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Alaska Access Conference 2010

The Access Conference will be held September 27-30, 2010 in Anchorage. The conference will address access and universal design issues in Alaska, and how to apply the latest standards for visitable housing, usable websites, educational access, outdoor recreation and accessible buildings and facilities. Register online.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Publishes Final Rule to Help Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange

Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will find it easier to access quality health care and qualify for disability compensation under a final rule published in the Federal Register. The new rule expands the list of health problems VA will presume to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures, which will speed up the application process. VA is adding Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease and expanding chronic lymphocytic leukemia to include all chronic B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia.

The Detroit Institute for Children

Provides pediatric therapy and medical services to all children with special needs in southeast Michigan. Read the list of available outpatient services.

Autism New Jersey

Provides information, education, support and advocacy for families and professionals. Serves all New Jersey residents with autism, including pre-school age children, youth ages 3-21, young adults ages 14-21 and adults.

Fun & Fit: A Recreation Directory for People with Developmental Disabilities in Cincinnati

Directory of fitness and recreational activities and programs in the Greater Cincinnati area for people with developmental disabilities, their families and friends. Read tips and suggestions for choosing a particular recreational activity.

Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped/Free Library of Philadelphia

Provides library materials in alternative formats, including large print, braille and books on tape, free of charge, to people with visual impairments who live in Philadelphia and the eastern Pennsylvania. Find a branch near you.

Woodlands Foundation

Offers a variety of programs throughout the year that provide opportunities for people with a disability or chronic illness to experience personal growth. Programs include summer camps, weekend retreats, music, sports and arts programs, wellness classes and golf on the region's only accessible, par-3 golf course.

Turning Point

Offers people with mobility impairments the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to fully enjoy the outdoors. Activities include fishing, boating and hunting. Complete an online application to indicate what activities you are interested in.

Work Without Limits

Works to increase job opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities in Massachusetts. Individuals and families can explore job and career options. Employers can find information they need to hire, train, manage, accommodate and promote people with disabilities within their workforces.

Texas AgrAbility Project

Provides training, site visits and on-farm assessments to farmers or ranchers with disabilities. Technical assistance offered includes guidance on making a farm accessible and modifying or adapting agricultural operations, buildings, equipment and tools to accommodate a variety of disabilities.

Western Piedmont Community College Disability Access Office

Works to ensure access to academic programs and campus facilities of Western Piedmont Community College for individuals with disabilities. Read about possible sources of financial aid.

The Hadley School for the Blind

Offers courses free of charge to blind and visually impaired students and their families and affordable tuition courses to blindness professionals. Hadley is a distance education school and delivers its courses to students in a variety of different media formats, depending on the student's need.

2010 National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Poster

The 2010 NDEAM poster, Talent has no boundaries: Workforce diversity includes people with disabilities, is now available to order or download online in PDF format. The 2010 NDEAM theme emphasizes the rich diversity and talent that workers with disabilities bring to the workplace.The poster, created by artist Laura Hershey, is available in eight different languages. Read more about National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy Announces Nearly $1 Million in Continued Funding for Youth Center

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy announced that it will award nearly $1 million to continue funding the Youth Technical Assistance Center through the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth. NCWD/Youth helps state and local workforce development systems to better serve youth with disabilities and their families in the areas of education, employment and independent living. Read more about NCWD/Youth and its partners.

Webinar about Work Incentive Seminar Events

Watch a webinar of about a Work Incentive Seminar Event (WISE). WISE sessions teach Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries about the Ticket to Work and other Work Incentives that can help them return to work while protecting their benefits.

The Vanguard School of Lake Wales

Offers students grades 6-12 with mild to moderate learning disabilities a secure, nurturing environment with small class sizes and preparation for college life and beyond.

Greeley Center for Independence

Provides services for people with temporary and permanent disabilities from brain injury, spinal cord injury and neuro-muscular diseases. Services include accessible apartments with nursing staff, physical and occupational therapy, adult day programs and the first fully certified Brain Injury Supported Living Campus.

Independence Now, Inc.

A non-residential Center for Independent Living (CIL), Independence Now provides services to people with disabilities who live in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. This is an organization created by and for people with disabilities that works toward independent living and equal access for people with all types of disabilities. Check out Independence Now's upcoming events.

Outdoors for All Foundation

Provides year round instruction in outdoor recreation for people with physical, developmental and sensory disabilities. Activities include snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, cycling, hiking, river rafting, canoeing and kayaking, day camps, water skiing, rock-climbing and camping. Check the calendar of events for upcoming activities and events.

Variety - The Children's Charity of Wisconsin

Provides life-enriching assistance to Wisconsin children with physical disabilities through several programs including Kids on the Go!, which pays for durable medical equipment for those with the greatest financial need and Future Kids Dream Experience Series, which provides educational and play experiences for children with physical disabilities.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Sues Two Texas Energy Corporations for Disability Discrimination

The EEOC has filed two recent lawsuits to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a suit against ENGlobal Engineering, Inc., the EEOC claims that the company terminated an employee because he was disabled. The employee had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms two weeks after starting work. After taking medical leave, the employee gave the company a doctor’s note stating that he had clearance to return to work. Instead, ENGlobal falsely told him that his position was unavailable. In a suit against DynMcDermott, the company violated the ADA as well, when it refused to hire a job applicant because of his age and his wife’s cancer, which the company’s director assumed would interfere with his ability to do the job.

Top 10 Ways to Make Your Health Benefits Work for You

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) administers several important health benefit laws covering employer-based health plans. These laws govern your basic rights to information about how your health plan works, how to qualify for benefits and how to make claims for benefits. EBSA also provides information about getting the most out of your health benefits, as well as the different types of health benefit plans and what benefits laws cover you and your family when you change or lose a job.

ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles

Information on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines for bus, rail and other mass transit systems. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is proposing to revise and update its accessibility guidelines for buses, over-the-road buses and vans. Public comments on the proposed revisions are due by November 23, 2010.

Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC)

ETC offers outdoor adventures to people with disabilities, as well as individuals of all abilities. Programs include sea kayaking, river rafting, cross-country skiing and a Youth Leadership School.

AirTran Fined for Violating Rules Protecting Air Travelers with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has assessed a civil penalty of $500,000 against AirTran Airways for violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 requires airlines to provide assistance to passengers with disabilities in boarding and deplaning aircraft, including the use of wheelchairs, ramps, mechanical lifts or service personnel where needed. DOT found several violations of the requirement for boarding assistance. In addition, the carrier’s complaint files showed that it frequently did not provide an adequate written response to complaints from passengers.

National Organization for Albinism & Hypopigmentation (NOAH)

Offers information and support to people with albinism, parents of children with albinism, and teachers of students with albinism. Also includes a link to an online community where people can make connections with others who have albinism as well as learn about services available.

National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities

Works to promote equity for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in nursing through education and advocacy.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Issues Updated "Fly Rights" Consumer Guide

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released an updated version of Fly Rights: A Consumer Guide to Air Travel, its popular guide to air travelers’ rights. Fly Rights provides air travelers with helpful advice on how to get the best airfare, what to expect when a flight is delayed or canceled and how to avoid travel scams. The guide provides easy-to-read information on federal airline regulations in a number of areas, including accommodating air travelers with disabilities and rules for bumping and baggage compensation. For more information read New Horizons - Information for the Air Traveler with a Disability. New Horizons can also be opened as a Word document.

Functional Needs of People with Disabilities: A Guide for Emergency Managers, Planners & Responders

This guide is for emergency planners, managers and first responders to help them plan and prepare for emergency situations that address the needs of people with disabilities. It includes information on how to involve people with disabilities in planning, the need for accessible temporary housing, and how to evacuate persons with disabilities, including those with service animals and pets. The guide covers all phases of preparedness from planning to rescue to evacuation to recovery. The complete guide can be downloaded in PDF format.

Personnel Preparation Programs

The Personnel Improvement Center works to increase the nation's capacity to recruit, prepare and retain diverse, highly qualified special educators, early intervention and related service providers. Search the database of more than 1400 community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, school districts and regional resource centers that can prepare you to work with infants, children and youth with disabilities and their families.

What Is Accessible Information Technology?

Explains accessible information technology and provides examples of accessible software applications, multi-media products like DVDs, accessible websites and accessible copy machines.

Stokes Educational Scholarship Program

The National Security Agency's (NSA) Stokes program recruits of individuals, particularly minority high school students, who have demonstrated skills critical to NSA. The program is open to high school seniors planning on majoring in computer science or computer/electrical engineering. College sophomores majoring in mathematics or a course of study leading to careers in intelligence analysis can also apply. Applications are accepted September 7th to November 30th each year.