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“It's an interesting question to ask, how I got interested in the field of disability services,” states Dr. Mary Ciccarelli. When Dr. Ciccarelli began her training in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, there was little specific attention paid to…

“So, we ended up creating our first bus roping opportunity.” Nancy Griffin describes participating in an action protesting inaccessible public transportation. “You get a half a dozen folks in wheelchairs and somebody goes up to the door of the bus…

“I learned that there were more than just rights," recalled disability advocate Karen Vaughn of the era immediately after passage of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). "We had civil rights on just about every level.” After acquiring a…

“Advocating for disability issues is a broad topic. And when you advocate, you don’t advocate for people with a particular disability, your advocacy affects everyone with a disability,” Christine Dahlberg remarked in 2009. Then Deputy Director of the…

“This was not just a thing that was going to affect us,” Ric Edwards recalls, “it was going to affect our kids and our kids' kids, and many generations to follow.” The work to win support in Indiana for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act…

"The last thing we really want to do is -- not only do you have to adjust to your disability, but now you need to sell your farm and move to town." Ed Bell says farming is statistically one of the most dangerous occupations. Although farmers are used…

“The history of why there's the University Center for Excellence…is somewhat unique,” states David Mank. David was director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community when he was interviewed in 2015. He shares the story about President…

“When I was young I knew nothing about any legislative activities or laws that would allow an individual with a disability to have any kind of civil rights because I stayed in several nursing homes and at that time, there were no patients' rights,”…

“He put me in the nursing home, and I didn’t like that very much,” explains Ruth Ann. When Ruth Ann’s grandmother passed away, her father was unable to care for Ruth Ann and placed her in a nursing home. Ruth Ann found it depressing. While attending…

Dr. Sue Gant has 40 plus years of working in the disability field. As an expert with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation, Dr. Gant spent the late 1990s through 2008 in Indiana assisting with the closure of New…