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 In 2025, the talents of neurodiverse professionals, including innovative thinking, excellent memories, expert attention to detail, and much more, are becoming more fully appreciated by the broader population. Remarkable entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, JetBlue founder David Neeleman, and many others have shown how much neurodiverse individuals...
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 Laurel Rossi, Co-Founder, Creative Spirit Ariel Winter was just a child — the bright, brainy middle daughter on Modern Family, growing up on camera in front of millions. Her character was smart and endearing. Offscreen, however, Ariel became the target of harsh criticism, sexualization, and ridicule from complete strangers — many of them adults....
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...
By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager, Creative Spirit After the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 is one of the most important disability rights laws in U.S. history. Though less well-known than the ADA, Section 504 has been just as vital in protecting millions of Americans with disabilities from discrimination in education and employment. As...
By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager at Creative Spirit Whether at school, at work, or in other parts of daily life, most of us will likely experience burnout at some point. In a 2024 survey, SHRM found that 44% of 1,405 employees felt “emotionally drained” from their work. Another 51% reported feeling “used up” by the...
By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager & Advocate, Creative Spirit Disabled/Neurodivergent/People With Disabilities and IDPWD 44.1 million, or 13.4% of the population: that’s how many Americans have a disability/disabilities, according to the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Meanwhile, 15-20% of people are estimated to be neurodivergent (Nancy Doyle), equaling more than 1 billion people worldwide. Despite...
Our original article for #NeurodiversityPrideDay explored developing trends reshaping fair-wage employment, diversity, inclusion, and workplace accessibility for the neurodiverse community. Along with those trends, legislation and policies are underway at the state and federal levels to advance neurodiversity rights. From the Autism CARES Act to legislation in New York State, federal efforts to strengthen and...
