Cameron S. Mitchell returns to the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge for his third year with “Kryptonite,” starring Grammy-nominated R&B singer Shanice and Switched at Birth actor Ryan Lane. In this emotionally charged film, old flames Imani (Shanice) and Alex (Lane) reconnect at her concert after being estranged for two years. One has a secret that will change their lives forever.

Founded by Nic Novicki, the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is an annual five-day competition in which filmmakers must create original three-to-five minute films based on a different theme each year. This year’s theme was romance.

“When I heard the theme, my mind immediately went to all of the little intricate moments that we have yet to see portrayed on screen when disabled people are involved,” Mitchell says. “It was important to the whole team that this romance wasn’t perfect, that it had ups and downs and everything in between.” [continue reading…]

As a person with a disability, I understand the challenges of air travel and the importance of proper accommodations. Recently, I had an experience with a well-known airline that left me feeling disregarded and mistreated.

I planned to attend the Slamdance Film Festival in Salt Lake City as the founder of the Unstoppable Program, a film program dedicated to supporting and elevating filmmakers and content with/about disabilities. As someone diagnosed with sickle cell and pulmonary hypertension, I require a Personal Oxygen Concentrator (POC) for breathing assistance. To ensure I could travel safely, I made prior arrangements for wheelchair assistance and oxygen needs with the airline I was traveling with.

However, upon arriving at the airport, I was met with resistance from airline agents. Despite having an FAA-approved POC, they informed me that I needed a prescription from my doctor to prove my need for oxygen and six backup batteries for my POC, which I had already purchased at great expense. I was then made to complete a form for a company called Oxygen2Go about my POC, and my wheelchair was pushed into a corner on the other side of the airport, leaving me ignored for hours about my status to fly. In the end, the airline refused to let me fly, causing me to miss the festival’s opening night.

This experience left me feeling unseen, chastised, abandoned, and an unnecessary burden no one wanted to deal with. [continue reading…]

As a fourth-generation Mexican-American from Southern California, Cesar Chavez Day has become a day for me to honor my ancestors and living relatives who worked up and down the state in packing houses, lemon groves, and strawberry fields. Given that the holiday also falls at the tail end of Women’s History Month, my thoughts are inevitably centered on all the women in my family who toiled in the shadows so others could have greater opportunities.

My family matriarch, Refugio “Cuca” Cordova de Marquez, was an indigenous woman from Jalisco. She was married as a teenager and followed her husband north, where she was eventually able to purchase her own property after becoming a widow. After decades of agricultural work, she developed tuberculosis and diabetes.

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Los Angeles, March 30 – During the past few years, we have been excited to see growing authentic autistic representation on our screens. On April 1, we will be introduced to a new character, June, who is both autistic and AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander).

The Ghost and Molly McGee is a Disney Channel animated series that follows an unlikely bond between an exuberant tween, Molly, and a grumpy ghost named Scratch. The two are eternally connected thanks to Scratch’s backfiring curse. Season two introduces new neighbors, the Chens – Ruben, Esther, Ollie, and June (the autistic character).

I couldn’t believe it when RespectAbility’s SVP, Lauren Appelbaum, brought me in to work on this show. It was exactly the type of work I hoped to do! [continue reading…]

Transcript

Ben Bond: Hello, my name is Ben Bond. I am the Faith Inclusion and Belonging Associate here at RespectAbility. I use he/they pronouns. I’m a white genderqueer person with brown hair, glasses, and beard, with a burgundy shirt. I am here to welcome Feryaal.

Feryaal Tahir: Hi everyone. My name is Feryaal Tahir. I am a South Asian female, and I’m wearing a black head scarf and a beige shirt. I am coming to you from the organization called Muhsen, which is Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs. And I look forward to talking to you all today about Ramadan, and some things about what can be challenging and what can be beneficial for all individuals. [continue reading…]

Transcript

Chag sameach! Happy Passover! My name is Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, and I’m going to speak for a few minutes about celebrating Passover in an accessible and inclusive manner. [continue reading…]

In the Christian tradition, Holy Week is the last week of Lent. The significant days within Holy Week often include but are not limited to: Palm Sunday, when Jesus enters Jerusalem; Maundy Thursday, where Jesus has his last supper with the Disciples; Good Friday, which commemorates the death of Jesus; and Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ.

These services are of deep spiritual, theological, and communal significance for the Christian community. Unsurprisingly, they are also significant for Disabled Christians. It is vital as faith leaders and community members to work with fellow Disabled Christians to create worship services during Holy Week, where we experience inclusion and belonging during this sacred time.

As a faith leader, I want to offer concrete examples of how our services can implement accessibility measures during Holy Week. I hope these examples inspire us to think more broadly about accessibility in our services and communities. [continue reading…]

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, RespectAbility reached out to our Entertainment Lab alumni network and asked them to share their favorite TV shows or movies featuring authentic portrayals of Disabled women, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals. If you’re looking for something new to watch, check out their list of recommendations below – including some projects created by and/or starring various members of our alumni network! [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., March 26 – As we celebrate Women’s History Month, RespectAbility recognizes the important contributions made by women and people of other marginalized gender identities this month, every month, and throughout the history of the United States.

22 Million Women Live with Disabilities in the U.S.

The Census Bureau estimates that there are, in total, more than 61 million Americans living with some form of disability. It is important to note this includes more than 22 million women in the United States. There unfortunately is a lack of data regarding non-binary people with disabilities, so these statistics only include people who identify as women.

In fact, those who identify as women report higher rates of disability than their male-identifying counterparts. According to the most recent Census Bureau disability data, released by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, 13.3 percent of women living in the community (not institutionalized) in America had disabilities, compared to 12.8 percent of men in America who reported a disability in 2021.

Despite significant gains across multiple sectors of American society, disabled women still face worse employment outcomes than men with disabilities. Out of approximately 10.8 million working-age women with disabilities, only 39.3 percent had jobs, compared to an employment rate of 42.2 percent for 10.5 million working-age disabled men. [continue reading…]