Jenn Ochs goes to DC for the Disability Policy Seminar

Jenn Ochs, an ACL Board of Directors member and the Vice President of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) traveled to Washington DC last week to attend the Disability Policy Seminar.

The Disability Policy Seminar is an annual federal legislative conference co-sponsored by leading disability advocate organizations: The Arc, Autism Society, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, United Cerebral Palsy, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), and TASH (the partners).

The Disability Policy Seminar is an opportunity to cultivate support on Capitol Hill and amplify the concerns of people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) before Congress. The seminar brings together passionate advocates, including people with disabilities, policy experts, and professionals in the field, to learn about key issues and advance the grassroots movement for people with IDD. This strengthens federal advocacy efforts by providing training, learning opportunities, and updates, as well as opportunities to visit members of Congress.

Jenn has shared her vlog series with us that documents her time there. Watch below to learn more!

The Olmstead Decision - 24 Years of Community Living

“Twenty-four years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed that people with disabilities have a right to live and receive services where they live. The landmark ruling has enabled millions of Americans to have greater independence, autonomy, and opportunities to participate fully in their communities.”

~US Dept of HHS Secretary, Xavier Becerra

The Decision

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court decided Olmstead v. L.C., a case that interpreted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to prohibit unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities. The court ruled that people with disabilities have a right to live and receive services in the most integrated, least-restrictive setting reasonably possible to meet their needs. The Olmstead decision has enabled innumerable people with disabilities to live in their homes and communities instead of institutions. This community living has led to people experiencing greater independence, autonomy, and the opportunity to live the lives they choose.

The Story

The Olmstead case began in Georgia with two women, Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson, who had been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions. From a young age, both women were regularly admitted into institutions, hospitals, and private care facilities. Following each stay in the hospital, the women, returned home, only to be readmitted to the hospital later due to the lack of appropriate support at home. Eventually, each woman had to remain in the psychiatric unit at a State-run Regional Hospital in order to receive the support she needed. Lois and Elaine requested community-based support and treatment from the State of Georgia in hopes of avoiding permanent institutionalization. The doctors and professionals who treated Lois and Elaine agreed that they were capable of living in the community with appropriate support. However, the women were confined to the hospital for years waiting for the community-based support that never came. When Sue Jamieson, an attorney at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, visited the hospital, Lois said to her, “Get me out of here. Would you please get me out of here? When am I getting out of here?'"

Sue Jamieson filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lois (and then later Elaine) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for support to be provided in the community. The lawsuit, known as “Olmstead v. L.C.” or “the Olmstead Decision,” took a path all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The name of the case comes from the name of the defendant in the case, Tommy Olmstead, the then Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources, and the initials of Lois Curtis, the initial plaintiff.

The Supreme Court agreed with Lois and Elaine, and in a decision delivered by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the court mandated that reasonable supports and services must be provided in an integrated community setting for people with disabilities.

Following the Supreme Court decision, both Lois and Elaine rejoined their communities. Lois moved out of the hospital and into a series of homes, receiving help from caregivers with cooking, shopping, and daily tasks. Free from the constraints of the hospital and with the support of friends and her community, Lois discovered her talent as an artist. In 2011, when she met President Obama, she presented him with one of her drawings entitled, “Girl in an Orange Dress.” It was one of a series of self-portraits she created since she had no photos of herself from her time in institutions.

The Present and Future

Twenty-four years later, Olmstead affirms the right to community living for people with disabilities, but to exercise it, people must have access to the services and supports they need at home and in the community. Long wait lists for services still cause people with disabilities to struggle without the support they need, to be placed in hospitals or nursing homes for years while waiting for services, and many people even end up incarcerated due to misunderstanding, homelessness, and lack of services.

Disability Advocates and Self Advocates at the ACL continue to work to ensure that support in the form of housing, transportation, medical care, employment support, education, recreation, and the other building blocks of community life are available to all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our Boulder and Broomfield communities.

Submitted by Caitlin Looney, ACL Staff

ACL Kicks off Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month with a trip to the Colorado State Capitol

Colorado State Capitol - Photo credit: Nick Butler

On February 26, 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared Proclamation 5613 making March "National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month." The proclamation emphasized that having a disability does not prevent people from living full and fulfilling lives (quite a notion in 1987!)

To kick off Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Nick Butler, an ACL Advocacy Coordinator, joined Colorado self-advocates at the Colorado State Capitol to talk with legislators and ensure their voices were being heard.

The Colorado House and Senate unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the beginning of Disability Rights Awareness Month. We thank our representatives and senators for recognizing and honoring the human rights of people with disabilities.

Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera - Photo credit: Nick Butler

Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera spoke to a crowd of self-advocates and allies at the Colorado Capitol about the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities are heard throughout State government.

Thank you to all the self-advocates, families, and supports who participated in Disability Rights Advocacy Day today at the Colorado Capitol. You made your voices heard and had a huge impact on the lives of people with disabilities across Colorado.

Submitted by Nick Butler, ACL Advocacy Coordinator and Caitlin Looney, ACL Training Architect

Colorado adult care facilities are ousting Medicaid patients. It’s a dangerous trend.

*Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera as an Op-Ed and subsequently published in the Denver Post.

Photo credit: Boulder Daily Camera

On January 4, 2023, Boulder’s Golden West informed residents and their families that the Mezzanine, the facility’s assisted living program which has provided residential services to seniors and people with disabilities since its opening in 1988, will be closing in early March.

This move will leave Golden West’s 33 assisted living residents scrambling to find a new place to live, and many will no doubt be forced to leave a community they have called home. The Mezzanine was the last remaining assisted living program in the city of Boulder that accepts Medicaid, and 29 of the 33 affected residents are Medicaid participants. 

Displacing vulnerable adults from their home community has impacts that go far beyond where a person lays their head at night. These residents will be moved far from their families and other support networks and may be isolated from the specialized medical care they require. 

Assisted living provides a vital service for members of our community who are independent, but need help with some daily living tasks. If they are unable to find another suitable and affordable assisted living placement, they may be forced to enter a nursing home, giving up substantial amounts of independence.

Aside from the tremendous individual impact of this closure, it signals a growing and troubling trend of assisted living facility closures over the past several years. In Boulder County alone, three assisted living centers closed in 2022 in addition to the 2023 closure of the program at Golden West.

This massive decline in the availability of assisted living care comes at the same time as demand for services for vulnerable adults is increasing. According to the Colorado State Demography Office, the state is forecast to be home to nearly 1.2 million adults over age 65 by 2030, an increase of more than 300,000 from 2020.

Policy changes must be made not only to directly assist the individuals impacted by these assisted living center closures, but also to help ensure that the Boulder County community has the capacity it will need to meet the needs of its changing population.

One important change that could both prevent the closures of assisted living centers and encourage the growth and opening of new ones would be an increase to the Medicaid reimbursement rate for assisted living care. 

At present, assisted living centers face a stark economic reality — private-pay residents represent substantially more revenue than Medicaid-participating residents. Under current reimbursement rates, the gap between the funding provided by a private-pay resident and a Medicaid-participating resident can be more than $2,000 per month. Because of this difference, assisted living centers that accept Medicaid participants are unable to pay their staff at the same levels as their private pay counterparts and struggle with staffing issues.

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance has requested $3.6 million in additional funds for assisted living services in this year’s legislative budget, and Colorado lawmakers must use this session to ensure that assisted living centers are able to accept residents who participate in Medicaid. As staffing shortages in the care profession persist, lawmakers must also continue to promote policies that would attract skilled professionals to Colorado, so that the assisted living model is able to survive into the state’s future. 

Assisted living provides a vital service for those members of our community who need help with daily care but desire more independence than a nursing home can accommodate. The closure of the Mezzanine at Golden West means that as a new generation of people require those services, they may be forced into a choice between preserving that dignity and remaining in the community they call home. We must act now to preserve assisted living so that the Boulder community can be an enduring home for all of its members.


Submitted by Ailsa Wonnacott, ACL Executive Director & Nick Butler, ACL Advocacy Coordinator

Story: Living on Their Own at 30Pearl

Claire and her orange tabby cat, Dixie.

Claire and her orange tabby cat, Dixie.

Like many people who need subsidized housing, Claire Leonard has had her share of submitting applications without getting a coveted housing voucher. So when she heard about the project at 30Pearl to offer 20 units (about half) to adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), she applied without much hope. “I was so surprised when they emailed and offered me a spot!” she said.

“It was pretty fast after that. It was kind of crazy getting everything ready.” Claire moved into the new apartment building in early May this year.

30Pearl is a project between the Boulder Housing Authority (BHA) and Boulder Treasures, a local non-profit offering vocational training to people with IDD through their shop, Ramble on Pearl. BHA is subsidizing the apartments to make it truly affordable for people living on Social Security Income (currently at $794/month). The affordable housing apartment building has mostly large studios with a washer/dryer in the unit as well as AC and Internet access. There are some 1-3 bedroom units for families too.

Claire’s friend Sabrina Wilsdon, also moved into 30Pearl along with two other friends making the building a friendly place. Claire often joins Boulder Treasures at their group morning coffee. Everyone in the building is invited and it’s created a fun way to get to know neighbors.

Sabrina in her apartment.

Sabrina in her apartment.

Claire and Sabrina both report how happy they are to be living on their own. Claire likes the convenient location. “ I can walk anywhere I need-it’s great,” she says.

Sabrina likes being independent and that the bus station and stops are close so she can get to work. “I love being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want!”

Claire’s orange tabby, Dixie, lives with her and so far, it’s going well. “I take her out for a walk every day. I have a harness and use a wagon for when she is done.” The neighbors are getting to know the pair as they explore the neighborhood.

Both women have had a few glitches moving in. Sabrina wasn’t used to an electric stove and had to adjust to the fast cooking speed. “I burned mac and cheese the first time I made it,” she said. “But I figured it out.”

They have also found they are more active than they were living at home with a parent. “I go out for walks every day and use my Wii way more to take care of myself,” Claire shared.

Having friends to go out to lunch or do a Target run is something they both really like. “I love that my best friends are here too,” Sabrina said. “It makes it more fun to have people to go do stuff with.”

30Pearl is an innovative program that seems to be working just like it should where adults with IDD can create community and live independently. Let’s hope we see a lot more of these kinds of options!

For more information check out Boulder Housing Partners

Submitted by Anna Stewart, ACL Staff

Connect with a Parent Group!

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Though we are out in the world more than we’ve been and seeing family and friends, support for parents who are raising kids (of all ages!) with disabilities is always something we need. Like everything else, one size doesn’t fit all and we are fortunate to have quite a few options here in Boulder County. Here’s what one parent who attends one of the ACL Parent Network Groups said about her experience, “ I attend the ACL parent network group in Longmont. Attending these meetings have really increased my ability to advocate for our son because I have been able to network with other families and in addition, I feel welcomed. These meetings are truly run in a safe and respectable environment. The "system" is too overwhelming to navigate on my own, but this group has helped adjust my compass on several occasions. Through attending these meetings, I have been able to gain invaluable information that has allowed us to be prepared for almost anything the system throws our way. Our family and most importantly, my son has had such positive outcomes because of how well informed we've been to navigate “the system.”

Check out this full page of parent groups from the Association for Community Living, the Autism Society of Boulder County, Center for People with Disabilities and more! Currently all groups are meeting virtually so some location information may not be correct.

Post by Anna Stewart, ACL Staff

Magic at ReWriting Our Worlds

The ACL encourages magic. We have supported a monthly writing group, ReWriting Our Worlds, for the past five years. The writers are all parents of children (of all ages) who experience disabilities. We write about our lives by guiding the narrative about being parents of kids with disabilities. We literally re-write our worlds. Though we prefer meeting as we have in person, we have adapted well to the virtual world and have felt the magic that happens when we write and read together. Here is a poem that one of our members, Jo Leightner, wrote after our writing session on Mother’s Day. When she shared the poem, she wrote, “It's a poem about gratitude and holding space, written to the group after another Sunday of writing and sharing together. I am always blown away by how much goes into each person's writing, how powerfully poignant the words, the thoughts, the meaning of life from someone's else's perspectives/circumstances on any given topic, on any given day, as we each live on the fault line of uncertainty. There is a "fullness," some sort of richness, comfort or completeness that I feel after these writing/sharing times. And that has to do with the safety that you've created, Anna,....safety to go deeper, feel the tremors, brace and find grounding while totally off balance, and trust that we are safe within the aftershocks.”

Pictured is Jo Leightner at the ACL Rewriting Our Worlds Open Mic in Fall 2019

Pictured is Jo Leightner at the ACL Rewriting Our Worlds Open Mic in Fall 2019

Holding Space by Jo Leightner

So much beauty in this group.

Feeling gratitude for safe space

Where we land selfishly for a few hours, 

Pouring heart and soul into meaningful words,

Scenes and events splashed on pages, 

Turning black scribbles 

Into meaning,

healing,

nourishment.

Balm and salve for conditions and circumstances

Beyond our control.

We embrace each other's nakedness,

Love each other's wounds,

Rejoice in each other's accomplishments,

And hold space where we honor 

truth and authenticity.

For this I am grateful.

 While the current group is full, we are planning to start another group and to offer some of the writing classes online. Please email Anna Stewart for more information.

Post by Anna Stewart, ACL Staff

Stressed, exhausted? Try breathing…

As our training program has grown, we have found ourselves often talking with families and professionals about the dramatic effects of stress in their lives. One of our trainings focuses on stress and burnout for helping professionals. Click below to take a look at one of the strategies, Square Breathing, that is highlighted in our training “Frazzled & Weary.”

Post by Caitlin Looney, ACL Staff

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

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To wrap up Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), we are reposting a blog from Elevatus Training, “leaders in sexuality and developmental disability.” Our team recently purchased a sexual education curriculum from this organization, and we are impressed with how it is disability-aware AND trauma-informed! The ACL is committed to connecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to accessible sexual education to help reduce the risk of abuse and increase the chance of healthy, meaningful relationships. If you are talking with your child, teen, or adult about relationships and sexuality, Elevatus has some tips!

12 Power Tips to Build Skills and Confidence When Talking About Sexuality

As we prepare to turn our calendars from April to May, we wanted to wrap-up Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) by sharing "12 Power Tips to Build Skills and Confidence When Talking About Sexuality."

Be open, non-judgmental, and kind when you are answering questions or bringing up the topic. Remember, it can take a lot of courage to ask a question. 

Start early and keep talking, even when it’s uncomfortable. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

Use teachable moments. You can start a conversation naturally while you’re watching television or people are interacting, reading a book or listening to music together.

Use multiple teaching techniques: present information through pictures, books, videos, or social learning, including role-play or ask, “What would you do if...?”

Use correct terms that prepare people to talk about their body and experiences: knowing the real names for their body parts makes it easier to communicate about them.

Give positive messages. Being positive and non-judgmental helps people develop personal values, self-esteem, effective communication, and good decision-making skills.

Keep it simple; provide simple, direct explanations, using words they can understand. Long explanations can be unnecessary, or more confusing.

You don’t have to know all the answers. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to know everything about sexuality. It is okay to say, “I don’t know, but will find out for you.”

Be approachable, make it clear that they can ask you anything, as well as seek help to find the answer together.

It’s OK to feel embarrassed. If you feel embarrassed say, “I feel a little embarrassed about your question. Your question is a really good question.” Make sure your embarrassment doesn’t give the impression they did something wrong by asking the question.

OK to answer later. If you don’t know how to answer the question it’s okay to say, “great question, but I need some time to figure out how to answer that question. I will get back to you soon.”

Give facts and a range of opinions. Stick to facts. When you just give the facts you aren’t imposing your values. You can also add a range of opinions to your answer. You could say, “some people think this and others think this, what do you think?”.

Even though SAAM is coming to a close, we encourage you to continue to raise awareness and educate the people you care about, work with, or live with about sexual assault. Sexuality education is the first line of defense for all individuals, and we remain committed to empowering you with the tools and skills you need to do this. Please continue to utilize our Sexual Assault Awareness Toolkit to support people with developmental disabilities filled with helpful articles and resources. 

Why Disability Pride?

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Why ‘Disability Pride’? The question has a clear answer when you consider the opposite of pride: shame. People experience shame when they suffer social rejection; when they are bullied; when they are insulted or taunted; and when they seek to belong but are, instead, criticized and demeaned.[1]

Our society is full of the markers of disability shame. People with disabilities experience oppression through low employment rates, minimum wage exemption, higher likelihood to be victims of abuse & bullying, exclusion from education, social isolation, under-representation politically and in the media, higher rates of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and poor access to wellness and healthcare.[3]

When [people] are successful and feel proud, they instinctively look to others. When they fail and feel ashamed, they look away. This is in the nature of pride and shame. The universal behavior associated with the emotion of shame is concealment; we all attempt to hide or cover up what we are ashamed of. Pride is the antithesis of shame. The feeling of pride is accompanied by an outward movement and a desire to show and tell others, to exhibit or show off. Pride is expansive, both in action and in our imagination. (Barish, 2012)

 A person’s expectation of feeling proud or ashamed influences their choices. Shame lowers our hopes and causes us to avoid opportunity. Pride raises our hopes and encourages us to seek opportunities. Evolutionary psychologist, Glenn Weisfeld, told us, “We anticipate pride and shame at every turn and shape our behavior accordingly.”[1] Therefore, the social and internalized experience of disability shame is stealing opportunity from people with disabilities. This is our society’s systemic oppression of the largest and most diverse minority group in our country.

The Disability Pride Movement works against this oppression by promoting the belief that having a disability is a natural part of human diversity and seeks to boldly celebrate and value that diversity. Disability Pride is about embracing disability identity as a valued part of who a person is; it is about rejecting the concept that some groups of people are less valuable than others. Pride is about, not only the acceptance or “inclusion” of difference, but about the celebration of difference.

 For this movement to take hold, the “pride” has to be because of disability, not in spite of disability. Therefore, we cannot ignore or minimize the disability-identity in the person. We cannot euphemistically sweep it under the rug with words like “special needs.” When we tout about how people with disabilities are just the same as everyone else, and we should focus on abilities, this is shoring the idea that a disability is something to be ashamed of. This is a building block of an ableist culture. “The women’s movement does not emphasize the “maleness” of women. The LGBTQ+ movement does not emphasize the “heterosexual-ness” of gay men and women. But the disability movement does very much emphasize the “ableness” of people with disabilities” (Parsons, 1999). This ableist view of total independence and perfection not only harms and shames people with disabilities, but every person who asks for help or does not meet the ideal of perfection.

Over the course of history, we have learned two key lessons from other rights movements: The power of the collective (including allies) and the motivating force of pride. Like other minority groups, people with physical and developmental disabilities are beginning to speak up about the pride they feel within their community.

People with disabilities are emerging as artists, comedians, and vloggers with new perspectives to share about the experience of having a disability. This is the beginning of Disability Culture. If you have a disability or don’t have a disability, you can help build the momentum of Disability Pride. Share photos, tell stories, be visible and bold about disability, be loud about your humanness, diversity, and imperfection, and most importantly, celebrate one another.

Credits

 Take a look at these videos celebrating Disability and share them everywhere!

Post by Caitlin Looney, ACL Staff

Undervalued, Underestimated, and Unseen

Here at the ACL, we are working daily to build inclusive communities that enhance and embrace the lives of our neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family members with Intellectual and Developmental disabilities. One of the biggest hurdles we encounter is the mass of misinformation and misunderstanding about people with disabilities. This month (and every month!) we are helping our community “Learn the Truth” about people with Intellectual and Developmental disabilities to create a new narrative that strengthens our community through diversity. Take a look at these videos below and consider what you can do to help strengthen our community.

Post by Caitlin Looney, ACL Staff

What exactly do we mean by IDD?

March is recognized as Intellectual Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, so we thought this would be a great time to explain what we mean by “Intellectual/Developmental disabilities (IDD).” Because the definitions of IDD can vary state-by-state and federally, we will talk about IDD here in general, practical terms. If you are interested in the specifics of statutes and rules, you can follow these links to read more about Colorado’s definition, Colorado’s rule change, and the Federal IDEA definition for a child with a disability.

Intellectual and Developmental disabilities refer to two disability groupings. “Developmental disability” is the broader, umbrella term and includes (but is not limited to) “Intellectual disability.”

 Developmental disabilities (DD) are a group of conditions due to a delay or impairment in cognitive ability, physical functioning, or both.

These delays begin during the developmental period (in utero until end of adolescence) and will likely last throughout a person’s lifetime. These disabilities affect the path of the individual’s physical, learning, language, or behavioral development and may likely affect day-to-day functioning. [1]

 Some Developmental disabilities are:

1) solely physical, such as blindness from birth;

2) some are both cognitive and physical, often true for people with Down syndrome;

3) and other developmental disabilities only affect cognitive abilities. In some cases, this is termed “Intellectual disability.”

Because of the diversity of ability under the umbrella of Developmental disabilities (DD), not all Developmental disabilities are considered Intellectual/Developmental disabilities.

 Intellectual disability (ID) is the most common developmental disability. Children and adults with an ID have significant difficulties in both intellectual functioning (communicating, learning, problem solving) and adaptive behavior (everyday social skills, routines, hygiene). [6] Originally, this type of disability was identified through the use of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) testing. It was generally accepted that an IQ score of 70 or lower identified a person as having an intellectual disability.

 As with most things in life, Intellectual disabilities are on a spectrum. The disability can be mild or more severe. Most people with ID (85%) have mild intellectual disabilities, live fairly self-sufficient lives, and may be difficult to identify in everyday life. While this may help with the idea of inclusion, it also can cause additional problems such as lack of access to resources, unemployment, and problems with law enforcement due to being misidentified or misunderstood.

 So why do we say “IDD”?

When we try to label and diagnose human beings in nearly any situation, it quickly becomes apparent that people don’t fit into boxes. Since there is a significant overlap between Developmental and Intellectual disabilities, and IQ tests are notoriously unreliable and biased against marginalized populations, legislators added an eligibility criteria called “adaptive behavior testing.” By looking at a person’s daily life challenges in a practical way, doctors and other diagnosticians can help identify people living with mild intellectual disabilities who may not have otherwise been identified. Therefore, we communicate about this diverse group of people as people who have Intellectual/Developmental disabilities (IDD).

Prevalence and Facts

  • 1 in 6 children in the United States have some type of developmental disability. [3] This includes ADHD and learning disabilities. [4]

  • When the definition of Developmental disability is more refined and does not include ADHD or other learning disabilities, the rate of DD in the United States is around 6%. [4]

  • 2-3% of Americans have some form of an Intellectual disability when the determination is based on an IQ score of 70 or lower. [5]

  • Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood. [7]

  • Intellectual Disability is the most common developmental disability. [3]

  • Males are more likely to be diagnosed with a developmental disability. [3]

  • Developmental disabilities occur among all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. [1]

  • Males are twice as likely to have any Developmental disability (DD) than females. [3]

  • Children living in poverty are more likely to have a Developmental disability. [3]

If you or someone you care about is wondering if you may have an Intellectual Developmental Disability, read more here and let us know if you have questions!

Credits

Post by Caitlin Looney, ACL Staff

March is Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Month!

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan made a public proclamation that March would be recognized as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month to “increase public awareness of the needs and potential of Americans with developmental disabilities” and to urge citizens to provide “the encouragement and opportunities [people with developmental disabilities] need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

Thanks to the work and dedication of self advocates, families, and allies, the “potential” of people with developmental disabilities is being realized daily, and our world looks very different today than it did in 1987. Here at the ACL, we are spending this year’s IDD Awareness Month focusing on the social issues that continue to cause barriers for people with IDD while celebrating the successes, contributions, and individuality of our self advocates. 

If you have a picture, video, or story you would like to share to celebrate with us this month, you can email it to us for use on our blog and social media, or you can post it yourself using #ACLcommunitylife

Remember to like us, follow us, subscribe, and follow us some more!