saget said. “She passed away just two years later.”

The “America’s Funniest Videos” host went on to serve on the SRF board for nearly two decades and hosted their events for more than 25 years.

Following the announcement of his death, fellow comic Amy Schumer posted on her verified Instagram account that she would be donating to SRF in Saget’s honor and the organization posted a tribute to their most famous advocate.

“In loving memory of Bob Saget, a cherished colleague, friend, and Scleroderma Research Foundation Board member for over 20 years,” the caption to a photo of Saget posted on the SFR Instagram account read. “Bob was a relentless champion for scleroderma patients and the mission of the SRF—finding a cure for scleroderma. He will be dearly missed.”

Read the original article posted on EyeWitness News.

Changing attitudes toward disability, one vlog at a time

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Vlog star, Zhao Hongcheng, a 31-year-old vlogger on the video-sharing platform Bilibili

By Lin Lixin, Shine

At the end of 2021, two videos evaluating the worst and best experiences of barrier-free facilities in Shanghai received a lot of attention on the video-sharing platform Bilibili.

The uploader, Zhao Hongcheng, 31, is a wheelchair-user woman who was born in Shaoyang City in central China’s Hunan Province. She was diagnosed with poliomyelitis at the age of 1. She currently lives in Shanghai.

Zhao became a vlogger in early 2019 with the username “Dachengzi Haomeimei” and found fame after uploading a video of a trip to Guangzhou. In two days, the video had been viewed more than 2,000 times.

As a full-time blogger now, she has released 65 videos and shares her daily life with her nearly 76,000 followers. More importantly, she tries to assist persons with disabilities and help them better integrate into society.

In one of her posts, she narrated her experience at Tsutaya Books in Shanghai. The bookstore would not allow strollers and wheelchairs inside and demanded that they should be stored “at the front desk.”

After waiting outside the store for over ten minutes in the hope that someone from the store would help them out, Zhao’s boyfriend Xie Lipeng went inside to negotiate with the manager.

Eventually, they were allowed in but it left a sour taste with Zhao.

“Do you think everyone sitting in a wheelchair can stand up after entering the store? Each one of us wants to play and have fun. So why is it a mistake on my part?” she commented.

She narrated another incident, this time at the prestigious Bund One Art Museum. Zhao and Xie were told that because it was crowded on weekends, they would not be allowed in. This was despite the fact they were selling concession tickets for people with disabilities.

Again, they managed to get in but felt like “outsiders.”

On December 6, Zhao received a message on her Weibo account stating that Tsutaya Books had improved facilities for wheelchair users.

A notification at the entrance of the bookstore now reads: “People with strollers and wheelchairs, please pay attention to safety. Ask shop assistants for help if necessary.”

But Zhao also stated she felt the warmth of the city and went on to post videos of her “three best experiences” in the city.

“I would give Shanghai 7-out-of-10 marks,” Zhao told the Chinese-language Shanghai Morning Post.

Zhao was impressed with the facilities and services at the Shanghai Natural History Museum and Museum of Art Pudong.

ET Stage found a special mention in the videos. It wasn’t particularly well-equipped with facilities for persons with disabilities but the helpful staff members won her over.

Zhao moved to Shanghai in August 2019 to work with Meituan. She uploaded a video of her taking a bus in Shanghai. Although the bus had facilities to deal with disabled people, the driver wasn’t trained and took a long time to get her onto the bus.

The video was viewed nearly 160,000 times but nothing more came out of it. Zhao was told to write to Shanghai municipal government’s proposal collection office. She got a prompt reply which led to better training of bus staff in dealing with people with disabilities.

Statistics from China Disabled Persons’ Federation showed that China had 85 million disabled people in 2020.

Shanghai has been trying to improve barrier-free facilities since the 1980s, the most recent being a regulation released in June 2020.

At the Shuicheng Road Station, on Metro Line 10, there are maps and information in Braille for students at the nearby Shanghai School for the Blind. An “Accessibility Guide Manual” was released in 2020, and includes information for visually impaired, deaf and mute and physically challenged passengers.

Click here to read the full article on Shine.

Why New York City May Soon Be More Walkable for Blind People

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Accessible Pedestrian Signals help blind and visually impaired pedestrians cross city streets.

By Ali Watkins, New York Times

A federal judge on Monday ordered New York City officials to install more than 9,000 signal devices at intersections to make it easier for pedestrians who are visually impaired to safely cross the streets.

In an opinion released Monday morning, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer criticized city officials for failing to make the vast majority of New York’s more than 13,000 intersections safe for thousands of blind and visually impaired residents. He ordered the appointment of a federal monitor to oversee the installation of the signal devices, which use sounds and vibrations to inform people when it is safe to cross a roadway.

The ruling will change the face of New York City’s street corners, the vast majority of which are only governed by visible cues like flashing countdowns, red hands and walking figures. It also marks a significant advancement for disability rights in major urban centers, many of which have not fully embraced accessible crossings for blind residents.

“There has never been a case like this. We can finally look forward to a day, not long from now, when all pedestrians will have safe access to city streets,” said Torie Atkinson, a lawyer for the American Council of the Blind and two visually impaired New Yorkers, who filed the suit. “We hope this decision is a wake-up call not just to New York City, but for every other transit agency in the country that’s been ignoring the needs of people with vision disabilities.”

Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for the city’s Law Department, said that the ruling acknowledged the “operational challenges” the city has faced in its attempts to install the systems over the years.

“We are carefully evaluating the court’s plan to further the city’s progress in increasing accessibility to people who are blind and visually impaired,” Mr. Paolucci said in a statement.

The case, which was filed in 2018, accused the Department of Transportation and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, making roadways treacherous for those who cannot see. Last October, Judge Engelmayer ruled in the plaintiffs’ favors, saying the city had violated the law hundreds of times by failing to install accessible signals.

While the city ramped up installation after the lawsuit was filed, it still lagged far behind the pace needed to make its infrastructure widely accessible for blind residents, the judge said, adding the city’s decision was not rooted in financial concerns or logistical hurdles but in political will and budgetary priorities.

The failure to install the technology more widely, the judge wrote, impedes the independence of people who need them, by making it difficult to cross streets safely in a timely fashion.

Accessible pedestrian signals, or A.P.S., are present at less than 4 percent of city intersections. They communicate when it is safe to cross through voice recordings, beeps and other sounds. They also vibrate to communicate to deaf and hearing-impaired residents.

Despite being seen as critical safety measures, the devices have not been embraced on a large scale in New York, the country’s densest city, where around 2.4 percent of residents are visually impaired. The first accessible pedestrian device was installed at a city intersection in 1957, but the rollout in the decades since has been halting. Current estimates say that nearly 65 years later, the city has installed fewer than 1,000 of the devices.

“On a daily basis I have to deal with trying not to get hit by cars because there is no A.P.S. telling me when it is safe to cross,” Christina Curry, who is deafblind, a term used to describe someone with combined hearing and sight loss, and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement. “Installing so many A.P.S. over the next 10 years means that I and tens of thousands of deafblind New Yorkers will have access to street crossing information and be able to travel safely, freely and independently throughout the city.”

Click here to read the full article on the New York Times.

What you need to know if you’re teaching a student with a disability

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Dean Pan is studying secondary teaching, specialising in Technology Applied Studies. He lives with a spinal cord injury, and despite his disability, he continues his interest in woodworking.

By Dean Pan, ABC

Over my 9 years in a wheelchair, I have learnt to adapt to many situations.

People often doubt my ability to do basic tasks, and even though that’s sometimes true, through hard work and passion, and with the help from others, I constantly find ways to go against the stereotype.

Having a disability comes with its limitations but it won’t completely hold someone back.

Currently, I’m in my final year of teaching, and the biggest incentive for me being a teacher is the opportunity to improve the lives of younger individuals.

During my placements, there have been countless positive experiences in the classroom. One standout was teaching a student who used a wheelchair and found woodworking quite difficult. It appeared she may have been seeing her disability as the cause, yet I saw she was trying to use the handsaw incorrectly. It wasn’t her disability holding her back, it was her mindset. Her eyes lit up when she realised she could do it.

When I was younger, I struggled with using hand tools, but when my teacher found a way around it, I felt like I could build anything then topped the class in HSC Industrial Technology: Timber.

Teaching a student with a disability may be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have, but it comes with its challenges.

Differentiation is crucial
You’ll need to adapt the way your disabled student can complete tasks.

Afterwards, ask the student to give you feedback on the tasks you’re giving them, to make sure they feel like they have the best opportunity for academic success.

Be approachable
It helps to build rapport, so use break times to go into the playground and have lunch with the students. Relationships are key to engaging your students.

Too often I hear stories of teachers being overly strict, and students express to me that their teachers aren’t listening to them. Reflect on yourself and your teaching practice. Ask yourself, “When a student is in my class (or talking to me), what are they up against?”

Avoid deficit thinking
Your student would be a regular developing individual like everyone else if they didn’t have their condition. So, speak directly to them, not to their teacher’s aide or support worker.

Often when I’m out for dinner with my wife, the waitstaff will speak to her first or even say, “What will he be having?” Avoid this at all costs. My school was very on top of this, and I was always included in the classroom discussions, just like everyone else. Same goes with calling students inspirational — this is borderline objectification. People with disabilities don’t exist to make others feel more inspired.

Have a growth mindset
The goal of learning and assessment is based on knowledge and skills, not physical ability.

All students need to know that they have the ability to learn new skills — just as though they’re learning a musical instrument. A growth mindset is their ticket to becoming an adaptable and teachable individual, ready to explore the world.

It also helps if you encourage a passion for long term goals.

Click here to read the full article on ABC.

Val Kilmer Gets His Voice Back with AI Technology

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Val Kilmer leaving a building and smiling

By Natalie Rodgers

In 2015, beloved actor Val Kilmer, perhaps best known from the iconic ‘Top Gun’ movie, was diagnosed with throat cancer. Though he won the battle against cancer, one of his throat treatments took away a majority of his ability to speak vocally. Now, over half a decade later, Kilmer has his voice back and it’s all thanks to artificial intelligence.

In correspondence with the debut of his new documentary, “Val”, Kilmer gave an epilogue of sorts to his biography with the reveal of his new voice, which he was able to recreate with the software company, Sonantic.

Working closely with Sonantic, the team was able to feed pre-recorded audio of Kilmer’s old voice and its transcript into an artificial intelligence algorithm, which then learns the inflections and tones of his voice to create a vast library of speaking patterns. The team then edited the audio to give it a more lifelike tone than the more robotic inflection heard from other AI systems, such as Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. The firm says their team of engineers was able to create 40 different versions of Kilmer’s voice and selected the one that closest resembled his natural one.

According to a statement done by Sonantic, the voice engine can translate the meaning of written words and cues to demonstrate emotion in voice from passive conversation to an angry tone. This means that Kilmer’s voice is not only capable of reading lines of text, but of conveying information in a more personable way. Sonantic stated that Kilmer is welcome to use his voice in any capacity that he chooses.

“Val’s team wanted to give him his voice back so that he could continue creating.” Sonantic CEO Zeena Qureshi explained to the Washington Post, “It’s exclusively his model. He could use it for personal use or professional use if he wants to.”
Though the exact logistics of this process and its ethical connotations are still in debate, it’s no doubt that this technology seems promising to help other individuals in similar situations who desire to express themselves through an audible speaking setup.

“People around me struggle to understand when I’m talking,” Kilmer stated, utilizing his new technology, “But despite all that I still feel I’m the exact same person. Still the same creative soul. A soul that dreams ideas and stories confidently, but now I can express myself again and bring these ideas to you and show you this part of myself once more. A part that was never truly gone. Just hiding away.”

While there is no official confirmation to date on what Kilmer’s voice will be used for next or whether or not it will be used in a professional capacity, the actor expressed his gratitude for the groundbreaking technology, stating: “I’m grateful to the entire team at Sonantic who masterfully restored my voice in a way I’ve never imagined possible. As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. The chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.”

Source: The Washington Post, IndieWire

Photo Credit and Caption: Actor Val Kilmer attends the 2019 annual Thespians Go Hollywood Gala at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

How To Make Your Holidays More Accessible

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how to have an accessible holiday

By Andrew Pulrang, Forbes

The year-end holiday season is a complex time for people with disabilities, and for their family and friends. It’s a time for celebration, sharing, and togetherness that can provide a break from everyday cares and strengthen supportive bonds. At the same time, the holidays bring disabled and non-disabled people together in more extensive and sometimes demanding ways that can put inclusive values and good intentions to the test.

Amid all the joy and celebrations, familiar routines and coping mechanisms are disrupted. Disabilities we know about in theory become suddenly very real and immediately practical. Disabled and non-disabled family and friends struggle to anticipate and accommodate each other to ensure everyone has a good time and nobody feels put upon or left out. And that’s in the reasonably functional families and friend groups. In others, the holidays often uncover hidden layers of ignorance, ableism, exclusion, and petty resentment.

So how can we make the holidays better all around for disabled friends and family?

1. Ask disabled people

Most disabled people know on some level what they need, and what they are and aren’t comfortable with. So the first, best source of help is to ask disabled people themselves. It’s not hard. Just ask, “Is there anything we can do to make it easier and more comfortable for you?”

Of course, if you have specific questions or ideas, ask about them. For example:

How do we provide comfortable places to sit and rest where disabled guests can be fully a part of the group?

Are there accessible pathways to places where different activities will be happening?

What can we do for family and guests who are deaf or hard of hearing, especially where background noise can make individual voices hard to hear? What about people who may be neurologically sensitive to loud or startling noises, like sudden laughing or cheering?

Dim lighting helps set a holiday mood and highlight Christmas decorations, but it also makes it hard for people with visual impairments to get around. What can we do to compensate?

Are there easily accessible and comfortable areas where guests can get away from the main group and rest for a bit?

Click here to read the full article on Forbes.

Rose Ayling-Ellis Wins ‘Strictly Come Dancing,’ Becoming Series’ First Deaf Champion

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Rose Ayling-Ellis on the show stricly come dancing

By Selome Hailu, Variety

Series 19 of British dance competition series “Strictly Come Dancing” has its winner. Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf contestant ever to be crowned the series’ winner on Saturday night.

Along with her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice, she beat out competitors including chef and 2012 winner of “The Great British Bake Off” John Whaite and television presenter AJ Odudu, who exited the competition on Friday after injuring her ankle.

Saturday’s win was also the first for Pernice, who has danced on the show since 2015 and made it to the final stage in 2015, 2017 and 2018 with partners Georgia May Foote, Debbue McGee and Faye Tozer, respectively.

Ayling-Ellis is known for starring in popular BBC One soap opera “East Enders.” She plays Frankie Lewis in the series, which has been running since 1985 and follows the daily lives of residents of a fictional East London borough called Walford.

As a deaf person and an advocate for deaf awareness, Ayling-Ellis has garnered much attention for her participation in “Strictly Come Dancing.” She is not only the first deaf winner of the competition — she’s also the first. The series had never had a deaf contestant at all before her.

During a performance in a Nov. episode of the show, she and Pernice danced a 20-second interlude without music. Before the final, Ayling-Ellis shared a video on Instagram that featured several deaf children wishing her good luck. “Because I’m deaf, I like seeing deaf people on ‘Strictly,’” one little girl said. “Look, Rose, I’ve got special ears, like you!” said another. ​​”Always be proud of who you are,” Ayling-Ellis wrote.

Click here to read the full article on Variety.

I’m A Black, Disabled Actor. This Is How I’m Making My Place In Hollywood.

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Danielle Perez, 36, actor, writer and stand-up comedian

By Regina F. Graham, Refinery 29

One in four adults in the U.S. are living with a disability, but you wouldn’t know it given the lack of representation in the workforce, Hollywood, and media coverage.

Voices of Disability celebrates the real stories — not the stigmas or stereotypes — of this dynamic and vibrant community of individuals.

Lauren Ridloff, Danielle Perez, and Diana Elizabeth Jordan all have one thing in common: They are passionate and dedicated to the craft of acting. You might not know their names, though. The women, who hail from across the U.S., now primarily reside in Los Angeles, and represent a variety of ages, backgrounds, and circumstances. But they share a common thread: Throughout their careers, they have all found it difficult to land leading roles as women of color who have a disability.

Jordan is a 57-year-old actress and director who has cerebral palsy; 36-year-old Los Angeles native Perez is an actress, writer, and stand-up comedian who uses a wheelchair; and Ridloff is a 42-year-old award-winning Deaf actress who is slated to make history playing a Deaf superhero in Marvel film The Eternals, scheduled to be released in 2021.

Since #OscarsSoWhite became a trending topic in 2015, A-list stars, producers, and directors have all spoken up in various settings about Hollywood’s systemic color issue and lack of diversity. Viola Davis, Shonda Rhimes, and Issa Rae are just three prominent figures who have been critically vocal about the lack of diversity in casting people of color in blockbuster movies or major TV dramas. It’s a conversation we’ve had the displeasure of annually revisiting since April Reign first created the viral hashtag #OscarsSoWhite five years ago. And while it might not seem like any progress has been made, at least the conversation exists in the public discourse.

Very little, if any, attention has been paid to the lack of disabled women of color being considered for roles. A 2018 study from the Ruderman Family Foundation found that 80% of disabled characters on television are portrayed by non-disabled actors. The research covered about 280 networks and streaming shows from that year. In addition, 26% of the U.S. population (one in four people) has a disability, but fewer than 2% of all television characters do, according to the same study. Of that extremely small number of disabled characters on screen, nearly all are white. In addition, a study from the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative that combed through 900 popular movies from 2007 to 2016 found that only 2.7% of characters with speaking roles were portrayed as disabled.

Ridloff, Perez, and Jordan don’t see their disabilities as hampering their ability to do their chosen craft, nor should the color of their skin be an additional barrier to entry to Hollywood. Here, they speak to Refinery29 about their experiences fighting for a major shift that is long overdue in the industry.

Click here to read the full article on Refinery 29.

First deaf ‘Bachelor’ contestant, Abigail Heringer, celebrates her disability with photo of cochlear implant

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Abigail Heringer with her back facing the camera as she lifts her hair to show her new cochlear implant

By Kerry Justich, Yahoo! Life

Abigail Heringer made history with her appearance on Season 25 of The Bachelor as the franchise’s first deaf contestant. Now, the 26-year-old is reflecting on her experience and sharing gratitude for how Bachelor Nation welcomed her.

“As 2021 starts to wrap up, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for this past year. The amount of support and love I’ve experienced through DM’s, comments and more continues to blow me away,” Heringer wrote alongside a slideshow of photos of her wearing her cochlear implant — a small electronic device that helps to provide her with a sense of sound, although she was born completely deaf.

“When I first got the call saying that they wanted to cast me for The Bachelor, I called my mom in a panic,” she wrote. “I was excited but also so scared and unsure if I wanted to talk about my hearing loss on tv, especially on a show that hasn’t had much disability representation.”

While Heringer was ultimately celebrated for being on the show and bravely sharing her story during her first meeting with bachelor Matt James, she explained that she had reservations about being so open about her disability on television.

“After countless awkward interactions growing up, I had become so used to trying to ‘act normal’ which meant to me, undermining my hearing loss. Acting like I had nothing different about me,” Heringer shared. “I wouldn’t tell new friends, first dates, teachers and I felt guilty about it. I had something beautifully different about me and so when my mom said ‘if sharing your story can help just one person, one family, you should do it’, that’s all it took for me to say yes.”

Heringer went on to explain how going on the show changed her life “overnight.” More importantly, however, it was just the beginning of a longer journey to finding confidence to fully embrace her cochlear implant, which has long made her feel different.

“It took me 26 years,” she said of showing off her device. “But I got here and I’m not ready to stop sharing. I’d like to think a lot of you are here because either you have a similar situation, know someone that is deaf or hard of hearing, or simply just curious and want to learn more. And I’m happy you’re here.”

Heringer received an outpour of love and support in the comment section from fellow Bachelor contestants turned friends.

Click here to read the full article on Yahoo! Life.

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Upcoming Events

  1. From Day One
    January 18, 2022
  2. City Career Fair
    January 19, 2022 - November 4, 2022
  3. From Day One
    February 9, 2022
  4. The Small Business Expo–Multiple Event Dates
    February 17, 2022 - December 1, 2022
  5. From Day One
    February 22, 2022

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