Autism is not a crisis. It does not destroy families. Help us tell federal policymakers to invest in community-based services and ensure people with Autism have access to critical supports to participate in our communities: www.ancor.org/actions/advo...

@GovMurphy has declared this week to be #DirectSupportProfessionalsWeek! @NJDHS thanks all DSPs who make a difference in the lives of so many by providing necessary supports that enable them to live, work & enjoy life as independently as possible in their community. #DSPRW2025

It's day one of #DSPRW2025! We start the week by recognizing our Central Region DSP of the Year, Kait Mearkle! Her superiors put it best: Kait is invested in #SupportingPeople. She engages in research to help them, and informs them of the consequences of their choices. Thank you for everything!

It’s Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition Week! #ILA is proud to recognize this critical part of our workforce who deliver loving support, encouragement, and guidance to the Individuals in our care. #ThankYou for the compassion and dedication that you exhibit every day! #DSPRW2025

To us, September is a month of marveling at the incredible work done by our Direct Support Professionals. Starting tomorrow, we’re celebrating our 7 Valley DSPs of the year during #DSPRW2025! Join us and our partners at @therealancor.bsky.social, PAR and TPA as we celebrate the passion of our DSPs

Today, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ADA, its promise is in jeopardy following the passage of President Trump’s tax bill, which will cut approximately $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next several years. Read more from ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill and the Honorable Tony Coelho in TIME.

For weeks, we hoped the Senate’s reconciliation bill would retreat from the devastating Medicaid cuts passed by the House in H.R. 1. What we got instead was a bill that increased harmful reductions that will devastate services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

Senators hold the opportunity to continue protecting our most vulnerable populations by rejecting any cuts to Medicaid and not putting further stress on a system already in crisis, says Barbara Merrill of @therealancor.bsky.social‬: www.commondreams.org/opinion/medi...

CEO @barbaramerrill.bsky.social writes in @commondreams.org about why #Congress must #SaveMedicaid: "If lawmakers truly care about boosting economies, they would invest in, not divest from Medicaid, because these services actually play a critical yet often invisible role in state economies."

Thank you, Precious Myers-Brown, for sharing the story of Nirvana and the things #Medicaid empowered her to learn, do and dream at the age of 85! "She has a place on earth, just like every one of us!" #ProtectMedicaid

So grateful for leaders like @CarolineMeehan9, Executive Dir for ANCOR member @CPAssociationLA, who tells the story of Wayne, a man from Shreveport who passed away in 2020, and whose life was permanently altered for the better thanks to #Medicaid. Wayne's story reveals why we must #ProtectMedicaid!

Thank you, @duckworth.senate.gov, for your leadership in helping us to #ProtectMedicaid! #SaveMedicaid #CareCantWait

"I knew that if I ever needed more support, more care, I knew I could rely on Medicaid [...]. We will win again!" -- @mariatown.bsky.social from @aapd-disability.bsky.social #ProtectMedicaid #SaveMedicaid #CareCantWait

LIVESTREAM NOW! Medicaid is critical to the well-being of older adults, disabled people, family caregivers, care workers, and families in EVERY community and district. That’s why we’re joining @caringacrossgen in DC for a 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil. Tune in: youtube.com/live/tBo00pL...

It's a beautiful day to #ProtectMedicaid! Thrilled to join so many amazing partners for a #Medicaid Vigil at the Capitol. Kicking things off with @aijenpoo, @ElenaHung202 and so many other fantastic speakers! #SaveMedicaid

Medicaid is not just a line item in a budget – it's a lifeline for millions of people with I/DD and their families. That’s why we’re joining a 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil at the U.S. Capitol this week to share our stories and make our voices heard. Join us: go.caringacross.org/a/dc-medicai...

ANCOR members across the country champion community, accessibility, and opportunities for people with developmental disabilities every day—not just in March. This year, #DDAwareness Month kicked off a year-round disabilities awareness campaign that reminds everyone that “We’re Here All Year.”

Thank you, @congressmanraja.bsky.social, for advocating against cuts to #Medicaid and for recognizing the life-saving services delivered by Medicaid-funded community providers: youtu.be/0W8-F3HKSE0?...

Had a wonderful visit yesterday from Congressman David Min at our Autism Therapy and Disability Services Center in Irvine! He learned firsthand how vital Medicaid and Medi-Cal-funded services are for members of the disability community and Easterseals.

It's #DDAwareness Month, and ANCOR members understood the assignment: educate *everyone* about the value of #Disability services. For example, #Colorado member Tara Kiene's column in the @durangoherald.bsky.social shows the harmful effect of cuts to #Medicaid.

📢 LEND YOUR VOICE! 📢 As #DDAwareness Month rolls on, we're as committed as ever to creating a world where people w/ developmental disabilities have the options + resources they need to thrive. Please take two minutes or less today to lend your voice to our collective effort to #SaveMedicaid!

"Medicaid can’t be seen merely as a line item in the federal budget — it’s a lifeline for our most vulnerable neighbors and their families." Grateful for leaders like Shawn White and his colleagues at PathPoint for sounding the alarm that we must #SaveMedicaid!

“When I think about my life before I became a DSP, I see myself as an entirely different person. I was painfully shy, had no confidence, and no idea where to go next in life.” #Idaho advocate Thea Fuhs' inspiring words remind us why we must #SaveMedicaid. Thank you, Thea, for sharing your story!

📢 ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 Today marks the official kickoff to our National Week of Action to #SaveMedicaid! Each day this week we're sharing one easy action you can take to support critical #disability services. Today, take 2 minutes to tell your member of Congress to REJECT any cuts to #Medicaid funding.

72 Million Americans are on Medicaid 2/3 of Nursing Homes are funded by Medicaid Cuts to Medicaid will affect 15,000 Nursing Homes Cuts will also affect seniors, the disabled and children’s health care Rural Hospitals would close and Healthcare Workers would be unemployed #SaveMedicaid

Heartened to see advocates from ANCOR member Sevita rallying at city hall in Hesperia, CA, urging Rep. Jay Obernolte to protect Medicaid-funded services in Republicans' budget negotiations. #Medicaid is a critical lifeline for people with #disabilities so we must #SaveMedicaid!

Every day of #blackhistorymonth is a good day to honor Ms. Curtis and the legacy she leaves behind, as is every day of all the other months as well.

Owls are superb, but so is accessibility. :)

Capitalization affects how people read hashtags or how people hear them on screen readers. Use #camelCase or #PascalCase in hashtags instead of lowercase. You could have #SuperBowl ("Super Bowl") or #superbowl ("superb owl.") And while owls are indeed superb, confusing hashtags are not.

ANCOR's Lydia Dawson in McKnights Home Care: I/DD services are "incredibly fragile right now, [so] anytime that you have something that disrupts the ability of providers to access Medicaid funding, it has an impact on their ability to provide services" to people with #disabilities. #SaveMedicaid

📢 URGENT: Tell Congress to SAY NO to #Medicaid cuts! 🛑 🩵 Medicaid = LIFE for millions, including disabled people like me. These cuts would be devastating. 👩‍⚕️ No Medicaid = No caregivers 🏥 No Medicaid = No healthcare 💔 No Medicaid = No independence ♿️💙🔄 ✍🏼 SHARE to protect our future! #SaveMedicaid

Medicaid disability services help people with I/DD to live full and independent lives in their communities. To keep the promise of community living for people with disabilities a reality, we must invest in—not divest from—the Medicaid program. #SaveMedicaid

Solid coverage in the Columbus Dispatch of the value of remote supports for disabled folks, especially in light of significant shortages of direct support professionals. BONUS: The article cites ANCOR's latest "State of America's Direct Support Workforce Crisis" research.

ANCOR is the leading voice in Washington for 2,500 I/DD service providers. We're heartened by POTUS' comments that Medicaid, along w/ Medicare + Soc Sec'y, must be "loved and cherished." Taken together, that means 2,500 of our closest friends are ready to hold him accountable to that promise!

"To scapegoat people with disabilities for this tragedy just seems inconsistent with the facts," Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States [...]. It's very sad that this stigma against people with disabilities continues to be used as a reason why qualified people can't be hired."

In what we hope doesn't have to become a thread that we update regularly, we present a new feature: Things We Shouldn't Have to Say, But Here We Are. First up: People with #disabilities did not cause the horrific midair collision that claimed 67 lives last night near National Airport in #DC.

“Any actions that disrupt the ability of states to access federal funding [...] has direct consequences on the ability of people with [I/DD] to access services,” says Lydia Dawson, ANCOR's VP for Government Relations in the latest from @disabilityscoop.bsky.social.

Ever wonder why community-based disability services are so vital? Here’s why it’s crucial that we strengthen—not weaken—the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services program. #disability #disabilityinclusion #ltss #hcbs #medicaid

📢 TAKE ACTION 📢 People w/ IDD can't afford any disruption in services, but a memo from OMB announcing a halt to all federal aid threatens exactly that. Contact your lawmakers ASAP & ask them to demand clarification that the order won't apply to critical disability services!

If, like us, you're new here, allow us to introduce ourselves. We're a growing community of 2,500+ providers of services accepted by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Our members make it possible for people with I/DD to live, work and thrive in their communities.

Hello, Bluesky! We're new here, and thrilled to be here. But we might need a little bit of support. Who should we follow? What should we know? Reply with your fave recommendations, especially for folks to follow in the disability community!