Category: Living with Disability

Thirty-four years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, full access to public transportation remains a major obstacle for many disabled individuals. The situation in New York City is especially dire.

According to The New York Times, “New York has lagged far behind other major American cities in building access points for people with disabilities.”

Case in point: One in 15 New York City residents has difficulty walking, yet only 31% of New York City’s subway stations have elevators or ramps. In a city where the subway is the most practical and inexpensive way to get around, this status quo leaves hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities with no viable means of transportation. Making matters worse is the fact that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) does little to maintain the elevators it does have. A 2024 assessment by The Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University found that existing elevators break down “approximately 25 times a day, with a 4-hour median repair time.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, many stations have gaps between trains and platforms that are too wide for wheelchair users to safely get on or off trains. The gaps also endanger riders with visual impairment.

According to Gothamist, “the push to make the subway system more accessible began in earnest in the 1980s, when Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (now known as United Spinal Association) sued the MTA to force a $150 million modernization program for about 50 stations to include more access for riders with disabilities.”

Eventually, that lawsuit resulted in the installation of elevators in 10 subway stations.

Since then, the MTA has been sued by disabled riders and disability rights groups on numerous occasions. For decades, the transportation authority has chosen to pay legal fees and cash settlements instead of doing the work necessary to make subways accessible.

But MTA policy may finally be changing.

After settling two lawsuits in 2022, the MTA has pledged to add elevators and ramps to 95% of the city’s 472 stations by 2055. In June 2022, The New York Times explained that the settlement called for the transportation authority to “make an additional 81 subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2025… another 85 stations accessible by 2035, 90 more by 2045 and then 90 more by 2055.” Funding for the projects will come from the MTA’s capital budget.

As Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, a wheelchair user and disability advocate told AmericanCityandCounty.com: “This settlement builds on decades of work by countless disability rights advocates, activists and allies, like the Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group, telling everyone at court hearings and MTA board meetings the simple truth: ‘Elevators Are For Everyone.’ With this settlement, future New Yorkers and visitors—disabled and non-disabled alike—will ride one subway system together.”

A new exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOA) showcases the work of developmentally disabled artists from the Creative Growth studio in Oakland, California.

On view through Oct. 6, 2024, “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built” celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the studio — the first visual arts organization in the United States to support the work of artists with developmental disabilities.

The exhibition encompasses work created between 1981 and 2021, including acrylic paintings, pastel drawing, ceramics sculpture and film by artists Joseph Alef, Camille Holvoet, Susan Janow, Dwight Mackintosh, John Martin, Dan Miller, Donald Mitchell, Judith Scott, William Scott, Ron Veasey, and Alice Wong. Also on display are materials that document the history of Creative Growth and the organization’s influence on the disability, arts, and disability arts movements. In addition, SFMOMA commissioned a new piece by William Scott that’s installed at the entry to the museum’s second floor galleries.

Creative Growth was founded by artist Florence Ludin-Katz and her husband Elias Katz, a psychologist, in 1974 after the deinstitutionalization movement left many people with developmental disabilities without the support they needed to thrive in their communities. The Katzes believed that making art helped people with developmental disabilities find inner peace as well as outward acceptance by others who could appreciate their work.

“…Each person has the right to the richest and fullest development of which he is capable,” said the Katzes on SFMOMA’s website. “Only then can society reach its fullest potential … Creativity is a vital living force within each individual.”

According to The New York Times, “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built,” includes approximately 80 works by 23 artists associated with Creative Growth, and affiliated Bay Area organizations Creativity Explored and NIAD (Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development). Both affiliated organizations were also founded by the Katzes.  “The exhibition draws from SFMOMA’s half-million-dollar acquisition of more than 100 Creative Growth artworks, the largest purchase by any American museum of the work of disabled artists,” said theTimes.

While New York City museums such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art have acquired a few pieces by artists with developmental disabilities, they are typically shown only as part of “special displays,” says The New York Times art critic, Jonathan Griffin. He contends that what SFMOMA is doing is ground-breaking.

“The acquisition is part of a partnership with Creative Growth through which the museum, led since 2022 by the director Christopher Bedford, pledges to introduce more art by developmentally disabled people from the three Bay Area organizations into its collection displays, and consequently into the canon of modernist art history.”

When someone needs a wheelchair, they and their family may need to make some tough decisions. Should they move to a ranch where everything is on one floor? Should they find a home that’s already been designed for a wheelchair user? Or would it make sense to renovate their current residence?

For this week’s blogpost, we researched each of these options. Here’s what we learned:

Option 1: Moving to a ranch home

Finding a ranch home, especially in the southern and western regions of the United States, is relatively easy. Keep in mind, however, that most one-story homes will still need remodeling to make them fully accessible. For example, some ranch homes have steps to their entryways so homeowners may need to add wheelchair ramps or lifts. Doorways and hallways in ranch homes may need widening to accommodate wheelchairs; bathrooms probably need expansion; and shower entrances must be renovated so that they are flush with the bathroom floor. While such renovations can be costly, some states offer programs that can offset the costs. Medicaid may also provide some financial assistance.

Option 2: Finding a home that’s already accessible.

Unfortunately, homes that are truly accessible for wheelchair users are hard to come by. “I see people who think they’re going to find that perfect accessible house, and I have to tell them that it’s just not out there,” says Johnson, a C5 quad and realtor who was interviewed by New Mobility magazine.

James Lee, another wheelchair user and realtor interviewed by New Mobility, pointed out that many homes that are advertised as wheelchair accessible are far from it. Both realtors recommended that homebuyers seeking accessible homes find realtors who are wheelchair users since they are more likely to see through misleading home listings and understand what wheelchair users need.

Option 3: Renovating the current residence

If you would prefer to remain in your home, start with a comprehensive home assessment by a professional who understands ADA compliance and pays attention to your particular wants and needs. Make sure that you feel confident in the assessor’s judgment and comfortable with the solutions they propose. According to the UDS Foundation, accessibility renovations may include the following:

• The addition of ramps
• Widening of doorways and hallways
• Accessible bathrooms and bedrooms
• Automatic door openers
• New (smooth) flooring and/or low-pile carpeting
• Stair and porch lifts
• Accessible lighting
• Emergency exits

After years of neglecting the needs of disabled travelers, the tourism industry has finally wised up to the fact that individuals with disabilities are as interested in travel as everyone else. Furthermore, the industry now recognizes that its past failure to accommodate the needs of the 25% of the public that lives with disability, has left a whole lot of money on the table. As Easterseals recently reported, “consumers with disabilities and their families activate more than $22 billion in buying power and have $490 billion in disposable income.”

Hence, the tourism industry is evolving. Nowadays, there are travel agencies that specialize in finding disability-friendly tours and accommodations; websites and apps that help disabled tourists find the most accessible routes to their destinations;  resorts with specially designed programs for children with disabilities; and even airports with sensory rooms.

Despite these advances, most wheelchair users still dread the thought of air travel. That’s because their wheelchairs are frequently damaged when they fly. Indeed, statistics show that 31 wheelchairs are damaged by airline personnel every single day. According to Easterseals, 11,000 wheelchairs were damaged in 2022. 

But there is good news on the horizon.

On Feb. 29, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new proposed rule that “would require that airlines meet rigorous standards for accommodating passengers with disabilities safely and with dignity.” If approved, the proposed rule would be largest expansion of rights for wheelchair users since 2008. The public has 60 days (since Feb. 29) to comment on the proposed rule.

Among other things, the proposed rule would “mandate enhanced training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs and specify actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged during transport.”

The rule would also give the Department of Transportation more leverage “to hold airlines accountable when they damage or delay the return of a wheelchair by making it an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) to mishandle wheelchairs.”

While most disability activists are pleased that this issue is getting attention, some wish the rule went further and provided more detail in terms of what would be expected of the airlines. Ideally, activists would like to be able to remain in their own wheelchairs during flights.  While we may not see that anytime soon, DOT reports that the agency has “begun preliminary groundwork” on a rule that would move us closer to that goal.

How will my child take care of herself when I’m not around? Will my child ever be able to live independently? How will he learn the skills he needs to manage a household?

If you are the parent of a child with disabilities, you’ve probably asked yourself these questions at one time or other.

One high school in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, is providing answers that are reassuring to parents and empowering to youngsters with disabilities.

Recently, Nazareth Area High School created a “simulated apartment” where students with disabilities can practice skills of daily living. According to Kurt Bresswein at The Express-Times/TNS and Disability Scoop, the “apartment,” which was previously an ordinary classroom, is the brainchild of AJ Kise, the school’s director of special education.

“Imagine a world where every student, regardless of their abilities, walks through the doors of opportunity—a world where barriers crumble, differences are celebrated and education empowers all to reach their full potential. Today we stand at the threshold of making that dream a reality,” said Kise at the apartment’s dedication and ribbon cutting.

Director Kise first conceived of the simulated apartment in fall 2022. After consulting with life skills teacher Chrissy Glasgow, he developed a proposal which he presented to the Nazareth Area Schools Superintendent Richard Kaskey and Assistant Superintendent Isabel Resende. Once the proposal was approved, the project took about two years to get off the ground. Local foundations, businesses, Nazareth Area Schools maintenance, operations and facilities staff, school families and Nazareth community members all contributed to making the simulated apartment a reality.

This year, 25 special education students at Nazareth Area High School will have use of the apartment to learn skills such as “food and kitchen safety, laundry, budgeting, planning and organization, social skills, and independent living skills such as personal hygiene, home maintenance and safety procedures.”

Superintendent Kaskey said the apartment will provide students with “a safe environment in which to make errors and experience repercussions, while they gain confidence in growing the skills they’ll need to thrive as adults.”

Said Assistant Superintendent Resende: “This simulated apartment is not just a space, it’s a springboard. It will be a training ground where our students with special needs can develop essential skills for living independently, but more importantly they’ll gain confidence, self-reliance and the belief that they are capable of achieving anything they set their mind to.”

Even if you didn’t watch the 66th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on Sunday, Feb. 4, you probably heard a lot about it. Taylor Swift, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman were all over the news, and rightly so.

But you may not have known about another Grammy Award winner who deserves serious accolades. Annie Ray, an orchestra director and performing arts department chair at Virginia’s Annandale High School took home the Grammy’s 2024 Music Educator Award. The award “recognizes educators who have made a significant contribution and demonstrate a commitment to music education.”

Ray was chosen from among 10 finalists because of her advocacy work on behalf of students with disabilities and their parents. One example of Ray’s work is her creation of a Parent Orchestra, wherein nearly 200 caregivers of children with disabilities are taught to play their children’s instruments. She is also the creator of the Crescendo Orchestra program, which teaches students with severe developmental and intellectual disabilities to play music and provides opportunities for them to perform together.

Though Ray didn’t appear on the televised Grammy Awards show, she was invited to the ceremony in Los Angeles and received her own award at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Sat, Feb. 3.

In an interview with NPR, Ray said that the award really belonged to her students. “I’m just lucky enough to have been a part of their journey and their process and to have been taught by them…They completely changed my educational philosophy and approach of what it truly means to meet a student where they’re at and apply that elsewhere,” she added. “I believe they have a truly powerful message to share with everyone, and especially with how we look at approaching music education and what that looks like.”

In addition to the award itself, Ray received a $10,000 prize and a $10,000 matching grant for her school’s music program. She plans to use some of the grant money to buy new instruments – especially cellos and double basses. Ray also plans to start a scholarship for aspiring musicians and music educators.

PBS Kids has long been a trailblazer for making children’s television and online content inclusive of people with disabilities.

From Julia on “Sesame Street” to Macks on “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” to AJ on “Hero Elementary,” the media company has made a point of including characters with disabilities in its programming, and depicting disabled characters in positive, not stereotypical ways.

In November, the media company announced plans to debut “Carl the Collector” its first show to feature a leading character who lives with autism.

Created by New York Times best-selling illustrator and author Zachariah OHora, “Carl the Collector” chronicles the experiences of Carl–a raccoon with a passion for collecting things–and his neurodiverse and neurotypical group of friends. The show is recommended for children ages 4-8.

In a press release, Sarah Dewitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PBS Kids, said the series, “values inclusion and empathy, while modeling relationship building and social skills development, wrapped up in humor, heart, and incredible visual design… We’re excited for children to get to know Carl and his group of friends, who believe that the best experiences occur when we honor the things that make each of us unique.”

In order to ensure accurate portrayals of its neurodiverse characters, PBS Kids consulted with an advisory team that includes psychologist Geraldine Oades-Sese, Ph.D., educator Deborah Farmer Kris, MA, and Professor Dr. Stephen Shore, who has autism.

Dr. Shore told PBS Kids he was “amazed at the level of detail and effort the team expends to assure that Carl [and another character called Lotta] are authentic to the autistic experience. In addition to being an interesting series, ‘Carl the Collector’ will become a great tool for both autistic and non-autistic people to gain insight on autism. Although designed for young kids, I plan on using relevant excerpts to supplement my university teaching and presentations around the world.”

In addition to receiving advice from Dr. Shore, the show will also include the contributions of neurodiverse writers, and voice actors.

Said advisor Dr. Oades-Sesi: “It’s about time for a children’s show like ‘Carl the Collector,’ which embraces the diversity of children’s experiences, and showcases an inclusive and relatable world. The show doesn’t shy away from having its main characters experience common mental health, challenges, such as anxiety, fear, sadness, and the need for acceptance and belonging. Carl and his Fuzzytown friends take viewers on fun and humorous adventures that will help them understand and empathize with the characters, and ultimately extend that understanding and compassion for others.”

Illustration via Fuzzytown Productions

You’ve no doubt heard of training wheels – the small wheels attached to the back of children’s bicycles when they’re first learning to ride.

But you may not have heard of training wheelchairs, a.k.a. mobility trainers. These tiny, hand-constructed wooden chairs “help children build independence and strength as they prepare for the real thing,” writes Barry Bronston, Assistant Director of Public Relations at New Orleans- based Tulane University.

This year, biomedical engineering students at Tulane partnered with local nonprofit MakeGood and Israeli nonprofit TOM Global to create the first 15 mobility trainers. MakeGood founder, Noam Platt, a health architect living in New Orleans, is committed to making devices that aren’t available in commercial marketplaces and/or are too expensive for most people to afford. Platt first came across instructions for designing the chairs on an Israeli website called Tikkun Olam Makers. Tikkum olam means “repair the world” in Hebrew.

Upon the chairs’ completion, many of the trainers were donated to a local health system for use in its physical and occupational therapy practices. Others were given to children who needed them. Prior to receiving the trainers, many of these children spent the majority of their lives on their backs. Now, they are able to sit upright, move around, explore their environments, play and socialize–all essential activities for cognitive and physical development!

Wheelchairs for children do exist but Platt explains that most insurance companies won’t cover them for kids too young to operate them efficiently. Whereas a typical child’s wheelchair can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000, mobility chairs cost less than $200 to make. That said, Tulane’s BME department is continuing to raise money for the project through its David A. Rice Design Endowed Fund in Biomedical Engineering.

As part of their preparation to build the chairs, students consulted with experts to understand the needs of the children who will be using them. As Tulane biomedical engineering instructor Katherine Raymond Ph.D. said in a press release, “designers need to understand the needs deeply in order to solve them. BME students do a great deal of researching, shadowing and interviewing before they even begin to ideate their solutions for medical problems.”

Recent Tulane graduate and former team design member Elana Kraversky echoed her former instructor in the same press release. “Lots of our coursework in BME encourages us to prioritize the mental states of patients just as much as their physical states. Knowing that we can make these kids happier, regardless of what they are going through, makes all the difference.”

Depending on whom you ask, the phrase, “Nothing About Us Without Us” was coined by leaders in the South African anti-apartheid movement in the 1990s, by author James Charlton, who wrote a book by that name in 2000, or by movement leaders in 14^th century Poland.

Regardless of where the phrase originated, it has become a mantra and a call to action for the American disability community whose members believe, rightly, that they should have a say regarding any issue concerning them.

One of the very best ways to have a seat at the table is by holding political office.

“One in four adults in the United States has a disability,” says disabled activist Sarah Blahovec. “However, whenever it comes to running for office, working on campaigns, and serving an elected office, disabled people are underrepresented because they experience a number of barriers to the political arena that come from long-standing access barriers.”

Blahovec, formerly the voting rights and civic engagement director for the National Council on Independent Living, and Neal Carter, who has been “spearheading political outreach operations in campaigns since 2002,” cofounded Disability Victory, a nonprofit that “seeks to empower people with disabilities to actively participate in the civic process by running for office, joining campaign staffs, and more,” in 2024.

In the near future, Disability Victory will begin training an inaugural cohort of people with disabilities on the most effective ways to run for office. Blahovec and Carter plan to model their organization after other successful political entities such as the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and She Should Run and EMILY’S List. Previously, the duo formed “Elevate, the first-ever campaign training program for candidates with disabilities.”

Despite the urgent need for increased political representation for people with disabilities, Blahovec and Carter aren’t rushing into commencement of the training program.

“We don’t want to launch something where it’s only available to some people and not others,” says Blahovec in an interview with The 19th. The organization plans to hire sign language interpreters, offer professional captioning and provide written materials accessible by screen reading software.

The cofounders also want to be sure that cohort members and future candidates are committed to the issues of greatest concern to most disabled people – “affordable health care, accessible transportation and the preservation and expansion of programs like Medicaid and Social Security.”

Adds Blahovec: “It’s important to understand policy and be running based on ideas you have about how to improve that policy, not to be the first disabled person in this position or running based on that alone. There needs to be a groundedness in community and understanding the needs of the community and bringing in your experience to support that.”

Have you ever felt that issues affecting people with disabilities don’t get enough attention? The Washington Post’s inaugural disability reporter Amanda Morris is trying to change that reality.

Prior to becoming the Post’s first disability reporter in 2022, Morris, who is hearing impaired and the child of two deaf parents, served as the first New York Times reporting fellow to focus on disability issues. In an essay for the Times, Morris explained her role as follows:

“I aim to shift the way that the news media reports on and writes about disabled people. Some of my work dismantles long-held stigmas and negative attitudes that many people have toward disability — such as the flawed idea that having a disability is inherently bad or is limiting. I’ve never felt that my disability has made me “less”; instead, my disability is an important part of my identity and has given me a different perspective to offer the world.”

In August 2023, Morris won a $1,000 “Own Your Work” microgrant from Study Hall, a Brooklyn-based media newsletter and online support network for those working in the media space.

Morris says she will use the grant to create a website for the Society for Disabled Journalists, an entity that she and fellow disabled journalists Emyle Watkins, Shruti Rajkumar, Kate Guarino, Eric Garcia, Hannah Wise and Sara Luterman founded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She told Study Hall that the journalists plan “to create a place where disabled journalists can come together to share experiences and improve the way the industry treats disabled professionals.”

Though Morris brings her personal experience of disability to her work, she doesn’t pretend to know everything about the disabled people she interviews. She views each person as an individual and emphasizes that disability is just one aspect of a person’s identity.

“One of the hardest parts about reporting on disabled people is that there are so many different types of disabilities and their experiences vary widely,” writes Morris in the Times. “I’m not an expert on every disability, but the key to being a disability reporter is to acknowledge that — and listen to those who are.”

While the Society for Disabled Journalists may be the newest organization to support the work of journalists with disabilities, it isn’t the only one. Other similar organizations include the Disabled Journalist Association and Disabled Writers. These organizations are also dedicated to creating support and resources for reporters and writers working in other genres who happen to be disabled.

Additionally, The National Center on Disability Journalism, located at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, offers “support and guidance for journalists as they cover people with disabilities.” NCDJ is committed to ensuring that reporting about people with disabilities is fair and accurate, and that issues of importance to the disabled is not overlooked or under-covered.

Nobody wants to think about the possibility of a natural disaster. But if we’ve learned anything from this past summer’s climate emergencies—extreme heat, fire, floods, earthquakes—we know that natural disasters are a reality that can’t be ignored. If you or a family member lives with a disability, disaster preparedness is especially critical. Disabled individuals are two to four times more likely as non-disabled individuals to die or be injured during a climate emergency.

September is Disaster Preparedness Month – the perfect time to create a plan to keep you and your family safe in an emergency. Here are some steps you can take in the event of a natural disaster to protect your loved ones.

1. Stay informed
Don’t let an impending disaster catch you by surprise. Keep on top of weather-related emergencies by downloading public safety apps such as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) or FEMA’s mobile app, or staying tuned to NOAA Weather Radio. Heed evacuation warnings and don’t wait until it’s too late to create an evacuation plan.

2. Create a disaster plan
Plan for a disaster before it happens and make sure that your plan is filed in a secure place where you can find it when needed. The plan should include a list of contacts that can be reached in case of an emergency. Consider giving a key to someone you trust. Think carefully about your daily needs: food, medication and supplies, and devise a system for getting these important items beforehand in the event of an upcoming emergency. Ensure that home fire alarm systems are working. Make sure you know how to access hospitals, urgent care centers and that emergency phone numbers are close by. If you drive, be certain that your car has a full tank of gas and is in working order and that it is outfitted with jumper cables, a spare tire, ice scraper and shovel. In the event that you must evacuate, have a plan for who will help you to leave your home and where you will go.

3. Compile an emergency kit
Your kit should include a three-day supply of non-perishable food and water for humans and pets; three-day supply of medications; three-day supply of clothing; batteries and flashlight; a first aid kit; toiletries; toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, diapers, baby formula and hand sanitizer; blankets; extra phone charger and battery; local maps, and copies of ID documents, health insurance cards, a list of all medications and doses, doctors’ phone numbers, and credit cards. If you have a medical alert bracelet or tag, make sure to wear it so you can get the help you need quickly. If your medicine needs refrigeration, have a cooler with chemical ice packs ready to go. Be sure to keep your kit in an easily accessed location and update supplies as needed.

4. Prepare for power outages
If you use medical devices or assistive technology devices that require electricity, investigate ways that you can keep your devices charged in the event of a power outage. According to Ready.gov, disabled individuals may be placed on a priority list with their energy provider. If it’s within your budget, consider investing in a generator.

5. Have back-up mobility aides
If you use a power wheelchair, keep a lightweight manual chair on hand in case you can’t take your power chair with you. Likewise, cane and walker users may want to have back-ups of these mobility aides as well.

6. Make your voice heard
One reason why people with disabilities are at greater risk for death or injury during disasters is because the people creating disaster plans may not be aware of their needs. Organizations such as the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network are working to ensure that disabled people have a seat at the table when it comes to creating disaster preparedness practice and protocols.

For additional guidance, visit ready.gov/disability

New numbers from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the employment rate for people with disabilities is the highest it has been since the BLS began keeping records in 2008.

This month, BLS announced that “the employment-to-population ratio for disabled individuals… now stands at a record high of 22.4%.”

While 22.4% is still woefully low compared to employment numbers for those who don’t identify as disabled, employment rates for people with disabilities have been climbing steadily since August 2021.

According to human resources experts, the reasons for the upswing are related to the tight labor market and even more significantly, the fact that remote work has been normalized since the pandemic.

In a recent interview with NBC, Allison Chase, president and CEO of the disability-focused organization The Able Trust, said the employment rate for people with disabilities is “continuing to grow—and moving up every month it seems like. It’s unprecedented, and we’re really excited about it.”

Chase told NBC that disabled employees and job seekers have long sought opportunities to work from home due to transportation challenges and the lack of accommodations in some workplaces. Yet, it’s only since the pandemic that employers have recognized the benefits of remote work. In fact, studies show that people who work from home are 5%-9% more productive than those who work in an office. Likewise, “remote work leads to improved work–life balance, preventing burnout and increasing productivity and retention,” according to Psychology Today.

In the past, some employers were reluctant to hire disabled individuals because they believed wrongly that disabled workers would require costly accommodations. Remote work has shown these employers that disabled employees who work from their homes require little to no special accommodations.

These realities plus the fact that most remote workers—disabled and non-disabled—don’t want to return to their offices means that remote work and higher employment rates for disabled workers might be here to stay! That’s fortunate, since a February 2023 report by the BLS stressed that disabled people are still far less likely to be employed than non-disabled people; that unemployment rates for disabled people are twice as high as for non-disabled people; and that 30% of disabled workers with jobs worked part-time while just 16% of non-disabled workers are part-time employees.

Pay disparity is another obstacle for disabled workers.  Disability Scoop reported today that “hundreds of organizations nationwide are still paying [disabled] workers as little as pennies per hour.”

How can this be legal? According to Disability Scoop, “under a law dating back to the 1930s, employers can obtain special certificates from the U.S. Department of Labor permitting them to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.”

Though changes in federal laws and new subminimum wage bans in some parts of the U.S. have improved salaries for disabled workers, they still face enormous obstacles in achieving employment equity. Here’s hoping that progress continues at a rapid pace.