All the right ingredients to be a leader By: Fred J. Maahs, Jr. I spoke with Collette Divitto, owner of Collettey’s Cookies, and her mother, Rosemary, recently for a candid discussion about Collette, her bakery, and the relationship between them as business-owner and manager/advisor.  It was an interesting, inspiring and even […]

Accessible Ventures Transportation of St. Maarten (AVTS) has been redefining the meaning of special needs transportation services since February of 2005 when they were first founded. They discovered a niche in the market for professional, caring special needs services, driven by personnel with expertise in the field.  They set out to

Andrea and Cara both love the outdoors. Leisure time is usually spent cycling, swimming, kayaking and hiking. They are an easy-going couple whose connection was almost instant when they met in 2014. As they got to know each other, they soon realized that there were many similarities between them which further

YAI has been providing innovative services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) since its founding in 1957, at a time when institutional living was the norm for people with I/DD. The nonprofit was launched in February of that year out of a small school in Brooklyn, New York. Initially staffed by co-founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze MacLeech alone, their pilot program served just seven people.

By Fred J. Maahs, Jr. From writing an open letter to becoming a disability advocate I had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Walzer a few years ago when he was being honored with a Catalyst Award at the Annual Convention for The Arc.  On that night, Matthew took the podium to

I’m talking to her and she’s fidgeting. She’s talking and tapping away with that pencil. The orange-yellowish blur is driving me crazy and I want to grab her wrist to make it stop. Finally, it stops. Now I’m answering her and she’s looking at my left ear, then over to the

Information Technology (IT) is his passion, and at his job with the Trinidad & Tobago Blind Welfare Association, Kerryn Gunness gets to do what he loves every day. He is an IT instructor, teaching the visually impaired how to use various forms of technology. Be it computers, mobile phones or tablets,

When Ryan was in middle school, he was diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disability (NVLD). Growing up, this neurological condition marked by academic and sometimes social difficulties resulted in many challenges.  He received occupational therapy and accommodations in the schools he attended, with assistance from many tutors, counselors, and academic advisors.

I consider it to be invasive when people ask me about my disability Most people have the privilege of hiding their struggles. Could you imagine a world where every traumatic event a person went through would be visible to others and constantly addressed by strangers in social settings? “Oh, I am

Should I say ‘disabled person’ or a person with a disability? Author: Mary Ann McColl Professor, Queen’s University, Ontario Recently, an Alberta woman with an obvious physical disability was asked to leave a grocery store and not come back because she could not pack her own groceries quickly enough. According to