The Front Page Blog

It's August and everyone is ready to hit the road, or the air, or the rails. A summer break from the routine of life’s challenges is a right that many Americans take for granted, but it is not so simple for Americans with disabilities to exercise that right. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came into effect over twenty years ago, the United States has become a much friendlier…

If the ADA were a person, it should be graduating college by now and looking for a job. However, workplace equality for people with disabilities is where the least progress has been made in the last quarter century, according to an informal poll of webinar attendees during “24 Years of the ADA: Progress, Pitfalls and Possibilities” hosted by Cornell University and the Northeast ADA…

New Editions was named a “2014 Top Workplace” in the Washington Post last month. Washingtonian magazine named New Editions Consulting, Inc. one of the “50 Great Places to Work” in 2013. In addition to winning these awards, we have grown the business base by $1M per year for the past 12 years. Clearly, we are doing something right in our small company. We…

Most parents dream that one day their children will go to college. But such dreams may grow distant and seem unrealistic when a child is born with a developmental disability. It could have been that way for us. Our son, Pete was born with an undiagnosed genetic syndrome that affected his motor skills, feeding, heart, and almost every aspect of his development. He was labeled “failure…

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over the past few years the population of young adults and teenagers in the U.S. has participated less in the workforce. Analysts have suggested that the causes are varied, but include stronger competition from older, unemployed workers and an increased focus among younger adults and teenagers on volunteerism and skills attainment instead of…

Men’s Health Week was established by Congress in 1994 and is celebrated every year the week before Father’s Day. This year we celebrate on June 9-15, 2014.

To quote Congressman Bill Richardson (Congressional Record, H3905-H3906, May 24, 1994): “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters and sisters, men’…

The country is aging and so is the workforce. According to the 2012 Census, there were over four million full-time workers age 65 and older. The aging process can bring with it a gradual decrease in vision, hearing, and physical abilities. Jobs that were once easy for a 30 or 40-year-old to perform can become challenging for a 60 or 70-year-old. For example, in our work, some veterans have…

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. During May, communities come together to promote awareness and understanding of mental illness.

Mental illness affects most families. One in four Americans will have a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75% begin by age 24. Mental illnesses include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder…

This Sunday marks the celebration of Mother's Day and the beginning of National Women’s Health Week (NWHW). NWHW is an annual week long observance led by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) that aims to empower women to make their health a priority and increase their understanding of what it means to be well. 

Mother’s Day is a chance to…

I appreciate the important Republican and Democratic thought leaders who are focusing on the need to provide long-term services and supports (LTSS) for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions and older Americans. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently announced plans to draft policy and legislative solutions that will address public and private financing options, as well as…

Want to know how to make a website accessible? Google the answers. Want a mainstream phone with built-in speech output for using it without vision? Go to an electronics store. Want to know how to make an ATM accessible? Put your headphone jack in pretty much any ATM. Want to know how to change your organization so that accessibility becomes an integral part of everyone's job? Um...  As…

As a child with Spina Bifida growing up in Northern California I had some amazing opportunities. I went to the best public schools, had friends both with and without disabilities, and even participated in children’s theater. I also had many of the complications that people with Spina Bifida have—eleven surgeries, occupational and physical therapy appointments and countless sick days.

Question: "How's 508 working out for your customers?"

Response: "We haven't had any complaints, so I think we're doing really well."

A lack of complaints is often cited in Section 508 circles as an indicator that we are all doing a great job for our customers. But are we? Research on consumer complaints suggests that people in general don't complain. They either go elsewhere, or…

Over 12 million Americans receive long-term services and supports (LTSS) to meet their daily needs in a variety of settings, provided by family and/or paid workers. In late September, the bi-partisan Commission on Long Term Care issued its Report to Congress.

The Commission’s Report issued a “call to action,” declaring that:

  • New approaches are needed to bring LTSS care…