As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community. In this blog, Judith Heumann, a lifelong civil rights advocate for disadvantaged people and the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S.

As we head into a weekend of events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) is releasing a final rule (PDF) that will strengthen critical programs that promote the independence, inclusion, and civil rights of Americans with developmental disabilities and their families.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community.

Monday, August 3, 2015, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. ET; and Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a two-day meeting for its members to discuss, finalize, and approve the 2015 PCPID Report to the President. PCPID members will also begin exploring the topics for the 2016 PCPID report.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL is featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community and highlighting how ACL programs continue to advance the ADA’s promise of inclusion and civil rights for people with disabilities. DD Councils and the Four Pillars of Integration By Donna Meltzer, CEO, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)

ACL is soliciting comments, and will be hosting 12 listening sessions, on newly-released draft voluntary guidelines for Adult Protective Services (APS) systems. ACL envisions a comprehensive, multidisciplinary system that effectively supports older adults and adults with disabilities so they can exercise their right to live where they choose, with the people they choose and fully participate in their communities without threat of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation.

Before independent living was a program, it was an idea that sparked a social movement to advance the rights of people with disabilities. The independent living movement embodies the idea that no one should be denied dignity, self-determination, or equal opportunity simply because they are living with a disability. And no one could be a greater expert on the needs of people with disabilities than a person with a disability. Decades before federal laws required curb cuts and workplace accommodations, this was considered a radical idea.

As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, ACL will be featuring guest blogs from leaders in the disability community.

On July 14, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Older Americans Act into law. Over the past 50 years, the aging network established and funded by the Act has helped millions of older adults live and thrive in the communities of their choice. These services include home-delivered and congregate meals, caregiver support, preventive health services, transportation, job training, elder abuse prevention, and so much more.