Our Ability Podcast John Robinson

Stephen Kuusisto directs BBI’s Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach initiative. A University Professor at Syracuse, he is the author of the memoirs Planet of the Blind (a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year”). A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, and The Ohio State University.

We talk to Steve after years of friendship and discuss ableism, entrepreneurship, and poetry.

Judith Heumann is a pioneer in the disability community and was called a "Badass" by the Washington Post.  The disability community needs more badasses!  It's a great honor that we were able to share 30 minutes discussing disability and the human experience.

Judy recently published her autobiography Being Heumann: an Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist is featured in Crip Camp and wrote a self-described children's book titled Rolling Warrior.  We discuss the books, friendships, and what ableism means in today's world.

In the second part, we continue to explore aging with a disability.

Doug Hamlin and Lynne Nicolson discuss physical therapy and aging with a disability. Doug Hamlin is an author, former business owner, consultant, and philanthropist. Doug is a quadriplegic from an injury nearly 40 years ago. Lynne is a physiatrist with Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady New York.

In our second episode of disability in the human experience, Doug Hamlin and Lynne Nicolson discuss physical therapy and aging with a disability. Doug Hamlin is an author, former business owner, consultant, and philanthropist. Doug is a quadriplegic from an injury nearly 40 years ago. Lynne is a physiatrist with Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady New York.

This is the first of two parts: part one explores the original injury and some of the thoughts towards rehabilitation. In the second part, we will explore aging with a disability.

Jenna McClosky the outreach coordinator for New York ABLE. Together we discussed the human experience of disability in relation to financial needs, the New York ABLE account and where we're going in the next five years

The NY ABLE Program is a tax-advantaged savings program for individuals with disabilities and their families to save for their current or long-term needs while maintaining their ability to benefit from federal benefits programs such as SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid. Our program offers multiple investment options including a checking account and debit card option allowing individuals with disabilities to maintain their independence and have quick and easy access to their own money.

Our Ability talks to the “Your Dream, Your Team” group! Yourdreamyourteam.com is a website designed to be used by anyone and everyone who cares about the education, career, and financial outcomes of young people who have disabilities. It shows job seekers with disabilities how to turn people they trust into a team that supports them along their career journey and puts them in charge. It has everything they need to manage their team, including recommendations on who to invite, what to talk about, and when to meet. It also provides tools that other members of the team (parents, teachers, case manager, bosses…) can use to help keep the team person-centered and focused on career outcomes.
The collaborative work group of the following organizations who created the Your Dream, Your Team website included staff from Change Impact, CDO Workforce, Hempstead Works, and Tompkins Workforce New York.  insight, guidance, and content came from an even longer list of amazing contributors from organizations like the New York State Department of Labor, Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR), New York State Office of Children and Family Services, New York State Commission for the Blind, New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, New York State Office of Mental Health, New York State Council on Children and Families, New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation, and New York State Business Leadership Network. Full acknowledgements are available online–the list of people to thank is huge! It was funded 100% through a U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration grant. The total cost of the Disability Employment Initiative Round 8 program is 2.5 million dollars.