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Disability Policy Consortium

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Disability Policy Consortium

About Us. By Us. Delivering systems change at every level since 1996. Everything about the disability community should be led by the disability community.

What we do:

- Legislative Advocacy
- Community Organizing
- Research
- Peer Support

For 25 years, the Disability Policy Consortium has fought for the rights of people with disabilities. We have a rich history of innovative and effective work in community organizing, participatory research, public policy development, and peer support. As an organization run by and for people with disabilities, we prove every day what members of our community can accomplish when they are allowed to reach their full potential. For that reason, the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) leads efforts to advocate for, conduct research with, and deliver services to our disabled peers. Board of Directors:

John Chappell, President
Joe Bellil, Treasurer

Anita Albright
Ellen Bresin
Cheryl Cumings
Jini Fairley
Allegra Heath-Stout
Carol Hilbinger
Jennifer Lee
Josh Montgomery
Robyn Powell
Jason Savageau
Penny Shaw
Chloe Slocum
Andrew Veith
Heather Watkins
Casandra Xavier

Executive Director:
Harry Weissman

Check out our Website: www.dpcma.org

Check out DPC’s store for exclusive AboutUsByUsaurus disabled dino swag — bold, witty, and one-of-a-kind designs created by disabled artist Emma Gelbard, only at DPC! https://dpcma.printful.me/

01/14/2026

Did you know? Disability history edition.

It was once illegal for disabled people to be in public.

From 1867 to 1974, many U.S. cities enforced laws known as “Unsightly Beggar Ordinances,” often called Ugly Laws. These laws banned people labeled as “diseased, maimed, mutilated, or deformed” from public spaces. Some versions also specifically targeted people with cognitive disabilities.

The punishment was real. Disabled people could be fined, arrested, or jailed simply for being seen.

Cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Portland, Denver, and even the entire state of Pennsylvania enforced these laws. Chicago was the last city to repeal its Ugly Law in 1974.

This history matters.

Ugly Laws taught society that disability was something to hide or remove. And while the laws are gone, the mindset remains.

Today, that legacy shows up when disabled people are treated as out of place, when access is seen as optional, and when accommodations are framed as “special treatment.” It shows up in systems that value efficiency over access and comfort over inclusion.

Ugly Laws may be gone on paper, but their impact still shapes who is welcomed in public spaces and whose needs are centered.

If we want real inclusion, we have to understand where exclusion began and choose to do better.

Want to learn more about disability history and disability-led education? Learn more about the trainings DPC provides at disabilitydei.org.

01/13/2026

Myth vs Fact: Autonomy Edition

Autonomy is often talked about, but rarely practiced.

For disabled people, autonomy has been shaped and limited by assumptions about ability, time, and who gets to decide.

These myths show up in everyday moments. In care settings. In schools, workplaces, housing, and public spaces. Challenging them matters, because autonomy is not a bonus. It is a right.

*Myth: Helping disabled people means stepping in quickly and doing what seems best.
~Fact: Real support starts by asking and waiting for an answer. Autonomy is lost when help becomes takeover.

*Myth: Accessibility is the same for everyone.
~Fact: Autonomy means honoring individual needs, preferences, and ways of doing things.

*Myth: Disabled people should be grateful for any help or accommodation offered.
~Fact: Gratitude is not a substitute for choice. Dignity means having a say in how support shows up.

*Myth: Some disabled people cannot make decisions for themselves.
~Fact: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities communicate and choose in many ways. Autonomy is supported through access, time, and respect, not assumptions.

*Myth: If someone needs support, they have less autonomy.
~Fact: Needing support does not cancel agency. Autonomy is about directing your own life, not doing everything alone.

*Myth: Non-verbal means non-communicative.
~Fact: Communication takes many forms, including AAC, gestures, facial expression, art, music, and movement.

*Myth: It is better to do things for disabled people because it is faster and easier.
~Fact: What feels faster for someone else can take away choice, movement, confidence, and opportunity.

Autonomy includes the right to try, to move, to take time, and to do things our own way. Autonomy asks us to slow down. To question what we assume is “helpful.” To notice when convenience for one person costs dignity for another.

If you are disabled, we invite you to reflect and share. Which of these myths have you lived with? Where has your autonomy been honored, or taken away?

If you are not disabled, this is an invitation too. Have you ever believed one of these myths? Have you stepped in because it felt easier or faster? What might change if you paused, asked, and waited instead?

If you feel comfortable, share your experience in the comments. We learn, unlearn, and do better when we listen to one another.

01/12/2026

Why It Matters Monday: Asking for Help Is Not Simple

For many disabled people, asking for help is hard long before the words ever leave our mouth. It is not just about needing help. It is about pride. Independence. The deep desire to do things for ourselves. The fear of being seen as a burden.

All of that shows up at once.

Take something simple, like needing help washing your hair. Hair washing is personal. It is routine. People know how they like it done. How long to scrub. Whether to shampoo twice. What feels right on their scalp. Those preferences do not disappear just because someone needs help.

But when a disabled person asks someone to help with something like that, there is already vulnerability in the room. Someone is helping with your body. Your space. Your care. And almost immediately, another pressure shows up. Be grateful. Do not complain. Accept the help however it comes. So when the help is not quite right, many disabled people stay quiet. Not because we do not notice, but because saying something can feel like crossing an invisible line. One where gratitude is expected and preferences are treated as too much.

We are taught, over and over, that needing help means we should not also have opinions. That tension lives in so many moments of care. Wanting support while wanting control. Needing help while wanting dignity. Being thankful and still wishing something were done differently.

It gets even more complicated when the person helping is someone you rely on regularly. A caregiver. A partner. A friend. There may be frustration or hurt between you, but the help still has to happen. Disabled people often push their feelings aside because their needs do not pause for emotional messiness.

This is where support can shift from uncomfortable to affirming. Help does not have to mean guessing or taking over. It can be collaborative.

It can start with simple check ins. “How do you usually do this?” “What works best for you?” “How would you prefer this to be done?” These questions say, I see you as the authority on your own body and your own life.

Asking instead of assuming changes the entire dynamic.

It removes the pressure to accept help in silence. It creates space for honesty without guilt. It tells the disabled person that their preferences are not an inconvenience, but an important part of care.

When support makes room for choice and voice, it becomes easier to speak up in the moment. It becomes easier to trust. And it becomes easier to ask for help without feeling like something is being taken away in the process.

Having preferences is not a problem to manage. It is normal. Disabled people have likes and dislikes, routines and rhythms, just like anyone else. Needing help does not erase that.

When help makes room for preference, it protects dignity. It turns care into collaboration instead of control. And it makes asking for help feel a little less heavy. That is why it matters.

01/08/2026

Autonomy Looks Like…

Autonomy is not a theory for disabled people. It shows up in the smallest moments of the day. It matters because disabled people have spent generations being told where to live, how to live, and who gets to decide. We were institutionalized, hidden away, and separated from our communities.

Our care plans were written without us. Our preferences were treated as inconveniences. Our voices were often ignored entirely.

That history did not disappear. It echoes in everyday interactions.

Autonomy looks like being asked what you want to wear instead of finding your clothes already laid out for you. It looks like being included in decisions about your own schedule, not told where you will be and when. It looks like someone offering help and waiting for an answer, instead of stepping in and taking over.

Autonomy looks like asking a wheelchair user how they want to contribute, instead of assuming their limits or their role. It looks like trusting disabled people to know our own bodies, energy, and capacity. It looks like believing us when we say we need support, and believing us when we say we do not.

Autonomy looks like honoring choice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, instead of assuming incapability. It looks like recognizing communication in all its forms. Some people speak out loud. Some use AAC devices. Some communicate through gestures, eye movement, facial expression, or body language. Some express themselves through music, art, photography, or movement. Some rely on trusted supporters to help interpret and amplify their choices, not replace them. Every one of these is a voice.

Autonomy matters because most of us can name moments where it was taken without anyone meaning harm. A decision made quickly. Help that arrived without pause. A choice removed because it seemed easier that way.

If you are not disabled, this is an invitation to reflect. When have you stepped in instead of asking? When have you decided for someone, assuming it was kinder, faster, or safer? What might change if you made room for choice instead?

If you are disabled, this is an invitation too. To recognize the moments that felt small but stayed with you. The times you were not asked. The times you were not heard. The times you learned to stay quiet because speaking up felt like too much.

Autonomy lives in noticing these moments. In making space where there was none. In slowing down long enough to let disabled people lead our own lives.

If you feel comfortable, we invite you to share your experiences. Moments when your autonomy was honored. Moments when it was taken. Moments that taught you what dignity really looks like. We learn best when we listen to one another.

01/07/2026

Check out this article featuring DPC’s Legislative Liaison, Charlie Carr, and his involvement in the state Personal Care Attendant working group.

“If you aren’t at the table, you’re on the menu. We didn’t want to be in that position.”

That is how Charlie names what is at stake in the piece we are sharing today. The article looks at a state working group examining potential cuts to the PCA program, including changes around overtime tied to essential supports like meal preparation.

These are not abstract budget conversations. These are decisions that directly shape whether disabled people can live safely, independently, and with dignity in our own homes.

What matters deeply here is who is at the table. This working group includes PCA consumers, people who rely on these services every day. People who understand the real impact of policy decisions because we live them. That matters, especially when cuts are being discussed.

At DPC, our credo is simple and unwavering. About us, by us. We belong at the table, especially when decisions are being made that will impact our lives. We understand the need to address overspending and improve systems. We are not opposed to solutions. But cost savings cannot come at the expense of our safety, our autonomy, or our ability to live independently.

We are sharing this article to lift up why disability-led voices matter in moments like this. When disabled people are included, the conversation shifts. It becomes about balance, responsibility, and protecting lives, not just trimming budgets.

Read the full article here:
https://www.statehousenews.com/news/healthcare/humanservices/working-group-targets-pca-meal-prep-overtime-for-cuts/article_acaf4b39-98a9-4bf2-93ae-a763247a809f.html

01/07/2026

Being Seen vs Being Helped

Disabled people are often met in extremes. We are either overlooked entirely or surrounded by help we did not ask for. Ignored on one end. Managed on the other.

What is missing in both is being seen.

Being helped without being seen can look like someone grabbing a wheelchair without asking. Speaking to a companion instead of directly to us. Rearranging our bodies or our belongings as if they are public property. Making decisions on our behalf because it seems faster or easier.

It can also look quieter than that. A well meaning person insisting they know what we need. A space that offers help only after something goes wrong. A solution offered before a question is asked.

Help like this often comes with good intentions. But intentions do not erase impact.

Being seen looks different.

Being seen is someone asking before acting. Do you want help? What would be useful? Is there anything I can do to make this easier?

Being seen is waiting for the answer. It is believing us when we say yes. And believing us when we say no. Being seen is offering a chair instead of assuming someone cannot stand. It is checking whether there is an accessible entrance before the event, not after someone arrives and struggles. It is addressing the disabled person directly, not through whoever happens to be nearby.

Autonomy does not disappear because someone needs support. Dignity does not vanish because a body moves differently or requires assistance.

Independence is not about doing everything alone. It is about having agency over how help shows up. So many disabled people learn to accept help quickly and politely, even when it takes something from us. We learn to say thank you while shrinking ourselves. We learn that refusing help can be read as ungrateful, difficult, or rude. Being seen leaves room for choice.

Too often, disabled people are helped without being heard and spoken for without being asked. The result is a kind of invisibility disguised as care.

Real support starts with listening. It starts with slowing down. It starts with understanding that the goal is not to feel good about helping, but to actually help.

Being seen requires humility. It means trusting disabled people to know our own bodies, our own needs, and our own limits. Help matters. But respect comes first. And being seen is not optional. It is the foundation.

01/06/2026

“Ask First” Is About Dignity

Most people are trying to be kind. I see it all the time as a wheelchair user. Someone rushes ahead of me to hold a door open. They smile. They mean well. They want to help. But what often happens next is not help at all.

They stand in the middle of the doorway, holding the door in a way that makes it harder for me to get through. My turning space disappears. I am left trying not to run over their feet, apologizing while navigating around the very help that was supposed to make things easier.

What they do not realize is that if they had asked first, I could have told them what actually works for me.

Sometimes it is easier for me to open the door myself. Sometimes it helps if someone steps fully aside. Sometimes help is welcome. Sometimes it is not. That choice matters.

And this moment is not unique. It usually happens quickly. A hand on a wheelchair. A task finished mid-sentence. Someone stepping in before a word is exchanged.

For many disabled people, help arrives before consent. Not because someone means harm, but because they are rushing, assuming, or trying to be efficient. And in that moment, choice disappears.

Offering help is not the problem. Taking over is. This is why asking first is about dignity.

Disabled people experience these moments every day.

Assumptions made mid-motion. Decisions made because someone thinks they know what will be faster or easier. Most of the time, it comes from kindness. And still, it causes harm. When help is automatic, autonomy disappears. Choice is removed. Control shifts away from the person who actually knows their body, their movement, and their needs. Asking first slows the moment down. It creates space for agency. It turns help into support instead of takeover.

Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is “not like that.” All of those answers are valid.

Asking first also means recognizing that not everyone communicates the same way. Some people speak. Some use AAC. Some respond through gestures, facial expressions, or body language. Some need time. Some use trusted supporters to help interpret, not decide. Those responses are still voices. They still deserve to be waited for.

Asking first is a pause in that pattern. A moment of listening. A way of saying, your body is yours, your choices matter, and I trust you to lead.

And sometimes, dignity looks exactly like that.

01/05/2026

Why It Matters Monday: Autonomy is Dignity

One of the most overlooked truths in disability justice is this: autonomy is not a privilege. It is dignity. It is the foundation for a meaningful life. Yet disabled people are often treated as if decision making is something we are not entitled to.

Professionals speak about us and for us without speaking with us. Families make choices in our absence. Systems built to “support” us can quietly erase our voice.

Think about IEP meetings or goal meetings in group homes. Rooms full of adults talk about a disabled person’s future while that person sits silently beside them, expected to nod, behave, and accept that other people know best.

But autonomy means something else.

It means disabled people get to be the experts in our own lives. It means our choices are not filtered through someone else’s assumptions about what is safe or appropriate. It means we are allowed the same humanity as everyone else, including the freedom to try, to falter, to succeed, and to learn.

This is where dignity of risk matters. Every person has the right to make mistakes, take chances, and grow from them. Disabled people are often denied this because fear, liability, or protection becomes more important than agency. But without risk, there is no learning. Without choice, there is no ownership of self. When we strip disabled people of the ability to choose poorly, we also strip them of the ability to choose beautifully.

Autonomy shows up in many forms. Some communicate through words, others through art, music, fashion, movement, writing, or photography. Some express who they are through advocacy, some through quiet presence, some through humor, and some through a single sentence spoken at exactly the right moment.

There is no one way to have a voice. The work is not to speak over people. It is to listen for how they speak and make room for it.

It is to ask instead of assume. To include disabled people in the conversations that shape their futures. To recognize that each person is the narrator of their own life, not a character in someone else’s plan.

Autonomy is dignity. It is belonging. It is knowing you are trusted to make your own way.

When we honor disabled agency, we do not just protect rights. We nurture identity, pride, growth, and possibility. The world becomes less guarded around disabled people and more curious. Less controlling and more collaborative. That shift is where true inclusion begins. And there are practical ways to build that shift.

Instead of telling someone they are going to day program, offer choices and listen to their answers. Rather than laying out clothes for a person the night before, ask what they want to wear and give them time to decide. If a plan falls apart or someone hesitates, do not rush to fill the space with solutions. Let them lead. Let them ask for help if they want it.

Making room for disabled people to make their own decisions sends a message that their voice matters. It shows that dignity is not just spoken about. It is practiced.

01/03/2026

January Sneak Peek

A new year often comes with talk of fresh starts and lighter goals. But this January, we are going deeper.

Over the next few weeks, we will be focusing on autonomy, dignity, and disability history. Not as abstract ideas, but as lived realities.

The kind that shape daily life for disabled people in ways that are often unseen, misunderstood, or ignored. We will be asking hard questions. We will be naming uncomfortable truths. And we will be revisiting history that still echoes loudly in the present.

Why?

Because disabled people are facing growing threats to our rights, our care, our independence, and our safety. And pretending everything is fine does not protect us. Talking honestly does.

This January, you will see posts that challenge assumptions, slow us down, and ask us to look more closely at how autonomy is taken and how dignity is practiced. You will see lived experiences, reflections, and history woven together. You will also see ways to get involved, stay connected, and take action, because awareness alone is not enough.

We invite you to keep checking back. To read closely. To share what resonates. To comment with your experiences when you feel comfortable.

We are broadening what we ask of our social spaces this year. Not to provoke, but to protect. Not to divide, but to deepen understanding. This work is not always easy. But someone has to do it. And we are glad to be doing it together.

01/02/2026

December at DPC: Holding the Work Through December

As we wrap up December, we want to pause and reflect on the work we moved forward together this month. December is often quieter on the surface, but behind the scenes it was full of relationship-building, advocacy, community connection, and laying the groundwork for what comes next.

~ Community Support and Giving

Earlier this month, we shared our Giving Tuesday post as an open invitation. An invitation not just to donate, but to learn more about who we are, what we do, and why disability-led work matters. Support from our community makes it possible for DPC to keep showing up. It sustains advocacy led by disabled people, strengthens community organizing, and allows us to respond when policy moves quickly and our voices are needed most.

Donations help ensure that disabled perspectives are not an afterthought, but are centered in the rooms where decisions are being made.

If you are new to DPC, or have been following our work and are considering supporting it, we invite you to donate here: https://www.dpcma.org/donate

On December 30, we also released our 2025 Impact Report, which reflects what that collective support makes possible. From legislative advocacy to training, education, and community building, it tells the story of a year shaped by shared effort and lived experience. We encourage you to take a moment to explore it and see the impact our community has made together.

View our impact report here: tinyurl.com/DPCImpactReport-2025

~ Advocacy Updates

Wheelchair Repair Reform continued to move forward this month as we deepened conversations and built momentum. We have a meeting scheduled with the Chair of House Ways and Means to speak directly about the urgency of the wheelchair repair bills and the real impact that repair delays have on disabled people’s daily lives. We also connected with Senate leadership and the Attorney General’s office, further strengthening support as we work to move these bills across the finish line.

Parenting Bill S.1164
The parenting bill was regrettably sent to study this session. While this outcome is deeply disappointing, it does not diminish the importance of this legislation or the need it addresses. DPC remains committed to this work and to the disabled parents and families who have shared their stories with us. We will continue advocating for this bill and preparing for future legislative sessions.

~ Ongoing Legislative Work

Much of our advocacy happens outside of public view. Throughout December, we continued following up with committees where several of our priority bills are currently sitting, including affordable accessible housing AHVP S.1004/H.1481, the Health Care Anti-Discrimination (HCAD) bill H.1360/S.869, and hearing aid coverage H.3946.

Advocacy at this stage is about staying present and persistent. It means continuing to check in, keep pressure on, and make sure disabled people remain part of the conversation, not an afterthought.

In addition to these priorities, we are also continuing to follow and support service animal-related legislation as it moves through the process.

~Training and Consulting

In December, DPC’s Director of Training and Consulting, Ellysheva, presented at the National Dental Therapy Conference in Sacramento, California. The conference was hosted by Community Catalyst, the American Dental Therapy Association, and the California Oral Health Equity Coalition.

The session, Care That Fits: Meeting the Oral Health Needs of Disabled Patients, centered disabled lived experience in conversations about oral health care access. The presentation was developed collaboratively and included videos from community members sharing their real experiences navigating dental care.

Community Catalyst reached out directly to DPC to ensure disabled perspectives were represented in this space.

This work reflects DPC’s broader approach to training and consulting. Too often, disability is missing from inclusion conversations, or reduced to minimum legal requirements. We believe disabled people deserve more than compliance. Through disability-focused training, workplace inclusion consulting, and technical assistance, DPC supports professionals and organizations in rethinking their practices and spaces in ways that meaningfully include disabled people and lived experience.

To learn more about DPC’s disability-focused training and consulting work, visit disabilitydei.org.

~ Community Organizing

Throughout December, we continued hosting both Unstuck and HALT community calls. Unstuck brings together wheelchair users and allies to identify barriers, share lived experience, and build solutions together. The group is preparing to launch the first phase of its education and awareness campaign in the New Year, and we are excited to see this work take shape. Unstuck meets bi-weekly on Mondays from 11am to 12pm ET. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/DPC-Unstuck

~Staying Connected

To stay up to date on advocacy, community calls, and ways to get involved, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter: tinyurl.com/DPC-Newsletter

We have also been sharing more regularly on social media, highlighting disability history, policy updates, and lived experience. If a post resonates with you, we invite you to engage, comment, or re-share. We want to hear directly from our community about what matters most.

As we close out the year, we want to thank everyone who showed up, supported, shared, donated, or stayed engaged in whatever way they could. This work is collective, and we are grateful to be doing it alongside you.

Onward into the New Year!

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