Advocacy – Page 61 – Delaware Association of the Deaf (DAD)

September 8, 2022

‘Dancing with the Stars’ : Teresa Giudice, Wayne Brady, Selma Blair and More Celebs Join Season 31

Teresa Giudice, Wayne Brady and Selma Blair. Photo: GETTY (3)

The stars are aligning for season 31 of Dancing with the Stars!

On Thursday, ABC and Disney+ announced the latest celebrity cast members who will compete on the upcoming season of the reality dance competition show on Good Morning America — and the list does not disappoint!

The cast includes The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice with partner Pasha Pashkov, actor and comedian Wayne Brady with partner Witney Carson, actress Selma Blair with partner Sasha Farber, Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s son and fitness model Joseph Baena with partner Daniella Karagach, and Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino with partner Koko Iwasaki.

Also joining the cast is Coda star Daniel Durant with partner Britt Stewart, country singer Jessie James Decker with partner Alan Bersten, recent Bachelorette lead Gabby Windey with partner Val Chmerkovskiy and singer Jordin Sparks with partner Brandon Armstrong.

Read on at https://people.com/tv/dancing-with-the-stars-season-31-cast-reveal.

September 8, 2022

Love Island’s Tasha: ‘A little sign language goes a long way’

Tasha Ghouri signing in BSL, blond hair w white cami shirt on a yellow sofa with a big green planter behind her

Tasha Ghouri was Love Island’s first deaf contestant. Now her time on the show is over, she wants to use her on-screen fame to make a real-life impact for other deaf people.

“I never had anyone to look up to that’s like me on websites or TV,” says Tasha – who finished fourth in the ITV competition this summer.

Before the villa, the 24-year-old modelled – for websites such as ASOS – with her cochlear implant visible, yet she was a rare example.

But according to Tasha, the depiction of the deaf community on TV is “moving in a very positive direction”.

“I think representation is really coming a long way from where it was a couple of years ago,” she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

“For example, Rose [Ayling-Ellis] on Strictly, and then I’m on Love Island,” she says.

Eastenders actress Rose, Strictly Come Dancing’s first deaf contestant, won the show last year.

“That’s a massive thing for the deaf community, and in terms of representation, [it] doesn’t happen enough in my opinion,” says Tasha.

Read the rest at https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-62812834.

September 8, 2022

Disability program closures forcing some parents to quit jobs

CLIFTON PARK — A staffing crisis that is crippling care programs for individuals with disabilities is forcing Saratoga County’s largest nonprofit human services agency to temporarily “pause” a day habilitation program in Clifton Park.

For some of the roughly two dozen families affected, the looming decisions include whether a parent might have to quit their job to care for their loved one during the day.

“At that particular site we felt that it’s not safe to do the day program with as many individuals, with the staffing shortages that we have,” said Jane Mastaitis, chief executive officer at Saratoga Bridges, one of 36 chapters of The Arc New York, the state’s largest nonprofit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “We’re just so short of staff; it’s just a decision that we made as as team … for the safety of the individuals.”

Read on at https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/Closure-of-day-hab-centers-may-force-some-parents-17357378.php#photo-22784340.

DAD Note: It is happening all over the country including here impacting some of our deaf patients too. It is not known yet how the states or governments will fix this as it also impacts an Olmstead Supreme Court ruling.