Once he gets his associate degree he’d like to work in building maintenance, the sports industry, or potentially go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, but he thinks that the current annual income cap under the Apple Healthcare for Workers with Disabilities (AHWD) program is a barrier.

“It holds you back from reaching your full potential,” said Wilson. “[Raising the income limit] would open the door for a lot of people for new jobs and opportunities and allow them to advance their careers. This is a very important issue. I think that something should be done because this law hasn’t been updated in around 10 years or so.”

When Cathy Murahashi, Family Engagement Coordinator for the Arc of King County, visited the OLS Citizenship class as a guest speaker, Wilson shared his experience. Murahashi asked if she could include his story in the legislative packet that the Arc of King County was presenting at the King County Board for Developmental Disabilities Legislative Forum Nov. 20, and Wilson agreed. The event had 670 attendees.

OLS students enrolled in the Citizenship course attended the forum with their instructor Herb Johnston as part of the course curriculum. “We teach our students to advocate for themselves as part of their journey to becoming independent and contributing members of society,” said Johnston. “This was an opportunity for them to learn more about the legislative process, and connect with other members of the developmental disability community.”

Wilson was fortunate to meet Noel Frame, the representative for the 36th District where he lives, to discuss the issue.

“Joey is a great example of what it means to be a citizen advocate,” said Frame. “By sharing his story, he is helping to make a difference, not only for himself, but for many others in the developmental disability community. I’m excited to explore this issue and see if we can find a solution.”

And Wilson has some advice for people facing similar barriers. “Never stop self-advocating. Reach out for issues important to you. Follow your dreams; the sky is the limit.”

Occupational & Life Skills (OLS) Bellevue College is an accredited associate degree program for adults with learning disabilities. Students identify and develop a career pathway, gain marketable, workplace-readiness skills, and complete an internship with a local business. By applying academic skills through service learning and growing interpersonal skills, students gain the confidence they need to become gainfully employed, contributing citizens who advocate for themselves and the learning disability community. For more information about BC’s OLS program, visit their website or contact Maile Allen at 206-564-5203, maile.allen@bellevuecollege.edu.

OLS will hold a College Bound Resource Fair for Students with Disabilities on Feb. 3, 2018, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Students will spend the day learning and engaging in discussion around race, culture, leadership and self-empowerment with sessions like How Race impacts your identity, Speak On It!, La Culture Cura: Beats from the Barrio, A World Without Black People and Purpose & Perseverance to name a few.

According to the most recent report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, estimates indicate a national high school graduation rate of 59 percent for Black males, 65 percent for Latino males and 80 percent for White males. And in April, Inside Higher Ed published an article, Graduation Rates and Race, which explored a similar gap in college graduation rates. A National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report found, “on average, white and Asian students earn a college-level credential at a rate about 20 percentage points higher than Hispanic and Black students do.”

Mentorship from an instructor who students can identify with racially may improve student success. A recent NPR article, If Your Teacher Looks Like You, You May Do Better In School, noted another study found, “…when students had teachers of the same race as them, they reported feeling more cared for, more interested in their schoolwork and more confident in their teachers’ abilities to communicate with them. These students also reported putting forth more effort in school and having higher college aspirations.”

“We are truly excited to be able to continue to offer this opportunity for the students of the Bellevue School District. It is a great partnership we have with the Bellevue Schools Foundation, Bellevue College, Bellevue College Foundation and The City of Bellevue that allows for us to focus on cultural and racial relevance in a meaningful way,” said Krischanna Roberson, Supervisor of Equity for the Bellevue, WA School District. “Going into this third year we have worked hard to listen and act on what students have said. Dillion, a freshman at one of our schools, has become a self-actualized leader as a result of attending BOOM. He has engaged with our staff with such excitement going into this year’s program not only for himself but in leading other students to the BOOM Experience as well.”

A similar program for female youth, SHOUT, is scheduled for March 27, also at Bellevue College.

BOOM organizers expect participation from more than 300 students, staff, community members and leaders. For more information, please visit: http://www.bsd405.org/departments/equity/boom/

“Dorian Wants Transit Policy Towards Disabled Persons to Change” placed third in the prestigious 2017 Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability contest…

The production team that worked on the story included Yuko Kodama, News & Public Affairs Director for KBCS, Sonya Green, former News and Public Affairs Director for KBCS and a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow 2017, and Mona Yeh, a media producer and communications specialist based out of Los Angeles.

“When we set out to do a series on public transportation, access quickly rose to the top as an important issue to cover,” said Yeh. “Access can mean a lot of different things, so we explored stories that approached it from different perspectives. We were interested in learning more about physical accessibility, and ended up meeting Dorian through the Transit Riders Union. Dorian’s voice is one that really resonated with many audiences.”

The story captured the attention of King County Metro, which led to a meeting between Dorian and their staff. They agreed to continue a dialogue with Dorian about their practices and to also incorporate Dorian’s feedback and video into their training for bus operators.

“There is still a lot of work to be done in order to ensure that citizens have a voice and a way to hold systems accountable,” said Yeh. “Hopefully platforms such as community broadcasts can continue to further this.”

The Katherine Schneider Journalism Award is the only journalism contest devoted exclusively to recognizing excellence in the coverage of people with disabilities and disability issues. It is administered each year by the National Center on Disability and Journalism, which is part of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The NCDJ provides guidance and resources for journalists as they cover people with disabilities.

Entries are judged by professional journalists and disability experts based on criteria like the exploration of legal or judicial issues, offering balanced accounts of key points of controversy, and going beyond the ordinary in conveying the challenges experienced by people living with disabilities. This year’s panel of judges included “PBS NewsHour” anchor Judy Woodruff, Judge Tony Coelho, a former six-term U.S. congressman from California and the primary sponsor of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and Pulitzer Prize-winning former Washington Post reporter Leon Dash.