The Voiceless Minority

Times are crazy here at The Voiceless Minority. Over the last month and a half, we have had overwhelming support from both the disabled and the able-bodied community, and today, we continue that momentum.   Today is the beginning of a new era here at The Voiceless Minority. Today, we welcome our newest voice for the voiceless, Michelle Zeman. Michelle is an Autistic Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) living in Winter Springs, FL. She discovered the value of self-advocacy and activism through her career in behavior analysis and her time in Partners in Policymaking (PIP). She's a 2023 PIP Graduate, a FL SAND Fellow, and an advisor to FL SAND's MAGICAL self-advocacy group serving greater Orlando. Michelle is passionate about policy change in behavioral health services and disability training for all community workers. Below is Michelle’s first contribution to the blog. The content has not been altered. It has only been edited for clarity purposes. Thank you for joining the te

 The movie-going experience has been part of American life for decades now. At the same time, being disabled has also been a part of the human experience since the beginning of time. This piece will address the idea that although we are thirty-four years into the ADA era, movie theaters in Ocala, Florida, demonstrate how little respect people with disabilities have earned in thirty-four years. Over the weekend, I was treating my friend/caregiver, who I will call Jane, on a trip to the movies for her 24 th birthday. She was nice enough to not only drive my van for only the 10 th time since she started working with me but also because my power wheelchair broke several weeks ago and there was a delay in the delivery process of my new chair; she was willing to push me around. The first of many problems we encountered that day occurred when we got to the front door. It was only then we noticed that even though disabled people do go to places by themselves without caregivers or attendant

 When this blog began 11 years ago, it was fueled by anger and restriction, but it has since morphed into a platform for disability advocacy. I started the voiceless minority because I was denied the opportunity to even attempt to teach because of some people’s short-sightedness and preconceived notions of people with disabilities. Even though that was almost another lifetime ago, the article I read on Thursday has me wondering if I let society cut me out of my dream. They say things happen for a reason, and I am not looking to go backward and redo my life, but the accomplishments of Ana Victoria Espino, a young lady in Mexico with Down Syndrome, make me wonder if I am really doing all I can to advocate for myself and others with disabilities. I will provide a short summary of the article in this post, but I recommend you click the link at the bottom and read the article about this outstanding young woman for yourself. Ana was born with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is caused by an

On Monday, we posted a blog highlighting - Wandercraft, a company with game-changing technology that will hopefully allow many people with disabilities to experience what it would be like to walk or stand on their feet. Since we received such an overwhelmingly positive response, I figured it would make sense to continue the discussion. “Bionic technology continues to evolve rapidly, offering new hope and improved quality of life for people with disabilities. Recent advancements have focused on enhancing sensory feedback, neural control, and the integration of artificial intelligence, making bionic devices more intuitive and functional than ever before.” The above quote is from Bionics for everyone’s official website. It is their mission to raise awareness of the latest bionic technologies for people who have become amputees or lost neurological function in one or more of their limbs. Today’s post will give a basic overview of Bionics and the possibilities that come with them. It wi

I have been in a wheelchair for the majority of my life. I even had one of those cool moms who would decorate my wheelchair and turn it into a rolling Halloween costume. So, in short, I have never known life outside of a wheelchair. Okay, so I may have fibbed a little bit. I used to use a walker and do the gimp shuffle around my elementary school, but for the most part, I have always sat on my ass. While I like the view from my chair, and my feet never hurt, I have always wondered what it would be like to move my feet like everyone else. Well, now there is a company that may one day allow me to experience what walking like a “normal” person is like. A company based in the United Kingdom known as Wandercraft has just received its second U.S. patent for an Exoskeleton that is completely hands-free and allows the user to move with the assistance of a trained companion. When I first learned about Atalante X, I was mindlessly scrolling on Facebook after posting an update on The Voiceless Mi

I am not a homebody. I love to get out and explore the world, but it is a disability. You must consider accessible travel, i.e., how you'll get where you're going and what it will look like when you get there, especially if traveling internationally. However, I recently came across a game-changer for traveling with a disability. Exceptional Vacations aims to “provide high-quality vacation opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities and special needs.” They provide guided and custom trips for groups and individuals for a slightly higher price. I have linked their website at the bottom of this piece so that you can learn more about this great organization. According to Rebecca Hisamoto, the director of Exceptional Vacations, " Jill and Justin ultimately understood the mental health benefits of being able to travel but saw that there were not many opportunities out there for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to travel independe