Recent Blog Posts
The PASS Plan
By: Lesly Quin How a PASS plan can help you? A PASS (Plan for Achieving Self Support) allows you to set aside other income besides your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or resources for a specified period of time so that you may pursue a work goal that will reduce or eliminate the SSI or… Read More »
Step Up For Students
Did you know Step Up For Students helps administer TWO scholarships for Florida children? The Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts (PLSA) helps families personalize educational plans for their children with certain special needs. Students age 3 through 12th grade may be eligible if they are diagnosed with one of the following: Autism Spectrum Disorder, including… Read More »
Are Doctors Required to Provide Interpreters for Deaf Patients?
By: Matthew Dietz I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. Modern Hippocratic Oath At least once per week, I receive a call from a Deaf person complaining that their doctor will not provide… Read More »
Litigation: When the denial of a reasonable accommodation leads to tragedy
By: Matthew Dietz Most times when a person requests a reasonable accommodation or a modification because of a disability, the accommodation or modification assists a person to live independently or lessens the effect of a disability. This includes a closer parking space, grab bars in the bathroom, or an assistance animal. However, there are… Read More »
Can Judges from the Florida Supreme Court get a Reasonable Accommodation for a Disability?
For Supreme Court Justices, or any other lawyer, with cancer, continuing to work should be dependent on the person’s health, and not limited by logistical or technological details.
“High functing” people (or the insane) cannot drink hooch in Texas!
By: Matthew Dietz “We are more than happy to have you all with us to experance a bit of TEXAS. Unfortunately the Law in Texas does not allow us to serve alcohol drinks to high functing individuals.” Kelly @ Stampede Houston Becky Dowling runs a program in the Metro Atlanta area called “Just” People,… Read More »
FEMA Releases PSA to Help People with Disabilities Prepare for Emergencies
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Ad Council have released a new public service advertisement announcement (PSA) to raise awareness about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. “We Prepare Every Day” is the first in a series of videos that show people with disabilities taking steps to prepare themselves and their… Read More »
Work incentives Protecting Health Coverage for People with Disabilities
By: Claudia Luna Extended Medicare Coverage for Working People with Disabilities For beneficiaries receiving SSDI As long as your disabling condition still meets our rules, you can keep your Medicare coverage for at least 8 ½ years after you return to work. (The 8 ½ years includes your nine month trial work Period) Your… Read More »
Florida State and Local Remedies for Civil Rights Violations in Public Accommodations
By: Matthew Dietz, Esq. No State shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Equal protection is a right that is enshrined in both the Florida and the United States Constitutions. However, what most advocates and lawyers do not realize is that there are many local and… Read More »
New Guidance on Emotional Support Animals for Air Carriers – What does it mean?
By: Matthew Dietz Almost nothing has engendered more controversy than turkeys, peacocks, and pigs on commercial air crafts. As a result of the many passengers who choose to bring their animals on aircraft, airlines have been establishing new guidelines without oversight or guidance from the Department of Transportation and their view of enforcement of… Read More »