Center for Disabilities Studies

A place for all to shine The University of Delaware Magazine profiles the UD and JPMorgan Chase collaboration to create Spectrum Scholars, a 10-year program supporting UD undergrads on the autism spectrum pursuing careers in electrical engineering and computer science. In seeking to boost employment opportunities for individuals on the spectrum, the program will also offer training in areas like effective communication to UD faculty, staff and community businesses. Administered by CDS, Spectrum Scholars will accept between 5 and 8 students per year, starting in Fall 2019.

Young adults with disabilities, parents say space and support essential to adult transitions Self-advocates and parents stressed that young adults with disabilities need a circle of support and the independence to experiment at events marking CDS’s 25-year anniversary.

Inclusion celebrated, civic engagement championed at 25-year anniversary reception hosted by CDS Efforts to foster accessibility and empower people with disabilities to drive much of the Center’s work going forward.

Barriers to the voting booth: People with disabilities often stymied when trying to vote, panelists say At two civil liberties events hosted by CDS to mark its 25-year anniversary, elections and disability rights experts ripped the pervasive injustices and inadequate accommodations that suppress voting and political engagement among people with disabilities in the U.S. and around the world. The experts, including a Stanford Law School professor, Delaware’s attorney general and three leaders from Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organizations, cited physical barriers, poll workers’ lack of knowledge, decades-old prejudices and poor enforcement of voting rights legislation, among other factors. They suggested that educating election officials, raising disability awareness and boosting political participation could increase the presence and sway of people with disabilities in elections.

Majority of disabled voters in U.S. faced obstacles in casting ballots in ‘16 A forum organized by the University of Delaware’s Center for Disabilities Studies focused on how to make voting more accessible for people with disabilities. In 2016, 60 percent of polling places had impediments for voters with disabilities. Forum panelists pointed out that because one in five adults has a disability, people with disabilities could have a powerful impact on elections if they received legally mandated voting accommodations.