By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit The signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990 was truly a watershed moment for the disability rights movement. From the Section 504 Sit-Ins of 1977 to the Capitol Crawl of 1990, disability rights activists (including Judy Heumann, Kitty Cone, Ed Roberts, Sandra Swift...

By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit In today’s world, the idea that slurs or insults are not simply words, but can have real, lasting consequences, is often trivialized as an overreaction, hypersensitivity, or “political correctness”. In reality, this is far from the case, as ableism can cause real, lasting harm. This is especially true...

By: Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit For over 70 years, Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) has been celebrated annually in the U.S. to promote the importance of mental health and recovery from mental illness. MHAM is especially important for the roughly 67 million Americans who are neurodivergent (15 – 20% of the U.S. population)....

By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit For most people, the interview process is one of the most dreaded stages of finding a job. The trick questions and general pressure can be intimidating, even for those with experience. For neurodivergent candidates (i.e., those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other invisible disabilities), the interview process brings...

“Inclusion” has become almost a buzzword these days, used by many companies for marketing and PR purposes. But what does inclusion - not just as a slogan, but in its most authentic sense - look like, especially for millions of Americans with disabilities and neurodiversity?

Written By: Olivia Nero, Neurodiversity Ally and Creative Spirit Intern 2023, and Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit Gen Z could easily be described as the most diverse generation. Instead of letting that diversity divide them, however, Gen Z is embracing it and turning it into a strength. This younger generation is more open about...

Written By: Olivia Nero, Neurodiversity Ally and Creative Spirit Intern 2023, and Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit The title “Neurodiversity in Literature” is written in blue in an open purple book surrounded by a white background with the Creative Spirit logo in the bottom right corner. Neurodivergence is a topic that was once avoided...

Written By: Menachem Rephun, Creative Spirit Communication Manager Since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, Disability Pride Month has been held annually in July to commemorate this extremely important legislation. At the same time, the scope and focus of disability pride month goes beyond merely celebrating the ADA. As the...

Written By: Menachem Rephun, Creative Spirit Communication Manager In the history of the disability rights movement, few individuals are more renowned and celebrated than Helen Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968), and for good reason. A lecturer, political activist, and author of more than 14 books and hundreds of essays and speeches, Keller...

Written By: Menachem Rephun, Creative Spirit Communication Manager We are heartbroken to share with our Creative Spirit community that our beloved vice chair and friend Karen Eisenbach has passed away. A board member since Creative Spirit’s founding in 2017, Karen was a passionate, dedicated champion of inclusion and representation for all people with disabilities. She...