I am a late-diagnosed autistic adult, and I have ADHD, Bipolar II, OCD, and generalized anxiety. I also have dermatillomania, or skin picking disorder, and my information processing abilities rank 13th percentile. Physically, I have substantial hearing loss in both ears. This article focuses on lessons I learned as I searched for employment. I now…
Andrea Miller-Weir Named 2023 Roman Award Winner
When Direct Support Professional Andrea Miller-Weir began working with 11-year-old Alex Bagley, he couldn’t put his face underwater in the pool. With Miller-Weir’s help, Alex became an award-winning swimmer and Special Olympics athlete. In the years since their first meeting, Miller-Weir has supported Alex through high school graduation, securing meaningful employment, and traveling the world….
Policy Update: NC Senate Passes Budget; Conference Committee Begins Work
On May 18, the NC Senate passed their version of H259, the Appropriations Act for 2023-2025. The Senate version of the budget spends a little more, primarily on a new economic incentive fund designed to turn NC-based research into marketable products. The differences between the NC House version and the NC Senate version will be…
Accommodations at Work
Almost everyone uses tools at work: cash registers, computers, the Internet, heavy machinery, pens, hammers, paintbrushes – the list could go on forever. We use these tools to perform our jobs to the best of our ability, so we do not hesitate to request them if we do not have all the ones we need….
From Isolation to Community through Employment
Since I wrote my last blog, What’s Speech Got to Do With It?, in 2019, my son, along with the rest of the world, went through a rollercoaster cycle of emotions due to the pandemic, ranging from fear, insecurity, isolation, and utter frustration. His volunteer activities as well as other outside activities came to a…
Achieve a Better Life Experience with NC ABLE
The NC ABLE Program allows individuals with the occurrence of a disability prior to the age of 26 and their families to contribute to tax-advantaged savings accounts without impacting eligibility for important public supports like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. A path to financial freedom For many eligible participants, there has long been a ‘spend down’…
Public Policy Updates – May 2022
Services in NC Medicaid Plan NC plans to offer additional services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as others, under (i) services plan through the Medicaid program. When Tailored Plans begin operation December 1, 2022 as part of the state’s Medicaid Transformation some of the services that LME-MCOs offered under b(3) such…
Public Policy Update: Competitive Integrated Employment in North Carolina Enters New Era with Plan for Closure of “Sheltered Workshops”
The state of North Carolina (NC DHHS) announced they have entered into a settlement agreement with Disability Rights North Carolina and the Center for Public Representation to ensure that over 1,000 individuals with disabilities currently working in segregated employment settings have the opportunity to seek out community-based integrated competitive employment. Segregated employment settings, often called…