Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities

10/09/2026

Two new Safety Rest Areas just opened along I-43 near Denmark and Maribel, complete with ADA-compliant, powered adult changing stations (also called universal changing stations) that make road trips possible for people who can't use a standard accessible restroom. WisDOT says more of these upgrades are coming over the next decade.

10/07/2026

Wisconsin students who use wheelchairs or other mobility equipment are entitled under the ADA and IDEA to a school environment they can actually navigate, accessible classrooms, restrooms, and field trip planning included. If your child's school says a location 'just isn't accessible,' that's often a fixable problem, not a dead end.

10/06/2026

Today is World Cerebral Palsy Day. CP is one of the most common physical disabilities affecting movement and coordination. To everyone in our community living with CP, and the families, therapists, and friends who support them, we see you today and every day.

10/05/2026

NDEAM is a great time for Wisconsin employers to ask: can someone using a wheelchair or walker actually get through our front door, to the interview room, and to a restroom without help? If you're an employer wanting a physical accessibility walk-through, reach out, to your local independent living center for help.

Need help finding a personal care attendant? Looking for advice or support from someone with the same disability as you? Want to find an accessible form of recreation? All this and much more is available at your local independent living center.

10/02/2026

October is also National Physical Therapy Month! This year's theme is 'PT for Future Me,' a reminder that physical therapy supports mobility, strength, and independence at every stage of life, not just after an injury. Thank you to the PTs and PTAs across Wisconsin who help our community stay moving.

10/01/2026

Today kicks off the 81st annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month. For Wisconsinites with mobility disabilities, employment barriers are often physical: an inaccessible interview site, no accessible restroom, no way to get to work without reliable paratransit. All month we'll spotlight what accessible hiring actually looks like.

09/26/2026

Congratulations to UW-Eau Claire senior Sydney Zimmerman on her appointment to Gov. Tony Evers' Council on Physical Disabilities. 👏👏🏽👏🏻

Sydney's commitment to accessibility, advocacy, and service has earned her a seat at the table where important conversations about disability policy are happening across Wisconsin.

Read below how this Blugold is using her experiences to make a difference and help create a more accessible future. 💙💛♿

09/18/2026

September is National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. Nearly 300,000 Americans are living with a spinal cord injury, and about 18,000 new injuries happen every year. This month we're honoring the resilience of Wisconsinites living with SCI, and the caregivers, therapists, and researchers working alongside them.

06/23/2026

Today, June 22, marks the 27th anniversary of the Olmstead Decision.

Olmstead, or Olmstead v. L.C., is one of the most important civil rights decisions for people with disabilities in U.S. history. This 1999 Supreme Court decision, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), held that people with disabilities have a right to receive state-funded services and supports in community-based settings rather than in institutions.

We have curated a list of resources to help you learn more about the Olmstead decision and its impact on the lives of people with disabilities: Linktr.ee/Olmstead27.

Picture credit: OlmsteadRights

06/23/2026

Strengthening ABLE
In May 2026, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced three pieces of legislation to strengthen and improve access to the ABLE program.

The ABLE Tomorrow Act would eliminate the Medicaid clawback, allow certain 529 rollovers and one‑time contributions beyond annual limits, add a two‑month grace period before Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are suspended when balances exceed $100,000, and permit employers to contribute to ABLE accounts in place of defined contribution plans without affecting eligibility.

Another measure would boost ABLE awareness by requiring federal and state agencies to inform eligible individuals across programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, VA benefits, and special education, while providing $50 million annually through FY2031 for state and tribal outreach grants.

The ABLE Match Act would create a federal match of up to $2,000 per year for ABLE contributions and fund $5 million annually through 2030 for outreach.

The ABLE Direct Deposit Act would reaffirm that employer and government contributions may be directly deposited into ABLE accounts.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and endorsed by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) and ABLE Savings Plans Network (ASPN) and is supported by National Disability Institute among many other community partners and entities.