External Resources
List of possible modifications to make a home more accessible and usable for people with mobility issues.
This article covers how to design or adapt a home to be autism-friendly, in regards to layout, paint, lighting, acoustics, sensory rooms, and safety.
An extremely comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about accessible personal vehicles, what certain modifications help with, adapted driver’s licenses, and how this will impact your car insurance.
Advocating Change Together (ACT)
They have 30 years of experience on how to build leaders by working on issues. ACT has 30 years of knowledge on how groups of ordinary people with developmental disabilities–and their allies–can make change happen.
The Amputee Coalition is the nation’s leading organization on limb loss, dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for amputees and their families, improving patient care and preventing limb loss. They are helping amputees live well with limb loss, raising awareness about limb loss prevention and ensuring amputees have a voice in matters affecting their ability to live full, thriving lives. The Amputee Coalition runs the National Limb Loss Resource Center.
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network
“Nothing about us without us.” ASAN is a major national advocacy network run and one of the most well-known. It’s run by actual autistic people themselves.
Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network
The mission of Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) is to provide community, support, and resources for Autistic women, girls, transfeminine and transmasculine nonbinary people, trans people of all genders, Two Spirit people, and all others of marginalized genders. Their goal is to dispel stereotypes and misinformation which perpetuate unnecessary fears surrounding an autism diagnosis. They seek to share information which works to build acceptance and understanding of disability.
Clearing pathways to support services, information, and financial assistance for autistic individuals–as well as their families and caregivers. In the process, Avenues For Autism is providing a roadmap for the avenues that lead to lives without limits.
Basics of American Sign Language
This site is a good jump off point to a more extensive set of resources on the basics of ASL, its history, and how to go about learning and practicing it. This is a good resource for people completely new to the topic.
A farmstead based living community for adults with autism– the first of its kind in the US.
Discussions on how the principles of self-determination can help all persons create the lives they want, connected to and with their communities.
Cerebral Palsy Guide provides free educational materials, financial resources, and support options such as free case review, treatment overview, and legal aid. They also work with a variety of birth injuries and Erb’s Palsy.
College & Career Planning for Disabled Students
Includes your rights, what qualifying disabilities are, available accommodations, assistive technology and financial aid grants, and information about vocational rehabilitation and internships.
College Planning for Students with Learning Disabilities
Information about accommodations, disclosure, knowing your rights, adaptive technology, financial aid, and other resources.
Disability Rights Ohio is a legal council created by the federal government to advocate for disabled and mentally ill people. The link above goes to their resource page. Each section links to a page of articles on the topic. Formerly Ohio Legal Rights Service.
Down Syndrome Association of Greater Toledo
Offers programs across the lifespan.
Fair Housing Act Accessibility FAQ
This is is the most complete list of answers, information, and outside resources regarding the legal requirements for accessible homes and what landlords are mandated to provide.
Grants for Families of Special Needs Kids
A list of charitable foundations that regularly give away money to families like yours.
A behavioral and mental health and substance abuse provider.
Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, HKNC is the only organization of its kind—providing training and resources exclusively to people age 16 and over who have combined vision and hearing loss. Instructors are sensitive to the cultural differences between students with different levels of hearing and vision loss and varying educational backgrounds, providing individualized training and guidance to each student. HKNC also is a leader in professional learning, “training the trainers” to work with the DeafBlind community.
Inclusive College for Students with Intellectual Disability
This is a full resource guide to Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE) programs. IPSE programs are designed for intellectually disabled students to fully participate in college life while earning a certificate or credential. If this interests you, then it’s important to start planning for it as early as possible. This guide will help.
Self-disclosing your disability to a potential employer can be tricky. There are ways to present the topic that will increase your chances of getting hired. Discrimination is illegal no matter what, but here are some tips and tricks to make employers more comfortable with hiring you anyway.
Search for the issue affecting you and educate yourself. You have rights.
Limbs for Life Foundation is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to providing fully-functional prosthetic care for individuals who cannot otherwise afford it and raising awareness of the challenges facing amputees.
Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Information on programs and services offered in Lucas County. Linking to the county board can get you someone to handle your case and possibly a Medicaid waiver which would allow you to receive approved services for free.
Meals On Wheels provides food at very low or no cost to elderly and disabled people living at home, or who are able to get to congregate meal sites.
A Medicare patient resource center designed to help you get the most out of Medicare, whether you are 65 or older or a disabled individual of any age.
National Alliance on Mental Illness
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They offer support groups, art workshops, instructions on creating a stigma-free workplace, the Mental Health Faith Council, emergency support, and classes.
OHIO CENTER FOR AUTISM AND LOW INCIDENCE
OCALI’s goal is to inspire change and promote access to opportunities for people with disabilities. Practically, they inform public policy and develop and deploy practices grounded in linking research to real life.
Ohio Center for DeafBlind Education
Providing services in Ohio for individuals birth through 21 years with deafblindness including free collaborative technical assistance to families, education personnel and service providers through training and information dissemination.
Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council
The ODDC is a planning and advocacy body committed to community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities.
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities
DODD is responsible for overseeing a statewide system of supports and services for people with disabilities, their families, and their providers.
Ohio Parks and Recreation Association
Ohio Provider Resource Association
Advocating on behalf of providers supporting individuals with developmental disabilities striving to achieve a life of increasing independence, productivity and integration.
The Adult Advocacy Centers put out a guide to all (known) developmental disabilities self-advocacy groups within the state of Ohio. There are statewide, countywide, and city-specific resources.
Ohio Self Determination Association
OSDA believes that individuals with disabilities should have the freedom to plan their own lives and to pursue the things that are important to them with the support of independent planning and support coordination.
Online College with a Learning Disability
How to choose a college, how to document your learning disability, assistive technology, what accommodations are available and how to get them, and available scholarships.
Often, people with developmental disabilities are dependent on technology in unique ways and may be vulnerable to scams. Here are ways to protect yourself.
CCS runs the Toledo/Lucas County chapter, but 40 counties throughout the state of Ohio also have chapters. If ours is too far away for you, you can find a local one here. People First also operates in other states, such as Missouri, Washington, California, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Alabama, as well as internationally.
Recreational sports activities for adults and children with disabilities.
Request for Home Accommodations
This site contains a template letter for requesting accommodations or modifications from a current or future landlord. It goes into detail on disabled tenants’ rights, what you are entitled to, and the best ways to advocate for yourself in this scenario.
A self-advocacy group similar to People First but run through the Lucas County board.
Sara’s Garden is a non-profit organization that specializes in Autism Intervention, Conductive Education, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Sensory Integration and Speech-Language Pathology services. These specialized, comprehensive client services, provide life-changing results.
A guide put out by the American Foundation for the Blind on different screen reading programs and what questions to ask when choosing one. Note that screen readers are not an exclusively blind accessibility tool– there are many reasons someone might have a hard time reading.
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
The mission of SABE is to ensure that people with disabilities are treated as equals and that they are given the same decisions, choices, rights, responsibilities, and chance to speak up to empower themselves; opportunities to make new friends; and to learn from their mistakes.
Senior Caregiver Resource Center
A massive page of over 125 informative articles and resource lists on senior caregiving. Further resources can be found elsewhere on the sight.
Learn American Sign Language for free online.
Provide resources, coaching, professional development, and technical assistance to public and community school educators as they strive to ensure each child in Ohio has access to a high-quality education.
Information, related issues, and additional resources for individuals, loved ones, and clinicians.
TARPS is Lucas County’s transportation system designed for individuals who cannot use the regular bus system for some or all of their trips. Buses can be reserved in advance ($3 a trip) or requested with their Call-A-Ride service ($3 each way) right to your doorstep. All TARPS users are able to use the regular TARTA transit system for free. TARPS operates on holidays but will only make medical emergency trips (such as taking you to a dialysis appointment) during Level 3 snow emergencies.
Comprehensive disability community resources and services. The Ability Center is a long-time partner of People First and they generously host our regular monthly meetings there.
The Autism Society of Northwest Ohio (ASNO)
Advocacy, Support and Education that promotes optimal life experiences as freely defined by individuals with autism and their families
The mission of The Arc of Ohio is to advocate for human rights, personal dignity and community participation of individuals with developmental disabilities, through legislative and social action, information and education, local chapter support and family involvement.
Contains position papers, background information, and links to other sites including the U.S. Department of Education.
The Friendship Circle is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing community, inspiration, life experiences, and responsibility to special needs children and teens. They have a primary facility in Bloomfield, Michigan, others in Cleveland, Columbus, and the link above goes to their site run through the Chabad House of Greater Toledo. This is a Jewish-oriented organization.
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) is a statewide nonprofit organization that serves families of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities in Ohio, educators and agencies who provide services to them. OCECD works through the coalition efforts of over 40 parent and professional disability organizations and over 70 individual members which comprise the Coalition. OCECD has also been funded since 1984 to serve as the Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) for the state of Ohio from the federal government, U.S. Dept of Education, Office for Special Education Programs.
The Person in Context (PIC) tool is a worksheet developed by Autism Level Up to help determine how accessible an activity and environment will be for a specific individual, and what supports would be both appropriate and beneficial. This worksheet requires both time and introspection, but the information it reveals could be invaluable. To learn more about what the PIC is and how to use it, click here.
A nonprofit that serves 18 counties in northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan, and a bit into central Ohio. They offer services ranging from the Low Vision Clinic to high tech assistive devices, daily living adaptations, home safety enhancements, white cane training and caregiver support– with the ultimate goal to help people of all ages work, learn, play, and live independently with permanent vision loss.
TMWC offers a safe and welcoming environment for members, much like that of a club or community center, with opportunities to socialize, receive support, obtain mental health education, engage in meaningful activities, and have fun.
Art is a vital way to express yourself – a true outlet – and here you’re unfettered from the confinements and rules often associated with programs that serve vulnerable populations. Unruly Arts is passionate about providing a nurturing, inclusive and joyful environment that supports the artistic visions and needs of people with disabilities. In that environment, authentic artistic expression can come forward while disability fades to the background.
Visual Impairment College Resources
This page contains helpful information on accommodations, assistive technology, scholarships, and the top colleges for visually impaired students. Employers and managers could also benefit implementing these changes to make a more accessible workplace.
