Level Playing Field

Start your accessibility work with a solid foundation.

Our free standards, technical guides and research help organizations:
• identify, prevent and remove barriers,
• strengthen accessibility plans,
• respond to feedback,
• make informed decisions,
• save time and resources.

Find resources that support your accessibility goals.

Standards and technical guides: https://ow.ly/crx750ZyZ7M

Research projects: https://ow.ly/z5h350ZyZ7O



Alt-text: Graphic promoting accessibility resources. The Canada wordmark appears in the bottom right corner.

A new CBC News article reports that Nova Scotia is behind schedule on several commitments in the Human Rights Remedy for people with disabilities.

The independent monitor’s latest assessment found that more than half of the 34 requirements reviewed for 2025 to 2026 showed only slight progress. The report identifies delays in areas including the transition from institutions to community living and development of home sharing options. It also calls for stronger transparency, data disclosure and system collaboration.

Read the article: https://www.inclusionns.ca/curated-news

August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Awareness Month.

SMA is a genetic condition that can affect movement, strength, breathing, and daily activities.

People with SMA may face barriers in transportation, employment, services, and the built environment.

We work with people with disabilities to develop accessibility standards that help identify, prevent and remove barriers. Organizations can use these standards to create more accessible and inclusive environments.

Our standards provide practical guidance to support greater accessibility and inclusion for people with SMA and others with disabilities.



Alt-text: Text reads “Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month” and “August 2026.” Abstract image of a spinal cord appear along the left side. The Canada wordmark appears in the bottom right corner.

Accessibility starts with intention.

It takes shape when we ask better questions.

When we learn from lived experience.
When we design with people, not just for them.
When we make information, spaces, services, and systems easier to use.

That's the approach behind our work.

We develop accessibility standards alongside people with disabilities to help organizations identify, prevent, and remove barriers.

Because accessibility must be considered from the start.

Explore our standards and help put accessibility into practice: https://ow.ly/Q5k750ZtyEX



Alt-text: Graphic with a torn-paper effect framing the text: “Accessibility starts with intention.” The Canada wordmark appears in the bottom right corner.

📣This Disability Pride Month 🧡 we’ve been focusing on internalized ableism—the subtle, often invisible ways we hold negative biases against our own bodies and minds.

But why do we feel these things?
It’s because internalized ableism doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is often a direct response to the systemic ableism we navigate every single day.

Look at the Ableism Iceberg below. Everything below the water—the lack of support, the exclusion, the policies that treat disability as a 'liability'—is what tells us, day after day, that we don't belong.

When we exist in systems that weren't built for us, it is natural to start questioning our own worth.

This month, let's have pride and honor our uniqueness, exactly as we are!

✨Together, we can choose to replace self-judgment with total pride, embracing every part of our identity—and keep fighting to change the systems that tried to make us feel 'less than' in the first place."

THE ABLEISM ICEBERG

• Inspirational Disability • Social Media Posts • ADA Compliant • Equal Opportunity Employer •
"Inclusive Culture" • Accessibility
Statement on Website • One-Time
Sensativity Training • Disability Imagery • “Diversity First!"

WHAT'S MISSING • Systemic
Inaccessibility • No Budget for Accessibility • Inflexible Work Options • Disability Seen as a
Liability • Inaccessible Social Media • No Disabled Leaders •
Screening out Disabled Applicants • Inflexible Sick or PTO Policies • Stigma Around Hidden Disabilities • Inaccessible Website

Who are we?
tinyurl.com/CFI-PPD-VCU

1 ON 1 SUPPORT | ALWAYS FREE

Find us on Instagram: center4familyinvolvement

The Center for Family Involvement is affiliated with: Association of University Centers on Disabilities VCU School of Education Partnership for People with Disabilities

Did you know that 27% or eight million Canadians over the age of 15 live with a disability?

July is Disability Pride Month, which celebrates persons who experience disability, their identities and culture, and their positive contributions to society!

The Disability Flag, designed by Ann Magill, has meanings behind each design element:
🕯️ Charcoal background: Honours and mourns those affected by ableist violence, discrimination, and abuse.
↖️ Diagonal band: Represents breaking through barriers and challenging the obstacles that people with disabilities face.
❤️Red Stripe: Physical disabilities.
💛Gold Stripe: Neurodivergence.
🤍White Stripe: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities.
💙Blue Stripe: Psychiatric disabilities.
💚Green Stripe: Sensory disabilities.

Learn more about Disability Pride Month: https://www.supportedemployment.ca/disability-pride-month/