Arkansas Disability Action

11/20/2014

Monday AM was just awesome, On Fri, the communications teacher at LifeStyles asked me to talk to her class about the same things I had talked about the staff. Monday was free for me so I met with her class in the HPER at the U of A. These students were adults in their early 20's to late teens who had considerable difficulty, especially with verbal communication. I gave them a slightly simpler version of what I had previously taught the staff. I included some of my own experiences as a disabled child, teen-ager and adult,as I had to the staff. They had been listening intently when all of a sudden,hands waved in the air and the asked many questions and told their own stories, clearly and plainly. They also asked how they could help others. What was supposed to be a 45-minute class turned into a serious 90-minute experience. I was so touched by their openness that I went home and cried. Thank you, LifeStyles for giving me that opportunity. I will never forget it!

11/20/2014

I had a great time last Thur and Fri. I gave two presentations on Disability Legal History, the ADA and future concerns about disabled individuals in the future at the quarterly staff training at LifeStyles. Wonderful experience and and amazing people who actually help people with disabilities and steer them toward independence. Don't remember the last time I have been so impressed by a Fayetteville organization.

10/22/2014

Thanks so much to all who attended our first public forum on Disability and Civil Rights (the Americans with Disabilities Act. I learned so much that I DIDN'T now before and I hope you did too. I want to give a special "shout-out" to our guest panelists, Ed Zwilling, an attoney in private practice from Birmingham, AL and Tom Masseau, the new Director of the Arkansas Center for Disability Rights in Little Rock. Thanks to both of you for giving us your time and energy. We couldn't have had such a great opening event without you!

10/12/2014

Annette Koonce, president of Disabilities Action Network of Arkansas, was interviewed on KUAF's Ozarks at Large radio show this week!

http://kuaf.com/post/disabled-arkansans-organize

A new Northwest Arkansas disability rights organization participated in an awareness fair in Fayetteville recently. As Jacqueline Froelich reports one

10/05/2014

Our first public event is coming up on Sunday, October 19th! If you, or a family member or friend, have a disability, you won't want to miss this: "The Americans with Disabilities Act: How It Affects You! -- (Know Your Rights Under the ADA)" Join us at 2PM, St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. We'll have two excellent speakers: Tom Masseau, the executive director of the Arkansas Disability Rights Network, and Edward Zwillig, an attorney specializing in ADA litigation. Come with your questions!

09/03/2014

Our first campaign is "Barrier Free Fayetteville"... We're asking our local government and other public institutions, and businesses and other private organizations to commit to making Fayetteville a "barrier-free city" by 2016! Please join us!