If there’s a disaster or emergency, planning for your healthcare needs – which includes specialized medical services, attendant services, and mental health supports – could help you stay as independent as possible during a potentially chaotic time.

Provider services

Whether you receive healthcare services in the community or in a group setting, you should continue to have access to services when a disaster strikes. Be proactive and ask your provider about their disaster or emergency plan so you know what to expect when a disaster occurs.

Medications

If a disaster or emergency turns your life upside down, you still want to have access to your medications – no matter where you end up. Make sure you have enough medications and keep your medications safe. Also, learn how you can refill a prescription if you run out of one during a disaster.

Mental health care

Your mental and behavioral health could be impacted by the trauma and uncertainty associated with a disaster and recognizing your personal needs is critical to your recovery and overall well-being. Learn about the potential mental and behavioral health resources and supports that could help you recover from a disaster.

Additional information

For a deeper dive on each of these topics, see the resources listed below.

• Maintaining Healthcare When Disaster Strikes
• Medications and Disasters
• Disaster Mental Health Care

By now most people know that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a ground-breaking law that protects the rights of those with disabilities and enables them to be fully included in American life. As we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the passage of this legislation, we did some research and found out a few things about the ADA that we bet you didn’t know:

1. President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA with 59 pens, each of which were later given to key figures involved in the advocacy for disability rights.
2. Since 2000, 181 countries have have passed disability civil rights laws inspired by the ADA.
3. More than half of accommodations for people with disabilities under the ADA cost employers NOTHING. The average for other accommodations is about $500.
4. The ADA also applies to digital accessibility, not just physical. In fact, the number of web accessibility lawsuits that were brought to federal court citing Title III of the ADA reached a new record in 2022, with plaintiffs filing 3,255 lawsuits—a 12 percent increase from 2021.
5. Family members and others that have a relationship with a disabled person cannot be discriminated against by an employer or potential employer for that association. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire an individual who has a child with a disability based on an assumption that the applicant will be away from work excessively or be otherwise unreliable. (Learn more about the ADA’s Association Provision.)

Join us in celebrating the ADA anniversary by purchasing one of our Imagine t-shirts. Proceeds from sales support our work to create a more accessible Lone Star State. (Sales end July 30, 2023.)

Knowing your rights and then learning how to effectively advocate for yourself are extremely important skills for people with disabilties to have. That’s why we are excited to announce a new 3-part video series, How to Be Your Own Best Advocate.

These videos and accompanying resources were created in partnership with DRTx Self-Advocate Intern Larissa Minner of the University of Texas ACT-LEND Practicum Program and is based on her research, and her professional and personal experience.

Video 1 covers:

• Defining self-advocacy
• Tips for problem solving
• How to be assertive vs. aggressive

Video 2 explains:

• What partial disclosure is
• Why and how to use self-disclosure

Video 3 discusses:

• Facing external obstacles such as people’s attitudes toward your disability
• Dealing with your own self-talk and internal struggles

Accompanying handouts are available linked below.

• Self-Advocacy Overview
• Self-Advocacy Problem Solving
• Partial Disclosure

Our thanks to Larissa for her great work on this important project. 

This month we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of one of the most important pieces of legislation in our nation’s history – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Passed in 1990, this civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

The law’s purpose is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The law was amended in 2008 to making a number of significant changes to the definition of “disability.”

Though we’ve seen many changes over the years in making our nation more accessible, Texas still has some work to do. Disability Rights Texas remains dedicated to creating a Lone Star State where people with disabilities can live and thrive in our communities.

You can celebrate the ADA this year and support our work by purchasing one of our “Imagine” t-shirts. Spread a message of inclusion while supporting our work to make Texas fully accessible. And buy a few extra for family and friends!

Thank you for your continued support of our work.

 

Summer is here, and that’s not always a good thing.

Texas is hot, and it’s going to get hotter. As temperatures rise and we see more extreme heat and wildfires, more people with disabilities and service animals may face dangerous – even life-threatening – conditions.

With recent temperatures already exceeding 100° across many parts of the state, the time to prepare is now. Below are some things you can do to stay safe.

• Know what’s up: watch the weather so you know when extreme heat is coming and make sure you understand the different heat-related warnings.
• Stay cool: before the heat arrives, prepare your home to keep the hot air out and the cool air in. And know where your local cooling centers are if you have to leave.
• Signs of illness: understand heat-related illness so you know what symptoms to look for and what to do.
• Wildfires: take proactive steps to protect your home from wildfires and create your own wildfire action plan.

For more information about these tips and others, see our new resource:

• English: Be Prepared for Texas Heat & Wildfires
• Spanish: Prepárese para el calor y los incendios forestales de Texas

Hurricanes can cause all types of problems that turn your life upside down. They can disrupt access to things like food and water, power, cell phone service, and more. It’s important to be prepared so you can deal with whatever a hurricane throws at you.

Hurricane season officially started June 1. Whether you’re a preparedness newbie or someone who has prepared in the past, take this opportunity to make sure you’re as ready as possible. Get started by reading – and thinking about – the questions below.

• Food and water: do you have enough food and water on hand, and do you know where it will be distributed?
• Transportation: if you leave your home, do you have access to reliable transportation?
• Housing: is there a place you can go if you have to leave your home?
• Power: do you have a backup power source in the event there’s a long power outage?
• Healthcare: do you have a plan for accessing medical care during and after a hurricane?
• Get help: do you know what resources will be available to help you recover from a hurricane?

For more information about the questions listed above and more, see our new hurricane preparedness guide:

• English: Hurricane Preparedness for Texans with Disabilities
• Spanish: Preparación ante huracanes para personas discapacitadas en Texas

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a great time to remind ourselves about what we can do to advance awareness, acceptance, and inclusion of people with mental health conditions.

People with mental health conditions are just like everyone else. They have hopes and dreams, and they experience the ups and downs that life brings. They want to live in the community, spend time with friends, have a job, and make their own decisions. They want what most people want.

They also have the same rights as everyone else including the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to be free from discrimination. If a person is receiving mental health services, they have specific rights, whether they live in the community or an institution.

Protecting Rights

Protecting the rights of people with mental illness is a big part of what we do at Disability Rights Texas (DRTx). That’s because historically, people with mental health issues were often confined against their will and subjected to unnecessary, inhumane treatments. Those who were not institutionalized still faced an uphill battle against discrimination and stigmatization.

As society’s understanding has grown, some attitudes and policies have shifted. Laws were passed and programs were established to ensure the rights of people with mental health conditions were protected, including the establishment of agencies like ours.

Knowing the Facts

But as you know, we still have a long way to go. For example, the media, public officials, and others are quick to link mass shootings to mental illness. Yet according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):

Most people with mental health conditions are no more likely to be violent than anyone else. Only 3%–5% of violent acts can be attributed to individuals living with a serious mental illness. In fact, people with severe mental illnesses are over 10 times more likely to be victims of a violent crime than the general population.

It Could Be You

Today, an estimated one in five people will experience a mental health issue this year, and half of all people will experience one in their lifetime. Anyone can have a mental health condition, regardless of their background or lifestyle. Even if you don’t experience a mental health issue, odds are someone you know will.

So let’s stop the stigma by changing the way we think and talk about mental illness. Because tomorrow you could find it’s your loved one – or you – who you are talking about.

Next Steps

Get Involved: We are now accepting applications from those interested in becoming a member of our Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Council. The PAIMI Council includes Texans with mental illness, family members and professionals who advise DRTx on policies and priorities specific to our advocacy for those with mental health issues. The application deadline is July 31, 2023.

Know Your Rights: To make sure you know your rights and the rights of others, see the self-advocacy resources on the DRTx website and also the Rights of All Persons Receiving Mental Health Services in the Texas Administrative Code. If you think your rights have been violated, you can apply to get help from DRTx.

People with disabilities experience sexual assault at alarmingly high rates – much higher than people without disabilities. Consider these statistics:

• 90% of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) will experience sexual abuse at some point during their lives.[1]
• Women with I/DD are 10.7 times as likely to be sexually assaulted than other women.[2]
• 50% of people with I/DD will experience 10 or more incidents of sexual abuse.[1]

A couple of the reasons people with disabilities experience sexual assault are the closeness of the perpetrators and barriers to reporting what happened.

Perpetrators

People with disabilities can be easy targets and the perpetrators are likely to be someone close to them, like a family member or caregiver. The perpetrator has easy access to the person with a disability, and knows their vulnerabilities, routines, etc. For example, if the person with a disability spends part of their day in an isolated setting – where no one is watching – a perpetrator may exploit this situation.

Barriers

A person with a disability who has been sexually assaulted may face various barriers that prevent them from reporting what happened to them. Below are just some of the potential barriers.

• Retaliation: The individual may fear that the perpetrator, who has access to them, could retaliate if they found out it was reported.
• Credibility: Society may incorrectly perceive people with disabilities as being less credible, so the individual may think no one will believe them, even if they do report the incident.
• Stigma: Most people who experience sexual assault don’t want to talk about it for various reasons, including the stigma associated with these incidents.
• Accessibility: Methods for reporting incidents may not be accessible to people with disabilities.

Report it

Even with the challenges described above, it’s important that instances of sexual assault experienced by people with disabilities are reported. The survivor should be able to pursue justice and the perpetrator should be held accountable.

According to Texas laws, anyone who has a reasonable cause to believe an adult with a disability is being abused must report it to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).

There are a few ways you can report abuse to DFPS:

• Phone: 1-800-252-5400
• Online: Texas Abuse Hotline Website
• Relay: Use the relay service of your choice or use Relay Texas at 7-1-1. Tell the relay operator to call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400.

Also, for additional information about getting help and support, see Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities.

 

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

 

Footnotes:

[1] Valenti-Hein, D. & Schwartz, L. 1995. The Sexual Abuse Interview for those with Developmental Disabilities. Santa Barbara, CA: James Stanfield Publishing Company
[2]Carlene Wilson & Neil Brewer (1992) The incidence of criminal victimisation of individuals with an intellectual disability, Australian Psychologist, 27:2, 114-117, DOI: 10.1080/00050069208257591

Did you know that there are different ways to refer to different people with disabilities? While there are different opinions within the disability community about how to talk about people with disabilities, being respectful and asking an individual about their preference are always good ideas.

What’s the difference?

Identity-first language is a way of referring to individuals that emphasizes what they consider to be a core part of their identity. Identity-first language is more common in the autism community, where some people identify as autistic and work to dispel the notion that autism as an unfortunate affliction or defining characteristic.

Examples of identity-first language in the autism community could include “autistic person” or “autistic individual.”

People-first language, on the other hand, puts the person before their disability or condition. The theory here is that someone is a person first and not defined by their disability. Historically, people with disabilities were often referred by the name of their disability, which denied their individualism and, in a way, dehumanized them.

A broad example of people-first language is “person with a disability.” More specific examples could include “an individual with Down syndrome” or “a person with an intellectual disability.”

Our poll

Throughout the disability community, preferences on how to refer to people vary widely, which was reflected in a poll we conducted of our social media followers. We had 129 people answer our poll and share their opinions on this topic. Here were the results:

• 11% preferred identity-first language
• 56% preferred people-first language
• 26% were okay with using either
• 7% answered “other” but didn’t tell us why

One person who preferred identity-first language said, “I’m disabled. My daughter is disabled. Person-first is often (not always) pushed by parents and providers as if disabled is a shameful word.”

Another who preferred people-first said, “My son is diagnosed with Down Syndrome/Autism, but that’s not who he is.”

Others said that as long as a person was speaking and acting respectfully, they didn’t have a preference.

When in doubt, ask

Ultimately, this issue of what language to use is all about respect. If you aren’t sure about how to refer to someone, do the respectful thing and just ask them. Getting the person’s preference directly from them ensures that they choose – not someone else – how they’re referred to.

Additional resources

Identity-First Language: In the autism community, there are differing views on how to refer to autistic individuals. In this article, Lydia Brown explores this topic and makes the case for identity-first language. You can also listen to the Identity-First Language article.

People-First Language: A resource from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities covers everything you need to know about people-first language. Download the People-First Language handout (PDF) to learn about why words matter and what you should say.

With the recent news about the Texas Education Agency (TEA) placing Austin ISD (AISD) under conservatorship due to their ongoing noncompliance with special education law, we have received many questions from parents and advocates. Here are some answers to some of the most common things being asked.

What caused TEA to put AISD under conservatorship?

• Numerous substantiated complaints from parents over several years about long delays in special education evaluations
• AISD’s failure to complete corrective actions issued by TEA to address the systemic failures
• More than two years of TEA trying to work with AISD to remedy the problems
• After all above measures, no progress was made. In fact, the problem is worse.

What has DRTx done to address the AISD evaluation delays?

• DRTx filed the initial complaint on behalf of two students that brought this problem to light in the fall of 2020.
• DRTx filed a federal lawsuit against AISD in March 2021 due to the continued violations of the timelines for evaluations.
• DRTx has continued to file additional complaints on behalf of students whose evaluations have been delayed.
• DRTx has sent two letters to TEA urging an investigation of AISD, as well as concrete action to address the broken evaluation system.

What will a conservatorship look like at AISD?

A conservator’s role is to serve as a manager of a school district to ensure the school board and superintendent are taking necessary steps to resolve problems. According to a TEA Investigative Report on AISD released March 31, 2023, Commissioner Mike Morath will appoint a Management Team who will work with AISD to identify the issues that led to non-compliance and report to the agency on the development and implementation of a plan to address the issue.

How is this different from what happened with Houston ISD?

Houston ISD (HISD) is under a total takeover of all areas, not just special education. At HISD, the TEA Commissioner will suspend the powers of the superintendent and elected trustees by June 1 and appoint a new superintendent and nine-member board of managers to govern the district for an undetermined amount of years.

For now, the Austin ISD interim superintendent and board will stay in place, and they have expressed an intent to work with TEA.

Do other districts have the same backlog problem with evaluations?

DRTx is seeing an issue with delayed special education evaluations in other districts. AISD’s problem in this area appears to be one of the most significant in Texas in both the number of delayed evaluations and the longstanding nature of the problem.

Are evaluation delays the only problem with special ed in AISD?

The testing backlog is not the only problem – there are many more with AISD and other districts. As to evaluations, many parents have reported that the evaluations that have been done are not complete. Additionally, AISD must give all impacted students compensatory education. We’ve also seen statewide a dramatic increase in the number of illegal and harmful restraints of students with disabilities with educators not abiding by positive behavioral supports that are set up in a student’s education plan that is required by law.

Wasn’t TEA the group that set the illegal 8.5 percent cap on special ed enrollment in Texas public schools? Are they really the best group to be in charge of AISD for this?

While TEA is under corrective action relating to the 8.5% cap, TEA is still the agency responsible for ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education, which necessarily starts with an evaluation. While DRTx wishes that TEA had acted earlier, we are pleased that this concrete step is happening now. DRTx will be monitoring TEA and AISD for progress.