High Stakes for Disabled in Coming Election

Disability Rights: How and Why to Vote

Author: Sandra Carroll, BS, BCEA

While much of recent political discussion in Pennsylvania centers around the two “big” races in the impending election this year, little has been mentioned about disability related issues in the news. In fact, the stakes for disabled constituents have never been higher. While much in political ads center around the contest for the gubernatorial office and the U.S. Senate, where the candidates could not be more polarized, little fanfare has been made about the enormous impact that could be made among those with disabilities, and related interested parties.

People with disabilities are by far the largest special interest population constituency in both the state and the country. They cut across all other demographic groups: gender, age ranges, race & ethnicity, religion, income levels, residential areas and more. Add to that, the people in their immediate circles of concern: parents, adult children, other relatives, friends, caretakers, special educators, medical teams and direct service providers, and you have a very large group of stakeholders indeed. Promotion of the disability vote, as well as that of those within their social spheres, can wield enormous influence on not only the outcome of an election, but legislation and policy as well.

So Why Don’t More People With Disabilities Vote?

Up until the general election of 2020, the difference in exercise of this basic right between disabled voters and their typical counterparts was a sizable disparity. New accommodations to the voting process for all citizens due to the pandemic, as well as the intensity of feelings about the presidential candidates, led to a sizable increase in disabled voter participation on the whole. Now, sadly, efforts to suppress the disabled vote in the coming election are at play in many areas of the country. But for now, an examination of recent historical issues is appropriate.

There are several factors that play into disabled voting participation, many of which are common knowledge. Overall, activities of daily living are more challenging for those with disabilities; it’s part of the definition, or “deeming,” of disability. Naturally this would include increased barriers to both the registration process as well as accessibility to voting in general.

Although a formal quantifiable breakdown among populations of disabled persons into categories will not be assessed in the scope of this discussion, they are largely divided into roughly four categories: physical (e.g. mobility, arthritis, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, diabetes, vision and hearing impairments), cognitive (e.g. autism, intellectual disability, learning differences, traumatic brain injury, memory loss) and mental health (e.g. anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia), and behavioral (e.g. substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-injury). Very few accommodations are available to many who fall into these categories, because they are not well understood among the general population. The challenges that are encountered can be very general to all people with disability, but often quite unique and largely unacknowledged. They often fall into “economically challenged” income ranges, and have more difficulty navigating their communities, especially without assistance, which is most often reliance on a natural source of support than a paid one.

Among all these differing kinds of disability, life management can be considerably more time consuming overall, requiring very discriminating prioritization of time, whereby civic engagement often doesn’t make the cut. The first time one registers to vote, they must have appropriate documentation of proof of residency. People with disabilities have fewer driver’s licenses among them which is the most commonly used identification document of all. Though they may not be able to drive, it would behoove them to obtain official state ID, at least, in their later teen years on par with their same age driving peers, but it’s not always simple to obtain such ID when one has a disability.

Must Getting a State ID Act as Voter Suppression?

Voter suppression laws commonly passed prior to the 2012 general election, and their subsequent appeals, starkly highlighted the common inaccessibility issues faced by all groups of persons with disabilities at their “local” DOT offices in obtaining such ID, across the state, and especially in rural areas. Getting a state ID as a disabled adult is no picnic; getting one for a severely or even “mildly” disabled child can be a feat of unfathomable heights. There is little to no recourse for this situation (though one may be tempted to get on one’s soapbox at this point and kindly ask all stakeholders to contact their local elected officials to seek a legislative or policy change. This is somewhat disheartening as we already HAVE such a law, called the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations. However, there has been no attempt at even mild accommodations in most DOT offices).

Applicants without ID. have one solution commonly available to them: they can check the box on the voter registration form which declares that they do not have such ID; although if they DO indeed have such ID, and are failing to say so, this will be confirmed at the Voter Services office in their county, and their application will be rejected. Why anyone would have the motivation to commit such an offense is inexplicable but seemed worthy of note as far as procedure.

Without state identification, the process gets a bit more complicated. If choosing to register online, at the end of the application, there are two options: you can continue to submit the form online, in which case the Voter Services office will send you a form in the mail to sign and return. If you have access to a printer, you have the opportunity to print the form yourself, sign it, and then mail it to your county Voter Services office. If you are butting up against a registration deadline, you will want to consider taking it directly to the Voter Services office.

You can access the online form here:

https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/VoterRegistrationApplication.aspx

You will have a chance to indicate that you need assistance on the polls, although the prepopulated list of disabilities to pick from is very limited. You don’t HAVE to select any of them. It will also ask what party you wish to be affiliated with, and that sometimes is one of the reasons that registration can be intimidating to a first-time voter. It’s ok to pick NONE! You can decide later if you want to choose a particular party once you are more familiar with the significance of each.

To add another wrinkle, if a third party has assisted the applicant in filling out the registration form, a common accommodation among people with disabilities, that person must also sign the form. Unfortunately, this process has not kept up with technology. The disabled applicant and the “helper” are often in two separate locations but online or phone together during this process. This necessitates yet another step in an already complicated process, whereby somehow both parties must have access to the form to sign it before returning it to the voter registration office. However, a recent change to the online form includes a box to check as an “electronic signature” in lieu of an actual one.

For anyone who isn’t comfortable or able to fill in the online form, they can download a written one if they have access to the internet and a printer. This form looks considerably different from the online version but covers most of the same information. On this form, you have the opportunity to write in what kind of assistance you will need at the polls. It also has a place for a “hard” signature for anyone who helps you fill out the form. You may also indicate if you wish to receive a “mail-in” ballot for the upcoming election, or any other. You can mail this yourself without an envelope, but will still need a stamp.

Timing and Options for Registration

Another impediment to young adult registration is confusion over when registration can start. In about fifty percent of states, young adults can “preregister” automatically when they get their driver's licenses. Unfortunately, that doesn’t expedite the process for youth with disabilities who are much more unlikely to obtain their licenses at 16 compared with their typical peers. In many other states, the registration process can start at 17 ½ , or within 90 days of a general election, IF the youth will be 18 by election day. In the remaining states, there are no clear guidelines; the language used is often something akin to “an applicant can register after the last general election.” In theory, this could be as much as nearly two years in advance of the next election. Since voter registration offices are by county or region in Pennsylvania, the best bet is to call if possible to check when someone is allowed to register at the earliest. The worst that can happen if registration is attempted well in advance of the next election is that the application will be rejected and an explanation given.

For anyone who doesn’t have access to the internet and/or a printer (a common occurrence among the disabled population who typically have fewer financial resources or technology education), voter registration can still be done in person. If your county registration office is inconveniently located, some other, hopefully more local, options are available, including any Penn DOT office. It is ok to have a helper with you if desired. The list below comes from the vote.pa.gov website:

“You can also register to vote at many state government offices, including:

• ●  State offices that provide public assistance and services to persons with disabilities
• ●  Armed Forces Recruitment Centers
• ●  County Clerk of Orphans' Court offices, including each Marriage License Bureau
• ●  Area Agencies on Aging

• ●  Centers for Independent Living
• ●  County Mental Health and Intellectual Disability offices
• ●  Student disability services offices of the State System of Higher Education
• ●  Offices of Special Education
• ●  DA Complementary Paratransit offices
• ●  Any agency using the Compass application”

The DEADLINE for voter registration in the state of Pennsylvania for the November 2022 General Election is Monday, October 24th. Most Voter Services offices close between 4 pm and 5 pm. I did have one young client who asked me to walk him through the online registration process after 5 pm one year, and even though it was shortly before midnight when we finished, he did get his registration card in the mail a week or so later, but I wouldn’t count on that information as a rule.

Be forewarned, it is prudent to call ahead to any of these places to ask about accessibility. Many state offices are in “historic” facilities, especially in rural areas, and may not have ramps for wheelchair users or the mobility impaired. Check also to see the distance required from the parking lot to the entrance, and whether or not there are inclines that must be traversed. Frequently, these locations are not accessible by local transportation means, not even para-transit services. Because many transit systems that include options for the disabled are administered by the county, they often don’t include eligibility to go to a state government office. And though we have had substantial increases in recent decades in the numbers of persons who have a cognitive, mental health or behavioral health disability, accommodations that are commonly offered have not kept up. Many Penn DOT offices across the state can be a sensory nightmare of crowds, noise, and general disorganization. If you are lucky enough to find an employee sitting in a reception area, which is rare, they will be unlikely to be familiar with accommodations needed other than wheelchair user requests.

Some disabled groups that were surveyed offered this suggestion: “consider it a three person job. One to go into the Penn DOT office and pull a number (such as when waiting for service at a deli) and then sit with the crowd until the number is called. The person with the disability could wait in their car, or nearby, and a cell phone call could be made while the “place holder” walks up to the counter to explain the situation. Sometimes a disabled person can tolerate the environment for a short period once the service counter employee is available.” Often a third person is necessary to wait with the disabled person, thus the three person operation. This is a significant barrier to those with a disability, which is one reason why the disability vote is naturally suppressed without any specific targeted legislation.

Voting Eligiblity

Another concern that can stop registration before it starts is confusion over who is eligible to vote. Besides the “18 and older” on election day, and a resident of the United States, there are some additional concerns that can arise within the disability community. If one has an intellectual disability, or many lucid periods mixed with some memory loss, or is even under

guardianship, ARE they allowed to vote? Should they? There is not a lot of clear information on the ethics of these situations. For anyone who is not specifically RESTRICTED from voting, most can be accommodated. Even most guardianships do not prevent voting unless it is specifically addressed and prohibited in the guardianship papers.

But the question often remains: just because a person with some kind of functional impairment is ELIGIBLE to exercise their right to vote, should they? And how? Parents of youth with disabilities are often in the best position to answer this question if it is a matter of first time voting. When is my disabled child mature enough or cognizant enough to truly understand the importance or significance of voting? I offer the following advice: if the basic principles can be understood, such as how or why we vote, then move on to a sample ballot. What is at stake in this particular election? Not EVERY category up for election needs to have a selection made. Irresponsible voting isn’t any better than not voting. If the focus is just on one or two offices up for election, then make sure those choices are selected, and don’t worry about the rest. If a person is ABLE to understand all the categories, then take a sample ballot, fill it out ahead of time, and take it along to the polls to use as a guide in the “booth.” You will be able to stay with your adult child to assist them if they need you.

When my children were young, all of whom have autism, including two with an intellectual disability, I modeled voting, taking them to the polls with me long before they were eligible to vote on their own. We had a lot of discussions all year long about laws and policies that affected people with disabilities, and how that boiled down to the individuals who were running for office. I took them to speak directly to their local state reps and senators, as well as their US congress representatives in person. This was NOT an easy process, and required a lot of repetition. Fortunately for me, three out of four of them got to experience a publicly funded school experience that placed a lot of emphasis on “leadership.” Some of them got to visit their representatives in Harrisburg as well as in Washington DC on field trips. Not everyone is that lucky; nowadays I am grateful to see civics classes returning to regular education curricula, but it is still a battle to educate young and future voters.

I did not make the final decision to encourage participation until very close to their 18th birthdays. I needed to know for myself whether or not I thought they could understand enough to ethically participate. Voting is “uniquely personal,” which is why even a power of attorney is not allowed to vote on behalf of their principals. Even for my elderly mother, who during some years felt apathetic toward voting, and has dealt with significant memory loss, was able to tell me (practically shouting) who she wanted to see VOTED OUT of the White House, and was determined at all costs to be able to participate in a recent election, even if she was clueless about much of the rest of the ballot. This was no easy feat either, as she had given up driving several years prior, and needed to get an updated ID for herself, for which we had to go through the PennDOT process all over again as if she was a first time applicant, and the mobility impairment at that juncture made it a truly unpleasant experience.

Nursing homes or other assisted care facilities are filled with residents who often have significant disabilities. Each care facility must have a designated staff member for helping residents access voting. This means ensuring that registration is current, and often that either mail in ballots or group transportation to the polls and assistance personnel to accompany them is needed. Sadly, often this job is ignored entirely; no attempts at voting access is made, much less efforts to ensure updated registration. There is little to no accountability for this situation. If you know of someone in such circumstances that wants to vote, but has not been assisted by the staff at their facility, you can contact the county ombudsman and/or their local state representative.

Voter registration cards are supposed to be sent within 14 days of submitting an application; so if that doesn’t happen, contact your local Voter Services office, especially if an election is in the near future. It is unlikely that you would be asked to show this registration card at your polls, but it demonstrates that your registration has been processed and you are ready to vote. To double check your registration status, you can check here:

https://www.vote.pa.gov/Register-to-Vote/Pages/Check-Your-Voter-Registration-Status.aspx

Once the decision is made to attempt participation in the voting process, and registration has been made, preparation for voting day can be the biggest hurdle yet.

To Mail or not to Mail that Ballot

Fortunately, general mail in voting is still an option this fall, thanks to the pandemic. These paper ballots that are mailed to you at your request have one big caveat: the PRIVACY envelope. You will receive an envelope with your name on it which contains your ballot, the privacy envelope, and your return envelope. After filling out your ballot, you must seal it into the privacy envelope as instructed, and then inside the return envelope, which you then must sign. It’s JUST enough rules to follow to plant the seed of insecurity inside a person who has never voted this way before, and send them to the polls instead. If you apply for a mail in ballot and change your mind, you can take it to the polls on election day to have it voided, then vote by provisional ballot instead. If you never received your mail-in ballot, then you can also vote by provisional ballot on election day.

A tried and true method of mail in voting has been available for years,with considerable restrictions: the absentee ballot. This was originally intended for those who were actively engaged in military combat and couldn’t be in their district of residence on election day. It expanded to those who would be out of town on business, or would be disabled or infirm to the point that they would not be able to go to their polling location. The absentee ballot use for people with disabilities includes a space where they must indicate their disability, plus their doctor’s name and address. This is somewhat offensive and intrusive, which is why many have switched to mail-in ballot. Mail-in ballots require no reasons, but do still ask for your PennDOT ID number if you wish to use the convenience of online application. The only minor significance of mail-in versus absentee ballot is a slight convenience of only needing to apply for a permanent absentee ballot every four years instead of annually. If consensus of continued legitimacy of mail-in ballots is not challenged legally, the annual application is likely to be considered much less of a hassle for people with disabilities (who have a PennDOT ID number) than an every four year doctor certification of continued disability.

The deadline for an application for either a mail-in ballot or absentee ballot is November 1, 2022 for the November 8, 2022 General Election.

Still going to the polls? There are actually some good reasons for doing this. Not everyone is comfortable with mail in ballots, Certain elected officials are constantly trying to undermine mail in ballots, the stated purpose of which is to “Decrease election fraud.” This is dog whistle speak for “We want to make it harder for people to vote.” At any time, mail in ballots could be struck down as a method of voting, since it has not been made permanent. If we can’t vote by mail, we want to get in the practice of using the polls just in case we have to. We can spot accessibility issues and file suggestions when we’ve seen them in person. We can raise awareness.

Another reason is that disability activists LIKE to go to the polls, because they want to be seen and remembered as valued members of our society. It is harder to forget the needs and interests of those that you have witnessed personally, and that’s exactly what the disability community would appreciate.

Oftentimes, I haven’t remembered to request my mail in or absentee ballot by the deadlines. For any hard core conspiracy theorist, going directly to the polls is one way to erase some of the doubt as to whether or not your vote will be counted, since after all, mail in voting is still considered “NEW” technology.

So for anyone braving the polls in person, first consider watching social story videos (for EVERYONE, disabled or not) of what the experience is like at the polls. There can be crowded parking lots, crowded lines to stand in, privacy partitions that are also crowded close together, lines on the floor marking boundaries and directions that are impossible to follow. There will likely be tables full of people and literature just outside the polls that add to the confusion. Candidates themselves may be milling around to talk to constituents; thoughtful citizens often use the polls as an opportunity for a food drive or the like. Just getting in line can seem like finding the entrance to a ride at a theme park.

Be Aware of Signature Issues

The first step when reaching the head of the line at the polls, after discerning which line you should stand in, includes signing the registration log and matching it to the signature that you used when either signing your state ID or a signature form from the Voter Services office. This can be tricky for those with fine motor impairments. My youngest child has severe dysgraphia, which means that even though he is a great writer and can bang the heck out of a keyboard, he struggles to use a pen or pencil. We had him practice his signature over and over again before the approaching election just to avoid any attempt at denial of his rights due to unmatching signatures.

If this is a substantial problem for any voter,, I would be certain to contact the Voter Services office of your county and ascertain what methodology they use to ensure that people with fine motor impairments whose signatures might not match won’t have any problems come election day. There are very specific rules and procedures for people who cannot mark their own ballots. Often, people in this category are specifically encouraged to use mail-in and absentee ballots, but there are still other methods for voting at the polls if one needs help marking a ballot,

including the signature part. Generally an accepted person “mark,” such as an X, in lieu of a signature is accepted if witnessed, or use of a “stamp signature,” if used by the person or their representative in their presence. Because many local polling location staff are unused to this accommodation, it’s important to set it up at your designated Voter Services office.

First Time Voting?

If it is the first time you are voting, you will be asked to show state ID, and some people take exception to that. I would actually implore you to ALWAYS use ID, because poll workers sometimes work very long days, and as a courtesy to THEM, your ID. shows how to spell your name quickly and accurately, so they can find your name in the registration logs, which helps expedite the process.

Even if you have indicated on your registration form that assistance during voting will be necessary, this may or may not show up on the voter logs used at the polls. Even if it does, poll staff is often under trained to deal with this situation. Be prepared for them to make you feel uncomfortable and like an inconvenience while they try to figure out what to do. You can ask for the judge of elections if you get nowhere, and what can happen is that they may make you fill out a form on the spot. Someone who can’t wait long periods of time in lines or has major sensory issues regarding a noisy, crowded and disorganized place may have reached their tolerance by that time. I suggest downloading and filling out the form if at all possible prior to the election and taking it with you from the following website:

https://www.vote.pa.gov/Resources/Pages/Resource-Center.aspx

Scroll down to “Declaration of need of assistance to vote” and you will see choices to print this form in several different languages. Bring it with you on election day to help expedite the process if need be; odds are high they won’t even ask you for it.

I want to note that for every child that I have “assisted” in the polling place, and that includes all four of mine at various stages in their young adulthood, NO ONE has ever questioned me simply stating “this voter needs help” and quickly attending to our needs. It helps to live in a small rural area at a time like this. I have asked to be directed to a table where we could sit down side by side, and that request has been granted quickly every time. According to the rules, the Judge of Elections is supposed to catalog such requests, but the amount of time this would take often leads to them bending the rules. I am also lucky that my polling place has ramps, and although it sports an armed guard as well, he sits quietly and unobtrusively away from “the action,” so to speak, which makes all the difference. People in similarly situated circumstances might find that very intimidating, and rightly so. It helps in our case that he is our next door neighbor, but nonetheless, I appreciate that firearm out of sight.

Only two people are excluded specifically from being helpers: bosses and union reps. Unfortunate as those people may be some of the only friends and natural supports a disabled person has. Several employees at an enterprise may like to go to the polls together. I have once counseled a friend whose only employee was disabled and considered her a friend as opposed to the “boss,” that it is better to use your relationship as a friend as the primary, especially as in this case that the disabled employee had only been hired on the basis of the pre existing friendship. NOBODY at the polls asks if you are “the boss,” and if that is the only way that individual will have an opportunity to vote, then friendship prevails. I’m sure this rule was originally made for a good reason at some point in history when employers probably abused their relationship with employees to manipulate them to vote in the best interest of the enterprise. SInce this is very unlikely to be the case between one friend who hires a disabled friend, consider whether or not the opportunity for that disabled individual to participate in their most sacred opportunity of civic engagement overrides a technicality.

How does one get ready to vote? When I first was eligible to vote, I didn’t. I had never been to the polls, I didn’t know how to register (this was before the internet), I didn’t have any idea what to expect, and I felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of choosing candidates, and in those days, there were frequent and numerous referendums. I felt outright stupid about the significance of the role of government or the issues. My parents had no interest in discussing politics in my presence, or offering any guidance. I wish I had known about sample ballots in those days - I never had any idea WHAT it was I was going to be asked to decide. Neither did I know I had an option to SKIP any issue that I knew nothing or little about. What often makes it more difficult is the title of a referendum can be very misleading. I didn’t trust getting information from political committees manning the tables outside of the polls, it seemed like a bunch of used cars sales people in different colors.

Understanding the issues really boils down to connecting with other people. It’s important to know who it’s going to affect, how and why. So I suggest making connections with special interest groups that can be found in abundance on the internet and social media, as well as local party committees. Even in my rural area, I have the choice of My Small Town Republicans, My Small Town Democrats, My Small Town Libertarians, and My Small Town Green Party. These groups are often eager to make new voters feel welcomed, at least before they all start arguing with each other. Leading up to elections, you can find temporary “headquarter” offices, where you can personally drop by and get information if you’re not able to attend any of their regularly scheduled meetings. Often these are populated by older people, but often you can find “Young Republicans,” or “Young Democrats” in your area with a little bit of effort.

Although I am hard pressed to imagine my “youngsters” reading Time Magazine or the New York Times for editorials on political positions, I do know there are usually mentors available for new voters to make inquiries. One of my favorite methods to date is to ask someone that I respect what their position is on any given issue.

For the disabled population, the internet has afforded a plethora of voting information like never before. Disabled voting coalitions, both local, state and national now exist in wide abundance. Most of them are nonpartisan; and often offer specific listings of where candidates stand on issues related to disability. That can be enormously helpful for those who have little time in their day to sort through vitriol and rhetoric that is commonly blasted all over the airways and on particular candidates' personal websites or social media.

So we come to near the end of the process, where we have registered, we have decided who to vote for, and we are inside our polling location and expect to get our empty ballot from the poll worker who has verified our ID and our signature, and hopefully honored our request for assistance without any battle. Now what?

Well, there is limited space here, so I can only tell you that problems can still arise in many shapes and forms. First and foremost, it’s important to know that you have the right to vote, and be ready to assert that if the need should present itself. You can always call for the Judge of Elections from any poll worker. It is not necessary for you to wait in line before doing this; asking for what accommodations are available is not the same thing as waiting to sign the log and get your ballot. There is a judge at every poll location. They are not an “actual” judge; it is simply the title given to the person in charge at the polls who gets to make judgment calls for any unusual situation.

On a recent election day, my daughter wound up in the emergency room. She was still able to vote by provisional ballot. My husband went to her usual polling location, spoke with the Judge of Elections who directed him to a local temporary Voter Services center set up for just such occasions. He brought the provisional ballot back to my daughter in the hospital where she filled it out, and he was able to return it to the place where he had gotten it. If you become temporarily disabled or hospitalized up to one week before the election, you can request the provision ballot before the day of the election to help expedite the process from your local Voter Services office.

There are also Voter Hotlines for “day of election” issues that may arise: PA Department Of State Election Day Hotline: 1-877-868-3772 Disability Rights Network:

NSEAI's online courses efficiently lead parents and professionals to an expert level of education advocacy in just 12 days of on-demand courses that you can do at your convenience.

OUR CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE.

LEARN TO DEVELOP A CHILD-FOCUSED IEP CORRECTLY FROM THE START vs JUST ACCEPTING A LEGALLY SUFFICIENT ONE!

CHANGE THEIR LIVES NOW

  CLICK HERE

AUTHOR

Sandra Carroll has 2 special needs children and taken in 2 other special needs children and changed their educational lives through her advocacy. She also does many charitable acts and was the recipiant of the 2013 Civil Libertarian Award and the President's Volunteer Service Award, Bronze level for her work in our communities.

Sandra is a:

Career Counselor, providing coaching for job seekers on sourcing leads and preparing for interviews.

Board Certified Education Advocate helping students receive appropriate educational services.

Tutor and Home School Instructor. She investigates and implements appropriate teaching methods and curricula for preschool, elementary, secondary, and post secondary learners.

She was a Human Resources Specialist Contractor at Corporate Human Resources Contracting. She provided staffing, training, and Human Resource administrative functions for a variety of short term assignments in various corporate environments including entertainment, media, retail, manufacturing, restaurant, education, and technology industries.

HER EDUCATION INCLUDES:

• BS in Business and Human Resource Management from California State University - Long Beach
• University of California - Los Angeles - General Education
• National Special Education Advocacy Institute, Board Certified Education Advocate
• She actively gives back to the community:

She was a Volunteer Distributor at the Chester County care2share Program. Under the umbrella of the Redeemed Advocate Ministries, care2share is a partnership between local grocery stores with excess food and a volunteer network of distributors to communities in need.

Education Assistant at the PA Voter ID Coalition promoting Civil Rights, Social Action and awareness of the Voter ID laws affecting the rights of registered voters in Pennsylvania, providing advocacy through facilitation of community forums, rendering testimony in court hearings regarding the effects of the legislation from a personal perspective

 Host Family for the University of Delaware, English Language Institute promoting education and sharing friendship, culture and customs with English language learners from foreign countries.

Public Relations Professional for the Parent Advocate Network of Special Needs. She facilitates awareness of resources for parents and/or advocates of children with special needs through use of Facebook social networking