AFA August 2025

Listen to this Article For many years, Lindsey Mazza played a game no one else could see. It was a quiet game with just one goal: to be perceived as “normal.” Blend in, smile politely, don’t ask for help, don’t draw attention, don’t be an inconvenience. She calls it hiding in plain sight, and it shaped […]

Listen to this Article The Center for Public Integrity held an event on July 26 — the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act — called “What is Home?” that explored the challenges of finding safe homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At the event, there were four storytellers with disabilities who

Listen to this Article The advantages of dyslexia are extensive, but they often are not seized if the dyslexic student does not have access to quality special educational services. I’m a nationally syndicated columnist, author of several books and a speaker on global business, labor and economic trends. I’m also a beneficiary, not a victim,

Listen to this Article Even as scientists celebrate progress in the lab, a stigma-busting movement asserts that those with the autoimmune skin condition are more in need of acceptance than medicine Scientist John Harris doesn’t like to say the word “cure.” But after his discovery last year of a new strategy to alleviate a skin

Listen to this Article David Hick Blog: Living with Becker Muscular Dystrophy David Hick from the UK shares his life-altering journey with Becker muscular dystrophy after a July 2023 diagnosis at age 34. He traded garage work for guitar riffs and seized a clinical trial opportunity that sparked hope. Now living near Newcastle for research,

Listen to this Article Languaging is a living form of expression, more than communication, it is the act of being fully present, connecting, responding, and expressing through all our senses. For example, when a little girl runs up to a new friend with arms wide open, she’s languaging joy and openness — without even saying

Listen to this Article Friendship, when rooted in mutual respect and shared vision, can become a powerful force for change. This is the foundation of All Access Life, created by Dan and Brad, a duo whose bond transcends roles and titles. When Brad, a young man with non-verbal spastic cerebral palsy and complex communication needs,

Listen to this Article Forget the high-gloss gyms where bodies move like clockwork to curated playlists. In fact, scrap everything you think you know about fitness. Sekond Skin is letting new voices rewrite the rhythm. Lee-Ann Reuber identified long-standing barriers within mainstream fitness apps and responded with innovation, creating a platform intentionally designed to welcome

Listen to this Article Close your eyes and picture learning to read, not by sight, but by feel. Now imagine doing that while also doodling, writing stories, solving math problems, and creating tactile art. That’s the experience the BrailleDoodle offers. It’s a simple yet brilliant invention designed to make braille literacy and tactile creativity accessible

Listen to this Article Helping others wasn’t always top of mind for me, not until life slowed me down with a second brain operation. I have been diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) more than 27 years ago, a rare condition where blood vessels in the brain are tangled and can rupture without warning, at the