Breaking Barriers LLC

09/25/2025

We've never been very successful at getting a full group picture when we have staff appreciation events, but at least this one includes 4 ridiculously cute additions - 1 precious baby, 2 fluffy puppies, & 1 good dog 🥰

https://www.bbmn.org/work-with-us

09/22/2025

LOTS of reading recommendations for Books on Disability & Inclusion for different age levels compiled by the Dakota County Disability Advisory Council (full list below!). Do YOU have any favorites on this list or any favorites that you think should be added? 📚☕📖🍂🎧

ADULT NON-FICTION: The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu • Autism Out Loud by Kate Swenson • Beautiful People by Melissa Blake • Being Heumann by Judith Heumann & Kristen Joine • The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller • Counting Backwards by Binnie Kirshenbaum • The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland • Golem Girl by Riva Lehrer • Haben by Haben Girman • Overlooked by Amisha Padnani • Your Neurodiverse Child by Nechama Sorcher //
ADULT FICTION: Meet Me in Tahiti by Georgia Toffolo • Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young • Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez //
CHILDREN'S FICTION & GRAPHICS: Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder • Deer Run Home by Ann Clare Lezotte • Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia • A Say that Sings by Anita Sanchez & George Steele • This is How We Play by Jessica Slice & Caroline Cupp • Together, a Forest by Roz MacLean • We are the Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussig //
CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION:Down Syndrome Out Loud by Melissa Hart • How We Eat by Shuli De la Fuente-Lau • I Am, You Are by Ashley Harris Whaley • Signs of Survival by Renee Hartman & Joshua M Green • Whale Eyes by James Robinson //
TEEN: The ADHD Teen Survival Guide by Soli Lazarus • All the Noise at Once by Deandra Davis • Interabled by Shane & Hannah Burcaw • Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield

02/18/2025

3 takes and we still only got about 1/3 of the BB crew! We had so much fun at 🎉

01/13/2025

The weird & wonderful Breaking Barriers Rochester crew & loved ones😄
Thank you for organizing an amazing party, Marlo!! ❤

09/11/2024

NAMI Walks is just a couple of weeks away! Help us fundraise for NAMI Minnesota by donating to or joining our team (click the link below), and/or come to Minnehaha Falls Park on September 28th for the celebration and walk! 💚

I'm supporting NAMI!

06/17/2024

Rewatching and appreciating this video released in March on World Down Syndrome Day

03/15/2024

We're looking forward to having a great time & supporting The Autism Society of Minnesota at the new Steps for Autism this year!🥳

Join our team and/or donate by clicking here: https://givebutter.com/nbCJGt

02/09/2024

The same boy that loves lazing around the office and sloppily greeting guests is a total metalhead when he's not on the clock 😂
(heads up: this video contains loud music)

Check out EigerShreds's video.

02/07/2024

Read about the work that Brad Lomax (pictured above with his brother Glenn) and the Black Panther Party did to advance the rights of people with disabilities in the United States.

Brad passed away when he was 33, but his legacy is far too great to distill down to a short social media post. He was involved in establishing new chapters of the Black Panther Party, the creation of multiple free health clinics, extending the reach of the "Center for Independent Living," and was a cornerstone of the TWENTY-EIGHT DAY sit-in at the San Francisco federal building that led to the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Black Panther Party provided daily hot meals to the protesters during this sit-in, which was the only 504 sit-in that endured, and many demonstrators have credited the BPP for being the reason.

02/05/2024

A rare gathering of BBers for some Whirly Ball action.

01/25/2024

It really is the best.

11/07/2023

There are things that should make us feel angry.

This is a clip from the PBS NewsHour "Disability Reframed" segment that gave an overview of the movement to end subminimum wage jobs for workers with disabilities.

It's 2023, and there are still adults with disabilities that are paid an average of LESS THAN $4.00 PER HOUR for their work. (There continues to be wage discrimination against women and people of color, as well, who make significantly less than their white male counterparts.)

"The issue around increasing wages for people with disabilities is really just a human rights issue." -Jillian Nelson, a member of the MN Task Force on Eliminating Subminimum Wages, also featured in the aforementioned PBS segment.

Go here to watch the full PBS segment: https://www.pbs.org/video/disability-reframed-1696532601/

Go here to read more about the MN Task Force: https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/news-initiatives-reports-workgroups/long-term-services-and-supports/task-force-on-eliminating-subminimum-wages/