What's New and Updated at The Shining Lamp?

October spotlights the contributions of People with Disabilities in workplaces across the country and calls employers to sustain inclusion beyond a single month. The piece connects today’s observance to its World War II–era roots and frames it as a moment to recommit to accessibility, equity, and culture change that lasts. The author explains how employment gaps persist because of ableism and structural barriers, not lack of talent. Employers are urged to align hiring, onboarding, and advancement with accessibility from the start, since organizations benefit when roles, tools, and policies…

October is presented as a time for school leaders to celebrate disability diversity and recommit to inclusive school culture. The piece highlights both visible and non-apparent disabilities and encourages a month-long focus on belonging, with an emphasis that accessibility is critical to community life. A central thread is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which the author connects to daily leadership practice. Concrete actions include inclusive hiring, ensuring accessible classrooms with adaptive technology, expanding career readiness and work-based learning for students with…

The essay explains how a simple mobility tool came to represent self-reliance in public life. It begins by challenging praise that misunderstands the cane’s meaning and centers the observance that highlights its purpose, reflected in White Cane Awareness Day. It then traces national recognition: in 1963, organized advocates urged state proclamations; in 1964, Congress authorized an annual presidential proclamation that President Lyndon B. Johnson promptly issued. The text emphasizes the cane as a public signal and the shared responsibility for motorists to exercise special care toward…

The piece previews this year’s overnight contemporary art celebration, returning Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. for twelve hours of installations and performances across downtown (from City Hall to Chinatown), North York, and Etobicoke. Curators emphasize place-based work and collaboration with communities—an approach that pairs naturally with planning for an accessible event so more people can participate. Downtown, the exhibition titled “Poetic Justice” draws its name from a headline-grabbing rap rivalry and the 1990s film, framing art that engages reform, advocacy, and political resistance. The article…

As a child, the author could not picture a butterfly, a flock of geese, or the shape of a monument. She argues that touch can deliver that knowledge when society commits to removing barriers—especially through raised-line drawings and 3-D models that represent objects we can’t safely handle or physically reach. Public examples such as tactile exhibits and maps show how environments can support exploration instead of blocking it. The piece recounts a three-day Teach-In in Littleton, Colorado, designed to build a corps of instructors who can teach tactile literacy. Led by Ann Cunningham and…

The author shares a direct challenge: stop looking away from People with Disabilities. Drawing on her childhood experiences at a children’s rehabilitation hospital, she describes how confidence grows when difference is met with respect and real accessibility, not avoidance. She details how care and engineering work together—early myoelectric prosthetics, custom orthotics, and newer 3D-printed components—to fit a child’s body and goals. That collaboration moves ideas out of the lab and into daily life faster, from learning and play to sport and performance. The piece centers children who use…

A parent recounts a moment at a neighborhood playground when an older child’s curiosity became the spark for genuine inclusion. What began as a hesitant question quickly turned into an invitation to play, setting a hopeful tone for how kids can welcome a peer with a disability when adults respond calmly and clearly. After the parent offered a simple, age-appropriate explanation, the child returned to help with the slide and swing, then picked up hand cues like “more” and “all done,” teaching friends to do the same. The scene underscores how learning a few basics of American Sign Language can…

Ready to move from good intentions to measurable action? This timely piece lays out five concrete moves any team can start on now—framed by the proven shift toward the social model of disability, which focuses on removing barriers rather than “fixing” people. You’ll get crisp guidance on rethinking roles, simplifying applications, and making interviews and onboarding accessible—plus tips to standardize what works. If you track progress, tools like the Disability Equality Index overview can help benchmark policies and identify gaps to close. People leaders, HR, and procurement teams will find…

Too many teams still tack on accessibility at the end—then wonder why forms fail, links confuse screen readers, and images hide meaning. This piece shows how that “afterthought” mindset quietly bleeds revenue and trust, and why making fixes part of the workflow pays off. For quick context on the broader landscape, see why digital accessibility must be a next priority. Mobile is where customers decide fast—so small touch targets, low contrast, and unlabeled buttons are conversion killers. You’ll get a practical snapshot of what to prioritize first (think input labels, focus order, and readable…

Thirteen-year-old John Buettner grew up watching from his wheelchair as classmates played. That changed when he was invited to help design and test inclusive playgrounds, starting with Glen Lake Elementary in Minnetonka. He and other kids with disabilities brought firsthand expertise to make play spaces work for children who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The school effort began after students noticed peers “just sitting on the sideline.” Community fundraising took off—from bake sales and coin drives to a $50,000 gift from BMW—turning one planned piece of equipment into a fully…

Empowerment Through Structured Discovery

Brett Boyer’s article reminds us that true independence for blind people isn’t about memorizing routes or keystrokes—it’s about learning to explore, problem-solve, and recover when things go wrong. He describes how Structured Discovery, first introduced in cane travel, gave him the confidence to navigate the world on his own terms. This same philosophy drives his approach to teaching screen readers: instead of training students to follow scripts, he empowers them to ask questions, troubleshoot, and take control. This perspective is critical for building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities, because independence fuels participation and shared contribution.

The Americans with Disabilities Act became law 35 years ago. Coloradans reflect on our state's pivotal role and on the progress still to be made. Then, ahead of a special session of the state legislature, a look at a bad budget gap and some bad behavior. Plus, the season three premiere of Systemic, CPR's podcast about changemakers. “They blocked buses in Denver, busted up curbs, crawled up the US. Capitol steps. Activism that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act. 35 years later, it can still be a daily battle. Listen to the Podcast: Disability rights movement sprouted in Colorado -CPR…

Taking Back My Life: A Journey from Control to Freedom is a powerful firsthand account by Mary Azatyan-Witmeyer, a Blind woman whose early adulthood was shaped not by opportunity, but by legal and societal barriers rooted in systemic ableism. At the age of eighteen, Mary was forced into a conservatorship by her adoptive mother, despite her clear desire and ability to make her own decisions. This legal control—enabled by harmful assumptions about her blindness—stripped her of agency over her healthcare, finances, education, and even her housing. This unjust reality reflects a widespread…

At VidCon 2025, Peet Montzingo hosted the panel Accessibility for All: Creating Inclusive Spaces Online and IRL, featuring Imani Barbarin, Briel Adams-Wheatley, and Pat Valentine of the Valentine Brothers. The conversation centered on removing barriers to full participation in online and offline creative spaces, and affirming the leadership of People with Disabilities in advocacy and storytelling. The creators reflected on how their lived experiences shape their content and drive efforts toward accessibility and inclusion. Imani Barbarin emphasized how accessibility is rooted in creativity…

Meredith Englander Polsky’s reflection on 25 years of advocacy with Matan underscores a powerful truth: removing barriers that prevent full participation for People with Disabilities is essential to building vibrant, diverse, inclusive, accessible communities. Jewish life must reflect the full spectrum of humanity, including People with Disabilities—who are also members of other historically excluded groups. While meaningful progress has been made through educator training and inclusive design, too many Jewish institutions still treat accessibility and inclusion as an afterthought, rather…

Michelle Guadalupe Felix Garcia, a Blind sound engineer from Mexico, has broken new ground in the live events industry by showing how accessible audio technology enables Blind People to participate and even compete. Supported by Clair Global, the Audio Accessibility Alliance (AAA) is an industry think tank focused on fostering conversations and driving change around disability in entertainment technology and live event production. This collaboration highlights the importance of striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!…