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Example #1: Chicagoland Add Us in Initiative’s The Learning Garden

The Chicagoland Add Us In Initiative funded by the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, provides opportunities and promotes employment experiences for high school students with disabilities to prepare them for their transition into adult life. The goal for the Learning Garden is to be a place where students can observe and experiment with growing plants, fruits and vegetables while obtaining some invaluable work experience and skills.

Contributed by Lia Thompson, University of Kansas, Community Tool Box Intern.

 

Example #2: "Stoplights Don't Stop Us!"

 

“Stoplights Don’t Stop Us!” tells the story of how people with disabilities in Emporia, Kansas, living in a high-rise apartment complex near a dangerous intersection, came together as allies to advocate for change in their community. The changes they achieved enhanced their ability to more fully and safely participate in the community. (The video is also available with audio description.) To learn more about this process for making change to support independent living for all, visit the free publication: Your Action Planning Guide for Promoting Full Community Participation Among People with Disabilities: A Resource for Independent Living Centers and Other Community-based Initiatives.

 

Example #3: Ed Roberts: Free Wheeling

Photo of Ed Roberts.

Imagine that, as a typical baseball-loving 14-year-old kid, one of your mother’s worst fears is realized: You succumb to the polio epidemic of the 1950s and contract a disease that paralyzes you from the neck down, except for several fingers and toes. 

Your despair is exacerbated when you overhear a doctor tell your mother, “You should hope he dies, because if he lives, he’ll be no more than a vegetable for the rest of his life.” You spend 18 months in hospitals and, upon discharge, attend high school by phone from home, lying flat on your back with only your head emerging from an “iron lung,” a huge box-like device using air pressure to stimulate the breathing that your lungs cannot accomplish. 

How would you respond?

Read more.