Easterseals offers help, hope and answers for children and adults with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs—and for their families—in communities across the United States. We create life-changing solutions through therapy, training, education and support services—so people living with disabilities can live, learn, work, play and contribute to society.
At Easterseals, we believe in possibilities. We are advocates for what people with disabilities and special needs can do when given the chance. We have high expectations. And, very often, people are amazed at what they can achieve.
Identifying and serving young children at risk for developmental
delays and disability
Every year we fail to identify more than a million young children with developmental delays and disabilities. This puts children at a great disadvantage. We offer screening and therapy services through our childcare and early intervention programs—so all kids start school ready to learn with their peers. We know that early identification and treatment for young children are predictors for success over a lifetime.
Assisting a new generation of veterans with special needs and disabilities
Easterseals has provided critical community-based supports and services to military service members, veterans and their families since World War II. Today our focus is on creating community networks for a new generation of more than 2 million veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Our veterans want to contribute at home, but they need access to education, health care and the chance to find meaningful employment. Easterseals is sharing its expertise in training people for employment.
Creating community-based services and family support for adults
with disabilities
Because we believe that everyone has a right to be included in our communities, Easterseals continues to develop services for adults with disabilities, older adults and caregivers. We are helping—so they can live on their own, or with their families, and participate in community life. Whether through work, as volunteers, or as participants in day programs, our goal is to keep people engaged and involved—and out of institutions.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 12:13 PM By Mike Ervin If you ride public transit trains here in Chicago, at each boarding platform you will …
By Mike Ervin If you ride public transit trains here in Chicago, at each boarding platform you will see a couple storage boxes made of silver metal. Each of those boxes contains what’s called a gap filler, which is a fiberglass square with wheels on the side. Gap fillers are painted yellow and on each, planted in blue, is the international symbol of wheelchair access and the words WELCOME ABOARD. The gap filler is about five feet tall and four feet wide. So, whenever I ride the train, I tell my destination to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) customer assistant that’s on duty in the kiosk at the station from where I am departing. The CA, as they are called, then escorts me to the boarding platform. Either that or they meet me there. The CA has a big ring of keys and uses one of them to unlock the nearest silver storage box. They roll out the gap filler. When the train arrives and the doors open, the CA puts the yellow slab in place in front of the door to bridge the gap between the station platform and the train and I roll in. After the train leaves and the CA returns to their kiosk, they contact the CA on duty at the station of my destination to let them know I am coming so that they can be waiting to put down the gap filler when my train arrives so I can roll off. When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, it mandated wheelchair access to all public transportation. So the CTA was faced with the challenge of convincing people with disabilities to try riding the newly-accessible buses and trains. Thus, the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) was formed. JIC members were CTA officials and Chicagoans with disabilities. We met regularly to brainstorm ways to make riding the CTA as smooth as possible for wheelchair users. We knew that the key to getting wheelchair users to try riding was to make them feel welcome. We all agreed that not too many wheelchair users were going to jump on the CTA just because the federal government declared that they had a right to do so. Disabled people were too used to being excluded from the public transit system because of all the physical barriers that kept them out and the reluctance of the CTA to do anything about removing any of those barriers. They needed to be confident that the CTA understood and addressed all of the little details that added up to true accommodation. 
Just adding elevators to make train stations and platforms accessible wasn’t enough. When trains pulled up to the platform and their doors opened to let riders in and out, that would create another barrier. The floor of the train would be a few inches higher than the platform. Most people would just step over that gap without giving it a thought. But that gap could prohibit a wheelchair user from boarding the trains. So the JIC recommended that there be something available at every boarding point that can be deployed to bridge the gap. But there would have to be humans involved because these bridges weren’t going to deploy themselves. It made the most sense that assisting people with disabilities in this way would be one of the job duties of the CA. But what if there was no CA on duty or if they were away from the kiosk assisting somebody else and couldn’t be contacted? In that case, if there was no CA around and a passenger needed the gap filler to get on or off of the train, it would be the job of the person operating the train to get out of the train and deploy it. That’s how the gap fillers and the system of deploying then came to be long, long ago. There are a lot of moving parts, which makes it more likely that something will go wrong. But all I can say is that I have ridden CTA trains hundreds of times. And whenever I’ve needed the gap filler, a CA or train operator has always deployed it. It’s become a matter of routine for CTA employees. When someone who uses a wheelchair shows up to ride, everybody knows just what to do. But one thing that has changed since the ADA became law is that train cars that are much more wheelchair accessible are being manufactured and CTA has put several of them into service. When a train consisting of these cars pulls up and the door opens, the car is usually on the same level as the platform so there’s no need for me to use the gap filler to get on or off. That’s what happened when I rode a CTA train earlier this summer. As I waited on the platform for the train to arrive, the CA vigilantly stood next to me clutching the yellow gap filler. ready to put it in place. But when the train pulled up and the doors opened, it was one of the newer, more accessible cars. The entrance of the doorway was level with the platform so I really didn’t need to use the gap filler to get on. But before I could say anything, the CA was already putting the gap filler in place. So I just thanked him and rolled on. When I arrived at my destination, another CA was waiting on the platform with a gap filler. The doors opened and again, before I knew it, she had put it in place. My return trip went the same way. The train car was one of the new ones so I didn’t need the gap filler to get on or off. But the CAs were always right there to put one in place. And again, the only thing I said to them was thank you. I didn’t want to say or do anything that might discourage any of them from going the extra mile to make people with disabilities feel welcome riding the CTA. Mike Ervin is a writer and disability-rights activist living in Chicago. He is a columnist for the Progressive magazine and writes the blog Smart Ass Cripple.
Friday, September 6, 2024, 1:35 PM By Ashira Greenberg Sex education is a sensitive topic that garners a lot of attention in news and m…
By Ashira Greenberg Sex education is a sensitive topic that garners a lot of attention in news and media. While sex education is intended to keep people safe and prepare youth for life, many people get uncomfortable with how to approach the topic to support young people, which leads to much discussion about how to approach sex education throughout the country. No national laws govern what sex education should include or how content should be taught across the country. Additionally, states’ laws and guidelines can often mean that there is no guarantee that education sufficiently covers the topics that people need to learn to stay healthy. According to SIECUS’ state profiles, several states emphasize abstinence-only education for all students, and so many students are left out of conversation entirely in certain spaces — including LGBTQ+ students, BIPOC students and disabled students. While the focus of this blog is disability and accessibility, reflection on the experiences of different communities is important as people do not live single-issue lives. People with disabilities are a diverse group with different needs and experiences. According to the United Nations , the disability community is the largest minority in the world, and the community intersects with all other communities. The World Health Organization highlights that people with disabilities can identify with any gender as well as with any sexual orientation and the community spans across all cultures. Regardless of identities or background, people with disabilities can be impacted by a full gamut of sexual experiences, including casual encounters, violence and abuse, and long-term committed relationships. According to SIECUS’ 2021 Call-to-Action , however, students with disabilities in the United States are less likely to receive sex education than students who do not have disabilities. Among students with disabilities who do receive formal sex education at school, accommodations and representation within lessons can be limited. Only three states specifically include people with disabilities in sex education requirements, and only five states have additional requirements mandating that health curricula be accessible for people with disabilities. While students with disabilities across the United States may have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan to outline accommodations that must be provided by law to support a given student throughout education, inclusive experiences encompass more than basic accommodations. Legal compliance is key, but a lack of support in classrooms still contributes to risks and harms that impact the disability community. Disability experiences can be more nuanced than legal definitions. Due to a variety of barriers, students with disabilities may have limited access to educational and informational resources, so supportive teachers are key to successful experiences. Best practices for accessible and inclusive lessons foster supportive environments for all students with a wide variety of needs. Setting up the learning environment is key to supporting success for all learners. Ensure that the space is accessible, so all people can easily access bathrooms and personal belongings. Be mindful of noises, scents, room temperature, textures, and lighting to support physical comfort. Recognize that students may require accessible furniture, adaptive devices, support people, or service animals to engage in sessions. Setting up the space to accommodate such needs is critical. Setting classroom expectations, like “raise your hand before speaking” and “one speaker at a time,” can help facilitate access by creating a culture of engagement that meets people’s needs. Some expectations may also need to be adjusted to support student needs. Students may need breaks during lessons to allow for movement, snacks, drinks or restroom needs, so plan to be flexible with timing for activities and offer extra time when needed. In addition to a confidential space for questions, tell students how to best communicate concerns with you and ask students for the best way to communicate with them. 
Beyond the learning structure, develop a classroom culture with resources that support different learning styles and highlight disability experiences. Educational frameworks, such as Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction, can set the groundwork for accessible lessons. Universal Design for Learning encourages teachers to facilitate lessons that allow for multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression for students to demonstrate learning in different ways. Beyond Universal Design for Learning, Differentiated Instruction tailors education to students’ individual learning needs. Be mindful of accessibility of all materials, and consider which textual, audio, visual, and tactile resources will best support learning. Choose educational modalities based on students’ unique needs and offer a variety of different options when possible to maximize the opportunity for engagement with content. When sharing content, clearly define terms to minimize miscommunication and facilitate understanding in areas that may be less familiar or especially sensitive. Emphasize the many potential ways that people can experience fulfilling friendships, relationships, and sexuality. Make sure students know about different ways that abuse can show up in different kinds of relationships. Expand messages about safety and respect to include the needs as well as experiences of students with disabilities who may have some unique concerns. With respect to both consensual and non-consensual interactions, include information on sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, and contraception. Modify role play or story prompts to incorporate a variety of disabilities in different roles throughout scenarios. Support students with disabilities to navigate situations through self-advocacy and asking for help when needed. If content becomes overwhelming or triggering for some students, allow space for self-care. People need to support each other to create the healthier spaces that are the goal of sex education. A note on representation: Inclusive representation that shows and tells the story of disability is important in all aspects of life. In the realm of sexuality and relationships where people with disabilities are typically excluded, representation is even more critical to positive experiences. While books, television shows and movies are starting to openly explore sex for disabled people, many resources may be lacking in authenticity and give a mixed impression of disabled experiences. While disabled experiences can be complex, teachers should be mindful of ways that the media can reinforce tropes about disability in the context of sexuality and relationships. Try to select media that includes authentic representation of disability as well as media that was developed directly by disabled people. Many disabled creators and authors have developed videos, books or other resources that explore disabled sexuality as well as relationships. That said, a representation gap exists in the experience of disabled people in sexual/reproductive healthcare. Healthcare is a key part of actualizing sexuality education safely, and many educators offer “talk to your trusted adult or your healthcare provider” as the automatic response to questions that feel more nuanced or less familiar, which often includes questions about disability. Unfortunately, access to trusted adults and healthcare providers for support with sexual/reproductive health can be uniquely difficult for people with disabilities. Some healthcare spaces have developed articles and videos for people with disabilities, so keeping resources available can be helpful. All people need affection, love, acceptance and companionship. Disability does not negate a person’s sexuality, bodily autonomy and the right to positive relationships. While disability is common throughout the world, gaps in education harm the disability community, and a lack of support in the classroom can add to the challenge of accessing safe, healthy and fulfilling sexual experiences. B est practice guidance fosters supportive environments for all students with a wide variety of different kinds of needs. Access is just one step to inclusion for people with different identities, but without access, full inclusion is impossible. Students with disabilities deserve access to education like students without disabilities, and all students deserve access to respectful relationships. 
Ashira Greenberg (she/her/hers) graduated with her Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and received her CHES certification. Ashira is passionate about child, youth and family health with an interest in improving educational and healthcare experiences for all young people. Ashira is especially committed to advocacy and health promotion on behalf of youth with disabilities, chronic illness and complex health needs.
Tuesday, August 27, 2024, 10:00 AM By Dom Evans When I was in high school, I didn’t understand that my guidance counselor should …
By Dom Evans When I was in high school, I didn’t understand that my guidance counselor should be helping me figure out what colleges I wanted to attend. I believe this was largely because of ableism. My guidance counselor would occasionally see me, but never specifically to talk about my future, probably because he didn’t think I had much of a future. I also got the feeling that he thought because I handled so much of my life on my own, this was just another area I could figure out myself. Since the time I was four, I knew I wanted to be an actor. As a teenager, I was heavily involved in theater and acting and had quite a lot of experience and training. I should’ve been looking at schools like NYU, USC, or UCLA. I should’ve been training and preparing for auditions. Instead, I was floundering — I was stagnant in my approach to contacting schools. I got an offer to apply to Fordham, and I did, getting into their theater program. I was offered a chance to audition but my family believed I couldn’t go to school outside of Ohio if I wanted assistance from Ohio’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR). 
Nobody told me about BVR either. I’m not quite sure how I got connected with them, but they were also supposed to help me figure out my collegiate goals, and they told me I shouldn’t even bother applying outside of Ohio. The only problem was, there were better schools for what I wanted to do outside Ohio and I should have found a way to go to them — scholarships or something else. In the end, I first went to Bowling Green State University, 30 minutes from my house. I then transferred down to Wright State University, which was a few hours from my house, but much more physically accessible. Both schools had pretty good theatre programs, but because of my ADHD, it was near impossible for me to figure out auditioning, and with WSU in particular, I wasn’t even prepared for auditions when I was finally scheduled to do so. I didn’t practice the way I should have, or invest time in working out what I needed to do for my audition. I believe this is because of executive functioning issues that were never addressed. So, what ended up happening was that it took me SEVEN years of schooling to get my degree, and I went to three different schools. I spent a little time at the University of Michigan-Flint, also in their theatre program. By the time I transferred back to WSU, I was no longer pursuing theater. I was studying film. My goals had changed because my life had changed and that was partly because of my disability. I had been injured multiple times and no longer had the capacity to be a working actor, so I decided to go behind the screen. Again, I had to figure everything out alone. My guidance counselor didn’t treat me like my peers because, like everyone else, he just did not know what to do with me because of my disability. Unfortunately, there’s nobody there to hold your hand and walk you through the process when you are disabled in most situations, and because of that I feel a lot of us miss out on a lot of opportunities. I probably wouldn’t have gone to any of the schools I went to except for University of Michigan, if I had an actual choice. When you require homecare, when you can’t travel without assistance, these things all make it difficult to go to school far away. That being said, disabled people can do it. There were many people at WSU who came from different areas because the school was physically accessible to wheelchair users. What really needs to happen is that when you are in high school, starting around junior year, you need to figure out what you want to do. Do you want to go to college? Do you want to go to a trade school? Sometimes going to college can help you figure out what you want to do, so if you are not sure what you want to do, go for a year and explore different classes. 
If you do have a goal, what are the best schools for what you want to do? Do you have the grades to get into that school? If you do, what requirements for your disability are you going to need to accommodate? Can that school handle those accommodations? These are the first questions you need to ask yourself. There are questions I desperately wish I had asked myself or someone else had asked me. I believe I would have wasted less time in school if I had a better plan. Once you figure those things out, what is your plan? You should obviously visit the school. Don’t attend a school you haven’t visited, especially if you are disabled. Once I got to WSU and I realized how physically accessible it was, I knew that It was going to be a breeze getting around. That was never a problem and I was able to become independent because I was able to live on my own on campus at WSU. If you need homecare, that is something you need to figure out. Most states will allow you to still get your homecare if you are going to school somewhere else as long as your family/guardian is still living in the state that is providing the homecare. However, you’ll want to figure out home care issues before heading to college because having to figure it out while you’re going to school is a total headache After you have visited, you should definitely talk to disability services and make sure they know who you are. Make sure they know what you need them to help you with in terms of accommodation. You may have to give them paperwork and something from your doctor so they can offer you services. It’s good to get that done as soon as possible. If you have a major that you are going to declare, you also should reach out to the department. They need to become familiar with you and your accommodations. I always met with or emailed teachers if I could before class to let them know who I was and hash out anything I needed from them before classes began. A lot of planning for college when it comes to being disabled is preparation. I didn’t understand I needed preparation and my education suffered as a result. It took me longer to graduate and figure out how I could accommodate myself. Reach out to your guidance counselor now to help you with all of this rather than waiting until your senior year when they may not have the means or knowledge to help you figure out your past forward through higher education. Dom Evans is the founder of FilmDis, a media monitoring organization that studies and reports on disability representation in the media. He is a Hollywood consultant, television aficionado, and future showrunner. His knowledge and interest on disability extends through media, entertainment, healthcare, gaming and nerdy topics, marriage equality, sex and sexuality, parenting, education, and more. He was also featured in Season 1 of Everything You Know About Disability is Wrong, an Easterseals podcast.
