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Long Beach Resource Guide Cover

Download PDF of Guide in English or Spanish

Long Beach, Nov. 16 – More than 20 community leaders gathered for dinner at disability-owned 4^th and Olive Wednesday night to celebrate the release of the first-ever comprehensive catalog of resources for residents of Long Beach living with disabilities. The guide was made possible by the Long Beach Community Foundation and a grant from the Knight Foundation.

The community resource list guide, which is available in both English and Spanish, is part of a larger project to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities in Long Beach. Long Beach is home to more than 46,000 working-age people with disabilities, while local schools teach more than 9,000 students with disabilities. Currently, only 21 percent of Long Beach residents with disabilities have jobs in the community compared to the national average of 34 percent.

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Coby Bird and Freddie Highmore of The Good Doctor

Los Angeles, Nov. 15 – This week’s The Good Doctor tackled several important issues – the lack of high expectations for people with disabilities and the lack of training to know how to best recognize and assist people with disabilities.

In the beginning of the episode Dr. Shaun Murphy recognizes the patient Liam, played by Coby Bird, a teenage actor with autism, has autism and does not like being touched. “You’re scaring him,” he says to the paramedics. “He’s not psychotic. He’s autistic.”

Twitter user @TVAddict617 points out how important it is that he spoke up for the patient, as many medical professionals lack enough training and may mislabel a patient with a disability.

I’m so glad Shaun spoke up for this patient. Many times, a patient is severely mislabeled and mistreated by medical ppl instead of them recognizing key factors like special needs, being deaf, etc. Those docs need to open their eyes! #TheGoodDoctor

— TV Addict (@TVAddict617) November 14, 2017

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Coby Bird and Freddie Highmore of The Good Doctor

Los Angeles, Nov. 12 – On Monday, Nov. 13, Coby Bird will be a guest star on ABC’s The Good Doctor. Bird was diagnosed with autism at the age of five. At fifteen years old, he stands out in the crowd at six feet tall.

Bird plays a patient with autism who causes the main character, Dr. Shaun Murphy, to reflect on his own diagnosis of autism.

Murphy is a doctor with autism and savant spectrum played by Freddie Highmore, who is not on the spectrum. The doctor takes on the case of a patient with autism (Bird).

“You’re scaring him,” Murphy says in a preview. “He’s not psychotic; he’s autistic.”

Bird’s character, who feels comfortable with Murphy, requests him to be his surgeon. Murphy’s supervisor has yet to let him do a real surgery.

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Rockville, Md., Nov. 11 – RespectAbility congratulates GLAAD on releasing the 2017-2018 Where We Are on TV Report, which includes the only analysis of primetime scripted series regulars on broadcast networks of characters with disabilities. Largely known for tracking the number of LGBTQ characters on broadcast and cable networks, as well as streaming services, the Where We Are on TV Report also tracks racial, gender and disability inclusion on television.

The amount of regular primetime broadcast characters counted who have a disability has slightly increased to 1.8 percent, but that number still vastly underrepresents the actualities of Americans with disabilities. There are only two characters across all three platforms that are depicted has HIV-positive, a decrease of one from last year.

RespectAbility agrees with GLAAD that #RepresentationMatters. Just as GLAAD will continue to work alongside the industry to tell LGBTQ stories on screen and further the conversation through their year-round work, RespectAbility will continue to do so for full representation of people with disabilities – including those with disabilities who are LGBTQ.

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Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 7 – For children with disabilities, early intervention provides a stronger foundation on which motor, social and academic skills can be strengthened. The Stramski Children’s Development Center offers therapy and support to assist children with disabilities, helping them get a head start and keep up with their peers as they grow older, increasing their opportunities and competencies.

The Stramski Center is headed by its Director, Dr. Gary Feldman. It was founded in 1975 by Dr. Geraldine A. Stramski, first called the Children’s Memorial Hospital Auxiliary before being renamed in 1991. Since then, the center has expanded its programs into many disciplines. They serve the children of the Long Beach area with any neurodevelopmental, genetic, craniofacial or psychological issues as well as those with sleep disorders. Stramski also supports families looking to adopt internationally.

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 28 – This week on This Is Us, Kevin (Justin Hartley) has a drug misuse disorder; he is living with an addiction to pills. The audience watches as Kevin is trying to recover from his knee surgery in order to ensure an immediate and speedy return to his role on the movie set. The doctor prescribes Vicodin to manage Kevin’s pain. The first fill of the prescription quickly becomes a refill and then another until finally the doctor refuses to give Kevin access to any more pills.

In this episode, the audience witnesses the effects that the misuse disorder can have on the user and his or her relationships. Kevin becomes disengaged and solely focused on finding more medication while his relationship with his girlfriend begins to spiral downward. While she is a doctor, she does not know he has become addicted.

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Washington, D.C., Oct. 27 – “I woke up in the morning to my wife screaming, ‘Thad, wake up! Thad, wake up!’” said Todd Burke, father of then 22-year-old Thad Burke. The grieving father spoke with a shaky voice through tears to an audience of journalists and advocates live on stage at The Washington Post’s panel on ‘Addiction In America: A Nation Responds’ last week.

Clutched in his hands a tin can of what formerly held protein powder that now held his son’s ashes, Burke shared his story.

Thadeus A. Burke died on Oct. 2, 2016. He was addicted to opioids and overdosed on heroin. He was one of the “estimated 62,000 people who died of a drug overdose in 2016,” according to Lenny Bernstein, a Health and Medicine reporter for The Washington Post.

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States Celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month with a Proclamation or Event (highlighted in red)

Rockville, Md., Oct. 25 – In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), 26 governors have joined together to show their support through public proclamations, executive orders and press statements. Expanding employment opportunities is not partisan, as both Democrats and Republicans are quick to recognize the abilities of what people with disabilities can accomplish.

“Disability Employment Awareness Month is a great way to emphasize the importance of the contributions of persons with disabilities,” said Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana. “Our businesses and communities can greatly benefit from the integrated, competitive employment of persons with disabilities.”

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s NDEAM statement argued that “people with disabilities offer a wide range of expertise and play an integral role in our efforts to build an inclusive community and strong economy.”

The nation’s governors are critical partners in the continuing effort to advance job opportunities for millions of people with disabilities. Governors can drive policy, prioritizes programs and bring attention to what people with disabilities can accomplish if given a fair chance. Over the past four years, RespectAbility, a nonprofit fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities, has had the pleasure of meeting with 44 governors to talk about disability employment and advocate for best practices. We have forged partnerships with Republicans and Democrats alike, who are committed to the idea that people with disabilities deserve the opportunity to earn an income and achieve independence, just like anyone else.

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Rockville, Md., Oct. 25 – IBM always has been inclusive of the disability community ever since they first hired a person with a disability in 1914. Since then, the company has taken numerous steps and created various programs to ensure that people with disabilities are well accommodated for within their organization and that their consumers with disabilities are provided with accessible and sound products.

More than 25 years ago, Yves Veulliet, a wheelchair user, started as an entry-level administrative assistant at IBM.

“IBM already had very high accessibility standards back then and I could work without any obstacles,” he said. “All my colleagues could interact with me easily and I felt completely autonomous.”

In 2005 he was promoted to Global Disability & Inclusion Manager. “To me, it was a way of paying back IBM for all they allowed me to be and become in my professional path.”

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