It is Developmental Disability Awareness Month, and groups are spotlighting housing and voting as two major areas of concern.

To mark International Women's Day, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities held a virtual event Tuesday.

Tameka Citchen-Spruce, a disability justice advocate and former Ms. Wheelchair Michigan 2006 who spoke at the event, said it is crucial to make sure every polling place has a working voting machine for people who cannot fill out a paper ballot. And while the affordable housing crisis affects many in Michigan, she said there are additional factors if you are living with a disability.

"Finding accessible and affordable housing, as everyone knows, is a tremendous challenge, particularly when you have a physical disability; use a wheelchair, like myself," Citchen-Spruce explained.

Nationwide, roughly 57 million Americans live with some form of disability, and about 180,000 Michiganders have a developmental disability.

Citchen-Spruce is a filmmaker in addition to being an activist, and she said advocating for disability rights and storytelling go hand in hand.

"I think it's so important, because we need representation in the media," Citchen-Spruce asserted. "People need a reflection of themselves and their stories matter. And so that's why, alongside my disability advocacy, I think it's so important to create representation and tell stories."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in Michigan. She said the state Department of Health and Human Services encourages residents to recognize Michigan's advances, but also to acknowledge the work is not yet done to ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities.

Disability groups in New Hampshire are calling for an end to the word "special" to describe people with disabilities.

They said terms like "special" or "special needs" imply people are somehow broken and undermine the long-term fight for disability rights.

Isadora Rodriguez-Legendre, executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, said when people ask not to be called a certain word, it should be reason enough not to use it.

"It really is a label that kids and adults with disabilities found to be alienating," Rodriguez-Legendre explained. "Because it kept them apart and separate."

Rodriguez-Legendre pointed out a new public awareness campaign encourages people to visit the website stopspecial.org and read a more appropriate language guide. Nearly one of every eight New Hampshire residents has a disability.

Backers of the "Stop Special" campaign said language is evolving and such euphemisms as "special needs" or "special education" need correction. Rodriguez-Legendre emphasized students should simply be called "students," or even "students with disabilities." She understands it will not be an easy change, especially for those who work with laws and regulations but added the goal is to ensure equitable access to education and public spaces.

"Communities actually are better when people with disabilities are participating in them, because they bring awareness about how to make things more accessible for everybody," Rodriguez-Legendre contended.

The "Stop Special" campaign is backed by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.


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The U.S. Office for Civil Rights has issued a ruling ensuring that an Iowa man with disabilities is able to live in his home and receive round-the-clock medical care.

Advocates for people with disabilities hope the move sets precedent for other people in Iowa and around the country.

When he was about five, Cedar Rapids resident Garret Frey suffered the same spinal cord injury that Superman star Christopher Reeve did in an equestrian accident.

Reeve lived for about a decade after his accident.

Frey is closing on 40 years, and sued the state, claiming it violated his rights by failing to provide the 24-hour home-based support and services he needs to live at home, where he said people with disabilities want to be.

"It is truly where most of us are happy, healthy," said Frey, "and it's most cost-effective."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to raise the provider reimbursement rate for in-home caregivers, allow for respite services, expand the health-care provider base - and help secure overnight, in-home nursing care for Frey.

HHS will monitor Iowa's progress for a year. Frey said he wants this ruling to set precedent for other people with disabilities in Iowa and across the country.

"It's one baby step in the right direction," said Frey, "because there are many other disability-related concerns and issues that are ongoing."

The ruling requires Iowa Health and Human Services to work with federal officials to ensure Frey's needs are met during that year, and report on their progress monthly.

Teens and young adults in Texas who have disabilities have an opportunity to get a paid internship this summer.

The Texas Workforce Commission offers its Summer Earn and Learn program for students between the ages of 14 and 22. The students are placed with large and small businesses to earn a paycheck and learn valuable work experience.

Joe Esparza, the commissioner representing employers, said all 28 workforce development boards across the state participate in recruiting students and employers

"The employers are obviously benefiting because they're investing in their communities, and they get somebody who's motivated to work," Esparza explained. "I think having that opportunity gives these students a chance to interact with customers, to learn IT systems, to just engage in something that they are very interested in."

He said more than 14,000 students have been placed in internships since the program started in 2017.

More than 1,300 employers across Texas participated in the program last year, giving students hands-on experience. Some of the businesses include the Amarillo Zoo, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Odessa College. Esparza noted the internships last five to eight weeks and student participants attend work readiness training to prepare them for their work experiences.

"We at the state level always encourage employers to get involved and create programs," Esparza emphasized. "In most every business, there's usually an opportunity to bring somebody in as an internship and it's a great opportunity for them to learn new skills and become part of the workforce there."

Some of the students have been hired full-time by the companies at the end of their internships.


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