The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) and its programs are partnering with California disability communities to celebrate October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The purpose of NDEAM is to educate the community about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. This year’s theme…
September is Self Care Month. Self care refers to (often simple) activities to ensure physical and mental fitness. According to clinical psychologist, Lavonna Connell, self care is a critical and important part of every person’s mental health. Not taking care of oneself mentally often leads to physical ailments. Dr. Connell explains that in the…
By Carly Pacheco, Deputy Director of FREED Center for Independent Living Get your pencils, get your books, and don’t forget your assistive technology (AT) — it’s back-to-school time! I am an AT nerd, I’ll admit it. As a past Special Education Teacher turned Independent Living Center Deputy Director, I have seen firsthand how all…
The Ability Tools team at the California Foundation for Independent Living (CFILC) opted to let our assistive technology (AT) advocates and the general public vote online for a new blog name. With over 50% of the votes, Where It’s AT won! When you think of an assistive technology (AT) blog – Ability Tools is Where…
Congratulations to the assistive technology users and photographers who show us what’s possible with A.T. We were thrilled to see photos of people from all over the country. Thanks to your fabulous photos of people using assistive technology (AT), we brought more awareness to the world of adaptive equipment, devices, and gadgets that assist people…
Andy Arias is on the move. He’s a Policy Advisor at US Department of Labor, a very active advocate in both the disability and the LGBTQ communities. Also, he’s known an actor whose credits can be found on IMDb, also known as Internet Movie Database. None of these roles would be possible for Andy without the…
Written By: Alice Wong, Founder of the Disability Visibility Project Resistance to assistive technology is futile. As a sci-fi nerd, I have to make a Star Trek reference whenever I talk about technology and disabled people. The disability community is living in the darkest timeline right now, at least that’s what it feels like under…
Written by: Noor Pervez, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network Greetings, assistive tech fans! My name is Noor. I’m autistic adult with chronic pain who works for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. I’ve learned a lot about assistive technology that autistic folks use from my friends, as well as my own experiences.…
Written By: Ability Tools Staff Did you know that California has a state program that provides FREE phone to individuals with various disabilities? These phones are provided by the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) at no charge to eligible Californians. DDTP distributes telecommunications equipment and services that improve communication for all Californians. A program of the…
A new self driving bus, named Olli, is in the works that does a lot more than taking people places. An accessible version of the bus, called “Accessible Olli” will be using IBM’s artificial intelligence powered Watson technology to communicate with passengers since there will be no driver or staff on it. For example, when…