Disability Options Network

12/12/2025

On behalf of Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities, we’re sharing this Emergency Preparedness Survey. Your input helps strengthen inclusive emergency planning across our communities.

12/10/2025

Disability Options Network is excited to share a new research study from the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology.

They are seeking participants for a 12-month study evaluating an innovative under-the-bed weight scale system for wheelchair users called the Fast In-Bed Tracking System (FIT). This system allows individuals to monitor their weight through an app—no transfers needed.

Participants will also take part in the GLB-AI nutrition and exercise program to support weight management and overall health. Compensation is provided.

Interested or know someone who might be?

Check out the details below and see the attached flyer to learn more!

Thank you to Dr. Jonathan Pearlman and his team for continuing to support the health and wellness of individuals with disabilities.

12/09/2025

With deep sadness, we share the news of Paul O’Hanlon’s passing on November 30.

Our community has lost an extraordinary advocate, teacher, and friend whose compassion and courage changed the lives of so many. Paul devoted his life to breaking down barriers in transit, expanding voting rights, and fighting for true equality for people with disabilities. His advocacy wasn’t just powerful, it was personal, steady, and filled with heart.

At Disability Options Network, we reflect with gratitude on the tremendous impact Paul made throughout our region. His work and his unwavering commitment to justice have long inspired our mission. Paul believed deeply in the dignity and worth of every person, and his determination to create a more accessible, inclusive world strengthened the broader disability rights movement in ways that will endure for generations.

Paul had a remarkable ability to lift others up, to make people feel seen, valued, and heard. That is the part of him we will hold closest to our hearts.

Though we have lost his physical presence, we have not lost the legacy he built with such grace, determination, and love. It now falls to all of us, friends, advocates, and community members, to ensure that his work continues.

Let us honor Paul by standing a little taller, speaking a little louder, and embracing one another a little more fully.
Let us carry forward the mission he lived every day.

Paul, thank you for the hope you brought, the barriers you broke, and the lives you touched. You will remain forever in our hearts, and your legacy will continue to shine through every act of advocacy that follows.

12/04/2025

11/25/2025

This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in uplifting the voices and lives of people with disabilities across our communities.

Your support, no matter the size, helps create groups that thrive long after the funding ends, friendships that last, and confidence that carry into every part of life.

Your heart is the difference.

Give today and help us continue building a community where inclusion isn’t just a vision, it’s a lived reality.

💙 Every contribution makes a difference, join us in making a lasting impact.

Donate here: https://www.pledge.to/giving-tuesday-7086
or text DON to 707070 or scan the QR code below!

11/25/2025

Giving Tuesday is about more than generosity, it’s about creating the world we want to live in.

At Disability Options Network, we work every day to ensure people with disabilities have equal access, real choices, meaningful connections, and opportunities to lead.

Your Giving Tuesday support helps us continue:
• Building strong peer networks
• Creating inclusive community events
• Advancing self-advocacy
• Supporting families
• Expanding accessibility

Together, we can build a tomorrow where everyone belongs.
Help us shape that tomorrow, give today and make a lasting impact.

💙 Every contribution makes a difference, join us in making a lasting impact.

Donate here: https://www.pledge.to/giving-tuesday-7086
or text DON to 707070 or scan the QR code below!

11/25/2025

How You Can Make a Difference

As November comes to a close, let’s carry the spirit of this month forward.

Here are 5 ways you can support caregivers and people with epilepsy all year long:

1. Learn seizure first aid — knowing what to do can save a life.
2. Offer help or respite to caregivers — even small gestures matter.
3. Speak up against stigma — use language that uplifts and educates.
4. Support epilepsy research and caregiver support networks.
5. Be a friend. Listen. Show up. Inclusion starts with you. 💜

When we stand together, we create a world where everyone belongs and thrives. 💙

11/25/2025

On this Giving Tuesday, we’re reminded that the most meaningful gifts don’t come wrapped.

They come from opening doors, creating access, and empowering voices that deserve to be heard.

Your support helps Disability Options Network ensure people with disabilities have the tools, opportunities, and confidence to live independently and be fully included in their communities.

💙 Every contribution makes a difference, join us in making a lasting impact.

Donate here: https://www.pledge.to/giving-tuesday-7086
or text DON to 707070 or scan the QR code below!

11/24/2025

When you give to Disability Options Network this Giving Tuesday, you’re not just donating, you’re becoming part of someone’s story. A self-advocate finding their voice. A parent feeling supported, not alone. A community becoming more accessible, one step at a time.

Your gift helps change the way the world sees disability, and how people with disabilities see themselves.

Be part of the story, donate today and help empower individuals and families in our community.

💙 Every contribution makes a difference, join us in making a lasting impact.

Donate here: https://www.pledge.to/giving-tuesday-7086
or text DON to 707070 or scan the QR code below!

11/20/2025

Together We Can Overcome. 💛

This upcoming Giving Tuesday, your support can create real change. By donating to Disability Options Network, you’re helping expand accessibility, opportunities, and life-changing support for individuals with disabilities.

💙 Every contribution makes a difference, join us in making a lasting impact.

Donate here: https://www.pledge.to/giving-tuesday-7086
or text DON to 707070 or scan the QR code below!

11/18/2025

The University of Pittsburgh Model Center on Spinal Cord Injury is conducting a fully online research study focused on improving manual wheelchair skills through virtual peer coaching.

Participants will complete questionnaires, receive one-on-one coaching, practice skills, and access training videos, all from home.

If you or someone you know meets the eligibility criteria and is interested in learning new wheelchair skills, this may be a great opportunity!

11/18/2025

The Power of Partnership!

Behind every challenge is a story of strength, and often, that strength grows from partnership. 💜

When Maya and her husband James learned of James’s epilepsy diagnosis, they faced it head-on as a team. Maya helps track medications and provides reassurance during seizures, while James advocates for others through a local epilepsy support group. Together, they’ve turned challenges into opportunities to educate, connect, and uplift others, showing that independence doesn’t mean going it alone.

Their story reminds us that when caregivers and loved one's work side by side, they build lives filled with possibility, independence, and joy. 💙

Tag someone who’s been a source of strength for you.