Able News Articles
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What Happens in August?
As Disability Pride Month draws to a close, I’m reminded that celebrating ourselves is the easy part. The harder work begins when the celebrations end. July gives us space to celebrate our history, our culture, our resilience, our accomplishments, and the countless...
Help Wanted: Report Urges Stronger Support for NYC Job Program for People With Disabilities
A new report by City Comptroller Mark Levine released Wednesday calls out a New York City program designed to help people with disabilities find jobs for its lack of transparency behind its success numbers. The report, which covers fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and was...
Not a New Era — Just More Audacious Ableism
"...the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the rich mosaic of the American mainstream." President George H.W. Bush spoke those words on July 26, 1990, when he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. Thirty-six years later, New York City—a city...
New York Botanical Garden Celebrates Disability Pride
Not only is July a sunny summer month, but it is also Disability Pride Month, and the New York Botanical Garden is marking the occasion with a lineup of programming that's as thoughtful as it is beautiful. From hands-on art workshops to archival deep dives into the...
A Fight for Lives Over Physician-Assisted Suicide Laws
Disability groups in New York and Illinois are in a fight for lives. They’re suing to prevent the implementation of physician-assisted suicide statutes already passed by the legislatures in their states. The plaintiffs in the New York court action include Brooklyn...
Our First Ideologue
The first truly militant rhetoric for disability rights came in a time and place of surpassing unlikeliness: the tiny town of Imboden, Arkansas, in 1914. It originated from a no less improbable source—a severely disabled, largely self-educated Southerner who managed...
Recent Articles
Disability In The Kitchen, Past And Present
When you were little and came down with a virus, were you put on a regimen of Saltines and flat ginger ale, or on clear liquids only? If so, then you were like my great uncle Simon—for whom, a hundred years ago, my immigrant grandmother supposedly cooked softened calf’s liver to accommodate his “weak stomach.” Namely, you were involved in what used to be called “invalid cookery.”
It’s Time for Better Air Travel Accessibility to Take Flight
United Spinal Association — both the national organization and the New York chapter — have made the ability to work and receive personal care services priority one for 2024. Since 1975, federal law has required school systems to educate children with disabilities. Many graduate employment-ready, but can’t afford to work if they need personal care services. The problem is an enormous work disincentive, and has been identified for decades, but still goes unsolved. In almost every state, it is impossible to work and accumulate wealth if you require personal care services.
Advocacy And Making Your Voice Heard
For far too long, people with disabilities have been marginalized, silenced and overlooked. People with disabilities urgently need to amplify their voices, and that starts with self-advocacy. Advocacy is an essential tool for our survival—for the preservation of our health, mobility and independence.
New York Governor Includes People with Disabilities in 2024 Agenda
New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2023 State of the State, delivered on January 9, 2024, included multiple key promises for people with disabilities. She outlined her agenda for “Achieving the New York Dream,” which aims to create a “more affordable, more livable and safer New York, while opening doors to the communities and people who have historically been blocked from equal chances at success.”
Letter From The Editor
Of all the experiences that have shaped me, two in particular are central to who I am: having a disability and being a born and raised New Yorker. These identities are at the root of my story, grounding me as each new part of my life blooms. You might think I’m waxing unnecessarily poetic for an editor’s letter in a newspaper, but there is nothing I find more beautiful than the fact that every person has a story to tell. Stories are how we understand each other, how we connect, how we grow. And it’s my deep love and appreciation for the power of storytelling that has led me to this role as Editor of Able Newspaper at The Viscardi Center.
Emily Ladau, Disability Rights Advocate and Writer, Named Editor of Able Newspaper
One could say the road leading Emily Ladau towards this new role at The Viscardi Center started over a decade ago when she learned to drive in its, then groundbreaking, adaptive driver education program. At a pinnacle in her career, as Editor, Emily is once again in the driver’s seat at Viscardi as she propels forward the vision to evolve Able Newspaper into a multi-faceted media platform. February marks the first issue of Able being published under The Viscardi Center umbrella, as a mission-based strategic acquisition was announced on October 12, 2023. Able, a monthly periodical founded in 1991 and long considered the ‘newspaper of record’ for New York’s disability community, is read by disabled individuals, their caregivers and families, and professionals who serve people with disabilities. Aligning with The Viscardi Center’s “3Es” (educate, employ, empower), it enhances and expands upon the Center’s programs, services and advocacy for children, adults and veterans with disabilities.
The Viscardi View
It has been said that “Timing is everything.” When I reflect on the development of my identity as a disability rights advocate and my career as a Disability Studies scholar, my timing couldn’t have been better!
From The Founder
It’s hard to believe that 33 years have passed since we published the first issue of Able Newspaper. As I sit at my computer gathering my thoughts for this final message to Able’s readers, I wipe away some nostalgic tears as I think back on all the incredible experiences I have had; all the amazing people I’ve met; and so many things I’ve learned.
Viscardi Acquires – Two Iconic Brands Come Together
The Viscardi Center, a network of non-profit organizations that educate, employ and empower children, adults and veterans with disabilities based on Long Island, announced the mission-based strategic acquisition on October 10, 2023.
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