I saw a tutorial for making a digital notebook for students using Google Slides the other night and decided to see if I could do it. I made two for my classes this coming semester using UIC branded colors, which wound up quite colorful! The notebooks are also 8.5 x 11 inches so that students can print them out if they want. It not fancy and there are no bells and whistles. Its really just a simple template for them to share their work on activities with me and their classmates.

If you work at UIC and want to use this template, simply share the link(s) with your students. In Google Slides, they will need to go to [File] and select "Make a Copy." This will allow them to save the template to their drive and customize it. They can then share their link or embed the file on Blackboard. 

Currently, I am teaching Disability, Policy & Law. I have been trying to decide whether or not to send updates to my students on current policy developments around COVID-19, or whether they (like I) may be struggling to deal with an information (and misinformation) overload. I feel at this point it is irresponsible not to say anything at all and thought perhaps it might be helpful for others, so please disregard if you are "low on spoons" and need to take care of your mental health right now. You can always come back to this later and I will try to keep it updated. 

Firstly, here is the report from the Imperial College London with projections of trendlines for different approaches to address the outbreak. This is what we are looking at until either they get better at treating it, or they develop a vaccine. Some are estimating that it may take up to a year to develop a vaccine: 

• https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2Vtvc2YTDQJ7cLbpkows2YYSyFSis3JM8F12-26EuhwRmp8q5NugXH14M

Secondly, there has been a lot of discussion on social media that borders on eugenics when it comes to the potential impact of this virus and vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities and the elderly. The biggest concern is that since it has been determined the virus will reach pandemic proportions, it will overwhelm our hospital systems and that choices will need to be made between who gets to live and who must die. In fact, Italy is facing this decision right now. Often, because of how quality of life is determined people with disabilities leads to a devaluation of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY) for people with disabilities that has a far reaching impact. Further, these individuals thereby have poorer access to health care in times of crisis, organ transplants, and (as in this case) life saving equipment. We are facing a ventilator shortage; raising the questions of not only who will get the ventilators, but also whether medical professionals (aware of their ableism or not) will give them to those they believe have the best chance of survival. Further, right now there is outcry from the disability community where people receiving Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) in the community are at risk of losing their ventilators should they become hospitalized. All of this has prompted the National Council on Disability (NCD) to issue to following letter to the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services:

• NCD COVID-19 letter to HHS OCR: "On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), I write on a matter of urgency regarding non-discriminatory access to life-saving medical care for people with disabilities who contract COVID-19..."
• Respirators, rationing and the disabled: Coronavirus reminds us why everyone deserves health care
• More Info on QUALY Here: What is a QUALY?

Thirdly, other countries that experienced the outbreak have handled it better than us. This is due in part to leadership, increased and earlier testing efforts, and also a more communitarian culture; whereas in the U.S. we have an individualist culture that values independence over the community. This is one of the reasons that the U.S. is struggling more with social distancing efforts than other countries. The best thing you can do right now is to wash your hands and social distance (i.e. see the report in the first link!). It has also caused some interesting developments in other countries. For example:

• Spain has implemented nationalized health care to deal with this crisis
• Canals in Venice that have been infamous for their pollution due to high traffic, have for the first time in decades become clear, you can see the fish, and swans have returned.

A crisis will always expose the greatest vulnerabilities in our social systems and infrastructure. Historically, this has led to policy advancements to ensure greater protections for our citizens. 

DOMESTIC DISABILITY POLICY:
In the U.S. there is currently a bill called the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act." Originally this Bill included protections for people with disabilities and their families. However, compromises led to much being dropped including:

• "The original House bill allowed paid sick days to be utilized to care for loved ones who are “otherwise in need of care.” This would have covered situations where people with disabilities lose their paid caregivers due to the pandemic and need a loved one to provide the necessary care. Unfortunately for individuals with disabilities, the compromise bill does not cover a family member who takes off from work and steps-in as a caregiver in this situation." [Read more]

​The Center for Public Representation (CPR) has issued an Action Alert! to urge Congress to do more to meet the needs of people with disabilities in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Click here for more info.

We have heard proposals so suspend rent and utilities payments, as well as student/medical debt payments/collections, during this time in order to try and stave of an economic depression. One particularly relevant proposal for disability policy comes from Senators Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey to suspend Continuing Disability Reviews for Social security during this time so that those resources can be better allocated, but also so that people with disabilities don't lose their current benefits during this crisis.

Senator Mitt Romney proposed that the federal government give all Americans $1,000 a month. This sounds great, but would force people with disabilities over their asset limits for social security and put them at risk of losing their benefits.

Senator Chuck Schumer has proposed a Coronavirus Relief Bill. This has come under fire from the disability community, however, as it only focuses on the elderly and excludes people with disabilities. You can follow this conversation on Twitter at #SeeUsSchumer.

Access Living has issued an Action Alert! to urge the Senate to include disability concerns in their COVID-19 Stimulus package. Click here for more info.
​
AUCD's Disabilty Poicy News is a wonderful resource to follow! You can sign up for their newsletter here.
They have put together an Action Alert! that addresses several of the policy issues in front of us right now. Click here for more info.

In solidarity and social distance,
- Kate 

For a while now I have thought it makes all the sense in the world for businesses to have some way to show on their website or banner whether they are disability-owned, women-owned, LGBT-owned, or minority-owned. There is a badge for businesses that have certifications as a minority-owned business (MBE) and a women-owned business (WBE), but I have not found any for LGBT+ or disability. Further, some businesses and non-profit organizations may not have or need those certifications, but still want to show off their status. So when launching my soap business (Oconto Falls Soap Company) I wanted to add a couple of badges to show that it is disability and LGBT+ owned. I'm making those publicly available below in case anyone else is interested in using them. Please feel free! 

You can see examples of them in use on my etsy page as well as in my twitter banner.

UPDATE (3/12/2019): Disability:IN has now added good business badges to their website for anyone who has certification through them as a Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE), Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (V-DOBE), and Service-Disabled Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (SDV-DOBE).

Click Here to Check it Out!

I made a couple of graphics for Equal Pay Day (April 4th), which is the day marking how far into the year women need to work in order to make the same amount as men did the previous year. On this day we draw attention to the pay gap that women face, which is even larger for women of color. It is important that on Equal Pay Day, when we talk about income equality for all, that we remember to include women with disabilities in this discussion. Additionally, we need more and better data on women of color with disabilities. You can find these images on my twitter feed @cycleberry.

I put the following list of links together for a class I am teaching to help inform my students, and wanted to share it here while advocates around the country (indeed around the world) are preparing for the Inauguration. This is also a great opportunity to think about disability, as this historic moment brings us to a precipice as a nation. What will the new administration mean for the disability community, and how will we all be affected by their policies? 
​
Would You Like to Know More? *

• The Obama White House Disability page (not sure how long this will be up): https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/disabilities
• In the future, the page listed above can be found here: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/
• Disability journalist, David Perry on the controversy between Meryl Streep & Donald Trump: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/09/opinions/streep-trump-real-talk-perry-opinion/ 
• Article by disability rights lawyer, Robin Powell, on what Trump's appointees mean for the disability community: https://rewire.news/article/2017/01/11/right-learn-earn-live-trumps-cabinet-selections-mean-people-disabilities/
• PBS guide to the second week of confirmation hearings: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/guide-second-week-confirmation-hearings-betsy-devos-tom-price/

Articles About Appointees:

• Illinois Senator and disabled veteran, Tammy Duckworth, on Attorney General appointee, Jeff Sessions: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tammy-duckworth-jeff-sessions_us_58740178e4b099cdb0fefcac
• Autistic advocate, Ari Ne'eman, on Dept. of Education appointee, Betsy DeVos: http://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/1/19/14314890/devos-disabilities-rights-idea-hassan
• On the appointee to head the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Tom Price's healthcare agenda: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/tom-price-secretary-hhs-policy/509159/
• Article on acting head of the Dept. of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/civil-rights-justice-department-donald-trump.html?_r=0

Videos:

• Obama's ADA 25 Celebration: https://youtu.be/SZCQT-DYVNY
• Jeff Session's confirmation hearing: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/jeff-sessions-confirmation-hearings-updates-analysis-233402
  • Full video here: http://www.npr.org/2017/01/10/509039636/watch-live-jeff-sessions-attorney-general-confirmation-hearing
• Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/betsy-devoss-confirmation-hearing-in-three-minutes/2017/01/17/5f2d8e7c-dd34-11e6-8902-610fe486791c_video.html
  • Full video here: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/01/17/510274817/watch-live-betsy-devos-secretary-of-education-confirmation-hearing
• Tom Price's confirmation hearing: https://youtu.be/y5LVHGowE6M
  • Full video here: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/314759-tom-prices-confirmation-hearing-live-coverage

* Yes, that's a Starship Troopers reference, which is a great vehicle for discussing active/passive citizenship. Also, Ben Carson (Trump's appointee to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development) hasn't said anything about disability yet, but he would be in charge of enforcing Fair Housing and ensuring people with disabilities have access to accessible, affordable housing.

I was fortunate enough to be in New York City at the Javits Center, looking forward to celebrating our first woman president as she shattered that glass ceiling. Unfortunately, as you all know, that did not happen. While Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over a million and counting, she lost the electoral college. My friends, colleagues, and loved ones are now wondering what happens next. I posted the following on my facebook page and would like to share it here as well:  

Dear friends, please take care of yourselves. Take the time you need to process what has happened and grieve. Last night hurt deeply, and today has been painful. Many have called this election divisive, and it has been, but it has also uprooted deep-seated racial, sexist, xenophobic, ableist, and anti-LGBT tensions in our country. These did not show up overnight. Last night was devastating because we risk losing the progress we have made and fought for. So I ask you to take care of yourself. To allow yourself the time to grieve now, because we all have work to do.

We have a fight ahead of us to ensure the rights and civil liberties of every human being living in our country are protected and upheld under the new administration. The past several days my social media has been filled with stories of people of color and immigrants receiving threats and violence for simply existing, and we have seen a disturbing bolstering of the alt-right movement. We have also seen news agencies taken to task for their conduct during the election, and social networking organizations chided for not moderating the flow of fake news that has been (and continues to be) misinforming the American public.  Currently, there are many theories being proposed about how the election was decided, who voted which way and who did not. Yes, white people overwhelmingly voted for Trump. However, it is important to note that over half of our citizens did not vote, and we have to consider the role that voter suppression and intimidation may have played in those statistics. Regardless, we now find ourselves at this impasse as we wait to see if the electoral college exercises their power on November 19th. Until then, my friends have shared some resources that may prove necessary moving forward: 

• Oh Crap! What Now? Survival Guide
• "We're His Problem Now" Calling Sheet
• Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch and Tipline
• A List of Pro-Women, Pro-Immigrant, Pro-Earth, Anti-Bigotry Organizations That Need Your Support
• A Guide to Disability Ally-ship in the Age of Trump
  

People with disabilities and disability advocates are understandably concerned about what is going to happen under the new administration given republican threats to repeal Obamacare, gut social security and Medicare, and even change provisions under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Below is a link to an article that gives a great overview of these concerns:

• Disability Rights Advocates are Terrified of a Donald Trump White House

These issues stand in stark contrast to the advancements we have made in disability policy under the Obama administration, which you can read about here, and diffuses the excitement many in the disability community felt over finally being included as a valuable constituency in a Presidential candidate's platform. So, what do we do now? I think that First Lady, Michelle Obama's words were somewhat prescient. When they go low, we go high. We must hold onto our beliefs in what is right, and not normalize this Presidency or become complacent in the events to come. We must resist the divisive tactics that have been plaguing our communities, and come together for common good and social welfare of all - including disadvantaged and marginalized groups, recognizing the role that white privilege and class have played in getting us to the point where we are at now as a nation, and working together to ensure a better future in the face of mounting oppression. Without this, our society as we know it will not survive.

UPDATE: I just read that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been appointed to Senate Democratic leadership positions, and Chuck Schumer will be the new Senate minority leader. This gives me hope. I wish, however, that Warren and Sanders had stronger positions on disability issues. This looks like a great opportunity to inform and advocate! 

As a bisexual advocate, I have been arguing for the need for more resources and tools specifically for the bisexual community. This year, I have seen a couple of new tools come out (during National Coming out Day no less) that I wanted to share with folks and thought it was a great opportunity to create this post highlighting the bisexual resources that are out there. If you know of any that you think should be included, please drop me a line so I can include them! ​I am also adding here some of the key reports about the bisexual community as well as some fantastic organizations doing work in this area.

If you have not yet heard of the Disability Visibility Project, then get ready! Alice Wong (@DisVisibility on Twitter) has been doing some incredible things, including partnering with Andrew Pulrang (@AndrewPulrang) of the Disability Thinking blog, and Gregg Bertran (@GreggBeratan) for their newest #CripTheVote initiative. 

At it's core, the Disability Visibility Project (DVP) is an "online community dedicated to recording, amplifying, and sharing disability stories and culture." It has a community partnership with StoryCorps to contribute to preserving an oral history of voices in disability community. ​Back in 2014 I did an interview with my friend Ryan Parrey and this was my response:

Earlier this week I did a Storycorps interview for the Disability Visibility Project. I'm not sure how good a job I did, but it was a good experience and I learned something about myself. That is, I'm not comfortable talking about myself. I've spent so much of my life being pressured to hide things for various reasons that once I did actually have a chance to talk about it all, I didn't even know where to start. Perhaps that's at the heart of the Disability Visibility Project? Giving people an opportunity to voice their experiences, which held particular importance for me as someone with multiple invisible disabilities. I still struggled with feeling as though my story wasn't worthy of hearing, however, and held back a lot. I was surprised when the interview ended and the person facilitating it said that it resonated with her and we had a great conversation about navigating grad school with learning disabilities. I'm also grateful that Ryan could come with me and be such a good support. Even if no one ever hears it, I'm glad that I got the chance to have this experience. Thank you Alice Wong for starting this project and making all of this possible. I'm really looking forward to hearing other people's stories.

Alice recently won the 2016 Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and it was definitely well deserved! Below is a montage that she presented when she accepted the award. I was surprised and thrilled to see a small excerpt from Ryan's and my interview a minute marker 1:47.

If you want to participate in the Disability Visibility Project, you can learn more by clicking the link below! ​

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act! This is a time to celebrate what it has accomplished so far, to recognize the contributions and sacrifices that led to its passing, and also to think critically about its limitations and where to go from here. Because that's the thing, it wasn't perfect. It wasn't meant to be exactly, and couldn't really have been and gotten passed successfully. It was, however, the first civil rights based anti-discrimination legislation that recognized disability as a minority that needed reasonable accommodation, equal access and equal opportunity. It was a first step, a work in progress, but also one that needs to work alongside other policies focused on ensuring social, political, and human rights. Further, and most importantly, the ADA needs to evolve over time somehow to reflect the changes in how people are living. Otherwise, it runs the risk of becoming antiquated. In all of the discussion about the UN CRPD people keep saying that America won't need to change anything because it already has the ADA. Actually, we will eventually regardless, and we should if we want to remain relevant and current.

All over the country, people have been celebrating ADA 25 Week. One of the most amazing things has been the ADA Legacy Bus Tour, which has been traveling all over the United States with its mobile disability history museum that features the photographs of social documentarian Tom Olin. A list of some of the ADA events can be found at the ADA Legacy Project's website and began with a reception at the White House, organized by Disability Community Liaison and Associate Director to the Office of Public Engagement, Maria Town. You can watch President Obama's speech below (the video should be captioned). However, it unfortunately does not have Haben Girma's wonderful introduction.  Also Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, joined the reception via a telepresence robot! This resulted in several fun articles, including one on Wired called, "The President is Now Taking Robot Visitors" and made Gizmodo's list of "The 5 Best Times Obama Met with Robots."  Photos of Haben and Alice at the reception can be found below the video. 

In his speech the President acknowledged the work and contributions of several disability rights leaders, including Tia Nelis who has been involved in the People First movement ever since the beginning. She is also the self-advocacy specialist at the Institute on Disability & Human Development at UIC, the current president of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), and a good friend. To celebrate ADA 25, the Google Impact Challenge painted portraits of disability leaders on steps all over Washington, DC, including Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, Justin Dart Jr., Tom Harkin, Kathy Martinez, Patrick Kennedy, Tia Nelis, Claudia Gordon, and Tatyana McFadden. The steps were an interesting choice on Google's part. I believe they had intended it as an homage to the "capitol crawl"; however, I think it would have made more of an "impact" if Google had installed ramps or lifts next to inaccessible stairways and then painted those! Still, its really cool to see and I love that Claudia Gordon's portrait was painted on steps at Gallaudet University. 

You can see Tia's portrait below. It says, "We want the community to see us as friends, co-workers and neighbors instead of clients and patients. And to get rid of all those labels that hurt people." Also, the image below links to the main website where you can watch videos and view the rest of the portraits.

There was also a lot of fantastic discussion about the importance of supporting entrepreneurs with disabilities at the ADA 25 Week events! The topic of not only employment, but specifically entrepreneurship, came up during the panel at the Department of Labor, by Senator Harkin at the Department of Justice panel, and by blogger and entrepreneuse Emily Ladau at the Department of Education panel -- showing just how cross-cutting this issue is! I think its very fitting that at the culmination of ADA 25 Week, the Special Olympics World Games began in Los Angeles with entrepreneur and restaurateur Tim Harris introducing the First Lady, Michelle Obama.

We marched as part of the UIC contingent, which includes the Institute on Disability & Human Development, the Great Lakes ADA Center, the Disability Studies Student Council, and the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. We also had several students joining us from other organizations and programs at UIC such as Invincible to Invisible: API Pride and folks promoting doctoral student, Kat Perez's, new Disability Rights Blog.