Recent Blog Posts
Kids Crusaders Corner
By Julie Fioravanti One of the greatest joys I have learned on my journey of raising a child with special needs is the magic of “paying things forward.” The act of doing something for someone who least expects it, without expecting anything in return. Often on this journey there is great joy in knowing… Read More »
Accessibility Features of the iPhone 6 and iOS 8
By: Rachel Goldstein Apple just put its two new iPhone models, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, on the market and introduced the Apple Watch, which is set to be released in early 2015. Built-in accessibility features and the ability to download thousands of specialized apps have made the iPhone a popular smartphone… Read More »
Know Your Legal Rights
By: Matthew Dietz On Saturday, September 20th, I had the opportunity to put on my professor hat and teach Criminal Procedure 101 to a very eager class of persons at the University of Miami. No, not for law students at the Law School, but instead for a class teens and young adults who have… Read More »
Shark Tank Update…
By: Debbie Dietz We have finished filming the video and we are now in the editing stage. The video looks amazing! We want to thank all of our actors. They did an amazing job. You can order your own wallet card for free on our website at: /wallet-cards/. Just fill out the online… Read More »
ABLE Act of 2013: Update
By: Aaron Carter Bates On Friday, September 19th, Federal lawmakers announced that a deal was reached to permit The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2013 (S. 313/H.R.647) to move forward in Congress. The ABLE Act was introduced in 2013 and, with a model based on IRC 529 college savings plans, aims… Read More »
Autism CARES Act Renewed
By: Deborah Dietz President Obama signed the Autism CARES Act last month. The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2014, or Autism CARES Act, will reauthorize the Combating Autism Act for the next five years. The law will allow for $260 million annually for autism research, prevalence tracking, screening, professional training… Read More »
Kids Crusaders Corner
By Julie Fioravanti Stay tuned next month for another article by Julie. She is going to discuss her summer vacation and random acts of kindness and paying it forward.
WWII Veteran Receives His Purple Heart After 70 Years
By: Chris Arroyo Robert C Bohm was born October 8, 1920 in Lorraine, Ohio. He lived in Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa growing up and graduated from Muscatine High School in Iowa. On October 29, 1940, he signed up for the US Army. His first tour was in North Africa and his job was a… Read More »
GIVE MIAMI DAY 2014
DIG is excited to announce that we will be participating in TheMiami Foundation’s Give Miami Day 2014! Give Miami Day is an online giving event that encourages people to donate to nonprofits in Miami. This is our first year participating, and we couldn’t be more excited. The competition will take place from midnight on… Read More »
Deaf Mom-to-be gives Birth in the Wrong Hospital?
“Hello this is Byron, Cheylla needs your help…” As a lawyer practicing civil law, you rarely receive a cry for help at 8:45 in the evening from a client. I knew that it was happening again – another client who is Deaf that could not get an interpreter for medical care. I represent Cheylla… Read More »
Litigation: Accommodations for High Stakes Testing
By: Matthew Dietz Academic success is often measured by a score on a test. A test score can make the difference in being accepted into a desired school or in obtaining a professional license. However, a learning disability of a mental illness or disorder, or other disability, can derail a person’s career or learning… Read More »
I read an interesting story in the Miami Herald the other day. It was about Matt Cottle.
By: Lester Langer Matt has autism. He was bagging groceries and pushing carts for the past 6 years before he started Stuttering King Bakery. He is now an entrepreneur turning out cookies, brownies and scones for cafes, businesses, and groups that need catering. Matt’s old boss told him he could do nothing but bag… Read More »
Update on the Settlement between the Department of Justice and the Law School Admission Council
By: Rachel Goldstein In Volume 5 of DIG’s newsletter, Litigation Director Matthew Dietz, discussed the Department of Justice’s May 2014 announcement of a settlement with the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), the administrators of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act for denying disability accommodations for test… Read More »
Shark Tank Update…
By: Debbie Dietz We have hired Jon Kent and Kent Creative to help us make our video. We will be filming the video at the end of this month. You can order your own wallet card for free on our website at: /wallet-cards/. Just fill out the online form and we will have them mailed… Read More »
Domestic Violence and the Deaf
By: Sharon Langer The deaf and hard of hearing world is unique because of the difficulty in communicating with others. The world of the victim of domestic violence is also one of isolation and lack of access to the outside world. A batterer typically isolates their victim to instill dependency. When you combine… Read More »
My Summer at DIG
By: MacKenzie Ruroede As a legal intern for Disability Independence Group (DIG), I was introduced to many legal issues that are incurred by individuals with hearing impairments, significant illnesses, and service and emotional support animals. I also worked on cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. Many of the issues faced… Read More »
Art and More
By Chris Stein Stay tuned for more stories from Chris in the future. Chris is currently working on an independent studies project at FIU on Ernest Hemmingway.
Kids Crusaders Corner
By Julie Fioravanti This summer Julie and her husband took Nick to a fun evening event. They took Nick to Painting with a Twist. They all worked together and made a beautiful masterpiece.
Hurricane Preparedness
By: Anastasia Gaertner It may seem like hurricane season is nearing its end, but we are still a ways off from the season’s official peak, which occurs from mid-August to late October. This time is when storms are likely to be at their worst, so as the peak of the season draws nearer, it… Read More »
Kiddle’s Ordinance
By: Matthew Dietz On July 6, 2014, Nancy Alfonso’s worst nightmare occurred while she was having lunch at a restaurant in Doral with her friend Luz Rosenthal. Nancy’s guide dog Kiddle and Luz’s guide dog Chelsea were with the friends, when Kiddle became violently ill and started vomiting inside the restaurant. An emergency veterinarian… Read More »
