Ollibean Think Tank

Ollibean Think Tank2012-06-27T10:32:21+00:00

Thank You, Ed Roberts

"And we’re going to develop leadership, that has a fundamental difference and that is, it's inclusive . It believes in people, and in our strengths together . And we are going to change our society. " Ed Roberts

Senator Harkin Delivers Speech in ASL Upon ADA Passage in 1990

Upon passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 13th, 1990, Senator Tom Harkin delivered a speech on the Senate floor in American Sign Language. Harkin, whose brother Frank was deaf, was the lead Senate author of the ADA, which was enacted later that year. His speech is the first in American Sign Language to be delivered from the Senate floor.

  • .There’s none exempt from this disability community, and as a matter of fact we’re the cool community, because we accept everybody.” Keith Jones

Disability Activist Keith Jones on Community

"So let us remember that when we teach, when we educate, we make policy, we make decisions that we do it with a conscience and that we remember that we are leaving fingerprints on forever." Keith Jones

Amy Sequenzia: To You, Young Autistic Friend

Autistic advocate and poet Amy Sequenzia's message of acceptance and respect for young autistics for 2012 Autistics Speaking Day. "There is nothing wrong with being who you are. You are perfect in your uniqueness."

  • Because we are all human beings and ‘disability’ does not define a person. And I hated social injustice and inequality from a very young age. I dislike ‘disability labels’ and I feel that children deserve something better than to be segregated and denied an equal education and a means of communication on grounds of disability. Richard Attfield activist. author. human.

Change Leader: Richard Attfield

Richard Attfield, a contributing author to "Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone", is passionate about the rights of children with disability labels to have equal access to education and communication supports.

Amy Sequenzia: Does it matter?

Should it matter that some of us are labeled intellectually disabled? Read the definitions, look at us in a realistic way and ask yourself; Does it matter? Aren’t we all worthy?

Autistic Man, Jesse Saperstein Free Falls to End Bullying

Best-selling author, autism advocate and motivational speaker Jesse A. Saperstein is spreading an Anti-Bullying movement across America with his “Free-Falling to End Bullying in 2012” YouTube video hoping to put an end to torment in and out of the classroom.

Being Where I Can Simply Be

After a three-day conference, I needed to sleep. I needed to sleep because I was dreamy, trying to keep the feeling of being in a place where I can be myself and also be a little bit like a star. Also, building community.

Intersection of Law, Education and Civil Rights

As a deaf-blind student with very limited sight and hearing, Haben Girma '13 learned that you must be a self-advocate and come up with creative solutions to the problems you face. If that fails, she says, then the law can be a strong ally.

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