Born December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, New York, the son of illiterate Jewish-Russian immigrants, Issur Danielovitch, who would become Kirk Douglas, was driven to leave behind the poverty of his hometown. He won a wrestling scholarship to Saint Lawrence University and worked as a wrestler in summer carnivals in order to meet school expenses. ... Read more
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Trust Me, I’m Sick – Documentary
A documentary series on chronic illness by the community and for the community ‘Trust Me, I’m Sick’ is a short documentary series directed by Sarah Stewart, which portrays different aspects of living with a chronic illness by following five Los Angeles residents throughout their daily lives. The film’s director teamed up with the non-profit ... Read more
Tulsi Gabbard Interview
From our interview with Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard, we will post a series of short segments discussing; traumatic brain injury #TBI, Post-traumatic stress disorder #PTSD, why she’s in the race, grey hair and this first post on #aloha
Wang Lu and Her “Upper Hand” in Talk Shows
“Because no matter what script I came up with, the audience would cast an eye over my right hand.” So Lu changed her strategy: “Instead of having them wonder about my hand, it would be better just to ‘wave it off’ with a few explanations. Only then could I get their attention back to ... Read more
Karah Behrend and the Rebelle Rally
Karah Behrend is all about breaking down barriers. She’s an adaptive athlete who not only completed the grueling eight-day, off-road Rebelle Rally—her first time ever—but the medically retired Air Force veteran placed second. With Behrend behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, made accessible with hand controls to accommodate her, and her teammate ... Read more
John Robison — Neurodiversity in the Real World
Looking at John, you might not peg him for someone who built flaming guitars for the rock group, KISS. The buttoned up shirt and bowtie are more in line with Bill Nye the Science Guy. John Elder Robison is certainly someone with multiple layers who will never fit into one box. The opening Keynote ... Read more
The Peanut Butter Falcon — Actor Zack Gottsagen & Advocate Shelley Gottsagen
An actor with disabilities is born to a disability rights activist. It seems like a far-fetched Hollywood script, but, in reality, it’s 100% true. Meet the Gottsagen—Zack whose breakout role in Peanut Butter Falcon has put him on the map and his mother, Shelley, whose activism for disability rights predates her son. ABILITY Magazine ... Read more
Jon Murray — The Reality of Reality TV
Television producer and Emmy winner Jonathon Murray is widely recognized for launching the reality TV genre. Back in 1992, he and his late business partner, Mary-Ellis Bunim, threw together a handful of strangers and filmed what would become The Real World, now the longest running reality TV show ever. Its success would spawn a ... Read more
PUT THE U IN YOU
Writer’s Café — Submitted by Peter MacQuarrie — Chances are you find it challenging to be disabled. But the U in you is where you need to focus effort. Everyone on Earth will experience difficulties in life. Some are small; some are huge. No matter your limitations, I am here to encourage you to ... Read more
“Stay Alive” Helps At-Risk Populations Choose Life Over Death by Suicide
Suicide rates in young people are climbing at an alarming rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the U.S. suicide rate has jumped 30 percent from 2000 to 2016, and suicide is now the second-leading cause of teen death. These statistics are the impetus for new suicide prevention documentary Stay Alive, ... Read more
Alarming DRI report: US Border and Mexico, detention, abuse, and death of children & adults with disabilities
Disability Rights International (DRI) released the report At the US Border and Segregated from Society, documenting the improper detention, abuse, and death of children and adults with disabilities detained in institutions in Mexico in the State of Baja California. These findings demonstrate the serious risks faced by any child or person with a disability ... Read more
Online ABILITY Job Fair for Job Seekers with disABILITIES
Recruiters from Aetna, Facebook, United States Secret Service, Fred Hutch and more met hundreds of job seekers with disABILITIES. The ABILITY Job Fair is an online accessible face to face video platform and partners with abilityJOBS.com and ABILITY Magazine. Accessibility Features: Screen reader compatibility • Speech to text in real time • Sign language ... Read more
Global Accessibility Symposium and Lights! Camera! Access! Career Exploration Summit
The Global Accessibility Symposium was held at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA on May 17th. During the day, Lights! Camera! Access! (LCA) held the Executive Leadership Roundtable, facilitated by the Honorable Tony Coelho, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act. LCA Roundtable included: Frances West, Founder of Frances West Company, Speaker, Author, ... Read more
Web for All Conference 2019 — Global Accessibility
Congratulations to Dragan Ahmetovic, Chieko Asakawa, Eshed Ohn-Bar, Joao Guerreiro, Kris M. Litani, and Victoria Yaneva for Web4All Best Papers. And all of the participants, including co-chairs Ted Drake, Elaine Pearson and Volker Sorge. Web for All Conference is the premiere venue for accessibility research, on all aspects of web accessibility. W4A embraces the ... Read more
World Wide Web — 30th Anniversary
The World Wide Web was invented by Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, British scientist, during his time at CERN The first website at CERN – and in the world – was dedicated to the World Wide Web project itself and was hosted on Berners-Lee’s NeXT computer. In 2013, CERN launched a project to restore this ... Read more
Web4All 2019 Personalising the Web with Accessibility Travel Scholarships
The W4A conference May 13/14 Travel scholarships for the Web4All’19 conference for students with disabilities and any students doing accessibility research. The conference will feature presentations on computer accessibility research followed by a 2-day industry supported hackathon: There are 3 exciting opportunities for students (Applications Closed): * Free travel, room, and registration – IBM Award ... Read more
“Campeones” (“Champions”), Wins Best Picture at the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Awards, Featuring Actors with Developmental Disabilities
Spain’s biggest national box office hit of the year, “Campeones” ( Champions), a comedy about a basketball team featuring actors with developmental disabilities, won Best Picture at the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Awards. Cast: Javier Gutierrez, Jose de Luna, Gloria Ramos, Roberto Chinchilla, Athenea Mata, Luisa Gavasa, Mariano Llorente, Daniel Freire, Juan Margallo Production companies: ... Read more
Georgia Aquarium Becomes World’s First Certified Autism Center Aquarium
With so much mainstream media attention focused on autism in the past several years, it’s surprising more tourist destinations aren’t doing all they can to accommodate visitors on the autism spectrum. For parents, vacation planning can be a nightmare as they seek out attractions that are fun while remaining mindful of their childrens’ needs. ... Read more
Harris Wofford: A leader in Community Service
Harris Wofford was a major force in the shaping of the American community. He began the journey as a teenage in Scarsdale, New York, during World War II, when he formed the Student Federalists, a national organization preparing for the anticipated world government. While a private in the U.S. Army Air Force early in ... Read more
Trevor Noah Riffs on People without Disabilities Playing Roles in Movies About People with Disabilities — The Upside and Bryan Cranston
The upside of The Upside might be more awareness? Trevor Noah spoke about his new awareness of actors playing parts that an actor with a disability would be a natural fit. Not until this controversy hit social media did Noah ever think of the similarities of minority roles being taken by non-minority actors. The ... Read more
