The world is facing an extremely difficult and sobering time. Many of our lives have been put on pause or turned upside down. This is especially felt by those in the Easterseals community. The virus is mostly affecting people with disabilities, older adults, people with complex medical conditions, as well as parents and caregivers who do everything they can to ensure the well-being of their loved ones.

While this may be a challenging time for everyone in our communities, we hold on to our values now more than ever.  Easterseals is not just about delivering services; we are about community. We are about overcoming barriers and obstacles together with the support of our friends, neighbors, families and loved ones.

From the start of the pandemic, we have found new and innovative ways to serve individuals, families and communities who have come to rely on Easterseals for more than 100 years.  We will continue to face the challenges posed by COVID-19 and make it through together. Until then, we are proud and inspired by the commitment of the Easterseals network of 68 facilities which serve 1.5 million individuals and families each year – including now as we face this national public health crisis.

• Telehealth and Virtual Services. Many Easterseals health care professionals throughout our network are now delivering services through technology or by  telephone. We are still connecting with individuals and families by providing counseling, therapies, guidance on health and wellness, referring people to resources for food and other essential needs, as well as providing stay-at-home activities and exercises.

Take a look at little Isiah from Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore completing his last Easterseals speech therapy session virtually! We are so proud of him!

• Online Events. Several Easterseals programs and events were unfortunately closed, cancelled or postponed during the Coronavirus outbreak. However, Easterseals therapists, early education teachers, and instructors have taken to social media to offer families free resources, activities and tips to help them navigate staying at home during the pandemic.  Sheila, an Easterseals therapist, hosted an online sing-a-long for children looking to make their voices heard! Amica, a teacher, gave us story time for kids. And Danielle, another Easterseals therapist, has created a video series to help families implement positive behavior intervention supports at home.

As mentioned, many Easterseals events and programs used to generate revenue have been cancelled or closed. The good news is that a lot of them have gone virtual! Please be sure to visit your local Easterseals to see how you can support your community, or if you can, please donate here.

• Community support. As you know, New York is experiencing an alarming number of COVID-19 cases which threatens the health care infrastructure within the state. Easterseals is doing everything possible to ensure essential goods and resources get to families that need them. This includes collecting and distributing food and other necessities (laundry soap, bar soap, shampoo, hand wipes) to over 500 people with disabilities, older adults and their families. Here’s how you can help.

• Online Resources. We want to make sure people are informed and equipped with the most helpful information to navigate the new normal of sheltering in place during the crisis.  Here are a few resources for you – please share!
  • Coronavirus: Staying Healthy Together – a collection of network-wide resources to support parents and people with disabilities
  • Resources for Caregivers – a collection of resources put together by Easterseals Central Illinois to help parents cope with stay-at-home directives.
  • Coronavirus Resources (Links to a master spreadsheet) – Thanks to Easterseals Colorado for gathering these robust resources, addressing everything from delivery services to physical and mental wellness to socializing. Some of these resources are specific to Colorado but many can be used by anyone.

We hope you find these resources helpful and inspire you to do what you can to stay safe and healthy. We’re in this together!

A couple reporters contacted me with questions about Census 2020 and its importance to people with disabilities. When they asked if I’d filled out the form on my own during the census ten years ago, I had to tell them no. “It wasn’t accessible,” I said with a shrug.

In 2010, the official census form every American received in the mail was not available in an accessible format. People who were blind or had visual impairments were told to ask someone we know to help us fill out a census questionnaire, visit a Questionnaire Assistance Center where a paid Census Bureau staff member could help us, or call a toll free number that was available between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. 7 days a week.

My husband can see, and he filled out the form for us in 2010.

Today, on Census Day, I’m hoping to fill our form out on my own. You can do so too by visiting https://my2020census.gov. The 2020 Census Fact Sheet reports that the 2020 online questionnaire will follow the latest Website Accessibility Content Guidelines (WACG) and that Braille and large print guides can also be provided for those who prefer responding by U.S. mail.

Why do I care about all this? Why is it so important for me, a person with a disability, to be counted – especially while the world faces the impact of COVID-19? Here’s why:

• Transportation. My community uses census data when planning for public transit routes, upgrades and changes. Billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed for transportation projects, including public transit, accessible pedestrian signals, and truncated domes at intersections. I need all of those things to get  around the city safely. The funding our state gets is based on census data. If I am not counted, that could mean less money for my city and state for these projects. I need to be counted.
• Health and Social Services. My state receives billions of federal dollars to support a wide variety of programs, including funding for services I use that are specifically for people with blindness and vision loss. I need to be counted.
• Representation. The number of people who respond in my community and state will determine the number of Electoral votes we get to help choose who becomes president, the number of seats our state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives, and how the congressional and state legislative districts are drawn. I need to be counted.

Yes. People with disabilities need to be counted. And this year, thanks to accessibility measures, I just might be able to see to that on my own.

This just in: an important message about COVID-19 from some incredible, multi-talented friends within the disability community. Thank you to filmmaker extraordinaire John Lawson for quickly spearheading this urgent public service project!

This video reminds us that we are all in this together…to self-isolate, stay at home, and do your part to stop the spread of this virus – especially because people with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable. Please share with your friends and help us save lives!

And, here’s a fun fact. The filmmaker and everyone you see in this PSA are active participants (and super spokespeople) of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, including its founder/director, actor and Easterseals Southern California board member, Nic Novicki.

We’re thrilled to host John today for a brief Q&A about this awesome video:

Easterseals: What made you decide to do the PSA?

John: I actually saw a PSA that was done by a major network with some of their TV series regulars, but of course it didn’t include anyone with disabilities. In my own research and seeing information posted about COVID-19, I learned that seniors and some people with certain disabilities or compromised immune systems would be more at risk. Especially early on, with lack of testing available and reports of some people not realizing they could be carriers infecting others, I felt it important to help spread the word about self-isolation as a protection to the public.

Easterseals: In the climate of social distancing, how did you get all those celebrities to participate?

John: After being in the trenches for nearly 30 years as an advocate for people with disabilities, especially in film and television, I have worked with and become good friends with many actors of different levels of success. I just email or called everyone and asked them to participate. From New York to New Orleans to Los Angeles, they were all happy to help by filming at their respective homes to help spread the message. Everyone sent their videos to me and then I edited the PSA into its final version.

Easterseals: What do you hope the PSA accomplishes?

John: Hopefully the public will see familiar faces from television and film that they invite into their homes for various forms of entertainment and realize that they could possibly infect not only loved ones within their own family circle, but also those who may be more at risk because of age, disability or compromised immune system.

Easterseals: Anything else you’d like to add?

John: I am really pleased that this little 90 second video, brought together in just 48 hours is being so well received and watched around the world. As the US is now the epicenter in the full grips of this global pandemic, hopefully the public will take the message to heart and realize that “safer at home” has just as big an impact for others as it does for themselves.

Truly, we are all in this together.

Visit John’s IMDb page to learn more about his work or check out his many films for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.

We’re in this Together features: Danny Woodburn, Daryl Chill Mitchell, Marilee Talkington, Sammi Haney’s DisabilityShirts.com, Blair Williamson, Diana Elizabeth Jordan Actor/Solo Performer-Speaker, Filmmaker, Patrika Darbo, Nic Novicki, Angel Giuffria, RJ Mitte, Tobias Forrest, and Danny Gomez.

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, our top priority has been to ensure the protection and safety of all. As we continue to monitor the ongoing spread of the Coronavirus, we want to ensure everyone who relies on our services are aware of best practices to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

To stay healthy and safe, please take these actions:
• Cough and sneeze into your elbow or upper arm. Use a tissue.
• Wash your hands thoroughly and often with soap and water.
• Stay home if you are sick and seek medical care.

If you or someone you know receives Easterseals services at any of our centers across the country, be sure to connect locally for updates relevant to your location. If you experience or observe the symptoms below in your household, please stay home and reschedule any appointments. Call a healthcare professional, detailing your symptoms and any recent travel. They will provide instructions on next steps.

• Fever
• Cough
• Difficulty Breathing
• Sore Throat

Practice preventative behaviors at home or work. The CDC has more information about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Easterseals has taken necessary action to ensure all staff, caregivers, and volunteers are trained accordingly to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a service organization that works closely with people with disabilities, older adults, and people with complex medical conditions, we understand the importance of a quick and swift response in this situation. That is why we have signed the National Call to Action as submitted by the World Institute on Disability, Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, and the National Council on Independent Living in solidarity with other disability organizations. We ask that federal and state governments ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are met as we plan for and respond to COVID-19.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit www.cdc.gov.

(ABC/Jack Rowand)
Nic Novicki (left), Antonia Thomas (middle), Freddie Highmore (right)

Our guest blogger today is Nic Novicki. He’s an actor, producer, disability advocate, Founder/Director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, and Board Member of Easterseals Southern California. Nic makes a guest appearance in ABC’s The Good Doctor, on an episode that will air on Monday, March 9 – tune in! 

Easterseals’ purpose is to change the way the world defines and views disability. This amazing organization exists to make profound, positive differences in peoples’ lives and has been doing so for more than 100 years.

For the past 7 years, the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge’s strategy has been to advance disability representation in entertainment and cast disability in a new light. We are actively partnering alongside the entertainment industry to advance disability inclusion, break down misconceptions and stigmas, and make sure people with disabilities are included in front of and behind the camera.

Our work is paying off. In recent years, there have been a number of new TV shows that devote more airtime to giving dimension to disability and providing exciting new opportunities for actors with disabilities. Groundbreaking shows like Netflix’s Special, ABC’s Speechless and The Good Doctor have been leading the charge in hiring and featuring people with disabilities both in front of and behind the camera.

The Good Doctor in particular has been a great example of not only featuring a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome in a lead role, but also continually hiring actors with physical and cognitive disabilities as guest stars on the show. The show recently won the Visionary Award at the 2019 Media Access Awards. It helps that the writing staff includes David Renaud, a wheelchair user who can authentically speak to disability and often writes it into his episodes. I was lucky enough to get to know David through my involvement with the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and he was gracious to think of me while writing an episode this season. This Monday night I have the honor of being a guest star on The Good Doctor.

It’s so exciting to experience a real-life example of how Easterseals is advancing careers for people with disabilities in Hollywood, and how it is having a tremendous impact on the way the world defines and views disabilities as a result. The power of quality storytelling is its ability to influence, inspire and change people’s perceptions about who we are, how we see ourselves and how we understand and empathize with other people. Having the opportunity to be on The Good Doctor is incredibly flattering. It fuels me as I look forward to this year’s Easterseals Disability Film Challenge in April to ensure we continue see our participants get jobs as a direct result of the film challenge. We’ve had great success stories of participants guest starring on hit shows like Loudermilk and many exciting soon-to-be-announced projects, as well as opportunities to work behind the camera in film and TV.

This is an exciting milestone, and I will continue to do everything I can to make sure others like me have every opportunity in show business, or in life, to do and be whatever it is they dream.

TUNE IN MONDAY, MARCH 9

“Heartbreak” – Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Shaun Murphy treat a patient with a rare form of dwarfism. Meanwhile, Dr. Morgan Reznick, Dr. Audrey Lim and Dr. Alex Park treat a young man who had both arms torn off in a previous farming accident and Shaun reacts to an emotional situation, on a new episode of “The Good Doctor,” MONDAY, MARCH 9 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (TV-14) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.

Watch a clip below: