“Getting old is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.” The older I get (I'm 75), the more I appreciate the words of 83-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. As we age, we tend to lose functionality (strength, stamina, flexibility, mobility, reflexes); and this loss often leads to a "disability" condition. In my opinion we don’t value the elderly, at best we accommodate them. I recently came across this article by Judith Graham that poses the age-old question: "Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?" 

At age 14 I learned I liked working with people who have disabilities. I learned this about myself when I was in PE. We had the opportunity to work with kids with disabilities. We would assist them with exercises, activities, and games such as dodgeball and relay races. We would also have dance parties. During the dance parties, the teacher would put on a song such as “Cupid Shuffle,” or a similar song that tells you what to do. (“Put your right foot in, put your right foot out…”). After dancing, we would all go play the game of the day. Dancing is an excellent way to get the kids moving and get everyone’s energy up. When the opportunity came up to do a project on Down Syndrome, I was very excited. The project, a poster for my biology class, would include information about World Down Syndrome Day, Mattel’s first Down Syndrome Barbie Doll, and John Langdon Down, credited with describing the first case of Down Syndrome. 

It's funny how some names just fit the person. All names are derived from certain characteristics and traits. For instance, Alex personifies a defender. Bella comes from being beautiful. Grace reflects elegance and Ivory projects purity. 

Perhaps nowhere was there a more appropriate name for a person than Holly Castle. 

At times social change seems slow and progress barely achievable. The beginning of the disability advocacy movement can be traced as far back as to the end of World War II when disabled war veterans returned home from war and were seeking rehabilitation services and vocational training. But in the United States, it was not until the 1960’s Civil Rights movement and 1963 legislation enacting the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Act and the Community Mental Health Centers Act that the federal government supported the release of patients from institutions into their communities along with outpatient therapeutic treatment, including newly developed antipsychotic medication.

The history of the disability rights movement chronicles the contribution of early pioneer advocates and luminaries. Among those who are standouts was Dr. Gunnar Dybwad, an early proponent of the self-advocacy movement and social model of disability. For him, disability accommodations weren’t a question of medical treatment, but a matter of civil rights.

Hello! My name is Megan, and I’m fortunate enough to be the mother of Ryder, a beautiful, spirited boy who has truly changed my life. Ryder was born in 2019, and our story isn’t an easy one to tell. It began with hardships, grief, violence, and confusion. It also began with beauty I cannot put into words. A love so pure and strong that it completely derailed what I thought was my life purpose. It began with smiles, connection, laughs, many happy tears, and the drive to do better. Ryder’s light was undeniable from the moment he was born. He is kind, talented, funny, loving, smart, and autistic. It’s getting easier for me to say that and the reason is because he’s so much more than his disability. Nothing about that label changed the way I see my son. What did change is having access to more services allowed me to have more power when advocating fiercely for him.

Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC) is proud to announce the launch of the National Roadmap for Disability-Inclusive Healthcare!

A product of our Action to Build Clinical Confidence and Culture (ABC3) Coalition, the Roadmap offers clear goals and commonsense actions clinicians and groups involved with healthcare can take to make healthcare safer and better for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD).