The Advocado Press, Inc.

12/19/2025

“I wanna see feisty Disabled people change the world” - Judith "Judy" Heumann

Judy, adoringly referred to as the Mother of Disability Rights, was a lifelong advocate. She was born on this day (Dec 18th) 78 years ago, and contracted polio at the age of two. Her lived experience of disability rooted her work in the disability rights movement, as she was denied access to education and employment opportunities. Judy responded with tenacity, by fiercely advocating for herself and others with disabilities. Through this work, she became the first New York State teacher to use a wheelchair.

Judy's advocacy did not stop there. She led the development and implementation of major legislation i including the IDEA, Section 504, the Americans with Disability Act and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. President Obama appointed Judy as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State. Judy also served as the World Bank’s first Adviser on Disability and Development, where she led the World Bank’s disability work.

The disAbility Law Center of Virginia is deeply inspired by Judy and her dedication to people with disabilities. We hope to honor her legacy through passionate and fierce advocacy for Virginians with disabilities.

12/18/2025

We are reposting episode 42 of the Demand and Disrupt Podcast. We first posted this episode roughly a year ago. We are reposting it in honor of the interview's subject, Paul Erway, who passed away earlier this year. May he rest in peace.

Kimberly talks with Paul Erway about overcoming not one but two major accidents, competing in wheelchair marathons in all 50 states, adaptive sports, and his work helping people regain their ability to drive with Superior Van & Mobility. Plus, Kimberly and Sam talk about all things Thanksgiving,

12/18/2025

Podcast Sponsorships Available!

The Advocado Press is looking for agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals to sponsor episodes of its Demand and Disrupt Podcast. Now over three years old, the D&D podcast has produced 68 episodes focused on disability issues. The episodes cover a great variety of copies, from parenting with disabilities to the disability & justice Initiatives of the Arc of the United States, bird-watching for people with disabilities,. We are looking for sponsorships to continue our podcast's growth.

If you are interested in sponsoring an episode or know a government agency, organization, business, or individual who might be interested in sponsoring an episode, please contact us at [email protected].

(Pictured: The words Demand and Disrupt in large lettering. Below that, the Demand and Disrupt log, a tree with multicolored leaves with a half of sliced avocado in the center of it. Below the image the words, A Disability Podcast and below that the words, The Advocado Press, Inc.

12/15/2025

While we typically do not share the faces of our unhoused friends out of respect for their privacy, today feels important.

Pictured is our dear friend, Mr. Richard, who tragically succumbed to the harsh winter conditions we experienced last winter.

Mr. Richard was a retired physical therapist who worked for many years at the VA Hospital. He loved sharing stories about the veterans he helped after the Vietnam War—stories filled with pride, compassion, and purpose. He loved Reba McEntire, and every week when we served him and asked if he needed anything else, he would smile and say, “Not unless you’ve got Reba in that truck!”

Mr. Richard was a devout Catholic. He loved his church and often shared prayer blankets with others, offering comfort and faith to anyone who needed it. No matter how little he had, he was always willing to help whether that meant lending a hand or sharing a peanut butter sandwich with someone struggling beside him.

Mr. Richard was gone too soon. He lost his life because he was living unsheltered in freezing temperatures.

Mr. Richard was once a baby. Once a student. Once a healer. He deserved warmth, safety, and dignity but instead, he was taken by the streets simply because he was unhoused.

We are sharing his story and his face to remind everyone just how dangerous winter weather is for the people we love and serve. And to remind you that every single person out there has a story. Every one of them matters.

Please check on our unhoused friends this winter. Lives depend on it. ❄️❤️

12/12/2025

A great opportunity from the Pensylvania Assistive Technolgy Foundation.

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST

Registration link: https://bit.ly/2025BuildingAComfortableSmartHome

Registration required. ASL interpretation, captioning and Spanish interpretation will be provided.

This year we will hear from Kirby Smith and Suria Nordin. In July of 2014, Suria, experienced a spinal cord injury that resulted in quadriplegia. Kirby found the technology being offered to improve her life was outdated, expensive, and very limited due to customizations. Suddenly, simple everyday things were challenging. They solved those issues and July of 2015 formed a company to bring these solutions to an underserved population. SunKirb Ideas, LLC offers affordable off-the-shelf consumer-based solutions through technology to give those with disabilities and unique challenges the ability to be more independent and have more control of their environment. This enabled people to control the lights, temperature, turn on and off alarms, control their doors, control music and entertainment, see and communicate remotely, and control the televisions (including the cable box, TiVo, Netflix, and Hulu) using voice commands.

In the past two years, Suria and Kirby took on another huge project, expanding their existing home to include the other side of their century-old rowhome in Old City, Philadelphia. This project provided the opportunity to design and build their newly renovated space to take advantage of the latest smart home technology and other assistive technology to create an updated comfortable and accessible home for both of them.

Suria and Kirby will share their extensive knowledge and experience in designing and building a smart home for accessibility, safety, independence, and comfort.

If you require any accommodations other than those listed above, please email Wendy Davis at [email protected]. Follow PATF on social media to learn more about assistive technology during our AT Awareness campaign.

Suria and Kirby recently expanded their living space into the other half of their century old row home in Old City, Philadelphia. The expansion and remodeling project gave them an opportunity to further integrate smart home technology into their home to make it more comfortable and accessible for Su...

12/12/2025

It's that time again! We're presenting a FREE webinar on Advocacy with the Kentucky Psychological Association and Kentucky Psychological Foundation.

Join Dr. Schuster, Emily Beauregard of Kentucky Voices for Health, State Representative Lisa Willner and State Representative Kim Banta for this event filled with valuable, Kentucky-specific information and a fun story or two!

Register here: https://kpa.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mcform&view=ngforms&id=2263745

12/11/2025

In the wake of new state laws allowing pregnant women to use accessible parking spaces, United Spinal’s Senior Director of Advocacy and Policy, Steve Lieberman, weighs in on the issue.

"A law that grants every pregnant woman — no matter how early or advanced the pregnancy — permission to accessible parking hurts the people who need those spaces," he says

"I have no desire to make things hard for pregnant women. But making additional groups — ones that don’t meet the ADA definition of disability — eligible for accessible parking placards will only exacerbate a terrible situation. Creating separate parking spaces for expectant mothers — something many businesses already do — is fine, so long as those spots are not taken from existing accessible parking."

Read more: https://unitedspinal.org/our-take-on-expanding-accessible-parking-for-pregnant-women/

12/08/2025

Real courage. Real sacrifice. Real change. Presenting *real* Nobel Peace Prize winners!

From ending civil wars to defending human rights to defending democracy against dictators, these mighty women changed the world!

To introduce kids to a few of extraordinary women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize, we recommend "Wangari's Trees of Peace" for ages 5 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/wangari-s-trees), "The House That Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-house-that-jane-built), and "Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls' Rights" for ages 7 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/malala-my-story)

For adult readers, we highly recommend "How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future" by Maria Ressa (https://www.amightygirl.com/stand-up-to-a-dictator), "Jane Addams: Spirit In Action" (https://www.amightygirl.com/jane-addams-spirit-in-action), "Unbowed: A Memoir" by Wangari Maathai (https://www.amightygirl.com/unbowed)

For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

Thanks to the Nobel Peace Center for sharing this image!

12/08/2025

Our friends at Moebius Syndrome Foundation - have launched the Moebius Syndrome Foundation Research Registry with NORD’s IAMRARE® Program!

Each person who participates in the registry can make a significant impact on Moebius syndrome research. They will provide important information to aid in the development of new treatment options and enhance our understanding of this rare disease.

GOAL:
The study, designed by researchers, medical experts, and patients, will provide the opportunity for patients around the world to share information about Moebius syndrome to be used in future research.

The Moebius Syndrome Foundation is launching this study in collaboration with National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. (NORD) an independent nonprofit that built its natural history study platform as part of its mission to help identify and treat all 7,000 rare diseases. The MSF is a member of NORD, and these two organizations will collaborate to understand the challenges of Moebius syndrome and identify opportunities to advance research for this rare disease patient population.

To sign up for the Moebius Syndrome Research Registry or learn more, visit: https://moebius.iamrare.org/

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭:
[email protected]

12/07/2025

Our guest for Episode 68 is David Hartsek, a wheelchair athlete from Lexington, who this past July competed in his 41st consecutive Bluegrass 10K race. David will describe the nature of the incident which caused his paralysis, his career pursuits in the field of IT, and his tremendous triumphs in wheelchair sports ranging from tennis, to basketball, to road racing.

Our guest this week has been a paraplegic since the age of 16, but hasn't allowed this to slow him down in the least!! Meet David Hartsek, a wheelchair athlete from Lexington, who this past July competed in his 41st consecutive Bluegrass 10K race. David will describe the nature of the incident which