MetroWest Center for Independent Living

02/02/2026

https://news.vcu.edu/article/2026/02/medical-students-3d-printed-creations-help-individuals-with-disabilities

Great story!

"Patel, a lifelong tech hobbyist and aspiring orthopaedic surgeon, has designed and manufactured dozens of cost-free 3D-printed assistive devices, from cup holders to pencil grips, to improve the day-to-day lives of individuals with disabilities.

“These tools aren’t changing anyone’s life, but they do, hopefully, make things a little bit easier,” Patel said. “It’s a way for me, as a preclinical student, to get out of the classroom, connect with patients and hopefully improve their situation.”

"For Patel, the manufacturing process doesn’t begin with measuring dimensions or sketching out an idea. The first and more important step, he said, is connecting with patients and their families to understand what they would want from an assistive device. "

Image: Nihal Patel, a second-year medical student, in the The Workshop in James Branch Cabell Library, where he designs and prints assistive devices for VCU Health patients. (Arda Athman, School of Medicine)

Using the resources available to students at VCU, Nihal Patel has designed and created a variety of custom devices to address unique challenges that are often overlooked.

02/02/2026

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-people-with-disabilities-will-bear-the-burden-of-medicaid-funding-cuts

"President Trump's massive tax and funding bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, was passed into law last summer. And according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it will slash more than a trillion dollars in federal spending from Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by 2034.

Senior correspondent Judy Woodruff examines what those cuts could mean for home and community care providers who serve adults with special needs. It's part of her ongoing series Disability Reframed."
..

"With this level of a funding cut, states are going to have to make some tough choices about how to deal with the loss of federal funds. And we know that home and community care for people with disabilities is a significant source of Medicaid funding. And almost all the services are optional for states to cover.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary: There's no cuts to Medicaid. There's simply restrictions in the growth of Medicaid over the next decade."

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will slash more than a trillion dollars in federal spending from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by 2034. Judy Woodruff examines what those cuts could mean for home and com...

02/02/2026

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-disability-professor-explores-medical-technology.html

Independent Living is aware of issues with the medical model. This article provides more credibility.

Image: Dr. Rebecca Monteleone holding her recently published book, "The Double Bind of Disability : How Medical Technology Shapes Bodily Authority"

"Medical technology is often viewed as a neutral tool for healing or curing; however, for many disabled people, it represents a complex power dynamic between their own lived experiences and clinical expertise. Dr. Rebecca Monteleone, an associate professor of disability studies, explores this tension in her recently published book, "The Double Bind of Disability: How Medical Technology Shapes Bodily Authority."..
"The book posits that to create better medical outcomes, clinicians and bioengineers must prioritize the firsthand expertise and experience of those living with disabilities.

"We can do better," Monteleone said. "We can make medical technologies that reflect what people want and need. We just have to listen.""

Medical technology is often viewed as a neutral tool for healing or curing; however, for many disabled people, it represents a complex power dynamic between their own lived experiences and clinical expertise. Dr. Rebecca Monteleone, an associate professor of disability studies, explores this tension...

02/02/2026

02/02/2026

Braille isn't a language, and it's also not universal.

There is a unique braille code for many common languages.

To find out more, take a look at our blog post, Braille Is Not a Language.

02/02/2026

Throughout January, DPC intentionally centered autonomy, dignity, and choice as a direct challenge to systems change.

We did this to push back on the familiar “new year, new you” narrative. Disabled people do not need to change who we are to belong. What needs to change are the systems that shape our lives, the policies that limit choice, and the practices that treat autonomy as optional rather than essential.

January was about naming that clearly and without apology. And this does not end here. The calendar turning does not change lived reality. Disabled people do not stop navigating barriers when the month ends.

That is why this conversation cannot stop simply because January is over. We encourage you to keep it going. Keep sharing. Keep talking. And more importantly, carry what you heard and learned this month with you. Let it shape how you show up in your work, your communities, and your decision-making. Notice whose voices are missing. Notice when speed or convenience is prioritized over choice.

As we move into February, we will begin exploring how system change happens when we think globally and act locally, and how the values of autonomy, dignity, and choice must remain at the center of those conversations.

~Disabled Dinos created by DPC's own Emma Gelbard! Check out their instagram @ Emmagelbard for more disabled dinos and what they represent!~

01/26/2026

Post-Holiday Open House. January 21, 2026 with Friends, Staff and Consumers.
Thanks to everyone for coming!

01/22/2026

01/21/2026

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Workplace Accommodation Toolkit helps employers navigate the accommodation process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The toolkit is for employers, but will also help employees know what they should be able to expect.

The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Workplace Accommodation Toolkit helps employers navigate the accommodation process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. This Toolkit will use the term "ADA" throughout to refer to the reasonable accommodation r...

01/21/2026

NPR spoke with many travelers with disabilities. "Accessible" hotels are unreliable at best.

"Despite 35 years of federal law requiring hotels to be made accessible for guests who use wheelchairs, those travelers tell NPR that hotels still fail to fully comply with basic and often easily achieved requirements for accessibility.

NPR interviewed 50 wheelchair users. And more than 200 people who use wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility devices, or their family members and caregivers, responded to an NPR survey. They told NPR they want to travel and use hotels — for work, to visit family and friends, for fun or when they travel for health care — but they frequently run into problems.

"It's anticipation and it's a little bit of dread," Don Bergman of Jacksonville, Fla. says of the moment he opens the door of a hotel room. "You hope for the best, expect the worst and then deal with what you got.""

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/24/nx-s1-5564041/disabilities-wheelchairs-travel-hotels-accommodations

Images: Clockwise from top left: Eileen Schoch, Cory Lee, Kelly Mack and Karen Lohr are wheelchair users who've had to deal with hotel rooms that weren't accessible as promised.

An NPR survey finds that people with disability still find hotels unaccommodating, even 35 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

01/15/2026

https://www.apple.com/accessibility/designed-for-students/

Great video - thanks to Northeast ADA Center for the link!

The Designed for Every Student film highlights how Apple accessibility features can enhance learning so students can succeed at college.