Accessible Audio for Making A Difference

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

With the rise of online reviews through websites like Yelp! and Google, WheelChariot, an online platform based in Atlanta, Georgia is getting in on the trend to help the disability community by providing business reviews based on accessibility.  The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with...

Following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and a strenuous election year, Georgia's 2023 legislative session was full of profound strides forward as well as unforeseen setbacks for the intellectual disability and developmental disability (ID/DD) community. With approximately 25% of the representatives being new legislators during this session, a significant portion of the Georgia Council on D...

On March 4, 2023, the disability rights movement lost one of its pioneers when Judy Heumann suddenly passed away at 75. Her international fight for rights for people with disabilities spanned her entire life and began at the age of five when she was denied the right to attend school as the administration considered her a fire hazard. Heumann’s advocacy spirit was ignited by her parents who fought...

Supported decision-making (SDM) is a tool that allows people with disabilities to retain their decision-making capacity by choosing supporters to help them make choices. A person using SDM selects trusted advisors, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to serve as supporters. Self-advocates John McCarty and Hannah Hibben share their experience of how Supported Decision Making impacts...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

Marian Jackson, from Fitzgerald, GA, is a state advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and has been for over 20 years. She is also a mother of an adult child with disabilities. Jackson, along with five People First members and others from a small group advocated for public transportation, and they were successful in getting transportation for not just the disability c...

As an inclusive post-secondary education program, or IPSE, GOALS guides students with intellectual disabilities and the opportunity to attend college.  College for someone with intellectual (ID) in the GOALS Program gives them the same experience as students without disabilities. “It looks like any college student going to class. And even if some students require additional supports, we try to use...

One of the most effective ways to transcend ideas of equity and justice is through the teachings of those who came before us. A movement is only as strong as the lived experience of its advocates and allies. In disability rights, history has laid a solid foundation, but young people are the key to continued progress. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Ye...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...