Top Twitterers for Disability News and Accessible Topics

Learn a few basic tips on how to use twitter as well as discover the top twitterers on accessible topics and disability news. Twitter can be an amazing resource to meet people and learn new information. You can follow your favorite websites, sports teams, politicians, celebrities, and even an occasional pet rat or cat. Twitter has become much more than a place to hear what everyone has had for lunch. Instead, you can jump in on conversations and talk with people you may have never met before! When you sign up on the site, you can search to find people who are tweeting things you may find interesting (if you are a wheelchair user, you could search for the word "wheelchair" and find others talking about the subject or a related news story).

There is also a list of topics on the right hand side of the page that are popular with Twitter users. You can search for friends that are already using the service, as well. You will be surprised how many businesses, TV shows, sports teams, restaurants, non-profits, etc have Twitter accounts. Keep your eyes and ears open and you'll be following lots of great people in no time.

One of the ways many people use Twitter is as a type of breaking news service. When the United flight crashed into the Hudson river in January of this year, Twitter users broke the story a full fifteen minutes before the mainstream media, and even provided pictures of the scene along with the eyewitness accounts. During the Iranian election, Twitter linked people fighting for democracy in Iran to the outside world, and unlike ever before, the world was able to watch the protests unfold as they happened, real time.

Top Disability Twitterers

Here are the top disability related Twitterers. Feel free to suggest anyone you think we may be missing!

1. AMS Vans - Warning! shameless self promotion! :) We work hard here at AMS Vans to find you the best disability related news. Some of the topics we tweet about are: health news as it relates to people with disabilities, new wheelchair technology, accessibility, ADA law, and EEOC cases. For more news, make sure you are signed up for our newsletter:

2. Michael Carrasc - Michael is a disability advocate and a Disney enthusiast. He tweets on many subjects including autism, public health, mental health, and even some Disney secrets! Who ever knew that you could ride Cinderella's own horse in the Magic Kingdom carousel?!

3. Andrew Imparato - Andy is the head of the American Association of People with Disabilities. He tweets about his work with the AAPD as well as news that people with disabilities would be interested in. Recently the AAPD had a video unveiled in Times Square for the month of November, and Andy was there with his colleagues to see it play and tweeted about it so we could get behind the scenes info! You can also follow the organization's main twitter account as well at: http://twitter.com/aapd

4. US Paralympics - News from the United States Paralympic teams from Colorado. They post a lot of great updates and interesting videos, and team up with the Olympic twitter account too.

5. Link Abilities - Link Abilities is a non-profit based out of New Hampshire that builds partnerships in the community to both help people with disabilities find employment and assist employers in overcoming any challenges to hiring someone with a disability. Even though they work locally in NH, their twitter is a great resource for everyone because it helps address issues that many people with disabilities have faced in their life when trying to find a job.

6. Disability.gov - Disabilitygov is the official United States government Twitter account for people with disabilities. They post technology tips and resources, housing resources, emergency preparedness tips, and independent living information, all aimed to help make your search for help easier!

7. Dr. Stephen Luke - Dr. Luke is the Director of the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. He posts great resources for families and educators about disabilities and special education.

8. Flu.gov - FluGov is the Twitter account for information about H1N1, avian, and pandemic flu from the United States government. They have the normal links to websites and resources that most Twitter accounts have, but another thing that they do very well is multi-media. Everyday there is a new video, podcast, infographic, or similar media to help us understand the flu. They often have live webcasts run by experts so that you can ask any flu or vaccination related questions. We did an article recently about the H1N1 flu, so if you have a chronic illness or other health issue and have questions about this flu season, make sure you take a look!

9. Candy Harrington - Candy is an expert in accessible travel and has written several books on the subject. Since a lot of her time is spent evaluating places for accessibility, she has some awesome tips for, as she says, "everyone from slow walkers to wheelchair users."

10. Brainline - Brain Line is a Washington DC based organization that helps patients, family & friends, and health professionals deal with traumatic brain injury related issues. They tweet many resources for people with disabilities.

Overall, Twitter is a fantastic resource to learn more about topics that interest you. It is easy to stay up to date on news and updates from your favorite websites, non-profits, blogs, and friends. If you are on Twitter, make sure you follow us and say hi - we would love to hear from you. www.twitter.com/amsvans