Author – The Durango Herald

We can all help make ADA even better

Think the Americans with Disabilities Act is working? Think again. A poignant example of the shortcomings of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 happened right here in Colorado a few...

DATE: Apr 8, 2023 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Honoring the life and legacy of Judy Heumann

On March 4, we lost a major champion for disability rights. Advocate, rabble-rouser and longtime disability rights hero Judy Heumann died at age 75. Heumann had been fighting for her rights ...

DATE: Mar 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Entertainment industry can do better with representation

Happy New Year! Let’s start the year with a little activity. I invite you to think of a movie or television program you have seen that features a character with a disability. Just pick the f...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Consider the needs of people with disabilities during the holidays

As nostalgic and delightful as the holiday season is, it can provoke problems for people for a variety of reasons. For some kids and adults with disabilities, certain aspects of the season ...

DATE: Dec 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Disabled civil rights activist Lois Curtis dies at 55

As a young woman, Lois Curtis was imprisoned. Curtis was not a criminal. She hadn’t even been accused of a crime. The only thing Curtis had done was be born with a disability in a society th...

DATE: Nov 12, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Let’s talk about invisible disabilities

An invisible disability is not a Marvel Universe superhero power, although many people with invisible disabilities feel pretty unseen by the rest of the population. It is a term used to desc...

DATE: Aug 18, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Disability Symbol Identifier program comes to Colorado

A new program in Colorado may help people with disabilities and their caregivers get more appropriate responses from first responders. The Disability Symbol Identifier program passed into la...

DATE: Jul 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

New Early Intervention evaluation system for Colorado begins July 1

Being a new parent is hard. Babies don’t come with an instruction manual, unless you count Dr. Spock’s notorious “Baby and Child Care” book from the 1940s. Kids also don’t come with a person...

DATE: Jun 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Supreme Court limits recourse in discrimination cases

One upcoming Supreme Court decision is dominating our headlines. But another recent case is looming large in the minds of people with disabilities because it curtails the already limited rec...

DATE: May 13, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

A shift from autism awareness to autism acceptance

April is national Autism Acceptance Month. The 30-day period that was previously known as Autism Awareness Month began in 1970. Ironically, specific criteria for diagnosing autism were not a...

DATE: Apr 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

We can do better by women with disabilities

In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s look at a group of people who too often remain invisible: women with disabilities. Disability has a higher prevalence in women than men. In fact, the...

DATE: Mar 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Celebrating the work of Black disabled activists

Black History Month brings some familiar names. Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Sojournor Truth, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, James Baldwin and Nelson Mandela are all well k...

DATE: Feb 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Creating Community