On Disabilities

A selfie of Beth Kenny (foreground), their wife Adina (middle), and their child Vyla sitting in their backyard in Alameda, Calif. Since the lifting of COVID safety measures, Kenny and their family have had to pull back from indoor activities, and they str

Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality

5:27am July 14, 2022

by Shruti Rajkumar

With COVID safety protocols rescinding around the country, many are returning to a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. But disabled and immunocompromised people can't do so, and are being left behind.

Education

Kids with hearing loss will now learn spoken English and ASL in Los Angeles schools

8:57am June 04, 2022

by Kyle Stokes

Los Angeles schools will now teach both American Sign Language and spoken English to younger students. The policy change is meant to correct a history of suppressing ASL. But some say it goes too far.

Jon Miller sits in his bedroom with his dog, Carlos, whom he received as a present for successfully completing cancer treatment a decade ago. Miller sustained severe brain damage, and requires the help of home health aides to continue living in his home.

A shortage of health aides is forcing out those who wish to get care at home

5:00am May 05, 2022

by Natalie Krebs

Home health care workers are among the lowest paid, shifting the burden of long-term care to aging and overstressed family members or assisted living centers, which are often understaffed themselves.

Heather Carll returned to teaching special education after Hawaii began offering special educators $10,000 more a year. She teaches at Momilani Elementary School in Pearl City.

Schools are struggling to hire special education teachers. Hawaii may have found a fix

5:00am April 21, 2022

by Dylan Peers McCoy

In Hawaii, hiring qualified special education teachers became a lot easier after schools started offering a $10,000 pay bump.

Special education teachers are hard to find

Students with disabilities have a right to qualified teachers — but there's a shortage

12:03pm April 20, 2022

by Lee V. Gaines

When schools can't find a licensed special education teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training. It's a practice that concerns some special education experts.

Health & Safety

Yvonne van Amerongen: How can we reimagine elder care around human connection?

8:37am April 08, 2022

In a small village, residents enjoy time at the pub, the theater, and the park—all while living with dementia. Yvonne van Amerongen shares how we can reimagine dementia care with a social approach.

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Monta Knudson is executive director of Bridges to Change.

Oregon has funding for addiction recovery programs, but not enough employees

11:10am March 28, 2022

by Katia Riddle

The state of Oregon is channeling millions of dollars into addiction recovery programs due to a law that passed in 2020. But the state is having trouble finding the workforce to fill these jobs.

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Lara and Trey Garey stand at the bedside of Tom Garey, an Air Force veteran with advanced ALS. Trey, 19, has spent much of his teenage years caring for his father at their Texas home.

Finding help for teens who grow up caregiving for their disabled military parents

3:02pm March 07, 2022

by Carson Frame

More than two million American children and teenagers live with a wounded or ill military parent. Many help with their care and face challenges like stress, anxiety and social isolation.

The American Rescue Plan Act that President Biden signed into law increased funding to Medicaid, but delays and red tape have kept several states from claiming much of the cash almost a year later.

Why billions in Medicaid funds for people with disabilities are being held up

10:37am March 02, 2022

Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated up to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access the funds due to delays and red tape.

Nurse's aide Patricia Johnson has worked for the Ambassador Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on the north side of Chicago for nearly 24 years. The pandemic has been grueling on her and her colleagues. "The hardest part is watching people die alone withou

Health & Safety

The pandemic pummeled long-term care – it may not recover quickly, experts warn

10:34pm February 22, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Hundreds of thousands of nursing home workers have quit since the pandemic began, and the ones still working suffer from burnout. Industry leaders worry the system is fracturing.

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