Access Press

08/27/2026

This just in!

With changes coming to Minnesota Medical Assistance, we have a full guide on how to protect your coverage. We also look at important ways to stay safe in extreme heat, plus a lot more news you won’t want to miss!

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next one: https://accesspress.org/subscribe/

08/26/2026

Cuts to federal agencies designed to protect children with autism are in the spotlight.

See how these changes are affecting families.

Researchers and disability rights advocates warn that the dismantling of the Education Department and its erosions of civil rights oversight risk widening the disparities autistic children face.

08/25/2026

How did Minnesota come to rely so heavily on group homes and how do we best serve Minnesotans with disabilities?

In a recent conversation with MPR News, Amy Hewitt, Director of the Institute on Community Integration, broke down the past, present, and future of disability services in our state.

Here are two of the issues she addresses in the interview.

- The workforce crisis: High turnover and low compensation for direct care workers is still a huge problem.
- Oversight challenges: Case managers are often overwhelmed with paperwork rather than spending time directly supporting individuals.

Listen to the full interview or read the transcript here:

Minnesota's group home industry has seen massive growth over the past few years, and with it, allegations of mismanagement. But the system has been around for decades — and has roots in the deinstitutionalization movement.

08/24/2026

A Minneapolis ASL translator is helping bring the world of Pokémon to life for Deaf viewers.

Learn how:

A new streaming partnership is bringing in-screen ASL to more TV shows and movies – a ‘next evolution’ for Deaf accessibility.

08/24/2026

Paul Castle shares what traveling with vision loss and a guide dog is really like after Maple’s viral TSA moment, from airport security to flight prep.

08/22/2026

NPR tells a personal story about two siblings who fear what's coming after the DOJ's denial of the community integration mandate embedded in the ADA and the Olmstead decision. So there are two stories. Only 45 million more to go.

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.

08/21/2026

After a communication device stopped working, a mom found a creative way to help her nonverbal 11-year-old son communicate.

Check out how:

A Canadian mother tattooed a keyboard to her arm to help her nonverbal, autistic son communicate with her, and the idea is catching on. (CNN Newsource)

08/20/2026

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From helping people across the world to making your voice heard, there’s a lot of news you don’t want to miss!

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08/20/2026

"Caregivers are left alone."

In a candid interview, Sandra Bullock opened up about the profound isolation and immense weight of caring for her longtime partner, Bryan Randall, through his battle with ALS. From navigating specialized in-home care to managing the physical and emotional toll behind closed doors, her experience sheds light on the challenges millions of family caregivers face every day.

Read more about her journey and the vital conversations needed around caregiver support.

🔗

Bullock details the secrecy, scramble for home nurses and pressure of caring for Bryan Randall through ALS during COVID.

08/19/2026

It’s being described as "a total game changer."

See how innovative 3D braille maps are helping people living with blindness and low vision navigate Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-st-paul-international-airport-3d-braille-maps/?fbclid=IwZnRzaATzD0FwZG9mAWZkaWQWUMy1FORApWv6MmcEzxbnbYWqIMRHRmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4wlpPGTaDYiG07jFecbN2HTToJFa3m-89h1ffzcDCSIYIkfXjjXfHAR3gRXA_aem_jB4pMoQEJ53nZZIk6QqcgQ

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is the first airport to create a new path for people living with blindness or low vision, centering around what may be the most important rooms in the complex: the bathrooms.