People with disabilities will avoid some health care cuts if the House and Senate agree with what the House Budget Committee passed on March 6 for next year (FY 2009, beginning October 1, 2008). The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently passed some rules that cut off many people with disabilities from […]

Delay is the deadliest form of denial. Many people with severe disabilities apply for Social Security disability benefits, but they have to wait 2 to 3 years for a decision. During that time, without these benefits, people often lose their homes, go without needed medical care, and even die. About 750,000 people are on the […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Despite the prohibition of discrimination against qualified people with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, fi ring, advancement, compensation, and job training under ADA’s Title I, many of us have experienced subtle or overt discrimination. If you have been subject to discrimination in employment because of your disability (or for any […]

Turn those tax blues into breaks.
By Tom Scott
Tax season is once again upon us. Before you prepare to file your return you may want to ask yourself if you really know your entitlements as a person with a disability. There are income exclusions, tax deductions, and credits available to people with spinal […]

United Nations Adopts Treaty on the Rights of People with Disabilities
In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities. The treaty’s provisions detail the rights of persons with disabilities covering civil and political rights, accessibility, participation and inclusion, education, health, employment and social protections. […]

Congress Passes Bill to Expand Respite Care Services
Thanks to the hard work of advocates across the country, Congress recently approved legislation that would provide help to the nearly 50 million caregivers nationwide. The Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2005 (H.R. 3248/S.1283) was passed by the House on December 6 and by the Senate […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
To tell or not to tell: that is the question facing many workers with hidden disabilities. There is no reason to tell your current or perspective employer about your disability unless you are asking for an accommodation. You cannot expect an accommodation unless you disclose that you have a […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Thanks to technology, there are many devices that can increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of people with spinal cord impairments, enabling us to live independently and even return to work. If you can move anything––a finger, your mouth, your eyelid or your head––you can operate a computer. Technology is progressing […]

LEGAL AFFAIRS: Kleo King Promoted
Kleo King, Esq., formerly United Spinal’s program counsel, has been promoted to the position of Associate Executive Director. King has worked in the accessibility field for 18 years as a legal advisor and attorney, primarily in the areas of housing, air transportation, and access to public accommodations. In her role as […]

Among all applicants for Federal benefits, only veterans are denied the right to legal representation over claims. Legislation before Congress can give vets the same legal advantage others enjoy.
by Leonard J. Selfon, Esq.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims process involves many complicated legal requirements, as well as heavy evidentiary burdens. The U.S. Court […]

Veterans with spinal cord disorders have been at the forefront of the movement to gain civil rights for all people with disabilities.
By Terry Moakley
We don’t always use the word “activist” to characterize those who founded the organization that would become United Spinal Association. But our history tells us that many of them—all […]

UN Panel Approves Treaty to Protect the World’s Estimated 650 Million People With Disabilities
On August 26, a United Nations General Assembly panel passed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities—a treaty to expand the rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities throughout the world. The full 192-nation General Assembly is expected to […]

Some states have been slow to ensure that voters with disabilities have equal access to the process.

By John P. Herrion

A ballot-marking device for people with disabilities is demonstrated at United Spinal headquarters. All voting machines are required to be accessible after January 1, 2007.

In 2002, President Bush signed the Help America Vote Act […]

Sandra Cammaroto of the Transportation Security Administration would like to remind everyone about the new security measures:
I have been getting many calls about the removal of footwear at checkpoints for persons with disabilities and medical conditions.
People with Disabilities, those with prosthetic devices, and those with medical conditions DO NOT have to […]

By Maria Diamond, Esq.

You’ve just been seriously injured. Medical bills are piling up and you might not be able to work for years. With your future suddenly uncertain, what do you do?
Unfortunately, there are no simple answers. But after representing people who have had serious accidents for over 20 years, I offer five basic […]

Veterans who may be at risk from the recent security breach of a VA database are not the only United Spinal members who can benefit from the following information. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (www.privacyrights.org), identity theft affects up to 10 million people each year, costing individuals and business some $50 billion.
If you believe […]

Our founders’ work on local human rights issues paved the way for national disability rights legislation.
By Terry Moakley
When Americans with disabilities began to organize to seek protection from discrimination under federal law, the leaders of our founding organization supported this important effort. The February 1973 edition of our Monthly Report newsletter derides President […]

The theft of a laptop containing sensitive personal information of more than 26 million people overshadows other news on the veterans front.
By Leonard J. Selfon, Esq.
A May 3, 2006, burglary at a suburban Maryland home became national news when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) acknowledged that a laptop computer providing access to […]

By Tiffiny Carlson
At age 14, I became a complete C-6 quad, without the ability to transfer. Typical story: shallow water, drowning, resuscitation, three months of rehab, then shipped back home.
Of course, depression followed. Mine lasted nearly three years. I simply couldn’t see any reason to be happy. Little did I know a one- […]

By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination in employment against people with disabilities in the private sector as well as in state and local governments. That sounds good, but what does it really mean for us, for people with disabilities who want to work?
One thing it […]